Custer County, Nebraska - Founders and Builders, 1919 (part 5 of 32)

C. C. McRae, the paternal grandfather of George W., was bom in Scotland and was a voung man when he immigrated to the United States. He lived at various points, princi- ]iallv in the south, and died in western Tennessee, where he had been engaged in farming. The maternal grandfather was Joseph \\'riglit, who for years carried on farming in Indiana and passed away there. Daniel B. McRae was bom on his father's home planta- tion in South Carolina, where he was educated, and as a youth of twenty years he went to Indiana, where he pre-empted land. He soon showed his capacity for shrewd business dealings, added to his holdings from time to time, and when he died he left an estate which included 160 acres of land, in addition to which he had other valuable investments. Following his demise his widow came to Nebraska, but she lived only a year after her arrival. They were the parents of five children, of whom there are two living: George W. ; and J. \V., the latter a fanner of Colorado. The parents were faithful members of the Presbyterian church. Politically Daniel B. McRae was a Republican, and during Civil war times he was a stanch Abolitionist and did much to assist the Union cause.

George W. McRae was educated in the district schools of Indiana, and vvhile he was reared on the farm and trained in its pursuits, he also learned in his youth the trade of plasterer, which he followed in connection with his fanning activities. Leaving the Hoosier state in 1882, he came to Nebraska and located in York county, but after one vear he came to Custer covmty, where he took up a homestead. This continued to be his home for the next thirty years, or until 1913, when he retired from active labor and removed to his pleasant home at Berwyn. The success which came to Mr. McRae was the result entirely of his own efforts, for at no time in his career did he have to call upon other than his own abilities to attain his objects. Fie is a Republican in his political views, but, while a good citizen, has not cared for public office. His reputation in business is beyond reproach, and there are many who have reason to thank him for his good advice and counsel in matters of importance. As a fratemalist, Mr. McRae has been affiliated with the Odd Fellows for many years.

In 1881, prior to coming to Nebraska, Mr. McRae wus married, in Indiana, to Mrs. Maggie (W^alter) Hart, who was born in southern Indiana, a daughter of John Walter, a native of Germany who died in Indiana. To this union there v.'cre born three children : Coday married Hazel Norcutt, and has one child, Dorothea Maxine : Flavious resides at home, but at the time of this writing he is in the government war service, as a member of a medical crops stationed at Dunkirk, New York: and Ora Lee is the wife of James Davidson, a farmer of Perwyn, and they have one chill, Mary Margaret. By her former marriage, Mrs. McRae is the mother of three children : George H., John \\'., and Katie ( Hart ) Davoll.

HENRY L. WILSON. - While he is one of the latest m.embers to join the bar of Custer county, Henry L. V\ ilson has already obtained a recognized position and standing among the practitioners of this locality, and at Broken Bow, where he established his residence in December, 1916, he has built up a substantial and represenative professional business. Mr Wilson is a native son of Nebraska, and was born at Chadron, Dawes county, September 5, 1886, his parents being Tohn AI. and Clara E. (Mitchell) Wilson.

John M. Wilson was born in Scotland and as a lad developed wanderlust that caused him to run away from home and work his passage across the Atlantic to Canada, where he accepted such employment as he could find. His adventurous spirit later led him to Colorado, where, during the early pioneer days, he engaged in hunting and freighting, and he secured his start in this way - principally in what he was able to obtain by his prowess in hunting bulfalo. In 1886 he settled down at Crawford, Nebraska, where he established himself in the clothing business, and there he has conducted the leading store of its kind ever since, he being known as one of the foremost merchants of his community. He is a Republican in his political views. In Colorado was solemnized the marriage of John M. Wilson to Clara E. (Mitchell) Williams, and they are the parents of three children : Henry L., Harr\- (a traveling man with headquarters at Vancouver, Canada), and Ruby.

Henry L. Wilson attended the public schools at Crawford, and after his graduation in the high school, in 1903, he began teaching school, a vocation which he followed for one vear. Next he entered the University of Nebraska, and after there continuing his studies two years he was absent for one year, but later he was a student for another half-term. Finally he entered the law department, and in 1911, he was graduated, being immediately admitted to practice. He started his professional labors at Crawford, and in the same year he was appointed city attorney, but in 1914, he removed to Lincoln, where he remained until coming to Broken Bow, in December, 1916 Here he bought the practice and good will of Judge J. R. Dean, and since that time he has been in the enjoyment of a constantly increasing professional business. He has been active in public aiifairs, and is at present serving Broken Bow as city attorney. In the election of November, 1918, he was the Republican candidate for county attorney, but was defeated. A man of broad learning and sound, practical knowledge of the law, he is rapidly making a name and reputation for himself and has already taken long strides toward a leading place in the legal fraternity in Custer county. In politics he supports the cause of the Republican party. Mr. Wilson belongs to the various organizations of his profession and is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

On June 21, 1913, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage, at Crawford, to Miss Lena Fafek, who was born at that place, and to this union there has been born one child : Twilla.

CAR]< SWENSON is a young man of thirty-six years and is a native of Custer county. He is one of the successful young farmers operating in the Burr Oak district of the South Loup river region. His life story for the most part is covered in the following biographical sketch of his father and father's family.

John Swenson, seventy-nine years of age in 1918, is a native of Sweden and forty-nine years ago brought to the United States those industrious and frugal habits common to the people of that north Scandinavian region. His wife, Mary (Peterson) Swenson, is past sixty years of age and possesses all the qualities of the sturdy Swedish race to which she belongs. John Swenson landed in New York, where he remained until he came to Custer county and homesteaded a fine quarter-section of land. He located on his present place thirtyeight years ago. When he reached this country he had practically nothing, and all his possessions of the present day are the direct results of his own toil and savings. Mr. and Mrs. John Swenson liecame the parents of seven children : Mollie is deceased ; Samuel and Carl remain at the parental home : Tilda Amy lives in Custer county ; Eddie is at home : Olga continues to reside in this county ; and Willie, the youngest, is at home. The father and mother belong to the Presbyterian church.

Carl Swenson. the subject of this sketch, is a farmer and partner on the home place, which to-day consists of the old homestead and three other quarter-sections, which have been purchased, making in all a full section of good land, on which are excellent improvements. The stock raised on this farm is of unusually high grade - the best kind of hogs that select breeding can produce, and red Durham shorthorns and Percheron horses that make a fine show for live-stock production.

Carl Swenson is a social member of the Modern \Yoodmen of America, and is a. constituent member of the Presbyterian church. He enjoys the confidence and respect of a large circle of friends and as a progressive

WILLIE C. SHOEMAKER. - The man whose life history these lines relate lives in the Cumro district, where the soil is productive and where the inhabitants are among the best people of the county.

Mr. Shoemaker is fifty-six years of age (1918), and a native of Porter county, Indiana. His Hoosier blood has stood him in good stead and his industrious traits, inherited from good parentage and imbibed in earlv years, have borne splendid fruits in Nebraska.

His father, Albert Shoemaker, who was a native of the Buckeye state and who lived to the age of seventy-nine years was a retired farmer at the time of his death, which occured in Iowa. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Melvina (Maulsby) Shoemaker, who was bom in Indiana and who died in that state, when but twenty-two years of age. Born to the union just mentioned were two children, the subject of the sketch and a little sister, Melvina, who died at the age of eighteen months. By the father's second marriage there are four children - Rila, who lives in Muscatine, Iowa ; Mrs. \'iola Dood. whose husband is an Iowa farmer ; Everett, who is a IMissouri farmer; and Roy, who lives at Red Oak, Iowa, where he is assistant cashier of the First National Bank.

Albert Shoemaker was a veteran of the Civil war, in which he rendered to the government very valuable service as a valiant soldier of the L'nion. He was a fanner bv occupation and both he and his wife were faithful members of the United Brethren church.

In 1888 Willie C. Shoemaker married Miss Nettie H. Martin, and to bless this union and make happy the parental home have come six children: Bliss is a young man of twentyeight years (1918) of age and is already embarked upon his successful career as a farmer in Custer county: l\ay, :iged seventeen, is still on the home fami and is rendering his father \aluable assistance ; Ross, aged nine years, is a school boy who is still home and who is a candidate for usefulness in future years label Cherry is married and lives on a farm in custer county ; and Lula and .\lbro are deceased.

In the Shoemaker holdings are 700 acres, well adapted to fanning and stock-raising. One quarter-section of this ranch was homesteaded by Mr. Shoemaker. When he wa>- but two years of age his parents removed from

Indiana to Iowa, where he grew to young manhood and received his early education. It was there that the foundation of his hfe and character were laid, in the formative years when human destinies are plastic. He came directly from Iowa to Custer county in 1887, ten years aiter the organization of the county, when everything connected with the country was young and primitive.

Mr. Shoemaker's stock-raising operations have followed all lines - horses, hogs, and cattle - and in each of these he has been a successful producer. His farm improvements are ample to meet all requirements and make stock-raising profitable. He and his wife now take their ease as compared with the experiences of early days. The slow vehicle of 1887 has been transfomied into a modern automobile and this has brought the home farm comparatively close to communit)' centers and larger towns. Mr. Shoemaker is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the family is connected with the Presbvterian church.

