Gage County, Nebraska - Chapter 31: People Who Have Done Their Part in Making Gage County, 1918 (part 18 of 29)

On the 11th of January, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Williams to Miss Elizabeth Horton, who was born at Burlington, Wisconsin, and whose education was re- ceived in the schools of Kenosha county, that state. She is a daughter of Richard and Jane (Lloyd) Horton, both natives of Wales, the father having been of English and the mother of Welsh ancestry. Upon coming to the United States Mr. ^nd Mrs. Horton first established their home in Racine county, Wisconsin, but. later they removed to Kenosha county, where he became the owner of a large landed estate and was a successful farmer, both he and his wife having continued their residence in Wisconsin until their death. Of their six children all are living except one: Frank resides at Union Grove, Wisconsin ; Harvey is a resident of Racine county, that state ; Miss Mary maintains her home at Union Grove; Nellie is married and resides in the city of Boston, Massachusetts ; and Mrs. Williams, widow of the subject of this memoir, is the eldest of the number.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams became the parents of a fine family of three sons and five daughters : Rose is the wife of John Day, a retired farmer residing in the village of Adams, this county; Mary Jane is the wife of John Winkle, of Midland township ; Frank Eugene is a prosperous farmer in Logan township, as is also Richard ; Nellie is the wife of Olin German, of Midland township ; Rebecca is the wife of Clarence Taylor, of the same township; Iva is the wife of Arthur Heaston, of Riverside township ; and Thomas remains with his widowed mother, he having active charge of the old home farm.

JOSEPH CACEK, Jr. - When a lad sixteen years of age the subject of this record kept bachelor hall in a shanty about the size of a chicken coop, and with oxen broke the land which his father had recently purchased in Paddock township. This was the year following the opening of the Otoe Indian reservation for settlement. When he was twentyone years of age that shanty again served as his home while he was breaking the prairie land he had recently purchased for himself. Mr. Cacek is a member of one of the pioneer families of Paddock township, being a son of Joseph Cacek, whose record appears elsewhere in this volume.

Mr. Cacek was born in Bohemia, November 11, 1862. He was butfive years old when the family home was made in America, his parents becoming early settlers in Gage county, Nebraska. His boyhood and youth were spent in this county. When twenty-one years of age Mr. Cacek became the owner and began the improvement of a new farm in Paddock township, and on this place he resided nine years. To-day he is the owner of one hundred and twenty-one acres, having given his eldest son a farm of eighty acres. The home of our subject is one of the best in the township. Cement walks around the house, good fences and splendid buildings are evidences of the thrift and enterprise of the owner.

Mr. Cacek completed arrangements for his home by marriage to Miss Pauline Synovec, also a native of Bohemia. They have four children, as follows : Joseph married Catherine Varuska and they have two children, Arthur and Agnes. Frank married Mary Dovrak and they have four childi-en, Anna, Harry, Eugene and Rudolph. Victor and Anna remain at the parental home.

Mr. and Mrs. Cacek were reared in the faith of the Catholic church, but at the present time are members of none, though they now incline towards Protestanism. In politics he is a Democrat. For forty years Mr. Cecek has been a resident of Paddock township and he has contributed his full share to the march of progress from the days of the sod house and ox team to those of the beautiful homes and the automobiles of the present time.

HOWARD CARPENTER, who is now a progressive and successful farmer and stockgrower in Rockford township, has been a resident of Gage county since childhood and is a scion of the third generation of the family in this section of Nebraska. Details concerning the family history appear on other pages, in the sketch of the career of his father, J: D. Carpenter.

Howard Carpenter was born in Butler county, Kansas, August 27, 1883, and wasabout five years old at the time of the family removal to Gage county, Nebraska, where he was reared on his father's farm and acquired his early education in the public schools. He has had no inclination to abate his fealty to the basic industries of agriculture and stockraising and through the medium of the same has achieved in his independent operations 'definite success. His well improved farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres and is situated in Section 2 Rockford township, about seven and one-half miles distant from the city of Beatrice, which is his postoffice address, - rural mail route No. 5. In politics Mr. Carpenter is found aligned in the ranks of the Democratic party and his progressiveness touches not only his activities as a farmer but also as a citizen.

May 3, 1909, recorded the marriage of Mr. Carpenter to Miss Mabel Sallie Armstrong, who likewise is a native of Nebraska, her father, William Armstrong, having been a pioneer of Gage county and a prosperous farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have four children, - Hazel, Roy, Merle and Ruth.

ANDREW I. LAYTON. - The subject of this record is operating a tract of eighty acres belonging to his father-in-law, in Section 12, Glenwood township.

Andrew I. Layton is a native of Mattoon, Illinois, a son of Henry and Martha Layton, who spent their last days at Odell, Nebraska. Mr. Layton married Alice Rathbun, a daughter of James Rathbun, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Layton are the parents of three children: Arthur, Ralph and Martha, all under the parental roof.

JOHN FOSSLER was one of the venerable and honored pioneer citizens of Nebraska at the time of his death, which occurred October 13, 1906, at his pleasant farm home, in Section 10, Logan township. He had the sterling attributes of character that make for usefulness in connection with the productive activities of life and in Gage county he developed a fine farm property. He was born in Friesland, Province of Hanover, Germany, January 20, 1838, and thus he was nearly seventy years of age at the time of his death.

Mr. Fossler was reared and educated in his native land and upon coming to America, in 1876, he found employment at farm work near Brownville, Missouri, in which state he continued his residence a number of years and in which he was twice married, the one surviving child of the first marriage being John, who is now a prosperous farmer in Logan township. Gage county, there having been, no children of the second marriage. In 1871, Mr. Fossler came to Nebraska and established his residence in Nemaha county, where he engaged in farm enterprise and where he encountered, as did the average pioneer, much loss and hardship incidental to droughts and grasshopper scourges. In 1883 he came with his family to Gage county and his financial resources at the time were such that he was able to make nearly full payment upon purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land in Logan township. Later he bought another farm of equal area, in Section 11, and he was the owner of both of these properties at the time of his death. His original Gage county farm was unbroken prairie, with a little shanty and log stable, when it came into his possession. With the passing years he reclaimed the place to effective cultivation and made excellent improvements in the way of buildings, the attractive house which he built being still the home of his widow. He gave his attention principally to the raising of grain and his energy and good management brought to him independence and prosperity, while he at all times commanded the unqualified respect and confidence: of his fellow men.

Taking loyal interest in communal affairs, Mr. Fossler wks well fortified in his political convictions and was aligned in the ranks of the Republican party. He served in 1900 and 1901 as road supervisor but he had no ambition for public office or political preferment. He was an earnest communicant of the Lutheran church, as is also his widow, the latter having shared with him in the trials and hardships of pioneer life in Nebraska.

Friesland, Germany, the date of her nativity having been September 25, 1850. Her parents passed their entire Hves in their native province and her mother attained to the remarkably venerable age of ninety-five years. In conclusion of this memoir is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Fossler: George remains with his mother on the old homestead and has the active management of the same; Jerry died September 1, 1917, at the age of thirty-three years; Anna is the wife of George Folkerts, of Logan township; Ella remains with her widowed mother; Sarah is the wife of William Jurgens, of Logan township; Emma is the wife of John Leners, of the same township; and Annie died at the age of seventeen years.

JOHN C. MEINTS was a member of one of the representative German pioneer famihes of Gage county, and he here won for himself a high place in popular esteem and as a citizen of ability and loyalty, his productive activities having been varied and having included close association with farm enterprise. He retired from the office of deputy clerk of Gage county within a short time prior to his death, which occurred October 9, 1914, and he was engaged in the general merchandise business in the village of Pickrell during the last two years of his life, he having been actively assisting in the store only a few days prior to his death, though he had not established his home in that village. Concerning the Meints family adequate record is given on other pages of this history.

John C. Meints was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, September 6, 1862, and he died about one month after he had celebrated the fifty-second anniversary of his birth, he having been a son of Christian J. and Grace (Dorn) Meints, who came to America when he was a child and established their home in Adams county, Illinois, where he was reared and educated. He was sixteen years of age when he came with his parents to Gage county, Nebraska, and his father located on a pioneer farm in Hanover township.

About one year later he found employment as clerk in a mercantile establishment at Beatrice, and in 1888 he established his residence at Filley, this county, where for two years he conducted a general store. Shortage of crops brought financial depression in that locality and resulted in the failure of his business. Under these conditions Mr. Meints returned to Beatrice, and there he continued as a salesman in the store of Emil Lang until 1895, when he rented land in Hanover township and engaged in farming in an independent way. There he continued his activities until 1900, when he removed to his father's farm, in Holt township. There he gave his attention to diversified agriculture and stockgrowing until 1912, when he was appointed deputy county clerk, under the administration of J. C. Penrod. In the same year he purchased a half interest in a general merchandise store at Pickrell, but he continued a resident on the farm until his death. He was a man of strong mentality and well fortified convictions, was a Republican in politics, was a member of the Sons of Hermann, and was an earnest communicant of the German Lutheran church, as is also his widow, who maintains her home in the village of Pickrell. After the death of the subject of this memoir, his widow continued the mercantile business at Pickrell for three years, at the expiration of which she sold the same.

