Custer County, Nebraska - Founders and Builders, 1919 (part 25 of 32)

Frederick C. Embree was born in Washington county, Iowa, August 23>. 1864, and was a lad of seven years when brought to Nebraska, so that most of his life has been spent in this state. For thirty-four years he has resided in Custer county, where he has made a success of his business ventures and at the same time has retained the respect of all with whom he has come in contact.

and who was seven years old when he accompanied his .parents to Washington county, Iowa, where he grew to manhood and became a farmer, residing there until 1870, when he settled in Otoe county, Nebraska. In 1893 he came to Custer county, where five sons had preceded him, and here he bought the Penn ranch, near Callaway. His wife died at this place, June 21, 1898, and Mr. Embree remained there until 1907, when he came to live with his son Frederick C, and here he passed away March 24, 1908. He was married in Keokuk county, Iowa, June 17, 1858, to ^liss Margaret Lyon, who was born in Jefferson county, Iowa, July 25, 1841. She was a daughter of Frederick F. and Rachel (Harris ) Lyon, the former a native of New York and the latter born in Illinois.

The grandfather of F. C. Embree was Jesse Embree, who was a native of Preble county, Ohio, and who, when a young man, went to Vermilion county, Illinois, where he married Mary Hollingsworth. In 1840 Jesse Embree moved to Washington county, Iowa, where he became a successful farmer and where his death occurred in 1858, his wife having passed away in 1851.

Frederick C. Embree is one of a family of eight children, two of whom died in infancy ; Allen L. lives in Sunnyside, Washington ; Oliver H. is a resident of Fullerton, California ; Frederick C, of this review, lives in Merna ; Jehu W., presiding- elder in the Methodist church, lives at Hastings, Nebraska; Noah M. is at Athens, Georgia ; and Mary, who became the wife of George A. Shaw, died in Seattle, Washington. July 6, 1910.

Frederick C. Embree received a commonschool education in Otoe county and began an independent career as a farmer when seventeen years of age, so that he has harvested thirty-nine crops and at the time of this writing has part of the fortieth crop planted. On April 25, 1884. he arrived in Custer county and located on a pre-emption claim in Ortello valley. He at once saw the possibilities of stock-raising in this county and has dealt extensively in stock of all kinds since that time. Percheron and Shire horses, Aberdeen- Angus cattle, and Poland-China hogs have received especial attention. IMr. Embree is an e.xpert in the judging of stock and has often topped the market in the amount of sales and in weight and quality.

In Otoe county, Nebraska, on April 9. 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Frederick C. Embree to Miss .A.ltana S. Myers, who was born in Bureau county. Illinois, June 22, 1866. Her parents were Samuel H. and Electa

(Wick) Myers, the former a native of Newark, New Jersey, and the latter bom in Ilhnois. The father of Mrs. Embree was a farmer and is now living retired in Portland, Oregon, at the age of eighty-one years. His wife died in Iowa, many years ago.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Embree has been blessed with the birth of eight children, two of whom died in infancy ; Jesse S.. a graduate of the Palmer School of Chiropractics, at Davenport, Iowa, is successfully ])racticing liis profession at Fremont, Nebraska : Ernest N. and Wilbur M. are married and farming in this county on the old homestead in Ortello valley ; Maude and Mabel are twins, the latter having graduated from the Merna high school and the former passed away at the age of seventeen years; and Mattie is a senior in Merna high school.

Mr. Embree is the owner of 1,260 acres of land, all in Custer county, and his present position of affluence is due entirely to his good judgment and industrj-. He resides on a beautiful farm of 220 acres adjoining the city of Merna and known as Cedar View Stock Farm. Fraternally Mr. Embree is a thirtysecond-degree Mason and also a member of Tangier Temple. Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Omaha. He is affiliated also with the Merna lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with its adjunct organization, the Daughters of Rebekah, and also with the Merna Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, of which Mrs. Embree is worthy matron.

Coming to the county in an early day, Mr. Embree is familiar with the pioneer conditions and has not only been an eye-witness of the changes that have taken place t)ut has also contributed his full share to the development and upbuilding of the country. A man of temperate habits, of fine physique, and pleasing personality, a fluent conversationalist, and a student of events, he would have made a success of life had he chosen a professional career. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Rank and the Farmers Elevator of Merna and is one of the countv's substantial citizens.

CHARLES W. GARRISON. - In the Sargent district, where farming opportunities blossom twelve months in the year, resides Charles W. Garrison, who has been in Custer county long enough to remember Indian scares and to tell stories of pioneer days that would refute any idea you might have that Custer county farming in the days of the '70s and '80s was one continued picnic.

1879, and is a son of David and Louisa (Hyatt) Garrison. Both parents belonged to the old Keystone state. The father was a blacksmith by trade, and followed that occupation in his native state, for a long period, or until 1886, when he came to Custer county, Nebraska. He also served as a Union soldier in the days of the Civil war. -He was a member of the Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, in which he rendered strenuous service for nearly four years. In his army life he had an experience at Andersonville prison, and there he contracted disease which disabled him for the rest of his days, and for which he was given a pension. In the fall of 1886, in addition to his homestead, David Garrison bought a pre-emption claim, and on this he lived until 1906, when he rented his land and moved to Sargent. There he died in December, 1912. His widow still lives in Sargent, where she is a member of the Methodist church. They were the parents of three children - George lives on a fruit ranch at \'aancouver, \\'ashington : his wife's maiden name was Bertie Kantzman ; Lizzie is the wife of Ed. Pulliam, an automobile and horse dealer, and they now reside in Sargent.

Charles W. Garrison received a good common-school education, and has the faculty of using his education to best possible advantage. He has lived continuously in Custer county since 1886, excepting three vears spent in Colorado. On his return from the Boulder state he bought a fann, and this he has been operating ever since. Recently he bought the David McGugin farm, and now he is farming and raising stock more extensively than before. He recalls that when he was a small boy the Omaha Indians came along on their way back from the reservation, and called at the Garrison home and demanded something to eat. While they were friendly, yet they succeeded in scaring the inhabitants almost as badly as if they had been hostile and on the war path. They were not welcome visitors at any of the homes in the Loup valley.

In 1905 Mr. Garrison married Miss Angie Marsh, at Taylor, Nebraska. She is a daughter of Eugene and Emma ( Cummings) Marsh, who were early pioneers of the Cummings Park district - the park, in fact, was named for her parents.

HENRY G. STOKES. - If the ability to do hard work cannot be designated as talent, then it is one of the best possible substitutes for that desirable possession. Things do not turn up in the world lyitil someone turns them up; and industry and perseverance lead to success, as in the case of Henry G. Stokes, a resident of Custer county since 1883 and now the owner of 1,300 acres of well cultivated and valuable land, his home place being in section 22, township 17, near Sargent.

Mr. Stokes was born in Jefferson county, New York, September 25, 1856, and is a son of Robert and Sarah (Bowery) Stokes. His parents, natives of England, belonged to the sturdy and reliable class of farming people who have done so much to extend that country's reputation to other parts of the world where they have taken up their habitation. They immigrated to the United States about the year 1856 and settled in Jefferson county. New York, where they continued to be engaged in farming during the remainder of their lives. They were highly respected in their community, as honest, God-fearing people, and were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while in politics Mr. Stokes was a Republican. They were the parents of fifteen children, of whom six are still living: Isaac still follows farming in Jefferson county. New York ; Hattie is a resident of Otsego county. New York ; William, formerly a farmer of Jefferson county, is now living retired in New York ; Simeon, who is also retired after years of agricultural work, is a resident of Watertown, New York; John lives retired in Jefferson county ; and Henry G. is the only one of the family to make a home in the west.

Henry G. Stokes was educated in the public schools of his native community and was reared as a farmer, a vocation which he adopted as soon as he reached his majority. He was drawn to the west by the wonderful stories he had heard as to the opportunities ofifered young men of ability and industry, and as to the fertility of the country for farming purposes, and in July, 1883, he took up a homestead in the southeast quarter of section 22, township 17, this consisting of a tree claim and pre-emption claim. While he has bought and sold land largely, he is still the owner of his homestead, which is included in his holdings of 1,300 acres, and his landed estate in itself gives some idea as to the volume of success which has attended his efforts since he took up his residence in Custer coimty. Mr. Stokes is still engaged in fanning and stock-raising, and the manner in which he carries on his operations gives evidence of his thorough knowledge of his vocation and of conditions pertaining to the country- in which he has made his home for so long a period. He is accounted one of the progressive representatives of agricultural interests here, and

On December li, 1879, in Jefferson county, New York, Mr. Stokes was uoited in marriage, to Miss Nellie Hovey, a daughter of Joseph and Minerva (McQuain) Hovey, and they are the parents of four children : Ethel is the wife of E. M. Boss, assistant school inspector of Lincoln, Nebraska ; Georgia is the wife of William Bondurant, who is engaged in the wholesale and retail confectionery business at Kirksville, Missouri ; and Misses Marie and Anna, the two younger daughters, reside with their parents. Mr. Stokes is a Republican and is one of his community's public-spirited men, although interested in civic affairs only as a good citizen.

