Gage County, Nebraska - Chapter 31: People Who Have Done Their Part in Making Gage County, 1918 (part 20 of 29)

Mr. Frerichs takes loyal interest in community affairs but has had no desire for political activity or public office. He and his wife are active members of the Lutheran church.

In 1910 Mr. Frerichs wedded Miss Gretchen Meints, a member of a well known pioneer family of which specific representation is given elsewhere in this work, she being a daughter of Henry Meints and a granddaughter of Christ Meints. Mr. and Mrs. Frerichs have four children: Marie, Abbie, Lammert and Katrina.

HENRY WIETERS, who is one of the substantial representatives of farm industry in Glenwood township, was born in Germany, September 2, 1857, and when a young man he served in the German army, in the same regiment in which the present Kaiser William was a captain. When twenty-nine years of age he came to the United States, and for several years thereafter he worked in the lumber yard of his brother William, at Lanham, Kansas. Twenty years ago he purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres on Section 20, Glenwood township, where he has made extensive improvements, including a good house and barns, and here he successfully carries on general farming.

He married Miss Louise Ritter, a native of the province of Hanover, Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Wieters are the parents of six children: Henry, who married Miss Hannah Duis, is at the home assisting in the operation of the farm; Sophia is the wife of Pape Duis, a farmer of Washington county, Kansas ; Louise

Mr. Wieters and his family are members of the Lutheran church, and in politics he is Republican. He is a good fanner, a good neighbor and a loyal citizen and he is held in high regard by all who know him,

TONY SHALLA was born on the farm, in Glenwood township, which has been the home of his parents since 1879, his natal day having been March 29, 1882. He is a son of Frank Shalla, whose life record is given in other pages of this book. Tony was reared on the farm, attended the public schools and as a boy assisted in the work about the farm. As his years and strength increased he gradually assumed the heavier burdens connected with the farm, giving his father the benefits of his labors until, on reaching man's estate and deciding upon agricultural pursuits as his vocation in life, he was assisted by his father in purchasing the farm which has been the scene of his successful activities for the past ten years. He is the owner of two hundred and forty acres, well improved, and gives his attention to general farming.

For a companion and helpmate hfe chose Miss Matilda Zaribnicky, who was born in Gage county, a daughter of Frank Zaribnicky, a farmer of- Paddock township. Mr. and Mrs. Shalla are the parents of five children : Elsie, William, James, Wilma and Martha.

EDWARD BAUMAN is to be considered fortunate in that he is the owner of a well improved landed estate in Holt township, where his attractive homestead place is eligibly situated in Section 9 and where he is giving his attention most successfully to diversified agriculture and to the raising of high-grade Durham cattle. In addition to owning four hundred acres of the valuable land of Gage county he has also a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Cheyenne, Kansas.

indebted for a goodly number of representative citizens in past as well as the present generations, and the date of his nativity was August 24, 1862. He is a son of Reiner and Fannie (Buhr) Bauman, of whose five children the. eldest is Tillie, wife of Heye P. Parde, of Hanover township, this county; Anna is the wife of Pleye Werts and they reside in the state of California; Tena is the wife of Herman Wolken, of Hanover township; the subject of this review is the youngest of the number and the only son ; and one daughter died in infancy.

In the year 1864 Reiner Bauman immigrated with his family to America and settled in Adams county, Illinois, his wife having died there about two weeks later. Subsequaitly Mr. Bauman contracted a second marriage and of the same were born two children, both of whom are deceased. Mr. Bauman continued his activities as a farmer in Illinois, but shortly before his death he purchased land in Hanover township. Gage county, Nebraska : as he had made no payment on the purchase price the land reverted to the former owner upon the death of Mr. Bauman, when he was about seventy-two years of age.

Edward Bauman was reared to adult age in Illinois, and his early educational advantages were those of the district schools. In 1885 he came to Gage county, and here he continued his activities as a farmer on rented land in Hanover township about fifteen years. He then purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Section 30, that township, but this property he later sold, after having made numerous improvements on the same. In 1900 he purchased his present fine home farm, to which he removed in 1902, and in accumulating his valuable landed estate and bringing the same to its present condition of thrift and prosperity he has depended entirely UfKin his own ability and well ordered industry, his financial resources having been very limited when he came to Gage county as a young man of ambition and dauntless determination. Mr. Bauman assisted in the organization of the Farmers' State Bank of Pickrell, and is now president of this substantial financial institution.

In politics he designates himself an independent Republican and he attends and supports the German Lutheran church, of which his wife is a zealous member.

On the 11th of March, 1888, Mr. Bauman married Miss Fannie Zimmerman, who was born in L,ogan township, this county, March 28, 1867, a daughter of Tamme Zimmerman, a sterling pioneer of Gage county. Mr. and Mrs. Bauman have two children - Reiner, vtrho is a progressive farmer in Holt township ; and Thomas, who remains at the parental home and assists his father in the management and work of the farm.

ALBERT HUBKA. - The late Albert Hubka, a man of strong individuality, fine mentality and sterling character, was a pioneer settler in Nebraska and through his well directed activities in connection with farm enterprise he achieved large and worthy success. At the time of his death, which occurred in Sherman township. Gage county, in 1898, he was the owner of a valuable landed estate of several hundred acres, and as a man of uprightness and constructive energy, as well as a loyal and public-spirited citizen, he is properly accorded a tribute in this publication. His estate was largely represented in valuable land in Sections 1 and 12, Sherman township, and his sons are in their generation well upholding the honors of the family name.

Albert Hubka was born in Bohemia, April 22, 1846, and was a member of a family of twelve children, of whom six attained to years of maturity, two of his brothers likewise having become residents of Nebraska. Mr. Hubka was a son of Joseph and Anna (Blaha) Hubka, who passed their entire lives in Bohemia. Albert remained at the parental home until he was a youth of fourteen years, and he passed the following five years in another section of the German empire, in the meanwhile receiving good educational advantages. About the time of the Franco-Prussian war he came to America and after remaining for a time in Baltimore^ Maryland, he came to the west. He passed' a short interval in the city of Chicago and then went to Richland county, Wisconsin, he having been a successful teacher during the period of his residence in Chicago. Finally he came to Nebraska and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Pawnee county. There he continued farm operations about fourteen years, and in 1871 he exchanged his pioneer farm in that county for four hundred and eighty acres in Sherman township. Gage county. He improved this land into one of the fine farm properties ol the county and became specially successful as an agriculturist and stock-grower, giving special attention for a number of years to the raising of high-grade horses. He accumulated a substantial fortune, was true and loyal in all of the relations of life and commanded unqualified popular esteem. His political support was given to the Democratic party and while he was frequently importuned to accept local offices he declined all such overtures, save that he gave effective service as director and treasurer of his school district, he having declined to accept the office of township treasurer when urged to become the incumbent thereof.

In 1867 Mr. Hubka wedded Miss Mary Kovanda, who was born in Bohemia, May 2, 1847, a daughter of Albert and Fanny Kovanda, with whom she came to Pawnee county, Nebraska, in 1867. Mrs. Hubka still survives her husband and now maintains her home in the village of Virginia, this county, as one of the venerable and loved pioneer women of this section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Hubka became the parents of eight children, all of whom are living : Frank is a prosperous farmer in Elm township; Joseph S. is individually mentioned on other pages of this work; Annie is the wife of Joseph S. Stanek, of Sherman township ; Frances is the wife of John Henzel, of Virginia, this county ; James is a farmer in Washington county; Emil is engaged in farm enterprise in Sherman township ; Emily is the wife of George Henzel, of Sherman township; and Julia is the wife of Charles Kozak, of Filley township.

THOMAS W. STANOSHECK, president of the State Bank of Odell, is a native of Iowa, born at Iowa City, November 10, 1859. His parents were Albert and Pauline Stanosheck, who were natives of Poland and who, in 1857, immigrated to America, locating at Iowa City, where they spent the remainder of their lives.

Reared in his native city, Thomas Stanosheck attended the public and parochial schools, and in 1884 he and his brother, Frank J., came to the new town of Odell, Nebraska, with a small stock of goods and opened up a general merchandise store. For thirteen years he successfully continued in this line of enterprise, and then, in 1897, he retired and devoted his time to looking after his invested interests, having purchased a large amount of farm lands. In 1908 he became one of the organizers of the State Bank of Odell, and of the same he has been president since 1913. He now gives close attention to his executive duties in connection with this institution and to the supervision of his fine landed estate of eight hundred acres, - comprising well improved farms.

Mr. Stanosheck was united in marriage to Miss Abbie Murphy, a native of New York state, and a sister of J. E. Murphy of Odell, who has furnished a record of the Murphy family. Mr. and Mrs. Stanosheck have become the parents of three children : William F. is married and resides in Odell, where he is cashier of the State Bank; Lillie and Genevieve are at home.

Mr. Stanosheck is interested in various enterprises which have to do with the growth of the town. He is president of the Odell Lumber Company and also of the Farmers' Elevator Company.

