Gage County, Nebraska - Chapter 31: People Who Have Done Their Part in Making Gage County, 1918 (part 27 of 29)

Essam bought eighty acres on Section 1, Riverside township. This land was at one time owned by Rev. A. L. Tinkham, a pioneer Methodist preacher who came to the county at a very early date. On this farm Mr. Tinkham built a small house of hand-hewed timber and native lumber, and the building is still standing. Mr. Essam has greatly improved the farm, has built a new house and other buildings and now owns one hundred and ninety-eight acres of land.

Henry Essam married Miss Josie Curry, of Schuyler county, Illinois, and to them was born one daughter, Susan, who is the wife of Roy Barnard, a prosperous farmer in Midland township.

Mr. and Mrs. Essam are members of the Christian church. In politics Mr. Essam is a Democrat, and he has been a member of the school board for several years. He is one of Gage county's good, substantial farmers, and through his own efforts and the assistance of a good wife he has been blessed with prosperity.

JAMES R. C. FIELD. - The history of the city of Beatrice would be incomplete without due recognition of the men who have been its public servants. The man who is specially fitted by temperament and education to fill a position of public trust, creditably and approved by all, is a rare one, but when he does fill his office with a high degree of efficiency the public shows its appreciation by re-electing him to the same position. This efficiency has been demonstrated by James Field, as he has been a familiar figure in the city hall of Beatrice for many years.

Mr. Field is a descendant of the staunch and sturdy men who came over in the Mayflower and gave to the world their ideas of freedom, both religiously and economically, and who fought that democracy might live. He was born in Branford, Connecticut, July 12, 1844, and is a son of Danford and Lucretia (Griswold) Field. Danford Field was bom in Killingworth, Connecticut, in 1805. In his youth he learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed until he took up farming.

His death, in 1891, in Connecticut, was the end of a long, useful life of eighty-six years. His wife died in 1876, at the age of sixty-six years. They were the parents of thirteen children, three of whom are living, namely: Virginia, of Clifton Springs, New York ; Harriet, widow of Elmer Hurst, at one time a very prominent lawyer of Rock Island, Illinois ; and James R. C, with whom this sketchdirectly deals.

James R. C. Field received his early education in Branford, Connecticut, and as a boy help>ed his father on the farm. For two years previously to 1866, when he came west to Rock Island, Illinois, he clerked in a store. Upon his arrival in Rock Island he drove a notion wagon and he was so successful in his work that for nine years he continued in this enterprise. At the end of that time he was employed in his uncle's store, where he remained until his coming to Gage county, Nebraska, in 1883. He purchased land in Glenwood township but lived at Odell, Nebraska, from which place he was able to conduct his farming operations. In 1890 he removed to Beatrice, and since then has continuously made his home here and been intimately associated with civic affairs.

In October, 1874, Mr. Field was united in marriage to Jennie E. Campbell, who was bom January 21, 1853, and is a daughter of W. L. and Martha A. Campbell. Of this union five children were born: Bert C. is a traveling salesman, living at Sterling, Colorado ; Charles A. is engaged in the manufacture of gasoline engines, at Jackson, Michigan; Martha is the wife of Ellsworth Jones, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ; Harry C. died April 28, 1897 ; and Jennie M. died in infancy.

Mr. Field is a Republican voter and he is noted for his integrity and upright conduct in every official capacity in which he has served his fellow men. He has been a member of the city council and the school board, and he was the city water commissioner from 1904 to 1911. He faithfully served in this capacity and then was elected city commissioner. He is affiliated with the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of

HARVEY M. SMETHERS, of Beatrice, was born in Lee county, Illinois, March 15, 1863. The sketch of his brother, P. J. Smethers, elsewhere in this volume, gives due data concerning the family.

Harvey M. Smethers received his education in Illinois and after coming to Nebraska he attended the public schools of Gage county. In 1885 he located in Beatrice, this county, where he clerked in a store for one year. He engaged in the general merchandise business with W. J. Dunnick, under the firm name of Smethers & Dunnick. After a short time Mr. Dunnick sold his interest in the business to A. H. Brubaker, and the business continued in the name of Smethers & Brubaker for one year, when Mr. Smethers sold his interest in the enterprise and engaged in farming. He continued farming operations only a short time and then returned to Beatrice and entered the hardware and implement business. Later he engaged in the pump and wind-mill business, which he later sold, and thereafter he was employed by the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company for many years, as traveling salesman. Upon severing his connection with the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company, Mr. Smethers went to Wyoming, where he was engaged in drilling for oil, for about two years. He then returned to Beatrice and became manager of the Dempstei Mill Manufacturing Company's retail department, which position he has occupied for the past twelve years.

In December, 1887, Mr. Smethers was united in marriage to Margaret Rosella Dunnick, daughter of George F. Dunnick, a farmer in Kansas, where Mrs. Smethers was born. Mr. Dunnick later came to Nebraska and resided in Beatrice. Mr. and Mrs. Smethers became the parents of three children : Lillian Eunice is the wife of Clyde A. Scott, of Omaha, Nebraska;. Bertha Grace died in childhood; and Harvey Donald died at the age of ten years. The wife and mother passed away in 1891. In 1893 Mr. Smethers wedded Alda Millie Randall, daughter of Charles Randall, who was bom in Boston, Massachusetts, and who came to the west and settled in Kansas many years ago : there he engaged in farming and later he came to Nebraska, where he now makes his home in Beatrice. Mr. and Mrs. Smethers have no children. They are members of the Christian church and Mr. Smethers is a Democrat in his political allegiance.

He is a native of Ogdensburg, New York, and is a son of C. A. and Mary J. (Ellison) Burnham, also natives of the Empire state. The father loyally defended the Stars and Stripes as a soldier for three years in the Civil war, and was promoted to the rank of captain. After the war he became a resident of Monona county, Iowa, where he became an extensive dealer in cattle. His last days were spent in Wymore, Gage county, Nebraska, where he had lived retired after 1882. His wife is still living and is making her home with her son J. M., of this review.

J. M. Burnham received his education in the schools of Iowa. In 1882 he came to Wymore and began his newspaper career, being employed first on the Leader, and later on the Wymore Reporter. He associated himself with The Wymorean when that paper started and, as above stated, has edited and published it for the past thirty- four years.

The Wymorean is published weekly and its owner enjoys a liberal patronage from the people of Wymore and surrounding territory. The office of The Wymorean is equipped with a full complement of printing material for a general job-printing business and the ordinary modern inventions connected with the "art preservative."

WILLIAM WOLLENBURG. - The late William Wollenburg, whose death occurred on the 22d of December, 1915, was a young man when he came with his wife from Wisconsin to Gage county, more than forty years ago, and here his sterling character and productive ability made him a valued factor in the furtherance of social and industrial progress. He became one of the successful agriculturists and stock-growers of Blakely township, was influential in the communal life, commanded unqualified popular esteem, and achieved large and worthy success, his widow and two of his children now maintaining their residence on his old homestead farm in the township mentioned.

Mr. Wollenburg was bom in Brandenburg, Germany, June 14, 1850, a son of Christian and Ricka (Holmichal) Wollenburg, of whose nine children he was the fifth in order of birth : of the children three daughters and one son are now living. Mr. Wollenburg acquired his early education in the schools of his native land and was a youth of seventeen years when he came with his parents to America, the family home being established in Wisconsin, where his father and mother pased the remainder of their lives. After his marriage William Wollenburg continued his activities as a farmer in Wisconsin until 1877, when he came with his wife to Gage county, Nebraska, and established his residence on the farm where his widow now lives - the northeast quarter of Section 4, Blakely township. This now well improved and valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres he purchased at the rate of ten dollars an acre, and in a conservative way the valuation at the present time is fully one hundred and fifty dollars an acre. The land was raw prairie at the time when he acquired the same and with the passing years he made the best of improvements on the property, including the erection of the substantial buildings and the setting out of many fine trees that are now of goodly size. As a citizen Mr. WollOSZ lenburg manifested his stewardship in Hberality and progressiveness, supported generously educational and religious activities and took loyal interest in public affairs of a local order. He was a zealous communicant of the Lutheran church, as is also his widow, and he aided generously in the erection of two churches of this denomination in Blakely township. That distinctive success attended his well ordered endeavors is shown in the fact that at his death he was the owner of a landed estate of six hundred and forty acres, a portion of which is in Jefferson county. He was a specially progressive farmer, a leader in community affairs, and upon retiring from his farm, in 1909, he removed with his wife to Plymouth, Jefferson county, where he had purchased an attractive residence property and where he became a substantial stockholder in the Plymouth State Bank. There he remained until his death, after which his widow returned to Gage county and established her home on her present fine farm.

In the year 1874 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wollenburg to Miss Wilhelmina Mayer, who was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, October 18, 1848, a daughter of Jacob and Katherine (Schmidt) Meyer. She came with her parents to the United States in 1860 and the family home was established in Dodge county, Wisconsin, where the parents passed the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Wollenburg is the youngest of the three children, her brother, Charles, being now a resident of Kay county, Oklahoma, and her sister, Reicka, being the wife of Philip Boiler, of Dodge county, Wisconsin. Jacob Meyer was bom July 18, 1788, and his death occurred in 1875. By his first marriage he became the father of three children, - Jacob, Louis and Katherine, all of whom are deceased and the last named of whom was the wife of Frank Kuhn. The second wife, Katherine, mother of Mrs. Wollenburg, was born in 1805, and passed to the life eternal in 1867. In conclusion of this brief memoir is given the following record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Wollenburg : Helena is the wife of Michael Esch, a farmer near McCook, Redwillow county.

