Gage County, Nebraska - Chapter 31: People Who Have Done Their Part in Making Gage County, 1918 (part 6 of 29)

January 1, 1870, Mr. Shelley wedded Miss Mary E. Bailey, who was born in Kenosha county, Wisconsin, January 31, 1851, the fourth in a family of eight children, and she was twelve years old when the family came to Gage' county, in 1863, her parents, Asa F. and Jeanette .(Ford) Bailey, having here passed the remainder of their lives, the father having been born in New Hampshire, of Colonial ancestry, and the mother having been a native of the state of New York. Mrs. Shelley shared with her husband in the vicissitudes and labors of pioneer life and prior to their marriage she had been a successful and popular teacher in the rural schools of Gage county. A woman of gracious personality, she is loved by all who have come within the sphere of her influence and she has many interesting reminiscences concerning the pioneer period in Gage county history. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Shelley, Violetta died at the age of eight years; Anna remains with her widowed mother at their pleasant home in the city of Beatrice; William is a substantial farmer in Rockford township; Eloise is the wife of Robert H. Whittaker, a prosper-t ous farmer in Rockford township ; Harriet E. died in 1915, at the age of thirty-three years; Merton J. at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1918, is in government service, as a member in the aviation corps at Waco, Texas ; Gilbert R. has the management of his father's old homestead farm; Frank R. is president of the Northwestern Business College at Beatrice, and is individually mentioned on other pages ; and Harold E. is now a member of the United States army forces in the cantonment at Fort McArthur, Waco, Texas, where, as an aviator, he is preparing to take his place as a patriot soldier in the great European war. It will be noted that three of the sons are in the aviation corps ^:- located at Fort McArthur, Texas.

farm enterprise in the county and who have achieved the independence that justified their retirement from active labors. Among the many popular citizens who are thus enjoying the attractions and privileges of the judicial center of the county is Mr. McGirr, who has been active not only as a representative of farm industry but also has been a successful exponent of the real-estate business. He was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, January 31, 1875, and thus is in the very prime of life. He is a son of Francis M. and Judith (Barkey) McGirr, and adequate record concerning the family is given on other pages, in the sketch of Dr. John I. McGirr.

Virgil E. McGirr was eleven years of age at the time of the family removal from Illinois to Gage county, and in the public schools he here continued his studies until his graduation in the Beatrice high school, as a member of the class of 1894. He continued his active association with farm enterprise until he had attained to the age of twenty-seven years, and he then established his residence at Beatrice, where he served three years as deputy sheriff of the county. For several years thereafter he was successfully engaged in the real-estate business, and his operations included the selling of land not only in Nebraska but also in other states of the Union. He built up a substantial and prosperous business and since his withdrawal from this line of enterprise he has lived virtually retired. He is the owner of a well improved farm of two hundred and sixty-five acres, in Holt township.

In politics Mr. McGirr is found aligned as a stalwart in the camp of the Democratic party and he has been influential in its local campaign activities. He has twice been his party's candidate for sheriff of Gage county, and on one occasion reduced materially the large Republican majority, his defeat being compassed by only twenty-seven votes. He served six years as chief of police at Beatrice, and gave a most efficient and satisfactory administration. Mr. McGirr has passed the various official chairs in the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is now president (1918) of the Beatrice aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and he is affiliated also with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. In their home city both he and his wife became members of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal church, with which he is still actively identified.

December 22, 1898, recorded the marriage of Mr. McGirr to Miss Bessie Hoopes, who was born in the state of Iowa and whose death occurred February 15, 1902. In 1905 Mr. McGirr wedded Miss Bertha G. Skinner, who was born in Kansas, and they have three children - Francis D., John, and Paul. There are no children resultant of Mr. McGirr's first marriage.

