Gage County, Nebraska - Chapter 31: People Who Have Done Their Part in Making Gage County, 1918 (part 28 of 29)

GEORGE BAKER. - The story of what has been accomplished by George Baker during nearly forty years of residence in Gage county demonstrates that Nebraska is still a region of opportunities. From a boy with twenty-five dollars in his pocket to the status of a citizen owning two hundred and eighty acres of valuable land, is a summary of the life and achievement of Mr. Baker. His fine landed estate is located in Gage and Jefferson counties and all of the land is under intensive and effective cultivation, his home farm being in Elm township. Gage county.

George Baker was bom in the state of Michigan and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Hable) Baker, both natives of Germany. John Baker was born in the year 1827 and upon immigrating from Germany to the United States he settled in Michigan. In Berrien county, that state, he wedded Mrs. Elizabeth (Hable) Neice, who was born in Grossbeck, Germany, March 27, 1830, and whose first marriage was solemnized in her native land. As the wife of Mr. Neice she became the mother of three; children - William and Petei Neice, of Gage county, Nebraska, and Mary, who is the wife of George Rynerson, of South Dakota. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Neice became a resident of Berrien county, Michigan, where, as above noted, she became the wife of John Baker. Under crude conditions John Baker thereafter conducted farming operations in Michigan, of which state he was a pioneer. He died in 1887 and Seorge, subject of this sketch, is his only son.

George Baker was born on his father's farm in Berrien county, Michigan, August 3, 1865, and left the parental roof when he was fourteen years of age. In 1879 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, where he lived with his two half-brothers, William and Peter Neice, In 1888 Mr. Baker rented eighty acres of land upon which the plow of man had never turned a furrow. He rented this tract from his mother, who had purchased it after her husband's death. It was on this farm that Mr. Baker suffered all of the labors, hardships, and privations which gave him the experience to become a good farmer. He built a small house and bought a team to break the land. The second year of his stay he had eighty acres planted in corn, and the yield was only one-half bushel of com. In the succeeding winter he had to borrow money to buy com for his horses. The following year he put in his crop again, expecting mother nature to yield a good crop, and she did. He made his start with his herd of cattle by taking hay to the markets at Beatrice and exchanging it for six head of calves. Thus, little by little, was the foundation laid for success and the accumulating of his broad acres and well improved home. Mr. Baker's mother kept house for him for twelve years, spending her last days in his home, where her death occurred in 1908.

June 13, 1894, Mr. Baker married Miss Emma Dewey, and they have three children: Harry, born January 27, 1897; Nellie, bom January 31, 1903; and Hattie, bom April 28, 1908. The children are all at home with their parents. Mrs. Emma Baker was bom on a farm near Roseville, Illinois. She is one of the five daughters born to I. B. and Mary J. (Sponge) Dewey. Her father was bom October 12, 1837, in Jefferson county. New York. He was a veteran of the Civil war, in which he served three years and three months in defense of his country's integrity. After the war he followed agricultural pursuits until his retirement to a home in Beatrice, in 1895. Mr. Dewey came to Nebraska in 1880, and his death occurred December 7, 1910, at Hutchinson, Kansas. He was a second cousin of Ad-

Mrs. Emma (Dewey) Baker was educated in the Fairbury public schools and at one time she was a pupil of Dr. Hepperlen, of Beatrice, when he taught the rural school near Plymouth, Nebraska. Mr. Baker is a Republican and loyally supports the party ticket. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a shareholder of the grain elevators located at Diller and Harbine, Nebraska.

HENRY W. EHMEN, who is one of the progressive agriculturists and stock-raisers of Hanover township, is here the owner of a half section of land, all in one body, and the three hundred and twenty acres, in Sections 27 and 28, constitute one of the model farms of the county.

Mr. Ehmen was born in Adams county, Illinois, July 22, 1866, a son of William and Ehmke (Johnson) Ehmen, both natives of Germany, where the former was bom May 25, 1845, and the latter on the 19th of September, 1841, their marriage having been solemnized at Golden, Adams county, Illinois, and Mrs. Ehmen having been a young woman when she came from Germany to the United States. William Ehmen was twelve years old when he accompanied his parents to America and was reared to manhood in the state of Illinois. There he continued his active association with farming until 1869, when he came with his family to Gage county and numbered himself among the pioneer farmers of Hanover township, where he developed a good farm and where he continued to reside until his death, February 14, 1906. His widow remains with her son John on the old homestead, she being a devout communicant of the Lutheran church, as was also her husband. Of their six children Henry W. of this review, is the eldest ; Trinke became the wife of Wilke T. Jurgens and her death occurred several years ago ; Minnie is the wife of Harm DeBuhr, of Hanover township; Jennie is the widow of John

W. Parde and resides in Hanover township; Ida is the wife of Bernard H. S'iefkes, of whom mention is made on other pages ; and John has the management of his father's old home farm.

Henry W. Ehmen was three and one-half years of age at the time of the family removal to Gage county, and here he was reared on the pioneer farm, the while he made projjer use of the advantages afforded in the district schools of Hanover township. His father accumulated a large landed estate and when the subject of this review was twenty-six years of age he purchased of his father a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. On the place was a primitive house, fourteen by sixteen feet in dimensions, and this Mr. Ehmen remodeled and equipped as his original domicile. He now has on the farm a large and modem house, besides other excellent farm buildings that likewise indicate his thrift and progressiveness. His political support is given to the Republican party and he and his wife are active members of the Lutheran church.

In 1892 Mr. Ehmen wedded Miss Tina Parde, daughter of William and Theda Parde, residents of Hanover township. Mrs. Ehmen was born at Golden, Adams county, Illinois, and was thirteen years old when the family came to Gage county. Mr. and Mrs. Ehmen became the parents of nine children, seven of whom are Hving: Tete is the wife of Henry F. Schuster, of Logan Township; and William, Katie, Henry, Minnie, Grace and John remain at the parental home.

FRED W. FRISBIE. - The Frisbie family has kept a record of the family tree from the beginnings of their family in the New World, when Edward Frisbie, a native of Denmark, traversed the seas in the latter part of the seventeenth century to cast his lot with the colonists in America. This family here established itself in the early history of this nation and has taken an active part in the upbuilding of its industrial and civil institutions.

William and Lihbie (Peet) Frisbie, who have been prominently identified with the agricultural and social life of Elm township, Gage county, Nebraska. William Frisbie is a son of Frederick and Polly (Ludington) Frisbie, who were natives of New York and moved to Lorain county, Ohio, in 1843. Later they removed to Cook county, Illinois, following agricultural pursuits in both of these states. Frederick Frisbie was married three times, and his third wife, Polly (Ludington) Frisbie, was the mother of William Frisbie. These good people were laid to rest in Cook county, Illinois. Their son William was bom November 21, 1827, at Hannibal, New York, and shared with them their migrations to Ohio and Illinois. November 9, 1852, he married Mary Ann Smith, to whom no children were born, and whose death occurred many years ago. The marriage of William Frisbie and Libbie Peet was solemnized September 13, 1870, in Cook county, Illinois. Six children were bom of this union, and three of the number are living, namely : Albert, residing in Elm township. Gage county; William, living in Jefferson county, near Diller ; and Fred W., the subject of this sketch. The three deceased are Charles, Marguerite, and Emma. Emma was the wife of Elmer Greider and left two children.

William Frisbie farmed in Cook county, Illinois, many years and there accumulated a considerable acreage of fertile land. In 1878 or 1879 he made several trips through Kansas and Nebraska, looking for a new location for a home, and in 1883 he moved to Elm township. Gage county, upon the portion of land that suited him better than any other lands he had investigated. A small one-room house accommodated his family in those early years, but as prosperity smiled upon him he added to the original structure, which is situated on the old trail running northeast and southwest from Beatrice to Diller. Mr. Frisbie's last days were spent in this home and he was called to his reward April 8, 1906, the birth anniversary of his son Fred W., subject of this sketch. His wife, Mrs. Libbie (Peet) Frisbie, was born in Sullivan, Ohio, May 20, 18^ and died May 12, 1903.

Fred W. Frisbie is now farming the c homestead, of which he came into possessi in 1905. He has spent the greater part of 1 life on this farm and is conducting a genei farming business. He has high-grade Shoi horn cattle and Duroc- Jersey and Hampshi hogs. He has made improvements on t farm, building two new bams, a silo, and hay bam.

December 24, 1901, Fred W. Frisbie ma ried Miss Zaidee Dowling, who was born Mi 11, 1882, in Scott county, Iowa. Her pa ents, James C. and Mary W. (Maddei Dowling, were bom in London, England, ai Iowa, resi>ectively. Mr. Dowling was a farr er in Iowa for many years but in 1881 ] and his wife went to Colorado, where thi spent their remaining days. After their deat their daughter Zaidee came to live with h maternal grandfather, Henry Madden. Aft finishing her education she taught school un her marriage to Mr. Frisbie. Of this uni( have been born six children, all remaining home with their parents. They are: Ralp Nellie, Leonard, Donald, Norman D., ai Helen Elizabeth, the last named having be bom March 28, 1918.

The politics of Mr. Frisbie are in acco: with the principles of the Republican part he is a member of the Methodist Episcop church, and is affiliated with the Mode Woodmen of America.

