Custer County, Nebraska - Founders and Builders, 1919 (part 17 of 32)

Mr. Hall was born in Polk county, Nebraska, May 9, 1873, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Baldwin) Hall. His parents, natives of Michigan, were pioneers of Polk county, where they came early in the spring of the year in which their eldest son was born, taking up a homestead there and passing the rest f)f their lives in the development of a farm and the establishing of a home. The father passed awav in 1894. and the mother sun-ived until 1917. William Hall was successful, self-made man, and had a record for integrity and conscientious perfomiance of duty as soldier and civilian, as an agriculturist, and as a citizen and friend. During the Civil war he fought as a soldier of the L'nion, being connected fur four years with Comjany D, Twenty-fourth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and he thus continued the family military' record, his father having been a soldier in the war of 1812. His mother had the distinction of having lived to the remarkable age of ninety-eight years. William Hall was a Democrat in his political views, although not a man to seek office at the hands of his party, and his fraternal connection was with the Masonic order. With his family, he belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church. He and his wife were the parents of eight children : Richard, who is the immediate subject of this review ; Nellie, who is the wife of Chris Anderson, a retired farmer of Mason City, this county ; Dave, who carries on a teaming business at Seattle, \\'ashington ; John, who for some years resided on his father's farm in Custer county ; Mar}-, who is the wife of Charles Kinniston, of Seattle, Washington, an early settler of Polk county, Nebraska, and at one time president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers ; Frank, who is engaged in farming near Ansley : Fred, who likewise is a Custer county farmer ; and Edna, who is the widow of Floyd Gaylord, of Ansley, and who is now residing with her brother.

Richard Hall was educated in the public schools of Shelby, Polk county, Nebraska, and was reared to the vocation of farming, which he adopted upon the attainment of his majority. He did not seem to make much progress in his native county, and in 1903 he came to Custer county, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres. In order to secure this land he had to go into debt, and his first few years were marked by constant struggle, but his faithful endeavors were finally rewarded, and he not only has his property free from debt, but is also the owner of 560 acres northeast of his home place. He is engaged in general farming and the raising of cattle and has been remarkably successful in both directions, while his standing as a business man is firmly established, having been built up through years of honorable and straighforward transactions. Mr. Hall is a thirty-second-dcgrec Mason and he is verv poi)ular in the ranks of the timehonored fralernity. In politics he supports the principles and cantlidates of the Democratic partv.

a number of years a resident of Custer county, where he took up a homestead and farmed successfully during a long- period. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of three children : Leone, John, and Elizabeth, all at home. The family belongs to the Christian church.

GEORGE WILLIAM BAILEY is a representative young farmer who belongs to a family widely known on the West Table, which is famous all over the middle west for its fine farms and practical, substantial farmers. Mr. Bailey hails from Kentucky and possesses the inborn characteristics of the native Kentuckian, who, in addition to accommodating gallantry, is very hospitably disposed. He was born in 1890, by which it is seen that he is a young man on the sunrise side of thirty years and just started upon his life career. He is a son of John Samuel and Susie (Lane) Bailey, both of whom are Kentuckians, but they have been pioneer citizens in Custer county for several decades and now make their home in Arnold. The father was born in 1858 and the mother in 1862. They have two children, and aside from George William. Homer is the other member of the family. John Samuel Bailey located his homestead in the spring of 1884 and in those days ran the gamut of pioneer experiences. He and his wife had their share of trials and hardships. They had to haul water from the Loup river, ten miles away, and there they took the family washing, in order to save the hauling of the water. A big prairie fire once swept down upon them, and Mr. Bailey saved his corn from destruction by the water he had hauled from the Loup. The hail destroyed his crops for three years in succession. He picked corn for two cents a bushel, and took his wages in corn, this work being done nineteen miles distant from his home. He hunted a full week on one occasion to find a fat hog that he could purchase to supply the family larder. He finally located the desired hog in what was then Plum Creek, now Lexington. After proving up on the claim here, he and his family moved to Kentucky, but after a short time they returned to Custer county and resumed their residence here. Thev know all concerning life in the early years. They lived in a sod house with a brush roof and used cedar stumps for chairs, so that they realize how many things there are in use to-day without which people can get along. Mr. and Mrs. John Samue! Bailey are now living in Arnold, where they are enjoying comfortable retirement.

George William Bailey, who is more familiarly known by his second personal name, William, is living on his father's farm - the northeast quarter of section 31, township 18, range 24. February 28, 1912, recorded the marriage of Mr. Bailey to Miss La Verna Wilcher, who was born and reared in Custer county, a representative of a splendid family, and who is a gracious young wife and mother who is doing well her part in maintaining the attractive and hospitable home. The opportunities that are afforded this popular young couple are being fully improved and appreciated by them, and the home is made the more attractive by the presence of their winsome little daughter, Luda Marie, who is six months old at the time of this writing.

The fine farm which is the stage of the operations of ]\Ir. Bailey comprises 160 acres, as previously intimated, and virtually the entire acreage is under effective cultivation. He maintains a high grade of live stock, and he has made many excellent improvements on the place, including the erection of good buildings, the while he has provided the best of equipment and accessories for furthering his operations in both departments of his farm enterprise. In short, Mr. Bailey has stated that his equipment includes everything from a hammer to a farm truck. In politics he maintains an independent attitude, gives his support to men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment and is not amenable to mere partisan dictates.

JOHN C. HENDERSON, whose experience in agricultural pursuits in Custer county covers a period of twelve years, and who is now the owner of a valuable and well improved farm of 320 acres, is another of the men who have been the architects of their own fortunes. He was born in Mercer county, Illinois, December 16, 1868, and is a son of John and Nancy (Milligan) Henderson.

The Henderson family is of Scotch origin and the American progenitor was a sturdy S'cotsman who became an early settler in Ohio, where John Henderson was born, the paternal grandfather of John C. Henderson. He was a farmer by vocation and in his later years moved to Illinois, where his death occurred. The maternal grandfather, David Milligan was born in Pennsylvania, later became a resident of Illinois, and rounded out a useful career in farming. John Henderson, father of John C, was born in Ohio, in 1835, and as a young man he moved to Pennsylvania, where he married a young woman who was a native of that state. Subsequently he went to Illi- nois and located in ]\Iercer county. After farmint^ there for a number of years, he came with his family to Saunders county, Nebraska, in 1883, and there the rest of his life was passed in tilling the soil, his death occurring in 1897. Originally a Republican, in later years he transferred his allegiance to the Democratic party. He belonged to the United Presbyterian church, of which Mrs. Henderson, who survives him and resides at Lincoln, is a member. They were the parents of four children - Nettie, the wife of F. A. ]\Iason, of Greenwood, Nebraska, formerly a contractor at Lincoln for twenty-five years ; Ed, a traveling salesman for the Hebb Automobile Company, of Lincoln ; John C, of this review ; and Zena, the wife of C. i\I. Dodds, a farmer near Brule. Nebraska.

John C. Henderson was educated in the pulilic schools of Illinois and eastern Nebraska, and was reared on his father's farm, where he developed a fondness for horses and expert skill in handling them. So proficient did he become in the latter direction that he was retained for some years by prominent horsemen as a jockey and piloted his mounts to victory in a number of important events. When he settled down to farming it was as a renter in Saunders county, and this continued to be his status for ten years, for success did not come easy, and during the poor years of 1894. 1895, and 1896, lie was not able to make even enough from his land to pay his rent. However, he was persevering and determined and was finally rewarded with success. In 1906 he came to Custer county, where he bought a farm of 480 acres. This land was only partly improved at the time, its main building being a sod house, but each year Mr. Henderson has added to its equipment, and he now has a comfortable and attractive home and good buildings for all farm purposes, in addition to which his equipment is of the most modern character. Mr. Henderson is equally at home in each department of agricultural work and has gained his knowledge at first hand, in the hard school of experience. His standing in the community is an e-xcellent one. and he has served his township as treasurer for four years. His political belief is generically that of the Democratic party, but he has independent inclinations, and his fraternal affiliation is with the Knights of Pythias.

In 1894 Mr. Henderson married Aliss Lillie Stevens, who was born in Saunders county, Nebraska, a daughter of Cal Stevens, for manv years well known as the village blacksmith at Weston. Seven children have been born to this union - Erciell, LeRoy, Lenore, Edgar,

John Cal, Orville, and ,Max. All of the children are at home except LeRoy, who died at the age of two years, and Erciell. the eldest son, who attained to his legal majority on the 4th of July, 1918, and who on the following day enlisted in a United States engineering corps, for service in France. ]Mrs. Henderson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and like her husband has many friends in the communitv of their home.

JOHN E. GRINT is one of the best known stock-raisers of his part of Custer county, as proprietor of the Prairie Home Stock Farms, and is also prominent in a business way, through his presidency of the Crownover Telephone Company, of Sargent. During his thirty-five years of residence in this county he has proved a decidedly active and helpful citizen whose public spirit has been demonstrated in a number of ways, and at all times his own interests have been held subservient to those of the general welfare.

Mr. Grint was born in County Norfolk, England, in the hamlet of Mileham, .^pril 27, 1857, his parents being John and Sarah (Twite) Grint, who never left their native land, but spent their lives, until retirement, in farming. Both passed away in the faith of the Church of England. There were three children in the family : Elizabeth, of Hull. England, the widow of Job Miles; John E.. of this review ; and William, emploved in the government dock-yards of England.