C. J. DAVIS. - One of the good neighbors living" in the vicinity of Arnold, on a tableland farm, is C. J. Davis, a native of Allen county, Ohio. He was boni in 1861, and is a son of Peter and Mary M. (Lewis) Davis, very estimable people, of Christian character. The father was born in 1830, in Ohio, and he died in the year 1875. The mother died in 1892, at the age of sixty-three years. The father belonged to the Christian church and the mother was a member of the United Brethren church. Farming was the occupation of Peter Davis, ahhough he worked for a time in a saw mill. He was considered a successful man and served at different times in such offices as county commissioner, town treasurer, etc. Politically he was a Democrat. He owned 160 acres of land and conducted farming according to the general methods of farms of that size. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, Ellen, John, W. v., James P., Frank, Jasper, Samuel, Clinton, Henry, and C. J. (the subject of this sketch.)

During his early life C. J. Davis had a varied experience. He received a fair education and very early laid the foundations of the rectitude and probity that have marked his life during his manhood years. He worked on the ranch, he rode the range in Kansas and when he arrived in Custer county he had but little of this world's goods, but he had an indomitable spirit and was not afraid of hard work. On May 20, 1891, he led to the marriage altar Miss Cora M. Judkins, a native of Hancock county, Indiana. Mrs. Davis was bom in 1868, received a good education and has made an excellent helpmeet for her husband. She belongs to a well known and influential family, most of whom live in Nebraska. Mr. and Airs.

Davis have always manitaiiied a hospitable. Christian home, into which the following children have been born : Flora Downing lives at Bayard, Nebraska, where her husband is employed in the irrigation work ; Elva and Alma are at home ; Cloice is deceased ; Bernice is teaching school in Lincoln county ; X. A. is deceased ; Irene' is at home and is attending the high school at Arnold.

The family home is maintained on the old homestead, upon which is a fair grade of improvements. Here Mr. and Mrs. Davis passed through the privations and hardships of early years. Here they made their accumulations and grown the stock with which the farm today is equipped. The hogs are a good grade of Poland Chinas. ' Here in Custer county Mr. and Mrs. Davis have been enabled to rear their children in a most creditable wav. Three'of the children have been graduated in the Arnold high school and all have been reared to the principles of Christianity and high morality. The family are faithful members of the Baptist church. In politics Mr. Davis is an independent voter. He is a good neighbor, kind and obliging, and both he and his wife enjoy the confidence of a large circle of friends.

CHALMERS G. EMPFIELD, who resides at Anselmo, is widely conceded to be the foremost builder and contractor of Cnster county. Within the last fourteen years he has built many monuments to his enterprise and skill all over the county and up and down the liurlington Railroad- from Hyannis to Litchfield. The story of his life as follows is replete in interest and incentive.

Chalmers G. Empfield was born in I'rush \'alley, Indiana county, Pennsylvania, July 21, 1868. which date brings him to the even halfcentury line. He is a son of Rev. Jackson and Jane ( Pitman) Empfield, a very respected couple of substantial influence in their lo;al community. His early years were spent in Pennsylvania, where he had recourse to the commo,n schools and often attended summer schools, by which means he secured a very liberal education - one that has enabled him to conduct successfully the business of his life career. When seventeen years of age Mr. Empfield began tea:hing school, and he taught with success in his native state for two years before coming to Nebraska. He came to Nebraska in the spring of 1887 and located in Custer precinct. Here he located a homestead and engaged in farming and stock-raising.

working at the carpenter trade during odd times, and on two different occasions he taught winter school. He thus managed to "keep things going" and make accumulations. He wisely made investments in Custer county land, wliich he always considered fine security for an investment. He was successful financially, and in the spring of 1905 he found himself in possession of 1,040 acres of land. In the June time of 1901, tired of single life, he led to the marriage altar Miss Carrie' B. Waddington, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel W'addington, and since that time she has presided graciously over his home and contributed very materially to his social and financial success. The Empfield home has always been comfortable and hospitable, and it is the domicile of an influential family. Mr. and Mrs. Empfield have five children - Hazel Leona, \'era Blanche, Lela May, George Chalmers, and Weir Samuel. These are bright, healthy children and give promise of succeeding to the usefulness and respected station of their parents. -

In the spring of 1905 Mr. Empfield moved to Anselmo, where he at once engaged in contracting and building, which he has followed with remarkable success during the intervening years. To-day it can be said that his building operations outrank those of any other contractor of the county. For the last seven years he has confined himself almost exclusively to brick buildings, and the following structures stand to-day to his credit : The Williams & Christian Block, the James Lindly store building, the Masonic Temple, and the schoolhouse, all in Anselmo; the Security State Bank and the Moore Brothers' big garage at Broken Bow ; the high-school building at Litchfield; the L. P. Rose building and the Security State Bank building in Arnold.

Socially the Empfiekls are well connected in their home town and prominent in several of the lodges. They have a beautiful modern home in Anselmo, with a considerable amount of other town property to their credit. Thev also have 1,-140 acres of land, all of which insures a coming time when retirement from business activity will be easy. Their property, clear from incumbrance, demonstrates that energy and judgment, whether exercised on the farm or in trade occupation, finds its reward in Custer county. In the time-honored Masonic fraternity Mr. Empfield has received the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite and for twelve years has been secretary of Anselmo Lodge. No. 258, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

ISAAC A. RENEAU. - Closely identified with many important interests of Custer county, Isaac A. Reneau, who has conducted a real-estate and abstract business at Broken Bow for more than a quarter of a century. may be numbered with the early settlers for he came in 1884 and settled first on a preemption and later on a homestead, situated fifteen miles southeast of Broken Bow. Since that time he has borne his full share of responsibility in developing the natural resources of the county, has been truly public-spirited, and has done much for movements favoring progress in every way.

Isaac Alexander Reneau was bom near Tompkinsville, Monroe county, Kentucky, March 11, 1859. His parents were Rev. Isaac T. and Mary Gibson (Wood) Reneau, both of illustrious and Revolutionary ancestry. On the j)aternal side the line is of French-Huguenot extraction and its .\niencan history is traced to Phillippe Francoise Renault as the earliest American founder, he having come to the Louisiana French colony more than sixty years before the American Revolution, having been appointed by Louis XIV, of France, director general of mines for Louisiana. In 1712 large grants of lands in that territorj' - now in the states of Illinois and Missouri - were made to the West India Company by this confidential agent of the French king, and at a little later date Renault received extensive grants direct from the French crown. In 17-M- Renault returned to France, and he died in 1756, at his private home in Paris. The management of the St. Louis Exposition, in recognition of the valued services and research of this early contributor to the development of the state, had on exhibition a bronze statue of Monsieur Renault, together with an original wooden spade found in Renault mine, some thirty miles out of St. Louis. His younger brother, Jacques Louis Renault, the Huguenot, was banished, but was protected by his powerful brother, and he became the head of the .Xmerican familv of the name, the orthography having been changed to Reneau - but pronounced exactly the same - and this spelling has been adhered to through four generations, passing the original Family Bible down to Rev. Dr. Isaac T. Reneau.

Rev. Dr. Isaac T. Reneau was educated as a physician and after some years of medical jtractice he entered the ministry. For nearl\ fifty years he was earnest and faithful in church work. He was a cousin of General Jesse Lee Reno, who was killed at the battle of South Mountain. Maryland, in the Civil war, and of Major Reno, of the Custer massacre tragedy ; also a brother of the late General Nathaniel S. Reneau, of the Southern Confederacy, who lies in the American cenictery in the City of Mexico. Many other men important in the country's political, as well as mihtary, history belonged to the same family.

Rev. Dr. Isaac T. Reneau married Mary Gibson Wood, daughter of Colonel Thomas Wood, and granddaughter of Major Samuel Wood. The latter came from England in 1755, later became secretary to General Washington and served under him during the Revolutionary war: his marriage to Miss Sarah Reaves took place at the home of General Washington. Distingxiished members of this family are in the military serv^ice of the United States to-day. Dr. Reneau's death occurred in 1885, at his home, at Albany, Kentucky.

Isaac A. Reneau had common-school and academic advantages at Albany, Keirtucky, and Chanute, Tennessee. He was twentythree years old when he first visited the west, pausing for a year near Tekamah, in eastern Nebraska, where he engaged in fanning - first as farm hand and later for himself - covering a period from October, 1882, to April, 1884. He then headed west in his lately acquired "prairie schooner", and landed in Custer county May 29th of that year: and this has been his home ever since. For more than three years he worked on ranches in Custer county, and in 1887 he took a position with the newly organized Ansley Banking Company, as their special farm-loan examiner, which position he held about five years, after which, as stated above, he entered into business for himself, in Broken Bow.

On May 8. 1889, Mr. Reneau was united in marriage to Miss Clarissa M. Blowers, and they have had four children, namely : Vivienne Valerie, Meredith Thurman, Helen Thorne, and Thomas Henrj', all surviving except the eldest. The son Meredith, a University of Nebraska junior, is a volunteer in the air ser\Mce of the American E.xpeditionar)- Forces and has been privileged to fly over the identical spot in the beautiful, but now devastated, valley of Picardy. France, from whence his forebears migrated to become American citizens. He is a member of the Third air service squadron, selected to accompany the anuv of occupation on the Rhine.

