Gage County, Nebraska - Chapter 31: People Who Have Done Their Part in Making Gage County, 1918 (part 3 of 29)

Mr. Dell was bom in Owen county, Indiana, October 8, 1863, and is a son of Isaac and Lydia (Summers) Dell, both natives of Ohio, where the former was bom March 4,. 1834, and the latter on the 5th of August,. 1838, their marriage having been solemnized in Indiana. Isaac Dell was an honored pioneer who passed the closing years of his life in Gage county, where he died June 1, 1904, and his widow now resides in Rockford township. They became devout members of the Church of the Brethren, in which he gave: earnest service as a minister for many years. Isaac Dell was a son of Peter Dell, who was. born in Pennsylvania, of German ancestry^ and who removed from that state to Ohio,: whence he later went to Indiana, where he resided a number of years. He then returned with his family to Ohio, where he continued to live until his death, he having been a cabinet-maker by trade. Jacob Summers, maternal grandfather of the subject of this review, removed from Ohio to Indiana, in which latter state he passed the remainder of his life, a farmer by vocation. Isaac Dell acquired in his youth the trade of carpenter and he followed the same in Owen county, Indiana, until 1869, when he removed with his family to Harrison county, Iowa, where he became a pioneer contractor and builder. In 1876 he came with his family to Gage county, where he purchased and improved a farm, besides continuing for many years in the active work of his trade, in which connection he erected many buildings of excellent order that still remain as evidences of his skill as a carpenter. He was a man of fine mind and fine character, ever commanding the unqualified respect of his fellow men, and he was one of the honored pioneer citizens of Gage county at the time of his death. He took loyal interest in community affairs and was a Republican in politics. Of his family of two sons and six daughters all are living except one daughter: Ida is the wife of John G. Van Dyke, a farmer near Grand Junction, Colorado; Julia is the wife of John A. Cullen, a farmer near McPherson, Kansas ; Joseph C, of this sketch, was the next in order of birth ; Jacob is a prosperous farmer in Rockford township and is also a minister of the Church of the Brethren ; Mary, who became the wife of William H. Pair, is deceased; Martha is the wife of Irvin Frantz, of Sherman township; Hattie is the wife of Henry J. Frantz, of the same township; and Susan is the wife of Alvah C. Heaston, who is engaged in the automobile business at Lincoln, Nebraska.

Joseph C. Dell acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of Iowa and after the family removed to Gage county he continued his studies in the district schools and also in the select school of Professor Blake, at Beatrice. His entire mature life has been marked by active association with the basic. industries of agriculture and stockgrowing, and through the medium of the same he has achieved definite success and advancement, his prosperity representing the direct result of his own efforts. His original independent farm operations were conducted on land which he rented, and finally he purchased eighty acres in Rockford township, to which he added, two years later, by the purchase of an adjoining tract of eighty acres. After making good improvements on this farm he traded the property for his present fine homestead farm, which now comprises three hundred and sixty acres, with the best type of buildings, the handsome house having been erected by him, as have been also the other excellent farm buildings which mark the place as a model farm. Mr. Dell is the owner also of a landed estate of twelve hundred and eighty acres in western Kansas.

In the year 1888 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Dell to Miss Mollie Cullen, - daughter of James K. and Christena Cullen, who were born in Virginia and who came to Gage county in 1885. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Dell the following brief record is offered : Claude has the supervision of his father's large landed estate in Kansas ; Ernest is associated in the management of the home farm; Lela is the wife of Earl Frantz and both are attending school at McPherson, Kansas, Mr. Frantz being a minister of the Brethren church ; Carl Dell likewise is attending school at McPherson ; and Milton, Joseph C, Jr., and Lois remain at the parental home.

Mr. Dell and his family are earnest members of the Church of the Brethren, and in politics he is aligned with the Republican party. As a progressive farmer he is giving special attention to the raising of pure-bred Short-horn cattle and Percheron horses, and at the time of this writing he has about fifty head of horses and an equal number of cattle on his farm. His progressiveness extends also to his status as a citizen and he takes deep interest in community affairs, though he has no ambition for public office.

SAMUEL MOWRY, to whom this memoir is dedicated, was one of the honored pioneers of Gage county and more than thirty years ago he was summoned to "that undis- covered country from whose bourne no traveler returns." To him, as a man of sterhng character and worthy achievement, a tribute is due in this history of the county in which he estabHshed his home in the year following that in which the Territory of Nebraska was admitted to statehood.

Samuel Mowry was born in Darke county, Ohio, on the 19th of June, 1847, and was a son of Jacob and Susan Mowry, who were natives of Pennsylvania and who became early settlers in Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Samuel Mowry was reared on the farm of his father and gained his youthful education in the schools of his native county. In 1868, as an ambitious and resolute young man of twenty-one years, he severed the ties that bound him to the old Buckeye state and set forth to establish a home in the west. In that year he arrived in Gage county, Nebraska, and here he obtained a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, the same constituting the southwest quarter of Section 7, Blue Springs township. Not a furrow had been turned on-the prairie land and on the same no improvement of any kind had been made. Mr. Mowry's first house on his homestead was a little and primitive shanty, ten by twelve feet in dimensions and constructed of lumber cut from the native Cottonwood trees, the logs having been hauled by him to Blue Springs, where they were sawed into rough boards. As he had learned in his native state the trade of stone mason, Mr. Mowry was able to provide somewhat better foundation for his modest house than those commonly in evidence in the pioneer community. He excavated a cellar and walled it up with stone, this being covered with a board roof. This embryonic house served as his place of abode several years. He set resolutely to work in subduing the virgin prairie and making it available for cultivation, and as the years passed he developed a productive farm, besides making good improvements on his farm. Here he continued his vigorous and productive activities as a farmer until the close of his earnest and useful life, his death having occurred on the 28th of

February, 1887. He was a man of strong and noble character, was a loyal citizen, a true friend and a devoted husband and father - a person whose death entailed a distinct loss to the community in which he had long lived and labored to goodly ends. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party, but he never sought or desired public office of any kind. He was an earnest and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his widow, who has been a resident of Gage county since her childhood.

After coming to Gage county Mr. Mowry was here united in marriage to Miss Malissa Harpster, who was bom in Seneca county, Ohio, and who is a daughter of the late Solomon Harpster, to whom a memoir is entered on other pages of this volume. Mrs. Mowry shared with her husband in the trials and responsibilities of pioneer life and after the gracious marital ties were severed by the death of Mr. Mowry she remained on the farm for a number of years, during which she showed marked acumen and judgment in its management. For several years past she has maintained her home in the village of Blue Springs, and few of the 'pioneer women of the county have a more interesting fund of reminiscences pertaining to the pioneer period of Gage county history. April 10, 1918, represented the fiftieth anniversary of the day when with her parents she crossed the Blue river and entered the little pioneer hamlet of Blue Springs, this county, the village at that time having had but one store. Concerning this primitive mercantile establishment Mrs. Mowry has given the following statement: "About all that was sold in the store was green coffee, brown sugar, calico, and patent medicine, and more of these commodities were sold to the Indians than to white persons, simply by reason of the fact that the Indians were greatly in preponderance in the locality at that time." Mrs. Mowry was a girl when she thus came with her parents to Gage county and she states that at the pioneer home of the Harpster family it was not unusual even to look up from work and see one or more Indians peering in at the window. Mr.

and Mrs. Mowry became the parents of four children, of whom two, George and Frederick, died in infancy. Edgar married Miss Anna Brinley and they reside in the city of Lincoln, this state, and Miss Leafy remains with her widowed mother in the pleasant home at Blue Springs.

THOMAS M. MARTIN was an honored pioneer who established his residence in Gage county in the year that marked the admission of Nebraska to statehood, and his was also the distinction of having been a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. He reclaimed and developed one of the fine farm properties of Sherman township and there continued his residence until the time of his death, which occurred January 27, 1917. A man of sterling character and one who accounted well for himself in all the relations of life, it is fitting that in this history be incorporated a tribute to his memory.

Thomas M. Martin was born in Union county, Indiana, on the 20th of December, 1836, and was a son of Thomas and Mary (Miller) Martin, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of Pennsylvania.

The subject of this memoir was but three years of age at the time of his father's death, and the widowed mother eventually came to Nebraska and took up a homestead claim in Pawnee county, where she passed the remainder of her life. She contracted a second marriage and had two children by each marriage, all being now deceased.

