Gage County, Nebraska - Chapter 31: People Who Have Done Their Part in Making Gage County, 1918 (part 23 of 29)

PERCY J. CHAPMAN. - The history of the early '80s in Gage county is made up of the rapid settlement of its lands by the numbers of people who came at this time to make their home upon her soil. One of the young men who came with his parents to Gage county is Percy J. Chapman, who is one of Blue Springs township's representative citizens.

Percy Chapman was born July 31, 1871, in Woodford county, Illinois, where his parents, John and Verona (Kellogg) Chapman, had lived for forty years previously to thei,r coming to Gage county to make their home. John Chapman was born in 1825, in Connecticut, and in the early days of our nation's history his parents immigrated to the state of Ohio, where he received his education and learned the shoemaker's trade. In Vermont Mr.

Chapman was married to Verona Kellogg, who was born in 1834, in that state. In the early '40s Mr. and Mrs. Chapman moved to Illinois and for forty years they labored to win the living which would give their sons and daughters, growing up around them, strong minds and strong bodies. In 1885, after disposing of their land- in Illinois, they came to Gage county, where John Chapman purchased two hundred and sixty acres of land and tilled it until his retirement to Beatrice. He passed from this life in 1903. His wife, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, is still residing in Beatrice. For further family history see Lee L. Chapman sketch in this volume.

The fourteen years of Percy J. Chapman's life spent in Illinois were under the parental roof, learning the lessons of childhood under their direction and that of the school teachet at the district school. He remained with his parents on the farm until his marriage, in 1895, to Millie M. Swett, who was born in Gage county. She is a daughter of Merton L. and Mary (LaGorgue) Swett, the former born in 1850, in Wisconsin, and the latter 1853, in Iowa. They commenced their home building in Gage county, where they married in 1873, and this was the home until 1914, when Mr. Swett retired to live in Beatrices where he is still making his home. His wife passed away in 1908. Five children were born to them, three of whom are living - Millie M., wife of Percy J. Chapman; Effie, wife of W. H. Reid, living in Sicily township ; and Hattie, the wife of E. W. Calkins, also in Sicily township.

Mr. Chapman has recently purchased the home farm where he lives and he is doing a general farming business, keeping a good grade of cattle and hogs. His lodge affiliations are with the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, his political views are in harmony with the Democratic party, and he is serving as township assessor at the present time ( 1918) . He and his wife are members of the Brethren church. Three children, Clarence, Wesley, and Myrtle, have come to bless this

HIRAM SIZER BARNUM, the subject of this sketch, was born at Buffalo, New York, November 11, 1837. His ancestry runs back to two well known New England families, the Barnums and Howards. His paternal grandparents, Eli Barnum and Mary .(Dibble) Barnum, were both natives of the state of Connecticut. They were born and reared in the city of Danbury and were married there. After their marriage, in 1810, they emigrated to Trumbull county, Ohio, where they purchased land in the deep woods, three miles from the nearest settler. This they cleared and finally developed into a good farm. They also erected a flouring mill, on a stream known as Eagle creek. Their home was always the abode of free-hearted hospitality and the scene of many a cheerful gathering. Here EH Barnum passed away ar the age of seventy-six years, and his wife, Mary, surviving him, died at the age of eighty-five years.

Hiram Barnum, their son, was born on his father's Trumbull coi'nty farm in 1811, and obtaining a good, usable education, on reaching his majority, he made his way to Buffalo, New York, where he began life as a broker. Here he met and married Miss Irena Howard, a member of the well known Howard family of Vermont. Five children were the fruit of this marriage, three sons and two daughters. The daughters, Lucy and Mary, both died in childhood. The sons were Eli Howard Barnum, Hiram S'izer Barnum, and Samuel H. Barnum. The oldest son, Eli, after serving through the great Civil war with an Illinois regiment and accompanying Sherman on his "march to the sea," died many years ago in Illinois. Samuel H. Barnum, the youngest son, lost his life in the ranks of the Union army in the terrible battle of Chancellorsville, in May, 1863.

When the subject of this sketch was one year old, his parents moved from New York to Trumbull county, Ohio, then to Akron, in Summit county, and returning to Trumbull county, finally settled on the ancestral estate of the Barnum family, where they remained until both had paid the last great debt of nature, Hiram passing away at the age of seventy-six years and his venerable wife at the age of ninety-three.

Hiram Sizer Barnum remained' with his parents until the spring of 1859, when, accompanied by his cousin, Eli B. Hendy, he crossed the Missouri river at Nebraska City, on the 20th day of April, and entered the new territory of Nebraska. After several days spent there in inquiry and deliberation, they resolved to investigate the region of country known as the valley of the Big Blue river. Moving westward, the cousins, on May 24th, came to Blue Springs, in Gage county. On all their long journey they found little but a broad expanse of unbroken prairie, diversified to some extent by stream and wood, with here and there, along the timbered water-courses, a squatter on the public domain. At that time there were not to exceed one hundred white people in all Gage county, and save the smiling face that nature wore, there was nothing to attract the young and aspiring. But the spell of the wide, rolling prairie, the dark-blue sky and the far mystery of distances fell upon them, and these young men, with the prevision of the true pioneer, resolved to cast their lots with the handful of settlers whom they found here clinging to the very rim of civilization. Both were poor, but they possessed the alchemy of youth, which, like the philosopher's stone, turns everything it touches into silver and gold. They settled on vacant tracts of prairie land in Blue Springs township, about two miles north of Blue Springs, and at once became identified with the destiny of Gag6 county and of the great territory of which it formed a part. Mr. Hendy, shortly after his arrival here, married Caroline C. Coffinberry, a member of a pioneer family of Rockford township, and was one of the early sheriffs of Gage county. Years ago he returned to New Jersey to live, and there, at a ripe old age and much respected, he passed away several years ago. Mr. Barnum except for a temporary residence in another county of the state, has always remained a citizen of Gage county. Though stricken with age and weakness, he is still a living representative of that heroic band of pioneers who were the first to brave the dangers and hardships attending the early settlement of Gage county.

Mr. Barnum has always led the life of a farmer or a business man. The single exception to this is his service in the army during the Civil war. On the 1st day of September, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Curtis Horse, a Nebraska military organization which was afterward united with the Fifth Iowa Cavalry, and he served as a soldier in defence of the Union until November 11, 1862, when he was honorably discharged, for disabilities received in the line of duty, at Hieman, in the state of Kentucky.

Mr. Barnum acquired title to one hundred and ' twenty acres of land in Blue Springs township, where he resided until 1870, when he sold his stock and farm produce and with the proceeds purchased lumber at Brownville, on the Missouri river, which he hauled to Blue Springs with wagons, a distance of seventy miles, and erected a small house in that village. He also built a rough stable for his own use. There being at that time no accommodations for travelers at Blue Springs, Mr. Barnum hospitably opened' his house and barn to travelers, and gradually this expanded qntil it became a business of considerable importance. "Barnum's Pioneer Livery Stable" at Blue Springs was known far and wide in this, section of country, and his home for many years partook of the nature of a wayside inn. In 1899 Mr. Barnum sold his business in Blue Springs and moved to Beatrice, where he purchased a residence on East Court street, where he now resides.

On the 19th day of April, 1863, Mr. Barnum married Mrs. Myra (Shelley) Rappleye, who was the daughter of Francis and Fanny (Hollings worth) Shelley, pioneer settlers of Rockford township. She was born in Derbyshire, England, and came with her parents to America when a girl fourteen years of age. She was a very capable woman, and the object of the affection of a large circle of rela- tives and friends. She died at Beatrice on the 15th day of December, 1913, leaving behind her the memory of a beautiful life. The fruit of this marriage was two sons and two daughters. One son, Samuel, died in infancy. The other, EH Howard Barnum, was born at Blue Springs, grew to manhood there, and in 1892, married Miss Clara Robertson. He is now a member of a well known stock-commission firm in Omaha. The daughters, Kate and Rosa, were both for some years school teachers. The elder daughter, Kate, in 1891, married Josiah A. Van Orsdel, at Blue Springs, and almost immediately they left for Cheyenne, Wyoming, where Mr. Van Orsdel engaged in the practice of law. He was for some years attorney general of the state of Wyoming and associate justice of the supreme court of that state. For the past ten years he has been associate justice of the court of appeals of the District of Columbia and lives the greater part of the year in Washington, When not engaged in official duty, his home is in Beatrice, where he owns an elegant residence, at the corner of Thirteenth and Washington streets. The younger daughter, Rosa, in 1901, married Dr. B. L. Spellman, a leading dentist in the city of Beatrice. They live in a pleasant home at the corner of Tenth and Ella streets.

Mr. Barnum in his old age is surrounded by his children and grandchildren, who tenderly watch over his declining years and with great solicitude minister to his every want. Behind him lie many years of honorable and blameless life, and with an unfaltering trust in Almighty God he approaches the time when lie may wrap the drapery of couch around him and lie down to pleasant dreams.