October 19, 1884, Mr. Meints wedded Miss Elizabeth R. Zimmerman, who was born in Hanover, Germany, October 11, 1863, a daughter of R. R. and Johanna E. (Bless) Zimmerman, and she was fourteen years of age when she came with her parents to America, further mention of the family being made on other pages, in the sketch of the career of her brother, George E. Zimmerman. Of the nine children of Mr. and Mrs. Meints two died in infancy; Christian J. is a farmer in Nemaha county; Richard is similarly engaged near Virginia, Gage county; Henry and George J. likewise are exponents of farm enterprise in Gage county, the former in Hanover township, and the latter near the village of Adams; Johanna is the wife of

P. Heist, whose farm is west of Pickrell; John was killed in an automobile accident, in 1916, at the age of nineteen years ; and Grace F. is the wife of William J. Parde, a farmer in Hanover township.

FRANK LISEC - The province of Bohemia, in the dual monarchy of Austria- Hungary, has furnished large numbers of industrious citizens who have in a large measure aided in transforming Nebraska from. a pioneer region to the high state of development of the present day. One of these is Frank Lisec, an industrious farmer of Section 33. Sicily township. He is a native of Bohemia, his natal day having been August 22, 1869, and is a son of Albert and Maria (Moravec) Lisec, who came to America when their son Frank was but fifteen months old. They settled in Washington county, Iowa, where they resided two years. They then came to Saline county, Nebraska, and numbered themselves among the early settlers of that section of the state. Pioneer conditions were in evidence on every hand and their first home was a sod house with sod roof and with no floor except the earth. They were honest and industrious folk and they spent the remainder of their lives in that county.

Frank Lisec was reared on the farm in Saline county, where he remained with his father and gave him the benefit of his services until he was twenty-five years of age. He then began his independent career as a farmer, on an improved tract of eighty acres which he purchased from his father and on which he made his home for nine years. Sixteen years ago he came to Gage county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm. By industry and good management he has extended its area until he is now the owner of three hundred and twenty acres, the place being equipped with a good set of buildings, all of which hav.e been put there by Mr. Lisec. Here he is engaged in general farming under most favorable conditions and his success has been excellent.

at Fort Dodge, Iowa, a daughter of Frank and Maria (Hlatky) Hlavac. The parents were natives of Bohemia and after coming to America the father worked in the iron mines of Missouri, later living in Wisconsin and Iowa and still later settling in Saline county, Nebraska, where he is still living, at the age of seventy-six, his wife having passed away about one. year ago. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Lisec has been made happy by the birth of six children: Robert, Joseph, Stephen, Alice, Natalia, and Frankie, all of whom are still under the parental roof.

Mr. Lisec is one of the progressive, industrious, and public-spirited citizens of Gage county, and is contributing his full quota toward all measures for the upbuilding of the community in which he lives.

FRANK J. TRUXAW. - The gentleman whose name introduces this record was one of the pioneer merchants of Odell, and by good management and close application he achieved a success which enabled him to retire with a competence.

Frank J. Truxaw is a native of Austria- Hungary - born in the province of Bohemia, December 5, 1856. His parents, Frank and Maria (Folda) Truxaw, were natives of the same province, and in 1861 came with their family to the United States, settling in Washington county, Iowa, where they were farming people and where they spent the remainder of their lives.

Frank J. was one of a family of four children, all of whom are still living. He was reared on a farm and when a young man he learned the butcher business, at Washington, Iowa. In 1881 he came to Gage county and erected the fifth new building in the new town of Wymore, where he opened a butcher shop. In the fall of 1883, he estabHshed himself in the same Hne of business at Odell, and for many years he was one of thedeading business men of the town. He early realized the value of farm lands and invested in land whenever the opportunity ofifered. He has owned and improved several tracts in Gage county, as well as in other parts of the country. He is now the owner of six hundred and forty acres in Phillips county, Kansas, where he was the first to introduce alfalfa in the Prairie Dog valley, the growing of this now being a great source of income to the people of that county.

Mr. Truxaw was married to Miss Anna Sadel, a native of Bohemia. Her parents, Vancel and Mary (Jarors) Kredjl, were early settlers of Washington county, Iowa, where both passed the remainder of their lives. After coming to America they changed the spelling of the family name to Sadel. Mr. and Mrs. Truxaw are the parents of three children : Miss Mae remains at the parental home; William is married and is postmaster at Crosby, Texas, where he is also prominently identified with a telephone company; Emma is the wife of Ted Krueger, of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Mr. Truxaw and his wife and daughter occupy a beautiful home in Odell, where for thirty-five years he has been the leader in commercial and social interests of the town. He is a Democrat in politics and served for years on the town board. Mrs. Truxaw is a communicant of the Catholic church.

HERMAN F. GIESMANN has been a resident of Nebraska since 1891 and here he has so availed himself of opportunities and so effectively applied himself that he is now the owner of a well improved farm estate of three hundred and twenty acres, eligibly situated in Section 18, Holt township. He was born in East Friesland, in the extreme northwestern part of Hanover, Germany, and the date of his nativity was August 6, 1866. He is a son of Frederick and Johanna (Jung) Giesmann, who passed their entire lives in Germany, where the father was a farmer by vocation. Frederick Giesmann and his wife both died in -the year 1895, he having been seventy-eight years of age and his wife having been about six years his junior. Of their eight children one is deceased and three remain in Germany. Those who live in the United States, in addition to the subject of this review, are Mrs. Franz Haferman, of

Nemaha county, Nebraska; John, who is a resident of Sterling, Johnson county, this state; and Enno, who maintains his home at Humboldt, Richardson county.

Herman F. Giesmann acquired his early education in the excellent schools of his native land, where in his youth, in accordance with the laws of the nation, he served three years in the German army. He continued to be identified with agricultural operations in Germany until 1891, when, at the age of twenty- four years, he came to the United States and established his residence in Johnson county, Nebraska. After there working one year on a farm he was similarly employed two years in Nemaha county, after which he there rented a farm for one year. He then returned to Johnson county, but after having farmed on rented land for one year he came, in 1895, to Gage county. Two and one-half miles southeast of the village of Adams he rented land and engaged in independent farm enterprise. In 1898 he leased a farm in Hanover township, where he continued operations five years. He then, in 1903, purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Holt township, and this constitutes the nucleus around which, with increasing prosperity, he has evolved his present fine landed estate of three hundred and twenty acres. He has made substantial improvements on the property, including the erection of a large and modern bam, and he gives his attention to diversified agriculture and the raising of good live stock, usually having an average of about sixty head of cattle and about one hundred and twenty-five head of swine. He is a shareholder in the farmers' grain elevator company at Pickrell, which village is his postoffice address. His political affiliation is with the Republican party and he and his wife hold membership in the German Lutheran church.

On the 16th of November, 1894, the twentieth anniversary of the birth of his bride, Mr. Giesmann married Miss Adelheid Schmidt, who was born in Germany on the 16th of November, 1874, and who was about two years old when, in 1876, her parents, Brunke and Christena (Kuper) Schmidt, es- tablished their home in Johnson county, Nebraska, where they passed the rest of their lives and where the father became a prosperous farmer, their family having comprised five sons and one daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Giesmann have ten children, all of whom remain at the parental home - Johanna, Herman, Frederick, Christena, Gesiena, William, Emma, John, Dora, and Henry.

GEORGE I. THOMAN, a farmer of Sicily township, was born July 21, 1877, at Freeport, Illinois. He is a son of Moses and Susan (Snyder) Thoman. Moses Thoman was born and reared in Pennsylvania and thence moved to Greene county, Indiana, where he followed his trade, that of carpenter. He later went to Illinois and settled in Stephenson county. In 1883 he came to Nebraska and settled in Gage county. He located on the northwest quarter of Section 24, ' Sicily township, where his son George now

|w resides. This land formerly belonged to Jacob Thoman, a brother of Moses, and when the latter there established his residence the place was improved only with a very small frame house and a prairie stable, while only thirty-five acres of the land had been broken. Moses Thoman engaged in farming and had continued operations only a few years when he had a stroke of paralysis. As a result of this affliction he was an invalid for more than twenty years. Eleven years ago he removed to Blue Springs, and here his death occurred three years later. His widow still maintains her home in the town of Blue Springs. Mr. and Mrs. Thoman were the parents of five children, one of whom died in childhood; Louisa and Elmeda reside at Blue

, Springs; George I. is the subject of this review; and Alvin resides in the city of Beatrice. George I. Thoman came to Gage county with his parents when he was about six years of age. He received his education in the country schools of the county and as a boy and young man was associated with his father in farm enterprise. For the past fifteen years he has owned and operated the farm on which he now lives and which for so many years has been the home of the Thoman family.

