Custer County, Nebraska - Founders and Builders, 1919 (part 30 of 32)

FREDERICK G. BEARDSLEY. - Arnold gets credit for a large community of independent, substantial farmers ; men whose energy and ability have enabled them to do well for themselves and at the same time develop the county and make for it a reputation.

Frederick Beardsley is a native of the Empire state, where he was born in 1867. He is the son of C. A. and Mary (Miller) Beardsley, both of whom have been dead many years. The father reached the age of 55 but the mother died at the age of 35. They were very estimable people, the father, a blacksmith by occupation, followed iron work for the most of his life. There were eight children in the family. James, now deceased was a homesteader near Cozad. T. C. lives in Hastings. William is in New York. Melvin died in infancy. Charlotte Morton lives in Massachusetts. Rebecca Swart lives in Minnesota. Ida and Ella are deceased. Mr. Beardsley came to this county forty-one years ago, worked for his brother on a farm eighteen months, which was the first money he remembers making. He homesteaded in 1896 and later homesteaded again, in Logan county. He sold this also and is now operating a rented farm, upon which he is making a fine showing with good grades of live stock. Mr. Beardsley is considered a good farmer and stock-man. He took unto himself a life partner and since that time Abbie C. Wilcker, a native of Ohio and a very estimable lady, has been the sharer of his joys and sorrows. She has co-operated with him in all his toil and plans and deserves like credit with himself for the home that they have been able to maintain and the property accumulated. They have raised a large family of children, all of whom do them credit. Ward Olsen, Homer, and, Daniel are all Custer county farmers getting a good start and developing into citizens of the first type. Cora Parell lives in David City. Lottie and George are at home. Mildred Parell lives in David City. Florence, Albert, and William are at home. Melvin is deceased, adie Wardrobe lives on a farm in this county. That Mr. Beardsley stands for advancement and progressive innovations in the community is witnessed by the service that he has rendered as school director and road overseer. He has been a patriotic citizen of unquestioned loyalty during the recent war drives and one of the men upon whom the difTerent countv committees could depend for school district organization, and it is largely due to his efforts that his school district made a splendid record. The Beardsleys stand high in the local community.

L. O. WELCH, who has passed his entire career as a farmer of Custer county, is now the owner of 440 acres of finely improved land not far from Ansley. A part of this property was the original homestead of his pioneer father, who came to Custer county in 1885, and whose reputation as a constructive and progressive citizen and a skilled agriculturist the younger man is worthily maintaining.

L. O. Welch was born on a farm in Cass county, Iowa, October 30, 1881, a son of O. S. and Leila (Harrington) Welch. His paternal grandfather was Samuel Welch, a na- tive of Vermont and a pioneer of Iowa, where he died ; and his maternal grandfather was Newbri Harrington, also born in the Green Mountain state, whose death occurred in Nebraska. O. S. Welch was bom in Vermont and was a young man when he went to Iowa to decide upon locating there. Being favorably impressed with the outlook, he returned to his native state for his bride, and they began life on the prairies of Cass county, where they made their home for some years. In 1885 Mr. Welch, who was not satisfied with his progress in the Hawkeye state, brought his family to a homestead in Custer county, Nebraska, and here passed the remainder of his life in the cultivation of the soil and the establishing of a good home. He and Mrs. \\'elch were the parents of two children : Leota, the wife of E. A. Foster, a farmer of Custer county ; and L. O., of this notice. Mr. Welch was a Populist in politics, and served for a time as county supervisor of Custer county. He died in 1912, while his wife passed away in 1905.

L. O. Welch acquired his education in the district schools of Custer county, where he was brought as a child of four years, and his early training was all along agricultural lines. When he reached his majority he adopted farming for his life work, and this has held his attention to the present time, when he is the owner of 440 acres of good land. He has made many improvements on his property, including a fine set of modern buildings, and is accounted a skilled farmer and stock-raiser and a man of broad information on many lines. An active member of the Grange, he has made frequent lectures before that body, in regard to pertinent questions of the day, and is particularly interested in the work of the Non-Partisan League. In regard to political matters he is independent of party connection. His fraternal connection is with the local lodge of the Highlanders.

Mr. Welch was married in November, 1904, to Miss Grace Tunnell, who was born at Kearney, Nebraska, a daughter of William Tunnell. Mr. Tunnell passed away when she was a child, and she was reared by her stepfather, John Hoge, a prominent attorney of Kearney, where .she completed her education in the high school. Air. and Mrs. Welch are the parents of three sons : Frank S., born in 1906; John Iloge, born in 1908; and Robin Adair, horn in 1911. A daughter. Iris, died when three years old. Mrs. Welch is a member'of the Baptist church.

GOTTLOB HISER. - When he first came to Custer county, in 1886, Mr. Iliser had nearly reached middle age and was still a f)Oor man. While he had worked hard and intelligently, his activities had failed to bring him the success for which he had so eagerly and untiringly worked, and he sought the greater opportunities, although harder toil, of a new and developing country to grant him the prosperity that had been denied him in the more populous communities. That his faith has been vindicated and that his judgment was sound, is shown in the fact that he is to-day one of the substantial agriculturists of Custer county, in the Litchfield community.

Mr. Hiser was born in Wiirtemberg, Germany, February 5, 1847, a son of John and Dorothy (S'tark) Hiser. His parents were natives of Germany and were small agricultural people, the mother dying on the home place in her native land, and the father subsequently, in 1849, coming to the United States. In addition to Gottlob, there were five other children in the family, and all became communicants of the Lutheran church. Gottlob Hiser was an infant when his mother died and was but two years of age when his father left Gennany for America, so that he was reared virtually as an orphan. However, he was well trained in his youth, being the recipient of a fairly good common-school education and early assimilating the lessons of industry and honesty. In 1867, when he was twenty years of age, he immigrated to the L'nited States, a fellow-passenger on shipboard being Christina Reif, who later became his wife. Mr. Hiser made his way to Huntington county, Indiana, where he secured employment as a farm laborer, by the year, and, being sober, industrious, and capable, he had no trouble in getting a man's wages and in holding his position. After he had worked three years for the same employer, he started on a more independent career, and for a long time rented and leased land in Indiana. This did not prove satisfactory, and in 1885 he took the step which he had long contemplated, that of coming to Nebraska. For one year after his arrival, while he was familiarizing himself with conditions, he rented a property, but in 1886 he came to Custer county and homesteaded a property of forty acres. He paid out on this original home, and then bought 160 acres of rough land, without improvements, and put it under cultivation in addition to erecting buildings and installing equipment that made it a valuable and productive farm. His structures now include a pleasant and comfortable home, which he built himself, and which is furnished with the latest conveniences. During his career as an agriculturist Mr. Hiser has raised consider- able live stock, and at present he feeds all his corn. As one of the self-made men of this county he is worthy of and receives the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. In politics he is a Republican, and he has served as a member of the county board of supervisors, a capacity in which he displayed ability and a conscientious effort to assist his community in a practical way.

Mr. Hiser was united in marriage February 8, 1868, to Miss Christina Reif, who was born in Germany and came to America at the same time as her husband and settled in Huntington county, Indiana, where their marriage took place soon afterward. To this union there were born si.x children: Mary is the wife of Joe Ulre)', a farmer of Indiana ; EHas is a ranchman in Wyoming; Nona is the wife of John Myers, a cement manufacturer at Davenport, Iowa ; Sarah is the wife of Charles Grant, on a Wyoming ranch ; Minnie is the wife of Herman Holm, a farmer of Custer county ; and Edward resides with his parents.

W. E. OWEN, whose successful operations as a general farmer and stockraiser on a vers* large body of land, make him prominent and important in the agricultural affairs of Custer county, resides in a comfortable and attractive residence situated four miles southeast of Broken Bow. He was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, March 23, 1858. His parents were Henry Clay and Elizabeth (Martin) Owen, the former of whom was born in Michigan and the latter in Ohio.

On both sides of the family the grandparents settled in Wisconsin when their children were young and there the latter grew to mature years and were married. Henry Clay Owen was a farmer in Wisconsin when he enlisted for service in the Civil war, entering the Thirty-third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, but he did not long survive, dying in 1862, from disease brought on by the hardships of army life. He was survived by his widow and the following children : W. E. ; Mary, who became the wife of Charles Hamlin, an old settler of Custer county and now a resident of Texas; and J. A. Owen, who carries on a teaming business at Broken Bow. Henry Clay Owen was a member of the Church of God. In political opinion he was a Republican. His widow married again and continued to live in Wisconsin.

W. E. Owen had comparatively few educational advantages in boyhood, attending the district schools for a short time only, but by the time he was twenty-one years of age had become competent as a farmer and during the succeeding eight years followed farming in Iowa. In 1886 he came to Custer county, Nebraska, took up a pre-emption, and after proving up on his claim continued to acquire land and at the present time has 2,773 acres of fine land, which he devotes to his agricultural industries. He has been able to make farming and stock-raising in Custer county ver}' profitable.

In Iowa, in May, 1879, Mr. Owen was married to Samantha Snyder, who was born in Virginia and was brought to Iowa when a child. Her father, Allen Snyder, served three years in the Civil war. She died April 6, 1903, without issue. Mr. Owen was married May 4, 1905, to Minnie Hayes, a native of Missouri, and they have two children : Claris, born January 29, 1906, and Iva, born September 21, 1912. Mr. Owen is a member of the Church of God.