FRANK W. ACTON. - In the administration of the office of sheriff of Gage county Mr. Acton has so ordered affairs as to prove conclusively the wisdom of the popular estimate that placed him in this exacting position. His experience in connection with police and constabular service has covered a period of fully a quarter of a century, and thus he was specially well fortified for assuming the office of sheriff of Gage county, to which he was elected in 1914, and reelected in 1916, at the close of his first term.

Sheriff Acton claims the Hawkeye state as the place of his nativity and is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of that commonwealth. He was bom on a pioneer farm in Henry county, Iowa, October 21, 1857, and is a son of William N. and Mima E. (Cook) Acton, the former of whom was bom in the state of Maryland, in 1820, and the latter was born in Ohio, in 1827. William N. Acton was a boy at the time of his father's death, which occurred in Maryland, and he was reared and educated principally in the state of Ohio. His energy, self-reliance, and ambition led him as a young man to number himself among the pioneer settlers of Iowa, where he entered claim to one hundred and sixty acres of land, in Henry county. He improved this property and after perfecting his title thereto he finally sold the farm and removed to Montgomery county, that state, in 1865. There he continued his successful activities in agriculture and stockgrowing until 1892, when he removed to Kansas and purchased a tract of land. In the following year he came to visit at the home of his son Frank W., at Wymore, Gage county, and here he was attacked with severe illness, in November of that year, his death having here occurred on the 2d of February, 1894. His loved and devoted wife survived him by nearly fifteen years and was a resident of Furley, Kansas, at the time of her death, in July, 1908.

William N. Acton was essentially a selfmade man, and he achieved definite and worthy success in connection with normal lines of industrial and business enterprise, the while he so ordered his course as to merit and receive the unqualified respect and esteem of his fellow men. His religious faith was that of the Protestant Episcopal church and his wife held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, she having been a daughter of Jesse Cook, who was bom in Pennsylvania, whence he removed to Ohio, and who removed from the old Buckeye state to Iowa in the pioneer period of the history of the latter commonwealth : he became the owner of a valuable landed estate in Iowa and there he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. William N. and Mima E. (Cook) Acton became the parents of six children, and of the number the present sheriff of Gage county, Nebraska, is the eldest; A. B. is a representative merchant in the village of Furley, Sedgwick county, Kansas ; Ella M. is the wife of A. M. Stanley, a merchant at Palms, California; O. D. is a successful carpenter and contractor at Colfax, Iowa; J. L. is associated with his brother A. B. in the general merchandise business at Furley, Kansas, as is also C. M., the youngest of the children.

Frank W. Acton received excellent educational advantages in his youth, and after having availed himself of the privileges of the public schools of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, he entered the University of Iowa, graduating as a member of the class of 1875, and receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He defrayed the expenses of his higher education largely through the revenue received from his effective services as a teacher in the public schools, his pedagogic work having included three terms of service in the district schools of Iowa, two terms in the schools of California, and two in Kansas. At Red Oak," Iowa, Mr. Acton gained his initial experience as a member of a police force.

In 1910 Sheriff Acton removed from Wymore to Beatrice, Nebraska, the capital of the same county, and here he soon afterward assumed the position of deputy sheriff, under the administration of Sheriff J. L,. Schick. Prior to this he had served for twenty years as a member of the police force of Wymore, Gage county, in which thriving little city he held also, for fourteen years, the position of street and water commissioner. Known and honored in Gage county, Mr. Acton retired from the position of deputy sheriff only to assume the more important post of sheriff. In connection with the conscription of the young men of the United States for service in the great European war Sheriff Acton is serving as a member of the exemption board for Gage county. As a stalwart in the camp of the Republican party he has at all times taken an active and loyal interest in political affairs and has been influential in the local councils of his party. The sheriff is prominently affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, in which he is past chancellor, besides which he: has on several occasions served as a delegate to the Iowa grand lodge of this order. He holds membership also in the Improved Order of Red Men and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

In the year 1881 was recorded the marriage of Mr. Acton to Miss Mary E. Harris, who was born and reared in Jefferson county, Iowa, and she was summoned to the life eternal in 1911, her memory being revered by all who came within the sphere of her gracious influence. Mrs. Acton is survived by two children : Paul holds the position of bookkeeper in the offices of the warehouse of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Wymore, this county; and Maude is the wife of

Paul W. Hitchins, foreman in the establishment of the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company, at Beatrice. Christine, a foster daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Acton, is now the wife of R. M. Burroughs, an electrician at Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. Mrs. Acton was a devoted member of the Christian church and active in its work.