November 12, 1902, recorded the marriage of Mr. Thoman to Miss Ida Cooper, daughter of Benton and Sarah (Conover) Cooper, who are now residents of Blue Springs. Mr. and Mrs. Thoman have three children - Esta, Vera, and Glenn.

Mr. and Mrs. Thoman are members of the United Brethren church, and he is affiliated with the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Blue Springs. In politics he is a Republican, and he is serving at the time of this writing as a member of the school board.

JAMES M. McPHERON. - Among those who, with patriotic zeal and utter disregard of self, left all to go forth in defense of their country when the Civil war burst upon the nation, was James M. McPheton, who is now living retired in the village' of Holmesville.

Mr. McPheron is a native of Tennessee, born in Greene county, June 25, 1844. His parents, Robert and Malissa Frances (Ward) McPheron, were natives of South Carolina, and were of Irish and Scotch descent. They passed away in Greene county, Tennessee. James M. was reared on a farm in his native county, fifty miles east of Knoxville. Not yet twenty-one years of age when the Civil war broke out, he enlisted in the Union army, in Company I, Twenty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry and for four years he valiantly defended the stars and stripes. He was under General Sheridan all through the Shenandoah campaign and the siege of Richmond, and his command captured Fort Gregg, the last Confederate stronghold taken before peace was declared. He saw Lee and Grant shake hands at the surrender. He was a good soldier, always at the post of duty, and went through the terrible conflict unscathed. He received an honorable discharge at the close of the war and then returned to Tennessee, where he became a farmer in Hawkins county. There he remained until 1885, when he came to Nebraska and purchased eighty acres of land in Rock ford township, Gage county. This farm was the stage of his activities until he retired from active labors and moved to Holmesville,

In Hawkins county, Tennessee, Mr. Mc- Pheron was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Berry, a native of that county, and a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Everhardt) Berry, both natives of Tennessee. The home of Mr. and Mrs. McPheron was blessed with four children, all of whom are still living, well established in homes of their own, and all living within a few miles of their parents. They are: J. H., of Rockford township; Sarah, the wife of B. A. Brubaker, of Rockford township; Ulysses G., of Sherman township; and Ellen, the wife of Miles Shaw, of Blue Springs township.

Mr. and Mrs. McPheron are devoted members of the Church of the Brethren. Though past the psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, Mr. and Mrs. McPheron are in good health, enjoying the fruits of their former years of toil.

EVAN WILLIAMS. - In the year 1867, which marked the a!dmission of Nebraska to the Union and its attendant emergence from the territorial regime, Evan Williams, then a youth of about nineteen years, accompanied his parents on their immigration to the new commonwealth and the family became numbered among the honored and valued pioneers of Gage county. Here Mr. Williams has continued his residence during the long intervening period. He is the owner of a finely improved farm property in this county, but is now living virtually retired in the city of Beatrice, where he and his wife occupy the attractive residence which he erected at 1211 Market street and which is a home known for its generous and gracious hospitality. As a sterling citizen who commands unequivocal popular esteem and as one of the representative pioneers of Gage county, Mr. Williams IS eminently entitled to recognition in this publication.

As both his personal and family names imply, Evan Williams is a scion of Welch ancestry, and he was the first of the children born to his parents after their immigration from

Wales to America, four children having been born prior to this removal from the ancestral country. Mr. Williams was born in Oneida county, New York, on the 30th of April, 1848, and thus the spring of 1918 recorded his attaining to the scriptural age of three score years and ten. He is a son of Thomas M. and Mary (James) Williams, both of whom were born and reared in Wales, where their respective parents passed their entire lives. Thomas M. Williams was bom May 21, 1814, and was one of the venerable and revered pioneer citizens of Gage county, Nebraska, at the time of his death, which occurred in 1886, his loved and devoted wife, who was born in June, 1814, having survived him by about one year, she having passed to eternal rest in 1887. In the '40s Thomas M. Williams, in company with his wife and their four children, embarked on a sailing vessel of the type common to that day and set forth to establish their new home in the United States. The vessel had a tempestuous voyage and was much delayed in reaching its destination, the severe storm which it encountered en route having swept away much of the goods stored on deck, including a large part of the little personal effects of the Williams family. Mrs. Williams became severely ill on the voyage and more than a year passed ere she regained her health sufficiently to leave her bed for any appreciable interval. The family settled in the state of New York, where the father applied himself to such occupation as he could secure, and by day's work he thus provided for his family until 1856, when he removed with his family to the west and became a pio- neer in Wisconsin. There he rented land and continued his active association with agricultural industry until 1867, when he came with his family to the new state of Nebraska and established a home in Gage county. In Logan township, as now constituted, he settled on a pioneer farm of two hundred and forty acres, which property he purchased for the sum of eight hundred and seventy-five dollars. Soon afterward he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in Logan township for his son Evan and when the latter attained to. his ma- jority the land was deeded to him. When Mr. WilHams came into possession of his property in Gage county only ten acres of the land had been broken, but with the passing years he improved the place in excellent manner and developed the same into one of the productive and valuable farm estates of this section of Nebraska. Here he and his wife passed the residue of their lives and, after having endured their full share of the hardships and vicissitudes incidental to pioneer life, they came into the full enjoyment of the gracious rewards of former toil and endeavor. In their native land both had become communicants of the Church of England and after coming to this country they allied themselves with the American representative of the same faith, the Protestant Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Williams gave his support to the cause of the Republican party and as a broadminded and progressive citizen he took lively interest in communal affairs. He served a number of terms as a member of the school board of his district, but he had no ambition for public office. He had but small financial resources when he came to Gage county but so effectively did he avail himself of the splendid opportunities afforded in the development of the natural resources of the county that he acquired a competency, with status as one of the substantial citizens of the county. Of the ten children of these honored pioneers only four are now living - Evan, who is the immediate subject of this review; Misses Mary A. and Rosa S., who maintain a pleasant home in the city of Beatrice; and Ada, who is the wife of William R. Pethoud, a substantial farmer of Holt township.

Evan Williams was about eight years old at the time of the family removal from the old Empire state to Wisconsin, where he was reared to adult age under the conditions and influences of the farm and where he made good use of the advantages afforded in the schools of Vv^alworth and Kenosha counties, which he attended principally during the winter terms. As a young man of about nineteen years he accompanied his parents to Gage county, Nebraska. He continued his father's able and valued assistant in the improving and cultivation of the old homestead farm, and upon the death of his father he came into possession of this valuable property. He is now the owner of a finely improved landed estate of six hundred and forty acres in Logan township and also an additional tract of one hundred and sixty acres in the same township. In addition to his extensive operations as a general agriculturist Mr. Williams has also been a prominent and successful exponent of the live-stock industry. He was formerly engaged extensively in the raising of live stock under the commission system, and prior to leaving his farm he there maintained at times as many as eight hundred sheep, thirty-five head of cattle, and sixteen horses. He remained on the old homestead until the time when he established his residence in the city of Beatrice, where he has since lived retired, save that he continues to give a general supervision to the management and direction of the extensive operations of his valuable farm estate, which is recognized as one of the best in Gage county.

Mr. Williams has ever been found arrayed as a stalwart and uncompromising advocate and supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and while he has not manifested any ambition for public office his civic loyalty caused him to give characteristically effective service during the three years that he was a member of the school board of the old home district and the one term that he was incumbent of the office of road supervisor.

On the 17th of June, 1903, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Williams to Miss Clara Pettegrew, who was born in the state of Illinois and who is a daughter of the late James M. and Rachel C. (Simmons) Pettegrew, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Pennsylvania, Within a short time after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pettegrew removed from Indiana to Illinois, and there Mrs. Williams was born. In 1868 James Pettegrew came with his family to the new state of Nebraska and established the home in Gage county. He settled in Hanover township, where he became the owner of two sec- tions of land, a portion of which he acquired through the medium of college script. He reclaimed and developed one of the best farm properties in the county in his day and generation, and here his death occurred in 1872. His widow long survived him and was venerable in age at the time of her demise, in 1910. These honored pioneers became the parents of five children, of whom Mrs. Williams was the fifth in order of birth; Alice M. is the widow of Moru Eoverige and resides in the state of Washington; Frank M. is a representative farmer in the vicinity of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Hattie A. is the widow of Stewart Lunbeck and resides at Beatrice; and James Frederick is engaged in the wholesale furniture business in the city of Omaha. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have no children.

FRANK M. WILL, whose death occurred in the year 1909, came to Gage county in the year 1891 and thereafter continued his successful association with farm enterprise in Rockford township until he was called from the stage of life's mortal endeavors, at the age of seventy years.