NICHOLAS JACQUOT. - In the years that have passed, many of the honored citizens of Custer county have gone to their reward. The impress of their lives and the evidences of their labors are found on everj' hand. The subject of this memoir was one whose record, as a citizen of genuine worth, should have a place in the annals of Custer county.

Nicholas Jacquot was bom in the village of Tonnonvalle, France. December 11, 1844. In his native land he was reared to the age of nineteen years, and he then ran away from home and sailed for the United States. Three months later he enlisted in the Union army, and he served until the close of the Civil war, receiving an honorable discharge. At Wesley. Illinois, where he had charge of a hotel, he married Josephine Mitchell, and in 1867 they moved to Livingston county, that state. On the 10th of March, 1880, his wife died, and June 12, 1882, he married Alargaret Keam. In the month of Januar}-, 1883, he came to Custer county and secured a homestead in section 33, township 18, range 22. His first home was in a sod house, in which the family lived three years, with only a dirt floor. Mr. Jacquot had been in Nebraska some time before coming here to make his home, and had purchased land in \'alley county'. He was engaged in farming in Livingston county, Illinois, and, not being the owner of the land, was paying crop rental. To see those big crops of corn and other grain gathered after so much hard work all summer, and then give the landlord two-fifths of all he raised, made him feel that he might do better in Nebraska, where he could own his own land. To his wife and family he pictured Nebraska in anythino- but glowing- colors, but they decided to try it. They endured all the hardships and privations incident to the period of development in Custer county and contributed their full share in the work of progress. Among other hardships, no greater one had to be encountered than that of securing water for stock as well as for family use. A large lagoon on the land he took as a homestead furnished the water not only for his own family but also for other early settlers, who would come for miles with barrels and haul away the precious water. But in the month of June Mr. Jacquot dug a well, and for several" vears he engaged quite profitably in boring wells for other settlers. He engaged in farming, and for years bought and shipped stock, an enterprise that added to his yearly income. He later engaged in the grain ' business, at Merna, where he operated an elevator, as did he also one at Ravenna, and later he bought one at Anselmo. His son Frank later entered into partnership with him, and this continued till failing health compelled the subject of this review to give up all business cares. He and his wife spent two years in California, thinking to benefit his health, but he continued to grow worse, and at Rochester. Minnesota, on the 23d of June, 1911, the end came.

In the passing of this pioneer, Custer county lost a good business man and worthy citizen, and his family a loving husband and father. Nicholas Jacquot was a successful man in all his varied business ventures and left his family a valuable estate. Herewith is given a record of the children : Of the first marriage six children were born - John, a resident of Colorado; Frank, of Merna, Custer county; ]\Ia^\^ the wife of George Milligan, of Anselmo, this county ;' Jennie, who died in Illinois at the age of ten years; Kate, the wife of Ellis W. Given, of Custer county; and Lizzie, the wife of John Leonard, of this county. Of the second marriage there were five children - Edna May, wife of Archie Bolen, of Custer county ; George, residing on the old farm ; Eva, the deceased wife of Charles Luce; Nicholas, of Merna ; and Jennie, deceased. By a former marriage Mrs. Jacquot had three children - Elizabeth, widow of B. F. Edwards, of Anselmo, this county; Josephine, wife of E. J. Foley, of Anselmo; and Joseph, a farmer of Custer county.

The data for this record of Nicholas Jacquot and his family were furnished by his widow, who now makes her home in IVIerna. She came to Custer county with her husband thirtyfive years ago, shared in all tliose years of toil and hardship, and recites an interesting story of pioneer days in Custer county. It was on Decoration Day, 1891, she and her husband were driving to Anselmo, and in passing fields of grain on which he had loaned money he would point them out and remark that he would lose so much on this field and so much on that if they did not get rain. His wife tried to be cheerful and told him that rain would come, and, sure enough, that day a small cloud appeared in the sky and before night the country was drenched with a good rain. They had their good times and hard times, but, withal, they lived to see the county develop into a prosperous one and the members of their family all become useful members of societ)^

Nicholas Jacquot was a Catholic in religious faith and in politics was a Democrat, though he never aspired to nor held public ofiice. He helped organize and served as president of the Home Bank of Menia. He was a successful man in all he undertook and will long be remembered as a substantial pioneer of Custer countv.

WALTER W. WATERS. - In his development from a countn,' school teacher to the proprietorship of a flourishing business enterprise and the mayoralty of a thriving and growing city, Walter \\'. Waters, of Broken Bow, has displayed the possession of perseverance, industry and real ability, and of personal qualities that attract and hold general confidence, whether in business or public life. He was born in Clark county, Missouri, April 19, 1873, a son of George O. and Elvira (Story) Waters, but has been a resident ot Custer county since 1879.

George O. \\'aters, who was a native of Ohio, went to Missouri about the year 1865, and was there married, his wife being a native of that state. They resided in Missouri, on a farm in Clark county, until 1879 when they removed to Custer county and Mr. Waters almost immediately became an active factor in the public life of the community. He was a member of the first board of county supervisors, was deputy clerk of the county court and at one time was elected county recorder, but found the population of the county was not large enough and declined the office. Mr. and Mrs. Waters, of whom further data will be found in the sketch of R. E. Waters, elsewhere in this work, are now residents of California. They are members of the Methodist lC])!Scopal church, and Mr. Waters is a Republican.

the latter in 1894, and then furthered his education by attenadnce at Peru Normal school, where he completed his course in 1898. He immediately entered upon his career as an , educator, an experience which extended over a period of twelve years, during which time he first taught in the rural districts, later was principal of schools at Shelton and elsewhere, and finally became superintendent of schools at Saint Paul, Nebraska. When he gave up teaching as a vocation, in 1909, it was to enter commercial afTairs at Broken Bow, where, in partnership with C. S. Tooley, he embarked in a hardware business. After two years the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Waters engaged in the implement business on his own account at Broken Bow, an enterprise which he has since built up to large proportions. He carries a full and up-to-date line of tools and farming implements and machinery, and has had the satisfaction of seeing his trade grow in commensurate value with the efforts he has exercised and with the fairness of policy that he has used in the conduct of his transactions. Mr. Waters not only bears an excellent reputation in business circles but is of foremost men in Broken Bow's civic and public life. When the people of this community came to the conclusion that they needed a chief executive who possessed business ability and at the same time the qualities necessary for leadership, Mr. Waters' name at once suggested itself, and he duly became the Republican candidate and was elected mayor. So satisfactory was his first term that he was re-elected by the largest majority ever given a candidate for this position. His administration of affairs has been characterized by constructive work and civic advancement.

Mr. Waters was married in 1895, to Miss Stella Brown, who was born in Illinois, and to this union there have been born three children : Helen, a graduate of Broken Bow High School, class of 1917, the same high school that her mother graduated from ; Carroll, a pupil in eighth grade ; and Emily, a fifth grade pupil. Mr. and Mrs. Waters and their children are consistent attendants of the Christian church.

FRANK HEAPS, who is one of the successful agriculturists of the community of Broken Bow, is another representative of the farming industry who has won success in his native state. Mr. Pleaps was born on a farm in Hamilton county, August 15, 1884, and is a son of Charles G. Heaps.

Golden and Elizabeth (Woodruff) Heaps, were natives of England, the former born at London and the latter at Liverpool. They had nine children, of whom three still survive: Mary, who is the widow of Thomas W. Palmer, a farmer; Elizabeth, the wife of Frank Groll, formerly a farmer but for the past two years a retired resident of Evansville, Indiana ; and Charles G. Charles G. Heaps was bom in Gibson county, Indiana, September 6, 1859, and received a public school education at Princeton, that state. Reared as a farmer, he adopted that profession upon the attainment of his majority, shortly after which he came to Nebraska and bought eighty acres of land in Hamilton county. This he cultivated for several years, when he sold out and in 1884 came to Custer county, where he homesteaded a tract and where he has resided ever since. He is a practical and progressive agriculturist who has made a success of his affairs, because of his good judgment and persevering industry, and his standing in his community is that of a good citizen and a man of the highest integrity and strictest probity of character. He was reared in the faith of the Baptist church and has continued to follow its teachings. Politically he is a Democrat. He and Mrs. Heaps have had eight children, all of whom are living: J. O., who married Zoe Bishop and is engaged in farming at Lillian, Nebraska ; Ada, the wife of David Dewey, a farmer; Frank, a widower, who is engaged in farming in Custer county; Earl, a farmer of this community, who married Velma Smith ; Maggie, the wife of Hugh Campbell, a fanner of Weissert ; Leone, the wife of Clarence Brown, a farmer; and Charles and Rex, who reside with their parents.

Frank Heaps received his education in the common schools of Custer county, and when he completed his studies embarked in farming, which has been his vocation to the present time. He has applied modern methods to his operations, with the result that he has made a success of his work, and gradually has become known as one of the more progressive members of the younger farming element. Mr. Heaps is a Democrat, but has applied himself so closely to his agricultural labors that he has had little time for outside interests. He is not affiliated with any religious body or organization.