Nebraska; William is a representative farmer of Jefferson county; Minnie is the wife of Daniel Esch, a prosperous farmer near Hoag, Gage county; Carl is conducting successful farm enterprise in Blakely township; Clara remains with her widowed mother; Mary is the wife of Joseph Scheve, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; and Henry has the active charge of the old home farm, where he resides with his mother and his sister Clara, all being active members of the Lutheran church and all popular in the social life of the community.

GEORGE F. HARPSTER. - The state oi Pennsylvania includes the land deeded to William Penn when King Charles of England owed him such a large debt he could pay it no other way. This transaction also afforded a means of getting rid of a bothersome sect, the Quakers, or members of the Society of Friends, who were getting altogether too powerful in England. King Charles believed he was sending away only the scum of his empire to the New World, but no better blood and better citizens have come to people our shores than the Quakers who settled in Pennsylvania. From this line of sturdy folk came the forbears of George Harpster, who was born in Knoxville, Marion county, Iowa, October 14, 1858. His parents, Frederick and Mary A. (Yarger) Harpster, were both natives of Pennsylvania and their parents in turn were born in Pennsylvania. Frederick Harpster was the son of George Harpster, whose birthplace was the forenamed state and who eventually secured and farmed government land in Seneca county, Ohio. The perilous journey to the Buckeye state was made on foot, and the family drove their cattle ahead of them. They started with a number of milch cows, but ere they arrived they had only one cow as an adjunct in starting their farming operations. We can see from this incident what a perilous journey it was. George Harpster and his good wife spent the rest of their lives on their land in Seneca county, Ohio, where they were laid to rest.

Frederick Harpster, the father of George F. Harpster, was bom in the Keystone state and endured the hardships of pioneer life in Ohio. It was in that state that he married Mary A. Yarger, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of G. F. and Benivel Yarger, whose migrations were from their birthplace in Pennsylvania to Ohio and thence to Indiana, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. Yarger was a tailor, and plied his trade at Carey, Ohio, but farmed after his removal to Indiana.

In 1857 Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Harpster moved to Knoxville, Iowa, where he followed his trade, that of tinner, and later he moved to Glasgow, Iowa, where he was employed in the same way. It was here, in 1862, that he died. Two children, Mrs. George Harris, and George F., the subject of this sketch, were his only children. The second marriage of Mrs. Harpster was to Casper Zerman and the two surviving children of this marriage are Frank, who is employed by a publishing firm in Toledo, Ohio; and Flora, wife of A. L. Taylor, a harnessmaker living in New York. Their mother is making her home with them.

After the death of his father George F. Harpster lived with his mother and stepfather until 1871, when he came to Blue Springs, Nebraska. From Marysville, Kansas, the journey was made in the old-fashioned doubleteamed stage. Mr. Harpster remained two years on the farm in Gage county and then went to Ohio, where he remained until 1880, when he again came to Blue Springs, where for fourteen years he was employed by the Roderick Brothers in their general merchandise store. He then engaged in business for himself, for five years, being thus established at Glenwood, Iowa. With three hundred dollars to start on in the way of money, but with a good deal of energy and self-reliance, Mr. Harpster purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land near Blue Springs in 1890, and to this he has added from time to time until he now has two hundred and eighty-five acres. He has continued to prosper and has now a nice home, with commodious buildings on his farm, close to the city of Blue Springs.

In 1881 the marriage of Mr. George Harpster and Ida Miller was solemnized. She is a daughter of John and Electa (Sliattuck) Miller, natives respectively of Germany and Vermont: they were married in Waukon, Iowa, and in 1882 homesteaded in South Dakota, where they remained until their death and where they are both laid to rest. Mrs. Harpster was born in Waukon, Allamakee county, Iowa, July 6, 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Harpster have three children : Myrtle is at home with her parents ; Bert is living at Dawson, Nebraska ; and Leafy is the wife of Perry Schoenholz, of St. Paul, Minnesota, where he formerly was employed as superintendent of a bakery, but is now the manager of the Pitritan Milk Company.

Mr. Harpster is affiliated with the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, while he and his wife are both members of the Order of tlie Eastern Star and members of the Presbyterian church. His political views are in harmony with the principles of the Republican party, he is a valued citizen and is definitely worthy of the title of self-made man.

WENDEL KNOCPIEL is a prosperous farmer of Lincoln township, where he is farming three hundred and twenty acres of land, in Sections 23 and 24. Mr. Knochel was born November 21, 1859, in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Michael and Mary (Bage) Knochel. They were both born in Germany and they both came to this country two or three years before their marriage. They were married in Erie county, Pennsylvania, where they lived, tilling the soil, until 1871, when they removed to Logan county, Illinois. The rich, fertile lands of Nebraska attracted them, and in 1880 they purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Lincoln township, Gage county. Michael Knochel spent the remainder of his days at this home, and his death occurred June 11, 1912. His wife, who was born in 1831, survives him, being now eighty-seven years old. She resides at Beatrice, and is a member of the Catholic church, as was also her husband.

Knochel came to Gage county, their oldest son, Wendel, had just passed his majority. He helped his parents on the farm until his marriage to Elizabeth Eckstein, which occurred September 23, 1896. She was bom in Rulo, Richardson county, Nebraska, June 24, 1866. Her parents, Henry and Christina (Riefif) Eckstein, were natives of Germany. Henry Eckstein was seventeen and his future wife, Christina Rieif, was eight years old when they left Germany. They were married in Indiana, and came to Rulo, Richardson county, Nebraska, in 1865. Mr. Eckstein plied his trade as a carpenter until his death. Three children were bom to this union - Henry, Jacob, and Elizabeth, and Jacob is now a successful farmer in Elm township. Gage county. After the death of Mr. Eckstein, which occurred in 1866, his widow returned to Indiana, where she married Theophilus Van Hessche, a widower with two daughters. To this union seven children were born. Mrs. Eckstein- Van Hessche died July 18, 1911.

Mr. Knochel devotes his entire time to his farming and is ever ready for the newest and best ways of doing things. By his marriage two children, Grace and Clement, have come to bless his home. iMr. Knochel and his family are members of the Catholic church. In politics he votes the Democratic ticket.

ANTON BEZA. - There seems to be a law of continuity of events that brings members of the same foreign. nation to certain portions of a state or county in America. There is a continuity of relationships that brings these people to one spot. The people from Bohemia have settled in great numbers near and in Odell, Nebraska, and it is tO' be supposed that the law forenamed has had much to do to draw one after the other of the same nationality to this favored portion of Gage county.

Anton Beza, a general merchant of Odell, Nebraska, is a son of Bohemian parents. He was born May 27, 1891, in Ashton, Sherman county, Nebraska. His parents, Vincent and Mary (Suchanek) Beza, have lived in Nebraska for nearly forty years, having emigrated from their birthplace in Bohemia. Vincent Beza was born in 1857 and all of these years has plied his trade of wagonmaker, learned in the homeland. His wife was bom in 1867 and thus on the date of her marriage, in 1883, she was only sixteen years of age. They were married in St. Paul, Nebraska, and five children have been born of this union. The children have all received liberal educational advantages, in the city of Ashton, Nebraska. Two of the sons entered the service of the United States, ready to give of their life blood, if need be, to protect the land and principles of their adoption, in connection with the great world war. Vincent F. is a merchant in Bellwood, Nebraska; Marie L. is clerking in a department store at Fullerton, Nebraska ; Leon R., of the United States medical corps at Camp Funston, Kansas, was recently discharged on account of physical disability; Anton is the subject of this sketch; Alphonso is on the United States dreadnought "North Dakota," now located "somewhere across the seas."

Anton Beza received his education in the Ashton public schools and was graduated from the high school in 1904. He has since lived the life of the average American youth. First he clerked for two years in Ashton ; then he went from place to place, clerking in different stores. The little city of Filley, where he worked for Mr. E. W. Starlin, was one of the places he was thus employed previously to his finding the place and the conditions that so pleased him as to lead him to make a permanent location and establish himself in business. He first opened a grocery store in Odell, but he has added to his store until now he includes general merchandise.

The marriage of Mr. Beza to Eleanor (Singleton) Porter was solemnized September 29, 1913. One daughter, Velma M., aged three years and six months (1918), has come to bless their home. Mrs. Beza was born July 5, 1882, in Glenwood township, this county, and is a daughter of John W. and Sarah F. Singleton. (See history of this family in another portion of this volume.) Her first marriage, to Porter Collins, was in 1903, and two children were born to them - Esther, aged thirteen years, and Dorothy, aged eleven years. These two little girls are in the home of their stepfather and are receiving their education at Odell.

Mr. and Mrs. Beza" attend the ' Methodist church. Mr. Beza is a member of a Western Brotherhood Association of Bohemians, known as the Z. C. B. J. He is a Democrat in politics.