JOHN E. ANDERSON. - Sweden is land of long, cold winters and short, cool sur mers, where the fjords and glaciers combini with the mountains make a scenery pictti esque and grand. It is not the grandeur Italy with its sunshine and flowers but tl grandeur of nature in its sterner mooc From this land of Sweden has come the mi whose name heads this review, and he w born May 13, 1862. His father, Andrew A derson, was a mechanic and carpenter ai lived his life in his native northland, as d also his wife, who was called to eternal n when her son John E., of this sketch, was a lad of . seven years. Although he had no mother to guide and comfort him, the lad's father was both mother and father to him. Of the seven children, three are living in Gage county, namely : Anton, who is farming in Elm township ; Charles, who makes his home with his brother Anton ; and John, who is the subject of this review. Peter, Amanda, and Tilda (a widow) are still in Sweden.

In 1882 John E. Anderson took passage upon an ocean liner for the United States and upon his arrival he worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. A portion of the following year he spent in railroad construction work in Michigan, and also, from Odell, Nebraska, he assisted in the construction of the railroad line running south into Kansas. After this work was finished he was employed by John Fitzgerald, on his ranch, which is now owned by Frank Hubka. For the munificent sum of twenty dollars a month, he built fences, hauled lumber, helped in the building of the house, barn, etc., besides breaking wild prairie land. November 28, 1889, John E. Anderson married Elizabeth Kroschewski, who was born in Germany, in 1868, and who made the journey to this country with an older sister, in 1884. They came directly to Gage county, where both married. The older sister is Mrs. Wittkowski. To Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have been bom eight children all of whom are under the parental roof - Charles H., Bertha, Mary, Amanda, Alice, Martha, Cecelia, and Grin J.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Anderson worked for three years for David Fitzgerald, the former as a laborer and the latter in the home. After leaving this employment, Mr. Anderson rented land in Elm and Sicily , townships. In 1899 he rented one hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 1, Elm town- ' ship and in 1901 he purchased the same, this I place having since continued to be the family - home. At the time when Mr. Johnson pur- [ chased this land it did not seem a very promising investment, with its cockle-burrs, sunflowers, etc. But the years have passed and * Mr. Anderson has won the land to fertility and profitable productiveness. Mr. Anderson's family are of the Catholic faith and he is a supporter of the political principles of the Republican party.

ROBERT S. JONES was born in Gage county, Nebraska, November 7, 1882, record of the family history appearing in the sketch of John S. Jones, elsewhere in this volume.

Mr. Jones was educated in the district schools of Gage county and the Wymore high school. He has always followed farming. On September 5, 1906, Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Ella A. Jones, who was bom at Barrett, Kansas, a daughter of O. R. and Amanda Jones. O. R. Jones came to Gage county many years ago and at one time owned the land on which the town of Wymore now stands. Several years ago he sold his Gage county land and moved to Kansas, where he owned fifteen hundred acres of land, and where his death occurred in 1913. His widow still makes her home in that state.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Jones are the parents of four children whose names and respective ages, in 1918, are here noted: Kenneth, eight years ; Gertrude, six years ; Willard, four years; and Elizabeth, two years. Mr. and- Mrs. Jones are members of the Methodist church. He is a Mason, and in politics is a Republican. Mr. Jones has served on the school board for six years. He is the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in Bameston township, and sixty acres near Wymore, where he makes his home. Mr. Jones does a general farming business, raises cattle and live stock of all kinds, and buys and ships stock. He has made a success of Hfe, and is one of Gage county's prosperous farmers.

HURAM LACY. - With no unusual advantages at the beginning of and no spectacular phases during his career, Huram Lacy has reached the goal of success and is to-day one of the men of affairs in Gage county. His natal day was April 25, 1850, and the place of his birth was in the ferry house at Davenport, Iowa, on the ground where Colonel

Mr. Lacy's father, Huram Lacy, Sr., was a native of Kentucky and became a river man on the Mississippi. At the time of the birth of his son he was operating a ferry at Davenport. His death occurred in Henry county, Iowa, in 1857. The maiden name of the mother of our subject was Anna Workman and she was a native of Tennessee. After the death of her husband she and her children became residents of Kansas, and in 1863 they came to Richardson county, Nebraska. Her last days were spent at the home of her son John near Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Huram Lacy, the subject of this review, spent his boyhood days in Kansas and Nebraska, and at the age of twenty-one years he became a farmer in Richardson county, Nebraska. In 1877 Mr. Lacy came to Gage county and purchased eighty acres of unimproved Indian land, in Section 2, Paddock township, and on March 4, 1878, he located on this farm, which has since continued the stage of his activities. His first home was a small frame shanty now used for the shelter of stock. His present commodious frame house is among the best in the township. Mr. Lacy is the owner of three hundred and six acres of valuable land, - an evidence of his success in his chosen calling.

September 16, 1873, Mr. Lacy was united in marriage to Miss Frances Johnson, who bom at St. Joseph, Missouri, a daughter of Alexander and Mary Johnson, both of whom have been deceased several years. Mr. and Mrs. Lacy became the parents of thirteen chil- 'dren: Mattie, James, Craig, Alice, Mary and Alexander are still under the paternal roof; Joseph is in the national army and in the spring of 1918, was located at Camp Fremont, California; Adra is the wife of L. C. Wykoflf, of lola, Kansas; Bertha is the wife of E. A. Gaukel, Red Oak, Iowa; Roy, married and in the employ of the Burlington Railroad, lives at Wymore, Gage county ; W. J. is in the national army at Fort Riley. Two children died in infancy.

church at Wymore. In recent years Mr. Lacy has voted the Democratic ticket. He has served his township in an official capacity on several occasions, doing efficient service as a member of the school board, road overseer and township assessor. His name is on the membership roll of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Wymore, and he is a member also of the Knights & Ladies of Security.

Mr. Lacy located on his farm in the same year that the land in that part of the county was opened for settlement. There were no district schools in his locality at that time and no houses nearer than Blue Springs. In all the work of development and progress he has contributed his full share, and he is possessed of those qualities of heart and mind which make his place in the community an enviable one.

JOHN C. HOOD, a representative farmer of Elm township, was born April 15, 1869, in Mason county, Illinois. He is a son of Martin and Ellen (Horn) Hood, of whose seven children four are living, namely : Thomas, a resident of Fremont county, Iowa; Ellen, the wife of John J. Clancy, of Elm township, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume; John C, the subject of this review; Dora, the wife of A. J. Jamison, a farmer in Elm township. An adopted daughter, Maggie Brown, is now the wife of James Long, of Sicily township. The deceased children were Mary, Lizzie and Julia.

Martin Hood was born November 29, 1836, in Ireland and in 1850, with two brothers, he left the Emerald Isle and located at New Orleans. Thence they went to Peoria, Illinois, where Martin worked as a grader on the construction of a railroad. By frugal habits and the saving of his earnings he was soon enabled to purchase land near Peoria, Illinois. He farmed also at Chillicothe, Illinois, and in Mason county, that state. Finally he went to Union county, Iowa, where he remained less .than one year, and then, in 1882, he came to Beatrice, Nebraska, where he was located until he purchased the old home farm in Section 9, Elm township. Twelve dollars an acre was paid for this land, which the plow of man had never touched, and now, after years of toil and labor it is worth ten times that amount. In 1900 Mr. Hood retired from active farming and removed to Beatrice, where he passed away May 27, 1913. His wife, Mrs. Ellen (Horn) Hood, was born in County Galloway, Ireland, October 31, 1831. Coming to America with her sisters, in 1847, they chose as their home, Peoria, Illinois, where she met and married Martin Hood, with whom she shared many long years of happy companionship. Her life was drawn to a close February 24, 1893. These good people were devout members of the Catholic church and' gave liberally of their time and means in support of the church.

When John C. Hood was thirteen years old his parents came to-Gage county. Here he attended the district schools and he completed his education by attending the business college at Janesville, Wisconsin, where he parsued his studies of telegraphy and typewriting. For three months he was employed by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, but he had to resign his position because of the financial stress of President Cleveland's administration, which caused so much panic in financial circles and big corporations. Mr. Hood returned to his father's farm, and since that time he has continued his farming operations. After his parents' death he was ap-^ portioned his share of the estate and he h^ since purchased eighty acres from his sister Ellen, (Mrs. John J. Clancy.)

At Beatrice, Nebraska, July 4, 1899, was solemnized the marriage of John C. Hood to Miss Katherine. Madden, who was born May 15, 1877, in St. Joseph, Missouri, and who was a daughter of Michael and Bridget (Murray) Madden, natives of Ireland. Michael Madden was a bridge contractor and he continued his residence at St. Joseph until his death. Mrs. Katherine (Madden) Hood passed to the life eternal on the 2Sth of May, 1912, and she is survived by three children, who remain with their father on the farm, and whose names and. respective dates of birth are here noted: Lavina, March 31, 1900; Mildred, April 11, 1901 ; Dyle, July 1, 1906.

In politics Mr. Hood is independent, - he votes for the right man instead of merely the party candidate. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church and his fraternal association is with the Knights of Pythias.