After his marriage, in 1859, Thomas M. Martin continued his association with farm enterprise in Clinton county, Indiana, until the outbreak of the Civil war caused him to subordinate all else to tender his aid in defense of the Union. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Company K, Seventysecond Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and with this valiant command he continued in service more than three years - until the close of the war. Mr. Martin took part in many of the historic campaigns and battles of the great conflict between the states of the north and the south, and among the various engagements in which he participated may be noted the battles of Chickamauga, Stone's River, Missionary Ridge, Selma (Alabama), and Hoover's Gap. He was with his regiment in the Atlanta campaign and was present at the battle of Atlanta, the burning of that city, and with Sherman on the subsequent march to the sea. In later years he vitalized the more gracious associations of his military career by his affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. After the close of the war Mr. Martin continued his association with farm activities in Indiana until 1867, in the autumn of which year he set forth, in company with his wife and their three children, for the frontier as represented in the new state of Nebraska. The long and weary journey was made with a team and covered wagon and thirty-four days elapsed before the little family party arrived in- Gage county, on the 4th of October. Mr. Martin entered claim to a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, in Section 19, Sherman township, and here initiated the reclaiming of a farm from the prairie wilderness. He and hiS brave and loyal wife endured to the full the tension incidental to frontier life and in the early days he was compelled at times to seek outside employment in order to provide for the needs of his family. With a courage equal to that which he had evinced as a soldier on the battlefields of the south, Mr. Martin girded himself for the winning of the victories of peace, and with the passing years success and independence crowned his earnest efforts. He developed one of the fine farm properties of Sherman township, and this estate, still retained by his widow, comprises two hundred and eighty acres, Mrs. Martin still remaining on the fine old homestead which is hallowed to her by the gracious memories and associations of the past. In the early days the home was isolated, with the nearest neighbors far removed, and Mrs. Martin frequently passed many weeks with her children in the pioneer home without seeing any other white person than the members of her own family, though Indians were still much in evidence. For a number of years Mr. Martin gave his attention to the operation of a thresh- ing outfit, and on one occasion he handled work of this order on the site of the present court-house in the city of Beatrice. He was a Democrat in politics and was always a leader in the supporting of measures and enterprises tending to advance the civic and material welfare of his home community and county.

In Clinton county, Indiana, in the year 1859, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Martin to Miss Mary Dailey, who was born in Washington county, that state, on the 4th of September, 1840, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Feeler) Dailey, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Virginia: they were pioneer settlers in Indiana, where they passed the remainder of their lives and where the father was a prosperous farmer. In conclusion of this paragraph is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Martin: Mary E. is married and resides in the state of Colorado ; James W. is a prosperous farmer in Sherman township; Charles W. is engaged in farm enterprise in Rockford township ; T. Malon is a substantial agriculturist and cattle-grower in Colorado; John M. rents the old homestead farm, on which he and his wife remain with the widowed mother, and of him more specific mention is made elsewhere in this volume; Lillie is the widow of William R. Rainey and resides with her mother on the old home place ; and Ira Jackson is a substantial farmer near I/iberty, this county.

From another source have been gained additional data of genealogical and personal order that will consistently supplement the foregoing narrative. Thomas Martin, father of the subject of this memoir, was bom in Scotland, -in the year 1809, and at the age of fifteen years he came to America in company with his father and two brothers, settlement being made at lyouisville, Kentucky, the father later removing to Indiana and buying a tract of land, which he divided among his sons. Thomas Martin was a young man when he wedded Miss Mary Miller, who was bom in Pennsylvania, in 1812, a daughter of Peter and Kate (Hafiford) Miller, who removed to

Indiana soon after the close of the war of 1812. Thomas Martin died in 1838 and his widow passed away in 1876. They became the parents of six sons and one daughter, all of whom are now deceased.

Thomas M. Martin made his initial visit to Nebraska in 1858, a year prior to his marriage, and it was not until after he had later made a fine record as a soldier in the Civil war that he finally came with his family to Nebraska and established a permanent home, as noted in preceding paragraphs. He never sought ofiice, but did well his part in the advancing of the communal prosperity, his interest in his old comrades of the Civil war having been shown through his affiliation with Scott Post, No. 2)7, Grand Army of the Republic, at Blue Springs.

FREDERICK L. POTHAST has been cashier of the Farmers' State Bank of Pickrell from the time of its organization, in 1904, has been a resourceful and progressive executive and wielded primary influence in the upbuilding of this substantial financial institution of Gage county. He is not only one of the principal stockholders of this bank but is also the owner of a valuable landed estate of four hundred acres in Gage county - two hundred and forty acres in Holt township and the remaining one hundred and sixty acres in Highland township: his farms are leased to and operated by efficient tenants.

Mr. Pothast was born in Stephenson county. Illinois, June 4, 1878, a son of David and Mary (Wendt) Pothast. He was but two years old at the time of his father's death, and his mother later became the wife of Frederick J. Smith, to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this work, so that further review of the family history is not demanded in the present connection. Mr. Pothast was a child of two years when he accompanied his mother and stepfather to Gage county, where he was reared to manhood and was given the advantages of the public schools of the village of Cortland. After his graduation in the high school he taught two terms of district school and in 1898 he entered a commer- cial college in the city of Omaha. In this institution he was graduated in the following year and he then entered into partnership with his stepfather, Mr. Smith, in the general merchandise business at Cortland, the enterprise having been conducted under the firm name of F. J. Smith & Company. In 1901 Mr. Pothast and his brother Edward L. engaged in the agricultural implement business at Cortland, and after he sold his interest in this business, in 1903, he was for about one year a traveling representative for the International Harvester Company, in the meanwhile maintaining his headquarters in the city of Lincoln. In May, 1904, Mr. Pothast became the organizer of the Farmers' State Bank at Pickrell, and of the same he has since been the cashier, as previously noted. In a frame building on the north side of the main street of the village the bank initiated business, after having been incorporated with a capital stock of five thousand dollars. Here operations were continued until 1912, when was erected the present modern and handsomely appointed bank building, and the business of the institution is now based on a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars, while its deposits are in excess of three hundred thousand dollars. The bank has been a valuable medium for the facilitation of industrial and commercial activities in this part of the county and is conducted with conservative policies but also with well ordered progressiveness. Edward Bauman, a representative fanner of Holt township, is president of the institution, and its vice-president, Christopher Spilker, is likewise one of the prosperous farmers of Holt township.

Though he is distinctly liberal and loyal in his civic attitude and a staunch supporter of the principles of the Republican party, Mr. Pothast has manifested no ambition for public office or political preferment of any kind. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, as a member of the Beatrice lodge. Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, in the city of Beatrice, and he and his wife are zealous members of the United Brethren church at Pickrell, he being a member of its board of

December 12, 1900, recorded the marriage of Mr. Pothast to Miss Delia Clark, who was born in Virginia and who was a child at the time when the family home was established on a pioneer farm in L,ancaster county, Nebraska, where she was reared and educated. She is a daughter of T. A. and Iva (Kincheloe) Clark, both of whom likewise were born in the historic old Dominion state. The father died when about seventy-five years of age, and the mother is still living, at Firth, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Pothast have two winsome little daughters, Audrey and Mildred.

ROBERT NICHOLAS - A history of Gage county would be incomplete without a record of the man whose name introduces the review. Mr. Nicholas was one of the very early pioneer settlers in Gage county, having come to Nebraska in 1860 and having settled in Gage county several years prior to the admission of the state to the Union.

Robert Nicholas was born in Glanstonbury, Somersetshire, England, in December, 1832, and his death occurred on his old homestead in Gage county, Nebraska, in 1913. His gracious wife, whose maiden name was Mary Ann Plucknett, was likewise born and reared in Glastonbury, England, but their acquaintanceship was formed in the state of Illinois, where their marriage was solemnized and whence they came to Gage county in the territorial period of Nebraska history. Here Mrs. Nicholas passed the remainder of her life, and she was one of the venerable pioneer women of the county at the time of her death, in 1910, at the age of seventy-six years. Robert Nicholas was reared and educated in his native land, and was an ambitious youth of eighteen years when he came to the United States and established his residence in Ohio. From that state he later removed to Hancock county, Illinois, where his marriage occurred and where he continued to be identified with farm enterprise until 1860, when he set forth for Nebraska Territory, transporting his family and little supply of household goods by means of wagon and ox team. Upon his arrival in Gage county he entered claim to a homestead of wild prairie land in Sections 29 and 30, Grant township, where as soon as possible he completed a rude log house as the family domicile. With the ox team he then began vigorously the breaking of the virgin soil, and he and his noble wife endured the trials and hardships of the early pioneers. With the passing of the years prosperity attended the energetic and efficient efforts of Mr. Nicholas and he added materially to his landed estate. He continued farming until his death and developed one of the best farms in Gage county. He raised and fed cattle upon a large scale, and was one of the first men in Nebraska to raise hay from the tame grasses. In the early days trains would be stopped when passing his farm in order that the passengers might view his fine fields, and officials of the railroad company sent samples of his timothy and clover back to the east, in exploiting the fine resources of this section of Nebraska. Before the admission of the state to the Union and prior to the Civil war, Mr. Nicholas hauled wheat by team and wagon to St. Joseph, Missouri, and from the money received in payment for the same he purchased a corn-planter. This was the first implement of the kind put into commission in Gage county, and when he arrived in Beatrice the citizens gathered about to view the novelty, most of then not knowing to what purpose the machine was to be applied. On the old homestead were born all the children of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas, and it may well be understood that to these children many gracious memories attach to the place.

Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas were the parents of six children, as follows : Frank E. is successfully established in the creamery business in Dewitt, Saline county; Alfretta is the wife of Walter W. Barney, president of the State Bank of Dewitt; Norton B. died when about five years of age; Jessie N. is the wife of Frank Buss, of Hunter, Oklahoma; George W. is now postmaster of Dewitt, and concernhim a record will be found on other pages of

MARTIN P. EICKMANN. - That surety of vision and judgment that makes for definite success in connection with the practical affairs of life is being signally exemplified in the business career of Mr. Eickmann, who is a young man well entitled to classification among the efficient and progressive business executives of Gage county and its metropolis. He has won advancement through his ability and efficient service and now holds the responsible office of secretary of the German Savings & Loan Association, one of the strong and well ordered financial and fiduciary institutions of this section of his native state.

Mr. Eickmann was born in Thayer county, Nebraska, on the 9th of July, 1889, a son of Christ and Mary (Sorge) Eickmann, both natives of Germany - the former having been born in Brandenburg, in 1861, and the latter in the province of Hanover, in October, 1866. Christ Eickmann was a boy at the time of the family immigration to America and was reared and educated in the state of Wisconsin, where he received the advantages of the public schools of Fond du Lac and where also he served an apprenticeship to the tailor's trade. He was eighteen years of age when he accompanied his father to Nebraska, the journey being made from Omaha to Grand Island by way of the Union Pacific Railroad and from the latter point they walked overland to their destination in Thayer county, this state. Though he had virtually no financial resources he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Thayer county eventually, and with the passing years substantial success crowned his activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower. He became one of the representative farmers of Thayer county, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in July, 1908, his widow being still a resident of that county. His father, Christ Eickmann, Sr., likewise became a pioneer farmer of Thayer county and after there acquiring one hundred and twenty acres of land the father returned to Wiscon- sin to make provision for bringing the remainder of his family to the new home. He achieved independence and prosperity in connection with the development of the natural resources of Thayer county and there he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, he having followed the trade of wagonmaker during the period of his residence in Wisconsin. Frederick Sorge, maternal grandfather of the subject of this review, came with his family to America in 1862 and became one of the very early settlers of Thayer county, where he developed a valuable farm, and he is now a resident of the village of Deshler, where he is honored as one of the sterling and venerable pioneer citizens of Thayer county. Christ Eickmann, Jr., was a man of splendid energy and of superior mentality, so that he was well equipped for leadership in community affairs. In a basic way he gave support to the principals of the Democratic party but in connection with local matters he held himself independent of strict partisan lines. He served for a number of years as a member of the school board of his district and otherwise he gave his earnest support to those things that tend to advance the general welfare. His religious faith was that of the German Lutheran church, of which his widow likewise is a zealous communicant. Of their five children four are living and of the number, Martin F., of this sketch, is the eldest; William remains with his widowed mother on the old homestead farm in Thayer county, as did also Richard until he entered the national army being raised to represent the United States in the great European war, he being at the present time (in the winter of 1917) with his command at Camp Funston, Kansas; Arthur, youngest of the four sons, remains on the old home farm.

Martin F. Eickmann acquired his preliminary education in the Lutheran parochial schools of Thayer county and supplemented this by an effective course in Northwestern College, at Watertown, Wisconsin, his uncle, Martin Eickmann, having been at that time a member of the faculty of that institution. Prior to the death of his father Mr. Eickmann had completed a course in the preparatory department of this college, and as the eldest son he thereafter gave his attention for a short time to the management of the home farm. His tastes and ambition, however, lay in other directions, and he came to Beatrice, where he completed a course in a business college, after which he obtained a clerical position in the Union State Bank of this city, at a salary of fifteen dollars a month. He so applied himself as to make the best possible use of the experience gained, and by faithful and efficient service he won advancement. He continued with this banking institution from 1909 to 1914, in which latter year he was elected secretary of the German Savings & Loan Association, a position of which he has since continued the efficient and popular incumbent, this institution having been founded in 1913. By his own efforts Mr. Eickmann has achieved success and an inviolable reputation, and in the city of Beatrice he is the owner not only of his own attractive residence property, but also of a number of vacant city lots. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party and he and his wife are active communicants of the German Lutheran church.

On the 14th of October, 1914, was solemnized the marriage o.f Mr. Eickmann to Miss Blanche M. Purdy, who was bom and reared in this county, her father, William W. Purdy, being now a resident of Beatrice, where he follows the trade of plasterer and controls a successful contracting business in this line. Mr. and Mrs. Eickmann have a fine little son - Martin F., Jr., who was bom July 9, 1917.

EUGENE P. MUMFORD. - He whose name introduces this review is not only one of the progressive and representative business men of Gage county, but is also a descendant of one of the well known and influential pioneer families of this part of the state. The name of Mumford is prominently linked with the early history and industrial development of Gage county, where its original representatives settled in territorial days. Eugene is upholding the honors of the family name, and his business Hfe has given impetus to industrial and civic advancement in Gage county. By reason of his being reared and educated on the broad prairies of Nebraska, with fresh air and sunny skies, and under the freedom of pioneer days, he learned the first principles of good citizenship from early experiences on the farm, and he has kept pace with the march of development and progress.

"Gene," the name by which he is generally known, was born in Lafayette county, Wisconsin, on the 1st day of April, 1863. He is a son of John B. and Mary A. (Roach) Mumford, the former of whom was bom in Maryland, of English parentage, on September 20, 1829, and the latter of whom was bom in Adams county, Ohio, of Holland and English lineage.

John B. Mumford first came to Gage county, Nebraska, in May, 1860, in company with his brother Ismay, who was the first county treasurer of the county, and whose son Dawson Mumford was the first white boy born in the county. John B. Mumford returned to Wisconsin, and in 1865 he again came to Gage county, with his brother Jacob. He settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land, ten miles north of Beatrice on Bear creek, one of the best farming localities in the county. To this in later years he added - by the purchase of two hundred and forty acres, making his estate one of four hundred acres. On his farm he continued to reside during the remainder of his life.

Mr. Mumford was an enterprising citizen and had much to do with the development of the county, and it may be said of him that he continued to contribute his quota to the county's progress until his death, February 14, 1904. His widow, now (1918) eighty years of age, still resides in Gage county, having moved to Beatrice after the death of her husband, and is one of the venerable and revered pioneers of the county, she being among the very few of the original settlers left. Of the nine children bom to Mr. and Mrs. Mumford, six survive: Sarah E. is the wife of William A. Foreman, who was a successful farmer and is the owner of a good farm of four hundred acres, located six miles northeast of Beatrice. They have now retired and live in Beatrice. Charles B. is noted for his love of fine horses and has owned many good ones. Of late years he has been engaged in the automobile business at Beatrice. Eugene P. was the next in order of birth. Ida N. is the wife of Lawrence W. Epard, and they reside upon the old homestead of her father, adjoining the old home place, John B. Mumford having relinquished the homestead in the early days to his sister. Frank W. is still living in the old home where he was bom. He is also an extensive live-stock shipper. Luther E., former principal of the Beatrice high school, is now living in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is engaged in school work.

The late John B. Mumford took a decided interest in political and public afifairs, and was always a Democrat. He did much to advance the party but never consented to be a candidate for office. His religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his venerable widow is a member of the Christian church.

Eugene P. Mumford was about two years old at the time the family moved to Gage county. He profited by the advantages of the country school and later attended the Blake Select School of Beatrice, but never completed the regular course of study. He has devoted much time to reading, and had the good fortune of having association and friendship with such pioneer characters as J. B. Weston, George P. Marvin, Judge Alfred Hazlett, R. S. Bibb, and D. W. Cook, for all of whom he had much respect and who contributed much to his fund of useful information. He is a Democrat politically, as were his ancestors "from the time the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." He belonged to the old school known as "gold" Democrats, and was opposed to free silver during the campaign on that issue. He was a student of Adam Smith on finance and believed in a commodity basis for value. He has done much, with the assistance of his brother Frank, to build up the ranks of the party and has been twice recognized for loyalty. He was appointed revenue collector for the southeast division of Nebraska during President Cleveland's administration, and although he filed his resignation at the end of four years, he was retained two years under President McKinley, owing to his familiarity with the service, and to the exigencies of the Spanish-American war. He was selected by Governor John H. Morehead as private secretary to that able executive during his several terms as governor of Nebraska. Mr. Mumford is now engaged in business at Beatrice. His reputation for absolute reliability in all transactions and his wide acquaintanceship and knowledge of affairs have established for him a good business in the real estate and insurance enterprise, including the rental of properties, of which he has farm and city property to look after. He also has a furniture store, which he conducts with the assistance of his nephew, C. D. Mumford.