The early education of John E. Grint was obtained in a private grammar school of England, and he was still a young man when he embarked in mercantile ventures on his own account. He was married in his native land, in 1880. and about three years later he embarked for the L'nited States. Upon his arrival he at once came to Custer county, Nebraska, where he settled on a homestead in close proximity to Sargent. From modest beginnings he has built up a large and important industry in the breeding and sale of Short-horn cattle and Poland-China hogs. Mr. Grint was compelled to teach himself the bu.siness of farming and stock-raising, for he had had no experience in these lines prior to coming to the United States, and his success is therefore all the more remarkable and commendable. He has also interested himself in business matters, having a ni.mber of important and valuable investments and connections, and is president of the Crownover Telephone Company, at Sargent. His reputation is a most enviable one in business circles, and he is known as one who honors

Mr. Grint was married January 15, 1880, in England, to Miss Alice Hutchins, who was born in that country, and they became the parents of eight children, of whom six are living: Ada, born in England, makes her home with her parents ; Jessie is the wife of Harry Bentley, living east of Sargent; Howard J., who married Inez Sturm, was conducting a dairy farm near Chicago at the time of his death, which occurred December 16, 1918; Mabel is the wife of Charles Roe, a farmer northwest of Sargent ; Harold A. is at the time of this writing a sergeant in the American national army in France ; Sidney and Ernest are at home and are assisting their father in his farming operations.

Mr. Grint joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows when he was but eighteen years of age, in England, and before he had reached the age of twenty-one years had held all the chairs and become noble grand of the order. He still belongs to that fraternity and takes a great deal of interest in the local lodge at Sargent. He is independent in his political views and has been active in civic affairs. He has been a member of the township board for fourteen years and for four years was a member of the county board of supervisors. Mrs. Grint also has been before the public in an official capacity for a number of years, having been, as at present, a member of the school board for twelve years, and, prior to its cancellation by the government, having been for more than fourteen years postmistress of the postoffice at Phillipsburg.

NICHOLAS :\I. MORGAN. - The year 1880 saw the arrival in Custer county of Nicholas M. Morgan, a man who was in the prime of life and who had already made good progress along the road to success, as he had developed self-confidence through participating in many of the battles of war and peace. In Custer county Mr. Morgan found the op\x)rtunities with which to round out a successful and prosperous career, and at the present time he is living in honorable retirement at Callaway, where he enjoys the material conforts won through a life of industry, with the objective respect and confidence that mark due popular ajiprcciation of his sterling integrity in all of the relat'ons of life.

Mr. Morgan was born at Kalniar, Sweden. August 28. 1836. a son of Samuel and Stena (Keyse) Morgan, and a grandson of Nels Keivse. His father, who was a farmer in the old country, was an industrious and able man, but was in moderate circumstances. There were five sons and four daughters in the family, and of the number three survive ; Nicholas M.; Swan, a resident of Olds. Iowa: and Clara, the wife of John Carlson, of Olds, Iowa.

Nicholas M. Morgan attended the public schools of his native community, grew up in an agricultural atmosphere, and earned his first money by hauling wood on a sled for his father, with whom he remained until he was eighteen years of age. He was an ambitious youth, and saved his money carefully, so that in 1854 he had accumulated a sufficient amount to bring him to the United States. When he arrived in New York city his total financial reinforcement was represented in the sum of two dollars, after his passage had been paid, but he was fortunate in meeting a minister. Rev. Mr. Wallstrom. vi'ho managed to secure him a position with a friend. He recommended the young immigrant to the countryman, who gave the youth a position on his farm, at a wage of six dollars a month. When the year's contract had expired. Mr. ^lorgan had all except about ten dollars of his wages, his habits of thrift having not forsaken him, and a part of this money was spent in traveling to Chicago, and later to Alinnesota City. In the latter community he secured employment on a farm, and there he remained about three years, having had several employers in the meantime. In 1859 Mr. Morgan enliste<l in Company L, Second Regular L'nited States Artillery, and he was stationed at Fort Ridgeley, Minnesota, his command being engaged in keeping the Sioux Indians in check and order. In the following spring he was ordered to Fortress Monroe, Mrginia. to attend a school of practice, and when the Civil war came on, in 1861, his command went to Washington, D. C. in 1862 his company formed a part of a contingent sent to the stage of conflict in \'irginia, and during the time that he was in service he took part in twenty-one distinct battles, aside from numerous skirmishes, forages, etc. Among his engagements may be mentioned: Chickahominy. June 27. 1862; Malvern Hill. July 1-5; Fairfax Court House. September 3; South Mountain. September 13: Antietam, September 17 ; Shepherdson, September 20 ; Halltown, October 3 ; Warrenton, November 5: Chancellorsville, May 2-3. 1863; Beverly Ford. lune 9; Frankstown. Julv 6; Falling Waters. July 14; Chester Gap. July 22; Brandy Station, .\ugust 1-4; Morton's Ford. October 12; CuliK'per. October 15; and Oak Shades. Octolx-r 1}<.

charge from service at the expiration of his term of eiiHstment. in 1864, and he then went to Iowa, where he again found employment in farming. In that state, on the Beverly farm, near Mount Pleasant, he was married December 2, 1869, to Miss Lucinda A, Bailey, daughter of Silas Bailey, and to this union there were born three daughters and a son : Josephine A. is deceased; Elsie A., who is the wife of L. Phillip, a farmer fifteen miles south of Callaway, has one child, and is a member df the Evangelical church ; Hattie C. is deceased ; and Harry W., who is still a bachelor, is a resident of Louisiana, where he owns a great acreage of land. Five years after their marriage Mr. Morgan's first wife died, and on the 9th of June, 1876, at Burlington, Iowa, he wedded Miss x\nna C. Johnson, daughter of John and Hannali Johnson. Five children were born to this union - Laura ; Alvin S. ; Otto D. ; Lillian (the wife of Fred Payton) ; and Charles. Charles Morgan, the youngest son, is a bachelor and is now employed by the United States government, at Washington, D. C.

Nicholas M. Morgan came to Custer county, Nebraska, in 1880, and settled on the north side of Callaway, where he owns a beautiful home and 767 acres of land adjoining the townsite. During a long and active career he has gained prosperity and many friends, and he is now enjoying the comforts of life, after having borne the heat and burden of the day and proved himself one of the world's productive workers.

JENS P. NELSON. - One of the timehonored business interests is that which has had to do with the sale of harness, which has occupied the energies of able men since the earliest times. This business is capably and honorably represented at Mason City by Jens P. Nelson, who has successfully conducted his present establishment for more than a quarter of a century. He is a native of Denmark, and was born November IS, 1848, a son of Nels and Celia (Petersen) Jensen.

Nels Jensen, a native of Denmark, and a shoemaker by trade, immigrated to the L'nited States with his family in 1874 and first settled at Chicago, or near that city, and for a time followed his trade. While living there he lost his wife and three of his children by death, and, becoming discouraged he returned to his native land, where he remained six years. However, he had become attracted to this country and eventually, in 1880, he returned, and homesteaded a tract of land in

Custer county, where he engiged in farming and continued to follow that vocation until his death. He and his wife were people who always merited the high regard in which they were held by their neighbors, and were faithful members of the Lutheran church. They had twelve children, of whom five survive, but Jens P. is the only one now living in the county of Custer.

Jens P. Nelson received his early education in the public schools of his native land, and as a youth adopted the trade of his father, that of shoemaker, which he mastered under the instruction of the elder man. He was industrious, skilled and willing, and found ready employment, although he also, at times, worked as a coachman and gardener for prominent families, and likewise served in the army school in Denmark for seven months. He was married there, in 1868, to Miss Anna Mary Nelson, who was born in Denmark, and they became the parents of the following children : William, of Fairfield, Nebraska, is engaged in the shoe business; Celia is the wife of Pete Hanson, a section foreman on a railroad at Clarks, Nebraska ; Hannah is the wife of S. M. Chase, who is engaged in the general store business in Mason City ; Marv is the wife of Leonard Cady, living on a farm north of Mason City; Christina is the wife of Art Mortenton, a traveling salesman of Lincoln ; Christ is associated in business with his father; and Edna is the wife of C. K. Duke, a railroad brakeman of Alliance, Nebraska.

Jens P. Nelson remained in the LTnited States when his father returned to Denmark, and for some years was variously employed, principally at his trade, in which he made money and saved it. Finally he saw an opportunity to become the proprietor of a business of his own, and in 1893 he came to Mason City and founded his present store, which has been a distinct success from the start. He carries a full line of all kinds of harness, whips, etc.. and has attracted and held a good custom at Mason City and in the surrounding community. His business reputation is an excellent one, and as a citizen he is held in high esteem. Mr. Nelson is a Democrat, and on several occasions he has been called upon to fill school and township offices, in which he has acquitted himself admirably. With his family, he belongs to the Danish Lutheran church.