I. T. MERCHANT, the efficient postmaster at Adams, Gage county, claims the old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity. He was born in Paulding county, Ohio, on the 19th of March, 1856, a son of Isaac and Nancy (Caylor) Merchant. The father was born at a place eighteen miles southwest of Washington Court House, Ohio, on the 25th of November, 1823. He was a prosperous farmer in Ohio at the time when the Civil war was precipitated, and he showed his intrinsic patriotism by enlisting in an Ohio volunteer regiment and by serving valiantly with the same during the period of the great conflict between the states of the north and the south. When his country no longer needed his services as a soldier he returned to Ohio, and in 1866 he removed to Kingston, Missouri. In that locality he was engaged in farming until the time of his election to the position of county judge. In this office he served until 1873, when he came to Lincoln, Nebraska. In the following year he went to Custer county, this state, where he took up a homestead claim and became one of the pioneer settlers of that large and now prosperous section of Nebraska. He there continued his agricultural activities until 1885, when he sold his farm and established his residence at Broken Bow, the county seat, where he practiced law for several years thereafter. In 1911, after having spent some time in a visit to his native state, Mr. Merchant came to Adams, Gage county, where he passed the closing period of his life in the home of his son, the subject of this review, his death having here occurred November 10, 1913. His wife was born February 5, 1830, her birthplace having been not far distant from that of her husband, in Washington county, Ohio. She died at Broken

Bow, Nebraska, January 22, 1892, and in the cemetery at that place were laid to rest the mortal remains of both her and her husband. They became the parents of ten children, concerning whom the following brief record is available: Mrs. T. J. Todhunter lives at Washington Court House, Ohio; John was a soldier of the Union at the time of his death, which occurred in a hospital at Memphis, Tennessee, within the progress of the Civil war; George W. is a resident of Bedford, Iowa; Mrs. W. H. Huffer lives at Urbana, Ohio; the subject of this sketch was the next in order of birth; Mrs. John Armstrong resides in San Francisco, California; Emma and William are deceased; and Mrs. R. D. Ross lives at Anselmo, Custer county, Nebraska.

I. T. Merchant continued his studies in the public schools until his graduation in the high school at Kingston, Missouri, as a member of the class of 1873. In 1873, as previously noted, the family removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, and there he became bookkeeper in his father's hotel. In the following year he accompanied his parents to Custer county, this state, where, he entered claim to a homestead and engaged in the feeding of sheep and cattle. He finally disposed of his farm interests and removed to Broken Bow, where he became deputy sheriff of Custer county. Thereafter he was appointed postmaster at Broken Bow, an office of which he continued the incumbent until 1890. Thereafter he was there engaged in buying and shipping grain and live stock until 1893, when he became a keeper in the shops of the Nebraska penitentiary, at Lincoln. The next year he went to Toronto, Canada, where he became actively identified with lumbering enterprise.

In 1900 Mr. Merchant established his residence at Liberty, Gage county, Nebraska, where he continued to be engaged in the buying and shipping of grain for the ensuing nine years. He then removed to the village of Adams, this county, and here he was successfully engaged in buying and sRipping grain and other farm produce until 1913, when he was appointed postmaster of the village, a

At Broken Bow, Custer county, on the 4th of September, 1880, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Merchant to Miss Sarah E. who was born in the Dominion of Canada and who is a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Kilpatrick) North, natives of Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Merchant have one son, T. O., who has become a member of the national army and who is, in the spring of 1918, stationed at Camp Cody, New Mexico. Mr. and Mrs. Merchant belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics he is a Democrat. He has rendered efficient service as a member of the township board, as justice of the peace and as police judge. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Merchant is a man of ability and civic loyalty and he takes deep interest in all things pertaining to the communal welfare.