ALVIN D. SPENCER. - The life story of Alvin D. Spencer, banker, ex-representative, and ex-senator, is a record of the doings of a successful man of aflfairs who has won his place in the citizenship of Barneston by virtue of a decided ability of a high order.

Oscar Spencer was born in 1833, in Jefferson county, New York, the son of Samuel Spencer, who also named Jefferson county, New York, as his birthplace. Samuel Spencer was a cooper by trade and followed his trade all of his life, the latter years were spent in Lincoln, Nebraska, where his decease occurred in 1899. His son, Oscar Spencer, was given a very good education, fitting him for his life work of bookkeeper. For a few years was a school teacher in New York, but later took up bookkeeping at Freeport, Illinois, with a harvester company. September 19, 1854, he married Mary Daniels, who was the daughter of Joseph and Mary (Tucker) Daniels. She was born in Jefferson county, which was also the birthplace of her parents. Mr. Daniels was a cooper by trade and was laid to rest in Adams, New York.

Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Spencer, in 1862, came to Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and first located in Nora, Illinois, where they remained for some years. Mr. Spencer then was employed in the thriving city of Freeport, same county, as a bookkeeper. As the years progressed, four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, as follows: Jay A. is in the hardware business at Barneston, Nebraska; Edsoti R. is in the wholesale casket and undertaking supplies business at Des Moines, Iowa ; Evelyn O. is in the same business, located at Wichita, Kansas; Alvin D. is the subject of this sketch.

In 1877 Oscar Spencer came to Lincoln, Nebraska, and was employed as a bookkeeper in the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company's general agen:y. He was a member of the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons and he and his wife were members of the Methodist church. His life was an inspiration to his sons, who have taken their positions in the world of affairs. Both he and his good wife are deceased. The former died in Lincoln, and the latter at Barnston, in 1909.

Alvin D. Spencer attended the public schools of Lincoln and his education was supplemented by a course at the F. F. Roos Business College at Lincoln, which fitted him for his life work of bookkeeper and banker.

employed as bookkeeper in McCormick Harvester Company's main office at Lincoln. In this position he was so capable and rendered su:h efficient service that he v^^as elected the cashier of the forenamed company in 1896. He continued in this position until he severed his connections with the McCormick Harvester Company, in 1898, and purchased the Bank of Barneston, at Barnestone, Nebraska. This institution is capitalized at $5,000; with a surplus of $1,000; undivided profits, $1,425; deposits, $140,000. For a number of years, Mr. Spencer was the owner of the Spencer Elevator at Barneston, but he has discontinued this business and confines his efforts to the banking business.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, January 25, 1893, was solemnized the marriage of Alvin D. Spencer and Miss Emma Glover. She is the daughter of Peter and Mary (Crawford) Glover, farmers in Lancaster county. Mrs. Spencer was born March 22, 1873, in- Malcomb, and was educated at Lincoln institutions of learning. No children have been born to this union.

Mr. Spencer - exercises his right of franchise by voting the Republican ticket and upholding- its principles in national, state, and local affairs. In 1900 the voters of district No. 34, composed of Gage and Saline counties, elected Mr. Spencer to represent them in the twenty-seventh sessioii' of the house of representatives. In 1916 he. was elected state senator, from the Fourteenth district, composed of Gage and Pawnee counties. In these two houses of our law-rnaking institution he served his people faithfully and well, looking after the best interests of his district and the state at large.

He has served as treasurer and clerk and village trustee for years and is now clerk. He has also been justice of the peace of Barneston township and a member of the local school board. In all of these positions, he has shown a rare genius of administering the affairs of his fellow voters in a highly efficient manner.

Mr. Spencer is a member of the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons and in this great fraternal organization he has received the th'.rty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He

C. L. Evans was born in Ohio and when a young man moved to Iowa, where he engaged in farming. About forty-five years ago Mr. Evans came to Fillmore county, Nebraska, where he took a homestead near what is now the town of Geneva. A few years later Mr. Evans was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Ward, of Geneva, Nebraska, and to this union were born six children: Albert, superintendent of schools at Dow City, Iowa ; Le Roy, of Fairbury, Nebraska; Jay, a merchant of La Porte, Indiana; Dr. Ira W., of Beatrice, Nebraska ; Mary, widow of W. L. Martin, living in Omaha, Nebraska,; and Iva, wife of William Bennett, of Iowa. C. L. Evans has now retired and makes his home in Omaha, Nebraska. His wife passed away July 27, 1915.

Dr. Ira W. Evans was educated jin the schools of Geneva, Nebraska, and is a graduate of the Ka,nsas City Veterinary College, class of 1915. He began the practice of his profession in Bruning, Nebraska, in 1915, and remained there until April, 1917, when he moved to Beatrice, where he has built up a fine practice, where he enjoys the confidence of the people, and where he is considered one of the leading veterinarians in the community.

ARON E. CLAASSEN is consistently to be designated as one of the sterling pioneer citizens of Gage county,' is a man of vigorous mentality and impregnable integrity and through his own well directed endeavors he has become one of the representative exponents of agricultural and live-stock enterprise in Gage county, where he is the owner of a valuable landed estate of seven hundred and twenty acres, his finely improved homestead farm being situated in Section 18, Riverside township, five miles west of the city of Beatrice. Mr. Claassen still gives a general supervision to his extensive farm interests.

though the active management of the farms is now reposed in his sons, who are well upholding the industrial and civic prestige of the family name. He has much of his land under a high state of cultivation and also makes a specialty of breeding and raising the best type of Hampshire swine.

Mr. Claassen was born in the west Prussian province of Dantzic, Germany, May 28, 1850, and is a son of John and Catherine (Entz) Claassen, of whose three children he is the firstborn, his father having been twice married and having passed his entire life in that section of the German empire. After his death his widow came with her three children to America, in 1874, and after remaining for a time in Canada she became a member of the company of one hundred and twenty-eight Mennonites who founded a colony at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and she passed the closing years of her life in Beatrice, where she died at the age of seventy-three years, she having been a devout member of the Mennonite church, as was also her husband. The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in his native land and was twenty-four years of age when he accompanied his widowed mother to America. He remained for a time with the Mennonite colony at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and then set forth to seek a location in which he might successfully initiate his independent activities as a farmer. In this quest he traveled through Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska, and finally, in 1876, he and his brother Jacob purchased a section of land in Riverside township, Gage county, his present homestead farm being a part of this tract. The brothers here continued to be closely associated in their farm enterprise for seven years, and in the meanwhile both married. The passing years, marked by diligent and well directed application and progressive policies, have brought generous prosperity to the honored subject of this review, and the tangible evidence is afforded in his ownership of his present large and well improved landed estate.

Anna Jansen, who has proved a devoted wife and helpmeet and the gracious mother of their fine family of children. Mrs. Claassen was born in Prussia, Germany, March 23, 1856, and was a child of six months when her parents, Cornelius and Helena (VonRiesen) Jansen, removed to Russia, where she was reared and educated. In 1873 Mr. Jansen came with his family to America and settled near Berlin, Waterloo county, Ontario, Canada, whence he later removed to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, as a member of the previously mentioned Mennonite colony. In 1876 he came with his family to Gage county, where he became an extensive land owner but made his home in Beatrice. Here he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of six children: Margaret died in childhood; Peter, who is now living retired in the city of Beatrice, was long numbered among the leading ranchers of the state and is an influential citizen who represented in the state senate the district comprising Gage, Pawnee, and Jefferson counties ; Mrs. Claassen was next in order of birth ; John is now a resident of Saskatchewan, Canada; Miss Helen maintains her residence in Beatrice; and Cornelius, who was formerly a popular teacher in the public schools of Beatrice, is now a resident of Pasadena, California. In politics Mr. Claassen is a liberal Republican, more for the man than party, and as a citizen he has been most liberal and progressive. Both he and his wife are earnest members of the Mennonite church and their sterling attributes have gained and retained to them the high regard of all who know them. Of their ten children the first two died in infancy; Cornelius is cashier of the Peters Trust Company, in the city of Omaha ; John J. has active management of the old homestead farm; Aron J. is a successful farmer in Lincoln township; Daniel died at the age of ten years; Anna is, in 1918, a student in the University of Nebraska, at Lincoln; Catherine is a student in a hospital for trained nurses, in the city of Omaha;. the ninth child died in infancy; and Margaret remains at the parental home.

JASPER H. PENCE is a successful exponent of farm enterprise in Logan township, where he is the owner of a good farm of one hundred acres, in Section 5, and where he is conducting well ordered operations as an agri-_^. culturist and stockgrower. He was born in Adams county, Ohio, November 24, 1857, was reared to the sturdy discipline of his father's farm and received in his youth the advantages of the common schools, his parents, Harrison and Mary J. Pence having passed their entire lives in Adams county, Ohio, and having been representatives of sterling pioneer families of the Buckeye state.