It should be a matter of special record in this article than on the 27th of November, 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson had the privilege of celebrating their golden-wedding anniversary, the occasion being marked by appropri- ate observation of social order, and the venerable couple received congratulations and greetings from their many friends in the home community. In their half-century of devoted companionship Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have encountered their share of both clouds and sunshine, but the latter has predominated and they rejoice in the many blessings that have attended them during the fleeting years.

GEORGE J. PELKEY. - Among the farmers of Custer county the results of whose operations render a good account of husbandry, is George J. Pelkey, who came here in 1891. He was born in Iowa, January 27, 1868, and is a son of Joseph and Alary (Arthur) Pelkey.

The parents of Mr. Pelkey were born and reared in Canada, where their marriage was solemnized, and shortly afterward they reremoved to Iowa, where for several years Mr. Pelkey was engaged in farm enterprise, as was he later in Polk county, Nebraska. He finally came with his family to Custer county and settled on a homestead. He passed the remainder of his life in this county and his death occurred in Broken Bow, his wife having passed the closing period of her life in the home of her daughter Addie. the wife of Melvin A. Gibbs, of this county. Joseph and Mary ( .-^rthur ) Pelkey were faithful communicants of the Catholic church. Of their nine children five are living- - Addie. who is the wife of Melvin A. Gibbs. a proseprous fanner of Custer county ; Ranie, who works for her brother George J. ; Bert, who is a farmer of W'essington Springs. South Dakota ; George J., who is the subject of this review ; and Martin, who is a farmer in Colorado. Joseph Pelkey was a Democrat in politics, but had no desire for political activity or public office, being content to confine himself to his productive service in connection with farm industry.

George J. Pelkey was a child at the time when his parents came to Polk county, Nebraska, and there he obtained his early educational training in the public schools. He adopted farming as his life work when he came of age. and was but twenty-three years old when he located in Custer county, here securing a tree claim. Later he also took up a homestead, and he still owns these two properties, to which he has added until he has 480 acres of productive and valuable land, on which he carries on mixed farming and stock-raising. Beginning at the bottom, without assistance, he has worked his way to a recognized position of substantiality, and has well earned the respect and esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens. The primitive buildings which were his only improvements during the early days, have given way to better structures, his buildings now including a large concrete house, and the other farm buildings being proportionately commodious and substantial.

In 1890 Mr. Pelkey married Miss .\lthea Rusk, who was born in Knox counU". Illinois, a daughter of David and Catherine ( McDermott ) Rusk, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of New York. The marriage of the parents occurred in Illinois, where Mr. Rusk followed the trade of miller until his death, in 1884. following which Mrs. Rusk came to Nebraska and settled on the homestead upon which she directed farming operations until her retirement to Broken Bow. There were six children in the Rusk family, of whom three are living - Ed, who is engaged in the restaurant business at Arnold, Nebraska : Anna, who is the wife of L. M. Pickett, a farmer of Custer county ; and Althea, who is the wife of George J. PeHtey. of this review. Mr. and Mrs. Pelkey have one son: Elwood. who married lone Russom, daughter of G. R. Russom, a pioneer of Custer county.

Mr. Pelkey is a Democrat in his political affiliations and both he and his wife are active members of the Grange, in which Mrs. Pelkey is master of the local organization.

FRANK LILES. - A settler of Custer county in the year 1886, Frank Liles finds himself, after the passage of thirty-six years, the jiossessor of a handsome home and a comfortable income, of the respect and confidence of the people in whose midst he has lived so long, and of a position in the community that argues well for his integrity as a business man and his probity and public spirit as a citizen. He is now living in semi-retirement at Callaway, but is still accounted an active factor in the life of the locality, where he has done much to advance the general welfare.

Mr. Liles was born at Rock Island. Illinois, December 15. 1871. and is a son of James W. and Marguerite ( Smith) Liles. In the Prairie state, his father fol'owed farming throughout the greater part of his life, and was known as an industrious and re'.iable citizen, he and his wife having been devout members of the Evangelical church. Frank was the fourth in order of birth of their children, his four sisters being: Ella, the wife of Carl Jepson ;

Laura, the wife of Frank Chase ; Emma, the wife of Charles Conley ; and Belle, the wife of Jepsen Clark. In 1886 the parents moved with their family to Custer county, the family locating- on a property about twelve miles east of Callaway, on the South Loup river. At that time Frank Liles was still a lad, and his education, started in Illinois, was completed here in the district schools. He was brought up to habits of industry and honesty, and carefully instructed in the art of farming, his first-earned money being secured for keeping his rows straight while dropping corn with a corn-planter. When he became of age he adopted farming as his own vocation, and he followed this for a number of years, being an extensive operator as an agriculturist and stock-raiser. Several years ago he practically retired from active affairs and settled in a beautiful home adjoining Callaway. His attractive residence is surrounded by twenty-five acres, all in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Liles had practically given up operations of a large nature, but the country's need of food products found him ready to do his part, and he is at present leasing sixty-five acres, which he is devoting to the growing of corn. Mr. Liles is one of his community's progressive and enterprising men and has loyally supported all movements that have promised to benefit the community or its people. He has improved his land both practically and with a view to appearance, and in other ways has contributed to the upbuilding of the vicinity of Callaway. He has not sought public office, preferring the quiet life of his suburban home to the doubtful honors of the political arena. Mr. Liles was married June 4, 1896, at Carthage, IMissouri, to Miss Lenora Leggett, daughter of Thomas N. and Rachel ( Metcalf) Leggett, members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and well known residents of Carthage, the father having been a native of West Virginia. The surviving brothers and sisters of Mrs. Liles are John W., Sherman A., 'Mattie (the wife of Thomas Ledhetter), Dora (the wife of James Rodgers), Charles B., and Thomas H. Mr. and Mrs. Liles are the parents of four children ; Herbert W., who is clerk in a meat market at Callaway, and who remains at the parental home, celebrated his twenty-first birthday anniversary in 1918 ; Walter W. resides at home and assists his father in the work of the home farm ; Inez R. is teaching school ; and Harry A. is a student of the eighth grade in the Callaway public schools.

VACLAV KLUNA. - The career of Vaclav Kluna in Custer county was one of continuous agricultural activity from the time of his arrival here in 1900 until his retirement to his home at Comstock, in 1916. He has been a resident of Nebraska since 1884, having carried on farming on a large tract in Valley county until his arrival in Custer county, and in each community in which he has resided he established a reputation for industry, capability, .and integrity.

Mr. Kluna is a Bohemian by nativity, and was born January 25, 1857, a son of Martin and Barbara (Kara) Kluna. His parents came to the United States with their children in June, 1877, and settled in Arkansas, where the father carried on farming, near Dardanelle. There his death occurred, in the faith of the Catholic church, of which he and his wife were lifelong members. Following his demise, his widow, with her son John, went to Omaha, but Vaclav Kluna came to Pawnee county. He had been educated in the schools of his native country, had come to America as a young man of twenty years, and all his training had been along agricultural lines. After two years in Pawnee county he went to Omaha, where he was joined by his brother John and a number of friends, thus making up a small party which traveled together to Valley county, which was at that time still undeveloped territory. Mr. Kluna located on a homestead, March 17, 1884, and settled down to the pursuits of farming and raising stock, vocations for whi:h he showed great aptitude, and in which he gained success through hard and industrious etTort. careful management, and skilled use of modem methods in soil treatment. In 1900 Mr. Kluna disposed of his \'alley county land and came to Custer county, where he continued to farm and raise stock until his retirement, in 1916, here duplicating the success that he had attained in his former locality. He is still the owner of 480 acres of valuable Custer county land, and in addition has 1,440 acres in Perkins county, the latter now in its developing stages of improvement. As a citizen Mr. Kluna has fully lived up to his responsibilities and has been a supporting factor in movements which have benefited the locality. In addition to his brother John, who still resides in Valley county, ISlr. Kluna has another brother, Joseph, who is living in Texas. Two other children, of his parents are now deceased.

died in infancy; Vaclav, Jr., born August 10, 1888, died December ^6, 1912; Joseph, born September 6, 1889, married Emma \ odehnal and they reside five miles northeast of Comstock; Marie, born March 21, 1892, is the wife of Joseph Klapal, a farmer living five miles east of Sargent; Annie, born November 5, 1893, is single and resides on the home farm with her brother ; and Anton, who was born May 4, 1895. is single and is operating the farm property of his father.

FRANK M. CURRIE was born April 29, 1859, on a farm in Fowler township, Trumbull county, Ohio. His parents were both born in Scotland, and immigrated to that part of Ohio before their marriage, about 1847. His father's name was Robert Currie, and his mother's maiden name was Janette Murdoch. They were married in 1853, and settled on the fifty-acre farm where they reared a family of four children - John H. Currie and Margaret M. Currie, now residing at liradshaw, Nebraska: Frank M. Currie; and Mrs. Agnes Campbell, residing at Cortland, Ohio.

Frank M. Currie received his early education in the public schools. At the age of nineteen he became a teacher, in this way earning sufficient money to pay his expenses for one year at Grand River Institute, Austinburg, Ohio, where he prepared for college. In the fall of 1880 he entered Alleghany College, from which institution he was graduated, with the degree of liachelor of Arts, in June, 1884. In the autumn of 1884 he left the old home in Ohio and came to Syracuse, Nebraska, crossing the Missouri river at Nebraska City, on a ferry boat.