On the 22d of June, 1898, Mr. Mumford was united in marriage to Lenda Mostert, who was born near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and came to Nebraska in 1878, when seven years of age. Mrs. Mumford is of German lineage, her people coming from Bavaria. She was studious during her school days and in 1888 was graduated with honor in the Beatrice high school. For ten years thereafter she was an instructor in the Beatrice schools. Mrs. Mumford has always been active in school affairs, and is held in high regard by her many friends and associates. She is a member of the Trinity Lutheran church and has taken an active part in the work of that organization. She is at the present time treasurer of the Young Women's Christian Association and is now serving her third term. Mr. and Mrs. Mumford are the parents of one son, Paul E., who was graduated at the Beatrice high school in the class of 1918.

CHARLES H. OJERS has been a resident of Nebraska for nearly half a century and since 1889 he has been numbered among the honored citizens and representative farmers of Lincoln township, Gage county, where he has made the best of improvements on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres that constitutes the northeast quarter of Section 3, this property having been a heritage received by his wife from the estate of her father, who was an influential pioneer of Nebraska.

Mr. Ojers was born in Steuben county, New York, on the 15th of May, 1851, and is a son of John A. and Phoebe A. (Huntley) Ojers, the former of whom was born in the city of London, England, in 1821, and the latter of whom was born in Steuben county, New York, in April, 1823, a representative of one of the well known pioneer families of that section of the Empire state. In his native city John A. Ojers gained his youthful education and also served a thorough apprenticeship to the shoemaker's trade. As a young man he came to the United States and, as a skilled workman, found employment at his trade. After his marriage he continued his residence in the state of New York until 1856, when he removed with his family to Illinois and established his residence in Ogle county, where he continued in the work of his trade for a number of years. In 1874 he and his wife came to Nebraska, where he passed the remainder of his long and useful life, his death having occurred at DeWitt, Saline county, in 1909, at which time he was eightyeight years of age. His venerable widow, who celebrated in the spring of 1917 the ninety-fourth anniversary of her birth, is one of the revered women of Gage county and is passing the gentle evening of her life in the village of Wymore.

Charles H. Ojers was five years of age at the time of the family removal to Illinois, where he was reared to manhood and where his educational advantages were those offered by the common schools. There he gave his attention principally to farm work, being employed by the month, until he had attained to his legal majority, when, in 1872, he came to Nebraska and rented land in Johnson county. Under these conditions he there continued his operations as a farmer until 1887, when he removed to Saline county and set- tied on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres which his wife inherited and which they still own. In 1889 they came to Gage county and established their home on their present attractive farm, upon which he has made admirable improvements in the way of buildings and other permanent evidences of thrift and good management, and which he has made one of the fine farms of Lincoln township. He has been a vigorous and productive representative of farm industry during the many years of his residence in Nebraska and has achieved success worthy of the name. He is progressive and judicious in his business policies and in addition to his valuable farm holdings he is a substantial stockholder in the Blue Valley Mercantile Company of Beatrice. Though he has had neither time nor inclination for political activity or public office of any kind, he accords loyal support to the cause of the Republican party, and he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On the 20th of August, 1871, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ojers to Miss Fannie R. Rathburn, who was bom in Ogle county, Illinois, and who is a daughter of the late Job B. Rathburn, an honored pioneer who accumulated a very extensive and valuable landed estate in southeastern Nebraska and was one of the prominent and influential citizens of Gage county at the time of his death. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Ojers, Charles, who was born in 1872, died at the age of five years ; George L,., born in 1874, died in early childhood; Annie R., who was born in 1874, is the wife of Edward Zobel and they reside with her parents on the latter's homestead farm, of which Mr. Zobel has much of the active management; and Addie R., who was bom in 1881, is the wife of Essa A. Lash, a prosperous farmer in Saline county, where he operates a farm owned by his wife's father. Mr. and Mrs. Lash have six children - Lloyd, Myrtle, George, John, Mary, and Gertrude.

one who lived so honorable and useful a life as did the late Jefferson B. Weston, who wrote his name in large and indelible characters on the history of the state of Nebraska, within whose borders he established his home three years after the creation of the original territory and fully six years prior to the reduction of its area to the present limitations. He was one of the founders and builders of this now noble and opulent commonwealth and he gave the best of an essentially strong and loyal nature to the service of the territory and the state ; his life course was guided and governed by the highest principles of integrity and honor. As offering a somewhat intimate and assuredly , earnest and consistent estimate of the man and his services, there is all of propriety in perpetuating in this memoir the following extracts from an appreciative article that appeared in the Beatrice Sun at the time of the death of Mr. Weston, who passed from the stage of life's mortal endeavors on. the ISth of September, 1905, minor elimination and paraphrase being indulged in the reproduction of these excerpts : "Mr. Weston was born at Bremen, Lincoln county, Maine, on the 3d of March, 1831, and thus he was nearly seventy-five years of age at the time of his death. He was a scion of the staunchest of colonial New England ancestry and in his personality alwa:ys manifested the sturdy and rugged characteristics of a strong and worthy ancestry. When he was about twenty years of age Mr. Weston entered LTnion College, at Schnectady, New York, and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1856. In less than a year thereafter he joined the exodus of emigrants who were pushing their way westward, and in April, 1857, he came to the new territory of Nebraska, which then extended from the Missouri river west to the Rocky mountains and from the fortieth parallel to the Canadian border. He was one of the leaders of that band of intrepid men and women who, on board the old river boat 'Hannibal,' on the 3d of April, 1857, while stuck on a sand bar opposite Doniphan, Kansas, entered into a compact to remain together and locate somewhere in the new territory of Nebraska, with the definite purpose of there founding a city. He was the principal member of the committee representing this company of pioneers, and this committee, upon personal inspection in May of that year, determined upon the site which comprises the original town of Beatrice as the location of the prospective city to be founded by these sterling pioneers, and Mr. Weston was one of the enthusiastic young men who made prompt answer when the roll of this company was called on the site of Beatrice, June 27, 1857. From the date of his arrival in the territory Mr. Weston identified himself fully and vigorously with the activities of pioneer life. In the early days he engaged in various freighting ventures and with ox teams crossed the plains to Denver and other points, besides having gained his quota of experience in trading with the Indians and with mining enterprise. Early in his career he was admitted to the territorial bar, and for some time prior to 1872 he gave considerable time and attention to the practice of his profession, as one of the pioneer members of the bar of Gage county and its judicial center.

"In the autumn of 1872 Mr. Weston was elected auditor of public accounts of the state of Nebraska, and by successive re-elections he continued the incumbent of this office from January, 1873, until January, 1879. From 1873 to 1886 he and his family resided in the city of Lincoln, capital of the state, but with this exception he held continuous residence at Beatrice from 1857 until the time of his death.

"From the brief data here presented it will be seen that Mr. Weston was closely identified with the histoty of Nebraska from the beginning. He belonged to that class of frontiersmen who have in a large degree the constructive faculty. Possessed of the true pioneer spirit which looks far into the future and sees states rise from tenantless wildernesses and naked plains, he never wavered from his trust that here God had marked the outlines of a great commonwealth. He lived to see the justification of his faith and to participate in a large measure in the fruition of his hopes.

"Not only was Mr. Weston the possessor of a liberal education but he was also a man of large intellectual life. Deliberate and conservative in his judgment, he was accustomed to take an accurate and comprehensive view of human affairs. His clear, comprehensive way of looking at things made him one of the most useful members of the community in which he lived and also a useful and valued citizen of his state. His charity was large, his kindness of heart without bounds, and in his habits and associations he was the most democratic of men. With a generous, openhearted faith in humanity and a deep-rooted faith in God, he came to the end of his long journey in an atmosphere of hope, courage and cheer that was infectious and touched all who came within the sphere of his benign influence. Men loved him, and to hundreds in his home community and in other portions of the state the world will be lonelier and less inviting without Jefferson B. Weston."