In his native state Jasper H. Pence continued his alliance with farm enterprise until 1884, when he came to Nebraska and estab-»', lished his residence in Gage county. For several years thereafter he was engaged in farming on rented land and he then purchased forty acres, to which he later added an adjoining forty acres. He made improvements on this property and upon selling the same he purchased his present homestead, upon which he has since continued. <|iis successful enterprise as a substantial farmer, the while he is known for his sterling integrity and for his loyalty as a citizen. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic g^rty and he and his wife became in their yo'u.th active members of the Church of the Bretlfren, with which he has continued his earnest affiliation.

As a young man of twenty-six years Mr. Pence wedded Miss Mary E. Roush, who likewise was born in Ohio, and her death occurred December 24, 1900. She is survived by four children - Walter S., Grace, Edna;'' and Clifford D. , . ',^.,

HERMAN CARSTENS is the owner of a fine farm of six hundred and twenty acres, in Sections 11, 12, and 13, Riverside township, where in addition to general agricultural production he gives attention also to the raising of Poland-China swine and graded short-horn cattle.

whom four children were born. After the death of his first wife George Carstens wedded Miss lyulu Bowser, and of this union were likewise born four children. George Carstens

, was bom in Oldenburg, Germany, in October, 1828, and was one of the venerable and honored citizens of Gage county at .the time of his death, in 1910. He came to America in the year 1858 and after remaining for a time in Brown county, Illinois, he removed to Clayton township, Adams county, that state, where he became a prosperous farmer. In 1890 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and settled in Hanover township, where he became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land and where he continued his association

, with farm Hijdustry t^htll hjs ^death, his religious faith having been that 6f the Lutheran church. Of the children of his first marriage the eldest is Ariiia, wite.of J$artdel Aden, of Hanover township,- Minnie is the wife of George Ordgisen, of Hildreth, Franklin county;. Richard is a resident of Meadow Grove, Madison county ; and Herman, of this review is the youngest, he having been two years old at the time of his mother's death. John G., eldest child of the second marriage, is a farmer of Adams township; Christopher W. is a resident of Jefferson county; Paul is a substantial farmer in Hanover township and with him remains his sister, Mary, the mother having died in 1916, at the age of seventy-eight ye^rs.

Herman Carstens was a yttung man at the time of the family removal to Gage county and he was assisted by his father in gaining a start as an independent farmer. In 1901 he

'purchased a portion of his present well improved farm estate .and to the area of the same he has since added until he now has one of the valuable 'farm properties of the county. In politics he is a Republican and he served for a number of years as treasurer of Riverside township, an office which he resigned in 1916. He and his wife are active communicants of the Lutheran church.

-1870. Of this union have been born nine children: George is a successful farmer in Riverside township; Henry was drowned in Blue river, July 13, 1913 ; Mary is the wife of Heye Schuster, of this county; and Ella, Minnie, Leah, Paul, John H., and Emma remain at the parental home.

WALTER E. HOYLE is numbered among the progressive and successful exponents of farm industry in Holt township, where he is the owner of the northwest quarter of Section 14, and where he is giving his attention to diversified agriculture and stock-growing and makes a specialty of raising graded Duroc- Jersey swine. He was born in Lee county, Illinois, January 17, 1876, a son of Solomon and Elizabeth (Fritz) Hoyle, of whose six children the eldest is Cora, wife of Ed. C. Willie, of Midland township ; Jennie B. is the wife of Benjamin Wheeler, of Delta, Colorado; Passamore is a substantial farmer in Holt township ; Walter E., of this review, was the next in order of birth ; Eugene likewise is identified with farm^ enterprise in this county; and Margaret is the wife of Albert J. Reedy, of Lincoln, this state.

Solomon Hoyle was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in 1835, and from the old Keystone state he went to Illinois, where he remained until 1879, ^yhen he came with his family to Gage county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Hanover township. There his death occurred in the

, following year, and his widow, who was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, November 1, 1856, later became the wife of Frederick Schober, both being now deceased, her death having occurred in 1912. The one surviving child of this marriage is JuHa, wife of Howard Rutter, a farmer in Lincoln township, this county. Frederick Schober, was a soldier of the Union in the Civil war. By his first when his parents came to Gage county, and here he was reared on the farm, in the meanwhile profiting by the advantages afforded in the district schools. He has followed farming during his entire active career and purchased his present farm, of one hundred and sixty acres, in 1909, since which time he has made excellent improvements on the place. He is independent in politics and he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church, in which he is serving as trustee.

September 25, 1907, Mr. Hoyle wedded Miss Bessie Rutter, who was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of Clarence H. and Ermina (Flowers) Rutter, who now reside on their farm south of Beatrice, Mrs. Rutter being a daughter of the late John Flowers, one of the well known pioneers of Gage county. Mr. and Mrs. Hoyle have three children, - Ermina, Ralph and Luther.

CONRAD W. FRITZ is one of the enterprising and successful farmers of Hooker township, where his well improved homestead, in Section 23, gives full evidence of thrift and effective management.

Conrad William Fritz was born in the city of Joliet, Illinois, November 14, 1879, and is a son of Frederick and Johanna (Hacke) Fritz, both natives of Germany. The father was born in 1834 and was a resident of Gage county at the time of his death, September 13, 1907, his widow, who was born in 1842, remaining with her son Conrad W. on the old homestead farm. Frederick Fritz came to the - United States shortly before the outbreak of the Civil war and his deep loyalty to the country of his adoption was shown in his three years of gallant service as a Union soldier. He enlisted in Company F, Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Infantry, and with the same he continued in service until he was so severely wounded as to incapacitate him and to result in his honorable discharge. He later established his residence in Illinois, where his marriage was solemnized and where he was employed two years as a guard in the state penitentiary at Joliet. He then turned his attention to farming, in Will county, Illinois, and in 1890 he came with his family to Gage county, Nebraskia, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Hooker townshijp. He erected a good house and made other excellent improvements on the place and continued as one of the representative farmers and highly esteemed citizens of Hooker township until his death. He- was a Republican in politics, was affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic and was a Lutheran in his religious faith, his widow being a member of the German Methodist Episcopal church. Of the five children the subject of this review is the youngest of the four who survive the honored father; Amelia is the wife of Edward Gingery, of Filley township; George is a farmer near Crab Orchard, Johnson county; and John is engaged in farming in Hooker township.

Conrad W. Fritz gained his early education in the public schools of Illinois and later attended those of Hooker township. Gage county, he having been about ten years of age at the time of the family removal to Nebraska. He has been actively identified with farm enterprise since his early youth and has been specially prosperous in his independent activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower. He owns eighty acres of land in Section 14, Hooker township, and here he has erected good farm buildings, the place being a part of the old home farm of his parents and his residence being the commodious house erected by his father. He owns also an interest in the remainder of the old homestead of his father.

In 1902 Mr. Fritz married Miss Hattie I. Kritner, who was born at Sterling, Johnson county, this state, and they have four children - Elise, Milda, Florence, and Virgie.

Mr. Fritz has been influential in public affairs in Hooker township, is a stalwart advocate of the cause of the Republican party and has served as a member of the county Republican committee. He served two years, 1912-1913, as township assessor, and in 1916 was reelected to this office, for a term of two years. He has served nine years as school director and was reelected to this office in 1917, for another term of three years. He is

WILLIAM KREBS'BACH is a vigorous and ambitious young man who has through his own exertions achieved substantial success and gained for himself secure status as a representative agriculturist and stock-grower ol Gage county. His well improved farm comprises one hundred and sixty acres and is situated in Section 14, Sherman township.

Mr. Krebsbach was born in Polk county, Nebraska, May 19, 1880, and the somewhat limited educational advantages which he there received have been effectively supplemented by well ordered self-discipline, with the result that he has in large degree made good this early handicap. He is a son of John and Gertrude (Smith) Krebsbach, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in the state of Wisconsin, where their marriage was solemnized and whence they came to Nebraska and became pioneer settlers in Polk county. There John Krebsbach entered claim to a homestead and he continued his alliance with farm industry in this state until about 1905, when he sold his farm in Polk county and removed to El Campo, Texas, near which place he engaged in farming. He is now successfully engaged in the banking and investment business at El Campo. He is a Republican in politics and he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. Of their thirteen children seven are living and of the number the subject of this review is the only one residing in Gage county.

William Krebsbach continued his residence in his native county until 1898, when he came to Gage county, where for the ensuing two years he was employed by the month at farm work. For fourteen years thereafter he farmed on land which he rented from D. S. Dalbey, and in 1910 he purchased his present farm, which has since been the stage of his aggressive and successful activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower. He gives his allegiance to the Republican party and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. November 21, 1900, recorded the marriage of Mr. Krebsbach to Miss Ida Erickson, and they have four children - John Peter, Ida Belle, Maypard, and Wilma.