Mr. Reneau, with force and energ)' far above the average, has always held his. own as a money-maker, and yet he has directed his activities in a public-spirited way and along charitable lines rather than for mercenary ends, the overburdened farmers of the early '90s, the widows, orphans and unfortunates, being the silent beneficiaries. He was secretary of the Custer County Relief Association during the 1894-5 drought period ; was a member of the board of supervisors ; member of the board of education and city council of Broken Bow ; was one of the organizers, and for several years was secretary, of the Central Nebraska Cattlemen's Association ; was for many years principal owner and manager of the Broken Bow Abstract Company ; was secretary of the Republican state central committee 1912-14, and a member of the same committee 1912-16; member of the executive committee and president of the Broken Bow Commercial club ; member of the executive committee and an active worker for many years in the Custer County Agricultural Association and was its president l9l3-14, at the time of the destructive cyclone that demolished all buildings from the grounds, and was the active manager in planning and constructing new buildings on the fair grounds at Broken Bow.

Mr. Reneau is a sound Republican in his political faith, but of the most progressive type, and for years he has been known among his friends over the state as the "Teddy" of Custer county. He has never desired any public honors for himself but is a loyal and husbands to overcome the many obstacles hearty worker for those candidates in whom he feels confidence, and at the present time, as in the past, he is active in using his influence to strengthen party ties along more modern ideas to meet public emergency.

Mr. Reneau is now rounding out his thirtieth year on the same homestead, in Broken Bow. in which his children were born and reared. However, since the disposition of most of his Broken Bow interests, he has lived the uneventful life, developing his Island Park ranch on the Middle Loup river, where some day he hopes to entertain all of his numerous old-time friends and neighbors at a popular watering resort.

MRS. AD.\ WOLSLEBEN. - Of the women of Custer county whose fortune it has lieen to reside in this section during^ the pastthirty or more years and to have witnessed and taken part in the wonderful advancement made along agricultural and other lines, mention is due Mrs. Ada Wolsleben, the daughter of a pioneer of 1885. She has passed her life since childhood among the developers of this now fertile reeion, and in the work that has resulted so satisfactorily has herself borne no inconsiderable part.

William and Sarah (Smith) Shettron. Her father was born in Ohio and as a young man moved to Indiana, where he met and married Miss Smith, a native of Pennsylvania, their home for some years being in Elkhart county, where Mr. Shettron was engaged in farming. Like numerous other ambitious men, an.xious to rapidly accumulate property, during the '80s he finally answered the call of the west, and in the sjjring of 1885 he came to Custer county and settled on a homestead near West Union. For a number of years he worked industriously and intelligently in tilling his acres, and out of his hard labor he developed a farm of substantial size and superior quality, the while he accumulated a fortune that assured him of all the material comforts during his declining years. On the old homestead, Mrs. Shettron was called to her final rest May 1, 1913, and not long thereafter Mr. Shettron sold his property, since then having made his home with his children. His family consisted of eight children, of whom six are living, namely : Nellie, who is the wife of John Hargan, a farmer near Sargent; Mrs. Wolsleben; Milton, a retired farmer of Sargent, whose wife was Miss Lucy White ; Maud, who married Miles Boyle, a railroad man, and lives at Laramie, Wyoming; Lucy, the wife of Bert Dickson, a retired citizen of Cherry county, Nebraska ; and Pearl, the wife of William Keptler, a farmer at Burton, this state. The father of these children is a man held in the highest of esteem in his community, where he has won respect and confidence by the honorable manner in which his life has been spent.

Mrs. Wolsleben was a child of about four years at the time when her parents came to Nebraska, in 1880, and established their residence in Merrick county, where they remained five years and where Mrs. Wolsleben acquired her rudimentary educational dicipline in the pioneer schools. She was nine years of age at the time of the family removal to Custer county, in 1885, and here she profited duly by the advantages aiTorded in the schoois of the period. She grew up on the home,- stead, where she learned the meaning of life in a frontier cornmunity, and was taught the thousand-and-one accomplishments by which the women helped their fathers, brothers and that arose in their path. She was married March 6, 1908, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Charles Wolsleben, who died in December, 1916, leaving her with three children : Bertha, Alarie and Freda. By a former marriage Mrs. Wolsleben is the mother of one daughter: Mattie Pfrehm, who is completing her education. Bertha and Marie Wolsleben are at- tending the public schools. Mrs. Wolsleben has a wide acquaintance in the vicinity of her home, which is in section 53, township 17, near Sargent, and during her long residence in this community she has gained and retained a wide circle of friends.

WILLIAM F. FISHER. - There are few men better known throughout Cu.ster county than William F. Fisher, who owns 706 acres of valuable land, well stocked with cattle, horses, and mules, as the result of years of industry and enterprise, as Mr. Fisher came to this section of Nebraska a poor man. He was born in ^Marshall county, Kansas, September 30, 1864. His parents were Frederick J. and Mary J. ( Triplett I Fisher, the latter of whom survives and lives at Western, Saline county, Nebraska. Frederick J. Fisher was born in \'ermont and died at Western, Nebraska, April 12, 1918. By way of Kansas he came to Saline county, Nebraska, in 1863, and he bought eighty acres of land from the government, wiiile later he purchased a quarter-section from other settlers. L^pon discovering that his home site was railroad land, which was not considered a safe investment, he moved a half mile down the creek and kept on acquiring land through purchases madfe with money gained by his skill as a hunter and trapper. He sold a great many deer hides and beaver and mink skins in those years. He was much more enterprising than many of his pioneer neighbors and is credited with bringing the first harvester into the grain fields of Saline county. Of his family of thirteen children the following are living: Mary J., who lives at Fairbury, Nebraska, was married first to Joseph Preston and second to Clinton Holcomb: William F. is the immediate subject of this review; Joseph W.. who is a farmer near Western, married Stella Badman; Linnie is the' wife of Fred Wheeler, a farmer in Lincoln county ; Daniel, who is a fanner near Broken Bow, married ^lamie .Adams ; Francis G., who is a farmer near Western, married Emma Kizer; Guy E., who is a farmer in Saline county, married May Turner: Carrie is the wife of David Kizer, cashier in a bank at \\'^estern ; and \'iolet is the wife of Flenry Kizer, a farmer near Western, Nebraska.

William F. Fisher grew up in Saline county at a time when hardships were many and great courage and resourcefulness were needed at all times. Diiring boyhood he attended school three months in the year, walking long distances, as the schoolhouses were then from three to five miles apart, and for many months he herded cattle over the old Mormon trail. He passed through the notable drouth of 1894 and experienced many other hardships and had innumerable adventures, but he escaped difficulties with the Indians, although many of the settlers were driven off their homesteads and even killed. .A.S mentioned above, when Mr. Fisher came to Custer county he was yet a poor man, but success has attended his eiTorts and he is now one of the leading stock nxen of the county, as well as a substantial citizen in every way. He is a Democrat in politics but is not a seeker for ofSce.

In 1894 Mr. Fisher married Ella Belders, who was born in Holland, January 31, 1875, and they have fourteen children, a fine, vig'- orous family, concerning whom record is here given: Frederick J., who was born January 19, 1895, is a bachelor and remains at the parental home ; Gertrude, who was born February 22. 1896, is the wife of Ernest Gibson, a farmer living in Custer county: William C, who lives at homej was born September 9. 1897 ; Clarence D., who was born March 3, 1899, enlisted for service in the world war, and served as a member of Company A, Third Engineers, American Expeditionary Forces in France. The other children are all members of the parental home circle, and their names and respective dates of birth are here recorded: Edward, October 25, 1900; Bessie. January 15, 1902; Ella, November 5, 1903: Homer, March 12, 1905; Arthur, November 15, 1906; Harvey, November 5, 1908; George W., Mav 9, 1911 ; Orvie V., October 11, 1912 ; Woodro'w, July 17, 1914; and Elgie B., February 9, 1916.

OMER T. STORY. - Many of the younger generation of agriculturists in Custer county have passed their entire lives either on the fanns which they now operate or have been born in the immediate vicinity, with the beneficial result that throughout their careers they have been familiar with conditions existing here and have not been called upon to unlearn any methods which in another case they might have followed in some other community. In this class is found Omer T. Story, who was born on his father's homestead south of Sargent, February 20, 1894, and who is still engaged in farming and stock-raising in this immediate community.

Orvel B. Story, the father of Omer T. Story, was born in Indiana December 3, 1855, and as a young man he went to Missouri and engaged in railroading. From that pursuit he turned his attention to farming. Prior to coming to Nebraska he had Hved in Missouri and lUinois, and on the 6th of February, 1885, he came to Custer county, where he settled on a homestead near Somerford. He continued his farm enterprise until the time of his death, which occurred November 24, 1914. In addition to this he also operated the eighty acres which had been homesteaded by his wife, and his operations were carried on in such an energetic and able manner that he became one of the substantial and leading farmers of his community. He was a Democrat in his political views, took a publicspirited interest in civic matters, and was an active worker in the neighborhood church, of which he was deacon, while his wife, who died in 1903, served for some years as secretary.

On the 4th of July, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Orvel B. Story to Fanny Pierce, and they became the parents of three children - Era, who is the wife of Frank King, a farmer of King City, Missouri ; Georgia, who is the wife of Jim Mcintosh, a farmer on Boggs Table, Custer county : and Omer T.. whose name introduces this sketch.

Omer T. Story was educated in the common schools of the country near Sargent, and grew up on the homestead, where his father instructed him in all the matters pertaining to the successful cultivation of the soil and the jjroper handling and raising of live stock. He adopted farming as his vocation when called upon to make a choice for his career, and has contiued to follow this occu[)ation. While he is still classed among the younger representatives of his vocation, he has already achieved marked success, and his past achievements point toward a prosperous career in farming and stock-raising. While he has followed his vocation in a general way, he has paid particular attention to the raising of short-horn cattle, a deiiartmcnt of his work in which he has met with success, and he is already accounted somewhat of an authority upon the subject.