WILLIAM T. DAY has proved himself one of the resolute and self-reliant men who can master opposing forces in life and wrest from the hands of fate a goodly measure of success and prosperity, the while ordering a course in such a way as to merit and receive the confidence and good will of men. Mr. Day has been a resident of Gage county since the year 1887 and has here accumulated through his own ability and efforts one of the fine farm properties of the county. He was left an orphan when he was only three years of age and has made his own way in life since he was a lad of ten years. It may well be understood that under such conditions his early educational advantages were limited, but his alert mind and determined purpose have enabled him to overcome largely this youthful handicap, for he has p3-ofited greatly from the lessons learned in the stern school of experience. He is one of the representative exponents of farm industry in Bamston township and is a citizen who fully merits recognition in this history.

William T. Day was born near Frederickstown, Missouri, on the 1st of March, 1863, and is a son of Charles and Sarah Ann (Mc- Crary) Day. Charles Day was a native of the state of Pennsylvania and became a resident of Missouri prior to the Civil war. He was a farmer in Missouri and had previously owned land and been engaged in agricultural pursuits in Tennessee, where he resided a number of years and where he became the owner of a number of slaves. He was -a Democrat in politics and he and his wife held membership in the Baptist church, he having passed the closing year of his life in Missouri and his wife having died in Tennessee. They became the parents of six children and of the number the subject of the review is the only one living in Nebraska.

William T. Day was taken as a child from Missouri to Tennessee, the former home of his parents, and there he was reared to adult age, his educational advantages, as previously stated, having been somewhat meager. He early learned the dignity and value of honest toil and became one of the world's productive workers while he was still a youth. In 1887 Mr. Day came to Gage county, Nebraska, and at the time of his arrival in this state his capitalistic resources were represented in the sum of only one hundred dollars. There is a generous measure of lesson and incentive in the record of his achievement since that time, for he has pressed steadily forward and has reached the goal of independence and substantial prosperity. In Bamston township he is now the owner of the fine Riverside Ranch, which comprises two hundred and fifty-three acres and is one of the splendidly improved and valuable farm properties of Gage county, the place being devoted to diversified agriculture and to the raising and feeding of cattle and hogs, of which Mr. Day makes appreciable market shipments each year. The beautiful family home is a throughly modem house that was erected by Mr. Day in the year 1915, on the banks of the Blue river, and the other farm buildings are of excellent order, the home farm being in Section 12 of the township mentioned.

In furthering his individual advancement and success Mr. Day has also been mindful of his civic responsibilities and has given his cooperation in the advancing of measures and enterprises projected for the general good of the community. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party but he has not been a seeker of public office of any kind. He is a member of the Baptist church and his wife is a member of the Methodist church but as there are no churches of these denominations in their home district they attend and support the Presbyterian church.

of Mr. Day to Miss Sarah Harnaan, who was born in Claiborne county, Tennessee, on the 9th of January, 1868. Of this union have been born fourteen children, and of the number all are living except three:- Eulu is a popular teacher in the village schools at Adams; Julia is the wife of Byron Saylors, of Rosalie, Thurston county; Charles is a successful farmer in Gage county ; William E. was residing at University Place, this state, at the time when he entered the United States navy, for service in the great European war; Jesse was a student at Iowa College, Grinnell, Iowa, but in the spring of 1918 he too became a member of the United States navy, he being stationed at the time of this writing at the training quarters at Charleston, South Carolina; John, Silas and Roy and Ray (twins) are at the parental home; Leona died at the age of thirteen years ; Darline and Estelle are at home and are attending school; Henry E. died at the age of fourteen months ; and one child died in infancy.

J. W. BRIDENTHAL. - When Gage county land was fast being peopled by the farmers coming from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and various other eastern states, as well as foreign countries, a family by the name of Bridenthal came and set up their home in our midst. Of J. W. Bridenthal, the head of this family, it was said: "Of the countless numbers who have gone to settle up the new west few have been more enthusiastic, more thoroughly absorbed with the thought that they were working for the future as well as foi their own interests than has the gentleman of whom mention is here made." As the years have progressed it would seem that this were a prophecy of a life purpose fulfilled - a life which has so lately been drawn to a close.

J. W. Bridenthal was born at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, April 28, 1836, and died December 7, 1917. In 1845 the parents ol Mr. Bridenthal left their farming interests in Pennsylvania and removed to Wayne county, Ohio, where he received the education the locality and period afforded. In comparison with the opportunities of to-day, these were meager indeed. In his early manhood he started a slow process of getting farther and farther west, being located in different counties of Indiana and Illinois, and in 1884 he made his last . removal, arriving in Gage county on the 4th of April that year.

In Warren county, Illinois, where he had lived from 1860 until his coming to Gage county in 1884, he met the companion of his many useful and happy years. This companion, who was Miss Eleanor Butler, was bom in Plymouth, Marshall county, Indiana. Her parents, Isaac and Ann L. (Jones) Butler, were natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania respectively. Their married life commenced in Ohio, and after there continuing to make their home for some time, they moved to Indiana. Later, in 1864, they removed to Warren county, Illinois. In this county they passed the remainder ot their lives and there both were laid to rest.

The marriage of J. W. Bridenthal and Miss Eleanor Butler was solemnized at Plymouth, Marshall county, Indiana, on the 26th of October, 1860, and for over fifty-seven years their lives were spent in happy companionship. Six children were bom to them, four of whom are living, as follows : Lake, a farmer residing in Wymore, was for some years a banker in the city of Wymore, one of the most attractive in Gage county ; Mae, the wife of C. W. Robertson, who for twenty-five years operated a dry-goods and grocery store in Wymore, is now living at Lincoln, this state; Charles, a traveling salesman for the great wholesale house of Sprague, Warner & Company, of Chicago, resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Richard, for many years an employe of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company, married Mary Owens and resides in Wymore, their one child being Kenneth D.

When Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Bridenthal arrived in Gage county they purchased land in Sicily township and there they continued their farming operations until 1904, when they moved to Wymore, where Mrs. Bridenthal still makes her home. Mr. Bridenthal voted the Democratic ticket and for a number of years served his community as county supervisor, he having been for some time the chairman of the county board of supervisors. His Hfe was an exceptionally unselfish one, and its greatest distinction was that he was always thinking of others and not how much he could get by giving the minimum in return. Such a life leaves its benignant impress upon many loving friends and relatives, as well as upon the community in general.

NORTON S. CALLAND - War is sometimes inevitable, and cruel and heartless as its ravages are known to be, it is sometimes the only resort by which the rights of a people can be protected and maintained. When the cause is in and for the right, then to participate in it becomes most honorable and praiseworthy. We have always taken great pleasure in giving credit where credit is due, and we never fail to recognize and appreciate the immeasureable honor due to those whose valor gained for us the national integrity which we now enjoy. In the gentleman whose name introduces this record we find another one of those brave and valiant men who went forth in defense of the Union in the climacteric period of the Civil war and whom it is our delight to honor.

Mr. Calland is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth having occurred in Noble county, Ohio, May 7, 1845. His parents were Robert and Nancy (Caple) Calland, the former of whom was bom in Scotland and the latter in Ireland. They were among the early settlers of Noble county, Ohio, where the father took up a homestead and where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. Robert Calland was twice married and became the father of fourteen children - ten by the first marriage and four by the second. He was a local preacher in the Wesleyan church, but after the war he became identified with the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a Republican in politics and served as justice of the peace for twenty years. He was a successful man and owned four hundred acres of land. The paternal grandparents of Norton S. Calland died in Ohio and

Norton S. Calland spent the days of his boyhood on a farm in his native county and acquired his education in the schools of Sumriierfield. He was only a boy when the dark cloud gathered and the Civil war broke upon the nation. Watching the course of events, his patriotic spirit was aroused, and in August, 1862, though not yet eighteen years of age, he enlisted in Company D, Ninety-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and for two years and ten months he followed the flag in defense of the Union. Among the many engagements in which this regiment participated, some of the more important ones were those of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. Mr. Calland was with Sherman when the famous "march to the sea" was inaugurated. After leaving Atlanta Mr. Calland was detailed on a foraging campaign, and while thus engaged and detached from the Union army, he was captured by the enemy, March 3, 1864. He was held a prisoner until the 2d of the following April. He spent twenty-one days in Salisbury Prison and seven days in Libby Prison. The horrors of those pens have never been exaggerated. The sufifering was awful, unmitigated by a gleam of humanity on the part of their captors, and 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 many a valiant Union soldier. Mr. Calland was fortunate enough to be held but a short time. After serving his country two years and ten months he returned to his native county and took up the peaceful pursuit of farming.

In Ma:rch, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Calland and Miss Sarah M. Houston, a native of New York state. Their home has been blessed by the birth of seven children, six of whom are living - Cora, a widow, residing in Spokane, Washington; Charles, a railroad employe at San Francisco, California; Kirby, a large land-owner in South Dakota; Edward, a farmer of Gage county; Alma, the wife of Perry Black, of

In 1882 Mr. Calland came to Nebraska and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land in Highland township, and until 1897 he devoted his energies to the improvement and cultivation of this tract. He conducted his agricultural operations on a very large scale, as he leased two thousand acres of land and became one of the most extensive farmers of Gage county. He met with marked success, and in 1897 he retired to Beatrice, where he has since made his home.