PETER STRIEDER. - From the time of his arrival in Custer county, in 1898, to the present, I'eter Strieder has been demonstrating the possession of qualities of perseverance, industry, and good citizenship, which have combined to win him personal success as an agriculturist and the esteem and friendship of those among whom he has lived and with whom he has been associated. This enterprising and energetic farmer and stockraiser of section 21, township 71, was born in Germany, June 19, 1860, a son of Andreas and Gertrude (Dhein') Strieder.

The parents of Mr. Strieder passed their entire lives in their native land, where the father was a successful agriculturist and also followed the vocation of milling, being an industrious man and one possessed of unbounded energy and marked ability. He and his wife were faithful members of the Catholic church, and were the parents of four children: Peter, who is the subject of this sketch ; Henry, who is a resident of Germany ; Gertrude, who married Anton Fier and lives in Germany ; and Anna, who is married and likewise lives in Germany. Peter Strieder grew up on the home farm in Germany, where he assisted his father in the daily tasks about the home place and also secured a knowledge of the milling business. He continued to reside under the parental roof until he was twenty-seven years of age. In the time that elapsed between that age and the year of his majority he had harbored longings to try his fortunes across the Atlantic, his imagination having been fired by the tales of opportunities at hand in America. Accordingly, in 1887, he came to the United States and took up his abode in Jackson county, Illinois, where, in order to get a start and to familiarize himself with conditions and the language and customs of the country, he worked about the country among the farmers. Gradually he accumulated a competence, and in 1898 he realized his ambition to become a property owner on his own account, when he came to Custer county and purchased his present home place, a property consisting of 160 acres. This land at that time was not in the best of condition, but Mr. Strieder set about remedying this defect, and he now has one of the fertile, productive and valuable tracts of his locality. He does general fanning, being equally at home in all the various branches of agriculture, and has made what is to be considered a very satisfying success. Mr. Strieder has not been active in politics, and upon political questions of the day maintains an independent stand, reserving his right of franchise to vote for the man he considers best qualified for the office. He served as postmaster of Pilot for more than four years. He and the members of his family are faithful and consistent attendants of the Catholic church.

In 1895 Mr. Strieder was united in marriage to Miss Uouise Zimmer, and two children have been born to this union : Bruno P., who at the time of this writing is with the American Expeditionary Forces in France ; and Gertrude, who remains with her parents.

ORVILLE M. MOUREY. - Among the younger element in the agricultural industry in Custer county, Orville M. Mourey has been numbered since 1912. In that year he came to his present farm, in section 30, in the Mason City community, and here his success has been marked and continued. He is typical of the class of young farmers who are expected to niaintain the prestige of this locality during the years to come, and his progress thus far would seem to be indicative of his ability to do his full share in carrying on the work of development and the raising of standards.

Mr. Mourey was born near Miller, Buffalo county, Nebraska, not far from the banks of the South Loup river, March 13, 1891, and is a son of W. R. and Sarah (Dougherty) Mourey. His father, who was a native of the east, migrated to Nebraska in 1883. At that time he was a man of no means, his main capital in fact being found in his ambition and determination, along with a willing industry and an inherent capacity for persistent and continued labor. He took up a homestead in Buffalo county, near the site of what afterward became the town of Miller, and since that time has continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits, adding to his acreage and to his standing as a business man each year. He is now the owner of 900 acres of good land, all accumulated through legitimate channels of business, and has the greater part of this land under cultivation. He and his wife became the parents of seven children : Orville M., of this notice: Ada, who married Ervin Simmons, a farmer of Buffalo county ; Herbert, who lives in Custer county : his twin, who died in infancy, unnamed; and Blanche, Esther, and Melvin, who live with their j)arents.

Orville M. Mourey received his education in the schools of Buffalo county and grew up on the home farm, his boyhood being passed in much the same manner as other farmers' sons of his day and locality. He commenced farming operations on his own account in Buffalo county, where he met with a measure of success, but in 1912 came to Custer county, where he purchased his present farm of 160 acres. Since then he has been busily engaged in erecting substantial buildings and improving his land with the installation of modern improvements of every character, and the fertility of his land can be testified to by his large crops. He is one of the progressive and constructive men of his community and is always ready to give a trial to any method or experiment that promises to aid in progress and advancement. He has found no time to enter actively into politics, his farming operations having to this writing demanded all of his attention.

Mr. Mourey was married Septemlx-r IS, 1911, to -Miss Minnie Esherman, daughter of \\ illiam and Mary ( Shucker ) Eshermar. farming people of Buffalo county, and to this union there have been born two children : Earl and Mildred, both of whom reside with their parents, and the former of whom is attending school.

Mr. Knight began his earthly career June 18, 1889, which makes him still a young man just entering the prime of manhood. He is a son of William and Zelma ( Brown ) Knight. His father was a native of England and his mother a Wisconsin lady of splendid and homelike qualities. The father came to America with his parents in the days of his youth. They settled near Topeka, Kansas, and later moved to Gage county, Nebraska, where they established a farm home near the town of Adams.

Ellis \\'. Knight qualified himself for life and all its activities in the public schools and in the Univei^sity of Nebraska. Five years ago. in 1913, he came to Custer county and became manager and part owner of the Smith & Knight ranch, containing L120 acres, and in this partnership arrangement he is an extensive cattle and hog raiser. At present they have 200 head of cattle and 250 hogs.

February 15, 1908, Mr. Knight married ^liss Ethel Shrepf, daughter of Emil and Nellie Shrepf, of Lincoln, Nebraska. The father was a native of France and the mother came of English lineage. Mr. and Mrs. Knight are the parents of five children, who are bright, full of life and all candidates for energetic manhood and womanhood. They are: Donald, (icorge, Dorothy, Irene, and Leonard.

Mr. Knight has three brothers: Henry, who is a Custer county farmer ; Williaiu, who is employed on the Smith &: Knight ranch : and Fred, who is at present away from home. On the Smith & Knight ranch managed by the subject of this sketch are good buildings of all kinds, a farm home and ever\- farm and stock accessory, building or shed that could be required. The ranch contains also the present-day accessory of a good garage, and every-- where one sees the evidence of thrift and good management.

The Knights are splendid peoj^le, good neighbors, reliable and substantial citizens. In politics the Democratic principles have the preference of Mr. Knight, but independence is not abandoned. He is a member- of the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons.

PATRICK TEAHON was one of the early settlers of and lived to see vast changes take place in Custer county. He was bom in Ireland and when a boy accompanied his parents to .\nierica. His mother died when he was quite small and his father was killed while serving in the Union army in the Civil war. Thrown upon his own resources, young Teahon worked at whatever would-give him a living, and in the early '80s he came to Custer county and secured a homestead. There he built a sod house, in which he kept bachelor's hall until his marriage to Mrs. Thomas Griffiths, who was a native of Wales and whose maiden name was Man' Price. She was a girl of eighteen when she came to .America to make her home with an aunt. By her marriage to Thomas Griffiths she became the mother of seven children. By her marriage to Thomas Teahon she became the mother of two children - Mary, who married Frank J. McCarty, and Joseph, who operates the home place and makes his home with his mother. It was on this farm that Thomas Teahon was called to his final rest ; he passed away January 11, 1918, and in his death the community lost one of its sterling pioneers and substantial citizens.

JAMES D. McCARTY, who owns and operates a fine fami of 160 acres, in section 22, township 18, range 22, is a representative of one of the families of Custer county that has been prominent since pioneer days. He was born in Webster county, Iowa, October 31, 1871, a son of Robert D. and Anna (Downey) McCarty, and he was a lad of nine years when the family came to Custer county and settled on a homestead in this township.

The incidents pertaining to those days and the labor involved in opening up a new farm are quite familiar to him. He remained at home, assisting in the work of the old homestead, until he reached his majority, when he began an independent career as an agriculturist. He operated land as a tenant for a few years, and met with the success that made it possible for him to become the owner of a farm. His present place is equipped with substantial buildings, and general farming is carried on successfully.

In 1899 was solemnized the marriage of James D. McCarty to Miss Anna Sweeney, a daughter of Henry Sweeney, deceased, and Bridget (Han-ey) Sweeney, who came to Custer county in 1886 and of whom further mention is made on other pages of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. McCarty are the parents of four datighters, all of whom are still under the parental roof - Lily K., Ruth V., Feme M., and Estelle A. The family are communicants of the Catholic church and in politics Mr. McCarty is a Democrat. Aside from the duties of presiding over the household Mrs. McCarty has found time to serv'e two tenns as a member of the school board. Mr. and Mrs. ^McCarty are people of real, genuine worth and are held in high esteem by all who know them.

FLORIAN JACOBS. - The two vocations of agriculture and merchandising are so closely allied that it is not unusual to find an individual person engaged in both lines of endeavor. Such has been the experience of

Florian Jacobs, who, after many years of successful eftort in farming, turned his attention to merchandising. At the present time he is president of the Co-operative Company, one of the leading business enterprises of Broken Bow.