DAVID F. BRYSON. - Some one has said, "Expect great things, attempt great things and great things will result." This may not be true in every instance, but in the case of David F. Bryson it most undoubtedly is. Nebraska might be called "The young man's state," for she has within her borders many brilliantly successful young men. In this class should be included the subject of this review.

David S. Bryson is a native of Gage county, bom in Adams township, July 1, .1872, and he is a son of Silas and Clarinda (Young) Bryson, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. David F. Bryson spent his boyhood days on his father's farm in Adams township. He attended the district school in acquiring his early education and assisted in the work of planting, cultivating, and harvesting the crops. On reaching man's estate he engaged in farming on his own account, and no man in Gage county has met with greater success in his chosen calling. He is the owner of six hundred acres of well improved land and leases 1700 acres. He is a breeder of pure-bred Angus cattle, and deals extensively in cattle and hogs, which he buys and ships. He is the best known and most successful auctioneer in southeastern Nebraska, making a specialty of selling fancy live-stock, as well as land.

December 24, 1891, Mr. Bryson married Miss Martha L. Kensing. Her father, August Kensing, was bom in Germany and came to America when a lad of sixteen years. He worked as a stone-mason and on a farm until 1861, when he enlisted as a soldier in the Civil war, serving under General Ulysses S. Grant. He was a loyal and valiant soldier, and after being captured by the enemy he was held a prisoner at Andersonville until his exchange was effected. He was mustered out at the close of the war, in 1865, when he went to Iowa and located on the farm where he remained until the time of his death. The mother of Mrs. Bryson was bom in New York state, June 5, 1847, a daughter of Solomon and Martha (Davis) Perrin. She is now the widow of David J. Olmstead, and makes her home with her daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryson became the parents of ten children : Velma is the wife of Guy Atkins, of Adams, Gage county; George Douglas died in infancy; Reuben K. married Belle Hargis, and lives at Adams; Elnora May, Frank LeRoy, Martha Pearl Joy, David Silas, Alma Clarinda, June, and Queenie Hazel are still under the parental roof; and James I. died in infancy.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryson are members of the Methodist church, and in politics Mr. Bryson is a Prohibitionist, the cause of temperance finding in him a stalwart champion.

With no unusual advantages, except a laudable ambition and abundance of self-reliance and ability, Mr. Bryson has so intelligently directed his efforts that to-day he stands in the front rank of the men of large affairs in his native county.

HARRY R. BROWN, M. D., a successful and representative physician and surgeon of the younger generation in Gage county, is established in the practice of his profession in the city of Beatrice and also holds the position

Dr. Brown was born in Jefferson county, Nebraska, on the 9th of January, 1883, and is a son of Joshua P. and Dora Bell Brown, both natives of the state of Pennsylvania. Joshua P. Brown was born in the year 1856 and is a son of Orlando Brown, who likewise was born and reared in the old Keystone state and who died in 1915, at the patriarchal age of ninety years. Joshua P. Brown was for many years a successful teacher in the schools of Pennsylvania and finally he came to Nebraska and became a pioneer teacher in the schools of this commonwealth. He purchased land in Jefferson county and there reclaimed and developed a good farm. He there continued his active association with farm enterprise until 1909, when he removed to Kansas, in which state he had become the owner of two sections of land. He and his wife now maintain their home at White City, Kansas, and both are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Brown is a man of broad intellectual ken and high ideals, and he has proved successful in the lines of productive enterprise along which he has directed his energies. His political allegiance is' given to the Republican party and he has served in various township offices and as a member of school boards since he came to the wect. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he became a member while he was still a resident of Pennsylvania. Levi K. Karschner, father of Mrs. Joshua P. Brown, continued his residence in his native state of Pennsylvania until he came with his family to Nebraska and became a pioneer settler and homesteader in Jefferson county. He made the long journey to this state by means of wagon and ox team. Mr. and Mrs. Joshua P. Brown became the parents of four children and of the two surviving Dr. Brown of this review is the elder; Merle is now (1918) attending school at Manhattan, Kansas.