Mr. Will was a scion of a family early founded in the historic Old Dominion state, and claimed the same as the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred in Franklin county, Virginia, October 30, 1838. He was reared to manhood in Virginia, and in Roanoke county, that state, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Eliza Houtz, who was born and reared in that county and who survived him by eight years, her death having occurred on the old homestead farm in Rockford township, on the 11th of November, 1917. From Virginia Mr. Will removed to Woodford county, Illinois, where he continued his allegiance with farm industry until 1891, when he came to Nebraska and purchased two hundred acres of land in Gage county. Thereafter he continued as one of the substantial farmers of Rockford township until his death His political support was given to the Democratic party and both he and his wife were members of the church of Brethren in Christ - unassuming and worthy folk who lived righteous lives and merited the unqualified esteem in which they were held. Mrs. Will had one son by her first marriage, and this son, Charles E. Colwell, is a resident of Beatrice, this county. By the second marriage were born the following named children; John and William H., who reside upon the old home farm in Rockford township ; Joseph J., of whom individual mention is made on other pages ; Ida M., who is housekeeper for her brothers on the old home farm of the parents; Bert, who likewise is a farmer in Rockford township; and Minnie, who is the wife of Dr. L. L. Noble, a representative physician engaged in practice at Holmesville, this county.

JOHN T. WHALEN is giving special attention to the feeding of cattle, and in this department of farm enterprise he is conducting operations on a large .scale, in connection with diversified agriculture. In his vigorous conducting of his industrial activities he rents four hundred and twenty acres of land, in Sections 26, 33 and 35, Highland township, and he is one of the county's progressive breeders of Holstein cattle.

Mr. Whalen was born in Woodford county, Illinois, February 6, 1863, the fourth in a family of eleven children, all of whom are living except three. He is a son of John and Margaret (Hollenhan) Whalen, who were born in Ireland and whose marriage was solemnized in the state of Massachusetts, whence they removed in an early day to Illinois. John Whalen served as a section foreman on the line of the Illinois Central Railroad for a number of years, and was thus engaged at the time the road was being constructed through Woodford county. In 1884 he came with his family to Gage county and rented land in Section 12, Holt township. He passed the closing period of his life at Cortland, and was eighty-two years of age at the time of his death, in 1906, his wife having passed away in 1899, at the age of sixty-two years. Both were earnest communicants of the Catholic church, in which connection it should be noted that they were numbered

John T. Whaleri was reared on his father's farm in McLean county, IlHnois, and his early education was received in the public schools of Livingston and McLean counties. He was twenty-one years of age when he accompanied his parents to Nebraska, and in Gage county he assisted his father in the work of the pioneer farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-three years, when he initiated his independent operations as an agriculturist and stock-grower. During the intervening years he has conducted his operations on rented land and in 1907 -he established his residence on his present farm, which is owned by Mrs. Lena F. Warren, of Omaha. In consonance with his progressive policies he has made numerous improvements on the place, including the construction of a modern silo, which has a capacity of two hundred and sixteen tons and which is owned by him. The only interruption of his activities in connection with farm enterprise was a period of about ten years, during which he was engaged in the general merchandise business at Cortland, where for four years he had charge of the grain elevator and for four years did a successful business in the buying and shipping of live stock. Mr. Whalen was one of the principal organizers of the Farmers' Elevator Company and the Farmers' State Bank at Cortland, and he has been president of the Elevator Company from the time of its organization. A man of energy and progressiveness, Mr. Whalen has applied himself diligently and consecutively and has won through his own efforts a goodly measure of success, the while he has the confidence and good will of those with whom he has come in contact in either business or social relations. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party, he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, and he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church, as members of St. James parish at Cortland.

Illinois, a daughter of Thomas and Jemima (Morrison) Crosby, who were born and reared in the state of New York, where their marriage occurred. From Illinois Mr. Crosby removed with his family to Missouri, in which state his wife died, and later he came with his six children to Gage county, Nebraska, the remainder of his life having been passed in Holt township, where he became a prosperous farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Whalen became the parents of six children : Virgie T. is a clerk in the Klein department store in the city of Beatrice ; Martin G. died at the age of twentyseven years ; Jemima M. remains at the parental home; Francis T. is a successful farmer in Section 34, Highland township; and Bernard D. and Mary C. are members of the parental home circle.

FREDERICK T. SONDEREGGER, of Beatrice, was bom, in Jefferson county, Nebraska, December 8, 1882, son of Carl Sonderegger, of whom mention is made on other pages of this volume. Frederick received his early education in the public schools of Jefferson county, and later went to Europe, where he studied in Switzerland. He remained in Europe for eight years and in the meanwhile took a special course in the study of the nursery and seed industry. Upon his return from Europe, Mr. Sonderegger became associated with his father in the nursery and seed business in Beatrice, and with this en-^ terprise he has been identified continuously since that time.

On August 30, 1912, Mr. Sonderegger wedded Miss Harriet Sonderegger, who is a native of Switzerland, a daughter of Meinrad Sonderegger, of that fair republic. Mr. and Mrs. Sonderegger are the parents of three children - Frederick, Arnold, and Margaret.

Mr. Sonderegger is a Democrat in politics, but has never sought public office, preferring rather to devote all his- time to the nursery and seed business, in connection with which he is making a pronounced success and has gained place among the prominent young business men of Beatrice. Mr. and Mrs. Sonderegger are members of the Lutheran church, of the

ANTON SCHEIDELER. - For the past seven years, Mr. Scheideler has been conducting a bilHard hall in the city of Wymore and is well known for his progressive spirit. Mr. Scheideler was bom August 28. 1887, in Gage county, Nebraska, and is the son of John and Anna (Loibl) Scheideler. A sketch of John Scheideler appears elsewhere in this volume.

Anton Scheideler was educated in the public schools of Gage county, and after finishing his education farmed for some years previously to his coming to Wymore, in 1911, and opening the billiard hall. He has an up-to-date establishment and sells tobacco, cigars, and confectionery in connection with his billiard hall:

February 11, 1914, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Scheideler and Miss Nina Miller, of Blue Springs, the home and birthplace of the bride. Her father, Oliver Miller, resides in Blue Springs, and for a number of years has been employed by the Burlington Railroad. Two children, Ruth and Ollie, have come to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. -Scheideler.

Mr. Scheideler votes the Democratic ticket, is serving his community as one of the county supervisors, and is always taking a keen interest in all civic, social, and political affairs. Mrs. Scheideler is a member of the Christian church and he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

WILLIAM A. McMICHAEIv. - Among the many progressive farmers of Blue Springs township, Mr. McMichael is considered to have done his share in adding to the general prosperity of the township.

William A. McMichael was born in Ireland, August 12, 1849, an4 is the son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Anderson) McMichael. They were natives of Ireland and were tillers of the soil. Andrew McMichael died in the home country and after his death, his wife immigrated to the United States. She established

It was in 1867 that William McMichael located in Pennsylvania, upon his arrival in this land of opportunity. For a short time he was employed as a farm hand, but withjn the year he moved to Indiana, where he remained until his coming to Gage county.

The marriage of William A. McMichael and Miss Nancy Jane Harris was solemnized September 8, 1870. She is a sister of George S. Harris, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. McMichael the following record is entered: Annabelle is the wife of Pedro Gumaer, of Wymore township; Maggie May is the wife of P. R. Lewis, of Blue Springs township; Lizzie Jane is the wife of Elton Smith, of Blue Springs township.

In 1878 Mr. McMichael came to Blue Springs township, where for nine years he rented land before purchasing eighty acres of land, at twenty dollars an acre. Eleven years later he sold the property for thirty dollars an acre. He then purchased one hundred acres of land in Section 16, Blue Springs township, later selling twenty acres of this farm. Here he now resides in his newly built home, equipped with all of the conveniences to make life worth living.

DAVID N. BURROUGHS gained place as one of the enterprising business men of Beatrice, where his activities have been of important scope in the buying and shipping of live stock, in which special field he has given in later years much attention to the handling of horses and mules, of which he purchased six hundred head in the winter of 1917-1918.

Mr. Burroughs was born in Mills county, Iowa, on the 22d of August, 1869, and is a son of William and Sarah (Purcell) Burroughs, who came to Nebraska in the pioneer days and took a homestead claim in Jefferson county. William Burroughs was born in the state of New York and his widow is a native of Kentucky. Mrs. Burroughs is a daughter of Andrew Purcell, and in 1918 she resides in the city of Beatrice. She is eighty-one years of age at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1918, and is held in affectionate regard, in the county that has so long represented her home. The late William Burroughs came with his family to Jefferson county, Nebraska, in 1878, and later he established his residence upon a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Gage county. He developed this into one of the fine farms of the county and there he continued his activities until he sold the property and removed to the village of Fairbury. Later he established a home in Beatrice, and here he passed the remainder, of his long and useful life. William and Sarah Burroughs became the parents of six children: Louise is the wife of Thomas Roach, who has long been in railway service in the city of Omaha; May is the widow of R. H. Robinson and resides in the city of Beatrice; Mattie is the wife of Wallace Weigel, yardmaster of the Union Pacific Railroad at Beatrice; David N. was the next in order of birth and is the immediate subject of this review; Henry Bryson is a resident of Kansas City, Missouri ; and Delia is the wife of Frank Pickner, of Omaha.