Mr. Jacobs was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, October 22, 1869, a son of Francis M. and Laura A. (Teal) Jacobs. His grandfather, Sanford Jacobs, was a South Carolinian who became a pioneer in Ohio and later in Indiana, at a very early day, and he died in the latter state. Francis M. Jacobs was born in Adams county, Ohio, in 1842, and as a youth was taken by his parents to Indiana, where he was living at the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted in Company B. Thirtyninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which regiment he served during the greater part of the war and with which he made an honorable record, while taking part in a number of hard-fought engagements. W'hile with General Sherman on the famous "march to the sea," he was wounded, at Marietta, Georgia, but he recovered. Later he was captured by the enemy, in South Carolina, and for three months was confined in Libby Prison. After being mustered out of the service, at the close of the war, he returned to Indiana, where he married Laura A. Teal, who was born in Sweden, in 1849, and was three years of age when brought by her parents to the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs settled down to an agricultural career in Indiana, where they remained until 1874, in which \'ear they came west and located in Dawson county, Nebraska. where Mr. Jacobs bought land. In 1875 he moved to the vicinity of Callaway, Custer county, where he remained two years. In 1877 he took up a homestead at New Helena, where he duly perfected his title and where he continued to carry on operations until his death, in 1900. His widow still remains on this old homestead. Mr. Jacobs was a Democrat and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He and his wife were the parents of the following children : Florian ; Miss Cora, a professional nurse, of Ansley, Nebraska ; Jessie L., a well known educator and lecturer, of Tulsa, Oklahoma ; Charles S., engaged in the lumber business at Craig, Colorado : Miss May V., a teacher in the schools of Ranchester, Wyoming; Maude V'., the wife of S. M. Blue, an accountant and expert in penmanship, of Portland, Oregon ; Edna, the wife of H. R. Cutler, a carpenter at New Helena. Nebraska : and Beatrice, the wife of David \\'illiams, a farmer of the same community.

brought by his parents to Custer county, and when he was nine years old he attended the first school in the county, in a little log structure which still stands as a landmark of early days. He secured sufficient education to enable him to get a teacher's license, and for several years he was engaged in the instruction of the young, but eventually he turned his attention to farming and stock-raising. He started in a small way, but through industr\- and persi.-tent effort succeeded in the accumulation of satisfying capital, and in 1903 he moved to a farm seven miles northwest of Broken Bow, where he had 190 acres and carried on extensive operations. Mr. Jacobs continued to center his interests in farming until he became one of the founders, in 1917, of the Co-operative Company, which conducts a general merchandise business, with a capital of $50,000. Of this company he is the president. In his business career he has demonstrated the same ability that he displayed as a farmer and stock-raiser, and his straight for- \vardness and honorable conduct have but served to further advance his reputation and solidify his popularity.

In 1898 Mr. Jacobs married Miss Hettig M. Taylor, daughter of Miner and Lenore (Stearns) Taylor. Miner Taylor was a native of New York, was a Civil war veteran, and was a pioneer of Custer county, wdiere he settled in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs have no children. Mrs. Jacobs is a member of the Christian Science church, and Mr. Jacobs is a Scottish Rite Mason. He is a Republican in politics, and though he prefers business to public matters, he is at all times a loyal citizen and a supporter of public-spirited movements. lie is ser^-ing at the present time as representative of Custer county in the state legislature

DARIUS il. AMSBERRY. wdiose election to the office of mayor of Broken Bow occurred in April. 1918. has in this preferment been accorded one of the many evidences of popular confidence and esteem shown him within a period of more than forty years" residence in Nebraska. Mr. Amsbcrry has wielded large and beneficial influence in connection with the civic and material development and progress of Custer county, and has been specially prominent in connection with educational matters and the newspajjer business in this section of the state. Save for his official services he is now living virtually retired, and as one of the foremost citizens of Custer county, he merits a definite tribute in this history. In the fall of 1918 he was elected secretary of

^Ir. Amsberry was born near Knoxville, Marion county, Iowa, on the 10th of September. 1851. and is a scion of one of the honored pioneer families of that part of the Hawkeye state. He is a son of William F. and Harriet A. (Brown) Amsberry, both of whom were bom and reared in West Mrginia, where also their marriage was solemnized. The father was born September 9, 1823. and his death occurred in November, 1887. The mother was born in 1833 and she passed to the life eternal in the year 1898.

William F. Amsberry came to the west and settled in Marion county, Iowa, in 18-1^. There he became a pioneer farmer, and later he engaged in the lumber business, with incidental operation of a saw mill. In 1879 he came with his family and settled in Custer county, near Mason City. He took up a homestead and developed a productive farm, both he and his wife having passed the residue of their lives in this state and the names of both being here entitled to pioneer distinction. Mr. Amsberry was originally a Democrat in politics, but eventually he transferred his allegiance to the Republican party. He was influential in community affairs as a pioneer in Iowa and there served as justice of the peace. Both he and his wife held membership in the Baptist church. Of their seven children all are living except one: Beatrice, who resides at Mason City. Custer county, is the widow of Hiram T. Kauff'man : Darius M., of this review, was the next in order of birth ; Madora H. is the wife of George W. Runyan. a retired farmer residing at Broken Bow ; Boyd F. is a resident <if Anacortes, Washington ; Marcena L. is a farmer near .-Vnsley, Custer county. Nebraska; and Kittie is the wife of Lew M. Whittaker, a merchant and stockman at Canton. Sioux county.

The paternal grandparents of the subject of this sketch were William and Polly (Everett) Amsberry, who were born in the state o.f New York and who thence removed in an early day to ^\'est \'irginia. the closing years of their lives having been passed in Iowa, where they were pioneer settlers. It may consistently be noted that the family name of the mother of Polly (Everett) Amsberry 's mother was Franklin and that she was a cousin of Benjamin Franklin.

Darius M. .Amsberry was reared under the conditions and influences that obtained in the pioneer ejxjch of Iowa history and in his vouth he received Sfood educational ad- vantages, including those of Central University, at Pella, Iowa. He was. for four years successfully engaged in teaching in the public schools of his native state, and after coming to Nebraska he taught five years in the vicinity of Grand Island. He then came to Custer county and entered a homestead claim near Mason City. He gave his attention to the reclamation and cultivation of this farm for a period of six years, and he then, in 1884, established his home at Broken Bow, the judicial center of the county. In formulating and advancing the work of the public-school system of Custer county Mr. Amsberry played a most prominent part, and for this service alone the county owes him a lasting tribute of honor. He served six years - 1882-88 - as county superintendent of schools, and within this regime he effected the organization of one hundred and sixty school districts in the county. This was at the period when the county was gaining its maximum tide of immigration, settlers coming in caravans and by other primitive mediums of transportation and giving to the social and industrial development of the county a remarkable impetus.

.After his retirement from the office of superintendent of schools Mr. .\msberry purchased the plant and business of the Custer CoKiitx Republican, and for the ensuing twenty years he continued as its editor and publisher. He made this pajx^r a medium for the advancement of the best interests of the countv along all lines, and under his administration it continued as the leading newspa]ier of the county during a long period. In 1006. under the administration of President Roosevelt, he was a])pointed receiver of the United States land office at Broken P>ow\ and he was reappointed under the regime of President Taft. In this important office he continued his effective service for a period of nine years and nine months, at the expiration of which time he retired. After selling his newspaper business Mr. .\msberry turned his attention to real-estate operations, and in this connection likewise he proved himself the able and progressive e.xiionent of civic and industrial development and advancement.

Since his election to the office of mayor of Broken Bow, in the spring of 1918, Mr. Amsberry has shown the same loyalty and resourcefulness that have marked his activities in all other fields in which he has served within his long period of residence in Custer county. His able and resolute administration in the office of secretary of state is assured.

In politics Mr. .\msberry is found aligned as a stalwart and able advocate of the principles of the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellow's, and both he and his wife hold membership in the liaptist church.

( )n the 6th of April. 1875, was solenniized the marriage of Mr. Amsberry to Miss Eveline Greenlee, who was bom near Corydon, ^^'ayne county, Iowa, and who is a daughter of Sylvester and Hettie Greenlee, sterling pioneers of Iowa, in which state they continued to reside until their death. In conclusion is given a brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Amsberry: Minnie M. is the wife of James W. Clay, a prosperous farmer near Broken Bow ; William S. is a railway employe and resides in the state of Oklahoma: Amy R. is the wife of Carl Foote, a ranchman near Dunning, Blaine county, Nebraska ; Lorin W. is identified with newspaper enterprise at Dunning; and Lillie H. is the wife of Wilbur H. Bangs, a ranch operator near Purdum, Blaine county.

WILLIAM H. LEWIS. - The agricultural interests of Custer county find a worthy representative in the subject of this record, who owns and operates a well improved farm near Anselmo.

Mr. Lewis was born in Lafayette county, W^i.sconsin, August 24, 1860, and is a son of \N'illiam H. and Elizabeth (Simons) Lewis, the former born in New York state and the latter a native of Boston, Massachusetts. The parents were married in Wisconsin and in 1870 they became early settlers in Sedgwick county, Kansas, but owing to ague and fevers, which were prevalent in that country in the early days, they moved to Missouri, later settling in Iowa. From the Hawkeye state they returned to Kansas and settled in Smitli county, where they resided from 1877 to 1900. In 1901 they moved to Colorado, where both passed away at the age of seventy years.