The religious views of our subject coincide with the teachings of the Catholic church and in politics is a Democrat. He has never aspired to nor held public office, preferring to give his time and attention to his own affairs, in which he has been very successful. Odell was but two years old when he arrived and became one of its first merchants, and for thirty-four years he has been an important factor in its business development.

JOSEPH HUBKA has through his own ability and energetic efforts accumulated one of the large and valuable landed estates of Filley township and is one of the successful and .representative agriculturists and stock-growers of Gage county, his attractive home place being in Section 33, about one mile distant from the village of Eilley.

Mr. Hubka was born in Bohemia, Austria- Hungary, January 25, 1867, and is a son of Michael and Veronika Hubka, who came to the United States in 1883 and settled in Pawnee county, Nebraska, where the father became a successful farmer ; after his retirement from active labor he removed to the village of Table Rock, that county, where he passed the remainder of his life and where his widow still resides.

Joseph Hubka gained his youthful education in the schools of his native land and was sixteen years old when he accompanied his parents on their immigration to America. He assisted his father in the reclaiming of the home farm in Pawnee county and also found employment as a farm hand. He could not at the time speak the English language and this proved somewhat of a handicap, his wages for the first year having been only ten dollars a month and the highest wages he at any time received during eight years of employment as a farm worker having been seventeen dollars a month. In the meanwhile he gave virtually all of his earnings to his father and mother. When he was twentyfour years of age his father assisted him in buying eighty acres of land in Pawnee county, and incidentally he assumed an indebtedness of five hundred dollars. On this farm, to which he later added eighty acres, he continued his operations fourteen years, after which he sold the property. On the 22d of February, 1903, he came to Gage county and purchased two hundred and thirty-five acres of land in Filley township, where he has since continued his notably successful activities along the line of diversified agriculture and stock-growing. In 1918 he added to his estate by the purchase of another valuable farm in Filley township, this place comprising three hundred and twenty acres. His home farm in early days was owned by that honored pioneer, the late Elijah Filley, in whose honor the township and village of Filley were named. Mr. Hubka is a man whose word is as good as any bond that was ever issued, and he commands the unqualified respect of all who know him. His career has been marked by earnest and diligent application and he has well earned the gracious rewards of independence and prosperity. In politics he is independent of strict partisan lines and he is always ready to do his part in supporting movements and measures tending to conserve the general wellbeing of the community.

In Pawnee county was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hubka to Miss Anna Richly, who likewise is a native of Bohemia, and concerning their children the following brief record is given: Lillie is the wife of Amos Fritz, of Pawnee county; Frank conducts an automobile garage in the village of Filley ; Emma is a student (1918) in the Nebraska State Normal School at Peru; and Clement, James and Joseph remain at the parental home.

JAMES RATHBUN. - For thirty-six years the subject of this review has been a resident of Glenwood township. Gage county and in the work of development, from, pioneer times to the present day, Mr. Rathbun has contributed his full share.

James Rathbun was born in Washington county, Ohio, November 28, 1828, and is descended from a family founded in New England may generations ago. The father of our subject was Ebenezer Rathbun, who was born in Vermont, where he was reared to manhood. As a young man he went to Washington county, Ohio, where he married. In 1840 he located in La Salle county, Illinois, and after a few years there and in Peoria county he made permanent location in Henry county, where he became a successful farmer and land owner. He was amongst the first white settlers of that county and there spent the remainder of his life, passing away in 1874, The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Martha Hall. She was a native of Ireland and when a girl was brought to America by her parents, who settled in Ohio. She died in Henry county, Illinois, in 1878..

James Rathbun was a lad of twelve summers when the home was established in Illinois, where he grew to manhood and became a farmer. He bought and improved a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in Henry county, where he resided until 1882, when he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and in Section 1, Glenwood township purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, the same having been partly improved. As time passed he brought the land to a high state of cultivation and made good improvements. He has made his home on this place continuously for thirtysix years. That he has been successful is indicated in the fact that to-day he owns three hundred and twenty acres in Glenwood and Paddock townships and formerly owned two hundred and forty acres in Kansas : this property he has sold to three of his sons, who now make their homes on the land.

February 25, 1858, was solemnized the marriage of James Rathbun and Mary Wolfe, who was born in Knox county, Ohio, June 24, 1836, a daughter of Peter and Jane (Biggs) Wolfe, natives of Knox county, Ohio, and early settlers in Henry county, Illinois, where they passed away. Mrs. Rathbun was called to the home beyond in 1S95, and was the mother of the following named children: Frank, George and Charles are niarried and reside on farms near Hollenburg, Kansas; Lewis is a farmer residing in Odell; John is a farmer ol Paddock township; Alice, is the wife of A. I. Layton, operating the home farm ; Lizzie is the wife of Charles Mort, of Nebraska City; and Carrie is the wife of Ira Hageman, of Beatrice.

Mr. Rathbun has reached the venerable age of ninety ye^irs, has lived to see his sons and daughters established in life and can look on the past without regret and to the future without fear. He is a Democrat in politics.

FRED EGGERT came to Gage county soon aftef his immigration from Germany to America, and was a vigorous and a,nibitiouus youth of seventeen years when he thus set forth to seek his fortunes in the United States. It was in the year 1882 that he arrived in America and made his appearance in Gage county. He was dependent entirely upon his own exertions in making advancement toward the goal of independence and was burdened by an indebtedness of one hundred and fifteen dollars at the time of his arrival in this county. For several years thereafter he was employed at farm work, at wages varying from six to ten dollars a month, but his frugality and careful saving of his earnings soon permitted him to free himself from debt and justify him in beginning independent operations as a farmer on rented land. He finally purchased a farm in Saline county, where he continued his operations eight years. In 1912 he purchased his present homestead farm of one hundred and sixty acres, the same constituting the southwest quarter of Section 34, Logan township, and here he has made many improvements of the best order, including the erection of a large barn and the remodeling and enlarging of the house. Without pretentiousness or flourish of any kind Mr. Eggert has devoted himself earnestly to productive enterprise as a farmer and has won worthy success, the while he has commanded the fullest measure of popular esteeni. His political activities are confined to the casting of his ballot in support of the cause of the Republican party and of men and measures meeting his approval as a loyal citizen. Both he and his wife are consistent communicants of the Lutheran church.

In this county was recorded the marriage of Mr. Eggert to Miss Lizzie Daubendick, who had been his boyhood schoolrnate in Germany, she having been born and reared in the same community as was he, in Westphalia, and having been a young woman when she accompanied her parents to America, . the family home having been established in Clatonia township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Eggert have five children : Mary is the wife of Hans Schmohr, a prosperous farmer of this county ;

Henry is successfully engaged in farm enterprise in Logan township; Annie is the wife of John King, of Sanborn, Iowa; and Fred, Jr. and Carl, who are twins, are the younger members of the parental home circle.

Adverting to the early period of the life history of Mr. Eggert, it may be noted that he was born in the province of Westphalia, Germany, on the 9th of May, 1864, and that he was but three 5'ears old at the time of his mother's death, he having no remembrance of ever having seen his father, as he was reared in the hoine of friends of the family. He was given the advantages of the schools of his native place and there continued his residence until ambition spurred him to come to the United States, where he felt asSured of better opportunities for the winning of prosperity through his own efforts. He has made the passing years count in productive industry and is one of the substantial farmers of Logan township.

FRANK BURES, who passed away, in Paddock township. May 1, 1915, was one of Gage county's successful farmers and substantial citizens. A native of Iowa, he was born in Jones county, October 3, 1868, and was a son of Frank and Anna Bures, of whom mention is made in a sketch written for Joseph Bures, of Glenwood township. Reared to the life of the farm, in Iowa and in Gage county, Nebraska, Frank Bures, as a young man, learned the trade of blacksmith, at which he worked for a few years in Odell. He then purchased a farm in Section 7, Paddock township, and this he brought to a high state of cultivation, with due attendant success marking his varied farm activities.

For a companion and helpmeet Mr. Bures chose Miss Anna Lisec, a native of Saline county, Nebraska, where she was born March 10, 1875. She is a sister of Frank Lisec, of Sicily township. Mr. and Mrs. Bures became the parents of four children : Albert died in infancy ; and Frank, Mary and James are with their mother on the farm, the sons carrying on the work which has fallen upon their shoulders since the death of their father.

Frank is serving, in 1918, his second year as assessor of Paddock township, his father having served as assessor of this township for three years.

The late Frank Bures was a good farmer, a loyal citizen, a loving husband and father, and in his passing the community was bereft of a man whom it could ill afford to lose.

WILLIAM PIEPER, who rents from his father a well improved farm of one hundred and sixty-one acres in Section 4, Holt township, is another of the native sons of Gage county who is here exemplifying the best traditions and also modern policies in progressive agriculture and stock-raising. He was born in Grant township, this county, July 8, 1892, and is the eldest of the seven children born to Henry and Louisa (Bushe) Pieper; Ernest, the second son, has become a member of the national army being trained for participation in the appalling European war, and at the time of this writing he is stationed in a training camp in New Mexico, in the winter of 1917-1918; Minnie, Sophia and Helen remain at the paternal home; Emma is being reared in the home of her uncle, Frederick Rishe, in the city of Lincoln, this state; and Hilda is in the home of her uncle Frederick Pieper, in Grant township.