Mr. Heaps was married to Miss Catherine Barnesberger, who is now deceased, and they became the parents of three children : Rosella, born September 28. 1912; Virginia, born March 28, 1914; and Edwin, born Tanuarv 4, 1916.

FOSTER JACKSON, who since his arrival in Broken Bow, in 1910, has been increasingly successful in his business operations, has gradually developed into one of the leaders of his community's dealers in houses and general real estate. He was born on a farm in Van Wert county, Ohio, August 27, 1878, and is a son of Simeon A. and Rebecca (Hayes) Jackson.

Simeon A. Jackson was born in Pennsylvania, and as a young man went to Ohio, where he was residing at the outbreak of the Civil war. He was one of the first to answer the call for volunteers, joining one of the first Ohio infantry regiments, and during his four years of service took part in many important engagements, including Lookout Mountain. In that battle he was severely wounded and confined to the hospital for a time, but upon his recovery rejoined his regiment and fought until peace was declared. Returning then to Ohio, he resumed his farming operations in Van Wert county, where he passed the rest of his life and where his widow still survives. They became the parents of seven children, of whom the following survive: Willis, a contractor of Columbus, O. ; Minnie, who married Frank Richards, engaged in the implement business at St. Paul, Minnesota ; Oscar, who is a contractor and builder of Van Wert, Ohio ; Elias, a contractor of Lima, Ohio ; Otis, engaged in leasing oil lands at St. Louis, Missouri ; and Foster, the only one in Nebraska. The father of these children was a Republican in his political faith, but was never an office seeker. His wife, who was born in Mercer county, Ohio, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

The education of Foster Jackson was secured in the public schools of Mendon, Ohio, near which town the old homestead was located, and as a youth he was thoroughly trained in the various departments of agriculture. Thus equipped, in young manhood he went to Idaho, in which state he secured employment as foreman of a ranch, a position which he retained for two years. Mr. Foster came to Broken Bow February 27, 1910, and established himself in business in the line of moving houses. This gradually led him into buying and selling houses, and he was quick to recognize the opportunities offered in the real estate field here, so that he has developed into one of the pushing and energetic men in the field of handling realty and is now carrying on a large business which has assumed important proportions. Mr. Foster has himself contributed to the upbuilding of the community by the erection of his own modern home, near the square, and several other residences, and a specialty of his business is the remodeling of houses. Mr. Jackson is independent in his political views, preferring to choose his own candidates rather than to vote blindly with any certain party. He has attached himself to several movements which have been promulgated for the betterment of Broken Bow's interests and has shown himself in various ways a constructive and publicspirited citizen.

Mr. Jackson was married January 18, 1903, prior to leaving Ohio, to Miss Maude Dull, who was born in the Buckeye state, m 1882, a daughter of Delbert and Malissa Dull, both of whom were born in Ohio, where the father died and where Mrs. Dull still makes her home. Two children have come to this union : Ralph, born November 9, 1905 ; and Vaughn, born August 22, 1906.

PHILIP JOHNSON. - In the death of Philip Johnson, Custer county lost one of its highly respected pioneer citizens - one who had shared in the hardships and experiences of the early settlers and contributed in a large measure to the building up and development of the community in which he lived.

Philip Johnson was a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred April 23, 1842. In his native state he was reared and there he was united in marriage to Miss Wilhelmina Nolsch, who was born in Germany, February 19, 1843, and who came to the LInited States when she was ten years old. Mr. Johnson became a successful farmer and land owner in Ohio, where he carried on agricultural pursuits until 1886, when he came to Nebraska and secured a homestead in Custer county. His first home was a primitive sod house, and after proving up on the homestead he sold the property and bought land in township 18, range 22, and township 18, range 23. This farm he admirably improved, and he made it one of the valuable properties in Custer county. Here he resided until his tragic death called him from the scene of his earthly activities.

On June 17, 1912, Mr. Johnson and his wife were on their way to visit his sister, when, at Mt. Vernon, Iowa, while changing trains, they were struck by a fast train and instantly killed. Their passing was a severe blow to their family and their many friends, as they were devoted parents and loyal friends. They were the parents of eight children : Jacob, of Broken Bow : Annie, wife of F. S. Ackerman ; Sarah, deceased wife of John Varnek ; David, a resident of Ohio ; Martin, who owns and operates the old farm ; May, who married Sam AIcGinnis and resides in Thomas county, Nebraska ; Eva, wife of A. C. Anderson, of Lin-

In recording the lives of those brave men and women who established homes in Cvister county when the work of development was only initiated and who devoted years of sacrifice and labor to make better the conditions of living for those who follow after them, we present to the readers of this volume a brief sketch of a worthy pioneer couple who did their full sharf and who are entitled to a memorial tribute in this history of Custer countv.

M. LUDWIG JACKSON, whose standing as a substantial farmer and public-spirited citizen rests upon thirty years of connection with the agricultural and civic interests of Custer county, has won honorable success and reputation through his own efforts. He started his career as a landholder in 1888 and during the time that has elapsed has proved himself prepared for ^very emergency and worthy of every trust. Eike many others whose homes are in Custer county, Mr. Jackson was born in Sweden, his birth date being January 31, 1858, and his parents Jacob and IVIaria (Nelson) Jackson.

Mr. Jackson was reared in an agricultural family, his father and forebears having followed the pursuits of the soil for many years in Sweden. His parents never left that country, nor did any other children in the family with the exception of John C. The youngest of the family, M. Ludwig Jackson, received ordinary educational advantages in the schools of his native land, where he was brought up under a rigid training as to the virtue of honesty and industry. He was dissatisfied with such opportunities as he found for advancement in Sweden, and shortly after attaining his majority he left that country and immigrated to the United States. He soon found that in order to gain a start he must work hard and faithfully, and that opportunities were oft'ered only to the worthy and ambitious. For several years after reaching Grand Island, Nebraska, he followed railroading, and also for a like period was variously engaged in other employments, but when he reached Grand Island he had only seventy dollars. However, he finally started out on another line, determined to gain success in the pursuit in which he had been reared, that of agriculture, to which he applied himself as a renter of land. He continued in the same capacity for three seasons and succeeded in saving enough monev with which to purchase a team, and in 1888 came to Custer county and bought one quarter-section of land. He paid his indebtedness on this land, and then purchased eighty acres more, and since then he has made other additions, besides making improvements of all kinds, including the erection of substantial buildings. He has a pleasant and comfortable modern home, equipped with all conveniences, and his farm is a model of neatness and order. As a general farmer he has succeeded through the use of modern methods and -processes, combined with hard and constant work, and in the line of stock-raising he has also met with prosperity, having a good grade of cattle and being considered a well informed man in that direction. Mr. Jackson has not been prominent in public life, but has been a public-spirited supporter of worth-while movements and one who by his influence, precept, and example, has tried to secure good legislation for his community. In political aft'airs he takes an independent stand, depending upon his own judgment in his selection of candidates and principles, rather than that of the parties. With his family, he belongs to the Baptist church. In 1891 Mr. Jackson married Miss Sadie Bray, daughter of William N. and Frances (Ogburn) Bray, natives respectively of Ohio and West Virginia. Mr. Bray is a retired farmer of Custer county, now living at Mason City. He came to this county in 1885 and spent thirty years in farming and stock-raising. A full sketch of his career will be found elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson became the parents of seven children : George L., who, at the time of this writing, is in training for service in the United States army, in camp at Cambridge, Massachusetts ; Carl F., who is with the American Expeditionary Forces, in France ; Edward W., who is now in service in the United States army; and Clara M., Cressie, Kermit J., and Archie C, who are at home with their parents.

A^IOS B. LEWIS. - Another intelligent, progressive farmer and stockman who belongs to one of the widely known pioneer families of the county is the one whose life sketch here follows.

Amos B. Lewis was born in 1877 and has been a resident of the county ever since he was two years of age. Here he received his education, lived through the days of childhood and boyhood, and he finds himself to-day in the prime and vigor of middle life, surrounded by an interesting family and engaged in a profitable occupation. He is the son of Moses and Martha E. (Howe) Lewis, both very excellent people. The father was a native of New York and the mother of Illinois. The father, who was a Civil war veteran, was possessed of a mechanical genius and was the inventor of some very helpful farm tools, notably ledger blades for a mowing machine, and a cultivator of exceptional utility. He came to the state in 1879 and homesteaded one mile east and north of Broken Bow. Both the father and mother were charter members of the First Baptist church of Broken Bow. The father is deceased. The mother has since remarried and is living in Grand Island. They were the parents of five children, all of whom have done exceptionally well out in the world of useful activity. John, the first born, is a prominent citizen of Wayne, where he is a member of the faculty of the Wayne State Normal. Amos, whose name appears above, is the second bom. George M. is jn Seattle, where he is engaged in electrical ralroading. Garland E. is at Niagara Falls, where he is professor of chemistry in a noted institution of learning. Leland j. is an instructor in the Columbia University. Both John and Garland were among the superintendents of public instruction of Custer county, each serving with credit to himself and profit to the school system. .

Amos B. Lewis homesteaded in 1905 and to this has added other acres until to-day he has a holding of 2.450 acres, upon which he usually runs about three hundred head of cattle the year around. The cattle are fine-grade Polled Durhams. His fancy in hogs runs to the Duroc Jerseys and in the breeding of this type he has made a splendid showing. Since nearly all his life has been spent in this county he has known its progress and development and has had much to do himself with some of the early events.