David N. Burroughs acquired his youthful education in the public schools of Beatrice and after leaving school he was identified with the meat-market business four years. He then turned his attention to the buying of horses and mules, and in this specific line of enterprise he has conducted a prosperous business for fully a quarter of a century. He has gained recognition as one of the most progressive and authoritative buyers of such stock in this section of Nebraska, and his operations have reached large volume in connection with the national preparation for participation in the great world war.

In 1892 was recorded the marriage of Mr. Burroughs to Miss Rebecca A. Busey, who was bom in the state of Iowa, a daughter of John A. and Anna (Beals) Busey, natives of Pennsylvania: Mr. Busey was engaged in farm enterprise in Iowa until 1888, when he came with his family to Gage county and acquired land which he reclaimed and improved into a productive farm, his father, who likewise bore the name of John, having been a very early settler of this county, where he acquired many hundred acres of land, the estate being divided among his children after his death. For seventeen years John A. Busey.. father of Mrs. Burroughs, served as a guard at the Nebraska state penitentiary, at Lincoln, and he was the incumbent of this position at the time of his death. His wife is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs have three children - Rolland and Bryson A. are now residents of the state of Wyoming, and Gladys is attending the public schools, as a student in the high school.

Mr. Burroughs is a stalwart in the camp of the Republican party, and he served for short and varying intervals as an extra deputy sheriff of Gage county. He is affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

HENRY H. FEERHUSEN. - In the years that have passed, many illustrious citizens have gone to their reward, but the impress of their lives and the evidence of their labors are to be found on every hand. Among the number whose lives and deeds should be recorded in this history of Gage county is he whose name initiates this memoir. Henry H. Feerhusen was born at Alton, Illinois, on December 12, 1861. His parents, Otto and Frances (Schoen) Feerhusen, were natives of Germany, and in 1864 they came from Illinois to Nebraska Territory. They became residents of Nebraska City, but were farming people and thus well equipped for pioneer experience and responsibilities. They spent the remainder of their lives in this state.

Henry H. Feerhusen was the oldest of a family of seven children. He was early taught the value of industry, and when quite young was thrown upon his own resources. When he left home he went in debt for a pair of overalls and a jacket. He was the sole possessor of one shoe and one boot, but was fortified in undaunted determination to succeed. In 1885 Mr. Feerhusen came to Gage county, Nebraska, and began farming as a renter in Adams township. By carefully saving his earnings he was able to invest in one hundred and sixty acres of land, wholly unimproved. He set to work improving and developing a new farm, and as the years passed he prospered in his undertaking. At the time of his death he was the owner of four hundred acres of valuable land, with a good set of buildings. He dealt extensively in cattle - buying, feeding, and shipping - and in his undertakings, by the display of good judgment, he was able to accumulate a competence.

For a wife and helpmeet Mr. Feerhusen chose Miss Louisa Staack, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1869, a daughter of Henry and Lydia (Gook) Staack, both natives of Germany. The parents came to Nebraska about forty years ago and located at Nebraska City, where they were residing at the time of their death.

Mr. and Mrs. Feerhusen became the parents of seven children, as follows : Forrest died in 1912, at the age of twenty-three years; Jesse died in 1890, at the age of six months ; Victor remains at home with his mother; Ira died in 1912, at the age of eighteen years ; Lee is at home ; Harriet is attending the Adams schools; and Velura is at the maternal home. The death of the sons Forrest and Ira, both of whom passed away in 1912, was a very severe blow to the family. They had become of great assistance to their father and were good judges of- live stock as well as well versed in the best methods of farming. Grief over the loss of these two boys no doubt hastened the death of Mr. Feerhusen, who passed away April 14, 1914. His widow still resides on the old home farm, which is rrianaged by her two sons, Victor and Lee. She is doing all in her power to accomplish what was the ambition of her husband, and her surviving children are being given every possible advantage.

Mr. Feerhusen was a devoted member of the German Lutheran church, and in politics he cast his ballot for the men and measures of the Republican party. He rendered efficient service as a member of the school board, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion. Henry H. Feerhusen was one whose life measured up to the full standards of citizenship and manhood, and his passing called from earthly activities one whom his family and the community could ill aflford to lose.

GERD GERDES has maintained his home in the United States for more than half a century, and in Gage county he has done his full share of the reclamation and development work that has made it possible for the' younger generation to enjoy the fruits of the labors of the early settlers. Gerd Gerdes was born November 9, 1851, in East Friesland, Germany, and he came with his parents, Gerd and Trintye (Janssan) Gerdes, to America, the family having settled in Missouri. Concerning the family ample record is given on other pages of this history, in the sketch of John L. Gerdes.

The section of Missouri in which the Gerdes family established a home upon coming to the United States was still in a wild and uncultivated condition, the hqmes of only a few straggling settlers dotting the rolling prairies. In 1882 Gerd Gerdes and his brother, John L. Gerdes, came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased land in section 32, Barneston township. In 1883 they came to build their homes upon their newly purchased land. A sod house, thatched barn and the rude implements of agriculture were the means by which they set to work to wrest from nature her treasures of wheat and corn. As the years have passed and science has .helped the strong arm of the farmer, the land has been more easily tilled and more productive each successive year.

Mr. Gerdes has added to his original purchase and is now the owner of two hundred acres of finely cultivated land.. The crude sod hut and barn have been replaced by a good modern house and other excellent farm buildings that show the thrift and prosperity of the owner. The rude farm implements have been replaced by the modern ones, which make the work easier and more effective.

Under President Cleveland's administration Mr. Gerdes was postmaster of Aurich, Nebraska, and for many years he served as township treasurer. He is now a member of the district school board. In politics Mr. Gerdes is an advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, but he is independent in his views, and feels that if this party does not advance as good a man for candidate as the opposing party, he will vote for the better man, regardless of his party. Mr. Gerdes' sister, a widow, is making her home with him and presides over the domestic economies of the pleasant farm residence.

J. D. CARPENTER is the owner of a well improved farm estate of two hundred and forty acres in Rock ford township and while he has lived virtually retired for the past decade, he has been a specially successful exponent of agriculture and live-stock industry in the county that has represented his home for somewhat more than thirty years. He now resides in the city of Beatrice.

Mr. Carpenter was born in Washington county, Maryland, May 12, 1851, and is a son of Jeremiah and Susan (Cross) Carpenter, the former of whom was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1819, and who attained to the patriarchal age of ninety-eight years, his wife having been born at Boonesboro, Maryland, in 1833, and having been summoned to eternal rest in 1902, he having survived her by about seven years. Their marriage was solemnized at Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and in that locality they continued to reside until they had reared their children to adult age. After the Civil war, in the early '70s, they came to the west and numbered themselves among the pioneers of Gage county. Jeremiah Carpenter purchased a farm near Pickrell and there continued his activities for a term of years, both he and his wife having been residents of the village of Ellis at the time of their death and he having been nearly eighty years of age when he left his farm and retired from the active labors that had long been his portion. This sterling pioneer couple became the parents of seven sons and two daughters and concerning those now living the following brief record is available : Henr);^, who was for many years engaged in contracting and building and who also achieved success as an apiarist, is now living retired in Eos Angeles, California; Jonathan, a stonemason and contractor, resides at Liberty, Gage county; Theodore is a retired farmer residing in Beatrice; Levi is engaged in farming near Polo, Illinois ; J. D., of this reyiew, was the next in order of birth ; Martin L. is a retired farmer residing in the city of Beatrice.

In his earlier life Jeremiah Carpenter was a Democrat in politics, but he transferred his allegiance to the Rjspublican party about the -time of its organization and ever afterward supported its principles. His father, Henry Carpenter, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and continued a resident of the old Keystone state until his death.

J. D. Carpenter gained his early education in the schools of Maryland and northern Illinois, and his first independent work in his youth was that of canvassing in the rural districts of Illinois. With the funds thus acquired he purchased ten acres of land in Noble county, that state, and after having cut and sold the timber on this tract he went to Minnesota, where he worked in the pine forests, in connection with pioneer lumber operations. There he was thus engaged during the winter seasons for a period of about five years, and in the summers he was employed on steamboats plying the Mississippi river. From Minnesota he went to Iowa, where he remained two years, and he then purchased land in Butler county, Kansas, where he continued his activities as a farmer for the ensuing thirteen years. In 1886 he came to Nebraska and established his permanent home in Gage county, where he purchased a partially improved farm of eighty acres, in Lincoln township. Two years later he bought one hundred and sixty acres in Rockford township. He has since added to his holdings until he now has a valuable estate of two hundred and forty acres. He now rents his farm property and, as before stated, is living practically re-

In 1882 Mr. Carpenter wedded Miss Elizabeth H. Sutton, who was born in Appanoose county, Iowa, a member of a sterling pioneei family of that commonwealth, and of the five children of this union three are living : Howard is individually mentioned on other pages of this volume; Forrest is engaged extensively in cattle raising in Kearney county; Walter met his death in an automobile accident, in 1917; Milo is a resident of Logan township; and one child died in infancy. Mrs. Carpenter was called to the life eternal March 10, 1917, a gentle and gracious woman whose memory is cherished by all who knew her, and she was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

The character and ability of Mr. Carpenter have made him influential in community affairs during the years of his residence in Gage county, and he has served as road overseer, besides having held for a term of years the office of justice of the peace, which under his administration was made to justify its name. In politics he is a staunch Republican.