Measured by its beneficence, its rectitude, its productiveness, its unconscious altruism, and its material success, the life of Hon. Jefferson B. Weston counted for much, and Nebraska is perpetually favored in that as a young man he allied himself with all of thoroughness and completeness with its interests, grew with its growth and dignified and honored the territory and the state by his character and his achievement. Standing in the light and unassuming glory of life and character like this, those of the younger generation of Americans may gain lesson and inspiration and feel the thrill of buoyant loyalty and patriotism, the while there can not fail to be appreciation of the splendid and ever widening influence which such a life implies.

In the stability of his mature judgment Mr. Weston was well fortified in his opinions concerning economic and governmental policies, and he gave his political allegiance to the Republican party. Mr. Weston was associated with other representative citizens in the founding of the Beatrice National Bank, which received its charter in the autumn of 1883, and by the original board of directors he was elected president of the institution, an office of which he continued the incumbent until his death - a period of nearly a quarter of a century.

In 1860, at Nebraska City, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Weston to Miss Helen Towle, who was born at Hennepin, Illinois, a daughter of Albert and Catherine (Holt) Towle, who likewise were numbered among the honored pioneers of Nebraska. Mrs. Weston survived her honored husband and in her gentle and gracious womanhood she proved a true complement to his virile and upright manhood, so that the home relations were ideal during a devoted companionship that continued nearly half a century and that was broken only by the death of the husband and father. Mrs. Weston passed to the life eternal on the 25th of February, 1917, and her memory is revered by all who came within the compass of her gentle and gracious influence. Mr. and Mrs. Weston became the parents of four children - Ralph A., Elizabeth Iv., Herbert T., and Katharine. Ralph A. i^ now a resident of Millet, Alberta, Canada, and Katharine, who became the wife of Thomas E. Wing, was a resident of Scarsdale, New York, at the time of her death. Elizabeth L. and Herbert T. remain in Beatrice.

JOSEPH LUTHER WEBB, M. D. - Large, definite, and benignant was the impress which this honored pioneer left in connection with this history of Gage county, and no work purporting to give record concerning those who have here been the vigorous apostles of civic and material development and progress can be consistent with itself if there is failure to accord an earnest tribute of recognition to Dr. Webb. He was one of the very first physicians to establish residence and engage in practice in the little frontier community which was the nucleus of the present city of Beatrice, and it has well been said that "all through the rest of his life he was closely associated with every movement

Dr. Webb was born on a pioneer homestead farm near the city of Springfield, Illinois, and the date of his nativity was August 1, 1837. He was a son of Luther Hiram Webb and Martha (Bellows) Webb, both representatives of sterling families that were founded in New England in the early colonial period of our national history. The Doctor was the sixth in order of birth in a family of seven children and the youngest of the number was Hiram P., who likewise became prominently identified with pioneer activities in Gage county, Nebraska. Concerning the early period in the career of Dr. Webb the following record has been prepared, and it is worthy of perpetuation in this connection: "When the Doctor was but ten years old his father and elder brother died, only a day apart, leaving the widowed mother and the surviving children on the pioneer homestead. In the face of most strenuous hardships and trials the devoted mother struggled to keep her family together and saw to it that each child was cared for and afforded the best educational advantages ofifered in that pioneer locality, the capital city of Illinois having been a mere village at that time. After having availed himself of the advantages of the local schools, Dr. Webb went to Springfield, the state capital, and there he prosecuted his study of medicine in the offices of several of the leading physicians of the place, this method of preliminary training having been commonly in vogue in the locality and period. At this time Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas and many other men who attained to eminence were residing in Springfield, and the ambitious young student came to an appreciable extent under their influence, his life ever afterward having shown the strong characteristics that such association tended to develop. With characteristic ambition and zeal Dr. Webb pursued his medical studies and finally he found it possible to enter the Eclectic Medical Institute in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, an institution of celebrity at the time and one notable for leadership in the development of medical reform and advancement, - one that continues to the present day as a strong and influential school of medicine. In this college the Doctor was graduated as a member of the class of 1871 and in the same year he established his permanent residence in Gage county, which he had previously visited. In 1867 the new country represented in Nebraska, which was admitted to statehood in that year, was being much tallced about and exploited in the eastern states, and a group of young men from the vicinity of Springfield, Illinois, and including Dr. Webb and his brothers, decided to pay a visit to this new land of promise. Accordingly, they set forth, and they made the trip partly by stage, partly by rail, partly on horseback, and for a considerable distance on foot, gaining much from each experience. Before returning the Webb brothers had acquired in Gage county a tract of land, as an investment. They then returned to their home in Illinois and after having prepared himself thoroughly for the work of his chosen profession Dr. Webb reverted to the favorable impression which Nebraska had made upon him, with the result that, in 1871, he came to Gage county and established himself as one of the pioneer physicians and surgeons in the embryonic city of Beatrice.

"The country was sparsely settled and the practice of medicine must needs be carried on without the aid of any of the modem conveniences, such as laboratories, hospitals, telephones, automobiles, consultants, and stores where needed appliances could be obtained. The life of the self -abnegating and faithful physician was full of exposure, long and irregular hours and all manner of incidental hardships. Dr. Webb's ministrations in the early days often involved the making of trips that required several days to complete, and on numerous occasions he found his buggy unavailable for further progress, so that he would proceed on horseback and at times even on foot - moved by an inviolable sense of stewardship and consecrated professional zeal. Travel would follow the trails and ridges, streams were to be forded, and the Doctor must needs be both physician and nurse in cases of emergency. Still, the services thus rendered seemed to be more on a basis of friendship than mere remuneration, and the heartfelt appreciation and afiFectionate regard which these old-time physicians won proved a greater and worthier recompense than that of mere money. Such close and inviolable relationships are seldom possible between the physicians of the present day and their clients. Later in life Dr. Webb was pleased to recount, with animation and appreciation, many stories of experience gained during these early years, when the buffalo, the Indian, the desperado sometimes crossed his path. He had unexpected meetings with many whose names are prominently associated with frontier annals in the west, as well as border outlaws and other insubordinate characters, but his genial personality and indomitable courage were such that such encounters never resulted in specially unpleasant experiences."

Dr. Webb was humanity's friend in the highest sense of the expression, was tolerant and kindly in his judgment, and he labored earnestly and efficiently in the alleviation of suffering and distress - a guide and counsellor to many of the representative pioneer families of Gage and adjoining counties. He continued in active practice until within a few years prior to his death, and even after his retirement many of his former clients refused to receive ministration from any other source. He was loved and revered in the county which so long was the stage of his earnest endeavors, and the entire community manifested a sense of personal loss and bereavement when he passed from the scene of this mortal life. Pertinent, indeed, are the following quotations : "Dr. Webb was a man of vigorous health, regular habits and temperate living. He was active in church and other Christian work, true to his friends and possessed of an exceptionally broad education, with a philosophy in life that made him a pleasant member of any group in which he appeared. He made a trip into the country on the morning of May 12, 1911, returned and was with his family at noon. He went to his down-town office as usual, and there he was suddenly taken ill, passing into unconsciousness about sundown, and his death occurred near midnight. His demise was so unexpected that it came as a distinct shock to the community when it was announced the next morning."

Associating themselves with other representative citizens, Dr. Webb and his brother Hiram P. were closely identified with the early development of the community. They gave freely of their time and energy in the furtherance of every movement that seemed to promise good to the interests of the commonwealth, and the early annals of Gage county history give record of much which they did to accelerate social and material progress in the county and especially the city of Beatrice.

On the 2d of October, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Webb to Miss Kate Louise Sheppard, daughter of G. W. Sheppard, who had come with his wife and children from England to America in the preceding year and who established a home in Gage county. In conclusion of this memoir is given brief record concerning the children of Dr. and Mrs. Webb, the latter continuing to occupy the attractive old homestead in the city of Beatrice and being an earnest member of the Episcopal church: Hiram L., eldest of the children, now resides near the city of Binghampton, New York; James Edgar died in infancy; Dr. Joseph Lewis Webb is individually mentioned elsewhere in this volume; and Kate L. remains with her widowed mother, being prominent in the women's activities of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal church of Beatrice and also in the local and national affairs of the Young Women's Christian Association, the while she is a popular figure in the representative social life of her native city.

to Gage county in 1872, and it was given him to wield a large and benignant influence not only as a pioneer physician and surgeon of this section of the state, but also as a man of affairs and a citizen whose civic loyalty and exceptional talents made him a most influential factor in public affairs in the county and state of his adoption. Now venerable in years, he and his wife maintain their residence in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to which state they removed from Gage county in 1894. As sterling pioneers who represented the best in civic life in Gage county for many years, it is fitting that they be accorded recognition in this history.