William H. Lewis spent his boyhood days on farms in Wisconsin, Kansas and Iowa and eventually became a farmer on his own account, residing in Smith county, Kansas, for fifteen years. In 1900 he came to Custei county and purchased 160 acres, south of .\nselmo. Here he has erected subsl;mtial buildings, and he has enlarged his farm by purchasinsj an additional quarter-section in 1914 and still anotlicr c[ur'rter-section in 1916. Here he is succes.sfullv engaged in diversified agricultural pursuits, and he also owns 640 acres of grazing land, north of .\nselmo.

in Switzerland and wlio accompanied her parents. Fred and Anna Brechbnhle. to the United States when she was five years of age. the family home being established in Smith county, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are the parents of eight children : John and Clarence are married ;ind reside in Anselmo ; Ralph is, at the time of this writing, in the service of his country, as a member of the United States army in France ; and Frank. Lester, Marie, Jennie, and Doris are at home.

Mr. Lewis is a Democrat in politics and has rendered efficient service as justice of the peace and township clerk. He is one of the substantial men of his community and is well and favorably known.

Ai.VlN DAILY. - As manager of the Farmers Mercantile Company. Inc., of Anselmo, Mr. Daily is demonstrating his ability as one of the able business men of Custer county, and he also has the distinction of being one of the early settlers of the county.

Mr. Daily is a native of the Empire state, and was born near Hallsville, New York. January 1, 1862. a son of William Grant Daily and Phoebe (Howe) Daily, a record of whom appears on other pages of this volume. .Alvin Daily, a record of whom appears on other pages of this volume. Alvin Daily was nine years old when the family moved to Knox county, Illinois, and was with his parents when, two years later, a removal was made to Louisa county, Iowa. He was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools, and when a young man he taught school for a time. At the age of twenty-one years he took up the occupation to which he had been reared, and for a short time he was engaged in farming in Louisa county, Iowa, but in the fall of 1883 he and his brother Leon started for Nebraska with a covered wagon and a team of four horses. They spent one season in Howard county and then came on to Custer county. In section 24, township 20, range 22, Mr. Daily took a homestead which he improved and upon which he resided until he moved to his present location, the northeast quarter of section 16, township 20, range 21. This property he lias developed into one of the valuable farms of the community. It is equipped with a fine, modern house, good barns and outbuildings and is one of the finest homes in Custer county. "The Meadows" is the name given to the place and it embraces 400 acres, all under a good state of cultivation.

(Lake) Peters, who were natives of Delaware county, Ohio, and who settled in Louisa county, Iowa, in 1881, both being now deceased. Mrs. Daily joined her husband in Custer county soon after he located the homestead, and she shared in all the pioneer experiences incident to the times. Mr. Daily says he wore out three "soddies" before they built their present residence.

Mr. Daily is now manager of the Farmers Mercantile Company, Inc., of Anselmo and still resides on his farm. He has made a success of his affairs and is justly accounted one of the substantial men of his adopted county.

THOMAS TORGERSON. - Two generations of toilers have pinned their faith and lent their practical energy to the farming property now owned and managed by Thomas Torgerson, a tract which lies in the Broken Bow community of Custer county and which has been in the family name since 1886. Its present owner, a man of industry and splendid reputation, was born in Norway, in 1867, and is a son of Lars and Martha Malinda Torgerson.

The parents of Mr. Torgerson were born in Norway and in 1874 immigrated to the United States, the first settlement of the family being in Iowa. There the father secured work in the coal mines, and there the mother's death occurred, following which Lars Torgerson, deciding he was not making sufficient progress, came to Custer county and, in 1886, homesteaded the present property of his son. Thomas. He and his wife were the parents of six children, of whom five are living, but only two are now located in Nebraska : Thomas and Samuel, the latter farming near the Kansas line. Lars Torgerson, who died at the home of his son in Custer county, was a Republican in politics, and his religious faith was that of the Lutheran church.

Thomas Torgerson was but seven years of age when brought by his parents to the United States, and as he was sent to the coal mines to work and to assist in the family support when he was but twelve years old, he was not given any great advantages in an educational way. However, he was bright and alert, has always been a close observer of men and things, and thus he has acquired more thorough and practical knowledge than manv men who have had infinitely better opportunities. \\ hen he accompanied his father to Nebraska, he turned his attention to farming, and in this vocation he has made a worthy success. His father, while an upright and industrious man, had not been prosperous, hav- ing met with several business reverses, which necessitated his putting a mortgage on the homestead, and this had not been cleared oft when he died. His son Thomas, who took over the farm, has not only succeeded in making the farm clear of indebtedness, but also has added from time to time to its acreage, until he now owns a full section of land, all under cultivation, and improved with a modem home and substantial and commodious bams and other farm Iniildings. "Tom" Torgerson, as he is familiarly known, bears the reputation of being a man of his word and one of inflexible integrity. In addition to general farming, he buys and sells horses, and also handles many cattle. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, maintains an independent stand in regard to political questions, and. with Mrs. Torgerson, belongs to the Christian church.

On December 25, 1898, Mr. Torgerson married Miss Maude Cox, who was born in Missouri, and was brought to Custer county in 1885, by her father, Daniel Cox, who homesteaded a property and was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death Mr. and Mrs. Torgerson are the parents of four children : Wardie, Nellie, and Blanche are attending the Broken Bow high school, and Martha, at home, is the youngest of the children.

D.WTD CHRISTEN may truly be called a self-made man, as his present prosperity has come to him through his own efforts, and his life record exemplihes what may be accomplished by industry and perseverence.

Mr. Christen is a native of Bohemia, where he was born August 20, 1862, and he is a son of Pius and Nellie Christen, who spent their entire lives in Bohemia, the father passing away at the age of seventy-eight years and the mother at the age of sixty-eight years. They were farming people, and they had three sons, all of whom came to America and are now residents of Custer county. The names of these sons are Pius, David, and Frank.

David Christen was reared in his native land and at the age of fourteen years he found emjiloyment as waiter in an eating-house. \\ hen sc\enteen years of age he began learning the blacksmith trade, and he followed that trade in the old country until 1885. when he came to .\merica. At Beaman, Grundy county. Iowa, he worked at his trade and at farm lalior until 1892, when he came to Custer county, Nebraska, and purchased 160 acres of land, in township 19, range 21. The place was equipped with a sod house and stable, and for two years he resided on this farm. He then purchased the old Dryden farm, in the same neighborhood, and there he successfully carried on agricultural pursuits for several years. That he succeeded is attested by the fact that to-day he is the owner of 1,200 acres of land, which he and a tenant operate on shares. In 1910 Mr. Christen removed to Anselmo, and for one year he here conducted a hardware store. He then built the electric-light plant, which he operated three years. He became vice-president of the Anselmo State Bank and when J. J. Tooley became secretary' of the state banking board Mr. Christen succeeded him as cashier. Since that time he has devoted his time to the management of this substantial banking institution.

The Anselmo State Bank was organized July 27, 1903. with a capital of $5,000. Frank Young was president, David Christen vicepresident, and J. J- Tooley cashier. Business was conducted in a little frame building on the site of the present quarters. For three years the bank occupied the IniiUling where the j)OStoltlce is now established, and when the Masonic Temple was erected the bank leased the ground floor, where it is now located. The Anselmo State Bank has had a steady growth and its capital has been increased to $25,000, while it has a surplus of $5,000. The present officers are : Charles G. Sanders, president ; J. A. Kellenbarger, vice-president; David Christen, cashier; and F,. J. Foley, assistant cashier.

Mr. Christen was united in marriage to Airs. Lena M. Streb (nee Smith), a native of Springfield, Ohio, and a daughter of Frank Smith. At the time of her marriage to Mr. Christen she was the widow of Roman Streb. In religious faith Air. and Airs. Christen are communicants of the Catholic church, and his political views make him a Democrat. Successful in business, public-spirited in citizenship, every worthy cause has the liberal support of Mr. Christen.

WILLIAM G. MILLS. - Custer county has a fine coterie of retired farmers who have worked through the long days of their middle lite and are now enjoying a deserved rest, being well ])rovided with the comforts of life, as the result of iheir toil. William G. Alills is one of these. He was bom June 13, 1862, in Aladison county, Iowa. His ]Kirents, William and Lucinda (Stark) Alills. were staunch, sulistanlial people, and were held in unqualified respect and esteem. The father was a native of Illinois and the mother was born in the Hawkeye state. The father was affiHated with the JNIasonic fraternity and during the Civil war served as a second heutenant in Company I, OVenty-first Iowa Vohinteer Infantry. Four children compose the family circle of this estimable couple. They are Ira P., William G., Emma L. English, and E. Grant.