ERNEST L. SONDEREGGER was born in Jefiferson county, Nebraska, March 9, 1885, and is a son of Carl Sonderegger, whose record appears on other pages of this volume. Ernest L. Sonderegger received his early education in the public schools of Jefiferson county, and in the Beatrice Business college. He later went to Germany and Switzerland, where he studied German and also gained expert knowledge of the nursery and seed business. After returning to the United States Mr. Sonderegger became associated with his father in the seed business in Beatrice, and he has continuously followed that business. The Sonderegger Nursery & Seed Company is one of the largest and most complete of its kind in the country, and controls a very large business, there being a heavy demand for the concern's nursery stock, and seeds being shipped almost to all parts of the world.

October 15, 1913, Mr. Sonderegger was united in marriage to Miss Helen Loeber, of Beatrice. She is a daughter of a former banker of Hebron, this state. Mrs. Sonderegger was educated in the Beatrice schools and is a graduate of the high- school of this city. She was at one time a teacher in the public schools.

In politics Mr. Sonderegger is an independent Republican, but he has had no desire for public office. He devotes his entire time to the nursery business, having charge of the seed department. Mr. and Mrs. Sonderegger are members of the Christian church of Beatrice.

EMERY S. ELEIS, whose well improved farm, of one hundred and sixty acres, is situated in Section 16, Midland township, has been a resident of Gage county from his boyhood days and is a representative of one of the prominent, honored and influential pioneer families of this section of the state, his father having at one time been the owner of three thousand acres of land in Gage county and having conducted extensive operations in the raising and shipping of Hve stock as well as along agricultural lines. The eldest in a family of three sons and two daughters, Emery S. Ellis was born in Woodford county, Illinois, on the 6th of August, 1867, and he is a son of Joseph and Margaret (Miller) ElHs, the former of whom was bom in Yorkshire, England, on the 3d of April, 1844, and the latter of whom was bom in Butler county, Ohio, in 1840, she having been a daughter of Alexander and Eliza Miller and having been a young woman at the time of the family removal to Illinois, where was solemnized her marriage to Joseph Ellis, who was at the time a gallant young veteran of the Union service in the Civil war.

Joseph Ellis acquired his rudimentary education in his native land and was about eight years old when, 1852, he came with his parents, John and Mary (Nettleton) EUis, to the United States, and settled in the state of New Jersey, whence, in 1857, removal was made to Illinois, his parents having been members of sterling old families long established in Yorkshire, England. Upon the removal to Illinois the family settled in Woodford county, where John Ellis purchased and developed a good farm and where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, the father having been a communicant of the Church of England and later of the American representative of the same faith, the Protestant Episcopal church, while the mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Joseph Ellis attended school in New Jersey and was about thirteen years old at the time of the family removal to Illinois, where at the age of seventeen years he showed his distinctive loyalty to the land of his adoption by enlisting, in August, 1861, as a member of Company B, Forty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the West and with which he participated in many engagements, including the battle of Corinth, Mississippi, in which Mr. Ellis received a severe wound in the right arm. After leaving the hospital he rejoined his regiment and took part in the battle of Vicksburg, he having been present at the capitulation of that city. Thereafter he took part in the battles at Lake Chicot, Arkansas, and Tupelo and Abbeyville, Mississippi, and after having served gallantly and faithfully for three years and two months he received his honorable discharge, in October, 1864, at Springfield, Illinois. It may consistently be noted at this point that in later years, after his removal to Gage county, Nebraska, he became an active and honored member of the post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Dewitt, Saline county, a village not far distant from his homestead farm in Gage county.

After the close of the war Mr. Ellis continued his association with farm enterprise in Illinois until 1872, when he came to Nebraska and numbered himself among the pioneers of Gage county. He first purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Grant township, and as a grower and shipper of cattle he gradually increased the area of his landed estate until he became the owner of fully three thousand acres, his average annual shipment of cattle to the eastern markets having for a term of years been about twenty carloads. He made the best of improvements upon his farm property and made his homestead place one of the model farms of the county. In gradually limiting his live-stock operations he disposed of much of his land, but he continued to be recognized as one of the most substantial and influential representatives of farm industry in the county, commanding unequivocal popular esteem and having become a di^ rector of the People's Bank of Beatrice, of which his brother John was president. Mr. Ellis was unswerving in his allegiance to the Republican party. He died March 25, 1915, and his widow now maintains her home in the city of Beatrice. Of their four children who attained to maturity the subject of this review is the eldest, as previously noted: Frank O. resides in the city of Beatrice, where he is engaged in teaming; Harry O. is a resident of

Emery S. Ellis, the immediate subject of this review, was a lad of five years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Gage county and here he early gained practical experience through his association with his father's extensive operations as an agriculturist and stock-grower, the while he duly availed himself of the advantages of the local schools. He has wisely continued his active identification with farm enterprise during the long intervening years and is one of the progressive and successful agriculturists and stock-growers of Midland township, his well improved farm comprising the southwest quarter of Section 16. He raises good grades of cattle and swine in connection with his agricultural operations, is a vigorous and well poised business man and both as a farmer and a liberal citizen he is fully upholding the prestige of a name that has been significantly prominent and honored in connection with the annals of Gage county. He has never manifested any ambition for political preferment but is aligned staunchly in the ranks of the Republican party. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.

On the 9th of March, 1898, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Ellis to Miss Caroline Moshel, daughter of Ludwig Moshel, concerning whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Ellis have an interesting family of five children and all remain, in 1918, members of the gracious home circle, namely : Edith E., Caroline M., Katherine L., Bertha L. and Lulu E.

FRED J. WOODS, M. D., of Barneston, who has here been established in the practice of his profession for more than twenty years, was born near Springfield, Illinois, March 22, 1867, and is a son of James and Henrietta (Thumbles) Woods, both now deceased. James Woods was bom in Indiana, in 1813, I and for a number of years he made his home in

Illinois, where he followed the trade of cabinetmaker. In 1868, with a covered "prairie schooner," Mr. Woods took his family and all of his earthly possessions and started across the plains of Iowa. He crossed the Missouri river into Nebraska, to locate in Otoe county, near the present village of Dunbar. In those early days, after the close of the civil war, there was a great deal of unrest amongst the people of the United States and the new state of Nebraska was just being peopled by the sturdy and courageous men and women who dared to brave pioneer hardships. After farming for some time in Otoe county Mr. Woods removed to Syracuse, that county, where he died in 1873. His wife, Henrietta (Thumbles) Woods, was bom in Germany, in 1823, and their marriage was solemnized in Illinois, where ten children were born to them. Five of the children are living, namely : George H., a Civil war veteran, now residing in Louisville, Nebraska; Eva, the wife of George Creighton, a retired farmer at Livingston, Wyoming ; Augusta, wife of J. R. Raney, living near Lincoln, Nebraska ; Laura, wife of W. R. Parkins, operating a fruit ranch at Kerman, California; and Dr. Fred J., with whom this sketch deals. The parents were strong religious characters, and reared their children in the way that they should go, believing that "as the twig is bent the tree inclines." They were members of the Methodist church. Mrs. Woods passed to her reward in 1917, having attained the venerable age of ninety-four years. Hers was a life spent in Christian service, and her memory rests as a benediction upon the lives which were so near and dear to her.

Dr. Fred J. Woods received much of his early education in the schools of Weeping Water, Nebraska, and the high school at Syracuse, Otoe county. In preparing for his chosen profession he entered the Lincoln Medical College, in the capital city of Nebraska, and in the same he was graduated in 1897, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Soon after his graduation he came to Barneston, where he has been established in successful practice during the intervening years and where his ability and character mark him as

January 4, 1891, at Aubury, Nebraska, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Woods to Miss Rose Schull, who was born March 10, 1868, in southern Missouri, and who is a daughter of Dr. H. I. and Lydia (Reynolds) Schull, the former born in Indiana and the latter in Missouri. Dr. Schull is now retired from active work and resides at Auburn, Nebraska. He practised medicine in Missouri until 1888, when he came to Auburn, Nebraska, where he continued the work of a successful physician until 1903, when he retired. His wife died June 29, 1913. They had seven children, three of whom are living : John C., farmer and attorney, of Clinton, Oklahoma ; Laura, the wife of G. H. Walters, Lincoln, Nebraska, a bookkeeper in the employ of the Nebraska Loan & Investment Company; and Rose, wife of Dr. Woods, of this review. Doctor Schull was in service in the commissary department during the Civil war.

Dr. and Mrs. Woods have two children: Hope is the wife of Luther E. Jones, who is engaged in the hardware and automobile business in Densmore, Canada, and they have three children, Dean, Dale and Katheryn. The younger child of Dr. and Mrs. Woods is Harold, who is now attending the Nebraska State Medical College, at Omaha, and is in his junior year (1918.)

Dr. Woods is a member of the Masonic fraternity, including the lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and the Commandery of Kinghts Templars. He is affiliated also with the Royal Neighbors, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal Highlanders. He is a member of the Nebraska State Medical Society. The political views of Dr. W^oods are well fortified, he has served as Mayor of Barneston, and in 1914 he was a candidate for state senator on the ticket of the Progressive party.