Dr. Lewis Bowen Boggs was bom at Newcastle, Indiana, September 3, 1828, the fourth in order of birth in a family of seven children. His paternal grandfather, Andrew Boggs, was bom and reared in Ireland and upon coming to America established his residence in Virginia, in which historic old commonwealth he passed the remainder of his life. James Boggs, father of the Doctor, was bom in Virginia, where he was reared and educated, and as a young man of twenty years he went to Indiana and settled in the pioneer town of Newcastle. There was solemnized his marriage to Miss Martha Stinson, who was bom in eastern Tennessee, October 26, 1806, her parents having removed from Tennessee to Indiana and having become pioneer settlers in Henry county, where they passed the rest of their lives, the father, John Stinson, having there become a prosperous farmer. James Boggs continued his residence in Henry county, Indiana, until his death, November 7, 1842, and he there reclaimed and improved a valuable farm, his status having been that of a substantial and influential citizen of that section of the old Hoosier state. His widow survived him by nearly a decade and was summoned to the life eternal on the 6th of March, 1852.

Dr. Lewis B. Boggs was but fourteen years of age at the time of his father's death and was thus early thrown upon his own resources. For a time he worked for his board and clothing, in the meanwhile finding it pos- sible to attend school during the winter terms. His alert mentality was on a parity with his ambition, and he determined to obtain a liberal education. He continued to be associated with farm enterprise until he had attained to the age of twenty years, when he entered Wabash College. In this institution he completed the full classical course, and after leaving college he was employed for one year in a grain elevator at Michigan City, Indiana, At Leesburg, that state, he then took up the study of medicine, under effective private preceptorship, and he applied himself with such characteristic diligence and receptivity that three years later he was able to engage in active general practice, at North Manchester, Indiana. There he remained until 1858, when he removed to Neponset, Illinois, which locality continued to be the stage of his effective professional labors until 1865, when he returned to Indiana and established himself in practice at Argos, Marshall county. There he retained a large and representative general practice until 1870, when, on account of his impaired health, he turned over his practice to his younger brother. In 1872 he came with his family to Gage county, Nebraska, where he purchased one hundred and eighty-five acres of land in what is now Filley township. For this property he paid only four and onehalf dollars an acre and with the passing years he reclaimed it into one of the fine farm properties of the county. Here he gave his attention primarily to the raising of live stock, and when it became known throughout the pioneer community that he was a skilled physician and surgeon he was prevailed upon to resume here the practice of his profession, in the meanwhile continuing his farm enterprise with the effective assistance of his sons. Within a short time he built up a large practice, the same extending over a radius of twenty miles, and he devoted himself earnestly and unselfishly to the alleviation of human suffering under conditions that involved arduous work and many hardships. This pioneer physician thus gained the affectionate regard of the entire community and his name is revered in the county where he thus lived and labored to goodly ends.

In 1887 Dr. Boggs retired from the active practice of his profession, but he still retained most vital interest in community affairs and those of governmental and general public order. He became deeply interested in the cause of prohibition and was associated with others in establishing a prohibition publication to which was given the name of the New Republic. He was actively associated with the management of this periodical, which was made an influential organ of the cause. Dr. Boggs was reared in the faith of the Democratic party but prior to the Civil war he had become a staunch abolitionist, doing all in his power to remove the institution of human slavery from the nation.

In 1876 Dr. Boggs was elected representative of Gage county in the Nebraska legislature, and he made a characteristically effective record in the promotion of wise legislation. He was assigned to important committees of the house of representatives, including the judiciary committee, and his loyal activities as a legislator were of that exalted order which was to be expected of a man of his temperament and ability. The Doctor has for many years been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and he was one of the founders and a director of the first banking institution established in the village of Filley. He was loyal and liberal in the support of measures and movements tending to advance the general well-being of his home county. He was one of the most influential representatives of the Prohibition party in Gage county and in 1884 was a presidential elector on the party ticket. He acquired a large landed estate in Gage county, and was the true apostle of civic and industrial progress.

In EaPorte county, Indiana, on the 26th of October, 1854, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Boggs to Miss Virginia R. Eraser, a daughter of James and Sarah (Campbell) Eraser, the former of whom was bom at Alexandria, Virginia, July 3, 1798, and the latter in the city of Washington, D. C, in the year 1808. The parents were married in the city of Washington and in 1834 became pioneer settlers in LaPorte county, Indiana, in which state they passed the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Boggs was born in LaPorte county, March 28, 1836, and was there reared and educated, she having been the third in a family of eight children.. Dr. and Mrs. Boggs became the parents of a fine family of thirteen children, and of the nine now living the names and respective dates of birth are here noted: James F., January 7, 1856; Charles S., June 19, 1857 (individually mentioned on other pages of this work) ; Eva E. (wife of P. E. Plumb), November 19, 1858; Mary Ellen (wife of William H. Andrew), August 5, 1860; Luther A., April 16, 1862; Thomas W., March 8, 1864; Benjamin F., March 16, 1866; Alice C. (wife of H. H. Halliday), March 4, 1868; and Minnie (wife of George Scott), February 11, 1881.

GUSTAVUS A. ERICKSON merits consideration in this work by reason of his secure status as one of the representative farmers and citizens of Sherman township. He was born in Mercer county, Illinois, on the 2d of August, 1871, and is a son of Peter and Susan Erickson, both natives of Sweden. Peter Erickson was reared and educated in his native land and was a sturdy and ambitious youth of twenty years when he came to the United States. For some time thereafter he was employed at Galesburg, Illinois, where his marriage was solemnized, and in 1876 he removed with his family to Iowa, where he remained until 1884, as a farmer, and whence he then came to Gage county, Nebraska. Here he became the owner of a half-section of land, in Sherman township, and he developed this into one of the well improved and valuable farm properties of the county. He finally sold one hundred and sixty acres, but the remainder of the place he retained in his possession until his death, in 1901, his widow being now (1918) seventy-eight years of age. Of their four children three are living and of that number the subject of this sketch is the eldest ; Minnie is the wife of E. G. Crook ; Frank is deceased; and Ida is the wife of William

Kresbaugh, who has charge of the old homestead farm of Peter Erickson. Mr. Erickson was a Republican in politics and was an earnest member of the Luthern church, as is also his venerable widow. He came to the United States without other reinforcement than his individual energy and determined purpose, and he achieved worthy success through his association with farm enterprise.

Gustavus A. Erickson was a lad of five years at the time of the family removal from Illinois to Iowa, and in the latter state he received his early education in the public schools. He was thirteen years old when his parents came to Gage county, and here he continued to attend school at intervals, the while he assisted materially in the work of the home farm. After beginning independent operations as a farmer he utilized rented land for five years, and he then purchased eighty acres of his present farm, the place now comprising one hundred and sixty acres. In addition to this homestead he owns other Gage county land of such amount as to make the area of his estate in the county four hundred acres, besides which he is the owner of four hundred acres in the state of Kansas. He has made excellent improvements on his homestead farm and in addition to carrying on well ordered operations as an agriculturist he raises each year a large number of cattle and swine of good type.

Mr. Erickson is a stalwart Republican and he is serving in 1918 as chairman of the township board. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Modern Woodmen of America and his wife and children hold membership in the Christian church.

In 1893 Mr. Erickson wedded Miss Mary Mangus, who was born in Illinois and who is a daughter of William Mangus, who came with his family to Gage county in 1883 and who was here the owner of a valuable farm estate of four hundred acres at the time of his death, he having been bom in Virginia and his wife, who survives him, having been born in Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Erickson became the parents of five children, all of whom are living except the third, Nellie, who died at the age of two years ; Oliver is a sophomore in a leading dental college in the city of Omaha; Walter is now associated with his father in farm enterprise; and Edith and Alva are attending the local district school.

AMOS L. WRIGHT is one of the honored territorial pioneers of Gage county, and has become one of the specially successful, exponents of industrial and business enterprise in this section of the state - an influential citizen who now resides in the village' of Virginia, Sherman township, "and who is properly given a tribute in this history of the county: to whose development and progress; he hfig, contributed in generous measure. -''" -

Mr. Wright was born in Menard county; Illinois, on the 27th of February, 1844, and there he gained ample experience in connection with the work of the: piorneer farm, the while he made excellent use of, the educational advantages that, were afforded him, aS' shown by the fact that hS-.bjecame a successful and popular representative, of the pedagogic profession after he became' a pioneer of Gage county, Nebraska, where, ha taught, school three winter terms. He was. an, ambitious young man of tweijty-two years when, in 1866, he came to Nebrad|a:' Territory, which was admitted to statehoj^ in-, the following year. Here he found '^^ork a^.-i a farm hajid, at a compensation of ten- dollars a month,, and finally he began thg breaking and improving of his homestead of one hundred and' sixty acres, in Section 10 Blakely township. In^ 1868 he hauled from this piopeer farm.to.-N.e-- braska City three wagc^n-loa^s of wheat, repfresenting his entire cropjfbr;that season, and' for the same he received' sixty cents a bushel. That the loads were not large in volume is vouched for by the fact that the sacks, of grain were hauled on a wagen- without" sideboards. In 1867, with ox and horse teams, he broke up a part of his land, and in that year he was a member of a company, including Jacob Rutherford and seventeen other pioneers, who made their way to the west to assist in quelling insubordinate Indians, he and Mr. Rutherford being now the only surviving members of this expedition against the Cheyenne Indians, but in the connection they failed to encounter a single Indian except one who was dead.