HANS ANDERSEN came b Gage county when a young man and by his vigorous and progressive activities as a farmer he achieved such success as to enable him at the present time to live in well earned retirement from the active labors that were long his portion. He still retains ownership of his well improved farm estate of two hundred acres, in Hooker township, but in 1909 he purchased six acres of land in the village of Filley and on the same erected the attractive and modern home in which he and his wife have since resided.

Mr. Andersen was born in Denmark, on the 21st of April, 1855, and is a son,of Nils Andersen, who was born in 1830 and who passed the closing years of his life in Gage county, where he died on the 3d of February, 1917, his vocation having been that of farming duritig his entire active career. Upon coming to Gage county he rented land and he was engaged in farming on land obtained under Scully lease at the time of his death, this farm being in Filley township, where his widow still remains on the place. The subject of this sketch is the eldest in a family of three children ; Marie is the wife of John H. Moller, of Bruce, Wisconsin, where her husband holds the office of postmaster and is engaged in the real estate business ; and the third child died in infancy. After the death of his first wife the father contracted a second marriage, and his widow still resides on the farm which he operated in Gage county, as previously noted, the five children of the second marriage all surviving the honored father. Mr. Andersen was a Democrat in politics and was a member of the Lutheran church.

Hans Andersen was reared and educated in his native land and was twenty-three years of age when he became a resident of Gage county, in 1878. For two years he was here employed by the month at farm work, and he then initiated the independent farm operations that led ultimately to his achieving large and substantial success. His civic loyalty has been of the highest order, his political support is given to the Republican party and he has served as road supervisor, as well as a member of the school, board. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church but in their home village they attend and support the Methodist Episcopal church. The maiden name of Mrs. Andersen was Marie Nelsen, and she was born and reared in Denmark, where her parents passed their entire lives. Mr. and Mrs. Andersen have no children.

Jay P. And Mason D. Clough

JAY P. AND MASON D. CLOUGH, popular representatives of one of the honored pioneer families of Gage county, were closely associated in operating two hundred and twenty acres, in Highland township, until the former entered the service of the nation in connection with its participation in the great world war, as will be more fully noted in a later paragraph. In Section 21, this township. Jay P. Clough was born on the 12th of November, 1885, a son of Marion M. and Ellen H. (Dodge) Qough, of whose eight children he was fifth in order of birth ; Nettie E. is the wife of William J. Leopold, of Orleans, Harlan county; Alta P. is the wife of Ariel A. Gillespie, of Cortland, Gage county; MaryV. is the wife of Thomas Walter Sargent, of Highland township; Florence is deceased, as are also Dessa A. and John R. ; and Mason D., who was born May 28, 1890, became the able coadjutor of his brother Jay P. in well ordered operations as agriculturists and stockgrowers.

Marion M. Clough, a man of marked ability and sterling character, became one of the extensive stock-growers and ranch men of Gage county and was a renter of Scully land - of seven hundred and twenty acres in Highland township. He was born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, March 3, 1834, a son of Horace P. and Ann (Brown) Clough, both natives of the state of New York; the mother died in Illinois, in 1867, and the father passed the closing years of his life in Gage county, Nebras- ka, where he died at a venerable age. Marion M. Clough was reared on the home farm, received the advantages of the common schools and at the age of fifteen years initiated an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade. In 1854 he engaged in the work of his trade in Henry county, Illinois, and in 1859 he established his residence at Sparta, Monroe county, Wisconsin, where he was actively identified with the lumber business until the outbreak of the Civil war. In August, 1861, he enlisted as private in Company A, Third Wisconsin Cavalry, and with his command he was assigned to the Army of the Frontier. He participated in several of the historic battles in which this army was involved, including the ten days' conflict incidental to the raid of General Price in Missouri. While engaged in repelling bushwhackers his horse was shot from under him, but he was neither wounded nor captured. He was made corporal of his company, in 1862 was promoted sergeant and he was mustered out with the rank of orderly sergeant, his honorable discharge having been granted in February, 1865.

After the close of the war Mr. Clough engaged in overlahd freighting from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Denvei-, Colorado. After one year of activity along' this line he engaged in farming and stock-growing in southwestern Missouri, where he remained until 1873, when he and his wife established their home in Gage county, Nebraska. Here he reclaimed a farm in Highland township, besides becoming one of the leading stock raisers and dealers of this county.- He remained an honored and influential citizen until his death, which occurred May 10, 1903, his widow having passed away December 14, 1916. Mr. Clough had broad and varied experience in life on the frontier and as a pioneer in Nebraska. He was affiliated actively with Monitor Post, No. 84, Grand Army of the Republic, at Cortland, and both he and his wife were active members of the Congregational church, of which he served as a deacon for a long term of years. The Clough family was founded in America in the colonial days and Horace Clough, grandfather of Marion M., was a native of New Hampshire.

December 2, 1865, Marion M. Clough wedded Miss Ellen H. Dodge, whose acquaintance he formed while serving as a soUiier of the Union, in Missouri. She was born in Vernon county, Missouri, July 2, 1847, a daughter of Edward and Phoebe (Austin) Dodge, natives of New Hampshire, the latter having been a daughter of Daniel Austin, one of the founders of the Harmony Mission for the Osage Indians and a man prominent in the pioneer history of Missouri.

Jay P. and Mason D. Clough have passed their entire lives thus far in Gage county and have upheld the honors of the family name, both as progressive farmers and as liberal and public-spirited citizens. The brothers in their business alliance proved specially successful agriculturists and stock-growers and they have a wide circle of friends in their native county, where both feceived excellent educational advantages.

At the time of this writing, in the spring of 1918, Jay P. Clough is serving his country in connection with its participation in the terrific European conflict. He is a member of the signal corps being prepared for active service at the aviation field maintained in the government camp at Greenfield, South Carolina, and ere this work is issued from the press he will have undoubtedly been called to service on the battlefields of France.

On the fourth of December, 1917, Mason D. Clough married Miss Bernice M. Culp, who v/as born at Princeton, Lancaster county, Nebraska, September 1, 1895. She is a daughter of George and Mary E. (Connor) Culp, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Iowa. Mr. Culp is living in Gage county and is eighty years of age (1918). He was a valiant Union soldier in the Civil war. His wife died in 1901, at the age of forty-two years.

GEORGE W. CAMPBELL. - Among the early settlers of Adams township may be mentioned the venerable pioneer whose name introduces this review, and none is more worthy of recognition in this history than he. A na- tive of the Keystone state, Mr. Campbell was bom on a farm in East Smithfield township, Bradford county Pennsylvania, on May the 3d, 1835. He is a son of George W. and Harriet (Kingsley) Campbell, also natives of Bradford county, and of German and Scotch Irish descent respectively. The father conducted a saw mill for a number of years, though later he became a farmer, and he and his wife spent their entire lives in Bradford county, Pennsylvania.

The subject of this record spent his boyhood days in his native county, attended country school until he had attained the age of fifteen years, and in the meanwhile he worked in the saw mill and on the farm. At the age of twenty he married Miss Mary Dewey, who was born in Chenango county, Pennsylvania, August 4, 1834, a daughter of John and Polly (Holmes) Dewey, both natives of New York state. As a girl Mrs. Campbell was bereft of her father and thereafter she made her home with a sister in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, where she taught school. She is a third cousin of Admiral Dewey, the hero of Manila Bay in the Spanish-American war.

The year after his marriage Mr. Campbell removed to Illinois and settled in Carroll county. While a resident there, a cloud arose which threatened to disrupt the Union, and when President Lincoln made the first call for volunteers Mr. Campbell responded by enlisting in Company B, Seventh Illinois Cavalry. The members of this company were mustered in at Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois, and from that place, by way of Cairo, they went to Bird's Point, Missouri, where they joined the forces of General Grant, under whose command they did skirmish duty and were ordered to Shiloh, reaching that place just after the famous battle. They took part in the first expedition against Vicksburg, but lack of supplies forced them to return to LaGrange, Tennessee. They were then placed on guard of the Tennessee river, but the approach of Price caused them to fall back to Corinth, and they took part in the second battle at that place. The winter of 1862 they spent in camp at LaGrange, Tennessee, and in the spring of

1863 they opened the Grayston raid, of sixteen days. In six days of that time Company B, Seventh Illinois Cavalry, rode four hundred and twenty-five miles by itself, fighting all along the way. At the siege of Port Hudson they guarded the road with much credit and then took boats to Memphis. They then went to CoUiersville, Tennessee, and while on picket duty there Mr. Campbell, with twenty-five of the forty-nine men thus engaged, was captured during the fight of November 3, 1863. There were five hundred Union men against t^vo thousand Confederates. The prisoners were taken to Cahoba, Alabama, where they were kept until April, 1864, when they were transferred to Andersonville Prison. The horrors of this place could not be exaggerated, awful suffering, unmitigated by a gleam of humanity on the part of their captors, made the lives of the weary victims a wretched mockery. Nauseous food, impure water, crowded and vermin-infested quarters, contributed to disease and death, which took away all but eight of the company of twenty-six. Mr. Campbell and his companions were kept there until August, 1864, when they were removed to Charleston. There they were kept four M'eeks, and they were then taken to Florence, where Mr. Campbell was released on sick parole. Upon regaining his health Mr. Campbell went to Annapolis, Marjdand, and from there he made his way to his father's home, in Pennsylvania, where he arrived in January 1865. In April of that year Mr. Campbell received his honorable discharge, after having served three years and six months. Four hundred and seventeen days of that time, however, he was held as a captive of the enemy. After returning to his family, in Illinois, Mr. Campbell was unable to work for about one year, but gradually he resumed farming.