Henry Pieper, father of the subject of this review, was born in Germany, about 1850, and was a lad of about fifteen years when he came with kinsfolk to the United States and settled in Gage county. Thereafter he was employed about nine years as a farm hand, and in the meanwhile he was careful in saving his earnings, his ambition being to establish himself eventually as an independent farmer. Finally he purchased eighty acres of land in Section 2, Grant township, and of the splendid success that has since attended his energetic and well ordered endeavors no further voucher need be given that the statement that he is now the owner of a valuable landed estate of four hundred and ten acres - one hundred and sixty acres in Grant township; the one hundred and sixty-one acres farmed by his son William, of this review, in Holt township ; and eighty acres in Scotts Bluff county. He still resides on his fine homestead farm in Grant township, his devoted wife having died in 1908, as the sequel of an operation for appendicitis. She was born in Germany and was thirty-seven years of age at the time of her death. She was a devoted member of the Evangelical Lutheran church, in which her husband likewise holds membership.

William Pieper was reared on the home farm and gained his youthful education in the district schools of Grant township. He initiated his independent career as a farmer in 1915, when he rented from his father his present farm, and he is proving himself one of the aggressive and successful agriculturists and stock-growers of the younger generation in his native county. In the season of 1917 he obtained from seventy-one acres a yield of corn that averaged thirty bushels to the acre, and in the live-stock department of his farm enterprise he is giving special attention to the raising of Duroc-Jersey swine. Mr. Pieper is an industrious and ambitious young man who is always ready to do his share in the furthering of movements and enterprises for the general good of the community, his political support being given to the Republican party and both he and his wife holding membership in the Evangelical Lutheran church.

October 4, 1917, recorded the marriage of Mr. Pieper to Miss Dora Tiemann, who is the popular mistress of their pleasant home, which, under her regime, is truly worthy of the name of home. Mrs. Pieper was born in Grant township, this county, near Clatonia, and is a daughter of the late Henry Tiemann, the mother, whose maiden name was Anna Darnauer, remaining on the old homestead farm with her two sons, Mrs. Pieper having been the fourth in a family of five children.

JOHN BARRATT. - Not only historic interest but much of romance attaches to the career of this venerable and honored pioneer, who became a resident of Gage county nearly ten years prior to the admission of Nebraska to statehood and who is still the owner of a fine landed estate in the county, the same comprising two hundred and seventy acres, in Grant and Blakely townships, his original homestead entry, in the former township, having been the twenty-ninth recorded within the limits of that now opulent division of the county. In the gracious twilight of a long and useful life he is living retired in the village of Dewitt, Saline county - about two miles distant from his old Gage county homestead.

John Barratt was born in Somersetshire, England, on the 5th of December, 1837, and is the younger in a family of two children, his brother, William, having continued to reside in England until his death, as did also the parents, John and Uriscilla A. (Barratt) Barratt," both likewise natives of Somersetshire, where the father followed the trade of blacksmith in connection with farm enterprise. The parents were devout communicants of the Church of England and the son John has continued to hold earnestly to the ancestral faith, he being a zealous communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church, as was also his wife.

He to whom this review is dedicated was reared on the old home farm in England and was given the advantages of the parisb schools. When eighteen years of age, in 1856, he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in the United States. Making the voyage across the Atlantic on a sailing vessel of the type common to that period, he landed in the port of New York city in May of the year mentioned. Thence he proceeded to Ohio, where he remained a few months, and he then made his way to Wisconsin. There he remained until 1858, when he set out for the western frontier. He walked the greater part of the distance from Wisconsin to Nebraska Territory, and when he arrived in Gage county, in August, 1858, his capitalistic resources were represented in the sum of little more than one hundred dollars. He came to Gage county in company with his cousin, George Grant, and the latter's family, this cousin having been one of the first settlers on Turkey creek, and Grant township having been named in his honor. He was one of the most influential pioneers of that section of

While he was thus facing the responsibihties and labors of a pioneer Mr. Barratt manifested his unqualified loyalty to the land of his adoption after the Civil war had been precipitated upon the nation. On the 30th of October, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, Second Nebraska Cavalry, and with this command he took part in the battle of Whitestone Hill, but his principal service was in connection with minor engagements and skirmishes on the frontier. In December, 1863, he received his honorable discharge, and upon his return to Gage county he built a log cabin on the homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres to which he had previously made entry. He provided for his needs by working as a farm hand and in the meanwhile gave as much attention as possible to the reclaiming of his own land. He became a member of the territorial militia and when, on the 7th of August, 1864, the governor of the territory called out troops to repel a formidable Indian outbreak Mr. Barratt was elected orderly sergeant of Company C, with which he served six months- - principally in guarding the road for the passage of the United States mail. He escaped injury during this service, as had he previously while with the -cavalry command, and his company did not come into active conflict with the marauding Inidians.

Energetically continuing the improvement of his farm, Mr. Barratt met with cumulative success in the passing years and became specially prominent as a stock-grower in Grant township, where he gave particular attention to the raising of Poland-China swine. He did well his part in furthering the civic and industrial development of Gage .county, made judicious investments in additional land and finally developed one of the well improved and valuable fann properties of the county - the landed estate which he still retains in his possession, besides being the owner of his residence and other property in the village of Dewitt, where he established his home on his retirement from the farm, in 1903. He was active and influential in communal affairs, was one of the organizers of the district school in the vicinity of his home farm and served as a director of the same from 1870 until his removal to Dewitt, more than thirty years later. He has continuously given his earnest allegiance to the Republican party and is one of the appreciated and honored members of the old pioneer association of Lincoln and of the post of the Grand Army of the Republic in Dewitt.

Mr. Barratt's reminiscences concerning conditions and incidents of the early pioneer days are most graphic and interesting, and in this connection the following record is well worthy of perpetuation in this connection. On the 7th of August, 1867, he and three other men were quartered in a house on the Oak Grove ranch, in Nuckolls county, together with three women and one or more children, when the place was approached by a party of thirty-five Indians who asserted that they were hunting for a band of Pawnee Indians. M. C. Kelley and -J. H. Butler, the other two men, went out for, a parley with the Indians, by whom they were shot dead. As one of the four guards for the Women and children, Mr. Barratt piled bags of flour against the 3oors and succeeded in keeping the bloodthirsty Indians at bay until they were driven off on the approach of the returning wagon train from Denver, Colorado, a few hours after the massacre of the two men.

Mr. Barratt recalls that in August, 1866. this section of the state was visited by a veritable scourge of grasshoppers, which laid havoc to all vegetation and left not a blade of corn in the fields. They next attacked the onion beds and after eating the tops Mr. Barratt states that they would hold each other down in order that they might feast on the onion roots. In May, 1872, while Mr. Barratt was visiting his old home in England, Gage county was visited by a hail storm of such remarkable severity that even fish in the streams were killed. He has shot prairie chickens on the site of the present thriving and beautiful city of Beatrice and there are few, if any, of the incidents, trials, and hard-

On March 17, 1867, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Barratt to Miss Annie E. Wheeler, who was born in London, England, November 1, 1840, a daughter of Charles and Annie (Pierce) Wheeler, and who came to Nebraska in 1866, in company with an uncle and aunt and one of her brothers and a cousin, she having been in the home of her uncle, in Saline county, at the time of her marriage. Mrs. Barratt proved a most faithful and devoted wife and mother and was loved by all who came within the sphere of her gentle and gracious influence, she having been summoned to the life eternal December 31, 1914. In the concluding paragraph of this article is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Barratt.

William, who is a prosperous farmer in Smith county, Kansas, married Miss Myrtle Quinn, a native of Cass county, Nebraska, and they have four children - Mabel F., Audrey, Ella Beatrice, and Mildred Pauline. Ella is the wife of Edgar Coke, of Dewitt, and with them resides her venerable father. Robert resides upon and has the active management of his father's old homestead farm in Gage county : he wedded Mjss Nettie Wolf and they have two children - John F. and Lloyd E. Nellie died in infancy. George, who is a representative farmer of Blakely township, married Miss Millie, Moore, and they have three children - Georgia M., Birdie I., and Winifred D. Harry, the youngest of the children of the honored subject of this review, died at the age of five years.

JOHN F. BURBANK came with his parents to Nebraska in the spring of 1883, and has here achieved marked success in connection with the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing. He was twenty-three years of age when he came to this state and he continued for some time to be associated with farming in Sarpy county, where he was continued in independent farm enterprise until 1900. He then came to Gage county and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Section 29, Filley township, this farm having been developed and improved by that sterling pioneer, the late John Wesley Wright, to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this work. On this farm Mr. Burbank continued his successful enterprise as an agriculturist and stock-grower until the spring of 1918, when he sold the property to advantage, and , he now resides in the village of Filley. He is a Republican in his political proclivities and as a citizen has always stood exponent of loyalty and progressiveness.