HENRY FOCKEN, whose civic and industrial status is indicated by his ownership of four hundred acres of valuable Nebraska land, has been a resident of Gage county since

1883 and has here won his present independence and prosperity entirely through his own industry and well ordered activities in connection with farm enterprise. In Section 17 Highland township he has a well improved landed estate of two hundred and forty acres, and three miles south of Cortland he owns a well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres.

In the picturesque district of East Friesland, Prussia, Germany, Henry Focken was born January 11, 1846, a son of Henry and Hilka (Barthles) Focken, the former of whom passed his entire life in Germany. In 1873 the widowed mother, in company with one daughter, came to America and joined her son George, who was then a resident of Logan county, Illinois, and who is now deceased, there being only two living of the family of seven children, - Henry, of this review, and John, who remains in Germany. The father was fifty-nine years of age at the time of his death, in 1869, and the mother passed the closing years of her life in Illinois, where she died in 1881, when about sixty-two years of age.

Henry Focken was reared and educated in his native land and was an ambitious and sturdy young man when, in 1873, he came to the United States and settled in Illinois. There he found employment at farm work and finally he began independent operations as a farmer in Logan county, that state. After having been thus engaged four years he came, in 1883, to Nebraska, and purchased from the railroad company one hundred and sixty acres of land in Highland township. Gage county, he having paid nineteen dollars an acre for this property, - the nucleus of his present large landed estate in that township. Applying himself earnestly and indefatigably, and carefully conserving his financial returns, Mr. Focken reclaimed his original farm to cultivation and with increasing prosperity made judicious investments until he accumulated his present valuable landed estate in this county. His first house was a rude pioneer shack which long since gave place to his present commodious and attractive fann house.

and he has made excellent improvements on all of his farm property, including the erection of good buildings and the providing of other facilities that denote thrift and prosperity. On his original homestead, which is still his place of residence, he set out trees that are now of large diameter and add materially to the attractions of the place. His political support is given to the Democratic party and he and his wife are members of the German Methodist church.

On the 24th of April, 1879, Mr. Focken married Miss Deborah Rocker, who came from Germany to America on the same ship as did her future husband, their acquaintanceship having been formed on the voyage. Of their children Henry, Jr., is a prosperous farmer in Holt county; John is similarly engaged in Highland township. Gage county; George resides at Hallan, Lancaster county; Martin is associated in the work and management of his father's home farm; and Hulda, Eacetta and Edward likewise remain members of the parental home circle.

WILLIAM PALMER. - In the early days of Nebraska history men were of the opinion that the vast rolling prairies were primarily available only as a range for vast herds of cattle, and the cattle industry became one of great importance and volume. Incidentally was, developed a branch of enterprise in which the state can still claim precedence, - that of buying cattle in large numbers for the eastern markets. One of the many men who have dealt extensively in the feeding, buying and selling of cattle is William Palmer, who is well known throughout this section of the state and at the nearby markets of Omaha, St. Joseph, Missouri, and Grand Island. He is at the present time (1918) selling his herd of registered Aberdeen Angus cattle, preparatory to retirement from active work.

Mr. Palmer was born January 27, 1863, in Marshall county, Kansas, where his parents, David and Sarah (Jemmerson) Palmer were then conducting a roadhouse and ranch on the trail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Pike's Peak, Colorado. Many weary travelers spent a night or two at the Palmer roadhouse, re* freshing themselves and their animals, and remaining only long enough to be able to continue their wild rush to the gold fields of Pike's Peak. Visions of wealth and affluence glittered before their eyes, but many a man came back with a broken heart, after a fruitless search for the elusive metal. David Palmer was a native of Indiana, and was a son of Eli Palmer, who came to Nebraska in a very early day, his death occurring in 1867. Mrs. David Palmer likewise was born in Indiana and was a daughter of G. F. Jemmerson, who was born in England and who came as a pioneer to Nebraska, where he passed away in 1878.

The marriage of David Palmer and Sarah Jemmerson was solemnized at Nebraska City, Nebraska, and their home for some time, as before mentioned, was in Marshall county, Kansas. In 1863 they came to Gage county and purchased land, Mr. Palmer here continuing his pioneer farm enterprise until he met a tragic death, by accidentally drowning in the Blue river, June 23, 1876. Five children were bom to them, as follows : David, is a farmer of Rocky Ford, Colorado; Fannie is the wife of W. C. Evans, a traveling man, and they make their home at Bameston, Gage county; Flora is the wife of Scott Mc- Farland, a retired farmer, living a at Bameston; Nettie is the wife of C. M. McNew, a farmer of Shroyer, Kansas ; and William is the subject of this review.

The early days of William Palmer's life were spent amongst the cmde but stirring and romantic surroundings of the early pioneer days, when the sod house and the ox-drawn vehicle were common sights. The wild rush of the gold-seekers also made its impress upon his young mind, but these experiences were all "stones of the fates," projected to mould a life in a certain direction. In very early boyhood William Palmer was selecting cattle for their fitness as beef or milk qualities, this foreshadowing his predilection of the later years.

Evans. She passed to her reward in 1900, leaving two children, Roy W., who is an electrical engineer in Arizona, and Lula, who is the wife of Frank Condefer, a member of the police force of Los Angeles, California. The second marriage of Mr. Palmer was solemnized in 1903, when Mrs. Minnie V. Livery became his wife. Her maiden name was Minnie Mayne, and she was born at Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Kaul) Mayne, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Pennsylvania. Mr. Mayne early became a merchant in Ohio and in 1869 he and his wife became pioneer settlers of Gage county, Nebraska, where he took up a homestead. Both he and his wife died at Blue Springs, this county.

With three hundred and fifty acres of land in Liberty township. Gage county, and four hundred acres of land in Washington county, Kansas, it is plain to be seen that Mr. Palmer has loved his work and has proved that with determination to succeed a man can start with nothing and acquire a substantial competence.

JOHN W. JONES, deceased, was bom in Denbighshire, Wales, December 20, 1854, and died December 28, 1917. Mr. Jones was educated in Wales, and in 1880 came to America, settling in Gage county, Nebraska. He and his brother came to Nebraska as bachelors and bought eighty acres of land in Gage county. At the time of his death John W. Jones was the owner of six hundred and eighty acres of land and he left each of his children a farm of eighty acres.

In 1885 Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Mary Humphreys, a native of Wales. Mrs. Jones was the daughter of Richard and Jane Humphreys, both of whom died in Wales. Mr. and Mrs. Jones became the parents of four children: John D., Robert H., Thomas C. and Jennie E., wife of H. D. Lloyd. All reside in Barneston township. The parents were members of the Welsh church, of which Mr. Jones was a deacon for about eighteen years. Mr. Jones was a Republican in politics. For a number of years he was president of the Farmers' Lumber, Grain & Coal Company. He

Thomas C. Jones was born in Gage county and received his education in the Wymore schools, graduating from the high school of that place. He has always followed farming, and recently he has greatly improved his farm building a fine new house about three years ago.

In 1913 Thomas C. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Mary R. Jones, daughter of John R. Jones, who came to Gage county in 1880, and who here became the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land.

Thomas C. Jones and wife are the parents of two children : Mary Eleanor and Lucile Jane. The family are members of the Welsh church. Mr. Jones is a Republican, and he is president of the Farmers' Union. At one time Mr. Jones served as manager of the Farmers' Shipping Association. He now buys, feeds and sells cattle and hogs quite extensively, shipping mostly to the market at St. Joseph, Missouri. Mr. Jones is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Barneston township.

CHARLES A. WIBLE is a son of a Civil war veteran, Robert B. Wible, who farmed in Elm township. Robert B. Wible was bom October 1', 1843, in Pennsylvania and was a son of Andrew and Sarah (Kilbourgh) Wible, who were farmers in Illinois, to which state they removed from Pennsylvania, where Andrew Wible had located upon his arrival from Germany, his birthplace: he was bom December 30, 1816, and in 1856 removed to Illinois, where his death occurred June 24, 1890.

Robert B. Wible enlisted in the Civil war, in the teamster service, and was faithful to his duty during the entire war. After the sword and musket had been laid aside by the nation and the plow was again placed in the furrow Mr. Wible went to Nodaway county, Missouri, where for fourteen years he followed his agricultural activities. In 1882 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased land five miles southeast of Ellis, where he re- mained until his retirement : he then removed to Beatrice, in 1902, and he passed away August 7, 1909. His widow still resides in Beatrice. In Nodaway county, Missouri, October 27, 1878, Robert B. Wible was united in marriage to Clara Martin, who was bom in that county, February 1, 1861, a daughter of John and Mary (Pitman) Martin. John Martin died at Elk City, Kansas, and his widow is now living in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Wible were the parents of two children : Emma was born July 26, 1879, and is the wife of Jesse Pearce, who is farming the old Wible homestead; and Charles A. is the immediate subject of this sketch.