In the spring of 1868, accompanied by his wife and their two children, Mr. Campbell started for the west and located in Nebraska, the prairies of the new state being largely unsettled at that time. He homesteaded one hundred and twenty acres in section 33, Adams township, Gage county. During the first year in the state Mr. Campbell and his family lived in a covered wagon, and with a team of mules and one yoke of oxen he broke the prairies on his own land, beside which he worked for neighbors. Nebraska City was the nearest trading point, and Mr. Campbell hauled freight from that place to Beatrice, the county seat, which was only a little village at that time. From Nebraska City Mr. Campbell hauled Cottonwood lumber to build his first house. He resolutely set' to work improving and developing his farm, and he is to-day one of the few homesteaders who still reside on the same farms which they obtained in the early pioneer days. On his present fine farm he has lived for fifty years, during which time he has prospered.

To Mr. and Mrs. Campbell were bom six children: Dtewey is residing at Buffalo, Wyoming; Nettie and Hattie are deceased; John resides in Adams, this county ; E. W. is a resident of Clarion, Iowa ; and George B. lives at Fort Morgan, Colorado.

Some years ago Mr. Campbell let the mantle of intelligently directed industry fall upon his son John W., who now owns and operates the old home place in his own behalf. George W. Campbell and his wife still reside on the old home place, where they have lived and labored side by side all these years, that their children and their children's children might reap the benefit.

Mr. Campbell has always taken a deep interest in the affairs of his community and has maintained pleasant relationship with his army comrades by membership in Sergeant Cox Post, No. 100, Grand Army of the Republic, at Adams. In the Civil war it took men of heart, brains and heroism to bear the brunt of the conflict, the toil and suffering in camp and on the march and to face starvation in prison, but Mr. Campbell was one of those valiant souls, and his life as a pioneer in Gage county reveals the same characteristics as were displayed by him during the days when he fought for the preservation of the Union.

publication, remains with his widowed mother on the old homestead farm, of which he has the active management, the same being one of the fine landed estates of Sherman township. On this farm Mr. Martin was born September 16, 1872, and his early educational advantages were those afforded in the public schools of his native township. He learned under the direction of his father the valuable lessons of practical industry and gained incidentally a thorough knowledge of the various details of farm enterprise. He has had na desire to sever his allegiance to the great basic industry under the influence of which he was thus reared and he now rents from his mother the old homestead farm, in the operations of which he is proving himself a most aggressive and successful exponent of agricultural and live-stock enterprise, the while he is upholding the civic and industrial prestige of a family name that has been worthily linked with the history of Gage county during the entire period of Nebraska statehood.

Mr. Martin is one of the influential and popular citizens of Sherman township, and has served as a member of the school board, an office of which he has been the efficient incumbent ten years. In the city of Beatrice he is affiliated with Aerie No. 351 of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

February 16, 1898, recorded the marriage of Mr. Martin to Miss Nellie Eash, who likewise was born in this county, and they have one child, Margaret, who is, in 1918, a student in the pubhc schools at Holmesville.

FRANK SCHOEN is the fortunate owner of a remarkably fine farm property of three hundred and thirty acres, improved with the best farm buildings to be found in Hooker township, where his attractive homestead is in Section 27. This distinct evidence of prosperity is the more pleasing to note by reason of the fact that Mr. Schoen was dependent entirely on his own ability and efforts in making his way to the goal of independence. He was born in the district of Friesland, province of Hanover, Germany, on the 27th of September, 1867, a son of Ahrend and Tina (John-

Frank Schoen was reared and educated in his native province and at the age of seventeen years he severed the home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in the United States, For eight years after his arrival he was employed at farm work in Illinois, and in 1892 he came to Nebraska and established his resimanagement, and he stands forth as one of the representative agriculturists and stock-growers of Hooker township, as well as a substantial and popular citizen. He is a Republican in politics but has held no public ofHce save that of road supervisor. He is vice-president of the Adams State Bank.

dence in Gage county. For the ensuing nine years he farmed on a Scully lease, in Hanover township, and he then purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Hooker township - the present Stevens farm. In 1909, after selling this farm, he purchased his present fine estate of three hundred and thirty acres, the buildings, as intimated previously, being of model order, the farm having woven-wire fences, and an attractive evergreen grove adding to the beauty of the place. The same thrift and industry which enabled Mr. Schoen to accumulate this property are brought to bear in its the city of Chicago, Illinois, and they have three children : Frank F. is a member of the military forces being prepared for service in the great European war and at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1918, he is stationed with his command at Deming, New Mexico; and Henry and Louis remain at the parental home.

JAMES E. BALDERSON is another of the honored citizens who is a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of Gage county and who has here achieved large and worthy success as a vigorous exponent of farm industry. He is the owner of a valuable landed estate of four hundred acres, in Section 21, Highland township, and is now living virtually retired, his sons having the active management of his farms.

Mr. Balderson was born in Morgan county, Ohio, April 1, 1850, a son of George and Sarah (Davis) Balderson, of whose family of fourteen children eleven attained to maturity, as here noted: Mary, who became the wife of Alvin White, was a resident of Fairbury, Nebraska, at the time of her death; Rhoda is the wife of A. B. McNickle, of Ashland, Kansas ; Alexander was a resident of Highland township, Gage county, at the time of his demise; James E., of this review, was the nextin order of birth; Scott resides in the city of Beatrice, this county; Frank is employed in a hospital at Hastings, this state; George resides at Pickrell, Holt township; Mrs. Anna Groff was a resident of Fairbury at the time of her death ; Jacob is an influential citizen ol Wilber, Saline county, where he is serving as mayor, in 1917-1918; Mrs. Alice Clark is a resident of Austin, Minnesota ; and Mrs. Martha Snoker resides in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska.

George Balderson was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, September 5, 1819, and in the old Buckeye state his marriage to Miss Sarah Ifevis was solemnized in 1841, his wife having been born in Maine, in 1821. Mr. Balderson engaged in farming in Morgan county, Ohio, and in 1864 he removed with his family to Whiteside county, Illinois, where he remained similarly engaged until 1872, when he came with his family to Nebraska and numbered himself among the pioneer settlers of Gage county. In Highland township he purchased eighty acres of wild land, in Section 6, and here he planted trees and made other substantial improvements, the while he soon brought his land under effective cultivation. It is generally conceded that he was the first settler to erect a frame house between Nebraska City and Gage county, and in the early days his home was the stopping place of sojourners who required accommodations for a night or more, few of the pioneer homes having facilities adequate to extend such hospitality. From Nebraska City he transported by team and wagon his household effects, which had been shipped from the old home in Illinois. Mr. Balderson was a man whose character and mentality well equipped him for leadership in community affairs and, as a stalwart Republican, he always took deep interest in political and governmental matters. He gave able assistance , in the establishing of schools and churches and in laying out the township of Highland. In coming to Gage county he transported his family by means of three covered wagons, and he was one of the sterling pioneers who aided greatly in furthering the development and progress of Gage county. He passed the closing years of his life in the home of his daughter Mary, Mrs. Alvin White, at Fairbury, Jefferson county, where his death occurred January 15, 1899. His loved and devoted wife passed to eternal rest April 8, 1897, she having been a member of the Baptist church and he having been a birthright member of the Society of Friends, commonly designated as Quakers. The lineage of the Balderson family is traced back to staunch Scottish origin and the founders of the American branch were two brothers who came to this country in the colonial days, both becoming citizens of prominence and influence. James E. Balderson acquired his rudimentary education in the schools of Ohio and was about fourteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Illinois, where he was reared to adult age. Within a few weeks after hg had attained his legal majority he came with his parents to Gage county, and about one year later, at the age of twenty-two years, he here obtained a homestead claim of eighty acres, in Section 8, Highland township. He reclaimed and improved this farm under the conditions that obtained in the pioneer days and had his full share of hardships and trials. His energy and thrift were shown in the excellent improvements which he made on his original homestead and increasing prosperity in the passing years enabled him to add gradually to his landed estate until he be- came the owner of his present large and valuable farm property in Highland township. In his years of active farm enterprise he became specially prominent and successful as a breeder and grower of fine Hereford cattle, and his herds attracted much attention. He customarily shipped about two car loads of cattle annually, after bringing the same into the best of condition by judicious methods of feeding. He has not been circumscribed by mere individual advancement but has given his support to movements and enterprises projected for the general good of the community, though never a seeker of public office. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party.