Mr. Burbank was born in Peoria county, Illinois, on the 2d of November, 1860, and concerning his father, Benjamin F. Burbank and the family history in general, adequate data appear on other pages, in the sketch dedicated to his brother C. A. Burbank. He was reared on the home farm in Illinois and his early educational advantages were those afforded in the public schools. He has never faltered in his allegiance to agricultural industry and through the medium of the same has won success worthy of the name. In Stark county, lUinois, Mr. Burbank wedded Miss Rosa Schanck, who was born in that county, and she passed to the life eternal in 1907, being survived by one daughter, Loisa, who is the wife of J. C. Perky, of Filley. In 1911 Mr. Burbank contracted a second marriage, when Miss Maude Eaton became his wife. Mrs. Burbank was born in the state of Missouri.

FRANK R. SHALLA. - Among the native sons of Gage county who have chosen to remain within its borders and who are meeting with success, Frank R. Shalla merits definite recognition. He is a son of Frank Shalla, a pioneer of Gage county, whose record appears elsewhere in these pages. Born in a primitive pioneer home in Section 36, Glenwood township, on April 14, 1880, Frank R. Shalla spent his boyhood days in the usual manner ot farm lads, his time being divided between his studies in the district school and such farm tasks as his young strength permitted. He was one of a family of eight boys and learned the necessity and value of industry. When twenty-one years of age he began working by the month for others, and when he was twentyfive' years old his father assisted him in the purchase of eighty acres of land in Section 29, Paddock township, where he bought an adjoining eighty acres. The place contained some improvements, but the buildings were in a run-down condition. For thirteen years he has been building upon and otherwise improving the place, and it is to-day one of the valuable farms of the township. As his resources increased Mr. Shalla made addition to his land holdings by the purchase of eighty acres in Section 32.

Mr. Shalla completed arrangements for a home by his marriage to Miss Clara Pribyl, who likewise was born in Gage county, and who is a daughter of Tony Pribyl, a pioneer of Paddock township and now a resident of Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Shalla are the parents of five children, - Ella, Sylvia, Edward, Anna and Vera. Mr. and Mrs. Shalla are members of no church, although reared in the Catholic faith. Mr. Shalla expresses his ideas of religion when he says he believes in truth, friendship and love, - and membership in no earthy tabernacle could assure happiness in this world or any world to come more than obedience to the doctrine implied by those three words.

Mr. Shalla is independent in politics. He has served as a member of the school board, and as treasurer of the school district, in both of which positions he rendered efficient service.

FRED RIGGERT. - One of the finest of farm properties in Paddock township is the home of the subject of this record, who was born in Marshall county, Kansas March 5, 1881. His parents, August and Minnie (Germer) Riggert, both natives of Hanover, Germany, came to America when they were young people, and were married in Marshall county, Kansas, where August Riggert took up a homestead and became one of the pioneer farmers of that county. He was a successful man in his business ventures, devoting the active years of his life to agricultural pursuits, and is now living retired on his farm, having become one of the extensive land owners of his county. His wife has passed away, and they were the parents of ten children: Anna is the wife of Fred Klaus, of Paddock township; Fred, was next in order of birth; Sophia is the wife of Ernest Adam of Glenwood township; Mrs. Fred Gleue and Mrs. Adolph Stohs reside in Marshall county, Kansas; Christ remains on the home farm; Mrs. Freda Stohs lives in Kansas; and Miss Clara is at the paternal home. Two children died when young.

Fred Riggert was reared on his father's farm in Marshall county, Kansas, acquired his education in the public schools, and under the instruction of his father he learned those lessons of industry and thrift which have been of great value in a.fter years.

When twenty-two years of age he started his independent career as a farmer. For the first seven years he rented land, and in 1910 he purchased his present farm, upon which he has erected as fine a set of farm buildings as can be found anywhere. An atmosphere of thrift and prosperity pervades the place and easily convinces the observer of the progressive and practical methods of its owner. Aside from the raising of cereals best adapted to the soil and climate, Mr. Riggert deals in stock of a good grade, both branches of his business yielding him a substantial income.

For a companion and helpmeet Mr. Riggert chose Miss Mary Adam, of Glenwood township, a daughter of Efnst and Elizabeth (Daniel) Adam, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. In January 1915, Mr. Riggert was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who was the mother of six children,. - Elsie, Edwin, Martha, Alfred, Clara and. Paul. For his second wife Mr. Riggert wedded Miss Lena Adam, a sister of his first wife, and they are the parents of one child,. Lillian.

Mr. and Mrs. Riggert are members of the Lutheran church, the faith of which was held. by their parents. Mr. Riggert casts his vot& in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and is serving as director of his- school district. He is one of the substantial citizens of his community and any worthy cause for the social, moral or material benefit of Gage county has his hearty support.

HENRY J. SIEMS. - One of the most original and attractive rural homes in Gage county is the beautiful bungalow which adorns the fine farm of Mr. Siems, in Section 22, Grant township. This artistic structure was designed and erected by Mr. Siems, who has had much experience as a mechanic and as contractor and builder, and he has also made other improvements that mark his farm as one of the most attractive in the county. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of the productive land of Grant township and the same represents his heritage from the estate of his father, who was one of the sterling pioneers of Gage county.

Henry J. Siems was born at Lincoln, Logan county, Illinois, on the 2d of August, 1873, and thus was about two years of age when his parents came to Nebraska, in the spring of 1876. He is a son of Glaus and Lena (Weltzein) Siems, both natives of Germany, the former having been born in the province of Hanover, February 11, 1841, and the latter in Mecklenburg, August 18, 1849: their marriage was solemnized at Lincoln, Illinois, Mrs. Seims having been a child of five years when she came with her widowed mother to the United States and the home having been established in Wisconsin, whence removal was later made to Illinois.

Claus Siems was reared and educated in his native land, where also he served an apprenticeship to the trade of cabinetmaker. He became an expert artisan and was a vigorous and self-reliant young man when he came to America and established his residence at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. There he was employed in a sash and door factory for three years and for ten years thereafter he was employed in a furniture establishment at Lincoln, Illinois. In 1876, as before noted, he came with his family to Gage county, Nebraska, and incidental to leasing a tract of land in Grant township he gained practical experience in farm enterprise. In 1881 he began operations on land which he purchased in the same township, and as a pioneer he developed one of the fine farm properties of the county. He eventually accumulated an estate of four hundred and eighty acres, of which the present homestead of his son Henry J. is an integral part. His mechanical skill enabled him to effect readily a better order of improvements on his farm, in the matter of buildings and appurtenances, and he was known as a citizen of energy and progressiveness, of strong mind and of utmost integrity in all of the relations of life. He was a loyal Democrat in his political adherency and the religious faith of the entire family has been that of the Lutheran church. After the death of his first wife he contracted a second marriage, but of this union no children were bom. Of the first marriage were born five sons and two daughters, and of the number the subject of this review is the eldest. Louise (Siems) Eckel died February 8, 1911, at the age of twenty-eight years. Louis and Anna Siems are the other living children.

Henry J. Siems was reared under the environment and influences of the pioneer farm, and in the meanwhile he made good use of the advantages afforded in the district schools of Grant township. He virtually inherited much of the mechanical talent and proclivities of his father and was but fifteen years of age when he began effective work at the carpenter's trade. Thereafter he continued to devote the major part of his time and attention to carpenter work in this county until the early '90s, when he went to Bern, Nemaha county, Kansas, and established himself in business as a contractor and builder. There he remained ten years, within which period he erected a large number of the business and residence buildings that still mark that progressive village. It may incidentally be noted also that he was the contractor, who erected the edifice of the Catholic church at Dawson, Richardson county, Nebraska. In 1905 Mr. Siems rerrioved to Seneca, Kansas, where he operated a well equipped planing mill until 1909, when he disposed of his interests at that place and went to the city of Denver, Colorado. There he continued as a successful contractor in the erection of high-grade houses until 1913, when, after the death of his father, which occurred November 22, 1911, he returned to Gage county and took possession of the farm which he had inherited. Here he has since continued his successful activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower, but he has by no means lost interest in practical mechanics. In 1916 he designed and erected the beautiful and modem bungalow that now constitutes the family home, and this building is of brick and concrete construction, in which connection it is interesting to record that Mr. Siems manufactured the brick and cement blocks used for the purpose, as well as the mechanism demanded in their production. He has further improved the place by erecting a model poultry house of cement and a machine shop of concrete blocks. He has invented a sanitary school-house seat of entire steel construction, and another product of his inventive genius is a brick-cleaning machine that is now in use in the Argo smelters at Denver, Colorado. His most important invention, however, was the cast stone-block system and mechanism for the moulding of concrete blocks, the same being versatile and accurate, as it will produce concrete blocks or fence posts of any desired size, as well as window sills and tank staves. For the manufacturing - of concrete -products by his special system Mr. Siems maintains his own well equipped plant on his farm, and he is making plans to manufacture on a large scale and to ship his products to distant points, as well as meeting the requirements of a more localized trade. On his farm is a valuable deposit of fine sand and gravel for use in connection with architectural purposes and from the same he sells about 400 wagon loads annually, and the output is increased every year. Mr. Siems has been at all times energetic and, ambitious, and this was significantly shown in his youth by his attending the Beatrice Business College for one term, though in his studies he was handicapped by having previously received only the discipHne of the district schools, besides having found it incumbent upon him to apply himself vigorously to work on the home farm. His early farm experience, however, comes into practical use at the present time, as he is not only a skilled mechanic of much inventive ability but is also a well fortified and practical farmer. He is affiliated with the Modern Brotherhood of America in the city of Denver, Colorado. February 10, 1896, recorded the marriage of Mr. Siems to Miss Anna Poppe, who was born in Nemaha county, Kansas, May 20, 1877, and who was reared on the pioneer farm of her parents, Frederick and Amalia (Wiese^ deppe) Poppe, who are natives of Germany and who are now residing in the village of Bern, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Siems have three children, all of whom remain at the parental home and contribute to its prevading atmosphere of good cheer and generous hospitality, their names being here entered in respective order of their birth : Herman, Wilma and George.