Mr. Story was married October 25, 1916, at Broken Bow to Miss Nellie Wolsleben, daughter of Carl L. and Lena (Lorenzen) Wolsleben, natives of Germany who immigrated to this country as young people. Carl Louis W'olsleben was born near Berlin, Germanv. on the 12th day of July, 1854. and was reared and educated in his native land. At the age of twenty-two years he entered the German military service, in which he continued three years. In 1880 he came to America and upon coming to Nebraska he made as his destination Papillion. Sarpv county. In 1883 he married Miss Lena Lorenzen, and in 1888 he came with his family to Custer county and located at Somerford. In this locality he passed the remainder of his life, as a successful exponent of farm enterprise. He died December 11, 1916, his wife having passed away in the year 1904, and their children having been eight in number. Mr. and Mrs. Story are the parents of one child: Virginia L., who was born February 8, 1918. Mr. Story is a Republican.

T. W. BASS, D. D. S. - In point of continuous service Dr. Bass is the oldest practicing dentist at Broken Bow, where he has been well known to the people of this community as a skilled member of his profession since 1899, when he was entering upon his career. He w-as born in Steuben county, Indiana, November 23, 1867, and is a son of Alexander and Lamira (Holcomb) Bass, natives of that state.

On both the paternal and maternal sides, Dr. Bass belongs to families that settled in Indiana during the Hoosier state's early history, and for the most part his ancestors were farming people, although his paternal grandfather was a local Baptist preacher. His father was born in 1837 and married in Indiana, where his mother w^as born in 1845, and they came to Nebraska in 1883, first settling in Hamilton county, but subsequently removing to the vicinity of Broken Bow, in Custer county. Mr. Bass continued to be engaged in farming operations until the time of his retirement, and his last years w-ere passed at Broken Bow, w^here he died in 1903, Mrs. Bass having passed away two years before. They were faithful members of the Baptist church and Mr. Bass w-as a Democrat in his political views. Of the ten children in the family, eight still survive.

The education of Dr. T. W'. Bass w'as initiated in the public schools of Indiana, but when he was sixteen years of age the family removed to Nebraska and he accompanied his parents to the farm in Hamilton county. In the district schools there and the high school at Grand Island he continued his studies, and finally he entered the Omaha College of Dentistr}-, in which he was duly graduated. He was successful in passing the examination at the state board meeting in 1899 and in that same year established himself in practice at Broken Bow. where he has since been located, now being the dean of his profession here. As in medicine and surger\', the science of dentistry is constantly developing new phases of usefulness, and in order to secure success the dentist of to-day must keep fully abreast of the latest achievements of his profession. This Dr. Bass has not faiknl to do, and it is one of the reasons why he has attained such a lar<,'e patronage during tiic twenty years of his practice and why he has retained uniform confidence. Dr. Bass has also been an advocate of organization among the dental practitioners of the state and has done some valuable and constructive work in this direction. In political matters he is a Republican, but his ]>rofession has played such a large ])art in his life and has demanded so nuich of his attention that he has been left little time for outside afil'airs, so that politics has been a field which he has not cared to enter. In fraternal matters he has shown a somewhat greater interest, being a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which organization he has passed all the official chairs. Me is past grand master of the Nel)raska Grand Lodge and has been a representative to the sovereign grand lodge on four occasions.

Dr. Bass was married in October, 1893, at Grand Island. Nebraska, to Miss Josephine E. Thralls, who was born in Michigan. Mrs. Bass was educated at the Grand Island high school and a commercial sc1uk)1, and prior to her marrigeg to the Doctor was connected with the Ciistcr County Chief. To this union there has been born one child : Ethel, the wife of Carl Abbott, bookkeeeper in the Broken Bow State Bank. Dr. and Mrs. Bass are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

MRS. SADIE E. BAILLIE, who has spent many years in Nebraska and since 1S82 has been a resident of Custer county, is well qualified to speak good words of both state and county. The daughter of a pioneer business man and the wife of another, and living in different sections, she had experiences that many others did not meet with, and her reminiscences, which cover a period, of thirty-six years and more, arc exceedingly interesting. Mrs. Baillie is well known over Custer county and here has many friends, especially at Westcrvillc.

Mrs. Baillie was born near Ithaca, New York, where her father conducted a hotel. Her birth took place December 5, 1862. Her parents were William D. and Rebecca J. (Ryno) Eefler, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New York. Mrs. Baillie has two sisters - Mary, who is the wife of George Whitman and lives in Michigan, and Annie, wnfc of John Tisdale, of Pleasanton, Nebraska. Mrs. Baillie was yet Ji chilli when her father sold his hotel at Ithaca and nuned his family to Hartford, .M icliig;u). There he opened a meat market, which ho conducted until 1S75. He then settled in a neighboring village that never grew to be more than a hamlet and now is forgotten. The family remained in that village only a short time, the father in the meanwhile becoming interested in Nebraska, and removal was soon made to a farm near Sweetwater, this state, but after one year on the farm, Mr. Lefler moved into Loup City and carried the mail from Loup City to Seneca. He was a Kcpublican in his political views and was afiilliated with the Knights of Pythias.

While living inMichigan, in girlhood, Sadie E. Lefler attended the public schools, and it was after the family luoved to Loup City, Nebraska, that she luarried. Two years later she came to Custer county, which has been her home ever since. While circumstances preserved her from m.nny of the ])ioneer hardshi])s of those early days, she well remembers the attending disadvantages and how her sym- [lathy often was called out for the overtaxed pioneer women of her acquaintance. In the midst of the present comfortable prosperity that prevails in Custer county, it is well, ])crliai)S, sometimes to rec;ill those days. Always a kind and helpful neighbor, there are many who have reason to kindly remember Mrs! Baillie.

At Kearney, Nebraska, December 19, 1880, Sadie E. Lefler was married to William B. I'aillie, a son of William and Jeanette (Lawson) Baillie. He was of Scotch ancestry, a college-bred man and was educated in Scotland. At the time of lu.arriage he was conducting a general nierch.-mdise store in Loup City, and they continued to live there until 1882, when they came to Custer county. Here Mr. Baillie opened a drug store in the town of Seneca, the name of which town, through his influence, was changed to its present fonn, Weslerville. Later Mr. Baillie conducted a drug store at Berwyn, and he also enterefl a timber claim, which is now the property of his widow. Mr. Baillie died in 1902 and is survived by one son, Ravmond C. Baillie.

OSCAR M. JUNE. - There are many young farmers in Custer county who claim the county as the jilace of their nativity. In the case of the young ranchman named above this statement is true. Here he was l.iorn, ;uk1 here his wife was born, here their children were born, and here they have lived all their lives. Accordingly, Custer county is in-

Oscar M. June was born in 1889 and is a son of Isaac and Ida (Lear) June, the fonner a native of Ohio and the latter of Iowa. The father died at the age of fifty-nine years, but the mother, at the age of fifty-one years, is still living in Broken Bow. In their family were six children : Fraud lives in Dunning ; Oscar M. is the subject of this sketch ; Myrtle Loun lives on a Custer county farm; Minnie Shoemaker lives at Broken Bow ; and Millie also lives in Broken Bow. A half-brother and half-sister, Elmer and Ella Carpenter, are living in Custer county and Stella, Nebraska, respectively.

Isaac June homesteaded in Custer county thirty-one years ago. He had practically nothing when he arrived and began improving his farm. He and his wife came directly from Ohio to this county and brought with them nothing but the determined spirit by which the difificulties of the west are always overcome. He was a veteran of the Civil war, and he was residing at Anselmo, in this county, at the time of his death.

Oscar M. June received his education in this county. Here he received also his training for farming and stock-raising, and here he formed the habits of industry by which he has accumulated what might be considered a fair start for a man of his year. In 1910 he took up a homestead upon which he put fair improvements and made final proof. He has 160 acres under cultivation, rents 320 acres, has forty-seven head of cattle, and fiftyfive head of hogs, with a contingent of horse power equal to the demands of the place. He married Miss Vera Potter, who, as stated above, is a native daughter of this county. She comes of a splendid family and in every possible way has been an invaluable assistant to her husband. She has presided over her home and done well her part in their joint operations. Two children have been bom to this union. Kenneth is eighteen months old at the time of this writing and Carl died in infancy. Mr. June is an independent voter, owes affiliation to no party, and is proud of the fact that he can claim Custer county as his native heath.

JOHN A. GSCHWIND. - No proper alignment of Custer county farmers could possibly be made that would not put John Arnold Gschwind in the first rank. While his name is a foreign extraction and suggests that Wiirtemberg and Tyrol blood flows in the veins, he is, nevertheless, a native-born American and thus far practically all his life has been spent in Custer county.