WILLIAM P. PARDE is another of those vigorous and honored pioneers whose achievement of success and independence has been coincident with the development and progress of Gage county, and he is to-day the owner of a valuable landed estate of five hundred and forty acres. Though he is now living practically retired, he still remains on his fine farm, in Section 29, Hanover township.

Like so many other representative citizens who early established residence in Hanovei township, Mr. Parde was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, the date of his nativity having been May 6, 1842. He was reared and educated in his native land and was an ambitious and self-reliant young man of twenty-five years when he came to the United States. He had no financial resources but had the sturdy courage and determination that make for advancement. Proceeding to Quincy, Illinois, he thereafter was engaged in railroad construction work for four years, within which period he accumulated sufficient capital to justify him in renting land in Adams county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming. In that state he continued his activities as an agriculturist until 1885, when he came with his family to Nebraska. He rented land five years and then purchased one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land in Section 32, Hanover township, Gage county. He energetically initiated and carried forward the development of his farm, to the area of which he added within a few years, by the purchase of one hundred acres, in Section 29 of the same township. The passing years crowned his earnest endeavors with constantly increasing success, and he now owns, as before stated, a fine farm estate of five hundred and forty acres - all in Hanover township.

Prior to his immigration to America Mr. Parde has gained a devoted companion and helpmeet, by his marriage to Miss Tata Dom, who was born in the province of Hanover on the 12th of February, 1833. She shared with him the trials and vicissitudes of the years in which he was striving to win independence, and November 25, 1914, they had the pleasure of celebrating their golden wedding anniversary, the occasion having been made a notable one by the appreciative interposition of their children and their many friends. Both are earnest communicants of the German Lutheran church in theii" home township, and in politics Mr. Parde is a staunch Democrat. For the past thirty years he has been physically handicapped, as he was so injured while at work with a threshing machine as to necessitate the amputation of his right arm. For years after this deplorable accident, however, he continued his active labors, and that with remarkable facility. His parents, Peter and Katie Parde, joined him a few years after he came to this country and they passed the closing years of their lives at Golden, Illinois. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Parde : Henry died at the age of twentyone years; Peter died in childhood; John W. is deceased and is the subject of a memoir ap- pearing on other pages of this work; Theda is the wife of Henry W. Ehmen, of Hanover township ; Heye is a farmer in this township ; Kate is the wife of Henry Remmers, of the same township; Grace is the wife of WilHam Gronewold, of Hanover township ; and Peter, who has the active management of the old homestead farm, is the youngest of the number: he wedded Miss Anna Diutsman and they have four children - William, Dena, John, and Grace.

ERNST L<OEMKER. - Prominent among the successful farmers and business men of Gage county may properly be named the subject of this sketch, who owns and operates a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Section 34, Paddock township. He is identified also with the financial interests of the county, being vice-president and a member of the board of directors of the State Bank of Odell. Mr. Loemker was born in Hanover, Germany, November 9, 1869. His parents, Fred and Clara (Daniel) Loemker, were also natives of Hanover, were reared and married there and in 1871, having heard of the favorable opportunities to be found in America, came with their family to the United States. They made their way to the interior of the country and located on a tract of land in Marshall county, Kansas. When the Otoe Indian reservation was opened for settlement Fred Loemker there purchased a quartersection of land, wholly unimproved. The family set about developing a new farm and amid the pioneer conditions of those days they labored and prospered. With the help of his sons the father accumulated over five hundred acres of land. He now resides on the place which has been the family home for many years, just over the line in Washington county, Kansas. They owned land in three counties, Marshall and Washington counties in Kansas and Gage county, Nebraska. The wife and mother passed away in December, 1916.

The children of this family were seven in number, as follows : Henry is a farmer of Washington county, Kansas ; Ernst is the subject of this sketch; Thomas grew to maturity and married, but is now deceased ; Mary is the wife of William Riggert, of Glenwood township; Sophia is the wife of Albert Sohl, of Marshall county, Kansas ; Louise is the wife of Otto Meyer, of Washington county, Kansas ; and Caroline remains with her father.

Ernst Loemker remained at home and assisted in the work of the farm until he was twenty-eight years of age, when he married and came into possession of his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres. This was part of the property purchased by his father. It was improved with a set of buildings, but these have given place to more commodious and substantial structures.

Mr. Loemker married Miss Dora Riggert, who was born in Washington county, Kansas, a daughter of Henry and Dora (Stolte) Riggert. Her parents were bom in Germany and came to the United States about the same time as the Loemker family. Mr. and Mrs. Loemker are the parents of seven children, all still at home. They are: Clara, Olga, Caroline, Elza, Walter, Winnie, and Harold.

Mr. Loemker is one of the successful general farmers of his township and takes a keen interest in all things that have to do with the upbuilding of his community. The family are members of the German Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Loemker is a Republican. He was one of the organizers of the Odell State Bank and has been vice-president since that time.

GEORGE FAXON. - One of the early settlers of Gage county who gave years of earnest labor to the development of the community in which he lived, the late George Faxon merits a tribute in this work. He was born in Geneseo, Illinois, November 20, 1853, a son of John W. and Acenath (Olds) Faxon, who settled in Oskaloosa, Iowa, where the father was a merchant for several years. In 1880 the family came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased a half-section of prairie land in Glenwood township. This was improved and developed into a valuable tract and in later years the parents moved to Beatrice, where both passed away.

George Faxon came into possession of one hundred and twenty acres of the old farm and he successfully carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, April 12, 1912. In 1885 he was married, at Franklin Grove, Lee county, Illinois, to Miss Sarah Burket, a sister of A. O. Burket, of Beatrice. Mr. and Mrs. Faxon became the parents of five children : Mary A. is the wife of J. Lyndes, of Wyoming ; John died at the age of two years ; Cheney L-, George H., and Egbert R. are at home with their mother and are operating the farm of two hundred acres, just outside the limits of Lanham.

George Faxon was a loyal citizen, a good neighbor, a loving husband and father, and Gage county lost one of her best men when he was called to his final rest. He was a Republican in politics, and was affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mrs. Faxon is an active member of the Christian church.

WILLIAM H. RUYLE, whose death occurred on the 16th of November, 1914, was a resident of Gage county for more than thirty years and became one of the prominent and successful representatives of agricultural and live-stock industry in this section of Nebraska. He gave special attention for many years to the raising of excellent types of live stock and made large shipments of the same annually, his finely improved homestead farm having been situated in Section 35, Logan township, and comprising three hundred and twenty acres, besides which he was the owner of fully five hundred acres in Sherman township. A man of sterling character and marked energy, he did well his part in furthering the advancement of farm enterprise in the county, the while he stood exponent of loyal and progressive citizenship.

The father of Mr. Ruyle was born at Knoxville, Tennessee, in the year 1824, and was about eight years old when his parents removed to IlHnois, in 1832, and numbered themselves among the pioneers of Scott county. The father of the subject of this memoir was reared and educated in Illinois, was one of the historic California argonauts of 1849, and after his return to Illinois he became the owner of a very large and valuable landed estate, in Jersey county, where he raised fine horses and cattle on an extensive scale and where he was influential in community affairs. He served as county commissioner and was a Democrat in politics. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary J. Elliott, was born in 1836, on Chamteau island, in the Mississippi river, above St. Louis, and both continued their residence in Illinois' until their death. They became the parents of eight children - William H., Elizabeth, Annie,, Laura, Louis, Edward, and Oliver.

William H. Ruyle was born in Jersey county, Illinois, on the 14th of April, 1856, and was there reared and educated. He remained on his father's farm until he had attained to his legal majority, and in 1877 he visited Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. In New Mexico he became the owner of a pioneer ranch, but he soon returned to Illinois, where he continued his association with farm industry until 1880, when he came to Gage county and settled in Logan township, where he developed one of the fine farm estates of the county, besides becoming specially successful as a buyer and shipper of live stock. In politics he held to the faith of the Democratic party and he consented to serve in minor offices in his township, including those of tax collector and school director.