WILLIAM H. SHALLA is one of the successful young farmers of Glenwood township. He was bom on his father's homestead in this township, August 25, 1888, a son of Frank Shalla, whose life record is given elsewhere in this volume.

William H. Shalla was reared on the farm, assisted in its cultivation, and five years ago he married and his father helped him purchase the one hundred and sixty acre farm upon which he is now residing.

He married Miss Agnes Juricek, a native of Saline county, and a daughter of Frank Juricek, who is retired and living in Crete, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Shalla have one son, Harry W.

ERNST ADAM. - The subject of this record is the oldest of a family of seven children boi-n to Ernst and Elizabeth (Daniel) Adam. The father was born in Schlazian, Germany, February 18, 1845, and when a young man of twenty-five came to the United States and found employment at farm labor, first in Iowa and later in Nebraska. He carefully saved his earnings and in the early '80s purchased land in Glenwood township, Gage county. He became one of the successful farmers and extensive land owners of the county, his possessions at the time of his death being more than 'five hundred acres. His death occurred on the farm, Dfecember 26, 1914. His wife also was a native of Germany, where she was born in 1859, and her death occurred on the farm in Glenwood township, in 1891, both having been earnest members of the Lutheran church. Fallowing is a brief record concerning their children: Ernst, Herman and August are farmers in Glenwood township, on land left them by their father ; Lena, is the wife of Fred Riggert, of Paddock township, his first wife having been Mrs. Riggerts sister Mary, who died three years ago ; one child of the family died in infancy ; and a son, Henry, died at the age of six years.

Ernst Adam, the oldest of the children above mentioned, was born on the farm in Glenwood township, November 3, 1883, was educated in the public schools and inherited one hundred and sixty acres of land from his father. On this place he has erected a splendid set of buildings and here he carries on general farming and stock-raising.

Mr. Adam married Miss Sophia Riggert, who was bom in Washington county, Kansas, a daughter of August Riggert. Further mention of the family is made in the sketch of Fred Riggert, on another page. Mr. and Mrs. Adam have six children: Alvin, Herbert, Raymond Helen, Hilda and an infant born April 5, 1918. The family attend the Lutheran church.

C. A. BURBANK, who is numbered among the progressive farmers of Filley township, was born in Marshall county, Illinois, January 23, 1865, and is a son of Benjamin Franklin Burbank, who was born in Oxford county, Maine, September 22, 1832, a son of Israel and Rhoda (Hatch) Burbank, who likewise were natives of the pld Pine Tree state, where they passed their entire lives and where they reared their children on a little farm of twelve and one-half acres, in the midst of the pine forests. Benjamin F. Burbank had limited educational opportunities in his youth but early learned the lessons of practical and productive industry. In 1855 he went to Peoria county, Illinois, where he engaged in farm enterprise. In 1861 he removed to Marshall county, that state, where he continued his activities as a farmer for many years. He owned land not only in that county but also in Stark county, property which he sold in 1883, when he came to Nebraska and purchased an entire section of land in Sarpy county. He gave his supervision to the development of this land and he now, at the venerable age of eighty-five years ( 1918) makes his home with his sons in Gage county. He represents the sterling character so typical of the sons of New England and is a man who has ever commanded the confidence and high esteem of his fellow men. His political, support is given to the Republican party and while he has not become actively afSliated with any church organization he has been a close student of the Bible and has deep reverence for the spiritual verities of the Christian faith and practice. As a young man he married Miss Caroline Hovenden, who was born in England and who was a girl when she came with her widowed mother to America, the family home being established in Peoria county, Illinois. Mrs. Burbank was about sixty-seven years of age at the time of her death, in 1903, and she is survived by six children: John F. and C. A. are substantial farmers of Gage county; A. G. is engaged in the banking business at Cordova, Seward county; Eva is the wife of Oscar Harlan, of Lincoln, this state; Carrie is the wife of Charles Owen, of South Omaha; and William H. is a farmer in Sherman township, Gage county.

C. A. Burbank gained his early education in the public schools of Illinois and at the age of twenty-two years he left the home farm of his father, in Sarpy county, Nebraska, to engage in farm enterprise in an independent way. He purchased in that county eighty acres of land, but ten days later he sold the same at a profit of one thousand dollars. He then purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in the same county, and there he continued his operations until 1900, when he came to Gage county and purchased his present attractive homestead farm, of one hun^ dred and sixty acres,, in Section 21, Filley township. The inferior buildings on the farm he has since replaced with thoroughly modem structures, including a commodious house, of modem design and facilities, an excellent barn and other sul;)stantial farm buildings. The fine orchard which he planted on this farm is now giving substantial fruitage each successive season, and other improvements likewise denote his enterprise and progressiveness as an exponent of modern farm enterprise. He takes loyal interest in community affairs and is ready to do his part in the furtherance of enterprises and measures advanced for the general good. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party.

In the year 1888 was recorded the marriage of Mr. Burbank to Miss Margaret L. Turley, who Was bom in Morgan county, Illinois, and who was left an orphan in her early childhood, she having been a resident of Nebraska for half a century. Mr. and Mrs. Burbank have three sons, all of whom are associated in the work and management of the home farm - Herbert Benjamin, Harry Harlan, and Charles Albion.

AI.EX ARMSTRONG. - The subject of this memoir w^as born in County Tyrone, Ireland, June 3, 1857, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth Armstrong, who likewise were natives of the Emerald Isle, where they spent their entire lives. Of their children three sons and a daughter came to the United States. John and Alexander died in Gage county, Nebraska; Kate became the wife of William Hommersham and resides in Missouri; Charles is a prosperous farmer of Paddock township, and is individually mentioned elsewhere in this volume.

Alex Armstrong was a lad of eighteen years when he came to the United States and became a farmer in Linn county, Iowa. In 1880 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased an improved farm of eighty acres in Paddock township. He was a successful farmer, and as his resources increased he added to his original purchase, owning at the time of his death two hundred acres, finely improved and constituting one of the valuable farms of the township. He finally retired from active work on the farm and established his home in the village of Odell, where his death occitrred August 8, 1910.

At Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the 8th of August, 1890, Mr. Armstrong was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Whelan, who was bom in Ireland, a daughter of William and Elizabeth Whelan, both natives of Ireland. The father was an officer in the British army and fought in the conflict in Afghanistan. On the return of the army to England he was among the few who were ushered into the presence of Queen Victoria, who presented him with a gold medal, as a reward for bravery displayed on the field of battle. He died in his native land, and his wife passed away at Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong became the parents of three children : Minnie, born July 29, 1891, became the wife of Erskine Colgrove, and she passed away December 21, 1910; Agnes, born December 4, 1893, and John, born August 22, 1898, still remain with their mother. John married Miss Gertrude Barnadt. After the death of her husband Mrs. Armstrong returned to the farm, which, with the help of her children, she has since conducted. Both she and her son display exceptional business ability in connection with agricultural pursuits. The husband and father was reared in the faith of the Wesleyan Methodist church. He was a loyal citizen, a loving husband and father, and a substantial citizen whose death marked a loss to the community as well as to his own family.

THOMAS D. MOSBY. - Among the early settlers of Gage county mention should be made of Thomas Davis Mosby, owner of two hundred and forty acres of land in Sections 26 and 35, Adams township. Mr. Mosby was bom in Spencer county, Indiana, January 6, 1852, and is a son of L. L. and Mary L. (Adams) Mosby. His father was born in

Kentucky, in 1820, and as a young man moved to Indiana, where he followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1856. The mother of our subject was born in Kentucky, and her death occurred in Adams, Nebraska, December 2, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Mosby were the parents of three children : Thomas Davis, the subject of this review; Charles J., owner and manager of the Adams Hotel at Adams, this county ; and G. L., a carpenter at Adams.