John was born in Cincinnati, September 16, 1873, and belongs to the crop of Buckeyes that have made that state famous. His father, Gustave Gschwind, was a thrifty, frugal German. His mother, Frances M. ( Kaser) Gschwind, was a native of Switzerland. In the family of the father and mother were five boys and four girls - Gustave A., Eustace, Henrietta (deceased), Hermena Branschi, John A. (the prosperous Custer county farmer this sketch describes), Herman A., Flora T. (deceased), Frances Bass, and Carl F. The father's advent into the United States dates back as far as 1868. He first settled in Cincinnati, but afterward moved to a farm and followed farming for his occupation for the remainder of his days. He came to Custer county in 1882 and located on the South Loup river, six miles northwest of Callaway. Then began some of the pioneer experiences that are not hard to remember. Before their habitation was completed the family moved in with a pioneer named Frederick S'chreyer, who was one of the characters of an early date. He had a two-room house, half sod and half dugout, and in these two rooms, eighteen people managed to live until Mr. Gschwind could excavate and roof a dugout. The third day in the county they were treated to a gun play, for which no charge was made, but which seems to have been thrown in to make the entertainment and reception of newcomers of special interest. Some cowboys, who had been previously well liquored, drove a herd of ponies through Chris Nelson's corn. For this they had been reported to the boss. A day or two later the cowboys found Chris at the postoffice and everything was staged for a row. Gschwind and Schreyer were present and interfered in behalf of Chris. In the shulitle that ensued, Schreyer was shot in the side. The wound, however, was not fatal.

John A. Gschwind was nine years old when his Custer county career began. ?Ie had the opportunities of the early day and received his education in the first schools of the county. He inherited habits of thrift and frugality, and these, applied with his accustomed vigor, have made his farming operations a signal success.

December 21. 1909. ]\Ir. Gschwind married Theresa J. Safranek, daughter of Joiin Safranek and Amelia E. (Martin) Safranek. who were substantial people living near Merna. Mr. and Mrs. Gschwind have now a splendid home, the life of which is greatly augmented by four bright sons, who are typical young Americans of the third generation. Thev are Carl F., Paul A,, John A.. Jr., and Herbert A. The Gschwind holdings consist of 468 acres, splendidly improved with a good farm home and all necessary accessories and equipment.

Recalling early days, Mr. Gschwind says he earned his first money by herding sheep, on foot, for Chris Nelson, who still lives in Triumph township. Chris had an old dog which would not follow anyone except himself, but Arnold fastened a rope to the dog, and led him around for the moral effect of the dog upon the sheep. H the sheep got into a field of corn, that was all there was to it. The corn belonged to the sheep. The combination of boy, dog, and rope could not get them out. Those experiences are past and the former days are gone forever, but the passing years have used John well. The days of his retirement will be spent in comfort. All that he has, has been made in the county by farming and stock-raising. Mr. and Mrs. Gschwind are members of the Lutheran church.

EDWARD F. MORGAN - In relation to settlement and continuous residence, this title line introduces practically a new-comer - one whose residence in the county is of but eleven years' duration, and yet one who is one of the present-day factors and bids fair to hold his own and fulfill all that is expected of a Custer county food producer.

Edward F. Morgan was born in De Kalb county, Missouri, in 1879, and is a son of John M. and Alice A. (Arnold) Morgan, the former of whom was lx)rn in 1850 and the latter in 1860: in their family were three children, of whom Edward is the eldest; Byron M. lives on a farm near Merna ; and Mina works in a bank at Unadilla, Nebraska. The father belonged to the Republican party, was assessor, member of the school board, road overseer, and is now food administrator at Unadilla. He is also a Woodman and Mason. He started with but little capital and has been one of the world's productive workers.

Edward F. Morgan came to Custer countv in 1907. Here he bought 800 acres of unimproved land and he has put on good improvements since that time. On the place he runs eighty head of cattle, all of which are a good grade. He breeds Duro-Jersey hogs and his horses are of good Percheron lilood. Following in the footsteps of his father in the matter of community sen-ice. he is a member of the school board and director of the Arnold and Anselmo Telephone Company.

In 1903, at Syracuse, Nebraska, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Morgan to Miss Hilma Johnson, who was born in 1880, in Sweden, and who is a woman of intelligence and gracious personality. Mrs. Morgan has been at all times a true helpmeet to her husband, and has given him elTective co-operation in his earnest endeavors. She holds membership in the Presb)"terian church. Mr. and ]\Irs. Morgan have four very promising young children, who lend happiness to the family home, and whose names are here entered in respective order of birth : \'era. Lyle. Harold, and \'erle. Mr. Morgan says his first money was made in raising hogs down in Otoe county, this state, and prior to the time that he commenced farming operations for himself he worked out at almost anything that came to his hand. His accumulations are the result of his own labor, and since he is young in years it requires no prophet to foresee that the start already obtained will ensure a competency for the years of his retirement.

WATT WILLIAMS, farmer, stockman, and real-estate dealer at Oconto, is one of the representative men of Custer county, is largely self-made, and now has ample fortune. He has spent practically his entire life in Nebraska and cherishes a real son's pride in and affection for the state. Mr. \\'illiams was born in \\'ill county, Illinois. July 6. 1880. His parents were Richard and Anna Williams, the former of whom was a native of A\'a!es. They had eight children, namely : Mrs. Stella Watkins, Airs. Ida Wheeler, Georgia (deceased), John, Watt. Mrs. Anna Patterson, I\Irs. Blanche Ramsey, and Mrs. Gertrude Hnssey.

Watt Williams was five years old when his parents came to Nebraska as pioneer settlers. His father located on Redfern Table, eight miles west of Oconto. In those days a lack of water, when the natural springs went dry, caused a great amount of inconvenience and some actual suffering, and Mr. ^^'illiams describes with vividness the diflferent measures used and the economies practiced in relation to securing and keeping a necessary amount of the life-sustaining fluid. Nine miles was a long distance to haul water by the barrel, but the settlers in many sections could procure none in any other way in the arid regions. Mr. Williams remembers when a neighbor living four miles away, put down a well, not reaching water until a depth of 4.^0 feet, and he recalls how rejoicing prevailed because there would be five miles less of hauling to do. Lack of water was not the only drawback of the prairie country during his boyhood, for he can remember when rattlesnakes could be found almost anywhere, and it is reasonable to suppose that not very welcome was the appearance of such a reptile before a little bare-footed boy herding cattle a long way from home. However, he grew so accustomed to the snakes that he became an adept in killing them, and he believes that the first money he ever had was a dime paid him by a "tenderfoot," for a fine set of rattles. When fourteen years old Mr. Williams went to work on the Watson ranch at KearneVj at a salary of seven dollars a month, a wage considered fair at the time, and he kept on, in spite of a physical disability that incapacitated him for eight months. He developed a frugal liabit that resulted in his gradual accummulation of capital, and this he invested in the horse business, at first in a small way but later on a larger scale. In the course of time he became generally interested in stock. He now owns 700 acres of fine land and has additionally two handsome residences in the town of Oconto, as well as his business office. \\'henever his farm duties do not claim him he may be found at Oconto, where he has built up a very satisfactory real-estate business. In common parlance, Mr. Williams has "made good," although when ten years old, he was suddenly afflicted with blindness, and for an entire year his sister Anna had to guide his steps. He feels indebted to the skill of Dr. Michaels, of Callaway, for the restoration of his sight, but a recurrence of the trouble in 1895, made him again almost helpless for a period of eight months. A naturally cheerful disposition and an ambitious and sturdy spirit, helped him through those dark days.

Mr. Williams was married May 22, 1899, at Lexington, Nebraska, to Miss Zula Van Cleave, who is a daughter of Henry and Jane (Shelley) Van Cleave, -and they have a family of four children: Irvin L., who was graduated from the Oconto high school in the class of 1918: and Harold A., Merle, and Wilma O., all of whom are attending school at Oconto. In ])olitics Mr. Williams is a steadfast Republican. He belongs to the Oconto lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

HENRY O. PIERCE. - Two generations of the Pierce family have resided on the farm in section 31. township 19. and the present occupant. Henry O. Pierce, is in every way maintaining the reputation of his pioneer father, the late James Pierce, who came to this community of the west in 1880. The family have always manifested a spirit of public enterprise and progress and its contributions to the

James Pierce was born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and as a youth went to sea, being for twelve years a sailor in the dangerous business of whaling and for two years employed on a passenger vessel. In his native locality he married Jane Hunt, who was born at Somerford, England, and about the year 1857 they removed to Minnesota and settled on a farm in Mower county. Mr. Pierce was a hard-working and capable man, but in Minnesota he (lid not make the success which he desire<^l, and. looking for a new community in which to locate, he chose Custer county, Nebraska. He came here in August, 1880. and secured a homestead and a tree claim at Somerford postoffice. but not until the following year did he bring his family to locate permanently. Mr. Pierce became one of the substantial and influential men of his locality, and was appointed postmaster, a position which he retained twenty-seven years. During the first year it was necessary to carry the mail from Westerville free of charge, this being a requirement of the government in order to obtain a postoffice. and this work was principally done by William Gundy. On account of the severity of the winter of 1880-81 the pioneers suffered extremely, not only from the cold but also because of the shortage of flour, which was not to be obtained at any price. The flour mill at the Loup had lieen closed down on account of ice freezing the water in the mill wheels, and the nearest mill in operation was at Grand Island, 110 miles away. This could not be reached, because of the heavy snow. However, like the other sturdy pioneers, they managed to pass through these hardships and others, and eventually were able to obtain all the necessities and some of the comforts of life. In their later years the parents were surrounded by all the conveniences, and the evening of their lives was filled with contentment and pleasure. Mr. Pierce died, on the homestead place. March 11. 1910. He was highl\' esteemed in the community, because of his many sterling traits of character. Of his eight children, seven are living: Frances, deceased, was the wife of Orvel P). Storey : George G., who is single, is a resident of Somerford postoffice: Thomas L.. who is single, resides with John D. Knight, on r>oggs Table. Custer county: .-\lfred W.. who married Minnie Knight, is a farmer at Somerford : W'illiam .\.. who married Etta Stevens, is a farmer north of Sargent ; Henrv O. is the immediate subject of this sketch: Elizabeth J. is the wife of John D. Knight, of P>oggs Table ;