Charles A. Wible was bom July 23, 1882, in Elm township, and was educated in the district school. July 21, 1902, he married Miss Barbara Grabber, who was born March 22, 1885, in Gage county. Her parents were Joseph and Barbara (Stuber) Grabber, who were married in April, 1872. Mr. Grabber was born January 28, 1834, and died January 3, 1918, at his daughter's home. Mrs. Grabber was born March 15, 1849, and died September 13, 1908. Mrs. Charles A. Wible was the seventh in a family of eleven children. Mr. and Mrs. Wible are the parents of four children: Emma, Charles, Clara, and Dorothy. Mr. Wible is renting one hundred and twenty acres of land from his mother and is doing a general farming business. In politics he classifies himself as an independent Republican. His views are influenced by the character of the man and not the party which he follows. Mrs. Wible is a member of the Catholic church.

HENRY A. LaSELLE. - In the year 1867, which marked the admission of Nebraska as one of the sovereign states of the Union, this venerable and revered citizen of Beatrice established his home in the beautiful little city in which he still resides, though at that time the capital of Gage county was a mere straggling, frontier village. Prior to this, as a youth. Judge LaSelle had gained intimate experience in connection with pioneer life in the west and before coming again to this portion of our national domain he had given to his native land the loyal and valiant service of a patriot soldier of the Union during virtually the entire period of the Civil war. In the midst of the clamour and devastagon of the great European war in which the United States has become involved at the time of this writing, it is grateful to revert to the strong and noble young men who went forth in defense of our national integrity and honor when the Civil war was precipitated, and to mark with renewed appreciation the lofty patriotism of those who went forth in that struggle, especially in view of the fact that each year records a definite loss in the ranks of the now venerable citizens who had been soldiers of the Union in the historic conflict between the states of the north and the south.

Judge LaSelle, a man of strong intellectuality and marked ability, contributed in the early days to the march of development and progress in Nebraska and he has continued the exemplar of high-minded and liberal civic ideals during the long intervening period. Though the year 1918 has recorded the eightieth anniversary of his birth, he has the verve and enthusiasm of a man many years his junior and does not consent to divorce himself from practical business activities and effective communal service. He still gives his attention to well ordered real-estate operations and since 1910 has been the incumbent of the office of justice of the peace. Even these few preliminary statements give assurance that this honored pioneer is one specially entitled to recognition in this history of Gage county and the state of Nebraska.

Henry A. EaSelle was born in Madison county, New York, on the 5th of August, 1838, and is a son of Mason A. and Dorcas (Conant) EaSelle, both of whom passed their entire lives in that county, where the respective families were founded in the pioneer period of the history of the Empire state, besides which both found representation in the colonial settlement of America. Mason A. LaSalle gave his entire active life to the basic industry of agriculture and was one of the venerable and honored citizens of his native county at the time of his death, which occured March 18, 1875, his devoted wife having passed to eternal rest in the year 1866. Of their six sons and five daughters, five are now living, and of the number the subject of this review was the fourth in order of birth.

The childhood and early youth of Henry A. IvaSelle were compassed by the invigorating environment and discipline of the old homestead farm in Madison county, New York, and his district-school education was supplemented by a course in Hamilton Academy, at Hamilton, New York. In 1856, at the age of eighteen years, Mr. LaSelle initiated his pioneer experience in the great west, as in that year he located in Fayette county, Iowa, where he assisted in the original development work of a new farm, besides finding requisition for his services as a teacher in the pioneer schools, this being his initial service in the pedagogic profession. In 1859 he returned to his native state, where he added to his scholastic re-inforcement by continuing his studies for two years in the historic Oneida Conference Seminary, at Cazenovia. Thereafter he continued to give his attention principally to teaching, until there came to him the opportunity of voicing his ardent patriotism in direct military service after the Civil war had been . precipitated on a divided nation.

In August, 1862, Mr. LaSelle enlisted as a private in Company D, One Hundred and Fourteenth New York Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Elisha B. Smith, and with this gallant regiment he lived up to the full tension of vigorous campaign activities incidental to the operations of the Department of the Gulf. Always to be found at the post of duty, he was made a non-commissioned officer and in his earnest and efficient service gained the unequivocal commendation of his superior officers, the while he had the confidence and respect of his comrades in arms. He was finally assigned to detached commissary duty in the city of New Orleans, where he had charge of thirteen hundred men, but near the close of the war he rejoined his regiment, while it was in service under General Hancock in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia. After the assassination of President Lincoln the regirnent proceeded to the national capital, were it was assigned to guard duty during the period in which the assassin. Booth, was captured and tried, and finally it was Mr. LaSelle's privilege to participate with his regiment in the Grand Review of the victorious Union troops in Washington, after the close of .the war. He then returned with his comrades to New York state, and there, in the city of Elmira, he received his honorable discharge in June, 1865. As a soldier he participated in General Banks' expedition to the Gulf of Mexico and in the Teche campaign to the west of New Orleans. With his command.he. was continuously under fire for fortytwo days, incidental to the siege and final capture of Port Hudson, and he took part also in the battle of Dbnaldsonville and in the Franklin expedition to Sabine Pass, in the meanwhile participating in numerous engagements of minor order.

Mr. LaSalle passed the winter of 1865-1866 - in the city of New York, but in the early spring was called home to the bedside of his dying mother, who passed away March 20, 1866. In April, 1866, Mr. LaSelle again set forth for the west, and he first located at St. Joseph, Missouri, where he passed about one year, giving his attention to railroad work and realestate operations. In the meanwhile he visited Nebraska, which was soon to pass from territorial to state regime, and in this sojourn he entered claim to a tract 'of government land near Beatrice, Gage county, the future city having at that time been a little frontier hamlet with about twenty buildings, a few of them primitive business establishments. In addition to his homestead claim Mr. LaSelle secured land by, purchase also, and besides making provision for the improving of his land he purchased a stock of general merchandise and engaged in business as one of the pioneer merchants of Beatrice, where he continued operations in this line about fifteen years, his store having stood on the site now occupied by the depot of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. In 1882 Mr. La- Selle initiated operations in the real-estate business, and through this medium he assisted in bringing many desirable settlers to this section of the state, besides contributing in a general way to civic and industrial progress. He still continues a representative of this line of enterprise, but does not attempt to carry on operations as actively as in former years. As before noted, he has served since 1910 as justice of the peace, and he has made the office justify its name. A man of broad mental ken, he decides each case according to the dictates of justice and equity and without fear or favor, so that very few of his rulings have met with reversal by courts of higher jurisdiction.

Judge L'aSelle cast his first presidential vote in 1860, for Abraham Lincoln, and when on furlough from service in the Civil war, in 1864, he voted for the martyred president again, on the occasion of his second election. Since that time he has never failed to support every presidential candidate of the Republican party and thus all of the presidential candidates of the party save its very first. General John C. Fremont, has found him aligned as a staunch supporter. He perpetuates the most gracious memories and association of his military career by retaining affiliation with Rawlins Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in which noble patriotic organization at Beatrice he has been an influential and honored member during virtually the entire period of its history. He has been for many years a zealous member of the Presbyterian church, as was also his wife.

In the year 1875 was solemnized the marriage of Judge LaSelle to Mrs. Elizabeth (Campbell) Crawford, widow of William G. Crawford, of Council Bluffs, Iowa. She was born in Brown county, Ohio, and was a daughter of Martin M. and Sarah B. (Walker) Campbell. After her first marriage she and her husband resided for a time in, Nebraska, in the territorial days, and Mr. Crawford served as a member of the territorial legislature in 1857-1858. Soon thereafter Mr. and Mrs. Crawford established their residence at Council Blufifs, Iowa, where he continued in the practice of his profession until his death, as one of the representative members of the bar of Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford became the parents of one daughter, Kittie C. The Crawfords were neighbors and close friends of the late General Grenville M. Dodge, and upon the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad Miss Kittie C. Crawford accompanied the General over the line to the Pacific coast, as guest on his private car, besides which General Dodge also entertained Mrs. Crawford and her husband. Judge LaSelle, after her second marriage. Of this second union no children were born, but the closest of ties link Mr. LaSelle and his stepdaughter, who has ever accorded to him the utmost filial affection. The supreme loss and bereavement in the long and useful life of Judge LaSelle came when his gracious and devoted wife was summoned to eternal rest, her death having occurred January 11, 1916, and her memory being revered by all who came within the sphere of her gentle and kindly influence.

JAMES M. HOWE, a prosperous farmer in Section 8, Liberty township, was born May 22, 1885, near Tuscola, Illinois, and is a son of William and Harriet (Lester) Howe.

William Howe was bom in Bourbon county, Kentucky, in 1828, and died in 1892. He was a farmer, and at the time of the gold excitement in California he went to that state, in 1850. There he prospered for a time, returning to Illinois with about four thousand dollars. Mr. and Mrs. Howe became the parents of eight children, as follows : James M., the subject of this review; John S., of Miles City, Montana; Perry, of Tuscola, Illinois; Etta, wife of James Drennen, of Osceola, Iowa; Effie, wife of J. C. Reed, professor of schools at White City, Wisconsin; Charles, a farmer near Champaign, Illinois; Leona, wife of W. H. Joseph, of Tuscola, IlHnois ; and Lora, wife of William Robertson, an attorney at Mount Vernon, Ohio.