Thomas Davis Mosby was educated, in the. public schools in Indiana, and in that state he followed farming until 1871. He then removed to Missouri, where he continued farm enterprise until 1876, and in that year he came to Gage coimty, Nebraska, s^nd settled, in Section 26, Adams township, where he has lived continuously for more than forty-one years. On August IS, 1877, Mr. Mosby was united in marriage to Miss Naomi Adams, daughter of John O. and Letitia (Harris) Adams, and to this union sevefl children were born. lyulu is the wife of Arthur Campbell, of Adams ; Julta Frances is the wife of Claud Campbell, of Virginia, this county; Samuel A. married Clarinda Whittaker and -they reside, at Adams; Mattie Alice is the wife of Frank Van Fossen, of Adams ; Thomas O. died December 5, 1883 ; Georgia A. is at home ; and Edna Isabelle died March 15, 1917.

Thomas D. Mosby is a Republican in politics and has served on the school board of his district for several years. ' Mr. and Mrs. Mosby are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they, are 1)oth faithful workers, and they are numbered among the best people of the community in which they have so long maintained their home and in which they are held in very high esteem by all who know them.

JAMES C. GALLOWAY was not only one of the early and honored pioneer settlers of Gage county, but he also made large and valuable contribution to the social and industrial development and progress of this now favored section of the state. He was a member of a family founded in America many generations ago, and the same was true of his wife, both families having had much to do with pioneer activities as the course of empire made its way to the western portions of our national domain. The subject of this memoir was one of the representative pioneer citizens of Adams > township, Gage county, where he established his home nearly half a century ago and where he continued to reside until the close of his long and useful life, his death having occurred September 9, 1892.

Mr. Galloway was born near Jonesboro, Tennessee, pn the 17th of July, 1836, and as a youth he accompanied his parents on their immigration to Macoupin county, Illinois, where his father engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Galloway had the true pioneer instinct, as shown by the fact that in 1861 he set forth with a wagon and ox team to make an exploring expedition to the western lands being opened to settlement. IJe, continued his journey westward until he -arrived in California, and such we're the conditions at the time that he encouritefed many perils from attack by marauding Indians, as well as danger from depredations of wild beasts. He walked virtually the entire distance on the long overland journey, and after making careful observations he finally returned- to Illinois. There, in 1872, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Scott, and in 1874 the young couple, with their infant son, set forth with a team and covered wag6n for Gage county, Nebraska. Here Mr. Gall&way purchased, at the rate of fifteen dollars an acre, a tract of land in Section 26, Adams township, this b.eing the old homestead on which his widow and two of their sons still residfe. Mr. Galloway bent his. energies to the improving of his farni and the passing years brought to him a generous measure of prosperity. From the wild prairie he eventually developed a fine landed estate of three hundred and twenty acres, and his widow still retains the ownership of this valuable property. On the old homestead, as previously intimated, Mr. Galloway remained until his death. He was enterprising and progressive in his farm enterprise and left to his sons the gracious heritage of a good name and the record of a useful and successful life. Mr. Galloway was always ready to give his support to measures tending to advance the civic and material welfare of the community and he so ordered his life as to retain the unqualified confidence and good will of his fellow men.. His political allegiance , was given to the; Democratic party and he was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. The land which he purchased for fifteen dollars an acre is to-day valued at one hundred a-nd fifty dollars an acre.

As previously noted, the marriage of Mr. Galloway to Miss Elizabeth Scott was solemnized in 1872. Mrs. Galloway, now venerable in years, is a representative of a family that has been one of not a little distinction and influence in connection with pioneer history in various states of the west and middle west. Members of the Scott family were early settlers in Illinois, and in the early part of the nineteenth century the father of Mrs. Galloway, in company with his brother John, drove an ox team and cart from Kentucky to Ohio and thence into Illinois. The forests of Ohio were dense and only a few Indian trails marked the route to settlements and Indian trading stations. The Scott brothers were numbered among, the earliest settlers of what is now Scott county, Illinois, and the county was named in honor of John Scott, the elder of the two brothers. James C. Scott, father of Mrs. Galloway, became a substantial farmer in Scott county, Illinois, and there Mrs. Galloway was born, on the 6th of July, 1845. Her father was a native of Kentucky and her mother, whose maiden name was Mary Cowhick, was bom in Ohio. They continued their residence in Scott county, Illinois, until the close of their lives. Mrs. Galloway remains on the old homestead that is endeared to her by the gracious memories and associations of the past, and she is still able to direct many of the domestic economies of the household. She is one of the revered pioneer women of Adams township, where she bore with her husband the trials and hardships of the pioneer days.

This honored pioneer couple became the parents of four sons : Lee and James remain with their widowed mother on the old homestead and have the active supervision of the well ordered farm ; Scott died when about six years of age; and Charles M. resides in the village of Adams, this county. .- ;.

James E. Galloway was born and reared on the fine farm which is now his home and in the management of which he is well upholding the prestige of the name which he bears. He was born May 9, 1876, and received his early education in the public schools of his native township. After the death of his father he and his brothers assumed the active management of the farm, and he and his brother, Charles M., still have the same in charge, the while they carry forward the various departments of the farm enterprise with marked energy and progressiveness. James E. Galloway has lived on this farm from the time of his birth and has stated that he feels that he is almost a part of it. He has shown much circumspection in his agricultural enterprise and also in stocking the farm with pure-bred cattle and other excellent live stock. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party, but he has had no desire for public office of any kind.

GEORGE BARNARD. - The prosperity of Gage county is due largely to the industry displayed and the success achieved by those of its citizens who are engaged in the noble occupation of tilling the soil. Among this number should be mentioned George Barnard, who for thirty-five years has given his best effort to the agricultural development of his adopted county.

Mr. Barnard is a native of Tennessee, his birth occurring near Tazewell, in Claiborne county, December 11, 1862, a son of John and Delia C. (Webb) Barnard, both of whom were natives of Tennessee. The father met his death in 1877, by a fall from a horse. His widow now resides in Kentucky. They were the parents of ten children, two of whom, James and George, are residents of Gage county.

George Barnard was reared and educated in his native state, and was a lad of fifteen years when he was bereft of his father. In 1883 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and thereafter he conducted farming operations on leased land, in Hanover, Logan and Midland townships, until 1900. Having carefully husbanded his earnings, he then purchased one hundred and sixty acres, and as his financial resources increased he added to his holdings, until today he is the owner of four hundred acres in Midland township. Beginning his career empty-handed, he has by diligence and intelligently directed efforts acquired a valuable estate. His farm is well improved and everything about the place is substantial. The buildings and neat appearance display the thrift and good judgment of its owner.

April 3, 1879, Mr. Barnard was united in marriage to Miss Belle Day, who was bom in Greene county, Tennessee, December 29, 1862, and to this union have been bom eight children : William C. is a farmer in Logan township ; Mary is the wife of Charles Le Poidevin, of Midland township ; John, Woodson, James, and Roy also are farmers of Midland township ; Zella is at home, and one child died in infancy. The religious faith of the family is that of the Christian church, of which they are devoted members. In politics Mr. Barnard is a Democrat. The allurements and emoluments of public office have no charms for him, as he prefers to give his time and attention to his business interests, of which he has made a decided success.

LOUIS WERNER. - One of the noble and well ordered institutions of Nebraska is the Home for the Feeble Minded, at Beatrice, and of the same Mr. Werner has been the efficient and honored steward since 1908, his residence in the county having covered a period of more than forty years. He was born in Alsace-Lorraine, France, October 6, 1853, and the province of his nativity, now again the stage of terrific warfare, passed under the dominion of Germany at the time of the Franco-Prassian war. He is a son of Frederick and Dorothy (Weil) Werner, both likewise natives of Alsace-Lorraine, where the former was bom in 1809 and the latter in February, 1810, their marriage having been solemnized about 1836 and both having passed their entire lives in their native province, where the father died in 1868 and the mother in 1886. Frederick Werner served seven years in the French army and thereafter he followed the carpenter's trade, in which connection he became a successful contractor and erected a number of important public buildings, churches, etc. Of the five children the subject of this review is the younger of the two survivors, and his brother, Charles, resides in the historic old city of Strassburg, capital of Alsace-Lorraine. The parents were devout communicants of the Lutheran church and the paternal grandfather of the subject of this review was Jacob Werner, who likewise was a carpenter by trade and vocation.