Dr. Harry R. Brown acquired his early education in the public schools of Nebraska and in the same he continued his studies until his graduation, in 1901, in the high school at Tobias, Saline county. In 1901-1902 he was a student in the University of Nebraska, and he then entered Marion Sims Medical College, now the medical department of the St. Louis University, in the metropolis of Missouri, and in this celebrated institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1907. After thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he initiated the active practice of his profession at Dakin, Nebraska, where he built up a substantial business and where he continued his activities until 1915, when he removed to Beatrice, where he has since, been associated in practice with Dr. Harry ' M. Hepperlen,, of whom specific mention is made on other pages of this work.

In March, 1910, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Brown to Miss Alta Briggs, daughter of Russell Briggs, who came to Nebraska in the pioneer days ' and who now lives on his extensive cattle .ranch near Broken Bow, judicial center of Custer county. Dr. and Mrs. Brown have two children - Harry R., Jr., and Helen Loure.

Dr. Brown is found arrayed in the ranks of the Republican party, he is affiliated with the local organizations of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Modem Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are communicants of Christ church, Protestant Episcopal. The Doctor has gained special prestige through his ability as a surgeon and has to his credit many delicate operations, both major and minor.

FRANCIS ELIAS, M. D., established his residence in the thriving little city of Wymore in the year 1911, and here he has since been engaged in the successful practice of his profession, in which his ability and effective service have given him secure place among the representative physicians and surgeons of Gage county.

Dr. Elias was born in the state of Kansas, ; on the 17th of June, 1883, and the place of - his nativity was his father's home farm, in Clay county. He is a son of Henry A. and -, Emma (Younkin) Elias, the former of whom , was bom in Pennsylvania, and the latter in .

Illinois. In the early 70s Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Elias removed from Illinois and numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of Clay county, Kansas. There Mr. Elias reclaimed and developed a valuable farm property and since his retirement from active farm enterprise he and his wife have maintained their home in the city of Manhattan, Kansas. In the Sunflower state were born their three children - Anna, who is the wife of Rev. Mr. Tannehill, of Centralia, Kansas; Mary, who is the wife of Jacob Nelson, of Wakefield, that state; and Dr. Francis Elias, who is the immediate subject of this review. Henry A. Elias is aligned in the ranks of the Republican party and while residing on his farm in Kansas he was called upon to serve in various local offices of public trust. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Dr. Francis Elias acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of Clay county, Kansas, and the discipline included a course in the high school. In preparing for the profession of his choice Dr. Elias entered the medical department of the University of Kansas, and in the same he was graduated as a member of the class of 1910. After thus receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine he was engaged in practice at St. George, Kansas, about one year. He then, in 1911, came to Gage county, Nebraska, and established his residence at Wymore, where he has since continued in active general practice as a well fortified physician and surgeon who keeps in full touch with advances made in the profession that has enlisted his earnest and effective services. The Doctor has developed a substantial and representative practice and is one of the loyal and progressive citizens of Wymore. He holds membership in the American Medical Association, the Nebraska State Medical Society, and the Gage County Medical Society. In 1915 he took an effective post-graduate course in the medical department of the famous Johns Hopkins University, in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. He gives undivided allegiance to his exacting profession but .is loyal to all civic duties and responsibilities, his political support being given to the cause of the Republican party. In his home city he is affiliated with Wymore Lodge, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, and Hiram Chapter, Royal Arch Masons.

The year 1911 recorded the marriage of Dr. Elias to Miss Olive Todd, who was bom and reared in Clay county, Kansas, where her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Todd, still maintain their home. Dr. and Mrs. Elias have three children - Houghton, Winfield, and Allison.