He claims the distinction of being on the first railroad engine that ran into Broken Bow. He was joined in holy wedlock to Leota C. Russom. a daughter in one of the first families of the county. Mrs. Lewis is an estimable lady of culture and refinement and has been an able assistant to her husband in all his agricultural enterprises and community service. Into their home the years have brought five children, all interesting and of much promise. They are Loma E. ; Eula V. ; Theodore V. ; Rowena M. ; and John R. All are at home and in full pursuit of their education. The family belongs to the Baptist church, and is rated as a leading family in the community.

Herman H. E. Huenefeld was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, July 3, 1864, and he is a son of Carl and Louisa (Hasse) Huenefeld, both natives of Germany. The parents were splendid people, and they had five children - Carl, Fred, Louise Klein, Simon, and Herman H. E. The father was a farmer, and he came from Germany to Freeport, Illinois, when Carl, the first-born son of the family, was but one year old. The family stopped in Freeport for a short time, and from there moved to Grant county, Wisconsin, where the subject of this sketch was born and reared. Concerning his early days spent on a farm, Herman H. E. Huenefeld remembers that he had to carry a light cradle in cradling a field of grain full of stumps. It was his job to locate the stumps and have his cousin stop and cradle around them. For this service he received the first fifteen-cent piece in script that he ever saw. When he was thirteen years of age his mother died, and one year later his father passed away, leaving the children doubly orphaned. They remained on the farm, however, the sister keeping them together and tending- to the household duties. When the brother Fred married, his wife took charge of the home, and the brothers worked the land together until the farm was sold and the family came to Custer county. This was in the spring of 1886. The three brothers. Fred, Simon and Herman, located about sixteen miles southwest of Callaway, in Roten valley. Each bought a half-section of railroad land, for two dollars and fifty cents an acre. At the present time this land is worth at least fifty dollars an acre.

February 26. 1889, in Grant county, Wisconsin, was recorded the marriage of Herman H. E. Huenefeld to Miss Emma Casper, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Herberlein) Casper, who were natives of Germany, and who had ten children, eight of whom are living at the present time - Jacob. Carl, Henry, Emil. Albert, William, Joseph, and Emma.

Mr. and Mrs. Huenefeld started their home in a very modest way, and they maintained it over the extreme difficulties of the first years. Like their neighbors, they hauled water from five to nine miles, and then had to pay five cents a barrel for it besides the hauling. Sometimes the wagon sent for water had to wait all night for the wind to come up and start the pump. In connection with those early days Mr. Huenefeld says that it was an interesting proposition to figure out how they could get the three per cent, a month to pay for money they had to Ijorrow at the bank to tide them over the hard times. Yet the family survived all these difficulties and have come now to the crest of the hill, where life is easier and labor not so strenuous. The landed holdings consist of 480 acres, well improved and in high cultivation. Farming and stock-raising have paid for everything, supported the family, and are responsible for the present accumulation. Following is brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Huenefeld: Clara is the wife of Leslie Dickerson, a farmer living about three and one-half miles south of Cozad, and they have two children ; Lena is a teacher who received training at the business college at Broken Bow, and she makes her home with the parents ; Rosa is deceased ; Erma and Nora have finished the eighth grade in the public schools and both are at the parental home.

The family belong to the Evangelical church, in which they are faithful, consistent members. Mr. Huenefeld declares allegiance to no political party, rating himself as an independent. In exercising the franchise he makes his own selection of candidates.

ALONZO B. ASH. - The Ash family came to Custer county, Nebraska, with the first settlers, and for almost forty years the name has stood for good citizenship, enterprising spirit and sound, practical business methods. The family has always been an agricultural one, farming and stock-raising claiming the attention of father and sons, and in these industries they have been very successful. A representative member of this old Custer county family is found in Alonzo B. Ash, whose fine farm is located on section 31, township 21, with postoffice at Broken Bow, Nebraska.

Alonzo B. Ash was bom September 26, 1871, at Marshalltown, Marshall county, Iowa, His parents were Jesse M. and Indiana Ash, both of whom were born at Shelbyville, Indiana. There were ten children in the family, namely: Elva, Alonzo B., Ward, Blanche, Harrj', Herbert, Boyd, Vennie. George, and Corbett, all of whom are living with the exception of George. With prudent preparation for the future of his growing family, Jesse M. Ash for some time considered the relative advantages presented by different western states before he decided on coming to Nebraska, led thereto by the state's even temperature, fertile soil and, at that time, an extensive farm area for homesteading. Alonzo B. was eight years old when, in April, 1879, settlement was made in Custer county, and here he has continued to live contentedly ever since. He was educated in the public schools and was trained to efficiency in his vocation, through the routine of farm work. Mr. Ash now finds himself a man of the utmost value to his country in her time of need, and as a loyal and patriotic citizen he is making every effort to adci to the already bounteous yield of his acres. He has long been deemed one of the county's most progressive stock-raisers, his farm showing standard stock only. He raises pure-bred Shire horses and makes a specialty of Poland China hogs.

Mr. Ash was married at Broken Bow, Nebraska, November 4, 1906, to Miss Etta Doty, who is a daughter of Josephus and Martha Doty, and they have the following children : Blanche, Fern, Boyd, Chris, and Ernest. Mr. Ash has never been very active in politics but votes with the Democratic party.

JOHN O. JACKSON. - In naming the pioneers of Custer county the late John O. Jackson will be recalled, for he was one of the dependable men here in early days and subsequently prospered with the county. He was a fine man in every way - courageous and resourceful, keen in business and industrious in habit - and in all he did he was honorable and upright, and just to his fellow men.

John O. Jackson was born December 11, 1849, in Sweden, and died in Nebraska, January 2, 1914. He remained in his native land until he was eighteen years old and then started out alone to make his way in the world. He crossed the Atlantic ocean to the United States and landed on hospitable shores, for he easily found employment wherever he went and before reaching Nebraska had traveled through many of the states of the Union. He located at first in Pennsylvania, then went to ^linnesota and then to Arkansas, and he visited other sections prior to 1878, when he came to Merrick county. Nebraska. In the meanwhile he worked on farms, saved his monev. and became acquainted with the language and customs. \\"iien he reached Custer county, alx)ut 1879, he had matured plans and settled convictions. He homesteadcd in a desirable part of the county and took up a tree claim. He kept on adding to his possessions until, at the time of his death, he owned a whole section of land. His homestead was well developed and well stocked and continues to be a source of large revenue to his family.

Mr. Jackson was married August 10, 1878, to Aliss Florence Beaman, a daughter of A. and Esther (Lamb) Beaman, who were natives of Franklin county. New York, and who came to Nebraska at an early day. Mr. Beaman owned a large estate in Merrick county and both he and his wife died there. Of their family of nine children Mrs. Jackson was the first born. To Mr. and Mrs. Jackson five children were born, the survivors being: Maude is the wife of Thomas Bahr. a farmer near Montevista, Colorado, and they have four children - John, Grace, Margaret, and Robert J. ; Grace, second daughter of the subject of this memoir, is the wife of Ralph Keplinger, who not only farms his own quarter-section but also, a quarter-section belonging to 'Mrs. Jackson, he and his wife having two children - Maude and Lyle ; Belle, who resides with her mother at Grand Island, has completed a course in the Nebraska Normal School at Kearney, and is now in the pedagogic profession.

Mr. Jackson always took an interest in politics and had sound ojjinions on the leading issues of the day. In his early political life he was a Republican but later he foUnd himself more in syn^pathy with the Democratic party. He belonged to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and attended the Mason City lodge of the same. For many years he was a faithful member of the Baptist church, and in various ways he contributed to other agencies for good in the county. He was a marked example of the self-made man, and what he accomplished was the result of his own unassisted efforts.

E. P. \\'-\LTER is now entering his thirtieth year of serv'ice with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and is without doubt one of the best known railroad men in Nebraska, having entered upon his career in 1889. Mr. Walter, who started his service with the Burlington route as a roustabout and who is now general agent for that great company at Broken Bow, was born in Coming, Iowa, December 14, 1871, and is a son of Jacob and Emily (Weaver) Walter.

Jacob ^^'alte^ was born in Bavaria, in 1833, and was five years of age when brought to the United tales by his parents, who settled in Ohio. There he was bound out to learn the harnessmaker's trade, which he mastered and followed as a journeyman in Ohio prior to his migration to Missouri, when he was still a young man. In the latter state he was married to Eniily Weaver, who was born at Canal Dover, Ohio, in 1836, and they soon moved to Quincy, Iowa, where they established their home prior to the advent of the railroads, which necessitated their freighting their household goods from Saint Joseph. For a number of years Mr. Walter was engaged in business at Corning and later at Creston, but he eventually retired and in his declining years moved to Colorado, his death occurring in 1898 at Denver, while Mrs. Walter passed away in 1892, at Colorado Springs. They were the parents of two sons and two daughters : Cora, the wife of T. H. Campbell, auditor of the Colorado National Bank of Denver, with which institution he has been identified for thirty years; Sarah, of Los Angeles, California, widow of Will Foreman, who for twenty-eight years was traveling auditor for the Burlington ; Charles S., engaged in the piano business at San Francisco ; and E. P. Mr. and Mrs. Walter were consistent members of the Congregational church and were actively interested in church afifairs. He was a Republican.