When \\'illiani G. IMills was but three years of age his father yielded to the call of the west and located in Lancaster county, Nebraska Territory, in 1865. Lincoln at that time was not yet on the map. Here the father obtained a homestead farm, and he lived on the place eighteen years. <)n this pioneer farm the early years of the life of William G. MilL were spent. It was here that he earned his first money and gradually inducted himself into the live-stock business. It was his job to do the family churning, for which his mother paid him one cent an hour. Twenty-five hours of churning thus earned him twenty-five cents, and with this as his part of the investment, he and his brother Ira purchased a pig in partnership. They raised the pig, sold it and bought two pigs. These were finally sold, and with the proceeds they bought two calves. This launched them into the stock business so effectually that they have never been able to get out. Air. Mills helped on the fann during the summer time, attended public school during the winter time, and finally finished his high-school course and attended the state universitv, at Lincoln. In 1883 Mr. Mills came with his father and family to Custer county and the father located five miles north of Arnold, which locality has since that time been known as Mills valley. At that time W'illiam lacked six weeks of being twenty-one years of age, but with an eye to good business, he selected a homestead and a tree claim, and the day that he was twenty-one found him bright and early in the North Platte land office, ready to make his filing. Thus was laid the foundation of the competency his Custer activities have since secured for him.

Continued bachelorhood had no attractions for Mr. Mills, so, on December 7, 1884, he led to the marriage altar Miss Millie A. Guy, who was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, a daughter of William and Martha (Hall) Guy, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of the District of Columbia. Both parents were members of the Protestant Alethodist church. In the Guy family were three children - Dr. Milton P. Guy, Laura A. (deceased), and Millie A. Mills.

two sons. John M., who likewise is a farmer in the Arnold vicinity, married Susie Simms and they have one son and one daughter. Charles S. is farming near Logan. He married Merle Lester, and they have one son. Clarence E. is somewhere in France. He was one of the first graduates of the Arnold school and on the 5th day of September, 1917, he entrained for Camp Fimston. He was later made corporal and then promoted to sergeant of Company A, in connection with headquarters business. He was with the American Expeditionary Forces in France at the time the great war came to a close. Mav is at home with her parents and in the tenth grade of the Arnold schools.

Mr. and Mrs. Mills lived on their land in Mills valley twenty-seven years, during which time he was an extensive producer of hogs, cattle, and horses, but he is inclined to the idea that 'hogs and horses paid him better than cattle. Before he divided his land among his children he had 1,320 acres, all well improved and in a high state of cultivation. He still owns 500 acres but maintains a splendid home in Arnold, where three acres of ground makes a garden plot or small farm that furnishes him with all the exercise that he cares to take. The family, children and all, belong to the Methodist church. All are well and favorably known in the southern regions of the county.

HIRAM R. BLACK. - Once numbered with the active, progressive men of his day and generation, the subject of this memoir has been called from the scenes of pioneer life to that eternal home where it is believed worth and merit are rewarded. Mr. Black was born January 14, 1859, in Mahaska county, Iowa, and was a son of Samuel Black, a native of Germany. In his father's family there are but two surviving children - Belle Black and Anna Coakley. When Mr. Black was but seven months old his mother died and he was taken by a family named Steward. When nine years of age he went to work on his own account and prepared to face the world for himself. The adventures and hardships of after years had no effect upon his dauntless spirit. He turned his hand to anything he could find to do. He succeeded in getting a liberal education and worked his way slowly to the front. *

On the 19th day of April, 1884. in Omaha, Mr. Black n'as imited in marriage to Ernestine (Berndt) Vogel, a young lady who was born May 20, 1857. in Flinsberg. Germany, a daughter of Carl and Christina (Knobloch) Berndt. Both of Mrs. Black's parents were Gennans

Air, and Mrs. Black established a home of their own and maintained it always upon hospitable lines. They were hard-working people, frugal and provident, and as a result they were always able to obtain the necessities and many of the comforts enjoyed in the western homes of Custer county. Their family circle widened with years, and to-day the family page records the following named children : Edward, the firstborn, is a farmer near Callaway. He married Ella Klein and they have one daughter. They are members of the Church of God. Cora E. Black is a trained nurse, having graduated in the Douglas County Hospital, in C)maha. When not employed in her profession, she makes her home with her mother on the farm three miles east of Arnold. As she is a skilled nurse there is great demand for her services, and she is rarely at home for any considerable period. May F. graduated as a member of the first class in the Arnold high school. She married Clarence Gist, a conductor on the Burlington Railroad, and they live at O'Neill. Nebraska. Iva Black lives at home with her mother. She is also a nurse who received her training in the Douglas County Hospital. Mark R. Black runs his mother's farm.

Mrs. Black has three children by a former marriage. They are Albert \ ogel, who married Florence Hoftnian and lives on a farm of his own, near Arnold. Theodore Vogel likewise is a farmer near Arnold. He married Ida Ray, and they have five children - three sons and two daughters. They are members of the Baptist church. Bertha is the wife of Thomas Ryan, a farmer and plasterer living near Arnold, and they have three children - two sons and one daughter.

Three years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Black came from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Custer county, where they located on what is known as the East Table, on the Anselmo road. They had to haul water ten miles, and they kept this up for two years. Mrs. Black says that when her husband first came out to see this country and secure land, he told her that it was ten miles down to water and ten miles uj) and ten miles in any other direction. During their experience of the first two years, she l)ccame convinced that this was not an exaggeration. They lived on East Table about three or four years and then moved to the South Loup river, where she has lived ever since. Mr. Black died April 28. 1916. He was a member of the ]\Iasons, a charter member of Chapter No. 225. He was one of the prominent pioneers of the county. He helped to develop the county's resources. He and his wife endured the hardships, crossed the rivers, climbed the hills, and outbattled their difficulties. At the time of his death they owned 670 acres of land, and this is still the home of Mrs. Black. For a time they lived in Arnold, where Mrs. Black was postmistress for five years, after which she conducted a shoe store for seven years, while Mr. Black and the children operated the farjii. The farm home to-day is the rallying center for the children. Here they delight to gather and here Mrs. Black delights in the homecoming of the children and the grandchildren, to whom she recites the stories of the early da vs.

ALEXANDER DE LOSH. - Retired from active operations, the subject of this sketch lives in Arnold, where, in a modern home, he enjoys the comforts to which his years of toil entitle him.

Mr. De Losh was born on the 26th day of March. 1858, in St. Lawrence county. New York. In the same countv were born his parents, Cornelius and Sophia (Myers) DeLosh, of whose children five are living - William, Julius, Marj- A. Green, Alexander, Alma Ewald, and John. Cornelius DeLosh was a farmer by occupation and he moved to Delaware county, Iowa, Iowa, when his son Alexander was seven years of age. In Delaware county the father purchased a fami, and there the youthful days of Alexander were spent. The jiarents were devoted members of the Methodist church. At the age of ten years Alexander DeLosh earned his first money, by helping a neighbor drive hogs six miles to market. For this service he was given twenty-five cents. Durin.g the sum mers he was employed upon the farm and in the winter months he attended the country schools, where he received a fundamental education that has served him well in all the subsequent transactions of business. Since he was thirteen years of age he has practically made his own way in the world. His first wages were eleven dollars a month, and that was considered an imusual compensation in those times. These excessive wages were ])aid because Alexander had the reputation of Ix'ing a "good hand." He did not have the easy time of the present-day farm hand. He did not expect to have the chores done before sundown and the use of an automobile after supper. In fact, the farms in those days were operated on the eight-hour plan - eight hours in the forenoon and eight in the afternoon. Bv the time he was eighteen vears of agfe Mr.

December 12, 1878, Mr. DeLosh was united in marriage to Charlotte W'hittaker, daughter of Samuel T. and Cynthia A. (Alayne) Whittaker. Mrs. DeLosh belonged to an Iowa family in which were ten children, eight of whom are living at the present time - Socrates, Marius, Jane S., Danford, Meroc Bruce, Mary A. DeLosh, Isabelle Morgan, Charlotte DeLosh, and Ulysses.

Early in the spring of 1885 Mr. and Mrs. DeLosh, urged by the lure of the west, came to Custer county, Nebraska, and located a homestead eleven miles south of Arnold, on the Tallin Table, where they have made their home for thirty consecutive years. Theirs were the experiences of the pioneer days. During the tirst three years of their residence here, they hauled water eleven miles, then they put down a well to a depth of 306 feet, at a cost of one dollar a foot. After eight months they lost the use of this well and had to haul water for two years more before they were able to put down another well. This shows the real stufif of which the early 'settlers were made. It took pluck to persevere under such handicaps, but Mr. and ]Mrs. DeLosh stayed. They put down another well, they "made good," and to-day the original homestead has been increased to 1,280 acres, upon which are two sets of good building improvements. Mr. DeLosh is now able to live retired, and accordingly he has established himself at Arnold, in a comfortable, modern home. He credits farming and stock-raising for all of his accumulations and success. Concerning the children of Mr. and ]Mrs. DeLosh the following brief data are available : Walter C. married Maud Purcell and became the father of one son and two daughters. He died October 27, 1913. At that time of his death Walter owned a full section of land on the Tallin Table and his .widow still resides on the farm. He was a Mason, and was well and favorably known in the community. Isabelle F. is the wife of Alartin Holt, a farmer who owns a half-section of land on the Tallin Table, and they have one daughter. George A. is the youngest of the family, and thus it falls to his lot to operate his father's farm. He married Esther Alagunsen, and they have one daughter. Alexander DeLosh is a Mason in high standin, having received the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He has been a member of the school board in district No. 133 for more than twenty-five years, and in many other ways has rendered a public service to the community in which he has lived during these years.