DWIGHT S. DALBEY has identified himself most closely and loyally with the interests of Gage county, where he has been influential in public life and civic and industrial affairs, and where he has been called upon to serve in various positions of distinctive public trust, including that of representative of the county in the Nebraska legislature.

Mr. Dalbey was born in Christian county, Illinois, on the 22d of September, 1878, and is a son of William M. and Mary N. (Hall) Dalbey, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Illinois. Dwight S. Dalbey found the period of his boyhood and early youth compassed by the benignant influences of the old home farm in Christian county, Illinois, and in his native state he continued his studies in the public schools until he was graduated in the high school at Taylorville, as a member of the class of 1897, For the ensuing two years he was engaged in independent farm enterprise in his home county, and he then entered the college of agriculture of the University of Illinois, in which he was graduated in 1902 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Science. His definite proficiency was recognized by his being appointed an instructor in agronomy in the agricultural college after his graduation, and after serving in this capacity about eighteen months he resigned the position and went to Arkansas, where he purchased a one-third interest in a large cotton plantation, near Marianna. He gave the greater part of his time to the supervision of this plantation until his marriage, in 1903, after which he continued his resi- dence at Jerseyville, Illinois, the old home of his wife, until 1907, when they came to Gage county, Nebraska, and established here their permanent home, their removal having been prompted by their desire to assume personal direction of the large landed interests which Mrs. Dalbey had received, in this state as a heritage from her father. Mr. Dalbey found in the new home splendid opportunities for the utilizing of his vital energies and the exercising of his progressive civic policies. His ability and personal popularity soon brought him into service in offices of local trust, for in 1910 he was elected a member of the board of supervisors of Gage county, the efficiency of his service having led to his reelection thereafter for three additional terms. He was a member of the board at the time when was constructed the first concrete bridge in the county, and he had been so conspicuously influential in bringing about this modem improvement that, at the suggestion of the supervising engineer, the new bridge was named the Dalbey bridge.

In 1915 Mr. Dalbey was elected representative of Gage county in the lower house of the Nebraska legislature, as candidate on the Republican ticket, and it should be recorded that he ran ahead of the party ticket in this election, as did he also at the time of his reelec-, tion, in 1917. He has proved a most valuable working member of the house and the various committees to which he has been assigned, and has done much to further the interests of his constituent district, as well as wise legislation for the state at large. Mr. Dalbey is a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party has ever stood sponsor in a basic way, and he and his wife are active members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Dalbey was president of the Beatrice Young Men's Christian Association for a number of years and is now director. He has been a member of the Beatrice library board for eight years, and is president of the Cornhusker Highway, which runs through Beatrice from Marysville, Kansas, to Sioux City, Iowa. He also is a director in the Beatrice National Bank, and has been a director of the Commercial Club for ten years. Mr. and Mrs. Dalbey own about eight thousand acres of Nebraska land - in Gage, Otoe, and Pawnee counties - the same being a heritage which Mrs. Dalbey received from her father, the late Ford Lewis, to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this publication. They are unflagging in their efforts to further the prosperity of the two towns founded by the latter's father - Virginia, in Gage county, and Lewiston, in Pawnee county - the first having been named for Mrs. Dalbey, whose Christian name is Virginia, and Lewiston having been given its name in honor of its founder, the late Ford Lewis. Mr. and Mrs. Dalbey are prominent in connection with the representative social activities of Gage county and the city of Beatrice, in which they have a beautiful home, and they retain also the fine old Lewis homestead at Jerseyville, Illinois, between which city and Beatrice they divide their time. They have a host of friends in Nebraska - in fact, it may consistently be said that the number is limited only by that of their acquaintances. Mrs. Dalbey has been specially active in philanthropic and charitable work since establishing her home in Gage county, and is doing a generous share in the war activities to which the women of America are devoting themselves so loyally and effectively. She has served two terms as regent of Elizabeth Montague Chapter of the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, in the city of Beatrice, and at the time of this writing, in the summer of 1918, she is state corresponding secretary, and has been chairman of the state committee of the Nebraska Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which has as its special function the prevention of desecration of the nation's flag. At Virginia, this county, the town named in her honor, Mrs. Dalbey has erected a most modern and attractive hotel, known as the Virginia Inn, and at Lewiston, Pawnee county, named in honor of her father, she and her mother erected the Lewiston Hall, a most modem building for general public assemblage and community use. At both