Louis Werner was reared and educated in his native province and there he learned the trade of carpenter with such a measure of efficiency as to be able to uphold the ancestral prestige of the family name in this connection. In 1871 he came to the United States and established his residence in New York city. There he followed hfs trade for the ensuing six years, at the expiration of which, in 1877, he came to Nebraska, with Gage county as his destination. In the following year he purchased twenty acres of land; in Midland township, and there he continued to maintain his home for thirty-two years, giving his attention to farm enterprise and eventually developing a good property, which he still owns. Upon leaving the farm Mr. Werner removed to Beatrice and resumed the work of his trade. Here he continued his activities as a contractor and builder until 1908, since which time he has served continuously, through successive reappointments, as steward of the Nebraska Home for the Feeble Minded, his retention of the office affording the best evidence of the efficiency of his administration. He is a Democrat in his political adherency and served two years as a member of the county board of -supervisors. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, his wife having been a

In 1875 Mr. Werner wedded Miss Nepotnocena Musialowska, who was bom in Poland and whose death occurred in 1894. Concerning the children of this union the following brief record is available : Josie is the wife of Albert Hetherington, of Beatrice; Sophia Anna remains with her father; Mary is the wife of Michael Rooney, a farmer in the state of Wyoming; Lulu remains at the paternal home ; Leo is associated with his father-in-law, Louis Graff, in the lumber business at Beatrice; Nettie is employed in the office of a leading trade journal in the city of Lincoln; and Dorothy is the wife of Edwin Graff, of Blakely township.

MARTIN V. B. NICHOLS, one of the well known and highly honored citizens of Beatrice, was born at Newark, New York, March 17, 1835, a son of Samuel F. Nichols, M. D., who was a representative physician in Wayne county. New York. In 1844 Dr. Nichols removed with his family to Wisconsin, where he platted the village of Albany and became the virtual founder of the same. There he organized the Northwestern Stage Company, which has continued operations for more than half a century, and he became one of the prominent and influential citizens of the Badger state, his wife having been a member of a prominent family in Wayne county. New York, one of her brothers having been superintendent of the historic old Erie canal, besides having served as a member of the state senate of New York. The maiden name of Mrs. Nichols was Julia A. Bartle.

Martin Van Buren Nichols was afforded the advantages of the common schools of his native state, and also attended an academy at Platteville, Wisconsin, in which state he later was a student in Beloit College. As a youth he became associated with the stage company organized by his father at Black River Falls, Wisconsin, and in 1858, he was placed in charge of the company's business, as general manager in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. He eventually became one of the largest stockholders of this pioneer corporation, the Northwestern Stage Company, which later assumed control of the business of the El Paso Stage Company, operating in the southwest. In 1878 the Northwestern Stage Company operated the most expeditious mail service ever given to the government by a stage line - this operation having been between Los Angeles and Soledad, California. During the climacteric period of the Civil war Mr. Nichols served as provost marshal in Minnesota, the stage company with which he was identified having at the time been running stages through the Winnebago Indian reservation, and the historic New Ulm massacre having there taken place within this period. Mr. Nichols loaded wagons with arms and munitions and set forth, as provost marshal, for Mankato. En route he encountered his own men and stock and as the men were fleeing to a point of safety he ordered them all to turn back, the little band which was thus reinforced having thereafter taken general part in conflict with the insubordinate Indians.

In 1867 Mr. Nichols came to Nebraska and for a time he maintained his residence at Nebraska City, as representative of the Northwestern Stage Company. In 1869 he removed to Osage, Iowa, and there the family home was maintained for the ensuing nineteen years. He continued his active association with the operation of stage lines until the construction of railroads caused the business to wane, the Northwestern Stage Company having been the first to establish stage service between Nebraska City and Beatrice, and the organization of the company being still maintained, with Mr. Nichols as general manager.

Mr. Nichols held the responsible post of general manager of the Northwestern Stage Company during the years in which it was conducting active and important operations in many states of the west and northwest. Passengers were conveyed in "Concord coaches" and stages, and the company became associated with the El Paso Stage Company in operations in Texas and other southern states after the close of the Civil war, their mail receipts at this period running as high as one million dollars annually and the express business handled being correspondingly large. At the time when the Missouri, Kansas & Tocas Railroad was in process of construction the Northwestern Stage Company operated a line of stages between Fort Scott, Kansas, and Austin, Texas, and between Little Rock Arkansas, and Hot Springs. In this enterprise were utilized Concord coaches with six-horse teams, and ambulances for the sick were provided by the company. This line was in operation at the time when the epidemic of epizootic swept over virtually the entire country, and all of its horses were afflicted with the malady, with, however, very few fatal cases, owing to the wise policies adopted in caring for the animals. The horses, when so badly afflicted with phleghm in the throat that they could hardly breathe and could move only with difficulty, were harnessed to the stages and started forth on a slow walk. After going four or five miles they would sweat profusely and become so limbered up that they could thereafter proceed along their regular route. After their journey was completed they would be carefully blanketed and each horse be given a good dose of whisky and pepper. After eating they would, in" three or four hours, again be in the same condition as on the previous day, and could not eat or drink. The epidemic continued about two months but by following the system described the stage company not only saved its horses but continued to use them in the active service. For service in Nebraska the company first stocked its line for the passenger and mail transportation between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska, and the route was along the river on the Kansas side. Much of the road along this route was in very bad condition, and two days and one night were demanded in, making the stage journe)' of one hundred and fifty miles. Mr. Nichols made an admirable record in handling the important transportation service of the pioneer days, and it is pleasing to enter these brief details concerning that period.

progress. Here he has served as president ot the Union Savings Bank, and at the. present time he is vice-president of the First National Bank. He is a staunch advocate of the principles of the Repul)lican party and he and his wife hold to the faith of the Presbyterian church.

In June, 1865, Mr. Nichols married Miss Frances A. Lindsley, daughter of Charles H. and Sylvia (Willard) Lindsley, of Rochester, Minnesota, and the three children of this union are Stella, who is the wife of Charles H. Van Arsdale, of Beatrice; Samuel F.,, of whom specific mention is made on other pages; and Grace, who is the wife of Walter S. McLucas, president of the Commerce Trust Company, of Kansas City, Missouri.

Mr. Nichols gained wide and varied experience in connection with pioneer life on the frontier and it is interesting to record that he became closely associated with the interests of Nebraska in the year that marked the admission of the territory to statehood. He is one of the venerable pioneer citizens of Beatrice and it is most consistent to pay to him this tribute in the history of the county and the state.

BYRON P. ZUVER. - In the years that have passed, many of the illustrious citizens of Gage county have gone to their reward. The impress of their lives and the evidences of their labors are felt on every hand, and lesson and incentive are given in reviewing the life records of such noble men of the past. The following is a copy of the record prepared for a former publication of Gage county personal histories, and the context/ fully merits reproduction in this volume.

"The grandparents upon the paternal side of the family of which Byron P. Zuver is a member were Henry and Margaret (Schneir der) Zuver ; upon the maternal side, John and Elizabeth (Zuver) Kerns. Both these families were of Holland Dutch origin, and representatives of both became residents of America prior to the Revolutionary war. The history of the Kerns family in America dates back to 1727. The two families included within their

-circles a large number of children, of wJhiom were Solomon Zuver and Julia Ann Kerns, the father and mother of Byron P. Zuver. Solomon Zuver was born in the year 1819, in Pennsylvania, and his wife was born in Ohio. They were united in marriage in 1839, in Wayne county, Ohio, .whither the father of our subject had accompanied his parents. Of (this union there were born five children, the eldest of these being Byron -P. The others Sarah, John H., George W., and Henry. The last named died when quite young ; John H. departed this life in 1883,: in Sonoma county, California ; Sarah resides in' Los Angeles, that state; and George W. lives near Adams, Nebraska.

"Solomon Zuver became prospeirous in his farming and mercantile business, which very rapidly expanded, and in a short time he became comparatively well-to-do, but reverses rapidly upon the heels of success, owing to some unfortunate transactions, and his fortune melted away, leaving him nothing but the unsubstantial memory and sometimes Mtter reflections of baffled hopes and desires. 'In 1855, a poor man and- starting life the second time, he moved to Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, where he wais one of the early pioneers. He there engaged in keeping hotel, and by the summer of 1864 he had so succeeded in business as to be able to make a somewhat extended trip to the Pacific coast and through the northwestern states. Upon his return home he removed- to Kansas, where he lived until October 5, 1878, when he departed this life; at the age of fifty-eight years. He was jnarried three times, but had, no children by the last two marriages.

' "Byron P. Zuver was born November 8, 1840, in Wayne county,. Ohio. After the removal of the family to Iowa he attended the common schools, and in the winter of 1860 he taught school. , He left the teacher's desk to attend classes of Western College, in Linn county, Iowa. April 28, 1861, he enlisted in JjCompany D, Twelfth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, being the first to enlist from, this county. Owing to the fact that only three-months men could be utilized to advantage, he was obliged to re-enlist, on the 20th of September, 1861. The organization of this company for service was at Cedar Rapids, where the ladies of the city presented them with a silken flag that was afterwards carried into the conflict and became a source of inspiration and courage to the jaded and weary soldiers. From that city they went to Dubuque, and November 28th they proceeded by railroad to St. Louis, where they were Stationed until January 28, 1862. They then went to Smithland, Kentucky, thence to Fort Henry, which was reached February' 6th, and' that very day the fort siirrendered. Mr. Zuver was an active participant in the battle and splendid victory of Fort Donelson. At Mineral Landing they took the boats for Pittsburg Landing, where they arrived March 20th, and on the 6th of the following month they were in the battle of Shiloh- On the evening of that day several regiments were taken prisoners, among them the Twelfth Iowa, which had been in the conflict all day and which fought to the bitter end, in the portion of the field known by, the e;nemy. as Hornet's Nest and Hell's PIoHow.