JAMES S. WALLACE. - Bearing a family name that has been one of eminence in the history of Scotland, this well known citizen of Custer county may well take pride in claiming the land of hills and heather as the place of his nativity. Appreciative of the subtle attractions and undeniable opportunities offered in connection with practical journalism, Mr. Wallace has chosen the newspaper profession as his vocation, and the success which he has attained in this field of endeavor is shown forth in his well equipped establishment and the excellent business which he controls as editor and publisher of the Anslcy Herald.

Mr. Wallace was bom in Berwickshire. Scotland, on the 4th of November, 1884, and is a son of James and Isabelle (McNeish) Wallace, the former of whom passed his entire life in Scotland, where his widow still resides. Of their children John, Henry, and William still maintain their home in Scotland, and thus the subject of this review is the only representative of the immediate family in the United States. William was a gallant youngsoldier in the English forces on the great battlefields of France during a go6dly portion of the time while the great world war was raging. The father was an earnest communicant of the established Church of England, as is also his widow, and in this ancient faith they carefully reared their sons. James Wallace devoted the major part of his active career to the great basic industry of agriculture, and his life was ordered upon the highest plane of integrity and usefulness.

James S. Wallace was reared under the sturdy discipline of the old home farm, and in his youth he was given the best of educational advantages - both in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Northumberland, England. Moved by ambition and a desire to emancipate himself from the life of a farmer, soon after attaining to his legal majority Mr. Wallace decided to leave his native land and try his fortunes in America. In 1906 he crossed the Atlantic and after remaining for a short time in Canada he made his way to Seattle, Washington. Later, in 1911, he came to Nebraska, and at Alliance. Box Butte county, he gained his initial experience in the newspaper and general printine business, through his connection with the Alliance Semi-Weekly Times, with which he continued his association three years.

chased the plant and business of the Cilby Chrotiide, at Gilby. North Dakota. He made a great success of this venture, and thus was led to seek a broader and more inviting field of journalistic exploitation. Accordingly, in June, 1918, he came to Ansley and purchased the Ansley Herald. He forthwith placed this paper on an upward climb, and the advancement has continued from that time to the jjresent, with the result that the paper has become a potent influence in pubic affairs in this part of the county, an effective exponent of local interests, and a vehicle through which communal progress and prosperitv are furthered. The Herald now has a circulation of nearly 800 copies weekly and is to be found in the representatives homes throughout the Ansley district of the county. The Herald ably champions the principles and policies of the Re])ublican party and is a local political organ of no insignificant influence, the while it expresses the well fortified political views of its publisher. However, Air. Wallace endeavors to give to his readers a fair, impartial, and unprejudiced view of all questions of in- ' terest, political and otherwise, and his paper luerits classification among the model village ]_)ulilications of Nebraska, its columns giving effective summar\- of the latest news of general character, as well as a chronicle of local events and activities, and terse, well written editorials. The Herald has good support from the merchants and professional men of its community, and it is recognized as a good advertising medium. In connection with the newsi)aper plant is a well equipped job-printing department, in which first-class job ]>rintiiisr of all kinds is executed. Mr. Wallace is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he and his wife are members of the Christian church in their home village.

In June, 1915, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wallace to Miss Elda Fern Bacon, who was lx)ni at Crab Orchard, Johnson county, Nebraska, and whose father. Royal Bacon, is an extensive landholder in Gage county, this state. Mrs. Wallace acquired her earlv education in the pul)lic schools at Cambridge. Furnas county, and supplemented this by attending Doan College, at Crete. Prior to her marriage she was a successful and popular teacher, as princi])al in the public schools of Alliance for several years. Russell, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, was born NovemlKT 2, 1917.

worthily and well represented by Edward M. Sennett, who has a well improved property in section 10, township 13, range 18. Coming to Custer county a stranger, in 1904, he soon won the esteem and confidence of those with whom his business brought him into contact, and from that time until the present his popularity and prosperity have steadily increased. Mr. Sennett was born in ^^'ashington county, Pennsylvania, August 21, 1857, and is a son of James B. and Ruth ( Hall) Sennett.

The parents of Mr. Sennett, Pennsylvanians by birth and agriculturists by predilection and vocation, left their native state when Edward M. was still a small boy and took up their residence in Illinois, where they passed the rest of their lives as industriou.s farming people, rounding out honorable careers and becoming moderately successful. They were the parents of these children: Edward M., whose name introduces this article ; John, who is engaged in farming near Mason City; Frank, who resides in Illinois and is a farmer; Hai'n" and Charlie, who also are Illinois farmers ; Mary, who is the wife of John Park, a farmer in Indiana ; Lizzie, who is the wi'fe of Patrick O'Connor ; and Addie, who is the widow of Del Henderson.

Edward M. Sennett acquired his education in the public schools of Illinois, where he was reared on the home farm, and he remained under the parental roof until after he had attained his majority. He took up farming as a means of livelihood, having had all his training along that line, and after some years si)ent in the central west he decided to iry his fortune in Nebraska, from which state he had received glo\ving reports. With excellent judgment, he chose Custer county as his stage of residence, and in 1904 he located upon his present property, not far from Mason City, in section 10, township 13, range 18. Since his arrival he has greatly enlarged his holdings and is now the owner of 320 acres, all in a good .state of cultivation, with substantial buildings and modern equipment. Mr. Sennett is the fortunate possessor of just those (|ualities which arc essential to success in the business of farming, and, having had much experience in his field of endeavor, he is accounted one of the able and progressive men of his vicinity. Mr. Sennett lias not been active in public alTairs, save as a good citizen. He and the members of his familv belong to the ICvangelical church.

In 1881 Mr. Sennett was united in marriage, in Illinois, to Miss Jane Whitman, and to this union there were born six children : Oeoree, a widower, who is engaged in farming in Illinois : John, who is deceased ; Ed, who is assist- ing his father in the cultivation of the home acres ; James, who married Hazel Hollenbach and is engaged in farming in Custer county ; Ralph, who married Clara Jelinek, and also farms in this county ; and Lida, who is the wife of Sid Hollenbach, owner of a Custer countv farm.

HUBERT LEONARD, who is well known among the representative people of Custer county, is a prosperous general farmer residing on -section 28, township 34. Mr. Leonard came to this county with his parents when he was a mere boy, and has lived here ever since. He was born in County Roscommon, Ireland. September 1, 1880, one of a family of ten children born to Hubert and Julia (Freeman ) l^eonard. Both parents were born in Ireland. They immigrated to the United States in 1888 and immediately came to Nebraska, where the father secured a homestead claim in Custer county, near Anselmo. This he developed and improved. In the spring of 1913 he removed with his family to Anselmo, and there his death occurred in November of the same year. His widow still makes her home in Anselmo. Of the ten children of the family the following are living : Mary is the wife of Thomas Teahon, a farmer living southwest of Anselmo ; John, who is a farmer in the same neighborhood, married Lizzie Jacquot ; Michael is engaged in the real-estate and insurance business at Anselmo ; James G.. who is in the abstract business in Broken Bow, married Nellie Reed ; Patrick, who is postmaster of Anselmo, married Elsie Ross; Hubert is the immediate subject of this sketch ; Bryan, who is a chiropractor practi'ioner and resides in Kansas, married Libbic Schmitz ; and Charles, who is also a chiropractor, lives in Burke, South Dakota, and married Viola Reed. The father of the above family was a faithful member of the Roman Catholic church. In his political views he was a Democrat.

Hubert Leonard has been engaged in farming ever since his period of school attendance ended, and he has the reputation of being very successful in hi; agricultural undertakings, because of his practical and thorough methods and his sound judgment. Like his father before him. he is a Democrat in politics. He has never accepted any political favors but has served as school director of his district since 1917.

]\Ir. Leonard was married February 27. 1906. to Eleanore Hollidav, who was bom in Missouri, .\ugu.st 3, 1885. a daughter of Thomas C. and Catherine (Ray) Holliday, the former of whom was sherif? of Custer county two terms - 1894-1898. Mr. and Mrs. Leonard are members of the Catholic church. They have two children : Pearley. born February 23, 1907; and Violet, born November 1, 1911.

ROLAND ROHDE. - There are not a few instances among the agripulturists of Custer county where the men who are engaged in farming and stock-raising are operating properties upon which they were born and upon which they have passed their entire lives. This is particularly true, and naturally, among the members of the younger generation, many of whom have succeeded their fathers, who were homesteaders here but who have now turned over the responsibilities and labors to younger and stronger shoulders. Vn the class mentioned is found Roland Rohde, who is a progressive and enterprising young farmer and stock-raiser of township 71, in the Mason City community, and who has already achieved a remarkable success for one who has just passed his majority.

Roland Rohde belongs to a pioneer homesteading family of Custer county, and was born not far from Mason City, in 1897, a son of Albert Rohde, a sketch of whose career will be found elsewhere in this work. There were three sons in the family, and all have grown to be worthy, industrious, and honorable men. Frank, who is, at the time of this writing, with the American E.xpeditionary Forces fighting in France, was well known in his home county before being called to the colors, was a general favorite among his associates, and belonged to the local Grange and to the Evangelical church at Mason City. Herman, the other brother, is associated with Roland in the cultivation of the farm, and is a voung, progressive and energetic farmer, an enthusiastic member of the Grange, the meetings of which he attends regularly, and a stanch Republican.