Lewiston and Virginia Mrs. Dalbey donated public parks, and in 1918 she donated a site of fifteen acres at each of the towns for the new consoHdated schools.

December 23, 1903, recorded the marriage of Dwight S. Dalbey to Miss Virginiia Lewis, the only daughter of the late Ford Lewis, of Jerseyville, Illinois, where Mrs. Dalbey was bom and reared, her early educational advantages having included those of the public schools of her native city and those of Monticello Seminary, at Godfrey, Illinois.

JOHN H. VON STEEN, a man of admirable and pronounced initiative and constructive ability, has been the primary factor in the developing of one of the largest and most important industrial and commercial enterprises of Gage county, and he is one of the most valued and influential citizens and business men of Beatrice, where he is president and treasurer of The John H. von Steen Company, a pioneer concern which controls an extensive wholesale and retail business in the handling of building material, coal, etc., besides having developed an important and prosperous industry in the manufacturing of the woven-wire fence designated as the "Beatrice Barbed Border," and also of the celebrated "Beatrice Portable Corn Cribs." Basing its operations upon large capital and most progressive policies, this company is one of the foremost of the kind in Nebraska, and it maintains four branch yards, under the f ol- lowing titles and at the designated locations, at other points in the state : Hallam Lumber & Coal Company, Hallam, Lancaster county; Huntley Lumber & Coal Company, Huntley, Harlan county; and The John H. von Steen Company, Bruning, Thayer county, and' Strang, Fillmore county. In addition to being the founder and president of The John H. von Steen Company of Beatrice, Mr. von Steen is executive head also of the subsidiary companies just mentioned. The business of The John H. von Steen Company is widely disseminated throughout Nebraska, and the corporation handles all kinds of building material on a large scale, at both wholesale and retail.

In 1879, about two years after he had established his residence at Beatrice, John H. von Steen here engaged in the retail lumber business. The enterprise which he thus established on a very modest scale formed the nucleus around which has been developed the great business enterprise of which he is now the head. In 1892 he expanded his enterprise to include the wholesale dealing in building material, supplies, and accessories, and in 1908, under the provisions of the laws of Nebraska, The John H. von Steen Company was incorporated with a capital stock of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, fully paid in. Under date of March 6, 1912, the company's charter was so amended as to permit its increase of authorized capital to two hundred thousand dollars, almost fully paid now. The history of the enterprise has been one of consecutive growth in scope and importance and has been marked by those legitimate and honorable commercial policies that must underlay all worthy success along such lines. Mr. von Steen has been president and treasurer of the company from the time of its incorporation and the other members of the executive corps are here designated: Clarence W. Graff, vice-president, and Sam D. Ruth, secretary. In addition to these officers the directorate of the company includes also John H. Pletscher, and Walter H. DeBolt.

John H. von Steen was bom near the city of Dantzic, capital of the Prussian province of the same name, and the date of his nativity was May 15, 1852. He is a son of John H. and Johanna (Zimmerman) von Steen, who were born and reared in that same province, where the father followed the vocation of farming until 1875, when he came with his family to America. He and his wife were zealous members of the Mennonite church, the tenets of which deprecate all activities of military service, and his principal reason for leaving his native land was to avoid, in consonance with his religious views and firm personal convictions, conscription of himself and his sons for service in the German army. In

1877 John H. von Steen, Sr., established the family home at Beatrice, and here he and his wife remained as honored and valued citizens until they were summoned to the life eternal, secure in the high regard of all who knew them.