E. P. Walter completed his education in the high schools of Omaha and Denver, from the latter of which he graduated in 1889, and in that same year lije joined the service of the company with which he is yet connected. Railroad work appealed to his nature as a youth, but as he was untrained he was forced to start in a humble capacity and began his labors as a common roustabout. However, his industr\' and energ\- soon won him promotion ; he became in turn telegrapher, operator and agent, and at various times was transferred, as his usefulness grew, to larger and more important posts. Until 1907 he was on what is known as the McCook Division, but in the year mentioned he came to the Alliance Division, and after being at Crawford for three years came to Broken Bow, in 1912, as general agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, having complete charge of everything pertaining to the road's interests and possessions at this jjoint. Coming into daily contact with thousands of people, as he has and does, it is but natural that Sir. Walter should have a wide acquaintance and that he should be unequivocally popular. He is recognized as a skilled, thorough and well informed railroad man, in whose hands the company's interests are safe.

born at Lexington, Iowa, and four children have been born to them: Ben, attending Creighton University as a medical student ; Joe, who graduated from the Broken Bow high school in 1918; Paul, a freshman in that school, at present spending his time with his uncle in Colorado ; and Edna, a public school student. Mr. and Mrs. Walter and their children belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a Royal Arch Mason, has ser\-ed as master of his blue lodge, and is a Republican with independent inclinations. He has taken a deep interest in civic affairs, and was practically the founder of the Public Service Club, of which he is at this time secretary.

ORLANDO M. WOLF, now one of the prosperous farmers and stockmen of the Sargent community in Custer county, belongs to that class of men who have attained their present positions of prominence and leadership solely through the medium of their own efforts. When he first came to this region, more than thirty years ago, his capital in regard to finances was represented by the sum of five dollars, and in the several years that followed he experienced all the hardships imaginable connected with life in an undeveloped locality. However, he has persevered and labored, and to-day is the owner of 960 acres of land, highly cultivated, and made more valuable by improvements of a modern character.

Mr. Wolf was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, April 2, 1865, a son of Peter and Caroline (Woodmansee) Wolf, natives of Pennsylvania, who passed their lives in their native state and were devotees of the peaceful pursuits of the soil in a highly civilized community. They were devout church members, highly respected by their neighbors, and Mr. Wolf was a staunch supporter of Democratic principles. They had seven children, of whom six are living: Elizabeth, who is the'wife of Joseph Bailey, a miner of New Cumberland. West Virginia : John, a fanner near Sargent, who married Alice Lundy ; Sarah M., a resident of Oakdale, Pennsylvania, who is the widow of William Chapman ; Orlando M., of this notice ; William H., a steel mill operator of Tylerdale, Pennsylvania, who married Laura Blair; and Charles, whose present whereabouts are unknown.

Orlando M. Wolf received his education in the common schools of Pennsylvania, where he was reared on the home farm, and was variously employed until after he was eighteen years old, when he severed home ties and struck out to make his own way in the world. He arrived at Grand Island, Nebraska, with but five dollars, and in November, 1883, started to work in Custer county. The time did not seem auspicious for his permanent settlement, however, and in March, 1885, he went west and for eleven years was employed in various ways. During this time he experienced discouragements and disappointments that would have broken the spirit of a less persistent and sturdy man, for he lost his crops by hail, had them burned up by drought, and suffered various other misfortunes, and one winter he and his wife were both compelled to go out and work, at $13 per month, in order that they might live through the winter months and have something with which to start the following spring. However, their perseverance and courage were rewarded, for when Mr. Wolf returned to Custer county he had sufficient means with which to purchase a farm, and also to homestead 120 acres, and this latter tract, in section 30, township 17, still fonns a part of his 960 acres. Of this land, 800 acres is all in one body, and the whole property is in an excellent state of cultivation. Mr. Wolf has engaged to some extent in farming, but has made more of a feature of stock-raising, and in this has been very successful. He has his property improved with a fine home, substantial barns and good outbuildings, and the entire place evidences Mr. Wolf's energetic and progressive spirit and his modern ideas of agriculture. He has not entered actively into public affairs, but supports good movements and is known as a public-spirited citizen.

Mr. Wolf was married December 25, 1888, to Miss Clara Ferris, a daughter of William and Evaline (Huntley) Ferris, of Round Valley, and to this union there have been bom rive children, as follows : Sylvia, who is the wife of Howard Cooper, engaged in farming near Sargent ; Charles, who married Edith Woods, and is engaged in agriculture in this community; Mary E., the wife of Elmer Ellingson, of Round Valley ; and Ernest and Leonard, who are single, and are their father's assistants in the work of the home farm and ranch.

JESSE BRADBURN, who is an enterprising and careful farmer on section 7, township 34, near Round Valley, Custer county, has practically spent his entire life in this part of the state of Nebraska. He was bom at Elton, Custer county, August 1, 1886. His parents, Joseph and Mary (Lawton) Brad- burn, came here in 1884 and bought a homestead right. They had seven children and five of these survive, namely : Grace, who is the wife of Charles Fresch, a lumberman, of Glenville, Nebraska ; Jesse ; Wilbur, who was born September 4, 1892, lives at home; Ernest, who is a farmer in Round Valley, married Permelia Ward; and Twila, who is the wife of George Martin, at present a worker in a munitions plant at Utica, New York.

Jesse Bradburn was educated in the country schools in Custer county and the high school at Broken Bow. Farming and stockraising have engaged his attention ever since.

RALLY E. HICKENBOTTOM. - The reader may well note the name that initiates this paragraph and then read the following' story of a thrifty farmer who credits all he is and has to the opportunities of this western country.

Rally E. Hickenbottom was born in Jefferson county, Iowa, on the 4th of January, 1864, and is a son of Stephen and Caroline (Taylor) Hickenbottom, the former of whom was born and reared in Kentucky and the latter of whom was a native of West Virginia. In the home circle of this excellent couple were twelve children, all of whom are living except three. Those deceased are Mrs. Mary Snyder, Stephen and Mrs. Margaret F. Bayles. The surviving children are Mrs. Prudence Pfoutz, William T., Mrs. Jane Eastman, Mrs. Sadie Moore, Mrs. Josephine Baker, Mrs. Johanna Jensen. Mrs. Belle Case, Rally E., and Jane. Stephen Hickenbottom was a farmer by vocation and he maintained a comfortable home for his family.

Rally K. Hickenbottom lived at home and worked on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, and in the meanwhile he obtained a sfood common-school education that has stood him well in hand in later years. When he became of age his father gave him a span of horses, with harness and wagon, and started him out into the world. What became of the harness and wagon is not recorded, but it can safelv be said that the team hauled him over the long road that eventually led him to his present home, more than thirty years ago.

In Jefferson county, Iowa, on the 4th of Alay, 1887, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hickenbottom to Miss Lora C. Stallman, a daughter of Solomon and Hannah (Herman) Stallman. of that county, her parents having been Pennsylvania people and both having been faithful members of the Presbyterian church. Since that day the home of Mr. and I\lrs. Hickenbottom has been blessed with seven children : Rally C. married Miss Frances S'chreycr and they reside on a farm six miles north of Callaway. They have two children. Rally C. Hickenbottom was assigned to class No. 4 in the selective draft for service in the world war. Mrs. Lydia J. Volenweider lives with her husband on a farm near Oconto, and they have three children. Leslie A., a farmer near Callaway, was registered in the last draft and was assigned to class No. 2. The maiden name of his wife was Annie Lewis. Frederick J., who is associated with his father in the operations of the home farm, was classified in the first division in the war draft. Alamie D. and ]\Iary C. were twins, and the latter died at the age of eight months. Mamie D. is the wife of Edmond K. Lichtenberger and they reside on a farm near Callaway. Delia, who remains at the parental home, is a student in the Callaway high school. The boys of the family are all Republicans in politics and all are doing well in their initial activities in farm enterprse. The married daughters have excellent husbands and are establishing comfortable and ideal homes.

Air. Hickenbottom came to Custer county in 1887 and located on Spring creek, where he rented land during the first year of his residence in the county. He then purchased 160 acres on the Tallin Table, where he hved two years, and he then returned to Iowa. Two years of further residence in the Hawkeye state proved suiificient, and once more he turned his face westward and made his way to Custer county. At this time he purchased what was known as the old Chris Nelson homestead, and here he has continuously maintained his home to the present time. He has 600 acres of good land, and the property is so well improved, with an excellent array also of good live stock, that the fine farm home may consistently be said to face "easy street." Mr. Hickenbottom has placed himself in a substantial financial position by means of his successful operations in agricultural enterprise and stock-raising. He and his sons are affiliated with the Royal Highlanders and in politics he maintains an independent attitude, giving his support to men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment, irrespective of partisan lines. He holds membership in the Callaway lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The Hickenbottoms are in every sense one of the first families of Custer county.

ROSCOE M. LEACH, one of the nativebom sons of Custer county who has made a success of his farming and stock-raising operations, is located in section 10, township 2. His entire career has been devoted to work of an agricultural character and his property gives evidence of the presence of good management and skilled treatment. Air. Leach was born on a farm northwest of Sargent, December 5, 1884, a son of Edward P. and Mar}' (Exley) Leach.