He earned his first money in the state by l)itching hay for Eph Hartman. He received for this work a dollar a day, and boarded himself. Later on he secured a position as principal of the school at Dunbar, Nebraska; at that time the school had but one teacher Ijesides himself.

August 20th. 1885. Mr. Currie returned to his old home in Ohio and married Etha L. Logan. They came immediately to Papillion, Nebraska, where Mr. Currie was principal of the public schools for a period of four years. During their residence in Papillion. two children were lx)rn - Claude A. Currie. at present residing on a ranch in Cherry county. Nebraska ; and Keo. at present doing Red Cross search work, hunting for missing soldiers in France. In 1890 an epidemic of typhoid fever visited Sargent. Nebraska, and among the victims of that dread diseases was Etha L. Currie.

the wife of F. M. Currie. In 1892 he was married to Keokee Logan, at Burghill, Ohio. They have one child. Lilas Currie. who is at present living at home with her parents.

In 1889 the family removed to Sargent. Nebraska, where Mr. Currie became the editor of the Sargent Times. This was one of the many ventures established in the new part of Nebraska for the purpose of the revenues derived from the publication of final proof notices, and for the further purpose of boosting the new country. However, the venture was not entirely voluntary on Mr. Currie's part, for the reason that the paper came into his hands as the result of a loan to a friend who happened to be in the newspaper business. A series of crop failures and a number of years of depression greatly reduced the income from the newspaper, and in order to make a living. Mr. Currie applied for and was elected to the position of superintendent of the city schools of Broken Bow. in the fall of 1894 - 'that terrible year when nothing was raised in Custer county, and when thousands of the early settlers abandoned their homesteads in utter discouragement.

He held the position of superintendent until the spring of 1897. His ancestors as far back as any knowledge of them is obtainable had been farmers and stock-raisers, and he had always had a desire to enter into the cattle business. I« the spring of 1897 he formed what was known as the Jewel Cattle Company, a corporation composed largely of his old friends in Ohio. It had a capital stock of $20,000. and began operations in the Douglas Grove precinct of Custer county, having a ranch on the Calamus river in Loup county.

This corporation was of short-lived existence - Mr. Currie purchasing the interests of the other stockholders and paying $1.25 a share for the stock after the company had l^een in operation one year. He continued in the cattle business on his own account until 1903, when he formed the Kinsman Cattle Company, with a capital stock of $50,000. This company purchased 4.000 acres of land, eighteen miles northeast of Broken Bow. and had its headquarters in Sargent.

.\bout a year later he organized the Buckeve Cattle Company, and purchased 5,600 acres of land, eighteen miles southeast of Broken Bow. He was manager of these two companies for a period of three years. The Buckeve Cattle Company sold its interests at a handsome profit, and he severed his connections with the Kinsman Cattle Comjiany.

of Callaway, Nebraska, and parties residing in Maine. The contract was given to Mr. Currie to develop the mining property of this company, which was situated in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. This contract called for the development of the mining property, the building of two or three miles oi railroad, and the installation of mining machinery. This work was by far the most strenuous and the largest undertaking ever engaged in by the subject of this sketch. It called for the investment of a ciuarter of a million dollars, and was undertaken and carried to a successful completion - only to be lost by the unfortunate political conditions of Mexico.

In 1902 Mr. Currie, together with Frank H. Young, now deceased, H. Lomax, H. B. Andrews, also deceased, and Alpha Alorgan, organized the Custer National Bank, in which Mr. Currie was director for a number of years. This institution has changed its name to the Custer State Bank, and is one of the substantial banking houses of the county.

In the year 1900 the same parties purchased the Farmers & Merchants Bank and the Custer County Bank, located at Sargent, Nebraska. These two banks were consolidated, retaining the name and charter of the Custer County Bank, which was later changed to the First National Bank of Sargent, later becoming the Sargent State Bank, and is still one of the substantial financial institutions of Custer county.

After his return from Mexico Mr. Currie again engaged in the stock business, and in this connection he was a resident of Blaine county for three or four years. In the fall of 1917, in company with his son, Claude A.. James Lomax, Clifford' Lomax, and Carl Jeffords, of Broken Bow, he purchased what was known as the Cross L Ranch, in Cherry county. This ranch is one of the largest and best equipped ranches in the state, producing annually about 5.000 tons of hay: consisting of 13,0(X) acres of deeded land, 7,000 acres of leased land, and a permit for the pasturage of 30.000 acres on the Niobrara forest reserve.

In the year 1918 this ranch produced and shipped to'market 1.600.000 pound of beef, 25,- 000 pounds of pork, and seventy-five tons of potatoes. Carl Jeffords and Clifford Lomax were called to the colors, and the active management and control rested on Mr. Currie. On the return of these young men from service Mr. Currie resignicd his active management of the ranch, and has accepted the presidency of the Missouri \'alley Cattle Loan Company, a corporation formed in Omaha, with a capital stock of two million dollars, for the purpose of handling loans on cattle in Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana, which position he now holds.

In politics Mr. Currie has always been a Republican, and has taken an active citizen's interest in public aft'airs, although he has never sought a public office. In 1898 he was nominated as a Republican candidate for the office of state senator, to represent the Twenty-third senatorial district, composed of Custer, X'alley, Loup, and Blaine counties. For a number of years this district had been overwhelmingly Populist and Democratic, and had regularly elected their candidate by fusion of these two parties. It seemed hopeless to undertake a campaign, but owing to a change in public sentiment,' and partly due to Mr. Currie's large and extensive acquaintance in the district and personal popularity, he was elected by a considerable majority.

.Again, in the autumn of 1900, he was tendered the nomination, at a convention held in Sargent. By this time the trend of public sentiment had drifted back to the Republican party and practically the entire Republican ticket was elected. On his return to the senate he found that eight out of the thirty-three members who had sat with him two years before had been returned. Seven of these came to him and volunteered their support to him for the L'nited States senate. This substantial mark of respect and confidence was accepted in the spirit in which it was oft'ered, and Mr. Currie became a candidate for the L^nited States senate.

At this time Nebraska was ejecting two L^nited States senators - one of them to fill the unexpired term of Senator Hayward, who had been elected at the previous session, but who was removed by death before he undertook the duties of his office. The other was to succeed John M. Thurston, whose term had expired. A long and serious deadlock occurred in the election. The candidates in this memorable fight were Edward Rosewater and George D. ^leiklejohn. Lorenzo Crounse and F. M. Currie for the long term, or as it was commonly expressed at that time, for the North Platte country: and I). E. Thompson and various other minor candidates for the short term, or South Platte country.

During all of this memorable struggle Mr. Currie was one of the leading candidates. After a long and weary deadlix'k. when it seemed that the legislature must adjourn without an election, the deadlock was broken, and Charles H. Dietrich, of Hastings, was elected for the

In the following spring, at a convention held at Crawford, Nebraska, Mr. Currie was one of the leading candidates for congress. In this contest, at which 186 ballots were cast, the candidates were Judge H. M. Grimes, of North Platte ; Hon. M. P. Kinkaid, of O'Neill ; F. M. Currie, of Broken Bow ; and A. E. Cady, of St. Paul, Nebraska. At one time Mr. Currie lacked only six votes of receiving the nomination, but in the end the successful candidate was ]\I. P. Kinkaid, who was nominated and triumphantly elected at the next election, and who has held the office ever since.

In the presidential campaign of 1912 Mr. Currie was chairman of the Republican state convention, and in 1916 he was elected as a delegate-at-large to the Republican national convention, in Chicago, where he was a supporter of Charles E. Hughes, who was nominated for the presidency.

In 1906 Mr. Currie purchased the Independent Telephone system of Custer county and adjacent counties, from J. E. Adamson. This system was greatly improved by the construction of substantial long distance telephone lines, by the complete rebuilding and reconstruction of the system of Broken Bow; and the building of what is one of the finest telephone buildings in the state of Nebraska. After the whole system had been made modern, and rebuilt at an expense of about $30,- 000. Mr. Currie sold his interest to the Bell Telephone Company.

In 1911 Broken Bow found itself without an electric-light system. It had grown to be a city of 2,500 people, and was much in need of this improvement. Mr. Currie organized a company with ample funds, and in connection with C. S. Martin, of Broken Bow, built the electric-light system which Broken Bow now has. From the beginning and up to the present time Mr. Currie has been president of this company.

Mr. Currie is a thirty-second degree Mason and is affiliated also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is recognized as one of the finished scholars of the state. He has a state reputation as an orator and in addition to his fine command of the English language he speaks both German and S'panish, the while he is known as a writer of exceptional ability.

JOHN H. JOHNSON-MALM, who is one of the well satisfied farmers of Custer county, came to the United States when twenty-seven year of age, and through his industry and exercise of good judgment, has acquired a fine property, has gained respect and consideration from his neighbors, and has comfortably reared a family of sons who, in their several ways, are reflecting credit upon the state of their nativity and upon their parents and friends.

John Henry Johnson-Malm was born in Filipstad, Warmland, Sweden, March 6, 1859, one of a family of three sons and two daughters born to John Eric and Louise Johnson.