The religious views of Mr. Calland coincide with the teachings of the Methodist church, of which he is a member. In pwlitics he has always been a Republican.

Mr. Calland is one of those who can doubly appreciate the patriotism manifested by the young men of America at the present time, when they are giving themselves earnestly to making up the fine national army for the country's participation in the great European war. This attitude can but recall vividly to his mind the time when, as a boy of seventeen, he subordinated all personal interests to respond to the call of patriotism, by tendering his services in defense of the Union. To these men of to-day, as to the boys of 1861 to 1865, the country owes a debt of gratitude it can never repay.

ARTHUR GRONE. - The story of Arthur Grone's early life is definitely connected with that of his father, John Grone, who was born in Bremen, Germany, October 14, 1824. John Grone sailed from that land of many Germanic states, with as many rulers and oppressors, to the free land of the United States, which is united under one chosen ruler, the president. He was a lad of fourteen when, in company with an aunt, he landed in New York city. During the next eight years he spent his time in learning the language and customs of the new land. He was for some time an apprentice to a tailor. In 1846 this fearless young man made his way to the wilds of Wisconsin. Amongst her virgin forests the bear and the wolf were stalking their prey, the deer blithely fleeing from an imaginary foe; but the advent of the settlers soon struck terror to these denizens of the forest. Mr. Grone participated in many a chase of the deer and bear, bearing them triumphantly to his home. Only one other white settler was in the valley where he lived : the other inhabitants of those parts were the Indians, who still lived in theii tepees and followed their nomadic ways. Among these surroundings of nature in her purity and strength, Mr. Grone reared a family of fourteen children. The mother of this large and interesting family was Wilhelmina (Albertus) Grone, who was born in Germany, August 11, 1835, and who came to the United States when a young girl. She was her husband's companion and helpmeet for many years, and the gracious ties were broken only by death. *

John Grone removed with his family to Iowa in 1874, and in 1886 they came to farm in Fillmore county, Nebraska. The farming activities of Mr. and Mrs. John Grone covered nearly a half-century and were brought to a close in 1894, when they retired and moved to Bruning, Thayer county, Nebraska, where the death of Mrs. Grone occurred, August 14, 1906. Mr. Grone passed away October 9, 1917, at a patriarchal age.

Arthur Grone was born in Sauk county, Wisconsin, August 1, 1867, and was the tenth in order of birth of the fourteen children bom to his parents. He was a young man upon his arrival with his parents in Nebraska. He spent the following twenty years farming different rented tracts of land, in different localities, the last tract of land thus rented having been owned by his father, in Fillmore county. It was here he made a good start toward the success shown in his ownership of his present fine; landed estate. He purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in Elm township, Gage county, in 1906, and in the following year he came to make his home on these broad acres. He has remodeled his house and barn to meet the needs of his home and his farming operations. He is raising high-grade Poland-China hogs, which, when put upon the market, will bring two dollars

Mr. Grone was married September 18, 1889, to Frances J. Clark, who was born December 17, 1871, in Macedonia, Pottawattamie county, Iowa. Her parents, Ellis P. and Mary E. (Cisna) Clark, were born in Kentucky and Ohio respectively. The father was born in 1838 and died May 24, 1913. The mother was born in 1852 and died July 22, 1900, in Hebron, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Clark went to Iowa during the great Chicago fire of 1871. From 1886 to 1889 they farmed in Norton county, Kansas, and they then moved to Thayer county, Nebraska. After several other changes they finally adopted Nebraska as their home, and here their death occurred. They were the parents of eleven children. Mr. and Mrs. Grone have four children : Alma M. is the wife of E. Dougherty, living in Bruning, Nebraska ; Florence is the wife of L. Richardson, of Elm township. Gage county; and Frank and Violet L. remain at the parental home.

Mr. Grone is a Democrat in politics and has served as road overseer. He is affiliated with the Woodmen and his wife holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.

WILLIAM J. DOBBS, who is living retired in the city of Beatrice, is a representative of one of the most prominent and honored territorial pioneer families of this section of Nebraska and proper review of the family history is given on other pages, both in a specific way and in connection with the general history of the county, prepared by Hugh J. Dobbs, a younger brother of the subject of this review. The family home was established in Gage county in the early territorial days and the name of Dobbs, as represented in the various generations, has been one indicative of large and benignant influence in the annals of Gage county. Thus it is specially gratifying to be able to incorporate in this volume an individual, though necessarily brief, review of the career of William J. Dobbs, who was a lad of eleven years at

Mr. Dobbs was born in Taney county, Missouri, April 16, 1848, a son of Fidillo H. and Mary Jane ( Shullenbarger) Dobbs, concerning whom proper record is given elsewhere in this work. Mr. Dobbs gained his rudimentary education in Missouri and, as before stated, was eleven years of age at the time of the family immigration to Nebraska Territory, in 1859. He was reared to manhood under the conditions and influences of the pioneer farm of the frontier, his father having obtained land in Rock ford township. Gage county, and having there instituted the reclamation and development of a farm at a time when settlers were few and widely separated and when Indians were still much in evidence in this section. William J. Dobbs attended the primitive schools maintained by the early settlers, and was signally favored in being reared in a home of refined influences. In 1868 he took up a homestead of one hundred and twenty acres, in Rock ford township, and with the passing years he well upheld the honors of the family name both as a successful farmer and as a broad-minded and progressive citizen. He developed one of the valuable farm properties of Gage county and remained on his old homestead until 1901, when he retired from the active labors and responsibilities that had so long been his portion. For three years thereafter he resided in the village of Blue Springs, and he then "removed to the city of Beatrice, where he and his wife now occupy their beautiful home, at 1001 Market street, where they delight to welcome the hosts of friends they have drawn about them during their many years of residence in this county. Mr. Dobbs still owns a well improved landed estate of two hundred and sixty-nine acres in Gage county, and he long held precedence as one of the most aggressive and successful exponents of agricultural and livestock industry in Rockford township. Though he has had no ambition for public office of any kind he has been liberal in the support of measures and movements advanced for the general good of his community and of the county, and has given his allegiance to the Republican party, both he and his wife having been for many years active members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

In the year 1873 Mr. Dobbs wedded Miss Clara Richards, who was born in the state of Pennsylvania, a daughter of William and Jane (Trowbridge) Richards, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of West Virginia. In 1859 Mr. Richards came with his family to Nebraska Territory and he was numbered among the early settlers of Pawnee county, - a steriing pioneer who contributed his full quota to the development and progress of southeastern Nebraska. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Dobbs : Dora is the wife of E. E. Tombaugh, of Hereford, South Dakota ; Burton H. is a resident of Beloit, Wisconsin; Luella is the wife of Charles Cavett, of Blue Springs, Gage county ; Kate is the wife of H. H. Dann, of Beatrice; Alice is at home; and Chester B. is in the United States Marine service, being at Paris Island at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1918.

DAVID H. MICHAEL. - The village ai Liberty, Nebraska, has for its postmaster a man who has been very successful in his farming operations during his twenty years' residence in Gage county. Mr. Michael came from Warren county, Illinois, in which county he was born, October 24, 1852. His parents, David K. and Cynthia (Lieurance) Michael, were born in North Carolina and Ohio respectively. The parents of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Michael had migrated from their respective states and were early pioneers of Illinois, giving their lives in the reclaiming of the wild fertile lands to productivity. In their adopted state of Illinois these young people met and were joined in holy wedlock. In 1852 David K. Michael went to California, where he remained three years, but he discovered, as did many another, that the gold did not grow on the trees and that the soil of his adopted state, Illinois, would still yield her treasures of wheat and corn. Upon his return he purchased land, and he continued his farming pursuits the rest of his life. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Michael, left Illinois and moved to Missouri, arriving there during the great pro-slavery agitation in that state, before the Civil war, and there they passed the remainder of their lives.

Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. David K. Michael, three of whom survive them, as follows : David H., the subject of this review ; Perry, a farmer in Pawnee county, Nebraska ; and Douglas, likewise a resident of that county. The mother, Cynthia (Lieurance) Michael, was the daughter of Elijah and Eliza Lieurance, who had tilled the soil in Ohio prior to their removal to Warren county, Illinois.

David H. Michael made good use of his opportunities for education, for, after finishing his high-school work, he attended Abbingdon College, in Knox county, Illinois.

In 1874 Mr. Michael was united in marriage to Miss Angle Sailor, who was bom May 8, 1853, in Knox county, Illinois. In the Buckeye state a home had been established by the union of Jeremiah and Priscilla (Mason) Sailor, who were natives of that state, but not content with their opportunities in their natal state they established their home in Knox county, Illinois. They were tillers of the soil and lived happy, useful lives, giving sons and daughters to the world to carry on the march of civilization.

Mr. and Mrs. David H. Michael have four children, all of whom received educational advantages fitting them for their duties in the world. The firstborn is Ethel, who is the wife of J. F. Spence, an employe in the government printing office, Washington, D. C. ; Kathryn is assistant postmaster at Liberty, Nebraska; Mabel remains at the parental home ; and Van D. is farming.