William Howe was a Republican and for several years was supervisor for his district, lie came to Illinois in very moderate circumstances and was a very successful farmer. The American progenitors of the Howe family were natives of England and came to America

James M. Howe was educated in the public schools of Tuscola, Illinois, and remained in that state until 1883, when he came to Nev braska and settled in Gage county. In 1883 he was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Longshore, of Kansas. She was bom in Madison county, Iowa, a daughter of Samuel Longshore, who was a hamessmaker by trade and who was a captain in the Civil war, during the entire period of which he valiantly served, he having enlisted in 1861.

Mr. and Mrs. James M. Howe are the parents of five children : Ethel, wife of Roy Palmer, a civil engineer living in Los Angeles, California; Roy W., on his father's farm; Merle, wife of Charles H. StoU, an attorney of Long Island, New York; and Frank R., now (spring of 1918) located at Camp Dick, New Jersey. Frank R. Howe is a graduate of Plattsburg, New York, training camp and also of Manhattan, Kansas, Military School. He is now a lieutenant and expects to go to France in the aviation corps. He was employed in the National City Bank of New York for about two years. James B., the youngest of the children, is attending school and living at home.

Mr. and Mrs. Howe are members of the Presbyterian church. He is a Mason, belonging to the lodge of the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons at Bameston and to the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons and the Council of Royal and Select Masters at Wymore, this county. He served as supervisor during 1890-1891 and 1892. In 1883 Mr. Howe bought one hundred and sixty acres of government land, and he has added to this from time to time until he now owns eight hundred and eighty acres. He has improved this land, has erected a fine farm home and good farm buildings and does a general farming business. He is president of the Commercial Bank of Barneston.

and Martha (Jones) Jones, both of whom passed their lives in Wales, where Mr. Jones was a farmer and well-to-do citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Evan Jones had six children, as follows : Richard G., a stock man in Alberta, Canada ; Edward C, a farmer in Alberta, Canada ; Jane married and living in Wales; John E., of this sketch ; and two others, who live in Wales.

John E. Jones was educated in Wales, and after coming to America attended school in Iowa, where he established his residence in 1872. He worked on farms and in 1879 he came to Gage county, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, for which he paid the Government three and one-half dollars an acre. This land is in Section 8, Bameston township, where he now makes his home, and he has developed the property into a valuable farm.

In 1891 Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Jones, and further record conceming her family will be found in the sketch of John S. Jones, elsewhere in this volumn.

Mr. and Mrs. John E. Jones are the parents of three children, - Amwell E., county agent of Jewell county, Kansas. E. G., now in Lincoln college, learning telegraphy with the intention of soon going into the army as operator ; and Evan, in Wymore high school.

Mr. Jones and family are members of the Welsh church, and in politics Mr. Jones is a Republican. He is now the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land, which he has accumulated by his own effort, and he has on the property good buildings and other improvements.

ISAAC REID - The subject of this record was born in Whiteside county, Illinois, December 13, 1859. His parents George and Rachel (Gibler) Reid, were natives of Ohio, in which state their marriage was solemnized. Soon after this event they became residents of Whiteside county, Illinois, where the father purchased a farm, and there they made their home until 1877, when they came to Gage county, Nebraska. Here Mr. Reid became a successful farmer, spending the rest of his days in Island Grove township. He and his wife were members of the Methodist church and in politics he was a Republican. He served in various township officers, including those of justice of the peace and road overseer. Of the seven children five are still living : Christian, a farmer of Island Grove township ; William, a resident of Thomas county, Kansas; John, of Phillips county, Kansas ; Isaac, subject of this sketch; and James, of Oklahoma.

Isaac Reid was a young man of eighteen years when the home was established in Ne^ braska and his education had been acquired in the public schools of Illinois. On reaching manhood he became an independent farmer and he is to-day the owner of one hundred and twenty acres, with good improvements, all of which have been placed here by him. He does general farming and is meeting with deserved success. His farm is in Island Grove township.

February 6, 1896, Mr. Reid was united in marriage to Miss Beryl Avison, who was bom in Sangamon county, Illinois, a daughter of George and Ann Elizabeth (Ayre) Avison, natives of England, the former bom in Lincolnshire and the latter in Yorkshire. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Reid has been blessed with one child, George, who is still under the parental roof. The members of the family are all members of the Christian church and all active workers in the same. In politics Mr. Reid is a Republican and he has rendered efficient service as a member of the school board and as road overseer. Mr. Ried is a progressive and public-spirited in citizenship, successful as an agriculturist and can always be relied upon to give his support to any worthy cause.

JOHN FRITZEN was seventeen years of age when he came with his parents to Gage county and in here initiating his independent career as a farmer virtually his sole equipment consisted of a team of horses that had been given to him by his father. Of his achievement in the intervening years tangible evidence is given in his ownership of a well improved farm estate of four hundred acres, in Logan township, his home place, comprising two hundred and forty acres, being in Section

15, and the remaining constituent portion ol his estate being the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Section 21, in the same township, which is operated by his older son.

Mr. Fritzen was born in Brown county, Illinois, on the 28th of February, 1865, and is a son of Lammert and Sophia (Rines) Fritzen, the former of whom was bom in Friesland. Province of Hanover, Germany, and the latter of whom was likewise a native of Germany, their marriage having been solemnized in Brown county, Illinois. Lammert Fritzen was reared and educated in his native province and was sixteen years of age when he came to the United States and settled in Brown county, Illinois. There he continued his association with farm enterprise until 1882, when he came with his family to Nebraska and rented a farm in Gage county. Later he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Logan township, and this he developed into one of the excellent farms of that township. After his retirement from the farm he established his residence in the city of Beatrice, and he is now living in the home of his son John, of this review, vigorous and alert in both physical and mental powers and constantly finding opportunity to do active work about the farm, though he celebrated in 1917 the seventy-seventh anniversary of his birth, his loved wife having passed away at the age of sixty years, a lifelong member of the Lutheran church, of which he likewise is a zealous communicant. His parents, John and Etta (Boden) Fritzen, passed the closing years of their lives in Gage county.

John Fritzen acquired his early education in the public schools of Illinois and there learned in his youth the varied details of farm industry. After coming to Gage county he assisted in the' work of his father's farm, doing effective service in connection with its reclamation and development, and at the age of twenty-two years he began independent operations as a farmer, as previously intimated in this article. When he became the owner of his present fine homestead farm the buildings on the place were of insignificant order, but he has erected a modern house, bams and other buildings that mark the place as being one of the best improved farms of Logan township. The old house is now used as a granary and the original prairie stable that was on the place is still standing. Mr. Fritzen has been an energetic and successful agriculturist and stock-grower, has had no desire to extend his influence along political lines or to serve in public office, but he has been loyal and liberal in support of measures projected for the general good of the community and is independent in his political attitude. His civic loyalty caused him to give effective service when he was called upon to assume the position of school director, and the same was true in connection with his service as road overseer in his township. Both he and his wife were reared in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which she was a devoted member until her death, June 13, 1905, and of which he continues an active adherent.

In 1894 Mr. Fritzen married Miss Marie Frerichs, who was born in Illinois and reared in Gage county, Nebraska. She is a daughter of L,. W. Frerichs, of whom specific mention is made on other pages. She is survived by six children : Lammert J., as before intimated, has the active management of the second farm owned by his father in Logan township; William is associated in the management of the homestead place; Sophia is the wife of Frederick Lineman, a farmer in Hanover township; and Marie, Lena and John, Jr., remain at the paternal home.

JOHN A. McMURRAY. - The home of Mr. and Mrs. John A. McMurray has been established in Section IS, Liberty township, for the past thirty-five years and while they have contributed of their best to the agricultural and social growth of the community, they have also grown in the esteem and friendship of their fellows. They have reared a family of six children, five of whom are living and honorably filling their places in life. The firstborn was William, who was called to his eternal home at the age of fifteen years; Lawrence was the next in order of birth and he is a prosperous farmer of Liberty township; Frances is the wife of J. R. Spicer, a merchant of Beatrice; George is a farmer of Liberty township; and Aruthr is farming one-half mile east of his father's home place.

John A. McMurray was born February 14, 1842, in Washington county, New York, the place of his birth being the old homestead of his parents, William and Maria (Taylor) Mc- Murray. The old homestead is now owned by William M. McMurray, the only other living son of the five children born to this couple. William McMurray was born in Washington county. New York, the son of Francis McMurray, a scion of Scotch-Irish ancestors who came to this country when General George Washington was president of the new republic and who established a home in Washington county. New York, where the family tree has been continuously represented to this day. WilKam McMurray, the father of John A. McMurray, became a very successful farmer and left to his sons a heritage that helped them to their success in life. He married Maria Taylor, the daughter of John Taylor, who was bom in Ireland and who came to Washington county. New York, where he farmed and where his death occured. John Taylor was only eighteen years of age at the time of his coming and here he married. His daughter, Maria (Taylor) McMurray, and her husband spent their lives on the homestead in New York.

John A. McMurray was educated in the schools of Argyle, New York and in the Argyle Academy. In 1862 he was united in marriage to one who has been his loved companion for more than fifty-six years, - Mary J. McFadden, who was born in Argyle, New York, the only child of Isaiah and Margaret (McFadden) McFadden, who are long since deceased. In 1867, Mr. and Mrs. McMurray left their friends and relatives in the old Empire state and cast in their lot with the farmers of Jasper county, Iowa. There they continued their farming operations until 1883, when they came to Gage county, Nebraska, and established their home on Section IS, Liberty township, where Mr. McMurray pur- chased from the government three hundred and twenty acres of land. The scenes and condtions of that day were quite different from those which meet their gaze to-day. No more do the sod houses grace the soil, but well built, modern houses; no more the oxen, but the automobile ; no more the wild prairie, but now the broad fields of waving grain.