Roland Rohde was reared on the home farm and received his education in the public schools. Having resided on the home place all his life, he is thoroughly familiar with every detail of its operation and management, and now has a full partnership in the property, which comprises 640 acres, of which 400 acres are devoted to farming. He and his brother have been greatly interested and markedly successful in stock-raising, and in addition to pure-bred horses are engaged in raising Red Polled cattle and pure blooded Poland-China hogs. The property is splendidly equipped with modern buildings and other improvements, including an Overland automobile, a blacksmith shop with a complete set of tools, and a complete threshing machine outfit. Like his brother. Roland Rohde is a Republican. He is still numbered among the eligible bachelors of his native county.

JIM BAKER may well be cited as one of Custer county's old settlers, as forty years have rolled by since he came into the county in which he now owns 200 acres of fine land situated in section 25, within easy distance of Broken Bow. Mr. Baker was bom in Iowa, September 5, 1869, and his parents were Thompson and Sarah (Huffman) Baker, who removed from Iowa to York county, Nebraska, in 1872. There were thirteen children in their family, a strong and sturdy stock, and of these the following are living: Frank, who is 3 farmer near W'esterville, Nebraska, married Margaret Gardner ; Tina, who is the widow of Charles Hare, lives at Ansley, Nebraska ; Walter, who is a farmer in Custer county, married Lulu Nelms ; Alice, who is the wife of Frank Hays, a farmer near Westerville ; Kate, who is the widow of Austin Daniels, lives near Westerville ; Hattie married William Gardner, a farmer, and they live near Morecroft Wyoming: Ralph, who is a traveling salesman, married \'eila Lewis, and they reside at Alliance, Nebraska ; Wesley N., who is a farmer in Custer county, married Amy Copsey: May is the wife of John Dates, a farmer in Custer county ; and Maud is the wife of Herbert Hollenbeck, a farmer near Wester\ille.

Jim Baker was three years old when his parents brought him to York county, Nebraska, and he was about nine years old when he came to Custer county, in the fall of 1878. He obtained his education in the Custer cotmty schools and then learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed in conjunction with farming until 1903. since which time he has devoted himself to agricultural pursuits exclusivelv, carr\-ing on mixed farming and cattle-raising. Lie hris a valuable, well improved estate.

In May, 1899. Mr. Baker married Miss Lillie Ross, who was bom in Illinois, and they have three children : Alice, who was bom December 12, 1900: \'erla, who was born August 5, 1902 : and Roy, who was born June 22. 1904. .\11 of the children remain at the parental home.

Mr. Baker is a Republican in his ]>olitical views and is a loyal and public-spirited citizen. Wonderful changes have taken place since Mr. Baker came to Custer county, and he has done his part in developing the country.

PAUL J. HAUMONT. justice of the peace and representative citizen of Custer county, has been engaged in agricultural activities here ever since he completed his course of study in the State Agricultural College, at Lincoln. Mr. Haumont was born in Custer county, June 18, 1880. His parents were Edmund and Mary (Severyns) Haumont. both natives of now historic villages of Belgium, where his father was born m 1856 and his mother, April 27, 1848. It chanced that both came to the L'nited States, the mother reaching this countr}- in July. 1875, and the father two years later. To their subsequent marriage three children were born: Paul J., Eddie (deceased), and Sylvia, the one daughter being now the wife of Albert Kleeb, a farmer. Edmund Haumont was an intelligent man and in addition to being a capable farmer in Custer county he also became a citizen of the United States, one loyally interested m political sentiment. He voted first with the temporary- Greenback party but afterward, until his death, January 7, 1917, with the Republican party. Both he and his wife were faithful members of the Roman Catholic church.

Paul J. Haumont grew up on his father's farm and attended the countrv' schools. Later he took a course in the Nebraska .Vgricnltural College, at Lincoln, the benefit of which discipline has been amply proved by the success that has attended the intelligent management of his farm, which he devotes to mixed farming and stock-raising. Although he is counted one of the best farmers in this section, he has not given all his time to personal undertakings but, through a hearty interest in the general welfare of his county, has informed himself concerning a good citizen's responsibilities, and has so gained the confidence of his fellow citizens thereby that, although independent in politics, he has been county clerk for four years and a justice of the peace for the same length of time.

Mr. Haumont was married in 1906 to Eva Polkingham, who is a daughter of Douglas and Eliza (Gerrett) Polkingham. and they have the following children : \'iolet. bom April 10. 1907: Thomas, bom May 4, 1908; Lee, born Februarv- 8, 1910; Arthur, bom October 25, 1912 ; Grace, born Januarj- 25, 1916.

PETER R. PEDERSON, who has been a resident of Custer county for thirty-three years and is well and favorably known in every direction, is an extensive raiser of fine stock, to which industrv- he mainly devotes his manv acres of well improved land. Mr. Pederson was born in Denmark. February 18, 1861. His jiarents were S. M. and Anna (Jensen) Pederson, who were people of some consequence in Denmark before coming to America. They were highly esteemed in their own community and were leading members of the Lutheran church.

S. M. Pederson came to the United States in 1869 and in New York he followed his trade of mason and contractor about one year. He then sent for his family and they established their home soon afterward in CJconomowoc, Wisconsin. From that place Mr. Pederson was sent as one of the commissioners assigned to the service of effecting and arranging for a Danish colonization in the Oconomowoc district. From different sections of Denmark the new settlers came in a body, and they became fully assimilated in the civic and industrial life of the Badger state - the founders of families that are to-day ntmibered among the best and most prosperous in W^isconsin, the while representatives of these families have also become worthily identified with the citizenship of various other states of the Union. The year 1870 was that in which the wife and seven children of Mr. Pederson joined him in New York, and after the removal to Wisconsin he did a considerable amount of building, as a contracting mason, as did he later in Chicago, he having removed to that metropolis in the autumn of 1871. Later he became a resident of Howard county. Nebraska. Concerning the surviving children of this sterling citizen the following brief record is consistently entered at this juncture: Lizzie is the widow of Ouinn Kirkpatrick and resides in the city of Seattle, Washington ; Minnie is the wife of Jens Jenson. who is engaged in the lumber business at Bellingham. Washington : Peter R. is the immediate subject of this sketch: Mary is the wife of Hans Jensen, a railroad engineer, and they reside at Cheyemie, Wyomins:; and Yetta, who is the widow of George Raymond, resides at Everett. Washington.

Peter R. Pederson obtained his educational trainnig in the jjublic schools of Grand Island, Nebraska, and remained in Howard county until 1883. He was a clerk in the postoffice at Grand Island for one year and then spent a year at Carbon, Wyoming. From \\'yoming he came to Custer county in 1885, and he has remained here ever since. Here he is to-day the owner of a section of well improved land. He bought a brother's claim and also filed on a claim for himself, and all this land, substantially improved, returns adequate income. His home place is in section 23, township 34.

marriage with Emily J. Cudmore, who was born February 12, 1876. Her parents were Edward W. and Sarah J. Cudmore, and they came to Nebraska from Canada, both being natives of Toronto. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Pederson the following data are available: Soren M., who was born January 19, 1899, entered the United States service in connection with the nation's participation in the great world war. As a member of Company H, Third Engineers Corps, he received training at Camp Humphrey, Virginia, and he was serving in Company C. One-Himdred and Twenty-second Regiment of Engineers, at the time when the war came to a close. Elsie, who was born September 27, 1900, is a student in the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney. John Clifton, who was bom September 7, 1902, died on the 11th of September, 1C)16 Marmion, v.-ho was born July 30, 1904. and Esther, who was born March 7. 1908, remain at the parental home and are attending the public schools.

In politics Mr. Pederson gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, his wife being a member of the Methodist Episcopal church

CHESTER SAMS, who is one of Custer county's excellent farmers and whose experience in connection with farm enterprise covers manv years, is the owner of well cultivated land in section 24. township 17 in the vicinity of Berwyn.

Chester Sams was born in Bremer county, Iowa, on the 1st of August, 1874, and is the younger of the two children of Tohn L. and Cora R. (Terry) Sams. The death of the mother occurred February 25, 1879 and the elder of her two children is Charles A., who married Miss Irene Carl and who is a prosperous farmer in Custer county. The second marriage of John L. Sams occurred in Polk county, Nebraska, where, on the 30th of December. 1883, he wedded Florence A. Hornback. Two sons were born of this union : Roy B.. who married Goldie Sampson, of Custer county, is engaged in fanning in this county, and James L.. who married Hattie M. Powell, is a farmer near Payette, Idaho. Mrs. Florence A. (Hornback) Sams died October 29. _1907.

In March, 1895, John L. Sams settled on a farm near Weissert, Custer county, and here he and his wife united with the Methodist Episcopal church, with which they continued their identification until 1904, when they transferred their membership to the Church of God.

Chester Sams was young at the time of the family removal to Nebraska, and here he has continuously resided to the present time. He obtained his youthful education in the public schools of Polk county, this state, and throughout his entire active career he has been closely identified with farm enterprise. In his farm operations he is vigorous and progressive and he is one of the valued citizens of the Berwyn vicinit)'.