"The prisongrs - among them Mr. Zuver - \vere hurried off to Corinth and thence to Memphis; from Memphis they were transferred successively to Granada, Jackson, and Meridian^ Mississippi, and finally to Mobile, Alabama, where they were put upon boats and sent to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, their arrival at this point occurring on the tenth day of their imprisonment. It was the great misfortune of these prisoners to be under the charge of the notorious tyrant, Henry Wirz, of Andersonville-Prison fame, and from him they suflfered, directly or indirectly, the most scandalous treatment and untold brutahty. Leaving Tuscaloosa, they were then taken to Montgomery, Alabama, and there they were paroled, on the 22d of May. Mr. Zuver rejoined the army, on the 30th of the same month, at Hunts ville, Alabama, and as a paroled prisoner-of-war he was sent to Nashville, Louisville, Cairo, and finally, on the 10th day of July, to Benton Barracks, at St. Louis, Missouri.- Here he remained until the reorganization of the regi-

"Leaving St. Louis on the 9th of April, Mr. Zuver with his regiment started once more to the front. Their first battle was that of Grand Gulf, Louisiana, and this was speedily followed by the engagements at Fort Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Clinton, Edmund Station, Champion Hills, Black River Bridge. They then went on to the seige of Vicksburg, near which city they remained until its fall, July 4, 1863. They next engaged in the eight days' seige of Jackson, Mississippi, which fell in the same month. Next was the battle of Brandon, which was fought on the 19th of July. Returning to Vicksburg, they were stationed there until the Canton expedition, in October, in which they took part. In the next month they went back to Memphis, guarding the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, and in this work the regiment continued during the winter of 1863-1864, at Chewalla, Tennessee.

"On Christmas day of the year 1863 Mr. Zuver re-enlisted as a veteran, and February 1, 1864, he started once more for Vicksburg, where the regiment was engaged in guard duty at the Black River Bridge until the 4th of March. The next four days were spent at Vicksburg, and March 8th they left for home, arriving at Davenport, Iowa, on the 22d After much needed rest and recreation, they reassembled at Davenport on the 26th of April, proceeding immediately to Memphis, where they arrived May 1st and were engaged in picket duty until the 16th. Active hostilities for this company re-commenced with the battle of Tupelo, which lasted from the 13th to the 16th of July. This was the occasion when the Twelfth Iowa Regiment covered itself with a mantle of glory that can never grow old or dim; they were the heroes of the day. Upon the 22d they were back to Memphis and on the 31st of the same month they started out for the Oxford expedition. At this period Mr. Zuver was detailed for provost duty part of the time, at Holly Springs, and also took part in the battles of Abbeville and Tallahatchie, Mississippi.

30th of August and then proceeded to Duval's Bluff, on the 8th of September, thence to Brownsville on the 11th, then leaving to go on the "Pap" Price expedition, in which they followed Price and his forces for three hundred and fifty miles. Landing at Cape Girardeau, Missouri on the 5th of October, they went to St. Louis; thence to Jeflferson City, arriving on the 18th; thence by cars to LaMine Bridge, where they set forth on the march to the scene of action. On the way they passed through Sedalia, Lexington and Independence, arriving on the battlefield of the Big Blue on the 24th of the same month, - just after the fight was over. From that place they went to Santa Fe, Kansas, reaching Harrisonville, Missouri, on the 26th. They left again on the 30th, for St. Louis, via Se- . dalia.

"Upon the 8th of November Mr. Zuver voted in the capitol building of Missouri and in favor of Abraham Lincoln. This is memorable to him as being his first presidential vote. He was twenty-four years of age at the time. Leaving St. Louis on the 23d, he proceeded with his regiment to Cairo, which was reached in four days ; thence on to Nashville. December 15th and 16th he and his brave comrades were again under fire and added fresh laurels to those already won. After this they went on the Hood expedition. Mr. Zuver's regiment belonged to the Sixteenth Army Corps, which became known by the opprobrious appellation "Smith's Guerrillas." The expedition was continued to the Tennessee river, where they arrived January 2, 1865. On the 10th they were at Eastport, Mississippi, where they remained the 7th of February. Then they went to Paducah, Cairo, Memphis, Vicksburg and New Orleans, in which last named city they arrived on the 21st. During this time Mr. Zuver, being detached from his regiment, was transferred to the ordnance department of the division, as ordnance sergeant, in which service he remained until near the close of the war.

fort and also that of Fort Blakesley, which fell April 10, 1865, and was the cause of the evacuation of Mobile the next day. Thence they marched to Montgomery, Alabama, which was reached upon the 25th. During the said march they learned of Lee's surrender, and shortly afterward of Johnston's. During the summer and fall of 1865 they did duty at Selma and Talladega, and they then took up their march to Memphis, Tennessee, proceeding onward to Demolis, Meridian and Corinth, at which last point they arrived January 3, 1866. Mr. Zuver returned to his company on the 19th of July, 1865, with the rank of sergeant. Leaving Memphis on the 18th, they reached Cairo on the 20th and Davenport on the 23d. The regiment was mustered out, to date the 20th of January, and was paid off on arrival at Davenport, where the gallant comrades, had marched, labored, fought and suffered together so long, answered the words of command for the last time, bade each other their affectionate farewells, and disbanded.

"Mr. Zuver was in the service of his country during a period of four years and four months. Within this time he marched over four thousand miles, in all weathers, suffering from heat and dust, frost and wet, passing over roads rough, hard and rocky, . and through streams and swjmips, or plodding wearily through deep clay and mud, - no easy task or pleasant journey. It is somewhat remarkable that in spite of the fact that Mr. Zuver was so long in the service, so often an active combatant, so often engaged in lesser hand-to-hand conflicts, he sustained only one wound, and that of a comparatively slight nature, - this occurring at the battle of Shiloh. He kept a very careful record of all the happenings and circumstances of any importance from the first to the last of his military experience and has since written a very complete, accurate and interesting history of Company D, Twelfth Iowa Veteran Volunteers, besides which he has received the honor of an appointment as a member of the regimental historical committee.

"After the war Mr. Zuver returned to Mason City, Iowa, and engaged as clerk in a mercantile house, but in the fall of 1866 he engaged in the hotel business at Waterloo, Iowa. There he continued until the spring of the following year, when he came with his brother, George W., to Nebraska City, where he arrived on the 1st of July, reaching Brownville the next day. During the summer he engaged in farming, and in the winter in teaching school. Upon the 17th of July, 1867, Mr. Zuver took a homestead in Hooker township. Gage county, and it was during this time that he became acquainted with Miss Nancy Adams, the daughter of John O. Adams, the first settler of Gage county, whose record appears elsewhere in this volume. October 16, 1873, Mr. Zuver and Miss Nancy Adams were joined in holy wedlock. Nancy Adams was born October 16, 1842, in Du- Bois county, Indiana, where she continued to make her home until she was fourteen years of age, when she came with her parents to Nebraska Territory, in 1857. Her education was, by force of circumstances, quite meager so far as schooling went, although she has earnestly endeavored to make up for any loss in that direction. The first school in upper Nemaha Valley was held in the house of her father, who did everything in his power to advance the interests of the young people.

"Mr. Zuver owned one hundred and sixty acres of land in Hooker township and two hundred and forty acres in Adams township, where he resided. He was a member of the Post No. 100, Grand Army of the Republic, at Adams, of which he was commander for two years and adjutant for a number of years. For several years, he was justice of the peace in Hooker township and also in Adams township. He served also as township assessor and deputy county assessor, as well as a member of the petit jury and the United States circuit jury. For a number of years he was appointed by the governor as the register of voters. It is hardly necessary after the foregoing military and official "record to state that in political matters Mr. Zuver was an uncompromising Republican and

"An intimation has already been made to the effect that Mr. Zuver has made a reputation as a writer upon the thrilling, painful and patriotic history of the war. To this department of literature he added that of a writer of travels. The productions of his pen in this department are very interesting, because he is a man of keen perceptions and knows what to observe and how to observe it, and what is perhaps more rare, how to present it. In 1884 he made a trip to California, and concerning the journey he supplied the columns of the Beatrice Express with regular letters of deep interest. Comment on such history is superfluous ; it is its own compliment as to the character of Mr. Zuver and the estimation in which he was held by his fellow men."

Mr. Zuver continued a resident of Gage county until his death, which occurred March 21, 1893. From 1880 until his death he was in the United States railway service. His wife passed away April 28, 1898. The children born to this worthy couple were six in number: Georgia L. died at the age of thirteen years ; Mary A. and Martha are twins, the former being the wife of Daniel E. Tracey, of whom special mention is made on other pages of this volume, and the latter being the wife of E. H. Whittemore, of Adams, this county ; Anna and John A. died in infancy ; and Byron P. is a resident of Ellendale, North Dakota.