Henry C^. Pierce was born in Mower county, Minnesota, November 7, 1871, and attended the public schools in his native community until he was ten years of age, at which time he was brought to Custer county. After he had completed his studies in the country schools, he took up farming as his life's work, and at the time of his father's death he secured the old homestead, in section 31, township 19, which he has since improved until it is modern in every feature and highly improved. He has engaged impartially in farming and stock-raising, but recently has made somewhat of a feature and specialty of raising and breeding Polled Durham cattle, a field in which he has won marked success. He is considered one of the most progressive of the agriculturists of this locality, and is a man of the highest personal and business integrity. Interested in civic affairs and possessed of profound public spirit, he has frequently been called upon to serve in the capacities of public importance, having been school treasurer for one tenn, member of the school board and moderator, and at present he is a member of the town board and is township treasurer. His political faith makes him a staunch Republican.

CHARLES SWANSON. - You might ride all day and pass a hundred farms, and not find one better improved or showing more signs of thrift and prosperity than the Swanson farm near Walworth.

Charles Swanson was born in S'weden, December 13, 1861, and is a son of Sam and Stava (Kant) Swanson. The surname of the wife was taken from her father's soldier name. Each soldier has to adopt a name to designate him from another regiment, a peculiarity of Swedish custom that is strange to us in America. Both the father and mother were of Swedish lineage for many generations. They never came to the United States. He was a laborer but provided well for his family, in which were five children, four of whom are living. Charles and two of his brothers are the only ones that immigrated to America. One of these brothers is living in Indiana, and the other in Nebraska, near Kearney.

Charles SVanson came to the United States when twenty-one years of age, which was in December of 1882. His first stopping place was in Indiana, where he worked to get money to pay for his fare to this country, he having borrowed the requisite sum to pay his passage.

He lived and worked in Indiana until the spring of 1887. when he came to Custer county and homesteaded in sections 2 and 3. township 20, range 19, which homestead he still owns. Altogether he is the proprietor of 960 broad acres, on which are splendid improvements. It is a beautiful place, unusually well supplied with buildings for all requirements of stock farming. This place is known as "Cedar Slope," and in addition to his agricultural enterprise, Mr. Swanson buys and sells cattle and hogs, from which he has been constantly accumulating. At one time he made a specialty of horses and mules, and was once the owner of over 200 head which he raised and which he sold in Grand Island. He recalls that the first mule that he ever shipped to Grand Island sold for $400, which advertises the fact that it must have been a pretty good mule. His ability to buy and sell at the right time, as coupled with his keen judgment of stock, has served him well and enabled him to make the business profitable.

August 28, 1895, Mr. Swanson was united in marriage to ^Maggie Abbott, at Abbott's ranch in Loup county. She is a daughter of John and Jane ( Warner) Abbott. Her parents were very prominent Kansas stockgrowers, and withal very estimable people. They now reside in Taylor, Nebraska. To Mr. and Mrs. Swanson five children have been born, and of the number three are living: June is the wife of Thomas Rittenhouse, on the Swanson ranch, and Esther and Imia remain at the i>arental home.

Look around these premises and see the buildings, note the field and see the stock, and then recall that when Mr. Swanson landed in the county his cash capital consisted of $3.35. The first summer he worked for sixteen dollars a month and hired eight acres of land broken on his claim. He built his sod house alone, went in debt for a yoke of oxen, and used pond water for his stock and himself for three years. He lived alone and kept bachelor's quarters for seven years. After he had secured enough money to buy a drilling outfit for putting down wells, he followed that business for a time and drilled most of the wells put down in the early days in this vicinity. His success in putting down wells gained for him the sobriquet of "The Groundhog."

Politically Mr. Swanson affiliates with no party, as he is independent in his thinking and in his voting. He is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church, in which he has been a director for eight years past. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, is an Oddfellow and also is affiliated with the Modern Wood- men of America. He is known throughout the north region of the county as a splendid man, successful in business and the father of a contented and happy family of children.

JOSEPH HAEFELE. - Down on what is known as the Ryno Table, where is located in his own home the McKinley postoffice, live Joseph Haefele and his industrious, hard-working family.

Joseph Haefele was born November 20, 1863. in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and he is a son of John F. Haefele, a native of Wiirtemberg, Germany. His mother, Justina (Ruth) Haefele, was born in Strassburg', Alsace-Lorraine, and was a daughter of Peter Ruth, a man of strong character and one well known in Strassburg. Of the children of John F. and Justina (Ruth) Haefele ten are living at the time of this writing, namely: Jacob, John F., Frederick J., George. Rudolph M., Wilhelm, August, Mary, Mrs. Catherine Davis, and Joseph.

John F. Haefele came to America when eighteen years of age. Pie was a blacksmith by trade and located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Those were the days of the Buchanan presidential administration, and money was something often talked about but seldom seen. Mr. Haefele worked for some of the farmers, and on one occasion he worked for one man long enough to earn a cow, which he accepted in lieu of money due him for wages.

Joseph Haefele, who is familiarly called Joe, earned his first money when he was but eight 3'ears of age, by picking pieces of slate out of the coal-breaker at the Sugar Notch anthracite mines in Pennsylvania. He continued to work in the mines until he was twenty-one years of age. \\'ithin this period he worked in all departments of coal-mining and learned every phase of the operation by which coal is taken from the bowels of the earth and placed in the bins of the retailer for city marketing.

Joseph Haefele was married April 24, 1889, at Broken Bow, Nebraska, to Cora B. Booth, who was born in Michigan, is a daughter of Charles W. and Nancy Booth, her father having removed to Michigan from the state of New York. Airs. Haefele is a member of a familv of nine children - Mrs. Electa Barrett, Edwin C, Alfred J.. Mrs. Cora B. Haefele, Charles W., Ernest R., ]\Irs. Grace M. Coulter, Mrs. Elizabeth S'hup, and George M.

Mr. Haefele arrived in Custer county, Nebraska, in 1885 and immediately appropriated 320 acres of L^ncle Sam's domain, by filing on a homestead and entering a tree claim at the same time. For four years Joe kept bachelor's hall, and he then threw up his hands and said that he had "had enough." The result of this surrender was the marriage recorded above. Mr. and Mrs. Haefele have eight children: Elizabeth G. is the wife of Jacob Koch, a farmer living near Merna, and they have three sons and one daughter. Mr. Koch is prominent in the local ranks of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is independent in politics. Ruth M., the ne.xt younger daughter, is the wife of Everett Fuller, a farmer living near Berwyn, and they have one child. Air. Fuller is an Odd Fellow and is independent in politics. Charles W. Haefele, a private in Battery C, Three Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment, Eighty-eighth Division of Field Artillery, is "somewhere in France" at the time this sketch is being prepared. Ralph M. Haefele is a popular young bachelor. Joseph W. Haefele is a student in the public schools and lives at home. Esther O. also is in school and remains at the parental home. Herbert H. and Lottie L. are likewise under the parental roof and are pursuing their studies in the splendid school of the neighborhood.

Air. Haefele has long been very actively identified with public affairs in his county. He is a live promoter and supporter of every enterprise that contributes to the upbuilding of the community. He has been a school officer for twenty-five years, being one of the organizers of the old Custer Canyon district No. 237. For the last nine years he has been postmaster of the AIcKinley postoffice, which is located at his home. He is the precinct committeeman of the Council of Defense, and is a member of the local organization of the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Callaway.

Air. Haefele has a beautiful farm home in Custer canyon, where he settled in 1885. He is the owner of 880 acres of good land and has accumulated this valuable property through farming and live-stock operations in Custer county. His children are industrious and have given valuable assistance on the farm. At present the Haefeles are milking thirty-five cows, and Air. Haefele says that this is the business that brings the money in Custer countv.

JOSEPH BARTU. - The prominent citizen named above is foreign born and is one who in America has made good. He was born June 18, 1874, in Aloravia, and is a son of loseph and Alary (Kriz) Bartu. both natives of Aloravia. The father was a tailor by occupation until he came to the L^nited States, in

1885. The family settled first in Fillmore county, Nebraska, where they worked on a farm for relatives, to pay the amount of their passage to this country. In 1886 Joseph Bartu, Sr., returned to the tailor's trade, and he worked two years at his old-country occupation. In 1888 he moved to \'alley county and homesteaded a forty-acre tract bordering on Custer county, just east of Comstock. Here the family lived until 1899, when they moved over into Custer county, on to the land where the subject of this sketch lives at the present time. The parents lived here until their death, the father's death having occurred July 22,

Frank Visek, who lives near Comstock, and Mary, wife of Joe Zurek, who lives in Wisconsin. Mr. Bartu is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Z. C. B. J., a Bohemian lodge. Joseph Bartu, the subject of this sketch, was married January 15, 1890, to Frances Nedbalek, at Burwell, Nebraska. Mrs. Bartu is a daughter of John and ]\Iar\- (Rajda) Nedbalek, who were early settlers in Custer county but who are now living at Burwell, this state. In the home formed as a result of this union are seven children - Emma, who is employed in a hospital at Hastings, Nebraska; and Joseph, August, Agnes, Adolph, Jerry, and Henry, all of whom are at home. ' The earlv years of the Bartu family were fraught with difficulties and drawbacks, and losses were encountered. In speaking of these losses, Mr. Bartu recalls that in 1898 he suflfered the loss of nine stacks of grain by fire, which perhaps was the worst loss ever encountered i:i any one year. Another time he lost many cattle, and on several occasions the crops have failed, vet to-day the showings on his home place, which consists of 520 acres, well improved and well stocked, indicate that he has succeeded in spite of drawba:ks. He still feels that Custer countv is a great county and a place where any mail can succeed if he is made of the right kind of stuff. Both Joseph Bartu and his wife are highly regarded by their neighbors.