The paternal grandfather of Mr. Leach, William Leach, was born in Kentucky, from whence he went to Indiana, and there married Emily Henderson, a native of that state. They farmed in Johnson county for a time, but in 1859 removed to Lucas county, Iowa, where Mrs. Leach died April 22, 1875, her husband surviving until March 27, 1911, when he had reached an advanced age. Edward P. Leach was bom in Johnson county, Indiana, and was still a youth when his parents removed to Iowa. He reached manhood there, but in 1883 left that state and came to Custer county, where he settled on a homestead. A man of marked industrs-, he succeeded in the development of a good and paying farm, but about 1903 his health failed, and he turned his attention to the monument business, at Sargent, with which he had been connected for some five years previously. He is one of the prominent and influential citizens of his community and has been a leader of the Democratic party there for some years. He has been frequently called upon for public service, having served as justice of the peace for the past four tenns, as road overseer for two terms, and as a member of the board of school directors for the past twenty-two years. With Mrs. Leach, he belongs to the Alethodist Episcopal church. They are the parents of five children, as follows : Charles, a farmer seven miles south of Sargent, who married Emma Niell ; Roy, engaged in general merchandising at Sargent, who married Hettie GatlifT; Roscoe M. ; Mabel E., the wife of Claude Athey, a farmer of the Broken Bow community ; and Vema, a farmer three miles northwest of Sargent, who married Grace Towne.

Roscoe M. Leach was educated in the district schools near Sargent and was reared to manhood on the home fami. He took up farming on his own account when he entered upon his independent career, and has never followed any other vocation, being satisfied with life in the country- and the results that his industrious and well-applied labor has brought him. He carries on general fanning in a modem way and also raises stock to some extent, and is accounted progressive and enteqjrising by his fellow-citizens. His reputation for integrity in the community is of the best and while he has not been an office holder he has given his support to movements in a way that exemplifies his public spirit. Mr. Leach is a Republican, and his fraternal affiliation is with the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America.

On August 30, 1909, Mr. Leach was married to Miss Elsie E. GatlifT, who was born at West Union, Custer county, August 9, 1889, a daughter of William and Sarah (Stone) Gatliti', and they have six children, bom as follows : Berta, August 28. 1909 ; Elton, November 29, 1910: Dale, April 10, 1912; Elwood, Febnian,- 1, 1914; Vera, July 21, 1915; and Dotty, November 29, 1916.

DR. LEONARD C. H.\YES. - Among the new developments which have been brought about by the endeavor of man to assist in the alleviation of the physical ills of humanity, a profession which is rapidly assuming a recognized place is that of chiropractic - briefly a system or practice of adjusting the joints, especially of the spine, by hand, for the curing of disease. In this field, the first legally qualified and licensed chiropractor to locate in Custer county was Dr. Leonard C. Hayes, who since Februarv. 1916. has been successfully engaged in practice at Broken Bow.

Doctor Hayes was born at Salem, Henry county, Iowa, March 31, 1882, a son of Lawrence Monroe Hayes and Mary Alice ( Hreach) Hayes, and a grandson of John ^^'esley Hayes and Isaac Breach. His father was born at Salem, Iowa, in 1847, and there occurred his marriage to Miss Mary A. Breach, who was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1851. In the spring of 1885, with their children they removed to Chase county, Nebraska. There they resided on a homestead farm until 18''5, when they moved to Lincoln, the death of Mr. Hayes occurring June 29. 1911, in that city, where Mrs. Hayes still makes her home. There were four children in the family, all of whom are living: Lillian, the wife of James Anderson, of Sheridan, Wyoming: Daniel W.. president of the Nebraska Normal School at Peru; Alvin C a farmer of Aitkin, Miimesota : and Leonard C, of this review.

Leonard C. Hayes prosecuted his earliest studies in a sod schoolhouse in Chase county, Nebraska, which he attended from 1887 to 1895. and then he was given the benefits of attendance at the public schools in Lincoln, where he was graduated in the high school as a member of the class of 1898. He then entered the normal school there. Leaving school in 1899, in the fall of that year he took employment as a clerk with the \Vestern Union Telegraph Company, in Lincoln, and he was subsequently promoted operator, then assistant manager, and finally was made manager of the company's office at St. Joseph, Missouri. In 1907 he left the service of the Western Lhiion and entered that of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, as station agent at IMarsland, Nebraska, but in 1910 he resigned his position to enter college at Lincoln, to study chiropractic. After graduating from the Nebraska Chiropractic College, Doctor Hayes opened his first office at Omaha, in the summer of 1913, and he enjoyed a very good practice there until his removal to Broken Bow, in February, 1916. His practice here began to grow from the very start, and at the present time he usually treats from forty to sixty patients a da3^ Doctor Hayes is a member of the LTnited Chiropractors' Association, the Universal Chiropractors' Association, and the Nebraska Chiropractors' Association. Politically he is a Democrat. He took membership in Yeoman Lodge, August 14, 1914, and at present is foreman of that lodge at Broken Bow. Doctor Hayes was converted by Harold Bell Wright and joined the Christian church at Kansas City, ilissouri, in 1905. He remained a member of that church until his removal to Broken Bow, in 1916, when he became a member of the First Baptist church of this city.

At Omaha, in April, 1915, Doctor Hayes married Miss Helen Louise Cramer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. C. Cramer, of that city, where Mrs. Hayes' father is a successful building contractor. There were six children in the Cramer family - Helen Louise, Mildred K.. Clarence C, Charles, Margaret, and Richard.

PETER GEERSEN. - Among the leading farmers and stock-raisers and extensive landowners of the vicinity of Sargent, few hold a more enviable position in the esteem of their fellow-citizens than does Peter Geersen. Mr. Geersen has been a resident of Custer county for only about four years, but during this period has added to the reputation established by him in Howard county, as a skilled agriculturist and a public-spirited citizen.

former born in Denmark and the latter in Norway. Frank Geersen came to the United States about the year 1866 and took up a homestead at Kelso, Howard county, but subsequently moved to Dannebrog, in the same county, where he continued to be engaged in farming until his death, June 13, 1910. He was a Democrat in politics and he and Mrs, Geersen were faithful members of the Lutheran church. Of their six children, five are living: Peter; Anna, the wife of John A. Johnson, a farmer of Dannebrog; Marj', the wife of Isaac Ohlund, a railroad man of Laramie, Wyoming; George, who is single and lives with his brother Peter near Sargent; and Julia, the wife of Axel Hansen, a painter of Dannebrog.

Peter Geersen was educated at Dannebrog. in the public schools, and when he reached manhood followed in the footsteps of his father and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. He remained as a resident of his native county until 1914, in which year he came to Custer county and bought, near Sargent, the property known as the George Brown farm, a tract in section 8, to%ynship 17. Here he has carried on general fanning, making a specialty of breeding pure-bred Percheron horses, for which this farm has gained somewhat more than a local reputation. His operations have been extensive, his methods modem, and his manner of transacting business such as to stamp him indelibly as a man.-' of practicality as well as integrity.

Mr. Geersen was married at St. Paul, Nebraska, March 6, 1901, to Miss Lillie M. Hood, a daughter of James A. and Emily (Shafer) Hood, pioneers of Nebraska, and they are the parents of six children, born as follows : Beulah, bora July 3, 1902 ; Harold, born March 12, 1906 ; Lela, July 30, 1907 ; Marion, January 11, 1909; Albert, June 26, 1911; and Norma, August 24, 1913. Mr. Geersen is a Democrat. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and at present is noble grand in the latter order at Sargent.

FRED HAUCK has been a resident of Custer county for thirty years and during this time has developed a career that has been as honorable as it has been satisfying. He has identified himself with movements that have been progressive and constructive, and at all times has conducted himself and his activities in a manner that has gained him the good will and respect of his associates and acquaintances.

ber 13, 1855, a son of Peter and Selma ( Aliller) Hauck, who passed their entire lives in Germany. The father was a member of the agricultural class, and was an industrious worker who was honored in his community as a home-loving- man, and who was resjjected because of the success he made of his undertakings, he and his worthy wife having been devout members of the Lutheran church. They became the parents of twelve children, of whom four are living: Christ, who is engaged in farming in California ; Selma, who is the wife of Fred Bresh, of that state ; Fred, who is the subject of this sketch ; and Voluntine. who is the proprietor of a transfer business at St. Louis. Fred Hauck was educated in the public schools of Germany and was reared to habits of thrift, industry, and integrity. He was brought up as a farmer and followed that vocation in his native land until he reached the age of thirty-two years, at which time he immigrated to the L'nited States and made his way to Custer county, Nebraska. He was originally the owner of a tree claim in Sherman county, which he sold, and later he homesteaded a tract in Custer county, which he also sold. He then bought his present farm, a valuable tract which he has brought to a high state of cultivation, and on which he has numerous improvements that are of modern type and that add to its value and attractiveness. Mr. Hauck was by no means a rich man when he came to Custer county ; in fact, he had little capital except that represented by his abiliy and other personal attributes, but his work has been so well done and his affairs so capably managed that he is now accounted a well-to-do man, and is placed among the substantial agriculturists who have made their own way. His present holdings approximate 780 acres of good land, on which he does general farming in an intelligent, intensive, and modern way, in addition to which he has been successful in his activities as a raiser of cattle and hogs, of which he ships many to the markets each year.