In 1892 Mr. Michael, with his wife and family, came to Pawnee county, Nebraska, and for a number of years he rented land, but the rich soil of Pawnee county soon gave such returns for his labor that he was enabled, in 1900, to purchase eighty acres of land in that county. Later he added another eighty acres. He finally sold his land holdings in Pawnee county and moved to Missouri, but there he remained only a few months. Upon his return he purchased three hundred and twenty acres in Liberty township. Gage county, and he still retains the ownership of this property. Mr. Michael has taken a keen interest in political affairs and is a staunch supporter ot the Democratic party. In 1915 he was appointed postmaster at Liberty and his second daughter is assistant postmaster. With his family he attends and supports the Christian church.

RUPERT C. PEARSON. - The life record of Rupert C. Pearson is one of varied activities and he is interested in and manager of the Adams Mercantile Company, in the thriving village of Adams. Mr. Pearson was born at Indianola, Iowa, August 7, 1859. His parents were Allen and Nancy (Henderson) Pearson, the former born in Indianajxjlis, Indiana, in 1819, and the latter born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1826. The father was a farmer until 1874, when he came to Nebraska and engaged in the hardware and lumber business at Sterling, Johnson county, where he remained until his death, in 1892. There his wife passed away, in 1882. They were the parents of thirteen children, six of whom are living.

Rupert C. Pearson was reared under the parental roof and after coming to Nebraska he attended school at Sterling for a short time, after which he became identified with his father's business. In 1878, he entered the hardware business on his own account, conducting the same for about nine years. In 1890 Mr. Pearson came to Adams, Nebraska, and bought grain for the Norcross & Wore Company. Later he engaged in mercantile business, and for a time he was cashier of the Farmers' State Bank. He was also interested in ranches in the western part of the state. For the benefit of his wife's health he moved to California, and there he was in the fruit business for a time. In 1913 he returned to Adams and assumed the management of the

In November, 1884, Mr. Pearson married Miss Carrie Grey, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1855. She was the mother of one son, A. Grey Pearson, who has served four years in the marine corps in the service of his country. Mrs. Pearson was called to her final rest in 1914.

Mr. Pearson is a member of the Presbyterian church, and in politics is a Democrat. Fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modem Woodmen of America. In 1898 he enlisted in Company I, Second Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, and with the command he saw some months of service in the war with Spain. Mr. Pearson is a loyal, progressive citizen and has done much to advance the interests of his community. He has erected three residence properties in Adams, and any worthy cause has his endorsement.

HENRY H. SACHTLEBEN. - Among the prosperous farmers of Nemaha township. Gage county, mention should be made in this publication of Henry H. Sachtleben, who makes his home in Section 14 of that township. Mr. Sachtleben is the owner of nine hundred acres of land, all in Gage county, and all of this he has accumulated through his own efforts, having started life as a poor boy. Mr. Sachtleben was bom September 16, 1853, in the province of Hanover, Germany, and is a son of John and Minnie (Mollman) Sachtleben. He is one of a family of six children, as follows : Wilhelmina Kramer, of whom record will be found on other pages of this volume; Henry H., of this review; Herman, of Menard, Illinois ; Maggie, deceased ; Mrs. Jennie Steinman, of Republic county, Kansas ; and Lizzie, deceased wife of H. Penterman.

John Sachtleben was born in Germany, about 1839, and died in 1890. In 1868 he left Germany and came with his family to America. He settled in Illinois, where he passed the remainder of his life. His widow later came to Gage county, where she died in 1903, at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. and Mrs.

The subject of this review worked as a farm hand in Illinois, and attended school in that state. His father being a poor man, it became necessary for him to make his own way from his boyhood- In the spring of 1885 Mr. Sachtleben came to Nebraska and settled in Nemaha township. Gage county, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, in Section 14, this being his present home farm. At the time of purchase only ninety acres of this land were under cultivation, and Mr. Sachtleben set to work improving the property, making extensive improvements on the land itself as well as by erecting new buildings, and from time to time he has bought more land until at the present time he is the owner of nine hundred acres of land in Gage county, all well improved. Mr. Sachtleben is numbered among the very successful farmers of the county. He is also interested as a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator Companies at Cortland and Firth, Nebraska. He is also vice-president of the Firth Bank. In politics Mr. Sachtleben is an independent Democrat, and he and his family are members of the Lutheran church.

On March 8, 1883, occurred the marriage of Mr. Sachtleben to Miss Lizzie Vesselmann, who was born in Germany, January 20, 1862, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Middlekamp) Vesselmann, natives of Germany, where they passed their entire lives. Mrs. Sachtleben came to America in 1879 and settled in Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Sachtleben are the parents of five children, as follows: John, a farmer in Nemaha township ; Minnie, wife of C. Jutson, of Nemaha township; Harry, at home; Emma, wife of William Packard, living near Cortland, Nebraska ; and Carl, at home.

GEOGRE W. SPIEGEL. - The metropolitan facilities of the city of Beatrice are definitely enhanced by the well ordered automobile garage and salesrooms of Mr. Spiegel, who has provided his establishment with the best equipped repair and service departments and who has developed a large and substantial business in the handling of the celebrated Overland automobiles, for which he is distributor in this section of the state, his annual business now showing an average aggregate of about five hundred thousand dollars and his establishment showing at all times a large assortment of the Overland cars, so that he is able to make quick deliveries in connection with sales. He has brought to bear in the enterprise a dynamic energy and progressiveness and is one of the most successful exponents of the automobile industry in southeastern Nebraska.

Mr. Spiegel was born in the city of Fort Dodge, Iowa, on the 4th of June, 1881, and is a son of Emil F. and Mary (Gunther) Spiegel, who were born and reared in Illinois, where their marriage was solemnized. In 1878 the father purchased a tract of land near Fort Dodge, Iowa, where he developed a valuable farm property and where he became a substantial and influential citizen. He is now living virtually retired in the city of Los Angeles, California, his wife having passed to the life eternal in April, 1916, a zealous communicant of the German Lutheran church, of which he also is an active adherent, his political allegiance, fortified by well ordered convictions, being given to the Republican party. Of the two children the subject of this review is the younger, and Edward W. is associatea with the Peters Pump Company, of Kewanee, Illinois. Frederick Spiegel, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born and reared in Germany, where he learned the miller's trade. In 1865 he established his residence in Illinois, after having been compelled to borrow sufficient money to defray the cost of his voyage to America, and by his ability and well directed efforts he gained definite independence and prosperity, both he and his wife having passed the remainder of their lives in Illinois.

Frederick Gunther, maternal grandfather of Mr. Spiegel, came from Germany to America and established his residence in Illinois in 1870. A mason by trade, he there turned his attention eventually to the manufacturing of brick, in which line of enterprise he was engaged eighteen years. In 1880 he engaged also in the manufacturing of pumps and windmills, at Kewanee, and from a small inception he developed this into one of the large and important manufacturing industries of that section of Illinois. He continued as the executive head of the business until his death and the large plant and business, basing operations upon a capital of two hundred thousand dollars, are still owned by the members of his family, the products of the factory being now shipped to all parts of the United States and Canada.

George W. Spiegel is indebtejl to the public schools of Kewanee, Illinois, for his early educational discipline, and tli,ere he was graudated in the high school, as a member of the class of 1898. Thereafter he was for ten years a traveling representative and salesman for a leading piano house, and within this period he efficiently covered territory in Illinois, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Kansas and Colorado, with an admirable record for successful salesmanship.

In 1908 Mr. Spiegel associated himself with the Wyllis-Overland Automobile Company by taking a position in its sales agency in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. There he remained until June, 1915, when he came to Beatrice and established his present agency for the same company. Mr. Spiegel is a young man of marked progressiveness and his activities along this line touch not only his own business but also mark his attitude as a loyal and public-spirited citizen. He is actively affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed the various official chairs, and he is a' member also of the United Commercial Travelers' Association.

In 1907 was recorded the marriage of Mr. Spiegel to Miss Anna M©nroe, who was born in the state of Wisconsin and who has the distinction of being a lineal descendant of James Monroe, fifth president of the United States. Mrs. Spiegel is a daughter of Rev. Michael Benson, who has been for more than half a century pastor of the First Methodist church at Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and who, at the venerable age of seventy-eight years, is serving in 1917-18 as president of the Wisconsin Ministerial Association. Mr. and Mrs. Spiegel are members of the Methodist Episcopal church in their home city and are popular figures in the representative social activities of the community. They have one son, Frederick G., who was born in the year 1911.

JACOB HEYEN. - The people of FiUey township have every reason to be proud of the fine farms that are to !?e found so plentifully scattered over its broad acres, and its reputation as an agricultural and stock-raising district is enviable. Among those who have done not a little to maintain a high standard in this respefct is the subject of this sketch.

It was in 1904 that Mr. Heyen came to Gage county and purchased his present farm. It was originally known as the King farm, having been developed by Charles W. King, an early settler of Gage county. Mr. Heyen has. erected a new house and new bams and has a very fine property, the farm consisting of two hundred and eighty acres.

Mr. Heyen is a native of Missouri, born in Atchison county, October 28, 1870. His parents were Heye J. and Grace (Folkerts) Heyen, natives of Germany. The mother is deceased. The father makes his home with a daughter in Gage county. Jacob Heyen is the oldest of four children, three of whom areliving. A lister, Anna, is the wife of W. G. Cooper, residing in Nemaha township. His. brother, Frank, resides in Atchison county, Missouri. One child, likewise named Frank., died in infancy.