On the 29th of March, 1903, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Sams to Miss Sadie Franklin, who was born in Otoe county, Nebraska, May 5, 1882, and who is a daughter of William and \nn (Eve) Franklin, both natives of England. Mr. Franklin died in 1910, at Mason City, Custer county, where his widow still resides. The names and respective dates of birth of the children of Mr and Mrs. Sams are here entered - Thelma \'.. Februarv 3, 1904; Rosa M., August 10, 1907 ; Edith O., November 26, 1913 : Esther Ann, February 22, 1915 ; and John, August 13, 1916. The older children are attending school.

HARVEY B. ANDREWS. - Few of the pioneer residents of Nebraska passed through more thrilling e.xperiences, faced greater hardships, overcame more obstacles, and gained greater results than did the late Harvey B. Andrews, whose death occurred at Anselmo, May 8. 1916. His life was typical of the courageous, persevering spirit which brought about the settlement, civilizing, and development of the West, and his career was one in which he rose from obscuritv to prominence and wealth. In the early days, when Custer county was still on the frontier, he drove stage, fought Indians, and shot buffalo and other wild game ; later he became a large landholder and one of the most successful ranchment of the central part of Nebraska, and subsequently he applied his keen business acumen and foresight to the direction of financial and other institutions, to their great and lasting benefit - and in each capacity, in each community, and in each field of endeavor he steadfastly maintained a recognized reputation for integrity and honor of the strictest kind.

Mr. .Andrews was a resident of Broken Bow at the time of his death, and a local paper gave the following statement of the passing of this honored pioneer: "In the midst of a cheerful conversation, and while seated at dinner in the home of W. S. Tupper. at Anselmo. Mondav at 12:30 p. m.. H. B. Andrews, one of Custer county's best known citizens, suddenly ceased to breathe. His death was a decided shock to the comnumity. and though he had been ailing for a year or more, the past six months had shown such marked improvement in his condition that he was thought for the time to be out of danger."

Harvey B. Andrews was born in Alleghany county. \'irginia, January 22, 1849, the sixth order of birth in a family of six sons and four daughters. His parents, William and Elizabeth (Oliver) Andrews, also were natives of the Old Dominion, where they were married, reared their children, and passed their entire lives. Of their children four sons and one daughter still live in that state.

Ilarvey B. Andrews was educated in the public schools and was reared a farmer, remaining under the parental roof until 1874. in March of which year, in company with a party of about nine other youths of his neighborhood, he set out for the west, with the vicinity of New Helena. Nebraska, as his destination. The Union Pacific Railroad carried the little party as far as Kearney, where they hired a team and wagon and. with a driver, continued on their journey through Loup City, Sherman county, and on into the territory of Custer - along the north side of Middle Loup river until reaching a point opposite the mouth of \'ictoria creek. Blocked by the river, they set about the difficult task of fording the stream, in which tiie wagon was taken to pieces and floated across and the stronger men carried the weaker ones. It fell to Mr. Andrews' lot to carry across Charles Mathews, who in later years, as county judge of Custer county and one of the best known men in central Nebraska, frequently related the interesting story. .After fording the creek, the party continued to follow it along the east side until reaching Victoria Springs, where Messrs. Andrews and Mathews were the only ones of the nine to make a permanent settlement. Mr. Mathews took a ])re-emption where the springs gushed out of the creek, while Mr. Andrews selected his claim a little further up-stream, this later becoming the Bowley farm.

In the fall of 1877 Mr. Andrews made a homestead entry in Cedar canyon, this tract covering the principal part of the little cedar forest there, and being very valuable because of the timber. Some of the cabins erected from logs taken from this canyon still stand on \'ictoria creek. Mr. Andrews and Mr. Mathews, as the original settlers of that neighborhood, in later years exchanged reminiscences of the time when game was plenti- ful and the Indians hostile. During his residence there Mr. Andrews killed deer and antelope by the hundreds, as well as one buffalo, and for ten years his family had no other kind of meat, while the family residence was first a log house and later a soddy. As early as 1874 Mr. Andrews worked at freighting from Grand Island to Fort Hartseff, the military post above Ord, thus demonstrating the fact that in the new country he was willing to accept any kind of honorable employment that promised sufficient emolument so that he could better his condition. In 1877 he accepted the dangerous position of driving stage in the Black Hills, and he held that post from April 1st to September, at a time when the Indians, on the war-path, frequently followed him. Just before his run the driver of the stage was killed by hostile Indians, and on one occasion Mr. Andrews, with his stage, came upon the mutilated bodies of two men and women who had been massacred by the redskins. It is to be imagined that for many years Mr. Andrews had anything but a friendly feeling toward the Indians. In the early days, in connection with frontier life, he had other experiences which taxed his strength and courage. At the time of the great blizzard of January 12, 1888, still well remembered by the "old-timers," he had been in Broken Bow, and left the train at Anselmo, where he endeavored to get a liveryman to take him home, oflfering five dollars - a large sum in those days - for the six-mile trip to Xew Helena. However, no one would venture out in such a storm, and, purchasing a lantern, Mr. Andrews, in the face of remonstrances by the residents of Anselmo. started out along the wire fence. By the time he had reached the end of it, he had convinced himself that he was equal to the task of braving and defeating the storm, and about ten o'clock he reached his home, thoroughly frightening Mrs. Andrews, by his arrival at such an hour on such a night. .\t the time of the blizzard of October 15. 1880, which continued three days, he had just returned from Dismal river, where he had a large bunch of cattle, but with the early fontiersman's sagacity he had felt the coming of the great storm and had hurried home.

Mr. -Andrews was a man who made the most of his opportunities - one whose splendid judgment and foresight and fine business abilities won him success and prominence. He accumulated some 7,000 or 8,000 acres of valuable land, on which he conducted large farming, stock-raising, and ranching operations, and later he entered business and financial circles, in which he gained like success. In the fall of 1911 he and his family left their ranch home at Anselmo and retired to a farm adjoining the eastern suburbs of Broken Bow, and there Mr. Andrews lived quietly until his death. He was originally a Democrat, but later took an independent stand regarding public questions and candidates, but was no office-seeker himself. However, he was always ready to discharge his responsibilities, and for some time served on t-he county board as supervisor from the Victoria district. He was a leading Mason, being a member of Broken Bow blue lodge, the chapter and commandery, and also being affiliated with Tangier Temple of the Mystic Shrine, at Omaha. \\lth Mrs. Andrews and their daughter, Lilly, he held membership in the Order of the Eastern Star.

On September 29. 1878, ^Ir. Andrews was united in marriage with >,Iiss Jennie Loughran, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth I Morrow) Loughran. of Loup City, to whose home Mr. Andrews had made a trip in 1876. Mrs. Andrews' parents were natives of Ireland, and her father immigrated to Canada when he was but fifteen years of age. There he married and there his first wife died. In 1874 he made a trip of inspection to Nebraska, and in 1876 he brought his family here for a permanent residence. He died here in his eighty-sixth year. ]\Irs. Loughran had been married first in Ireland, and was twent)- years of age when she started for Canada with her husband and child, both of whom died soon after landing, of what was known as "ship fever," now supposed by many to be the deadly typhus fever. Although her father sent her money to return to Ireland, she was independent, and was working for a wage of fifty cents per week, saving her money for her passage, when she met and married Mr. Loughran. Later they came to Nebraska, where she passed away some time before the death of her husband. They were the parents of four children : James, who is a farmer of Gates, Nebraska ; Mary, who is the widow of W. H. ^IcCowin, of Curtis, Nebraska: Alice, who is the widow of J. L. A'innedge, of Taylor, this state: and Jennie, who is the widow of the subject of this memoir. Mr. Loughran was a Catholic and Mrs. Loughran a member of the Presbyterian church.

Of the children born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, seven survive : Mary is the wife of R. F. Aldrich, living on a farm near Broken Bow ; Charles H. is connected with the large real-estate firm of Wood Brothers, at Lincoln, Nebraska ; Jennie is the wife of John A. ]\Iack:, of New Helena, a farmer ; Lilly B. is the wife of Joe M. Downey, a stockman near Anselmo ; Alice is the wife of C. Ernest Crouch, a farmer and stork-raiser, and they live with Mrs. Andrews; Fannie is attending school at York; and Stella Minerva is attending school at Broken Bow. Mrs. Andrews still survives her husband and resides at the pleasant and comfortable modern home in the suburbs of Broken Bow, where she always extends a hospitable welcome to her many friends, whether they be of the modern times or of the days of the frontier, when she assisted her husband so ably in his struggle to obtain a foothold in the new country where in later years he was destined to become such an important figure.

FRED H. ARTHUR. - A pronounced study in contrast among the upbuilders of Custer county is presented in the career of Fred FI. Arthur. His twentieth centurystatus is represented by the ownership of large tracts of land, and between the laborenslaving and poverty-clouded days of the past and those of the prosperous present, he has encountered many varied and developing experiences, the very existence of which stamps him as a man of courage, initiative, and purpose. Mr. Arthur was born at Fond du Lac. Wisconsin, May 14, 1859, and is a son of Horace and Mary (Green) Arthur.