May 5, 1888, Mr. ILiuck married Miss Anna Beck, of Sherman county, she being a daughter of Hans Beck, an early settler of that county. To this union there have come ten children : Charles, who is engaged in farming in Custer county ; Henry, who is his father's assistant on the home farm ; Rosatte, who is the wife of \'ern Fleming, a farmer of Custer county ; Kate, who is the wife of Toney Devish, of this county ; William, who is on the home place ; Minnie, who is the wife of Arthur S'alone, a farmer of Grant, Nebraska ; Selma, who is the wife of Charles Foster, a farmer and stock-raiser of Custer county ; and Dora, Gertie, and Floyd, who remain at the parental home. The family belongs to the Lutheran church, and Mr. Hauck is a Democrat in his political allegiance.

DALE P. STOUGH will be rememberedby citizens of Custer county as a member of the bar of this county from l^ll until 1915. He came to Broken Bow in 1911 and associated himself with Judge James R. Dean, who is now serving as supreme judge of Nebraska. Mr. Stough was reared at Creston, Iowa, and for five years had been a member of a Sunday-school class under the tutelage of Rev. W. L. Gaston, editor of this Custer county history. Mr. Stough attended the University of Nebraska in 1908-9 and in 1911 he was graduated in Creighton College of Lav\r.

During his residence in Custer county, Mr. Stough took an active part in numerous lines of activity pertinent to the county's affairs. He served as secretary of the Broken Bow Merchants' Federation for more than three years, resigning when he went to Lincoln, in 1915, as secretary to the chief justice of the supreme court. He was secretary of various political committees and clubs, including the Sixth District Democratic Congressional Committee, Wilson and Marshall Club, in 1912, and other political bodies. For three years he was clerk of St. John's Episcopal parish and superintendent of the Sunday school. He served two years as secretary of the Custer county Sunday School Association. Since leaving Broken Bow, Mr. Stough has been author of numerous articles and is now engaged in editorial work on a history of Hall county, similar to this history of Custer county.

Mr. Stough was united in marriage in June, 1913, to Miss Cassie Mary Beeler, of Davenport, Iowa, and their first home was in Broken Bow. Their only child, Ida Mildred Stough, was born in Broken Bow, in 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Stough are now residing at Grand Island, Nebraska, where ]\Tr. Stough holds the position of official court reporter of the Eleventh judicial district.

HEINRICH KROEGER. - No better illustration of the value of industry, perseverance, and the intelligent management of one's resources and interests could be found than the career of Heinrich Kroeger, now one of the representative farmers of the Alason City localitv of Custer countv. Coming to this coun- try with absolutely no capital except that represented by his native ability, he has made the most of his opportunities and has so well directed his activities that he is to-day in a position of independence, the while he is respected and esteemed as a well-to-do and substantial citizen.

Mr. Kroeger was born in Holstein, Germany, February 13, 1856. and is a son of August and Margaretta (Folkmier) Kroeger. Mr. Kroeger's father was a native of Germany, where he spent his entire life with the exception of seven years, when he was in the Danish army as a musician, playing a single-valve horn. By trade a weaver of cloth, during the harvest seasons he acted as a hand in the field, and he thus rounded out a useful and fairly successful career. He and his wife, who also died in Germany, were members of the Lutheran church. They had five children, of whom four are living: Heinrich, of "this sketch; Maggie, the wife of Theodore Liehs, who is individually mentioned on other pages of this volume; Alary, the wife of \\'illiam Trent, of Buflfalo county, Nebraska ; and Fred, a resident of Colorado.

Heinrich Kroeger received his youthful education in the public schools of Holstein, Germany, and was twenty-six years of age when he immigrated to the United States. His first settlement was at Comanche, Iowa, where he secured employment at plowing, at a wage of twenty-five cents a day. At that time he could not speak English, and his eflforts to get ahead were greatly hampered by this fact, but he rapidly learned to speak the language of his adopted land and was thus able to get better employment. Eventually he obtained a position in a .saw mill, where he worked about two years, and during his stay in Iowa succeeded in saving $400, which he brought with him to Custer county in 1884, In that year he homesteaded 160 acres of land, and subsequently he Ixiught a timber claim, for $600, and planted many trees. From a start of absolutely nothing, Mr, Kroeger has built up his fortunes until to-day he is the owner of 1,280 acres of valuable Custer county land, all secured through legitimate business channels and through the medium of his own ability and hard work. When he came to Custer county Mr. Kroeger made his home in a little sod house, which boasted of the barest necessities of life. To-day he owns four sets of modern buildings, equipped with the latest appliances and conveniences, Mr. Kroeger is a general farmer and a skilled one, and he also raises wliite-faced Hereford cattle, of which he has a herd of eighteen head, with a thoroughbred bull at the head, and in addition to this he breeds a good grade of hogs, having twenty-four at this time. In politics Mr, Kroeger is indepeiident, and his religious belief is that of the Lutheran church.

In 1878 Mr. Kroeger married Miss Doris Ilepner, who was born in Germany, and to this union there have been born three sons, all of whom are engaged in agricultural operations on their father's land, and all of whom are married and the heads of families. William, the eldest, has two children - Bertha and Bessie; Frank has three children - Edwin, Edith, and Elaine; and John has three children - Irene, Raymond, and Glenn.

THOMAS TEAHON. - The story in these paragraphs contains a splendid tribute to Irish thrift and energ}-. The sons of Ireland have always made good in America. The opportunities of the west have always come to their hand to meet universal iinprovement.

The name in the headline belongs to Thomas Teahon. a prominent resident in the section southwest of Anselmo. He was born in Ireland, in 1860. He is the son of Patrick and Elizabeth (Donahue) Teahon, The parents were very estimable people of Irish lineage, who came to America in 1885, attracted by the free land to be obtained through the homestead or pre-emption laws. They were the parents of eleven children, and on the family roster are inscribed the following names : John, a Custer county farmer ; Thomas, the subject of this sketch; Man-, deceased ; Patrick, who was killed in a railroad accident in Deadwood, S. D, ; Jerrj', a Custer county farmer ; Joseph, deceased ; Johannah Skinner, a resident of Themiopolis, Wyoming; Nelly lives in Alliance, Nebraska; Alike lives in New York, where he is connected with the Metropolitan Insurance Company; Ted, a Custer county farmer; and Elizabeth, who is deceased.

Two marriages enter into the life of Mr. Teahon; His first wife was Bridget Mc- Gowan, who became the mother of five children; Vernie was killed by lightning; Louis was killed by a horse falling upon him ; Clara Beal lives in Colorado ; the fourth child died in infancy, and the fifth child, Agnes, lives in York.

family of five children: Herbert, eighteen; Thomas, fifteen; Charles, eleven; Julian, seven ; the third born died in infancy. The four living children are all in the home dorruqile and in connection with home duties and farm work are attending school, and give promise of developing into characteristic Irish-American citizens of whom the parents may well feel proud.

Mr. Teahon homesteaded 150 acres and also pre-empted another quarter section. These became the nucleus of his present day holdings. At the present time he is the owner of 900 acres, adapted to agriculture and stockraising. In addition to the land he owns he has a section of land leased and all this combines to make this a splendid stock ranch. He has fair improvements, adequate for the stock operations he carries on.

The ranch carries an average of 130 head the year round, and in addition to cattle Mr. Teahon has giveiT some attention to sheep and now has a small flock of 120 head which he finds very profitable.

When on the Teahon ranch it is hard to realize that when Mr. Teahon landed in Custer county the sum total of his capital was five dollars, and all he possesses to-day is the accretion of that capital combined with tireless energy and indomitable pluck.

In the local community Mr. Teahon has always been a progressive spirit and during the war time did his share in contributions and work, to secure for his local district the amounts required of it by the quotas levied. He has served on the school board for the last six years.

He lived through the pioneer times, has had his experiences in sod houses, blizzards, and prairie fires, and notwithstanding, unusual fatalities seem tO' have attended the family to vv'hich he belongs. He is to-day hale and hearty and bids fair to survive another quarter of a centurs*, in which to enjoy the fruits of his toil.

JOSEPH A. HAUMONT, who is a prosperous farmer and stock-raiser of Custer county, Nebraska, is well and favorably known all over the county, which has been his home all his life. Mr. Haumont is an example of what may be accomplished by the application of intelligent energy in one direction, his success in his agricultural activities depending not only on his natural leanings but also upon his special training along scientific lines.

Joseph A. Haumont was born May 21, 1893, in Custer county, Nebraska. His parents are Louis and Phoebe J. (Thompson) Haumont. Louis Haumont was born near the beautiful old city of Brussels, Belgium, and left there when a young man and came to the United States. During the time he lived in the state of Illinois and worked on farms, he was married to Phoebe J. Thompson, who was born in that state, a daughter of William Thompson. Afterward they came to Custer county, Nebraska. They had the following children : Joseph A., William, Jules, Stella and Loren L.