Our subject was reared in his native county and acquired his education in the public schools. He followed mercantile pursuits in Langdon, Missouri, before coming to Gage county.

February 27, 1895, Mr. Heyen was united in marriage to Miss Hiebe Cooper, and of this union have been born five children; Theirnames are : George, Matilda, Juanita, Hermie, and Frank.

prosperous men of his adopted county. The family are members of the German Lutheran church and Mr. Heyen exercises his right of franchise in support of men and measures as advocated by the Democratic party.

of teaching prior to her marriage. Mr. Bryson is meeting with success in his farming operations and readily gives his endorsement to those projects which have to do with the uplift of his community.

GUY R. BRYSON is operating a farm in Adams township and is meeting with success. He is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Athens county, October 17, 1879. He is a son of David W. and Elizabeth (Border) Bryson. The father was bom in Athens county, Ohio, February 1, 1837. During the Civil war he served in the home guards. He was a farmer all his life. In 1880 he came to Gage county and engaged in fanning land where the town of Adams now stands. He passed away, in Adams township, September 17, 1882. Mr. Bryson was a member of the Methodist church. In 1856 he married Miss Elizabeth Border, who was born in Ohio, December 28, 1832. She now makes her home with her son Guy. She has reached the age of eighty-four years, is enjoying good health and finds employment and pleasure in piecing quilts. She became the mother of ten children, as follows : Lois, wife of Nat. Shaw, of Adams, Nebraska; Mrs. William E. Bryson, of University Place, Nebraska; Florence, deceased; Mrs. Mary Applebee, of Maryville, Missouri; Elmer A., of Chicago; Archibald C, of Adams; Herbert, of Lincoln, in the United States railway mail service; Harry, deceased ; Mrs. Bertha Dixon, of Adams ; and Guy R.

Guy R. Bryson came to Gage county with his parents when a child. He was reared on a farm and wisely chose agriculture as an occupation. On June 13, 1901, he married Miss Marie De Young, a native of Iowa, and a daughter of John and Clara (Post) De- Young, natives of Holland, and Iowa respectively. Mr. De Young came with his family to Nebraska in 1897, settling in Lancaster county. Later he conducted a hardware store in Adams, Gage county, and he and his wife are now residents of Emporia, Kansas. Mrs. Bryson attended the State Normal school at Peru, Nebraska, and followed the profession

JOHN A. REULING. - When a truly able and gifted man finds his niche in the world of business and finance, his success is certain and definite. There is no miscalculation about his being adapted to his surroundings - a really successful person becomes more so when, he has found the proper fine of endeavor in which to exercise inherited and developed talents. Truly successful men are those who have studied themselves and their aptitudes, physical, mental, and moral, and when they have found their vocation they are successful in it because of their love for and knowledge of it. John A. Reuling, successful financier and business man, is one who has found his true potential and developed himself and his powers to the fullest extent.

John A. Reuling, president of the First National Bank of Wymore, was born in Muscatine, Iowa, August 23, 1866, a son of John A. and Louisa (Schnier) Reuling, both natives of Germany. John A. Reuling, Sr., came to the United States when a boy of fourteen years and located at Burlington, Iowa, where he learned the baker's trade and finally engaged in business. Later he moved to Muscatine, Iowa, where for many years he carried on a very successful business. The time that prosperity smiled upon him with no uncertain smile was when two railroads were being built through Muscatine and brought many laborers and artisans of every sort to the little village. The railroad service made the little village grow and prosper, and Mr. Reuling's business prospered accordingly. He had started at the lowest rung of the ladder and through persistent effort, hard work and snatching opportunity by the forelock, he retired from business with more than an ordinary competence.

parents. Eight children were bom tO' Mr. and Mrs. Reuling, as follows : James R., a retired capitalist, living at Mustatine, Iowa; George W., a grocery merchant in Muscatine, Iowa; John A., subject of this sketch; Walter E., professor in the machinery department of the University of Michigan; Anna M., wife of J. W. Page, an assessor at Joplin, Missouri ; Lucy E., wife of E. R. Reinement, in the drygoods business at Muscatine; Nellie and Ella are single and live at Muscatine, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Reuling were members of the Lutheran church and the Democratic party received the vote of Mr. Reuling. He was - a self-made man and a public-spirited citizen, who took a lively interest in all movements for civic betterment. He served on the Muscatine city council for some time. Both he and his wife died and were laid to rest at Muscatine, Iowa.

John A. Reuling, with whom this sketch deals, received his education in his native city and was there graduated from the high school in 1885. The first work Mr. Reuling tried after starting work for himself was in a commission house, but he did not remain long with this concern, his ambitions being along a different line. In his home town he was then employed by a successful jeweler, who taught him the trade, and for twenty years Mr. Reuling devoted his entire energies to this work. He was in Fort Scott, Kansas, for some time and then came to Wymore, Nebraska, in 1891, and started a jewelry store. This business he continued until 1910. In 1902 he became interested in the Wymore State Bank, of which corporation he was vicepresident. When the institution was reorganized as a national bank and incorporated as the City National Bank, he was elected its president. In 1910 the City National Bank and the First National Bank corporations combined under the corporate name of First National Bank, and Mr. Reuling discontinued his jewelry business to devote his entire time to his banking business, as the president of the First National Bank. The building in which they did business was completely destroyed by fire in 1914.

In 1893 Mr. John Reuling and Sara E. Deemer were united in marriage. Mrs. Reuling is a daughter of John A. and Elizabeth (Erwin) Deemer. Her parents moved to Iowa from Indiana, where Mr. Deemer was engaged in the lumber business. His eldest son, Horace E. Deemer, was elected to the supreme court of Iowa, in which capacity he distinguished himself. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Reuling. Mrs. Reuling was brought up in the gentle faith of the Society of Friends and still remains a member of the organization. Her husband was confirmed in the Lutheran church and is still a communicant of same. Politically he allies himself with the Republican party and he has served three terms as mayor of Wymore, also one term as the city treasurer.

The First National Bank of Wymore, of which Mr. Reuling is president, has a capital of $50,000, with undivided profits and surplus of $16,000, the average deposits being $500,000. He devotes his entire time to his banking interests but during this time of the world war he has effected an organization which has for its goal the supplying of funds for the war and for army supplies. He is also chairman of the Gage County Bankers' Patriotic Association, organized in the fall of 1917.

Mr. Reuling was the first president and one of the organizers of the Farmers' Grain, Lumber & Coal Company of Wymore, also president of the Building & Loan Association. He is affiliated with the York Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity and also with the Mystic Shrine. He has served as master of his Masonic lodge, as high priest in his local chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and as thrice illustrious master of the council of Royal & Select Masters. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is treasurer of his lodge, and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.

ARCHIE C. HITT. - The late Archie C. Hitt was born in Delaware county. New York, May 13, 1848. The Empire state was thehome of the Hitt family for many years, his- parents, Samuel and Jeannette (Campbell) Hitt, were likewise bom in Delaware county, the former on the 16th day of September, 1812, his death occurring July 10, 1883, in Odell, Nebraska. The mother was born May IS, 1812, and died January 7, 1877. Samuel Hitt was a lumberman in the early days when he lived in Delaware county. That county to-day hears the lumberman's ax no more, as it is densely settled and covered with factories of every sort. But the men like Mr. Hitt blazed the way that the factory might in its turn be raised. In this county was solemnized the marriage of Samuel Hitt and Jeannette Campbell, and their three children were there born. In 1855 they removed to Ogle coiinty, Illinois, and there Mr. Hitt engaged in farming. In that county they laid the wife and mother to rest, in 1877. In 1883 the father and sons came to Gage county, Nebraska, locating in Odell. Shortly after their arrival Samuel Hitt passed to the life eternal, his death occurring on the 10th day of July, 1883. Of the three children the following brief record is offered : Mary J. is the wife of H. Price, living in Paddock township, this county ; Archie C. is the subject of this memoir; and George. B. has later mention in this sketch.

Archie C. Hitt was married to Etta Shafer in Ogle county, Illinois. She was bom December 5, 1859, in Delaware county. New York, a daughter of I,yman and Jane Shafer. Her father likewise was engaged in the lumber business in New York. He later farmed in Ogle coimty, Illinois, and also farmed for some time in Mississippi, going to the latter state in 1898. In 1907 he came to Beatrice, Nebraska, where he made his home until his death, September 6, 1914. Mr. Shafer was born in 1829, and his wife, Mrs. Jane Shafer, was born in 1837: she makes her home with her oldest daughter, Mrs. Archie Hitt.

In 1883 Mr. and Mrs. Archie Hitt came to Elm township, Gage county, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, in Section 24. Mr. Hitt pursued his farming operations on this land until his death, May 18, 1899. Four children came to bless this home, as follows : Jennie is the wife of Frank J. Kaufman, of Elm township; Alvin also resides in this township; Cora is the wife of H. L. Raney, living south of Wymore, this county; and Archie D. is at home with his widowed mother. When Mr. Hitt died he left a burden of debt on the farm. His widow, with the children, did the farm work and paid the indebtedness. She even worked in the field to compass this worthy end.