Mr. and Mrs. McMurray are members of the Congregational church and for many years Mr. McMurray has been a stalwart of the Republican party, retaining the same political views as his father before him. He is a member of the district school board and with his good wife is enjoying the esteem and friendship of their associates of many years in Gage county.

BENJAMIN KROOS is a prosperous farmer of Riverside township, where he is the owner of four hundred and twenty acres of land. He was bom in Westphalia, Germany, May 8, 1859, and is a son of Stephen and Elizabeth (Leiwesmeier) Kroos, who passed their entire lives in their native land, where the father was a farmer. Stephen Kroose was bom in 1810 and died in 1877; his wife was born in 1824 and died in 1902. They were devout members of the Catholic church. Of the six children born to them two have established their homes in the United States, - Benjamin, the subject of this sketch, and Henry, who lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Joseph, Anna, Stephen and Mary still live in their native country.

Benjamin Kroos was educated in his native land and at his father's side he learned the art of intensive farming. When he arrived in the United States, in 1881, he very easily procured work as a farm hand in Logan county, Illinois. In 1886 he came to Gage county, where he farmed on rented land until 1890, when he purchased the Moses farm, in Section 36, Riverside township. In 1893 he sold this land and purchased land in Thayer county, where he was engaged in farming until 1896, when he returned to Gage county. For four years he rented land in Lincoln township. In 1900 he purchased his present farm.

of four hundred and twenty acres, and since then he has confined his efforts to the upbuilding of a large, well cultivated farm property. May 6, 1889, Benjamin Kroos married Miss Lina Grabber, who was bom in Illinois, January 2, 1868. She is a daughter of Joseph and Lena (Simon) Grobher, the former of whom was bom in 1834 and died January 3, 1918, at Charles Wible's home. The mother was born in 1834 and died June 12, 1871. Joseph Grabber was married the second time, to Barbara Stueber (See Charles Wible sketch for further history.) Mr. and Mrs. Kroos became the parents of five children: Amelia died at the age of four years; and George, Lewis, Joseph and Elizabeth are at the parental home. The children have received good educational advantages, and the three sons are helping their father with his extensive farming operations.

Mr. and Mrs. Kroos and family are members of the Catholic church at Beatrice, and his political views are in harmony with the principles of the Republican party.

RENKEN LENERS was a lad of seven years at the time when his father immigrated to America from the picturesque province of Friesland, in the extreme northeastern part of the Province of Hanover, Germany, where he was born July 12, 1851. Little could the wide-eyed boy have anticipated that destiny had it in store for him not only to become a pioneer of Gage county, Nebraska, but also to achieve here secure vantage-ground as one of the substantial farmers and valued citizens of Logan township, where his admirably improved farm, of one hundred and sixty acres, is situated in Section 10. Mr. Leners is a son of Renken and Etta (Schwers)) Leners, the latter of whom died in Germany. Renken Leners, Sr., came to America in 1858 and settled in Adams county, Illinois, where he acquired land and eventually became a successful farmer. There he continued his residence until his death.

various details of farm work. In 1878, in company with his younger brother, John, he came to Gage county, and in shipping their household goods the two received an aggregate rebate of cost in the sum of thirty dollars. The brothers divided this sum, and the amount received by Renken represented at the time his sole cash capital, though his possessions included three mules, some hogs, a few chickens and a small assortment of tools and implements, all brought from Illinois. He had rented before coming to Gage county a tract of land in Hanover township, the same having been owned by a man residing at Galesburg, Illinois. In a primitive pioneer home he installed his household goods and with his wife and their three children to spur his efforts, he vigorously prosecuted his activities as a pioneer farmer, with determination to win independence and definite prosperity. When he finally purchased his present farm the land was raw prairie, and he has developed the place into one of the fine farm properties of the county. His first plow was purchased of John Wagner, at Beatrice, and before. taking it home he made a trial of the implement by plowing along the road by the site of the present Beatrice National Bank on the one side and the Paddock hotel on the other. At that time there were no buildings there, and Cotirt street was like a country road. He had his share of hardships and reverses incidental to pioneer life, with losses by drought and grasshopper scourge, but he was not to be dismayed and pressed forward earnestly to the goal of prosperity. He has aided in the general progress of the county along civic and industrial lines and has been at all times firmly entrenched in popular confidence and good will in his home community. His political support is given to the Republican party, he served twenty-five years as school director of his district, and both he and his wife became earnest communicants of the Lutheran church while still in youth. He has been a trustee and treasurer of the church for twenty-five years.

Schuster, who was born in Germany, Januarj' 21, 1849, and the supreme loss and bereavement in his life came when his devoted wife was summoned to eternal rest, on the 26th of January, 1915. They became the parents of nine children: Renken, Jr., remains at the paternal home; Maggie is the wife of John Fossler, of Logan township; Menne died at the age of five years; John R., the maiden name of whose wife was Emma Fossler, is a farmer in Logan township ; Etta is the widow of Martin Kaspers and is housekeeper for her father - she has a daughter, Amanda, born January 19, 1905 ; Menne, who is a farmer in Logan township, married Miss Sarah Cramer; and three died in childhood.

JOHN L. GERDES. - In East Friesland,. Germany, the family home of Gerd and Trintae (Janssen) Gerdes was established, and there Gerd Gerdes plied his trade of shoemaker, bending over his bench day by day. Many of his friends and acquaintances wereleaving the homeland for the shores of America, where it was said there were vast fertilelands to be tilled and won to cultivation if one were willing to work hard and long. Mr. Gerdes decided that, with his sons' help, he, too could win a better living in the New World. Consequently, in 1869, they had settled on a. farm in Missouri, and until his death he there tilled the soil. His wife, Trintae (Janssen) Gerdes, bore him seven children, four of whom are living: Teta is a widow and makes herhome with her brother Gerd, who is a farmer of Bameston township ; Tena is the widow of John Helmrics and lives in Barneston township; and John L. is the subject of this sketch.

John L. Gerdes was born March 10, 1848, in East Friesland, Germany, and was a youngman of twenty-one years when his parents established their home in Missouri. He helped with the farming of his father's land and laterpurchased land for himself. This he farmed until his coming to Gage county, in 1883. In

In 1886 Mr. Gerdes chose as his wife Miss Grace Boschen, who is a native of Germany and who came to this country in 1886. They are the parents of ten children : Gerd L., the firstborn, is at the parental home, as is also John O. ; lyiibbe operates one of his father's farms; Henry, Ered, Tena, William, Carl, Ida, and Marie are all under the parental roof and taking their share of the burden of tilling the soil and at the various other responsibilities of the farm and the home.

Mr. Gerdes and his family are members of the Lutheran church and the local edifice, dedicated to the worship of God, is on five acres of land donated by Mr. Gerdes. In politics Mr. Gerdes follows the lead of the Democratic party and he has served as a member of the school board of his district for twenty years.

Mr. Gerdes, exemplifies the fact that a man can become more than ordinarily well-to-do if he is made of the right stuff and is willing to sacrifice present pleasure for future good. From time to time Mr. Gerdes has added to his original purchase of one hundred and twenty acres and he is now the sole owner of four hundred and thirty-five acres in Gage county and two hundred acres in Kansas. The days when he established his home in Gage county were the days of hard struggles against the whims and caprices of nature and the loneliness of the pioneer days. He is now enjoying the fruits of those early days of labor, and his posterity will not only enjoy them also but will be able to carry on his work with newer methods and greater opportunities for service to mankind.

WIENS BROTHERS. - Jacob and Frank Wiens are two energetic young farmers, jointly operating three hundred and twenty acres of land in Sections 24 and 25, Lincoln township. They are specializing in dairying and the feeding of beef cattle for the market, and are the rising dairy farmers of their township. They are the sons of Peter and Anna (Jansen) Wiens. Peter Wiens is a native of Germany, where he was born October 16, 1850, and his wife was bom June 9, 1860. In 1888

Mr. Wiens with his young wife and their two children came across the Atlantic and cast in their lot with the many other immigrants of German extraction in Gage county, Nebraska. Upon his arrival in the county he was employed by his brother-in-law, Jacob Claassen, as a laborer on the farm. Later he rented land until he was able to purchase one hundred and seventy-eight acres, in Blakely township, where he is now doing a general farming business. Since the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Wiens in this country nine more children have been born to them, and all of the eleven children are living : John is a farmer in Midland township; Mary is the housekeeper for her brothers Jacob and Frank; Jacob is one of the two subjects of this sketch; Peter is living in Hubbell, Thayer county ; Herman resides at Bayard, Morrill county ; Frank is the associate subject of this review; and Henry, Agatha, Ernest, Gerhard, and Anna are at home with their parents.