On the 10th of October, 1878, Mr. Ruyle wedded Miss Nettie Bateman, who was born in Jersey county, Illinois, on the 26th of October, 1858, a daughter of William and Julia (Cowan) Bateman, who came to Gage county, Nebraska, in 1880 and settled in Logan township, where they passed the remainder of their lives, their children having been nine in number. Mr. and Mrs. Ruyle became the parents of seven children, all of whom are living,, namely: Eva J., Clarence L., William LHerbert R., George W., Lloyd O., and Arthur. Of Herbert R. individual mention is made on other pages of this volume. Mrs. Ruyle passed to the life eternal on the 10th of June, 1896, and eventually Mr. Ruyle contracted a second marriage, when Miss Minnie Girl became his wife, she still remaining on the old homestead farm in Logan township. Of this union were born seven children, all of whom are living except one - Carl, Lulu, Minnie, Julia, Thomas (deceased), Etta, and Helen.

ROBERT G. GILMORE, who is now living in well earned retirement and generous prosperity in the city of Beatrice, is one of the most venerable and honored of the early pioneer settlers of Gage county and is entitled to special recognition in this history, for he has done well his part in the development of the resources of the county and in aiding in civic and industrial progress.

Mr. Gilmore was born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, July 28, 1839, a son of William and Jane (Dickeye) Gilmore, both likewise natives of the old Keystone state, the formei being of Irish ancestry and the latter of German lineage. William Gilmore, who was born in 1803, became a successful farmer in Venango county, and there his death occurred in 1861. His widow survived him by nearly forty years and continued her residence in Pennsylvania until her death, February 15, 1897, her birth having occurred in February, 1817. They became the parents of eight children : Adam C. was a resident of Kansas at . the time of his death, in 1875 ; Robert G., of this review, was the next in order of birth ; Ira B., who was born in 1841, resides in Chicora, Butler county, Pennsylvania; Quinton B., who was born in 1843, died in Pennsylvania, in 1911 ; Sarah Jane is the widow of J. R. Adams and resides at Utica, Pennsylvania; Agnes Imelda is the widow of S. P. McCracken and she likewise maintains her home at Utica ; William Walker Gilmore is a carpenter by trade and is identified with the oil industry in Pennsylvania ; Ann Eliza is the wife of William Whitman, of Plum, Venango county, Pennsylvania. The father was originally a Whig and later a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were earnest members of the Pl-esbyterian church. He reclaimed a good farm in a heavily timbered section of Venango county and was in the prime of life at the time of his death. He is a son of Bruce Gilmore, and the ancestral line is traced back from Ireland to staunch Scotch origin.

Robert G. Gilmore early gained full fellowship with the arduous work of the pioneer farm in Pennsylvania and his youthful education was acquired principally in a primitive log school house. He continued his association with agricultural industry in his native county until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he subordinated all personal interests to tender his aid in defense of the Union. In August, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company D, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and with which he participated in many important battles, as well as minor engagements. Pie was with his regiment at the siege of Yorktown, the engagement at Hanover Court House, the seven days' fight before Richmond, the second battle of Bull Run, and the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, the Wilderness, and Spottsylvania, in which last mentioned conflict he received two severe wounds. Here also he was captured by the enemy, and it was thereafter his portion to endure for three and onehalf months the horrors and privations that have made the name of Libby Prison odious in he history of the war between the North and the South. His exchange was finally effected and his service as a gallant soldier of the Union covered a period of three years and one month, with honorable - discharge granted to him September 20, 1864.

After the close of a military career that shall ever reflect honor on his name, Mr. Gilmore returned to his native county and resumed his active association with farm enterprise. In 1875 he came to Nebraska and in Highland township, Gage county, entered claim to a homestead of eighty acres, in Section 28. With characteristic energy and resourcefulness he applied himself to the developing and improving of his pioneer farm, and eventually he figured as the owner of a fine farm estate of one hundred and sixty acres, the excellent buildings which he erected showing that cumulative prosperity had attended his earnest efforts. He remained on his old homestead until 1892, since which time he and his wife having maintained their residence in the attractive home which he provided in the city of Beatrice.

September 24, 1867, recorded the marriage of Mr. Gilmore to Miss Lucy M. Clough, who was born and reared in Pennsylvania arid is "a - daughter of Horace P. and Ann (Brown) Clough, natives respectively of New York and Pennsylvania, in which latter state the father became a prosperous farmer. He finally removed with his family to Illinois, where his wife died, and in 1875 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased the pioneer farm on which he passed the remainder of his life. He was born in July, 1815, and died in August, 1891. His wife was born in June, 1813, and died in 1867, both having been members of the Free Will Baptist church : of their ten children only four are now living, their daughter Lucy M., wife of the subject of this review, having been bom July 21, 1841, and she and her husband having celebrated on the 24th of September, 1917, their golden-wedding anniversary, which was made notable by their entertaining a company of about forty of their kinsfolk and other friends and marked a pleasing event in the social calendar of Gage county for that year. Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore became the parents of five children: Marietta A., who was born November 4, 1868, died in May, 1873 ; William B., who was born June 4, 1870, is now successfully engaged in the live-stock business at Loveland, Colorado ; Flora, who was born November 18, 1872, is the wife of O. L. Stewart, engaged in the mercantile business in Beatrice ; Leonard B., who was born June 18, 1875, lives upon and has the active management of his father's old homestead farm ; and Horace Clinton, born January 5, 1880, holds the position of foreman with the Independent Lumber Company at Montrose, Colorado.

for Abraham Lincoln, in 1860. While on his farm he served in various township offices, as well as a member of the school board of his district, and in the spring of 1884 he was appointed postmaster at Barkey, a position of which he continued the incumbent eight years. He was formerly affiliated with the Grand Army Post at Cortland and passed the various official chairs in the same, as has he also in Rawlins Post, No. 35, Grand Army of the Republic, with which he, has been affiliated since removing to Beatrice and of which he is past commander. He attends and supports the First Baptist church, of which his wife is an active member, and both are honored and venerable pioneer citizens -of the county that has represented their home for more than two score years. *

JOHN CACEK. - A man who has made good use of his opportunities and by intelligently directed efforts has become one of the substantial men of his community is John Cacek, a farmer and stock-raiser, residing in Section 6, Paddock township. He was born in the province of Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, November 17, 1865. He was less than two years of age when the family immigrated to America and was a boy of nine when the home was established in Gage county, Nebraska. Reared on his father's farm, amid the pioneer conditions that existed in those times, he early learned the lessons of thrift and industry which have, been so valuable to him in later hfe. At the age of twenty-five years he came into possession of one hundred and twenty acres of land, a part of his father's estate, and he is to-day tHe owner of five hundred and twenty acres in Gage county, and rive hundred and sixty acres in Jefferson county, Nebraska. His home farm is in Section 6, Paddock township, and consists of one hundred and sixty acres of land, improved with a nice home for the family and with good barns and outbuildings for the shelter of his stock and machinery.

Mr. and Mrs. Cacek are the parents of eight children: John, Jr., married Mary Shalla and operates one of his father's farms, in Paddock township, and Charles, Emma, Albert, Joseph, Mary, Ralph, and Alvin are still under the parental roof. The family are communicants of the Catholic church and Mr. Cacek votes the Democratic ticket. He is serving his third year as a member of the school board of his district, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion.

Mr. Cacek and his family have worked hard and by carefully saving his earnings, and by judicious investments in farm lands, he is to-day one of the substantial men of Gage county.

HENRY DAMKROGER is one of the progressive and substantial farmers and stockmen of Holt township and is a popular and influential citizen who is well entitled to recognition in this history. In Gage county he is the owner of a valuable landed estate of eight hundred and forty acres, besides which he has one hundred acres in Jefferson county and a farm of two hundred acres in Saline county. He is one of Gage county's most extensive and successful stock-growers, and each successive year he feeds on his farm estate an average of about thirty-five head of cattle and three hundred head of swine. His homestead place is attractively situated in Section 7, Holt township; about seven and one-half miles distant from the village of Dewitt, which is his postoffice address. In 1908 Mr. Damkroger erected on this model homestead a modern house of fourteen rooms, and the same is one of the most attractive rural homes of the county, the house being equipped with its own electriclighting system - that known as the Delco - and other facilities and appointments being likewise of the most approved and modern type. Mr. Damkroger has served as township treasurer, township assessor, and as a member of the school board of his district. He is a stalwart Republican in politics and he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Lutheran church. He was one of the organizers of the church of this denomination in Grant township, having been one of its eight charter members and having served many terms as a member of its board of trustees. . He is president of the Farmers' & Merchants' State Bank at Dewitt, Saline county, a position which he has held for several years, besides which he is a stockholder in the farmers' elevator companies at Dewitt and Pickrell, and secretary of the German Mutual Fire Insurance Association of Clatonia.