ACHILLES D. JOHNSON. - In according recognition to the early settlers of Custer county, mention should be made of Achilles D. Johnson, who has been a resident of the county for thirty-eight years and who has not only been an eye-witness of the vast changes that have taken place but has also been an important factor in the development of his community.

Achilles D. Johnson is a native of the Buckeve state, his birth having occurred in Harrison county, Ohio, March 30, 1854. His parents were Achilles D. and Elizabeth ( Lukens) Johnson, the former born in \'irginia and the latter in Ohio. The marriage of the parents was solemnized in Ohio and there the father passed away in 1864. In the following year the widowed mother removed with her children to Iowa and established a home in Mahaska county, three miles from Oskaloosa, the county seat. On a farm in that county Achilles D. Johnson, subject of this review, was reared to manhood, and, in 1880, he came to Custer county, Nebraska, where he secured a homestead in section 30, township 18, range 21. and took a tree claim in section 19 of the same township. Here, amid the pioneer conditions that existed at that time, Mr. Johnson began the task of developing a farm and building a home. The first residence was in keeping with the times and was constructed of sod, this being the family home for many years. Success attended his efforts and the farm has been brought to a high state of cultivation; the sod house has been replaced with a frame building, a second frame house being completed forone of the sons ; and the property is one of the well improved farms of Custer county. Mr. Johnson is owner also of a ranch of 2,500 acres in Blaine county, and farming and stock-raising are carried on extensively.

In Custer county was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Johnson to Miss Minnie Davidson, a native of Tama county, Iowa, and they became the parents of four children : Two died in infancy: Floyd A., who is assisting in the operation of the home farm, married Opal Small and they have three children; Earl D., who resides on the ranch in Blaine county, married Lura Kellenbarger, and thev have one child.

Mr. Johnson was reared in the gracious faith of the Society of Friends and has not sought affiliation with any other religious denomination. In politics he casts an independent ballot ; fraternally he is connected with Merna Lodge No. 171, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and both of his sons are members of the }kIasonic lodge, the father and sons exemplifying in their daily lives the beneficent spirit of the time-honored fraternity.

Mr. Johnson was among the first settlers in this part of the county and his circle of friends is co-extensive with his circle of acquaintance.

OMER E. HEMPHILL, who is an extensive farmer and stock-raiser in Custer county. owns a large body of land and is numbered with the substantial and representative men of this section. From an experience of thirty years in the county and taking- part in its wonderful development, Mr. Hemphill feels proud of what has been accomplished in a comparatively short time.

Mr. Hemphill was born in Grundy county, Missouri, June 15, 1871, and is a son of Levi and Emeline L. (Stucker) Hemphill, the former of whom was born in Illinois, in which state the Hemphill family has been prominent for years, and the latter of whom was born in Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Levi Hemphill had eight children, but some died in infancy, and the following named survive: Benjamin F., Omer E., Mrs. Rosa C. Kimberling, and Edgar.

\Vhen Omer E. Hemphill was three years old his father moved to the east central part of Iowa and settled in Washington county, where he was engaged in farming about thirteen years. It was there that young Omer E. went to school and also learned farm methods in a practical way - knowledge that later proved very useful, although with changed climate and conditions, and scientific experimenting, some of the old methods of the fathers of present-day ag^riculturists are not considered the most profitable. In 1886 the family moved to Buffalo county. Nebraska, and in 1888 came into Custer county and located four miles south of Oconto. There Mr. HemphHl's father was engaged in farming during the rest of his life, but he died before his industries were more than well started. At that time Omer E. Hemphill was nineteen years old, and he remained at home and did his part in the subsequent adjustment of family affairs.

Mr. Hemphill was married April 12, 1899, in Dawson county, Nebraska, to Nliss Anna P. \'etter, who was born in Wisconsin and is a daughter of Albert and Louise (Gruel) Vetter. The father of Mrs. Hemphill was born in Germany and her mother in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Hemphill have one daughter, Zina L.. who is an accomplished young lady. She was graduated in the Lexington high school and in 1918 was graduated in the Nebraska State Normal School, at Kearney. At present she is devoting herself diligently to the study of stenographv and typewriting, having modern ideas about a business career for young women, whereby they may become useful and independent, whatever changes of fortune may take place. The family home is situated on Buffalo creek, nine miles west of Oconto, where Mr. Hemphill owns 420 acres of fine land. He carries on general farming and takes considerable pride in his excellent stock. While not particularly active in a political way. he has alwavs been a loval citizen and is wide awake

SHIPTON G. ORCHARD. - Sixty-five years ago, on the 24th day of March, 1853, tlie subject of this sketch began his earthly career, in the good old state of Illinois, which has given so many valuable citizens to the middle west. Mr. C)rchard is a son of Shipton and Rhoda ( Green ) Orchard of which parentage he is the only living representative. The father died before the son and namesake w^as born and the mother subsequently contracted a second marriage. As a result of this marriage there is a half-sister, Mrs. D. Thurman, who resides in Oregon. Young Shipton G. Orchard, after the death of his father, went to make his home with an uncle in Iowa, where he received his early education in the schools of Des Moines county and where also he began his first farming activities.

In 1880 ^Ir. Orchard was united in marriage to ^liss Nancy Ellen Dunbar, a daughter of Thomas and Pauline (Thurman) Dunbar. A large family was the result of this union, but the angel of death has visited the home four times. Of the living children the following is a brief record : Minnie is the widow of Richard ^filler and lives in Omaha; Joseph married Mary Dobesh and they reside in Custer county ; Ethel married George Haines ; Elsie married Earl Gross and is located at Wahoo, this state ; Eltie, at the time of this writing, is in Camp Grant, Illinois, where he is doing special work for the government; Aurylon and \'erlie \'ay are teaching in the same school, in the Bethel Union district, northeast of Broken Bow. Uneeta and Loyd are in the .\nsley high school. The chilfiren who died in infancy were: Zephia May, six weeks old ; Lucy, two years old ; Hughie. two vears old : and Leona, six months old.

Mr. Orchard owns a splendid lialf-section of well improved land, on which he maintains his attractive home and does a profitable farming business. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and the family are faithful members of the Christian church in Anslev. Thev are highly rated and well respected by all who know them. The entire familv constitutes a contribution that Custer county appreciates.

PETER JANESOFSKY. whose splendid farm, located in section 19. township 17. has been accumulated through j)ersistent and industrious lalx)r, is one of Custer county's self- made men. He started out in life with few of the advantages which youth considers its just due, but his career has been singularly prosperous and satisfying - one in which he has overcome obstacles and handicaps and has realized the most gratifying rewards of agricultural life.

Mr. Janesofsky w^as born June 29, 1868, at Sepat, Bohemia, and was still an infant of a few months when brought to the United States by his parents, also natives of that country, w'here the father had been a small farmer and a mason by trade. The elder Janesofsky settled on a homestead in Saunders county, Nebraska, and engaged in farming, but being possessed of no capital he found it necessary to add to his income by working at his trade, in order that his family might live. Long before he had proved up on his claim, he met his death, while working at his trade, a fall from a scaffold resuhing in injuries from which he did not recover. Peter Janesofsky was still little more than a baby when his father died, so that all the adv-antages enjoyed by other lads of his age were denied him, and his mother was not even able to send him to school, which he attended only six days. Naturally his education was not of the best, but in the - passing years he has been a close observer of events, a student of huinan nature, and a reader on subjects of interest and importance, so that he has a good working education and a large fund of general knowledge. As he grew up, he worked for his elder brother, on his farm in Sarpy county, for two years, and then came to Custer county, where he secured a timber claim. He was getting well started when his trees died, and he changed his claim to a homestead. On this place he now lives, and this has been his home since about 1898. He has brought this property to a high state of cultivation and has improved it with good buildings and up-to-date eciuipment, so that it is one of the valuable tracts of the vicinity. Fanning with him has been at once a business, a study, and a matter of pleasurable occupation, and in the industry he has found the medium through which he has worked out an admirable success.

Mr. Janesofsky was married August 12. 1893, to Miss Mary Kuklis, of X'alley county, Nebraska, a daughter of Joseph and I'.arbara (Perta) Kuklis, natives of Bohemia. To this union there have been born seven children: Emma is the wife of William W'ciman, an agriculturist of Round valley ; Miss Barbara, who remains with her parents: Minnie, who is the wife of Adolph Kokesk, a farmer of \'alley county; Katie and Mary, who are at the parental home ; Joseph, who assists his father in the work of the home farm ; and Frances, who is attending school. The family belongs to the Catholic church, in the faith of which they were reared and up to the teachings of which they live. Politically, Mr. Janesofsky is a Republican.