Mr. Wright reclaimed his farm into one of the productive tracts of Blakely township and there remained untjl. 1886,, when he removed with his, family to. Shermam township, where he purchased a tract of; six. hundred and forty acres - the south half o.f Section 14 and the north half of Section 23.. Qu' this fine estate he made the best improvements and engaged ' extensively, in. geijeral,- farm industry, including diversified 'agricultiire and;ithe raising of live stock. Iv|ter he was engaged in the grain

, and lumber business in. the village of Virginia, but he still retains:, possession-, of his land in Gage county. He passes a portion of each year with his children, in Gage county, where are many associations and memories that are

- hallowed to him and where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances, and the intervening periods he customarily utilizes in visiting his daughter in California. In Gage county was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wright to Miss Clara Wickham, who was born in Holt county, Missouri, July 27, 1848, andlthey became the parents of three children: Frances A. is the widow of Joseph E. .Penry and resides at Bostonia, California, she being the mother of three children ; Bessie is the wife of William Holm, a; representative merch^pt at Virginia, Gage county, and they ha|ye\ two -daughters; and Fred A. is individually- m[entioned in this publication.

.. other members of his family to the new state of Nebraska, where his son Amos L. has located in the preceding year. Here he became a pioneer farmer, though in earlier years he had given much attention to work at the carpenter trade, he and his brother John having built an old-time box bridge across the Sangamon river at Springfield, Illinois, in the pio- neer days. James Wright died on his farm in Saline county, Nebraska, at the age of seventy-one years, his wife having preceded him to eternal rest. His father, George Wright, was riding horseback along one of the narrow pioneer roads of Ohio when a falling tree killed both the rider and the horse.

JACOB KLEIN. - The career of this honored pioneer merchant of the city of Beatrice has been significantly characterized by courage, confidence, progressiveness and impregnable integrity of purpose. None has a more secure status as a representative citizen and business man of southeastern Nebraska, and to the people of Gage county his name and achievement are practically as familiar as the name of the county. Aside from being the executive head and the founder of one of the largest and best ordered department stores in this section of the state and having other capitalistic interests of important order, Mr. Klein has been signally loyal and helpful as a public-spirited citizen and as one who has been a force in the furtherance of the civic and material advancement and prosperity of the community in which he has maintained his home for more than forty years and to which he came as an ambitious young man with very limited financial resources but with the fullest measure of determination and resourcefulness. He eminently deserves classification among those self-made men who have distinguished themselves for their ability to master the opposing forces of life and to wrest from the hands of fate a large measure of success and an honorable name. Mr. Klein has not only been the dominating force in the upbuilding of the extensive mercantile business now conducted under the corporate title of Klein's Mercantile Company, but has identified himself also with the development and promotion of other business enterprises of importance, has been the loyal supporter of all measures tendmg to conserve the general wellbeing of his home city, county and state, aud has been called upon to serve in various positions of public trust, including that of member of the state senate.

In the Upper Palatinate of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, and not far distant from the historic old city of Bingen, on the Rhine, Jacob Klein was born March 31, 1846, - a scion of oW and honored families of that section of the German empire, where his paternal grandfather, John Klein, a weaver by trade and vocation, passed his entire life, as did also the maternal grandfather, Conrad Weiser, who gave his allegiance to the great fundamental industry of agriculture. Mr. Klein is a son of Jacob and Margaret (Weiser) Klein, both likewise natives of Bavaria, where each was born in the year 1805. The parents passed the closing years of their lives in Livingston county, Illinois, where the mother's death occurred in 1874 and that of the father in 1879, their marriage having been solemnized in 1832 and both having been earnest communicants of the Lutheran church. Of their .five children the subject of this review is the youngest and the other two now living are Charles, who is a resident of Montana, where he is a retired farmer, and Katherine, who is the widow of Louis Moschel and maintains her home in the city of Beatrice.

In the year 1855 Jacob Klein, Senior, immigrated with his family to the United States, and soon after landing in the port of New York city he continued his westward journey and settled in Tazewell county, Illinois. He had incurred an indebtedness of six hundred dollars incidental to transporting the family to America, and thus a double responsibility rested upon him after he had established a home in this country. For the first year he was employed by others, and he then rented a farm from an Englishman who furnished him with all requisite tools and appliances, and he continued his operations on this farm, in Tazewell county, for a period of nine years. His energy and good judgment brought him a full measure of success as an agriculturist, though in his native land he had followed the trade of weaver. Through his operation in the control of the farm mentioned Mr. Klein accumulated a sufiicient reserve of money to justify him in purchasing a farm of his own. Under these conditions he bought, at the rate of twenty-five dollars an acre, a tract of eighty acres in Livingston county, Illinois, and to the improving and cultivating of this homestead he continued to give his attention until the death of his loved and devoted wife, in 1874, when he sold the property to his son, Philip C, with whom he remained until he too passed to the life eternal, about five years later. The son Philip was a resident of Illinois at the time of his death and the other deceased member of the immediate family circle was John, who died when about seventy-nine years of age.

He whose name introduces this review acquired his rudimentary education in his native land and was a lad of about ten years at the time of the family immigration to the United States. He was reared to manhood under the sturdy discipline of the farm and in the meanwhile he profited by the advantages aiiforded in the schools of Tazewell county, Illinois, his attendance in the same having continued at intervals during a period of three years, the while he was not denied a full quota of strenuous and practical experience in connection with the work of the home farm. Like many another reared under similar conditions, he has rounded out his education through effective self-discipline and through the lessons gained through his long and successful business career, so that he has become a man of broad mental ken and mature judgment. Mr. Klein initiated his independent career as a farmer when he was about twenty-three years of age, and he continued his active alliance with farm industry in Illinois until 1873, when, at the age of twenty-seven years, he came to Nebraska and numbered himself as one of the pioneers of Gage county. His marriage occurred about two years previously and upon coming to this county he established the family home in the small but aspiring little city of Beatrice. Here he forthwith formed a partnership with Charles Moschel and Emil Lang and they engaged in the retail grocery business, under the firm name of J. Klein & Company. Success attended the enterprise and within a few years its scope was enlarged by the addition of departments devoted to dry goods and men's clothing. The partnership alliance continued until 1887, in January of which year the three principals made an equitable division of the business and stock, Mr. Klein at this time taking control of the drygoods and clothing department of the enterprise. With characteristic energy and good judgment he made himself a leader in anticipating the demands of the public incidental to the development and growth of the county and its judicial center, and finally he developed the large and important general merchandise business which marks the present department store of Klein's Mercantile Company as one of the most metropolitan and efficiently conducted institutions of the kind in this part of the state. For the accommodation of the large and constantly increasing business Mr. Klein erected the large and substantial brick block which bears his name, the building being two stories in height, not including basement, and occupying a ground area twenty-five by one hundred and ten feet in dimensions. Here is conducted under most favorable conditions and arrangement the general department store, and every department is known for efficiency and acceptability of service, so that the substantial enterprise has the firmest of foundations, even as the executive policies attest to the sterling integrity and the progressivness of Mr. Klein, as well as of his sons, who have become his valued coadjutors in the control and management of the important enterprise, - the reputation of the concern constituting its best commercial asset. In 1901 the business was incorporated under the present name, Klein's Mercantile Company, the charter given under the laws of Nebraska designating the capital stock at one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. The honored founder, as president and general manager of the company, continues as the executive head of the business, his eldest son, Jacob A., who is individually mentioned on other pages, being vice-president of the company; the second; son, Frederick K., being secretary and treasur- * er, and the youngest son, Frank E., likewise being actively associated with the business. In noting the financial and civic status of

Jacob Klein at the present time it is interesting to record that when he came to Beatrice his available capitalistic resources were summed up in about five hundred dollars. His success has not been an accident but rather the logical result of well applied energy and ability, and his many friends in the community honor him the more for the fact that he has always been an earnest and productive worker. His communal loyalty has led him to make his liberality keep pace with his cumulative prosperity, and thus he has given capitalistic co-operation in the furtherance of other business enterprises. Among his other and noteworthy connections may be mentioned his active and prolific association with the Gage County Agricultural Society, he having been one of the twenty progressive citizens who organized this society.