In the public schools of Custer county Joseph A. Haumont secured his early education, and he grew up on his father's farm. As he grew older and recognized the responsibilities that would be his in developing the land and raising the best of stock, he determined to thoroughly prepare himself by acquiring practical as well as scientific knowledge along these lines and became a student in the University School of Agriculture, at Lincoln, Nebraska. There he became acquainted with the scientific methods of advanced farming and live-stock raising and he is applying this knowledge in carrj'ing on his industries on his farm, which is situated in section 27, township 21, Custer county.

Joseph A. Haumont was married December 22, 1915, at Broken Bow, Nebraska, to Aliss Emma Gutzman, a daughter of Daniel and Diana (Kepless) Gutzman. The father of Mrs. Haumont is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Haumont have one son, Owen G., who was born May 20, 1918. As a well educated young man, Mr. Haumont takes a deep interest in public matters, especially in regard to Custer county and, like his father, is a Republican in politics.

EUGENE ARMSTRONG, of Sargent, is one of the men who, starting their lives as agriculturists, have turned their attention to commercial affairs and through their ability and industry have placed themselves in positions of independence. Mr. Armstrong's line at the present time is the windmill and pump business, which he has followed for eighteen years, and in which he is one of the best known men in Custer and the surrounding counties, having developed his specialty to large proportions. He is a native of Carroll county, Indiana, and was born October 14, 1864, a son of W. H. and Lucinda (Crabhill) Armstrong.

W. H. Armstrong, a native of Kentucky, was taken by his parents as a child to Indiana, where he met and married Lucinda Crabhill. a native of Pennsylvania. He had received a good education in his youth and his first vocation upon entering actively upon a career of his own was that of an educator, but he gave up the labors of the school room in favor of the implements of the agriculturist. In 1866 he removed to Iowa, where for two years he tilled the soil, and about 1S(>9 he took his familv to York county, Nebraska, where he homesteaded a tract, pre-empted another, and took up a timber claim, and there rounded out his life in farming and stock-raising, having quite a large business in the latter direction. He was a progressive man in many ways and extended his energies to numerous fields of activity. He was the builder of the first store at Waco, Nebraska, which he himself occupied as a dealer in general merchandise, and did a large business with the farmers in buying live stock and grain. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children.

Eugene Armstrong, more familiarly known to his associates and business friends as "Gene," was two years of age when he was taken to Iowa, and about five years old when the family located in York county, Nebraska. There he received his education in the district schools and received a good training along both agricultural and business lines, which experience has since been of the greatest value to him. When ready to enter upon a career of his own, he chose farming, which he followed in connection with other business until 1900, when he gave up all other interests to devote himself exclusively to the windmill and pump business, to which he has since given his best energies and talents. With headquarters at Sargent, he commands a large and constantly growing trade throughout this section of the countr)'-side. and his .straightforward manner of doing business and his fidelity to engagements and contracts have gained him many friends and a warm and sincere regard in business circles. Mr. .Annstrong is not active in public life, but is a sound and substantial man whose citizenship is of a publicspirited and practical quality.

On December 24, 1893, Mr. Armstrong was united in marriage with Miss Ella M. Wood, of Coburg, daughter of the late Lemuel Wood and of Mrs. Minerva A. Wood, a resident of Sargent. Three children have been born to this union: LeRoy. single, a graduate of Sargent high school and of Creighton University of Omaha, now first sergeant in the United States Medical Corps, Base Hospital No. 101, American P. O. 701, American Expeditionarv Forces. France, bom November 24, 1894;'l^na. bom March 1. 1903, who is attending school; and Gavlord E., born May 6, 1908, who is also a public school student.

J.\.MES R. L.WG. - Many causes contribute to the almost invariable interest surrounding the first actual settler in any community. As the years add distance and romance to his arrival, the honor becomes a coveted one. especially if the settlement has utilized its most enlightening opportunities and has become the aboiie of peaceful and prosperous humanity. So it is that more than passing mention is due to James R. Lang, who was the first to file on a homestead in Custer county, the date being June 8, 1874, although he had settled thereon several weeks previously. To-day Mr. Lang, living in comfortable retirement at Litchfield, is the jx^rsonification of a life well lived, of energies well directed, of a mind tuned to the harmony of his surroundings, and of a heart which has lost nothing of its warmth and sympathy in its journey from the rude dugout of pioneer times to the affluence of the twentieth century. This vigorous personality, outlined against the background of events in Custer county since 1874, commands the confidence and res{)ect of his fellow citizens. He has built up character as well as fortmie. and has supported the substantial and fundamental processes of civilization.

James R. Lang was Ixjrn in Harrison county, Indiana, February 17 . 1852. a son of Isaac anti Amy (Laymon) Lang, and a grandson of Francis Lang and Emanuel Laymon. His father was born in Indiana, and was married in that state, his wife having been born in \'irginia but having been brought to the Iloosier state as a child. Isaac I^ang was an industrious and enterprising farmer and had made a ]X)sition for himself in life prior to the outbreak of the Civil war. .\ staunch Republican, he was a strong Union man, and during the struggle between the north and the south he enlisteil in the Home Guards, in connection with which he met his death during the famous Morgan Raid. Like ]\Irs. Lang, he belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church. There were eight children in their family, of whom but three survive : James R., of this notice ; Howard, engaged in farming and stock-raising near Litchfield. Sherman county ; and Mrs. Elniira \N'eaver. residing at Mason City.

The education of James R. Lang was secured in the public schools of Harrison county, Indiana, and as a youth he was called upon to start early to contribute his support to the family, the father having died. Shortly after he passed his majority, he decided that better opportimities for advancement awaited him in the west, and .\pril 12. 1874. he left home, arriving at Grand Island. Nebraska, three days later. On the 20th of the following May he made settlement on a homestead in Custer county, filing on this June 8th of the same year. Mr. Lang tramped out his first crop of wheat in 1876, and in the following year purchased a small sorghum mill and began making sorghum. In 1878. in partnership with two neighbors, he bought the first threshing machine to be found in Custer county, this machine having two-horse power. In 1881, in line with his spirit of progress, Mr. Lang made a donation of ten acres of land for the location of a gristmill, and in the same year he became the owner of his first mower. Also in that year he opened a small general store on his old homestead, and this was largely patronized by the early settlers of the locality.

In 1888 ilr. Lang had the distinction of sowing the first alfalfa in Custer county, the seed coming from California, and this was plowed up in the spring of 1918. having stood for thirty years. During the early days, when money was scarce, Mr. Lang engaged in various employments in order to make a living, and for several years he hauled wood, which he sold at Kearney. The first barn which was built on his farm was used not only for agricultural purposes, but also for the holding of religious services and for the dances of the early settlers. He also assisted in the settlement of the county by locating claims for various newcomers, from 1879 to 1882, during which time there was a large intlux of pioneers. Gradually, as the years passed, he prospered in his afifairs, to such an extent that he became possessed of 960 acres of land, and in 1910 he retired from active pursuits and moved to Litchfield. Here he became one of the organizers of the Farmers Lumber Company, of which he is at present one of the interested members. Mr. Lang voted the Republican ticket for the first time in Custer county, at Georgetown, and he still continues to support the party cause as a general rule, although inclined to be independent. He is well known fraternally, having passed the chairs of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to the Modern Woodmen of America, and being a thirty-second-degree Mason. He is very popular with his fellow members in these orders.

In 1873, while still a resident of Indiana, Mr. Lang was united in marriage with Miss Rovilla Jane Foster, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of Samuel Foster, who died in that state. To Mr. and Mrs. Lang there have been born nine children: George W., who is the proprietor of an automobile garage at Litchfield ; Cortez,who is engaged in fanning in Sherman county ; Albert, who is a member of the police force of Richmond, California ; Robert, who is a brakeman of Alliance, Nebraska ; Eunice, who died in infancy ; Harvey, who is a clerk in the Bank of Litchfield ; Blanche, who is the wife of Charles Mills, of Custer county ; James R., who resides on the old homestead in Custer county ; and Frank, who also is on this Custer county farm.

CHARLES HICKEY. - This paragraph introduces a young farmer and stock-raiser who belongs to a prominent family, several members of whom have special mention on other pages of this volume. His residence and farm operations are staged in Eureka Valley, noted as a semi-agricultural and stock-raising region. Charles was born in Saline county, this state, in 1881, but most of his life has been spent in Custer county, he having come to the county when ten years of age. Here he received a common school education and was initiated into the ways of western pioneer life. As to the family history of his father, see sketch of Jerry Hickey. Charles formed his life partnership with Agnes Foran, whose brother, James Foran, is written extendedly in this history and which sketch contains mention of the father and family.

Into the home established by Mr. and Mrs. Hickey have been bom five children : Clarence, the second child, is deceased ; Alice, Viola is deceased ; and LeRoy. All the children are at home and are energetic, promising Custer county youngsters in whom the parents can feel a justifiable pride. This aggressive young farmer owns three hundred and sixty acres, of which two hvmdred and sixty is under cultivation. Here he follows diversified farming and has embarked in stockraising on a scale that will insure profitable accumulation as the years go by. The place carries fifty head of cattle. These are of high grade, inclining to blooded types. He is also a breeder of good horses and keeps on the place a splendid Percheron stallion. In the local activities of the community, Mr. Hickey is road overseer, a promoter of all public enterprises, is an independent voter and the family are connected with the Catholic church. Eureka Valley is a good neighborhood and the family of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hickey have helped to establish its reputation.