Jacob Wiens was bom September 25, 1887, in Riverside township, and his brother Frank was born September 24, 1893, in Saline county, Nebraska. The brothers received the educational advantages of the rural schools and German parochial schools, and they became experienced farmers by helping their father in his farming operations. The farmer is the most necessary individual in our social organization, as we are constantly in need of food and clothing and the farmer is growing the food for the men who are turning his raw materials into the manufactured articles. These two young men are doing the share of the work most necessarj', "behind the Hues," for the conduct of the great world war in which we are engaged. They are Republicans in politics and are members of the Mennonite church.

JOHN R. SIBLE. - As one of the many thrifty Bohemian farmers who have settled in Elm township. Gage county, John R. Sible merits representation in this history. Mr. Sible was bom March 6, 1874, in Johnson county, Iowa, and came to Gage county with his parents when he was a child of four years, so it can well be said that he is essentially a

Gage county man. His parents, Frank and Anna (Sible) Sible, are natives of Bohemia and are farming land in Section 27, Elm township. Frank Sible was born in Bohemia, May 28, 1843, and is a son of Joseph and Katie Sible, who left their native home, among the Slavonic peoples of central Europe, and cast in their fortunes with the farming people of Johnson county, Iowa. When they retired from active farming their home was made in Iowa City, Iowa, from which place they were called to the life eternal.

In 1879 Frank Sible came with his family to Gage county, Nebraska and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild land in Elm township. -He built a board shanty and constructed a sod bam for his cattle and beasts of burden. He and his wife were willing to deprive themselves of comforts and luxuries for the present, that the future might bring greater ease and prosperity. They are today enjoying the fruits of their frugality and labors of those early years. Their marriage was solemnized in 1870, in Iowa. Mrs. Sible is a daughter of James and Josephine Sible, who were natives of Bohemia and had tilled the soil in Iowa prior to coming tO' Gage county, where they passed the remainder of their lives. They have three sons, - Frank, living at Odell; John, the subject of this review ; and George, likewise a resident of Gage county. Mr. and ]\Irs. Frank Sible have retired from active farming and now reside in the village of Odell. They have, as the years have passed, added to their land holdings until now they own four hundred acres of land. Both are members of the Catholic church.

John R. Sible spent his boyhood and young manhood in the home of his parents and helped in the winning of of the wilderness to productivity. He is now operating one hundred and twenty acres of his father's landed estate. He has made extensive improvements on his farm and each year is feeding great numbers of cattle for the market.

November 22, 1899, recorded the marriage of John R. Sible and Miss Bessie Kunc and they became the parents of four children, of whom the second child is deceased. The others - Mabel, Irma, and Sylvia - are receiving all of the educational advantages of the public schools. Mrs. Sible was born in Bohemia, June 28, 1876. Her parents are retired farmers living at Wilber, Nebraska. She is a daughter of Frank and Anna (Broz) Kunc, who came from Bohemia and who settled in Johnson county, Nebraska, about 1893. They continued their farming operations until their retirement to Wilber.

The political views of Mr. Sible are independent, that is to say that the character of the man that is put up by either party has more weight in gaining Mr. Sible's vote than the party that is vouching for his eligibility to the office. With the members of his family he holds to the faith of the Catholic church.

MATTHEW W. RYAN, superintendent oi schools at Barneston, Nebraska, was born in Port Henry, New York, April 23, 1880. He is the son of Patrick B. Ryan and Margaret (Cleary) Ryan.

Both Patrick B. Ryan and Margaret Cleary came from Ireland with their parents in 1835 and settled in New York state, where ther received their early education and where they were married. Patrick B. Ryan moved with, his family to Gage county, Nebraska, in the year 1883 and settled on a farm two miles west of Liberty, where he resided until the time of his death, in 1915. Margaret Ryan is still living and makes her home with her son Matthew. Of their children five are living: Mrs. P. Carver, of Burchard, Nebraska;. Mrs. M. J. Carver, of Bassett, Nebraska, Mrs. Tim Rawley, of Barneston ; Mrs. George Humphrey, of Fairbury, Nebraska; and. Matthew W. Ryan, of Barneston, Nebraska.

In 1911 Matthew W. Ryan was married to- Jessie Irwin, of Hubbell, Nebraska. They have one boy, Irwin, now three years of age- (1918). Mr. Ryan is the owner of his father's old homestead, but devotes his entire time tohis profession.

Matthew Ryan was educated in school district No. 126, Gage county, was graduated' from the Liberty high school, and in 1907 wasgraduated from the Peru State Normal. He-

CLARENCE L. SHAFER. - That Gage county offers splendid inducements to those who wish to engage in agricultural pursuits is attested by the fact that many of her native sons have chosen to remain within her borders and by improving their opportunities have been rewarded with success. Among this number mention should be made of the gentleman whose name introduces this record.

Clarence L. Shafer was bom on the farm which is now his home, his natal day being September 17, 1871. His parents were D. W. and Mary (Spitznale) Shafer, the former of whom was bom in Ohio, and the latter in Virginia.

In 1867, the year that Nebraska became a state, D. W. Shafer came west, making the trip in true pioneer style, in a covered wagon, and he established a home in Gage county. He took a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, eighty of which lay in Gage county and eighty in Pawnee county. As we hear the few early settlers recount the story of pioneer times, marked by hardships and privations, it is only just to such men that a record be made of their achievements and success. From a wild and unbroken prairie D. W. Shafer developed a good farm. He reared a family of eight children, and made his home on the old farm as long as he lived, his death occurring here June 24, 1911, at the age of sixty-eight years. He was born July 8, 1843. His wife, who was born December 22, 1849, passed away October 24, 1912. Both were members of the Christian church and were people of real, genuine worth. Of their eight children seven are living : Auta is the wife of Leon Doty, and they reside in Pawnee county ; Cora is the wife of Rev. Sherman McClure, who is a minister of the Christian church, now located at. Deming, New Mexico, and who for two years was state evangelist for Nebraska; Clarence L., the subject of this review, was next in order of birth ; O. D. is a farmer near Belgrade, Nance county, Nebraska ; John is a professor in the schools of Grand River, Iowa ; Estella is the wife of Thomas Thomas, a farmer at Litchfield, Nebraska; and Lois is the wife of Orva Ripley, of Beatrice, Nebraska.

Clarence I^. Shafer was reared on the farm, attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education, this being supplemented "by his attending Cotner University, of Bethany, Nebraska, for one year. He chose for a life work the calling to which he had been reared and as a boy under the instructions of his father began learning the best methods of tilling the soil, planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops, so that as he reached man's estate he was well fortified for becoming a farmer on his own account. He is the owner of a valuable tract of three hundred and sixty acres, eighty of which are in Gage county, the balance lying across the line in Pawnee county. Aside from raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate, he deals in registered Hereford cattle, and both branches of his business yield him substantial income. He is progressive and practical in his methods and on his place are to be found three sets of farm buildings.

As a companion and helpmeet Mr. Shafer chose Miss Lora Freel, a native of Missouri, who passed away in 1901, leaving two children: Opal, the wife of Russell Welsh, on one of Mr. Shafer's farms in Pawnee county; and Hubert, still at home engaged in farming for himself. Mr. Shafer's second marriage was with Miss Alma Paulsen, a native of Davenport, Iowa, and they have four children: Dale, Glenn, Evelyn, and John.

FREDERICK D. KRITER, a successful farmer and one of the old-time residents of Paddock township, is a sterling citizen who well merits recognition in- this history. Mr. Kriter was born in Lake county, Illinois, November 14, 1860, a son of George Kriter' who was a native of Alsace-Lorraine. When a young man of thirty-two years of age George

Kriter came to America and settled in Lake county, Illinois, where he worked at his trade - that of carpenter. He was employed in Chicago when the population of that city was numbered by thousands instead of the millions of to-day. From Illinois Mr. Kriter moved to Minnesota, and in that state enlisted in a regiment of Minnesota volunteer infantry, with which he served three years in the Union army during the Civil war. He was in several battles and received injuries which compelled him to enter a hospital at Washington, D. C, where his family joined him later. Among the earliest recollections of the subject of this sketch are those of the two windows in the room where they stayed in Washington and from which they could hear the roar of cannon. One daughter was bom during the family's stay in the capital city. After the war Mr. Kriter returned to Minnesota, where he joined his brother-in-law on a farm near Fairbault. During the last three years of their residence in Minnesota the grasshoppers destroyed their crops, and Mr. Kriter moved with his family to Marshall county, Kansas. They were very poor and Mr. Kriter and family worked at anything to be found. On the anniversary of Mrs. Kriter's birthday they came to Gage county, Nebraska, June 14, 1880, and here he took squatter's claim to forty acres of land in Section 10, Paddock township. On the day of their arrival the family planted some tomatoes and other garden truck and prepared to make their home. Their first abode was a tent, which was later blown away in a wind storm. They then built a dug-out, on the south slope of a hill where the present house stands. Too poor to buy the land, they held squatter's sovereignty for two years. Then they were able to enter the land and make a payment on the same. A better house was later erected and as soon as circumstances justified such action Mr. Kriter bought an additional forty acres, adjoining his original farm. Here he made his home until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-five years of age. He had, in the meanwhile, taken a homestead in Kansas, but he died before he had proved up on the property. His son proved up on the land by complying with the law in regard to duration of abode on the property.