During his boyhood Mr. Johnson-Malm assisted his father and went to school. When twenty years old he went to Norway, where he worked four years in an apatite mine, the crystals being a calcium phosphate fluoride, a source of phosphorus compounds, largely made use of in the fertilization of land. The work was hard, and danger attended it. Mr. Johnson-Malm returned then to Sweden, where he worked in the iron mines in Westmanland for about four years, in the meanwhile making plans to immigrate to the United States, where agricultural conditions were better and where it was possible to secure homesteads in some of the western states, with a reasonable expenditure.

By 1886 Mr. Johnson-Malm was able to come to America and was accompanied by his young wife to whom he was married two weeks before sailing. They reached Custer county, Nebraska, safely, in December, and for the following time Mr. Johnson-Malm worked in North Platte and in the LTnion Pacific roundhouse. He prudently saved his money, and kept adding to his capital until, in 1889, he came to Custer county and rented land. Here he secured his homestead in 1890 - land situated in section 28, township 13, range 2i - on which he has lived continuously ever since. He has made many improvements and now has one of the finest farms in this section of the country and has just cause to take pride in it. He carries on general farming and raises stock, and he has trained his sons in the business of farming.

In November, 1886, Mr. Johnson-Malm was united in marriage to Miss Johanna M. Anderson, who was born in Grangarde, Dalarna, Sweden, a daughter of Peter and Maria C. (Olson) Anderson, both of Grangarde, Sweden, Seven sons have been born to Mr.

and Mrs. Johnson-Malm, namely: Adolph Eric Malm, who is a member of Company D, Fourth United States Infantry, and who is with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, having left the United States in March, 1918, and havingf been wounded in the right arm on October 21, 1918; Maurits Bruno iMalm, who left the United States in August, 1918, a member of Company B, Three Hundred and Forty-second M. G. B., American Expeditionary Forces ; Julius Albert Malm, who is a farmer in Custer county, and who was subject to draft call, in class 3-A ; Oscar Stefan Malm, who is a graduate of the Gothenburg high school and who is fariuing with his brother Julius Albert, on section 32, township 13, range 25 ; Carl Herman Malm, who is working his father's land on Odencrantz Table; John Henry Malm, who helps his brother on the farm ; and Arthur Conrad Malm, who is yet in school. All of these boys were born on Cedar Farm, in section 28, township 13, range 25, Custer county.

In a history of this kind, where records must be kept straight for the coming generations of Johnson-Malms, it must be stated that the name "Malm" lias been added by the subject of this sketch since coming to America - principally in order that his mail should not be confused with the mail of the numerous family of Johnsons living in Custer county, - and he laughingly says that he has been called "Malm" so much that there are few of his neighbors who know him by any other name. Mr. Johnson-^Ialm is well and favorably known in the community in which he lives, is a citizen who is loyal to the country of his adoption, and always ready to help any worthy cause that is for the betterment of the community in which he lives. He believes that the more a man knows about his own county and state, the better citizen he will become.

CHARLES MATZ. - One of the sturdy pioneers of the South Loup region who gave a practical demonstration of what thrift and energy can do within the range of a short life-tiirie, was the late Charles Matz, who made a name and monument for himself in the region of his operations.

Mr. Matz was horn September 13. 1858. in Ohio, and died in Custer county, January 20. 1916. He was a son of John and Dorothy (Tikle) Matz, fine people, who were strict adherents of the Baptist church. The father was a native of Germany and the mother was French. In their family were seven children.

four of whom are now living - John, Gustavus A., Eliza Miller, and Ama Bonzo. The family lived on a farm and young Charles made himself generally useful, the while he attended the country school and acquired a fundamental education. He and his brothers rendered assistance to the family home by working for the neighbors, especially in the fall of the year, when corn husking was in order. They would husk corn for their neighbors and sometimes would go as far as forty miles from home in order to obtain the work.

Charles ]\Iatz was married January 20, 1884, in Scioto county. Ohio, to Miss Catherine Winter, of the saiue county. Mrs. Matz is a daughter of Frederick and Felicia ( Magnet) Winter, both of whom were of French descent. lii the Winter family were ten children, six daughters and four sons. One son and one daughter are deceased. The sur\avors are Mary Nagel, Elizabeth Lenhart, Klotilda Thurman, Margaret E. Matz. Catherine Matz, Charles B., George, and Frank. The family belonged to the United Brethren church.

The home which was made by Mr. and Mrs. Matz on their own initiative, proved an excellent one. L'nusually well provided with common comforts and home-like arrangements, it has continued a splendid haven for their children and grandchildren. Of their children the following brief record is consistently given: Cora May is the wife of Walter Cox, a farmer living near Callaway, and they have three children, Mr. and Mrs. Cox being members of the Evangelical church. Walter Frederic, who married Elsie Huenefeld, is a young farmer and stockman living northwest of Oconto, where he owns and operates 1.100 acres of land. Being in the selective draft he sold his stock and entered the military service of the government, and at the time of this writing he is with Company C, at Camp Dodge, Iowa. Anna Margaret died March 12, 1913. John Wesley is at home helping his mother on the ranch. He owns 280 acres of good land. He is subject to military duty and is listed in class 3. Charles Wilbur also is at home, assisting on the mother's ranch. The draft exemption board placed him in class 2. Clara Dorothy is a student in the State Normal School at Kearney. Nellie is at home with her mother.

The father of these children, who arc now grown to hoTiorablc manhood and womanhood. came into Custer county in 1884 and located in section 20, townshii) 14, range 22. four miles south of Lodi. He landed here with three hundred dollars. He built a sod house, made other primitive improvements, obtained a few head of stock, and commenced business. Mrs. Matz was his able assistant in his efforts. While he broke the sod and looked after the stock, she raised chickens, milked cows, and sold butter and eggs, by which means she supplied the family larder, while the other resources of the farm went into additional live stock and other land. Thus operations were continued during the lifetime of Mr. Matz, and to-day his estate comprises 640 acres of extra fine land, a beautiful home, with everything on the fann in fine shape - indicating thrift and prospverity.

His death occurred on the anniversary of his marriage - just thirty-two years from the day he stood at the marriage altar. He was a member of the Evangelical church, was widely known and highly regarded, and was a very devoted husband and father. His wife and two sons live on the home place and conduct the farming operations so long directed bv the husband and father.

BERT F. KIMBALL. - Of the younger generation of agriculturists carrying on operations in Custer county, mention is due Bert Frank Kimball, whose progressiveness and industry are rapidly bringing him into a favorable position. He comes of an old, well known, and honored family of this cotmty, and was born here December 23. 1884, a son of William and Myra ( Bourne I Kimball. A more detailed account of the family will be found in the sketch of Harry C. Kimball, elsewhere in this work.

The district schools of Custer county furnished the means for the education of Bert F. Kimball, and his early home training was all along agricultural lines, with his influences of the best, tending toward implanting in him the C|ualities of honesty and industry. When he entered upon his career he did so independently, becoming a renter, which status he still holds. During the last six years he has rented his present property, a half-section of section 10, township 39, from E. H. Burrows. In January. 1918, he became a landed proprietor, when he bought a farm of 120 acres, lying southeast of Berwyn. but his activities thus far have been confined to the cultivation of his rented acreage. Mr. Kimball is an energetic, enthusiastic, pushing man who believes firmly in progress and in the community where his home is made and where his o]>erations are centered. He has found from experience the value of modern methods and machinery, and while he does not discard the practically ]iroven theories, he always welcomes innovations and is ready to give them a trial. This is the kind of labor that has resuhed in the accomplishment of advancing results.

In February, 1907, Mr. Kimball was united in marriage with Miss Mabel House, also a member of an old and honored Custer county family. She was born here and is a daughter of Ernest and Ida (Sharp) House. Mr. House, who was a pioneer of this county, passed the greater part of his life in farming here, but is now a well-to-do resident of Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Kimball are the parents of four children: Claude, born May 21, 1908; Arthur, born August 7, 1910; Genevieve, Dorn June 16, 1914; and Dorothea May, born ?iiay 1, 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Kimball are members of the Christian church. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has filled several of the chairs, and is afiiliated also with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal Highlanders. In all of these organizations he has numerous friends. He is independent as to politics, and has been too busy with his agricultural labors to take other than a good citizen's interest in public matters.

GEORGE A. RUSSOM. - Living in the vicinity of Broken Bow, on a farm belonging to his father, the subject of this sketch is conducting operations which entitle him to be classed both as a farmer and dairyman, and especially is he entitled to all the honors to be bestowed in these days upon food producers.

George A. Russom is a native of Custer county and was born April 17, 1886. He is a son of George R. and Mary J. (Pope) Russom, sterling citizens who are well known in the community. The father was bom in North Carolina and the mother in Indiana. For further data concerning the family, reference may be made to the biography of George R. Russom On other pages of this volume.

George A. Russom ran much the same course as did other Custer county lads, received the same educational advantages, and grew to manhood under the same conditions that are so many times detailed in these columns. Here too he began his operations as a farmer and stockman, which lines of enterprise to-day do him splendid service.