George B. Hitt, the brother of Archie Hitt, was bom in Delaware county. New York, January 6. 1850, and is now engaged in farming one hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 24, Elm township, just south of the Archie Hitt farm. The two brothers worked constantly in patlnership and since Archie's death George Hitt has helped Mrs. Hitt with her farming and makes his home with her and her family.

George Hitt's early life was spent in Delaware county, New York, and Ogle county, Illinois, and since then he has farmed the present land, with the exception of one year, 1883-1884, when he farmed in Marshall county, Kansas. Mr. Hitt has never married. He votes the Republican ticket and takes an active interest in all local civic affairs.

WIELIAM M. EBY, who is living retired on his farm in Glenwood township, was bom in L,ebanon county, Pennsylvania, January 18, 1847. His father, Moses Eby, was likewise a native of Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, where he was bom November 11, 1826. In 1850 Moses Eby became a pioneer settler in La Salle county, Illinois, where he located on a farm near where the city of Mendota was afterward built. He was a successful farmer and his last days were spent at Freeport, Illinois, where he passed away in 1908, at the age of eighty-two years. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Haak. She was bom in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, and passed away at the old home in La Salle county, Illinois, December 9, 1876. They were the parents of five children. William M. is the eldest, besides being the only son ; two daughters, Adeline and Ida died in young womanhood; and

William M. Eby was three years old when the family settled in Illinois, where his boyhood days were spent in the usual manner of farm lads of that period - attending the public schools and assisting in the work of the farm. On reaching manhood he purchased land and engaged in farming in an independent way. He continued his farm enterprise in Illinois until 1885, when he came to Nebraska. The first year he spent in Odell, and in 1886 he bought his present farm, upon which he has lived continuously since that time. The improvements on the place were of a very primitive order, but these were replaced with the buildings that now adorn the property and iwhich are among the best in the township. Though this farm has always been his home he has rented his land year after year for sixteen years, in the meanwhile he conducted a general merchandise store at Lanham, and since severing his connection with mercantile pursuits he has lived retired.

While a resident of Illinois Mr. Eby was united in marriage to Miss Malinda Eckert, A native of Ea Salle county, that state. She was bom May 7, 1852, a daughter of Jonas and Nancy (Erb) Eckert, who were natives of Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, and who, in 1849, became residents of La Salle county, Illinois, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Eby became the parents of seven children: Ed is in the employ of the United States postoffice department, as clerk in the postofifice at Lincoln, Nebraska; Ida is the wife of Ed Jeffreys; William is deceased; Mrs. I. E. Faulder lives in Riverside township ; Henry is a resident of Beatrice; Laura is the wife of Clarence Ruyle. of Bookwalter, Nebraska; and one child died in infancy.

Mr. Eby came to Glenwood township when conditions were far different than those of the present day, and in the work of transformation he has taken an active interest and part. He is a Republican in politics and has served as treasurer of his township, but the emoluments of public office have had no attraction for him, and close application to his own affairs has brought him the success that enables him to put aside the active work of former years and enjoy a well earned rest.

FRANK STRAUCH was bom in Germany on the 28th of June, 1854, a son of Karl and Elizabeth Strauch. Karl Strauch was born in Germany in 1828, and died January 1, 1892. His wife was born in 1831 and died in 1881. They became the parents of ten children, three of whom are still living : Frank, of Bameston, Nebraska, is the immediate subject of this sketch; Agnes first wedded August Walters, who died many years ago, and she is now the wife of August Dierich. their home being in Germany; and William is a farmer in Germany.

Frank Strauch came to the United States and arrived in Burlington, Iowa, on May 15, 1881, with only forty dollars in money. He stayed in Iowa only a short time and then came to Nebraska, where he worked on farms. By hard work and strict economy he saved three hundred dollars, and in 1883 he came to Gage county and bought eighty acres of land on the Otoe Indian resen^ation, making, out of his savings, a small payment on this land. Mr. Strauch improved this property and made the farm his home for twenty-five years. In 1899 he retired, and he has since made his home at Bameston, this county.

On January 23, 1894, Mr. Strauch was united in marriage to Miss Ida Volkmer, daughter of Ferdinand and Caroline (Reischel) Volkmer, who came to the United States from Germany in 1881. On their passage over they were shipwrecked and had some very thrilling experiences. Ferdinand Volkmer settled in Burlington, Iowa, and for many years worked for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company.

Frank Strauch and wife have no children. They are members of the Catholic church. Mr. Strauch is a Democrat and sei-ved as township assessor of Liberty township in 1899 and 1900. The township was always considered strongly Republican, but Mr. Strauch was elected on the Democratic ticket, which goes to show his standing in the community in which he lives. Mr. Strauch has never had the advantages of an English education, but through hard work and study has educated himself.

ISAAC KILER, a retired farmer, living in Barneston, has been allied with the agricultural life of Gage county for the past thirtyfive years. He is now enjoying the rest earned after years of hard labor, in winning the wild prairie to fertility and helping to build up a great agricultural community.

Isaac Kiler was born February 13, 1844, in Richland county, Ohio, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Hassinger) Kiler. John Kiler was bom in Germany, in 1815, a son of John Kiler, a German farmer who came to Richland county, Ohio, in 1819, and endured all the vicissitudes of the earl)'- sailing-ship voyage, rude log cabins and the felling of the forests to make a home and clearing a space of ground for the growing of grain for the sustenance of life. These staunch and brave men who endured the hardships of those early years of our nation's history gave to their posterity brain and brawn to build up the nation which is to-day the vital exponent of the democracy man. In these rude surroundings, and close to the things of nature, John Kiler, Jr., grew to manhood and he then took as his wife Elizabeth Hassinger, who was a native of Ohio, bom in 1824. In 1848 they moved, with rude ox team, over hill and valley to the state of Michigan and again built the log cabin, in the clearing of the pine forests of Michigan. Sons and daughters to the number of eight came to bless them, but ere they had reached manhood and womanhood the wife and mother passed away, in 1858. Leaving the remains of his loved companion and selling his property, Mr. Kiler moved with his family to Benton county, Iowa. Three children of this family are living, as follows : Mrs. Greenly, a widow, residing- in Belle Plaine, Iowa; Isaac, subject of this sketch ; and William, a farmer near Dodge City, Kansas.

Miss Sarah Shaver, who bore him five children, four of whom are living, as follows : lona, residing in the state of Washington: John, a farmer near Superior, Nebraska: Charles, a traveling m.an; and Mrs. Nettie L,utz, living in Washington. The last days of John Kiler were spent in the home of his son Isaac, of this sketch, and he passed away January 1, 1889.

Isaac Kiler received his early education in Michigan and Benton county, Iowa. He helped his father on the farm until his marriage, in 1870, to Miss Clara Severance, who was born in Marion county, Ohio, a daughter of Frank and Elizabeth Severance. Mr. Severance died in Michigan, where he was a farmer, and his wife died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Kiler. Five children of this family are living: Emily, the widow of William Smith, resides at McCook, Nebraska; Phila is the wife of Charles Smith, a painter at Beatrice, Nebraska; Eucy is the wife of T. S. Jones, a breeder of stock at Wessington Springs, South Dakota ; E. W. is employed by the Burlington Railroad, in Wyoming; and Clara is the wife of Isaac Kiler, subject of this sketch.

In 1883 Isaac Kiler and his family came to Gage county and here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, in Liberty township. This land had never had a furrow turned nor been the habitation of a white man. Mr. Kiler and his wife made the improvements and continued their farming operations until they retired, in 1906. One child, P. M., was bom to Mr. and Mrs. Kiler and he is now operating the farm in Liberty township. He married Frances Gallogly, and they have two children, Thelma and Bernice.

Isaac Kiler is one who started with no money but with much of ambition and determination to succeed and make the most of his opportunities. In connection with his farm in Liberty township, Mr. Kiler owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Kansas. He loves to review the early day experiences and he tells of the trip he made from Council Bluffs, in April, 1864, with a lot of horses that he took overland to Salt Lake City, arriving - after many long weary days and nights on the trackless plains, under the stars - June 1, 1864, in Salt Lake City, and in Sacramento, California, June 28th. There were no hospitable roofs under which he could remain at night, but only the broad, virgin country with not a human habitation in sight for miles and miles. Then there were the hostile Indians and the wild animals constantly stalking the venturesome traveler. Before returning to Iowa, Mr. Kiler worked for two and one-half years in the lumber yards and saw mills.

EDWARD NOVOTNY, a farmer of Elm township, was born in this township July 15, 1884, and is a son of John and Rose Novotny, all of whose four children are living. John Novotny was born in Bohemia, as was also his wife. He retired from active farming and is now living in Wymore, this county.

Edward Novotny has spent all of his life in the county of his birth. He received his education in the rural schpol of district No. 1 18, and has learned the art of farming' in the hard school of experience. He has learned nature's whims and is able to make his broad acres yield their treasures of wheat and corn.