January 18, 1883, recorded the marriage of Mr. Balderson to Miss Rebecca Johnson, who likewise is a native of Morgan county, Ohio, where she was born June 30, 1861, a daughter of Paten and Isabel (Blake) Johnson, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, in June, 1803, and the latter of whom was born the state of Maine. Mr. Johnson, whose father, William, was a native of Ireland, was a resident of Pennsylvania at the time of his death, June 28, 1871, and his widow passed away April 4, 1889, she having been his second wife and Mrs. Balderson having been the ninth of their twelve children. Mr. and Mrs Balderson have three children : James F. is a progressive farmer of Colorado; Pearl L. is also in Colorado; and Lester B., who remains at the parental home, has the active management of the old homestead farm.

GEORGE G. DOUGLAS, M. D., was engaged in the successful general practice of his profession at Cortland, this county, from 1904 until the spring of 1918, and was essentially one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Gage county, even as he was one of the most liberal and progressive citizens of the vital little city in which he maintained his residence. He is now established in practice at Elmwood, Cass county.

Douglas, the former of whom was born in Washington county, Kentucky, and the latter in Adams county, Illinois, where his parents settled in the pioneer days. William Douglas was a child at the- time when his parents immigrated from Kentucky and became pioneer settlers in Adams county, Illinois, in 1832, and there he was reared to manhood. In Illinois he continued his activities as a farmer until 1869, when he removed with his family to- Nodaway county, Missouri, where he became a substantial farmer and where he passed the remainder of his life. He was born January 16, 1831, and his death occurred December 29, 1888. His parents, Joseph and Jeanette (Mc- Murray) Douglas, were born and reared in Virginia, the former having been a son of Joseph Douglas, Sr., whose father, Hugh, was born and reared in Scotland and established his residence in Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1740. Thus it appears that Dr. Douglasis not only a scion of one of the fine colonial families of the historic Old Dominion but also traces his ancestry back to staunch Scotch origin on both the paternal and maternal sides. His mother was born December 23, 1838, and passed to the life eternal August 14, 1899. She was born at Upper Alton, Illinois, and was a daughter of Rev. Wilson McMurray and Georgia Ann (Parrish) McMurray, both natives of Kentucky, Mr. McMurray having been a pioneer clergyman of the Methodist church in Illinois. It is worthy of historic note in this context that the first turnpike road in Kentucky was constructed in 1837 by a. paternal great-uncle of Dr. Douglas. Wil- Ham and Emma (McMurray) Douglas became the parents of six children : William S. is a farmer in Canadian county, Oklahoma;. Joseph E. is engaged in the practice of law at Plattsmouth, Nebraska; Rev. Fletcher D., a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, is, in 1918, pastor of a church at Mound City, Missouri; Mrs. Evelyn Murray is deceased, and left two children, Muriel and Alma, the latter making her home with Dr. Douglas of this review; Dr. Douglas was the next in order of birth; and Frederick E. died when about thirty-five years of age.

Dr. Douglas was a lad of about six years at Ihe time of the family removal to Nodaway Missouri, where he was reared to adult age on the home farm and where he made good' use of the advantages of the of the locality and period, as shown by the fact that as a youth he gave three years to successful service as a teacher in the district schools. Thereafter he supplemented his academic education by attending Amity College, at College Springs, Iowa, and in preparation for his chosen profession he entered, in 1888, the Missouri Medical College, in the city of St. Louis. In this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1891, and after thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine, he engaged in practice at Ravenswood, Missouri, where he remained until 1904, when he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and established his residence at Cortland. Here he built up a large and representative practice and in the meanwhile he has kept in close touch with the advances made in medical and surgical science, with full appreciation of his professional stewardship and responsibilities. He removed to Elmwood, Cass county, in the spring of 1918 and is there continuing his successful professional activities.

In 1917 Dr. Douglas became associated with Paul Schultz and A. J. Goodban in organizing a company that installed a thoroughly modern electric-lighting system in Cortland, and he became secretary and treasurer of this company. Mr. Schultz is presid(ent of the and Mr. Goodban its general manager. In other ways Dr. Douglas showed his loyalty and progressiveness and took a lively interest in coramunity affairs in general. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, he holds membership in the Arnerican Medical Association and the Nebraska State Medical Society and, while a resident of Cortland, was prominently identified with the Gage County Medical Society. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and he and his wife hold membership in the Congregational church. On the 20th of June, 1894, Dr. Douglas wedded Miss Martha Hilton, who was born and reared in Cass county, Nebraska, a daughter of George and Letta (Irwin) Hilton, pioneers of that county, where they have resided at Elmwood since their retirement from their old home, farm. Dr. and Mrs. Douglas became the parents of three children, of whom only the second, Ellen, is living. Leland died at the age of twelve years and James at the age of one year.

SAMUEE R. SMITH properly gains recognition in this history by reason of his secure standing as a representative farmer and citizen of Filley township, where his pleasant rural home is established in Section 21. He was born at Peoria, Illinois, September 26, 1857, and is a son of John R. and Sarah (Bateman) Smith, the former of whom was born in Switzerland, in 1816, and the latter of whom was born in the state of Ohio, in 1823. The death of the father occured December 4, 1888, and that of the mother in December, 1890. The marriage of the parents was solemnized in Ohio and after their removal to Illinois the father was for a number of years engaged in the boot and shoe business at Peoria, he having been one of the sterling pioneer merchants of that now vigorous city, where he and his wife settled at the early period when the chief transportation facilities of Illinois were those of lake and river navigation. John R. and Sarah (Bateman) Smith continued to maintain their home at Peoria until their death and were venerable and honored pioneer citizens of that place. Mr. Smith was a Democrat in politics and was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, his wife having been an active member of the Presbyterian church. They became the parents of five children, of whom four are living: Fannie J. is a widow and resides in the city of Peoria, Illinois; Samuel R., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Mrs. Nellie M. Lee resides in the city of Chicago, where her husband is engaged in mercantile business; and Effie D. is the wife of William Burt, a prosperous farmer near Decatur, Illinois.

of his native city for his early educational advantages, and after leaving school he was there employed eight years in a grain warehouse. In December, 1886, he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and in Filley township he purchased an unimproved farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He vigorously instituted the reclamation and development of his land, erected a good house and other farm buildings, and on his farm he gained his initial experience in harnessing a horse, so that it may be readily seen that he was a novice in farm enterprise, this slight initial handicap having, however, been effectually counterbalanced by his initiative and administrative ability and determined purpose. He now has a valuable farm estate of four hundred acres and his generous success has been won entirely through his own ability and well directed endeavors. His farm property is well improved and he gives his attention to diversified agriculture and the raising of good livestock.

November 18, 1880, recorded the marriage of Mr. Smith to Miss Ella M. Yates, who was born in Illinois, August 12, 1863, a daughter of John C. and Jane (Hargadine) Yates, the former a native of West Virginia and the latter of Ohio, their marriage having been solemnized in Illinois, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Smith became the parents of two children, the firstborn, Willard, having died at the age of twenty years, and Verna M. being the wife of L. C. Roberts, their one child being a winsome little daughter, Helen Elizabeth.

In a fraternal way Mr. Smith is affiliated with the Highlanders and the Royal Arcanum, and in politics he gives his allegiance to the Republican party.

JOHN C. BOYD is a representative of one of the well known families of Gage county and has here achieved distinctive success as an exponent of farm enterprise, his well improved farm, comprising one hundred and twenty acres, being situated in Section 15, Sherman township. He has been a resident of this county since his boyhood and is a son

John C. Boyd was born in Linn county, Iowa, December 8, 1873, and was about nine years old at the time of the family removal to Gage county. Here he was reared on the old homestead farm of his father, in Sherman township, and hi the meanwhile he made good use of the advantages afforded in the local schools. He has never wavered in his allegiance to the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing and in his independent operations as a farmer he has for more than twenty years utilized land which he has rented from Ford Lewis, besides having accumulated and made the best of improvements upon his home farm, his ownership of which gives concrete evidence of the success that has attended his well ordered activities in diversified agricultural enterprise and in the raising of good grades of live stock, in which latter department he makes a specialty of raising pure-bred Duroc- Jersey swine.

In politics Mr. Boyd is aligned with the Republican party, and his interest in community affairs has been shown by his effective service as a member of the school board of his district. On one occasion he was elected to the office of constable, but he refused to qualify for and assume the duties of this position. He and his wife hold membership in the Brethren- church.