September 30, 1908. at Hillsdale, Michigan, Mr. Russom wedded Virginia Lamoreaux, who was born in the state of New York, a daughter of Pater R. and Edith H. (Cole) Lamoreaux. both New York people.

one of the farms belonging to his father, and into the family circle have come two children - Raymond, seven years of age (1918j, and Richard, four years of age. The farm consists of 250 acres and it is devoted to general farming. Aside from raising grain and alfalfa ^Ir. Russom milks an average of eight cows the year round, and from this source he receives an average of forty dollare a month. He also tries to produce from 100 to 125 hogs each year. Fifty-five acres have been seeded to fall wheat and thirty acres to rye, in order that there may be breadstuffs produced for the country and the world during these strenuous times.

Mr. Russom was in the draft for service in the great world war, which came to a close before he was called to arms. He is a Democrat in politics and the family belong to the Baptist church.

The first money earned by young George A. Russom was made by pulling a hand drillplow while planting beans. For this he received twenty-five cents, the foundation quarter-dollar of his present possessions. Mr. Russom is possessed of a practical turn of thought and action, and all of his farming operations are conducted in the common-sense, practical way that assures success. He is thus to be classified as a practical Custer county farmer of the second generation.

CHARLES D. BRAGG, whose business interests at Comstock are of a large and important character, is one of the men whose careers have been started in the realm of agriculture, but whose success has come through commercial avenues of activity. He has resided in Custer county since 1898, and during the twenty years of his residence here has been engaged in general merchandising for eighteen years, in addition to which, as a member of the firm of Wescott, Gibbons & Bragg, he is interested in an electric theatre and the city electric-lighting plant.

Mr. Bragg was born in Green county, Wisconsin, March 10, 1856, a son of Thomas J. and Emily J. ( Noble) Bragg. His father was born in Fauquier county. \'irginia, in 1813, and in 1S35 went to Wisconsin and settled on a homestead in Green county. There he continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until the time of his retirement, when he moved to Monroe and settled down to a life of quiet and ease. He lived to the remarkable age of ninety-five years, his death occurring in June, 1908. Mrs. Bragg, who was a native of Kentucky, also attained advanced age, passing away in 1905, when she was eighty-four years old. ^Ir. Bragg was a man of sterling character, good business ability and marked industry, and he was influential in the Democratic party councils in his locality. He and Mrs. Bragg were the parents of five children : W. T., a retired resident and merchant of Monroe, Wisconsin, wlio married Mary Butterfield ; Thomas J., who died at Seattle, Washington, about 1910; Alice A., of Monroe, Wisconsin, the widow of the late Archibald Glasscott, a former merchant; Emma C, the wife of R. D. Gorham, a druggist and real-estate operator of Monroe; and Charles D., of this review.

Charles D. Bragg was educated in the common schools of Monroe, Wisconsin, and was variously engaged, principally in farming, in that locality until 1898, when he brought his family to Custer county and purchased a farm, on which he made his home for two years. He then disposed of his interests and lo:ated at Comstock, buying an interest in an established general merchandise business and becoming thereby a member of the firm of Wescott, Gibbon & Bragg. This concern has a modern establishment in every way and carries a full line of general merchandise, catering to a patronage which extends for miles all around this vicinity. An excellent trade has been developed and held through a policy of honest and honorable treatment, careful selection of high-grade stock, and the offering of moderate prices, and Mr. Bragg has in many ways proven himself a most capable business man. In addition the firm owns the city electriclighting plant and an electric theatre, both of which have proven profitable ventures. Mr. Bragg is a Democrat. He belongs to the Masonic lodge at Monroe, Wisconsin.

In June, 1882, Mr. Bragg was united in marriage, at Monroe, Wisconsin, to Eva M. Wescott, daughter of Walter S. and Thankful ( Cleveland i Wescott, the former born at Wethersfield, Wyoming county. New York, in 1828. and the latter at Emden, Maine. Mr. Wescott, the youngest of six children, moved at the age of fourteen years to Green county, Wisconsin, the family traveling the entire distance by wagon. He had received a good country-school education, and an especially retentive memory enabled him to acquire a better education than that of the average person at that time. He spent much of his time in reading news of the day and this equipped him with the ability to converse fluently upon all topics of importance. His father being a Democrat politically, he had a natural bent and inclination in that direction, and eventu- ally became very prominent politically as a Democrat, but with the advent of the Republican party he allied himself with that organization. In 1859 he was elected to the lower house of the Wisconsin legislature, the assembly, and he was re-elected in 1860. In 1863 he was elected to the state senate, and served two years. He was a delegate to the national convention that nominated .\braham Lincoln for the presidency. In 1880 Mr. Wescott located on a ranch near Oak Grove, Custer county, Nebraska, bringing 1. 000 head of cattle, but that was one of the exceptionally hard winters and he had the misfortune to lose all but sixty-seven head. He at once brought 1.000 head more, and in 1886 he made a permanent abiding place here, locating near Cornstock. He established a bank, a general store, and a village called Wescott. but this latter was abandoned at the time of the advent of the railroad, which came on the east side of the river, while the village was situated on the west side. Mr. Wescott thereupon moved his general merchandise store to the new village of Comstock, where he retired from active business in 1903, placing the management of his large interests in the hands of his son-inlaw. E. C. Gibbons. He was prominent in politics, having always retained his interest therein, but never held office in Custer county. His death occurred March ^1, 1908. and Mrs. Wescott also died in Comstock, where she was summoned to eternal rest on the 18th of April, 1916.

GILBERT II. HUGHES. - .Another citizen of whom .Arnold may well be proud l)ecause of his activities in the community and his contribution to the stock wealth and agricultural products of the county is Gilbert H. Hughes, who landed on the earthly planet March 7, 1868, in Grundy county. ]\Iissouri. He is a son of I^uis O. and Malinda A. ( Craig ) Hughes. lx>th of whom were native \'irginians. He is a member of a family of eight children, six of whom reached maturity - James F. of Gilford. Missouri; Gilbert H., of this review ; Owen H., of Coffey, Missouri: Mrs. Etta M. Woody, of Gallatin. Missouri; Mrs. Adeline Dennis, of Trenton, Missouri ; and Os;ar, deceased. In religious matters the father belonged to the Christian church while the mother was a faithful, devoted supporter of the Baptist church.

Gilbert H. Hughes spent his early years under the parental roof. .Vt the age of twelve, however, he went to work for himself. His first wages, which he earne;l by working for his uncle, amounted to twentyfive cents a day. The first job that he tackled was that of bunching wheat with a wooden rake, this work being done behind a cradler who cut the grain in the old-fashioned way. A little later he secured a job at eight dollars a month and still later his wages were increased to twelve dollars and then to fifteen dollars a month. He gave considerable attention to well digging, which paid him better than working by the month. With his face toward the west, he pulled up his Missouri stakes and in 1892 he found himself in .\mold, Cust.^r county, Nebraska. One year later he led one of the fair daughters of Custer county to the marriage altar. The bride was Miss Minnie Robinson, daughter of William and Ellen Robinson, a splendid couple, of Irish nativity. William Robinson was one of the sterling pioneers of Custer county, upon whose soil he first made his appearance in 1883, in which year he walked a distance of seventy-five miles, from Le.xington to the place where he located his first claim. Here he preceded his family by about two and one-half months, and as tlie mails from and to this pioneer county were not very regular at that time his wife became very an.xious about him. fearing that he had been slain by Indians. Finally, with slight realization of the privations and other hardships that were in store for the family in the pioneer community, Mrs. Robinson joined her liusband in Custer county. She and her children arrived at Cozad about two days before her husband arrived at that village, to which he came for supplies and lumber, as well as to meet his family. He had not shaved for more than two months and his children failed to recognize the "hairy man" as their father. ^^'ith his wife and children Mr. Robinson set forth for the little box house he had erected on his claim, as a prerequisite in retaining the land, and as a recent prairie fire had swept the country Mrs. Robinson could not but feel that she could scarcely imagine a more desolate and discouraging landscape. The family party finally arrived at Arnold, which now thriving town was then represented only by a dugout on the bank of the South Loud river. This dugout was occupied by R. E. .-Xllen. who utilized the same as a store and postoffice, cracker lx>xes being used as the receptacles for mail. .After obtaining their mail at this frontier postoffice Mr. Robinson and his family started onward for his claim and the modest home he had there provided. The children began to Icxik about for the so-called town of .Arnold, and they could hardly believe their father when he told them that about one and one-half miles back they had passed through the "town." Mr. and Airs. Robinson were the parents of two sons and five daughters - Mrs. Gilbert H. Hughes, Airs. Eliza Alclsaac, Airs. Mattie Wayland (deceased), Mrs. Hattie Wayland, Henry, Mrs. Fannie McDonald, and John.

From the time of their marriage Air. and Airs. Hughes have maintained a home of comfort and hospitality, and with them remains their only child. Miss Gladys, who is popular in "the representative social circles of the community. After their marriage they returned to Grundy county, Alissouri, where they visited about four months, and upon coming again to Custer county Air. Hughes took a homestead claim one mile west and six miles north of Arnold. This was the family home for twenty years, and there Air. Hughes conducted all kinds of stock operations and general farming on a prolific scale. He and his wife now own 800 acres of land, and in addition to this landed and farn^ing interest they have a fine property in Arnold, where they make their home and, "just to occupy spare time," Air. Hughes serves the local public in the capacity of town marshal, constable, and water commissioner. He has things pretty mu:h his own way. He claims that if any of the citizens do not walk to suit him he can arrest them and if them become too obstreperous, he can turn the city water on them. Without levity, and in all candor. Air. Hughes is rendering his community a good service and the resf>ect in which he and his good wife are held attests the appreciation of the neighbors.