Mr. Damkroger was born in the province ol Westphalia, Germany, April 30, 1858, and is a son of William and Louisa (Schlake) Damkroger, of whose nine children he was the sixth in order of birth; Mrs. Mary Dorfler resides at Beatrice, this county, being the wife of John Dorfler; Louisa is the wife of Carl Weber, of Holt township; Charlotte is the wife of John Schuermann, a farmer near Dewitt, Saline county ; Anna is the wife of William Schuermann, of the same county; Frederick is a retired farmer residing at Clatonia, Gage county; John F. is a representative farmer of Grant township; Frank resides at Wakefield, Kansas ; and William was killed by accident when on a hunting expedition. The father was born in the year 1833 and continued his residence in Germany until 1879, when he came with his family to America and numbered himself among the pioneers of Gage county. In Grant township he purchased railroad land, at eight dollars an acre, and he reclaimed and improved one of the excellent farms of that township, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1907, his wife having survived him by about two years and having been summoned to eternal rest August 2, 1909, at the age of seventy-three years, both having been devout communicants of the Lutheran church, and their names meriting enduring place on the roll of honored pioneers of Gage county.

Henry Damkroger was reared and educated in his native land and was a youth of seventeen years when he came to the United States, in 1874, his brother Frederick having come in the preceding year. Landing in the port of

New York city, he forthwith set forth for Nebraska. When he arrived in the city of Lincoln he found his financial resources entirely exhausted, and from a cousin residing in that city he borrowed the sum of five dollars, which enabled him to continue his journey to Dewitt, Saline county. After coming to Nebraska Mr. Damkroger worked one year as a farm hand, and thereafter he was employed three years as clerk in a general store at Dewitt, Between the years 1874 and 1878 he saved from his earnings the sum of six hundred dollars, and of this he expended two hundred dollars in making the trip to Germany and inducing his parents to join him. With the remaining four hundred dollars he purchased cattle, and he grazed his herd over the prairies in Gage and Saline counties, besides taking additional cattle to feed and herd on contract. The late William Steinmeyer lent him money to purchase his first team of horses, and he then engaged independently in general farming and stock-growing in Gage county. It was a modest beginning, but energy, ambition, and good management brought returns, the while in his career success has been synonymous with honor. To the earnest co-operation and wise counsel of his devoted wife he attributes in large measure the success that has attended his productive activities as a member of the world's great army of workers. His paternal devotion has been shown in his having aided all of his children to get a start in life, besides having given them excellent educational advantages. Of his financial status an idea is conveyed in the statement that for the year 1916 he paid an income taxe of one hundred and two dollars.

In September, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Damkroger to Miss Louisa Spilker, who was born April 5, 1854, and who is a daughter of Henry Spilker, detailed mention of the family appearing on other pages, in the sketch of the career of her brother, Ernest H. Spilker. Of the eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Damkroger two died in infancy ; Sophia is the wife of Herman F. Siems, of Grant township ; Louisa is the wife of H. O.

Waldo, of Dewitt, Saline county; Lena is the wife of J. J. Krue.scher, a merchant at Dewitt; Charlotte is the wife of George Pohlman, of Grant township; Catherine remains at the parental home ; Henry W. has entered the national army in preparation for service in the great European war and at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1917-1918, is stationed at the army cantonment of Camp Funston, Kansas ; and Herman, Frederick, and Lavina are the younger members of the gracious home circle.

CHARLES ARMSTRONG was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, October 20, 1858, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth Armstrong, who passed their entire lives in Ireland. Four children of this family came to America, their first home being in Linn county, Iowa, and later they all became residents of Gage county, Nebraska. Kate became the wife of William Hommersham and they lived in Gage county for several years. They now are residents of Missouri.

The subject of this record was eighteen years of age when he came to the United States and joined his brothers, who were living in Linn county, Iowa. In 1880, he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and located on eighty acres of land which he purchased and upon which his home has been maintained ever since that time ; but little improvement had been made on the place and Mr. Armstrong has provided a comfortable home for his family besides which he has recently erected a new barn and provided other good buildings for the shelter of grain and stock. He is progressive and up-to-date in his methods and has added to his original purchase until to-day he is the owner of two hundred acres of valuable land.

At Vinton, Iowa, was solemnized the marriage of Charles Armstrong and Miss Agnes Whelan, who is, like her husband, a native ol the Emerald Isle and who came to the United States when a young lady of eighteen years. She supplemented the education she received in her native land by attendance at Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and thereafter she

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong has been blessed with eight children : Kate is still under the parental roof ; Minnie died in infancy; Andrew, married Flo Wilson and is engaged in farming in Gage county ; Bessie Viola, Alex George, Joseph, William F., and Charles Edward all remain at the parental home.

TbC' religious faith of the family is that of the Methodist Epicopal church, and Mr. Armstrong exercises his right of franchise in support of men and measures advanced by the Democratic party. While not an aspirant for public office, he has rendered efficient service as a member of the school board of his district.

RALPH A. DUIS. - Germany has furnished some most valuable citizens to Nebraska and one of the number is Ralph A. Duis, who is one of the substantial farmers of Glenwood township.

Mr. Duis was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, April 24, 1867. His parents, Pabe and Engel Duis, spent their entire lives in their native land, the father passing away at the age of eighty-five years and the mother being seventy-five years of age when she was called to the home beyond.

Reared and educated in his native land, Mr. Duis was twenty-two years old when he sought a home in America. The first year he worked as a hired man on a farm in Atchison county, Missouri, after which he came to Gage county, Nebraska, where for five years he operated a rented farm near Wymore. He carefully saved his earnings until he was able to purchase a farm of eighty acres near Wymore. Five years were spent in developing this place, which he then sold. He thereupon purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Glenwood township, where he has resided and successfully carried on agricultural pursuits for the past seventeen years ^

In Atchison county, Missouri, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Duis to Miss Johanna Luben, who is also a native of Germany, and who came to America the same year as did her husband. They have become the parents of fourteen children, and the family circle has been untouched by the hand of death. Pabe is married and is farming in Washington county, Kansas ; Minnie is the wife of August Adam, of Glenwood township ; Tina is now Mrs. Nienober, of Washington county, Kansas ; John is at home ; Hannah is now Mrs. Wieters, of Glenwood township; and Tillie, Anna, Dora, Rosa, Rudolph, Alfred, William, Harold and Elmer are still under the parental roof.

The family are members of the Lutheran church and the father votes the Democratic" ticket. Aside from two thousand dollars which Mr. Duis inherited from his parents, his success is the result of his own efforts. His prosperity is attested by the fact that he has two hundred acres of valuable land, equipped with a good house and other requisite farm buildings. Mr. Duis and his family are among the highly respected residents of Gage county.

WILLIAM H. JEWELL. - In Section 20 of Grant township, Gage county, is the home of William H. Jewell, who is one of Gage county's many prosperous farmers and stockgrowers, and a native son of the county. Mr. Jewell was bom on the old homestead of his. father in Clatonia township, January 25, 1872, and is the eldest of the three surviving children of George W. and Martha (Carpenter) Jewell ; Bertha, the only daughter, is the wif eof W. E. Mcjunken, of Dewitt, Saline county ; and Earl C. is individually mentioned on other pages of this volume.

George W. Jewell was born in Ohio, on the 25th of April, 1845, and thence removed withhis parents to Illinois when a youth. The Jewell family is of Scotch-Irish origin, having been founded in America in colonial days. George W. Jewell, as a valiant soldier, served in the Second Illinois Cavalry in the Civil war, and thereafter he continued his residence in IlHnois until 1870, when he came to Nebraska and numbered himself among the pioneers of Gage county. He reclaimed a home- stead in Clatonia township, and later bought the southeast quarter of Section 20, on which the subject of this review now resides. Here he made his home until his death, which occurred November 21, 1910, his wife having passed away in 1902.. Mr. Jewell was a citizen who did his part well in the furtherance of civic and industrial progress, and was one of the honored pioneers of the county at the time of his death. He was a Republican in politics and was affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic.

William H. Jewell recalls among the varied experiences of his boyhood and youth the herding of cattle on the open prairies of this part of the state, and he has more than once expressed in later years a wish that he might once more look upon the untrammeled plains and the native prairie grass. As a boy he remembers that the Indians were still much in evidence in this part of Nebraska, and that three Indian trails traversed the old home farm. Mr. Jewell acquired his early education in the pioneer schools, which were well conducted, and upon attaining his legal majority he rented from his father the old home place, which was sold in 1875. It was at this time that his father bought the farm on which Mr. Jewell now lives, and which he has greatly improved. Here he continues to conduct his energetic and successful activities as a farmer and a, breeder and raiser of pure-blood Duroc- Jersey swine.

March 16, 1898, recorded the marriage oi Mr. Jewell to Miss Mildred L. Brown, who was born in Essex county. New York, and who came with her parents to Nebraska in 1887, the family home having been established in Saline county, where her father died in 1902, at the age of sixty-five years. Airs. Jewell is a daughter of Ezra and Mary (Thompson) Brown, who were born and reared in the old Empire state, and since the death of the honored father the now venerable mother has lived in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jewell, who accord' her filial solicitude. Concerning the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jewell the following data are available: George E. was born October 28, 1902 ; Lucille