In 1900 Mr. Boyd wedded Miss Daisy Swarts, who was born in Champaign county, Illinois, and whose death occurred in 1909. She is survived by three children, - Clarence Raymond, and Thelma and Inez, who are twins. In 1913 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Boyd to Miss Almira Shaw, who was bom and reared in Gage county and is a representative of one of the earliest territorial pioneer families of this now favored section of Nebraska, her paternal grandparents, Stephen P. and Hannah (Hicks) Shaw having settled in Gage county in 1857 and having here passed the remainder of their lives. Stephen V. Shaw father of Mrs. Boyd, was bom in Dutchess county. New York, January 4, 1844, and when he was six years old the family removed to Wisconsin, from which state they came to Nebraska Territory and settled in Gage county when he was thirteen years of age. In 1864 he went to Colorado, where he was associated with prospecting and mining operations about one year. He then returned to Gage county and, in 1866, he married Miss Minerva Hand, daughter of William and Annie (Scott) Hand, who likewise came to Nebraska Territory in 1857 and who settled near Nebraska City. After his marriage Mr. Shaw engaged in farm enterprise in Adams township, where he reclaimed and developed one of the valuable, farm properties of the county and became one of the honored and influential citizens of his community. Of the nine children of the Shaw family the following brief data are available. (See also Shaw family history.) Louis V. is a prosperous farmer near Berwyn, Custer county, Nebraska; Katie is a successful and popular teacher in the schools of Gage count) and at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1918, is teaching in the public schools near Liberty ; Almira, wife of Mr. Boyd, was the next in order of birth ; Ada M. is the wife of Miles W. McKnight, of Adams township; Alice H. is the wife of Truman Bert Kauffman, of Havelock, Lancaster county; Edna is the wife of Clarence Von. Palmer, of Chappell, Deuel county ; May remains at the parental home; Charles is a successful farmer in Adams township ; and Rae is employed as a stenographer in the offices of the board of education of the city of Lincoln. Of the second marriage of Mr. Boyd no children have been bom. For the past twenty years Mrs. Almira Boyd has been an active worker in the Women's Christian Temperance Union. She was state secretary of the Nebraska organization for two years, and for the past thirteen years she has been recorder and secretary of the Gage county organization of this splendid body.

JAMES A. THOM has shown distinctive progressiveness and executive ability in connection with his well ordered activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower in his native county, and his fine farm estate of four hundred and sixty five acres, in Sherman township, is given to diversified agruculture and to the raising of live stock, including Hereford cattle and Poland-China swine. Of the Thom family history specific data are given on other pages, in the memoir dedicated to his honored father, the late Peter C. Thom.

Mr. Thom was born in Sherman township, this county, on the 18th of January, 1872, and in addition to receiving in his youth the advantages of the local schools he completed a course of higher study in the normal school at Peru, Nemaha county. At the age of eighteen years Mr. Thom began a practical apprenticeship to the trade of telegraphy, and thereafter he served nine years as telegraph operator and station agent in the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company. He then resumed his active alliance with farm enterprise and brought to bear the specific knowledge which he had earlier gained in connection with the work of the old home farm on which he was reared. He has made each successive year count in worthy achievement as a farmer and has made excellent improvements' on his fine rural estate, his homestead being in Section 20, Sherman township.

November 1, 1894, recorded the marriage of Mr. Thom to Miss Emma H. Gramenz, daughter of William and Minnie (Menchau) Gramenz. Mr. Gramenz was born and reared in Germany and as a young man he was a soldier in the German army, with which he participated in the Franco-Prussian war and was with the victorious forces that entered the city of Paris, he having been a lieutenant of liis command. In 1872 he came to the United States and settled at Rock Island, Illinois. He worked as a brickmaker, accumulated a competency, and he and his' wife now maintain their home in California, Mrs. Gramenz having been born at Coal Valley, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Thom have two children - Harold, who was born February 10, 1900, and Minnie, who was born November 1, 1905. The son was graduated in the Beatrice high school, as a member of the class of 1918.

JAMES W. GISH is numbered among the representative exponents of farm industry in Rockford township, where his fine homestead farm of two hundred and forty acres is situated in Section 33, besides which he is the owner of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres located about two miles east of his home place. Mr. Gish was born in Roanoke, Woodford county, Illinois, July 2, 1860, and is a son of William A. and Sarah E. (Statler) Gish, both natives of Roanoke, Virginia, their marriage having been solemnized at Salem, that state. William A. Gish became a pioneer farmer in Woodford county, Illinois, where he continued his activities until 1892, when he came to Nebraska and purchased a large farm in Gage county. Upon retiring from active labors, he established his residence at Juniata, Adams county, and he and his wife died in 1904; they were killed in a terrific storm, at Bloomington, Franklin county, Nebraska. They became the parents of a fine family of eighteen children, and of the number nine are living. Mr. Gish was a Democrat in politics and he and his wife held membership in the Brethren church. Both were representatives of sterling families early founded in Virginia, and their parents passed their entire lives in the historic Old Dominion.

James W. Gish gained his initial experience of practical order in connection with the work of the old home farm in Illinois, was afforded the atlvantages of the public schools and in later years he has not faltered in his allegiance to the basic industries of agriculture and stockgrowing, through the medium of which he has achieved unequivocal success. He has been a resident of Gage county since 1883 and is a progressive farmer and valued citizen of Rockford township. He is independent in politics and he is an active member of the Brethren church.

and Mary Reifif, concerning whom specific mention is made on other pages, in the sketch of the career of John B. Reifif. Mr. and Mrs. Gish became the parents of seven children: Frank is engaged in farming in Rockford township; Mabel is the wife of Robert H. Steinmeyer, cashier of the Holmesville State Bank; Flora is the wife of Oscar Frantz, another of the prosperous farmers of Rockford township ; Ethel is the wife of Arthur M. Miller, residing one-half mile west of Holmesville ; Clayton W. is employed in farming the home place; Ray and Maude remain at the paternal home.

WIEUAM H. PARDE is vigorously and successfully carrying forward . his operations as an agriculturist and stock-grower on his excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Section 34, Hooker township, and his status as a citizen is such as to entitle him to special recognition in this history. He was born in Adams county, Illinois, in 1873, and is a son of Heye and Tuter (Bowman) Parde, who were born in Germany and who became residents of Illinois upon coming to America. In 1887 Heye Parde came with his family to Gage county and settled in Hanover township, where he eventually became the owner of four hundred and fifty acres of land and developed one of the valuable farm properties of the county, his political allegiance having been given to the Democratic party and he and his wife having been zealous members of the Lutheran church. Of their eight children five are living: Peter is a farmer in Hooker township; William H., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Edward is a farmer in Hooker township; Herman lives on his father's old homestead farm ; Kate is the wife of John Stevens, likewise a prosperous farmer of this county ; Anna is the wife of John Deitzman, a farmer in Hooker township.

William H. Parde acquired his early education in the schools of Illinois and Gage county, he having been about fourteen years old at the time of the family removal to Nebraska, as noted above. He continued to be associated with his father in farm enterprise until he had attained to the age of twenty-two years, when he purchased a farm of eighty acres. Later he estabhshed his - residence on his present fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres and he is one of the successful and energetic exponents of agricultural and live-stock enterprise in Gage county. He is a Republican in politics, has served two years as road supervisor, and he and his wife hold membership in the Hanover Lutheran church.

In 1896 Mr. Parde wedded Miss Christina Eilers, who was born at Petersburg, Illinois, a daughter of Fritz Eilers, who is now a prosperous farmer in Hooker township. Mr. and Mrs. Parde have five children - Heye, Minnie, Tillie, Frederick, and William H., Jr.

OTHO BOYD has been for many years a vigorous and successful exponent pi agricultural and live-stock industry in Gage county and accumulated a large and well improved landed estate in Sherman township, his pleasant home place being in Section 16, on rural mail route No.. 1 from the village of Virginia.

Mr. Boyd was born at Canton, Illinois, December 3, 1851, and is a son of John and Susan (Teach) Boyd, the former of whom was born in Maryland, a son of William Boyd, who came from England to that state and who there passed the residue of his life. Mrs. Susan (Teach) Boyd was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Peter and Margaret Teach. John Boyd, who was a shoemaker by trade, estabhshed his residence in Illinois in the '40s, and in 1865 he removed with his family to Iowa, where he purchased two hundred acres of land and developed a valuable farm property. In 1882 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, where he made investment in a tract of four hundred and eighty acres of land, nearly all of which was unbroken prairie. This he reclaimed and improved and in this county he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, both having been earnest members of the Dunkard church and he having been a Republican in politics. Of the children the following brief record is available : Sarah is the wife of Lawrence Thornton,, M. D.j who is now living virtually retired in the village of

Virginia, this county; Otho, of this review, was the next in order of birth ; Margaret is the wife of Ira R. Grover, a farmer of Sherman township; Peter is a retired farmer residing in Iowa ; Nettie is the wife of William H. Butterfield, of Sherman township; D&vid lives in Sherman township ; and Martha is the wife of David Kesler, of Sherman township.