AIADISON AI. STOUFFER. - Whi'.e he is comparatively a newcomer to Custer county, Aladison AI. Stouffer has already given promise of becoming one of his community's most useful and substantial citizens, and of adding to the reputation which he established in tlie trade of carpentry and the vocation of farming in other parts of the state. He is now the owner of a good farming property, on which he has been carrying on O'perations since February, 1918, and the appearance of which indicates that he is a man thoroughly informed as to his business.

Air. Stouflfer was born in Pennsylvania, January 1, 1859, and is a son of Samuel and Catherine (S';hall) Stouffer. He is one of a family of ten children, of whom those now living are: James, born in Alarch. 1854. is ^ widower and is living in retirement at Kittanning, Pennsylvania: Aladison AI. is the subject of this review: William, born in 1861, is a resident of Ford City, Pennsylvania ; Samuel, born in Alarch, 1864, is now residing at Kittanning; Henry, born in September, 1866, aiso is a resident of Kittanning; and Isaiah, born in September, 1870, is a resident of AlcGrann, Pennsylvania.

Aladison AI. StoufTer received his education in the public schools of Kittanning, Pennsylvania, and as a youth learned the trade of carpentry, which he followed as an apprentice and later as a journeyman for many years before embarking in business on his own account. He was variously engaged and variously located until 1911, when he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, investing his holdings in a property in Sherman county, Nebraska, where he continued operations until February, 1918. when he came to his present home in Custer county. Here he has good buildings and other modern improvements, and many changes have been made even since the time of his arrival. Mr. StouiTer is a Democrat, but has never aspired to office of any kind. His religious affiliation is with the Church of God.

On Augnst 4, 1881, Air. Stouffer was united in marriage to Aliss Julia Lemmon, and to this union there have been born eight children, of whom four are living, as follows : Robert A., born June 4, 1882, is a carpenter and farmer and is his father's associate in his interests ; Clarence, who was born June 6, 1884, and who is a farmer of Holbrook, Nebraska, married Nellie Waits : John, who was born February 23, 1887, and who is a farmer near Ulysses, Nebraska, married Zilla Wynegar ; and William H., who was bom October 17 . 1892, and who formerly was editor of the Plcasanton Independent, at Pleasanton. Buffalo county, Nebraska, joined General Pershing's command on its expedition into Alexico, received his honorable discharge, and when this country fleclared war with Germany enlisted in Machine Gun Company, Sixteenth United States Infantry, with which command he is "S'omewhere in France" at the time of this writing.

CHARLES E. TAYLOR, AI.D. - Among the honored professional men of Custer county none is more worthy of being renresented in its annals than Dr. Charles E. Taylor, a leading physician and surgeon of Sargent. For fourteen years he has lived within the county's borders, during which time he has been a prominent factor in its social, civic, and professional afl'airs. fairly earning an honorable reputation for straightforward dealings with his fellow citizens in such a degree as to make his name a synonym for professional capacity and correctness of morals. Doctor Taylor was born in Guthrie county. Iowa, April 28. 1872, and is a son of Edgar and Sarah (Williams) Taylor.

Edgar Taylor was born in New York, where he was residing at the outbreak of the Civil war, and he enlisted in the Third New York Cavalry, with which he served four years, three months, and twelve days. His record was a splendid one, and he rose from private to sergeant, having been twice promoted on the battlefield, for bravery, and having sustained two sabre wounds and one gunshot wound. At the conclusion of the war he returned to New York, but shortly thereafter he accompanied his parents to Ashtabula, Ohio, where the parents died. He later moved to Guthrie county, Iowa, where he married Sarah Williams, a native of Kentucky, and they located on a farm. Mr. Taylor was a man of industry and ability and became one of the large stock-raisers of his community, but he disposed of some of his interests in Iowa in 1000 and came to Callaway. Cu.ster county. Nebraska, where he continued to be engaged in various operations until his retirement. He is a Republican in politics, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church, which they attend at their present home locality, the town of Oconto. They are the parents of five children: Mrs. J. J. Douglas, wife of a retired farmer of Callaway ; Mrs. B. V. Harshberger. a widow, of Oconto: }klrs. J. W. Ballard, who acts as stenographer to her husband, an attorney of Kimball, Nebraska : Dr. Charles E., of this notice : and Mrs. W. \'. Mathews, wife of the president of an ( )maha bank.

Charles E. Taylor attended the district schools of Guthrie county. Iowa, following which he spent several years in completing the course at the Woodbine (Iowa) Normal School. He was engaged in teaching for two years thereafter, but. becoming interested in medicine, he gave up his educational work and began studying his new profession. He com- ]ileted his ])reparation in the medical college at Lincoln. Nebraska, where he was graduated with the class of 1905. in which year he began practice at Oconto. .After four years spent in that community he changed his field of activities to Sargent, and this has been his home and the scene of his professional labors and success to the jircsent time. Dr. Taylor has not ceased to be a student, but has taken postgraduate work at Chicago, at Des Moines, and at Rochester, Minnesota. He is a member of the Nebraska Eclectic Medical Society, keeps fully abreast of the advancements being made in his calling, and has attained a high place in the ranks of his vocation, having the complete confidence of a large and representative practice and the esteem and respect of his fellow practitioners. He is prominent in Masonry, having attained Scottish Rite degrees and being also a member of Tangier Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Slirine. His political proclivities cause him to support the Republican party.

In 1907 Dr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Flora E. Marrs, who was born in Missouri, and who is a graduate of pharmacy at Fremont, Nebraska. While residing at Oconto, Dr. Taylor conducted a drug store, and prior to their marriage Mrs. Taylor acted as his pharmacist. They have no children. Mrs. Taylor is a member of the Methodist E])iscopal church and is actively interested in its work and movements.

WILLIAM McDonald. - This brief review presents a young farmer who is widely known and who is a Canadian by birth. He was born in the Dominion of Canada in 1878 and came to the United States in 1906. since which time he has ranked himself with the wideawake and aggressive young farmers. He is a son of Ranold and Katherine McDonald, both natives of the Dominion of Canada. The father is deceased but the mother is still living. at the age of seventy-five years. She continues to maintain her home in the land of her nativity. In the parents' family were six children as follows: Jessie Morris, who lives in Boston ; William, who is the subject of this sketch: Duncan and Mary Ann. who are deceased: and Marcella and Martin, who live in Boston. The father was a saw-mill worker and quarryman by occupation.

In the city of Boston the early activities of young William McDonald were staged. It wa.s there that he earned his first money, by driving an ice wagon. Since coming to Custer county, however, he has been enabled to make money somewhat faster. In this he has had the assistance of a good wife. for. in 1901. he led to the marriage altar Miss Fannie Robinson, a daughter of William and Ellen ( Reedv ) Robinson, estimable Irish people. Tlie father died in 1906 at the age of sixtynne years, and the mother is still living, at the age of seventy-two years. Mrs. McDonald's father was a .splenditl type of the indomitable pioneer spirits who made good in the west. W'hh practically nothing witli which to begin, he came to this countv in 1884 and home- steaded a quarter-section of good land, upon which he put splendid improvements. Mr. Robinson belonged to the Presbyterian church, was a member of the Mystic Legion, and was a Republican voter. His wife belongs to the Catholic church. In their family were seven children: Minnie Hughes lives in Arnold, where her husband is town marshal ; Eliza ]\lclsaac is a nurse, in Arizona; Mattie Wayland is deceased: Hattie Wayland lives in Boston ; Henry is an electrician, living in Arizona: the sixth child in the family was ^Irs-. ^McDonald : John lives on a farm in Iowa.

The McDonalds have a half-section of land and rent 420 acres where they now live. They are hard-working, industrious, painstaking people and enjoy the respect and confidence of a large circle of friends. They are so;ially connected with the best circle in the community and are members of the Catholic church. They have two children - Ellen, aged fourteen years (1919), and Loyde, aged twelve years. Independent in politics, Mr. ]\IcDonald insists that it is his right to select his candidate when e.xercising his election franchise.

JOE T.\LBOT, who belongs to the younger generation of representatives of the farming industry of Custer county, is showing judgment, skill, and good management in the operation of 290 acres of land near Berwyn. This property has been his home from boyhood, and since he has assumed its management he has attained results that mark him as one of the progressive and energetic young farmers of h's community.

Mr. Talbot was born in Missouri, May 6, 1896, and is a son of Benjamin and Minerva Helen (Evans) Talbot. His father was born in Illinois, in 1850, and there received his education and was reared to agricultural pursuits. When still a young man he came to Butler county, Nebraska, where, in 1874, he was married to Minerva H. Evans, who was born in 18.V, in Wisconsin, a daughter of Sterling and Mary J. (McKnight) Evans, the former a native of West A'irginia and the latter of Wisconsin. The parents of Mrs. Talbot were married in Wisconsin and in 1869 came to Butler county and located on a homestead, later moving to a farm in Custer county. Following the death of her husband, Mrs. Evans went to live with her daughter, at Berwyn, with whom she now makes her home. Mr. and Mrs. Talbot became the parents of nine children, of whom three are living: Ethel, the wife of Owen Miller, engaged in farming in Custer county ; Cora, the wife of U. Sorensen, also a Custer county farmer ; and Joe, of this review. At the time he started housekeeping, Mr. Talbot's cash resources were represented by the sum of fourteen dollars, but this amount was sufficient to start him on his way to success, and as the years passed he accumulated more and more property until, at the time of his death, he had 590 acres of land, all of which he had obtained solely through his own efforts. He was a man of marked business ability, shrewd and far-seeing, and able at once to recognize an opportunity, the while he always bore an excellent reputation for integrity and commanded the esteem of the people of his community. He was a Republican in politics, but did not seek office, while his religious faith was that of the Church of God. His widow still survives him and makes her home at Berwyn, she likewise being a member of the Church of God.