JOSEPH STEFKA. - Give a man of Bo- . hemian blood a chance to work, and he will do the rest. This is especially true of the subject of this sketch, who resides in the Bohemian settlement near Comstock. Joseph Stefka was born in Bohemia September 4, 1850, and is a son of Frank and Anna ( Sefcik ) Stefka. The parents, tx>th natives of Moravia, and oldcountry farmers by occupation, were never induced by the call of .the new world to leave their native land. It was in Bohemia that young Joseph Stefka began his career and laid the foundation of character and honesty which has marked his career in the new world. It was in the land of his nativity that he was married, in June. 1872, to Rosa Gerzova. There, too. she died, leaving him with two children. A few years later he remarried, this time to Anna Sefcik. The bride's parents were Bohemian by birth and were farmers by occupation. They lived and died in the land of their nativity.

In 1884 ^Ir. Stefka turned his face westward and crossed the ocean to this land of opportunity. Here in Custer county he bought a homestead relinquishment from Frank Pacas. and upon this place he lived until 1893. at which time he bought 320 acres south of Cdmstock. He is living at the present time on this latter place, where he raises cattle and hogs in consideralile numbers and does a general farming business along lines that mark him as both" thrifty and practical. He agreed to pay $100 for the homestead right of Frank Pacas but had only eighty dollars with which to make payment. He gave a shotgun and fur coat for the balance. He worked as section hand for the Chicago. Burlington & Quincy Railroad. In order to do this work, he walked from his homestead, nine miles northwest of Comstock. several times, and by this employment he eamed the money with which to start his farming operations. In this way also he bought the yoke of oxen which was his first team and which gave his his start in life.

Mr. Stefka is the father of seven children, as the result of his two marriages: Joseph, Tr., married Mary Simek and they live at Hollv, Colorado : Rosa, unmarried, lives at Lee's Park: Frank also lives at Lee's Park;

John lives at home ; Rudolph married Lucy Kriz ; Anna is the wife of George Rohdy and lives at Lincoln, Kansas ; Thomas is single and lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Stefka were members of the Protestant Episcopal church in Bohemia, but have never transferred their membership to any church in this country. He is independent in politics and delights in the fact that he votes for the candidate who in his judgment is best qualified for the office.

JA:\IES a. O. TH0^L\S. - After many years of wandering and varied and interesting, thoi:gh unprofitable, experiences, James A. O. Thomas located at Broken Bow in the spring of 1905, and since that time he has prospered in business and gained established standing among his fellow citizens. For thirteen years he has been proprietor of the Broken Bow laundry, and while this business is in nO' way related to that of newspaper work, in which he was engaged for inany years, Mr. Thomas has made a success of his operations and is eminently satisfied with his present condition.

James A. O. Thomas was born September 19, 1854, at Winchester, Indiana, and is a son of James and Mary ( Milner ) Thomas, the former a native of Ohio and a cabinetmaker by trade, and the latter born in Randolph county, Indiana. The only child of his parents, James A. O. Thomas was a rather independent and self-reliant lad, and when only eight years of age he was earning money by taking care of two newspaper routes for the Grand Rapids Daily Democrat, at that time under the management of Editor Burr.. A rich source of income for the newsboy at that time was the old recruiting station, in 1862, at the fair grounds, where the soldiers would mount the dimunitive lad on a box, buy his papers and make much of him. Perhaps these experiences led him into a career of journalism. At any rate, in the fall of 1868, when not yet fourteen years of age, he left the parental roof and entered the printing establishment of Heldbrook & Coulter, which firm at that time was publishing the ClKrokee Sentinel, at Baxter Springs, Kansas. He remained with that firm three years, at the end of which time he had mastered the printer's trade, and he then became a journeyman printer and traveled throughout the country, as far east as Cincinnati. Cleveland, and Da_\lon, Ohio, where a number of his relatives resided. He worked two years at Richmond. Indiana, and a like period at Gallia, Ohio, and in 1876 he crossed the plains to Virginia City, Nevada, where he went to work on the Territorial Enterprise, with which newspaper he remained a year. .\t that time the big silver mines were just being opened up, and the country was somewhat "wild and wooly," while the life of a newspaper man was not always one of undisturbed peace and quietude. Mr. Thomas next went to Stockton, California, where for a few months he visited with an uncle, Nathaniel Milner, who had crossed the plains to the gold fields in 1850, with a bull train. In 1891 Air. Thonias left San Francisco and came to Nance county, Nebraska, where for a year he was engaged in farming. At that time Brad Slaughter, George Mickel, John J. W. McCleland, Clarence Braid, and others started the FiiUerton- A'czcs and "rescued" Mr. Thomas from farming, placing him in charge of the enterprise. Ever>-thing went well until the drouth year, when the concern went into bankruptcy, and Mr. Thomas again found himself free to make a choice of occupation. In the spring of 1905 he came to Broken Bow, where he invested his capital in the Broken Bow Laundry, a venture formerly operated by George Eads. He has continued to conduct this business with increasing success to the present time, and the support that he is receiving at the hands of the public makes evident the fact that he is delivering high-class service and that he has firmly entrenched himself in the confidence of his fellow citizens.

FRANK E. LO\-EJOY. - Of the many honest, industrious farmers who are the boast of Custer county, not a few have passed the greater part of their careers in the vicinity of Sargent, and a list of these would be incomplete without the name of Frank E. Lovejoy. Mr. Lovejoy is one of New England's contributions to this region, having been born at Orford, New Hampshire, July 2, 1865, a son of John H. and Mary (Lamprey) Lovejoy, natives of the same place.

When a young man, John H. Lovejoy followed farming in the summer months and school teaching in the winter terms, and this he continued for a number of years, but he found his school work tedious and unremunerative and his returns for his farm work disappointing, with the result that he finally decided to seek a locality more appreciative of industry and ambition. In the early '80s, traveling alone and afoot, from Grand Island, Nebraska, he came into Custer county, where he homesteaded a tract in section 7, township 19, which was located by Frank Ingram, county surveyor, for five dollars and he also had a tree claim and a pre-emption. After he had located, he walked to Grand Island to file on his land, and subsequently he sent for his family, who arrived in 1882. From that time forward Mr. Lovejoy engaged in farming and stock-raising. He became one of the influential and well-to-do men of his locality, and did his full share in assisting in the county's development. At the time of his arrival the nearest bridge on the Middle Loup river was at Loup City, fifty miles to the east, and the first bridge at this point was built at W'est Union by popular subscription, being 'later turned over to the county. Mr. Lovejoy was a contributor to this and other public-spirited enterprises, was justice of the peace and held other township offices for many years, assisted in the organization of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of this he was a member of the board of trustees. He also helped organize the cemetery at West Union, and was president of the cemetery association for a number of years. In politics he was a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Lovejoy were the parents of eight children, as follows : Emma, the wife of Frank Washburn, a New Hampshire farmer ; Mary, the wife of Rev. Charles Sharp, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, at Garden City, Kansas ; Frank E. ; Amy, the wife of George Brown, president of the Farmers Bank at Sargent ; Hattie, the wife of Fred \Mttemyer, a farmer of Boulder, Colorado ; George, who is deceased ; Alice, single, a resi- ' dent of Sargent ; and James, also unmarried and living at Sargent.

Frank E. Lovejoy attended the grammar schools of New Hampshire, and was seventeen years of age when he accompanied his mother and the other children on the long journey from their New England home to the unsettled country of the Nebraska frontier. He assisted his father and brother in the development and cultivation of the homestead, and took up farming when he reached manhood, this and stock-raising having since constituted his occupations. He is now the owner of the original homestead filed upon by his father and has made a handsome property out of it, productive and well improved, with good buildings and up-to-date equipment. He is a close student of his vocation, belongs to the Farmers Union, and as a business man his integrity has never been doubted. Mr. Lovejoy is a Repul)lican. In civic affairs he has shown his public spirit, and the citizens of his community have shown their faith in him by calling him to a number of local offices, he having been township clerk and a member of the town board for the past seven years, and assessor for four vears.

Mr. Lovejoy was married September 3, 1890, at Broken Bow, this county, to Miss Mary Douglas, a daughter of James and Margaret (Harkness) Douglas, who were pioneer residents of Antelope valley, near West Union. Mr. and i\Irs. Lovejoy are the parents of three children: John, who is a farmer west of Sargent, married Lora Williams; [Margaret is a schoolteacher and resides with her parents: and :\Iabel also is at home. The family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.

WILLIAM H. MACKLEY. - Undaunted by the hardships and privations of the early days, this sterling pioneer mastered the difficulties and problems of early farming on the Tallin Table, in the southwestern part of Custer county, and he is to-day one of the substantial, dependable, and highly esteemed citizens of the county.

Mr. Mackley was born in Hardin county, Ohio, on the 4th of February, 1861, and is a son of Christian and Margaret (Keetch) Mackley; the former a native of Pennsvlvania and the latter of Ohio. Of the children William H., of this review, is the eldest of the three sons, the others being James and Charles. Though the father was a carpenter by trade, he devoted the greater part of his active career to the basic industry of farming.