Otho Boyd gained his early education in the schools of Illinois and Iowa and has been actively concerned with farm industry from his youth. Upon coming to Gage county he boiight a farm in Sherman township, and to the same he later added from time to time until he had a valuable estate of six hundred acres - one of the fine rural domains of this section of the state. He has won success entirely through his own ability and well ordered efforts and is one of the substantial and honored citizens of Gage county. In the livestock department of his extensive farm operations he has given special attention to the raising of Red Polled cattle and Duroc- Jersey swine, most of his cattle and swine being registered stock. He has sold to his children all but one hundred and sixty acres of his fine landed estate and is to live in semi-retirement from the cares and labors that have so long been his portion. Mr. Boyd is a loyal advocate of the principles of the Republican party, has served as road supervisor, and for twelve years he was a member of the school board of his district. He and his family hold membership in the Dunkard church.

In 1873 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Boyd to Miss Lucy Cobaugh, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Paul Cobaugh, who removed with his family to Iowa in 1864 and who passed the closing years of his life in the Gage county home of his daughter, Mrs. Boyd. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Boyd : John C. is a progressive farmer in . Sherm^p township; Susan is the wife of Amos C. Kinzie, of the same township; Ernest is now a resident of Pratt county, Kansas; Martin E. is farming in Sherman township; Stella is the wife of David J. Holsinger, of Sherman township.

ABRAHAM h. THORNBURG has been a resident of Gage county from the time of attaining to his legal majority and is a scion of one of the honored pioneer families that was here founded in the territorial era. He is a representative farmer in Midland township and his landed estate in its very appearance indicates the prosperity that has attended his activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower. Abraham Lincoln Thornburg was born in Midland township, on the 10th of July, 1865, and is a son of Job Alexander Thornburg and Sarah Jane (Craig) Thornburg, both of whom were born and reared in Indiana, the former having been a cousin of John D. Thornburg, of whom specific mention is made on other pages, with incidental record concerning the family history. The parents of the subject of this review came to Gage county in the spring of 1863, and the death of the father occurred in the following year, his venerable widow being now a resident of Delaware county, Indiana. Of the two children one died in early childhood. Upon coming to Gage county Job A. Thornburg took up a homestead of one hundred and twenty acres, in Midland township, and here he provided a pioneer dug-out to serve as a residence until he could complete his log house. In the latter home his death soon occurred and his widow then returned to the old home in Indiana, taking with her her infant son, Abraham L., who thus missed in his boyhood the experiences of pioneer life in his native county. His venerable mother is a devoted member of the Christian church, as was also the father, who was a comparatively young man at the time of his death.

He whose name initiates this review was reared and educated in Delaware county, Indiana, and upon attaining to the age of twenty-one years he returned to Nebraska and assumed control of the farm property that had been obtained by his father in the territorial days. This property comprises one hundred and sixty acres, and he owns also a farm of eighty acres, south of Beatrice, in Sicily township. With the vital ambition and energy of youth Mr. Thornburg began the work of im- - proving his farm and bringing the same under efifective cultivation. Each successive year of application marked a distinct advancement and he now has one of the well improved and valuable farm properties of his native county, the same being given over to diversified agriculture and stock-growing. His present house was erected in the late '80s and has since been notably improved, while the other farm buildings likewise indicate thrift and prosperity. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and his wife and children hold membership in the Christian church, which he attends and supports.

In 1878 Mr. Thornburg wedded Miss Adelia Le Poidevin, a daughter of Thomas Le Poidevin, of whom mention is made on other pages, and of the four children of this union three are living: Clifford is a member of the national army preparing for service in the great European war and at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1918, is stationed with his command at Deming, New Mexico, he being twenty-seven years of age ; Guy, who is twenty-five years of age and who married Miss Grace Spitznogle, is associated in the management of his father's farm, as is also Ferris^ who is twenty-two years of age.

WILLIAM T. FRY, a man of broad mental ken and mature judgment, has achieved success through his association with agricultural and live-stock enterprise in Gage county and his well improved farm property is situated in Section 15, Rockford township. He was born in Keokuk county, Iowa, July 29, 1864, his parents, 'John and Sarah (Coffman) Fry, having been pioneer settlers of that section of the Hawkeye state and both having been born in the picturesque mountain town of Staunton, Virginia - the father in 1822 and the mother in 1831. The marriage of the parents was solemnized at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and thereafter Mr. Fry continued to be identified with farm industry in Virginia for several years. In 1854 he numbered himself among the early settlers of Keokuk county, Iowa, the overland trip having been made with team and wagon. He purchased land and improved a good farm, and there he continued his residence until 1880, when he came to Pawnee county, Nebraska, where he passed the residue of his life, his death having occurred in 1900 and that of his wife in 1914. Of their eight children seven are living: Frank is a farmer in Sherman township. Gage county; Cyrus is a farmer in Iowa; David is engaged in farming near Belleville, Kansas; Nettie is the wife of Isaac B. Niswander, of Guthrie, Oklahoma; Jennie is the wife of Henry M. Flora, a substantial farmer of Chase county, Nebraska, where he served four years as county treasurer; WiUiam T., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth ; and Wesley is a prosperous farmer in Pawnee county, this state. Mary, the second child, died in Virginia. The parents were zealous members of the Brethren church and the father held to the faith of the Democratic party, under the influ- -ences of which ht was reared. He was a son of Rudolph Fry, who passed his entire life in "Virginia and whose parents were natives of Christian Coffman, maternal grandfather of the subject of this review, was born in Virginia, in 1769, his parents having come from Germany and become colonial settlers of the historic Old Dominion.

William T. Fry made good use of the advantages afiforded in the district schools of his -native state and later he completed normal and commercial courses in Helton University, Kansas. After the family removal to Ne- "braska he was for some time employed as clerk in a general store and also as assistant postmaster at Imperial, Chase county. He homesteaded one hundred and -sixty acres of land there and for a few years thereafter he farmed on land rented from his father, in Pawnee county. He finally purchased the eighty acres -in Pawnee county, and after selling this property he bought one hundred and sixty acres of his present valuable landed estate in Gage -county, where he now owns a half-section of the valuable land of Rockford township - a property accumulated entirely through his own ability and well ordered activities.

Dorrance, who there homesteaded in. 1867 and who are now venerable and honored pioneer citizens of that county, living at Pawnee City. Mr. and Mrs. Fry have five children - John, Wesley, Vera, Chester, and Lawrence.

Mr. Fry is liberal and progressive as a citizen, is a Republican in politics and is now serving, 1918, as a member of the official board of Rockford township, besides which he has been for fifteen years a valued member of the school board of his district. In connection with his well directed farm enterprises he raised a goodly amount of cattle and swine, making a specialty of raising the full-blood Poland-China hogs. He and his wife are earnest members of the Brethren church. Mrs. Fry was graduated in the high school at Pawnee City and prior to her marriage had been for six years a popular teacher in the schools of her native county.

EHME WALLMANN. - Through his own energy and well ordered activities Mr. Wallmann has become one of the substantial and representative exponents of farm enterprise in Gage county, where he has maintained his home since 1883 and where he is now the owner of a valuable farm estate of six hundred acres, his attractive homestead place being in Section 11, Logan township.

Mr. Wallmann was born in the eastern part of Germany, on the 30th of May, 1857, and is a son of Jeremiah and Annie (Miller) Wallmann, both af whom passed their entire lives in Germany, where the father was a farmer by vocation. The subject of this review is the one surviving of the two children of his father's first marriage and of the four children of the second marriage two are living - George, a retired farmer in the state of Missouri, and Alma, who is the wife of Benjamin Omman, of Hanover township. Gage county, Nebraska. The parents were earnest communicants of the Lutheran church, and the father died in the year 1880.

Ehme Wallmann gained his youthful education in the schools of his native land and was a young man of twenty-three years when he came to America, in 1880, and established his residence in Johnson county, Nebraska. There he was employed at farm work until 1883, when he came to Gage county and purchased eighty acres of land in Logan township. In acquiring this property he was able to make only partial payment, but he had full confidence in his ability to win through* energy and resolute industry eventual success. On his farm, which was at the time unbroken prairie, he erected a little house of one room and in this little domicile he and his wife provided also accommodation for the school teacher who was making her home with them. He soon built a new house, but July 24, 1898, this was destroyed by fire. He then erected his present attractive and comfortable house of eight rooms, and with increasing prosperity he has erected other farm buildings of substantial and modern type, the while he has developed to the best standard his large and valuable farm property. Mr. Wallmann is independent in politics and he and his wife are active communicants of the Lutheran church, in which he holds the office of clerk. He served five years as road supervisor and two years as township ia,ssessor, these preferments indicating the confidence and esteem reposed in him in his home community.

On May 1, 1884, Mr. Wallmann wedded Miss Margaret Jurgens, a da.ughter of Thee Jurgens, of whom mention is made on other pages. Mr. and Mrs. Wallmann have a fine family of ten children: Jerry has charge of his father's farm in Filley township ; Annie is the wife of Thees Busboom, of Logan township ; Thee is a farmer in Logan towtiship ; George in Logan township; John in Hahover township ; and the children who remain at the parental home are: Henry, Ehme, Jr., Theodore, WiUiam, and, Richard.