On the 23d day of August, 1881, in Sangamon county, Illinois, was bom Nina A. Leggett, who became the wife of Edward Novotny, their marriage having been solemnized July 17, 1903. Mrs. Novotny is a daughter of Joseph and Eliza C. (Magee) Leggett. (See the sketch of Joseph Leggett for a complete history of this family.) After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Novotny came to their present farm, in Elm township, and they have labored together toward the goal of success and independence. Six children have come to bless their union, and all remain at the parental home, their names and respective dates of birth being here noted : Hilda E., September 14, 1905; Lila M., October 21, 1907; Muriel A., March 6, 1910; Lawrence E., October 24,

Mr. Novotny is a Republican and has served effectively as a member of the school board, of which he is now the treasurer. He is a shareholder of the Odell Farmers' Elevator & Lumber Company, and also is interested in the local telephone company. Mr. Novotny received from his father the one hundred and sixty acres of land which he owns, as his share of the estate. He is a successful farmer and is interested in all of the civic developments of his locality.

FREDERICK KRACKE, SR. - This popular pioneer citizen of Gage county was another of the sturdy young men who came to this section of Nebraska in the early days and by indomitable energy and perserverance pushed forward to the goal of large and well merited success. Upon coming to the county, from Iowa, in 1879, he purchased, at the rate of twelve dollars an acre, one hundred and sixty acres in Section 31 Clatonia township, onlv two acres of the tract having been broken. On this pioneer farm he and his brother Herman continued their vigorous operations four years, and he then married and purchased the eighty acres that constitutes his present finely improved and attractive homestead place, in Grant township. In 1885 he erected on this farm a frame house of two rooms, and this later gave place to his present commodious and modern residence. He continues to hold secure place as one of the representative farmers of this county, where he is now the owner of three hundred acres, in Section 6, Grant township, besides which he owns one hundred and sixty acres in Jefferson county, two hundred acres in Saline county, and one hundred and sixty acres in the San Luis valley of Colorado. He is specially prominent in Gage county industry as a breeder of fine Durham cattle and Chester White swine. Of all that he has achieved through personal ability and energy it is sufficient to say that when he arrived in the United States, as a German youth of sixteen years, his financial resources were summed up in a sing-le gold piece of twenty dollars, while at the present time he is the owner of a valuable landed estate aggregating over one thousand acres in area.

Mr. Kracke was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, December 23, 1853, and there he received the advantages of the excellent national schools. In 1870, at the age of sixteen years, he severed the gracious home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in the United States. For the first two years he worked on a farm in Ohio, and he then went to Jackson county, Iowa, where he was similarly employed for the ensuing seven years, his wages at the start having been but ten dollars a month. At the expiration of this period he came to Gage county, Nebraska. He is president of the Fanners' Co-operative Elevator at Dewitt, Saline county and is one of the substantial and influential citizens of this section of the state.

Reverting to the family history it may be noted that Mr. Kracke is a son of Frederick and Mary (Oldman) Kracke, both of whom passed their entire lives in Germany, where the father was a farmer. Frederick Kracke was born in 1812 and died in 1889; his wife was bom in 1818 and died in 1886, both having been devout communicants of the Lutheran church. Of the children William, Henry and Dorothy (Mrs. Michaelis) died in Germany ; Herman now resides at Clatonia, Gage county; the subject of this review was the next in order of birth; Dietrich resides near Plymouth, Jefjferson county ; Margaret, who became the wife of Henry Kracke, died in Germany, as did also vSophia (Mrs. Bucholz) ; and August still resides in his native land.

On the 12th of March, 1884, Mr. Kracke married Miss Adeline Meyer, who was bom in Hanover, Germany, December 4, 1866, a daughter of Cord and Martha (Boese) Meyer, with whom she came to America in 1882, the family home being forthwith established in Gage county, where her parents passed the remainder of their lives, the father having become a prosperous farmer of Clatonia township. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Kracke Benjamin and Frederick, Jr., are progressive farmers of the younger generation in Grant township, and Werner is similarly engaged in Saline county ; Lena is the wife of George Huneke, of Saline county; and the younger children, who remain members of the gracious home circle, are Gustav, Herman, Emil and Emma.

Loyal in all ways to the land of his adoption and appreciative of the opportunities here afforded him, Mr. Kracke has shown this in his civic liberality and progressiveness. He is a staunch supporter of the principles of the Republican party and while he has no ambition for office he was elected assessor of Grant township in 1909. He held this position two years and then resigned, on account of impaired health. For fully fifteen years past he has been a valued member of the school board of District No. 149, and he has at all times been found ready to give his influence and cooperation in the support of measures and enterprises advanced for the general good of the community. He and his wife are zealous communicants of the Lutheran church and their pleasant home is known for its generous hospitality and good cheer.

EDWARD G. R.ATHBUN left the distinct imprint of his life upon Gage county history. He was a farmer who combined with his practical business affairs that rare, upright character that helped to mould the nation's life. Mr. Rathbun was a son of Job B. and Maria (Brown) Rathbun. Job B. Rathbun was bom in Steuben county. New York, and was reared to manhood in his native state. After his marriage to Maria Brown they remained for a short while in their home county, but they were soon located in Ogle county, Illinois, tilling the soil, their home being near the thriving little city of Rochelle. In 1871 they traversed the prairies to seek newer fields of labor, and located this time in Johnson county, Nebraska. They later moved to De Witt, where Mrs. Rathbun's death occurred, in 1881. Mr. Rathbun was an extensive land-owner, having at one time owned three thousand acres of land. This great acreage was accumulated from the hard labor of Mr. Rathbun and his wise use of the fertile lands of his adopted state, where he remained until his death. He was the father of seven children, only three of whom are living : Fannie is the wife of Charles Ojers, of Lincoln township, who is individually represented on other pages of this volume; Clarence resides at De Witt, Nebraska; and the address of Charles E. is unknown to members of the family in Nebraska.

Edward G. Rathbun, the subject of this memoir, was born December 25, 1863, in Rochelle, Ogle county, Illinois, and when just a lad he participated in the great adventure of crossing the plains in a covered wagon and sleeping under the stars. His early years were spent in Johnson county, Nebraska, and in 1880 he came to Gage county to till some of her fertile soil.

It was in this county, February 27, 1887, that he married Nellie E. Whipple. After their marriage he farmed one hundred and sixty acres of land northeast of Ellis, Nebraska, and he and his young wife shared together the vicissitudes of the early farmers on unbroken land. In 1892 they purchased land adjoining the village limits of Ellis, in Section 20, Lincoln township. He continued to add to his land holdings until he had several hundred acres. Mr. Rathbun passed away January 7, 1913.

Mr. and Mrs. Rathbun became the parents of eight children, as follows: Edna is the wife of Rev. J. H. Bankson, of Reynolds, Nebraska; Olive died in infancy; Stella is the wife of H. C. Clausen, of Anderson, Indiana; Julia is the wife of C. L. McClure, of Ellis, Nebraska, farming the home place; the next child, a son, died in infancy ; Viola is the wife of L. A. Peckham, living near Pawnee City, Nebraska; Rose and Rulo remain at home with their mother. Mrs. Rathbun, the mother of these children, was born March 23, 1870, near St. Charles, Illinois, and is the only child of Frank and Mary (Vinecke) Whipple. At the age of fifteen years Mrs. Rathbun came to Beatrice, Gage county, where she remained in the home of her maternal grandfather, Benjamin Vinecke, until the time of her marriage. Mrs. Rathbun is the owner of 137 acres of land in Lincoln township and is also a shareholder in the Ellis Farmers' Grain Elevator. She is a member of the Methodist church, and she and her husband donated to the Methodists of Ellis the lots for the erection of their house of worship. They were also very zealous in the organizing of the church and always gave liberally of their means in the support of church work.

The Prohibition party received the support of Mr. Rathbun's vote. In his early years the Republican party had received his vote, but he realized that the prohibition principles were of high value to the community and the country and gave to it his staunch allegiance. He was affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

DAVID M. BINDERNAGEL is an energetic farmer living in Lincoln township. He is interested in the breeding of Duroc-Jersey hogs and is known through the county as the man who took first and second prizes on his Duroc-Jersey sows which he exhibited at the Gage county fair. He also was awarded a silver cup for the best litter of pigs. He has made a specialty of breeding Duroc-Jersey swine since 1914 and has a strain of hogs that has taken national prizes.

Mr. Bindernagel is a native Gage county boy, and was born in Section 36, Blakely township, November 10, 1876. His parents, Philip and Margaret (Marshall) Bindernagel, reside in the city of Beatrice, and are specifically mentioned elsewhere in this volume.

Mr. Bindernagel received his education in the rural school of his district and attended the high school at Beatrice for a short time. His farming operations for himself began in 1907, when he rented his present farm from his father. He has made improvements, including the erection of a modern house and good barns. At the present time he is farming one hundred and ninety acres of land - one hundred and sixty acres from his father's estate and thirty acres from that of his fatherin-law, Harvey O. Mason.

ried Miss Gertrude M. Mason, who was born July 23, 1890, in Lincoln township, this county. She is a daughter of Harvey O. Mason, whose personal and family record is given on other pages of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Bindernagel have one child, Marjorie Rose, born March 4, 1913.

The school directors of his district feel themselves fortunate to have Mr. Bindernagel on their board. He has served a number of times as road overseer. In politics he is a Republican, and he and his wife are communicants of the Trinity Lutheran church.