Well fortified in his convictions pertaining to governmental and economic policies, Mr. Klein has always been found arrayed as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and he has been influential in its councils and campaign activities in this part of the state. He served one term as treasurer of Gage county, has been a valued member of the Beatrice board of education, and the high popular estimate placed upon him was significantly shown when, in 1909, he was elected representative of the Fourteenth district in the state senate. He proved a well poised, sane and vigorous figure in the deliberations and work of the senate and those of the various committees to which he was assigned, and was given the best of popular commendation through his re-election in 1913. He and his family are communicants of the Lutheran church and he takes deep satisfaction in giving to his gracious and popular wife a due mede of credit for the aid she has given him in the furtherance of his success, the while her gentle and kindly personality has gained to her the aflFectionate regard of all who have come within the sphere of her influence.

In the year 1871 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Klein to Miss Catharine Moschel, who was bom in Germany and who came with her widowed mother, Mrs. Margaret

(Schantz) Moschel, to America in the year 1865, the father. Christian Moschel, having died in Germany about the year 1854, his vocation having been that of cabinetmaker. The widowed .mother brought her five children to the United States and the home was established in Illinois, the mother having there passed the residue of her life, her death having occurred on a farm near Chenoa, McLean county, in 1886. Three of her sons, Louis, Charles, and Daniel, became pioneers of Gage county, Nebraska, where they settled in the '70s, and all became representative citizens of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Klein have four children, and in a preceding paragraph it has been noted that the three sons are actively associated with the business founded by their father. The only daughter, Ida M., remains at the parental home and is a popular assistant to her mother.

HERMAN M. REYNOLDS, M. D. - For all time must Gage county pay a tribute of veneration and honor to the late Dr. Herman Meyer Reynolds, who was one of the foremost pioneer physicians and surgeons of this part of the state, who wielded large and beneficent influence in the furtherance of civic and material development and progress and who was a leader in all movements tending to advance the welfare and growth of the beautiful little city of Beatrice, the metropolis and judicial center of Gage county. He ' aided in upbuilding Beatrice from a frontier village to its present status as one of the vigorous and important muncipalities of Nebraska, and his was the distinction of being elected the city's first mayor. His life was significantly one of service, was marked by unwavering optimism and abiding human sympathy, and even this succinct record concerning his life and labors can not fail of lesson and incentive. He was one of the best known and most beloved pioneer citizens of Gage county at the time of his death, which occurred on the 26th of April, 1875.

honored families of that section of the Empire state. A youth of alert mind and valiant ambition, Dr. Reynolds early determined, after having availed himself of the advantages of the common schools, to prepare himself for the medical profession, and finally he provided ways and means to complete a course in a medical college in the city of Albany, New York. After having received the degree of Doctor of Medicine he engaged in the practice of his profession, and his ability soon gained him recognition, with the result that success attended his earnest efforts in the work of his chosen calling. For two years prior to coming to the west the Doctor was engaged in practice in the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and he was one of the leaders in the fine colony that came to Gage county, Nebraska, and located the town site of Beatrice, the county seat. He was thus one of the founders of this city and had the distinction of being not only its pioneer physician and surgeon, but also the first man elected as chief executive of the municipal government of the ambitious little city. In the work of his humane mission Dr. Reynolds spared himself neither mental nor physical effort in the pioneer days, and he rode on horseback over the Nebraska prairies for miles in every direction from Beatrice, to carry relief and solace to those in affliction and distress. He ministered with all of his unselfish zeal and marked ability in the work of his profession and his kindliness and sympathy transcended mere vocation to become an actuating motive for helpfulness. Under these conditions it may well be understood that his name and memory are held in lasting reverence in the community in which he lived and labored to goodly ends. In the attractive brick residence which the Doctor erected at 800 Market street he passed the closing period of his life, and there his venerable widow has maintained her home for more than forty years, the place and the community being endeared to her by the hallowed memories and associations of the past and hers being gracious status as one of the loved pioneer women of Beatrice. In this connection it may consistently be noted that the first home provided for Dr. and Mrs. Reynolds in Beatrice was a pioneer log cabin, the same having been situated at the corner of Fourth and Court streets. Mrs. Reynolds has thus witnessed the development of Beatrice from a frontier hamlet into a populous and prosperous city of twelve thousand inhabitants, and though she has passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten she retains in splendid degree her mental and physical vigor and finds that in the gracioiis evening of her life her lines are "cast in pleasant places," her circle of friends in the community being limited only by that of her acquaintances. Dr. Reynolds was a man of vigorous intellectuality and mature judgment, was well fortified in his views concerning governmental and economic policies, and gave his political allegiance to the Republican party, his religious faith having been that of the Christian church. He and his wife were charter members of the church of this denomination in Beatrice and Mrs. Reynolds is still active in its work.

At Beatrice, Nebraska, on the 20th of October, 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Reynolds to Miss Naomi Barcus, who was bom at Covington, Indiana, on the 20th of October, 1841, and who was an infant at the time of the death of her father, Jesse Barcus. Her widowed mother, whose maiden name was Mary Blodgett, later became the wife of Thomas Sherrill, and in 1859 they came to Nebraska and numbered themselves among the earliest settlers of Gage county, where they passed the residue of their lives. Mrs. Reynolds was reared and educated in the old Hoosier state and was about eighteen years of age when she accompanied her mother and stepfather to Gage county, Nebraska, so that It may readily be understood that hers are vivid memories touching the conditions and influences that obtained in the early pioneer days. Dr. and Mrs. Reynolds became the parents of six daughters and one son, two of whom died in infancy ; Elsie is the widow of George W. Loeber and maintains her home at Beatrice; Mollie is the wife of George F. Randall, a large rancher in Morrill county, Nebraska, Redington being their postoffice address; Ruth is the wife of Charles C. Farlow, of Beatrice, and Mr. Farlow is serving, in 1918, as deputy treasurer of Gage county; Miss Josephine is an eiiScient and popular teacher in the public schools of Beatrice and remains with her widowed mother at the old homestead ; and Hermina is the wife of Harry E. Sackett, a representative Gage county lawyear, to whom is accorded mention on other pages of this work.

JOHN W. WRIGHT was a man whose sterling character gave him excellent equipment for being master of his own destiny, and though his financial resources were of the most limited order when he came to Gage county, forty years ago, he so directed his activities as to achieve large and worthy success. He was a pioneer merchant and farmer of this county, commanded the unqualified respect of all who knew him and it is most fitting that in this history be entered a tribute to his memory.

John Wesley Wright was born in Hawkins county, Tennessee, May 27, 1852, and there he was reared and educated. At the age of twenty-four years he drove with team and wagon from Tennessee to Illinois and settled in Macoupin county, where he found employment at farm work, including the cutting of wood, his compensation at the start being only eight dollars a month. The following year was marked by his turning his attention to independent farm enterprise in that county, and there also the ambitious young man, on March 18, 1877, wedded the gracious young woman who was to continue as his devoted companion and helpmeet during the remainder of his earnest and worthy life. In 1878 Mr. Wright made, with team and wagon, the overland trip from Illinois to Gage county, Nebraska, and his wife joined him within a few months thereafter, she having made the journey by railroad. Soon after his arrival in the county Mr. Wright purchased land in Filley township, the farm now owned by John A. Burbank, and with characteristic vigor and resourcefulness he initiated the improvement and development of this place. When the village of Filley was platted Mr. Wright erected one of the first buildings in the new town and assumed the management of one of the first mercantile establishments there opened. Later he purchased the stock and business and for twenty-one years thereafter he there conducted a substantial and prosperous business as a dealer in hardware, agricultural implements, and groceries. After selling his original farm he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Filley township, just outside the corporate limits of the village of the same name, and upon this homestead he erected good buildings and made other improvements of excellent order. Here he became a most successful and progressive exponent of agricultural and live-stock enterprise and he eventually added much to the area of his landed estate, so that he left to his family at his death a valuable farm property of two hundred acres, his widow still remaining on the attractive homestead and having at all times been the popular chatelaine of a pleasant home known for its . gracious hospitality.

Mr. Wright was a man well fortified for leadership in commtmity affairs and while he had no desire for political preferment he was a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Republican party and showed his civic loyalty by his efficient service in the office of justice of the peace. He became a member of the Masonic fraternity when he was twenty-one years of age and continued his active affiliation throughout the remainder of his life. He was an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which he contributed liberally and with a high sense of personal stewardship, and his widow likewise is a zealous member.