Joe Talbot attended the district schools of Custer county, as well as those of Ansley and Janesville. He was brought up to habits of industry and integrity and was taught the principles of farming and stock-raising, so that he was competent to be named the successor of his father when the latter died. He was married before attaining his majority, January 18, 1917, to Miss Vera Gebhart, who was born at Ansley, Custer county, a daughter of Fred Gebhart, a native of Germany. Mr. Gebhart immigrated to the United States in young manhood, and was one of the early pioneers of Custer county, where he settled in 1875. For many years he was successfully engaged in farming, but at present is living in Broken Bow.

Mr. Talbot is now engaged in operating 290 acres of land, this property being owned by his mother and being a part of the estate of his father. This land is under a high state of cultivation, and by reason of the fertility of its soil and the ability of its manager is a producer of big crops, while its buildings are commodious and modern and its equipment up-to-date in every way. Mr. Talbot has not had time thus far to engage in activities aside from those connected with his farm work. In political affairs he maintains an independent stand.

JOHN A. MYERS. - One of the younger farmers of West Table who has made good use of his opportunities, and by diligence and a display of good judgment has won for him-

Mr. Myers was born in Jersey county, Illinois, February 24, 1874, and is a son of Henry H. Myers, whose record as a pioneer settler of Custer county is to be found elsewhere in this volume.

John A. Myers was a lad of nine years when the family came to Nebraska, and the home was established in Boone county. Two years later witnessed the packing up and again going to a new country, this time to Custer county. He attended the district schocil which his father helped organize, his time as a boy being divided between his studies in the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground, and assisting in the work of the farm. As his years and strength increased, he assumed more and more the heavier tasks, and under the instructions of his father he learned the best method of planting, caring for, and harvesting crops, so that when he became a man he was in a position to take up farming on his own account. At first he operated land as a tenant, meeting with the success that enabled him to see his way clearly to invest in land of his own. He purchased 160 acres that had been entered by his maternal grandfather in an early day. as a homestead. The place was unimproved when it came into his possession. but he has erected a large frame house with suitable barn and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, and he is to-day the owner of -K)0 acres of valuable land, devoted to general farming and stock-raising.

As a boy Mr. Myers witnessed the hardships of the early days, and as a young man starting out upon his own career he shared in some of the same privations and trials as the older settlers. He has often unhitched his team at noon and gone to find a water-hole to supply his horses with water before he would go to the house for his dinner. He has hauled water for long distances, to supply stock and for family use.

February 24, 1897, Mr. Myers was united in marriage to Barbara Thostensen, a daughter of Zachariah Thostensen, an early settler of Custer county who now lives retired in Broken Bow and whose record as a pioneer will be found elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. Myers have seven children.

Mr. and Mrs. Myers are members of the Methodist church. He is a Republican in politics and has rendered efficient service as a member of the school board. By untiring industry and a disi)Iay of good judgment he has become one of the substantial men of his

JOHN C. WEHLING. - By reason of his sterling character and large and worthy achievement, John C. Wehling is a citizen who may well be honoretl and valued bv Custer county, within whose borders he has maintained his residence for more than thirty-four years, so that he is clearly entitled to pioneer distinction. His fine farm estate, comprising 1.240 acres, is eligibly situated about twelve miles Viest of Broken Bow, and is one of the model places of the county, so that it is gratifying to present in connection with this sketch an attractive view of this admirable farm property. The career of Mr. Wehling has been marked by purposeful energ)- and well directed endeavors, so that he has been one of the constructive forces applied in the splendid civic and industrial development and progress of Custer county.

]\Ir. Wehling was born in Germany, on the 25th of August. 1850. and after he passed the school age he learned the carpenter's trade. After he had attained to his majority, in accord with the regulations of his native land, he served two and one-half years as a soldier in the German army, in which connection he has sagely stated that he learned obedience, frugality, and work. He received his discharge from the army in the year 1874. and in that same year he severed the ties that bound h-m to his home and fatherland and came to the L'nited States. He landed in the port of New York City and thence proceeded forthwith to Milwaukee. Wisconsin, where he was employed six months as a carpenter, by the firm of Brandt, Bennett & Company. \\'ork then became slack and he was discharged by the firm. After that he worked in a livery stable for his board, thus continuing until the following spring. For the ensuing five years he was employed in a secontl-hand store in the Wisconsin metropolis, and this service he then abandoned to assume a position as driver for a livery stable, an occupation that engaged his attention for two years. In 1880. as a member of a Milwaukee turnverein. Mr. \\'ehling returned to Germany. He remained for an interval at Frankfort on the Main, and thence proceeded to his native village, where his marriage was solemnized soon afterward.

In 1881, in company with his young wife, Justine, Mr. Wehling returned to the United States, and it is worthy of special note in this connection that 150 other young folk from Germany innnigrated to America with Mr.

and Mrs. Wehling at this time. After landing in New York City Mr. and ^Mrs. Wehling came direct to Madison count)', Nebraska, where they remained three years. Mr. Wehling then sold his 160 acres in that county and removed to Boone county, where he purchased a quarter-section of land, near Albion. This was in the year 1884, and within a short time after his arrival in Boone county Mr. Wehling there formed the acquaintance of Thomas Fay, who offered him his pre-emption claim in Custer county. In obtaining this pro])erty. Mr. Wehling paid to Mr. Fay the sum of $257 for the latter's relinquishment. He then filed on the claim as a pre-emption, and in six months he perfected his title to the property, after paying to the government the sum of $200.

Mr. Wehling has given the following interesting account concerning incidents of his pioneer experience in Custer county, and the same is well worthy of perpetuation in this sketch :

"In ^Nlarch, 1885. I removed to Custer county. At the time I arrived in Broken Bow the people here told me I was crazy to establish myself on the West Table, as no water was to be had there. In that locality I met Hiram Caswell, who had a well outfit. Amos Gandy, who had a mortgage of $140 on this outfit, assigned this chattel mortgage to me and I moved the well outfit to my farm on the West Table. In October, 1885. Caswell and I attempted to construct a well on the place. We bored down to a depth of 140 feet and this was as far as the drill would go down. I heard that Charles Milligan, residing in the Eureka valley, had 200 feet more of the wellauger than I had, and this extra supply would give me a total of 340 feet. In order to obtain the outfit and services of Mr. Milligan I had to give him a mortgage on my two mules. Then I went to Plum Creek and bought tubing for 400 feet. We put tiie tubing down 300 feet and then came to quicksand. Under these conditions we used the sand-pump for fifty feet and then struck water, which raised up for fifty feet in the tubing. I then proceeded to have a bucket constructed, this being eight feet high, and with this equipment I was able thereafter to draw water for domestic and other farm uses. For two years I used an old mare to pull up our water supply, and afterward I bought a windmill, besides putting iron casing in the well. This well stood in a lagoon, and after it had been in service six years it was destroyed by a cloudburst that struck this part of the county. In 1891 Charles W'illis. of Broken Bow. constructed the hydraulic well which I am using

Mr. Wehling is now the owner of two sections of land on the West Table. He erected on the home place an attractive and modern lesidence of eight rooms, and he has given to his valuable landed estate the consistent name of "Die Deutchie Farm," the accompanying illustration showing the legal authorization of this name. On his home place Mr. Wehling gave thirty-three years of assitluous. unremitting, and well directed toil, and the results of all this are plainly shown in the fine farm estate of the present day. Thus Mr. \\'ehling is well entitled to the ease and comfort which he has enjoyed since his retirement from the farm and his removal to Broken Bow, where he and his wife have a pleasant home that is known for its generous hospitality and good cheer. Mrs. Wehling has been a true helpmeet to her husband during the many years of their gracious companionship. They became the parents of five sons and two daughters, all of whom are living except one. John, who was drowned in a water tank on the old home farm, when about eighteen months old. The sons of Mr. and Mrs. Wehling have attained to maturity and are accounting well for themselves as productive workers in the world. A fitting close for this review are the following reminiscences, which are given in the words of Mr. \\'ehling himself:

"In March, 1886. I went to Plum Creek for flour, and in making the trip I drove a four-mule team. I loaded 3.000 pounds of flour and other goods and then started for home. Coming close to Charles Finlen in crossing a bridge, the bridge gave away and we fell into the water. I lost 600 pounds of my flour. Mr. Finlen dried my clothes for me and when I arrived in Broken Bow, with the remainder of my flour and other supplies, a constable arrested me for having destroyed the bridge. He took me before Justice of the Peace Olcott, who, after hearing my account, discharged me.