The subject of this review received in his native city excellent educational advantages, besides which he passed four years in the cities of London and Liverpool, with the primary object of familiarizing himself with the English language and business methods. He accompanied his parents to America when he was twenty-five years of age and he has resided continuously at Beatrice since 1877. Here he was employed eighteen months in the lumber yard of LePoidevin Brothers, and in 1879 he engaged independently in the retail lumber business, on part of the grounds where the Burlington Railroad station now stands. Energy, integrity, faithfulness, and broad vision insured cumulative success to the ambitious young man, and that he has wrought earnestly and well needs no further voucher than his status to-day as one of the most substantial men of affairs in this section of the state of his adoption. While thus promoting his individual advancement Mr. von Steen has at all stages been mindful of his civic responsibilities and has stood forth as a liberal and public-spirited naturalized American citizen, his course in all of the relations of life having been such that he has gained and retained the inviolable confidence and good will of his fellow men.

The political allegiance of Mr. von Steen has been given to the Prohibition party, but he is primarily and essentially a business man and has had no ambition for political activity or preferment. He was reared in the faith of the Mennonite church and has been an earnest and active member of the same from his early youth to the present time. He is one of the influential representatives of this denomination in Gage county, has for many years been a valued teacher in the Sunday school of the Mennonite church in Beatrice. He attended the general conference of the Mennonite church held in California in the summer of

1917, and incidental to his trip to the Pacific coast he, with his wife, visited the Sfellowstone National Park - an indulgence that afforded them special satisfaction, this also being true in connection with his annual vacations, which are usually given to travel for recreation.

In 1882 Mr. von Steen wedded Miss Mary McKibbin, who was born at Fishlake, Indiana, arid whose death occurred in 1893, she having been a devout member of the Mennonite church. She is survived by two daughters - Edith, who completed her education in Bethel College, at Newton, Kansas, and who is now the wife of Professor D. H. Richert, a member of the faculty of that institution; and Ada, who is the wife of Dr. Louis E. Penner, a representative physician and surgeon engaged in practice at Beatrice. In 1895 Mr> von Steen contracted a second marriage, when Mrs. Katie (Ruth) Hirschler became his wife, and she is now the worthy chatelaine of their beautiful home, on North Fourth street, in Beatrice.

HENRY J. TROEMPER, D. V. S. - Broad and accurate technical knowledge and. marked facility in making practical application of the same have given to Dr. Troemper definite prestige as one of the able and representative exponents of the veterinary profession in this section of the state, and, with residence and professional headquarters in the city of Beatrice, he has developed a substantial and. important practice, his efficient service being of special value in its direct pertinence to the large live-stock interests of this section of Nebraska. He is a young man who is an enthusiast in his profession and in connection, with his widely extended professional practice he is the proprietor of the Beatrice Veterinary Hospital, a well ordered institution of the best modern facilities.

Dr. Troemper was bom at Alma, Waubaunsee county, Kansas, on the 9th of December,. 1883, and is a son of Christian and Ursula " (Myer) Troemper, the former of whom, was; born at Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Germany. Christian Troemper was a.

pioneer in the state of Kansas, where he entered claim to a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, in Waubaunsee county, and where he eventually accumulated and improved a large and valuable landed estate. He still continues his activities as one of the representative agriculturists and stock-growers of that county and is an honored citizen of his community. His wife died June 7, 1917, at the age of sixty-eight years.

Reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, Dr. Troemper early learned the lessons of practical industry, the while he made good use of the advantages afforded in the excellent public schools of his native commonwealth. In formulating plans for his future career he followed the course of his ambition by entering the Kansas City Veterinary College, after having previously been for two years a studeint in the State Agricliltural College of Kansas, at Manhattan. During the vacation of his freshman year in the veterinary college Dr. Troemper fortified himself by practical experience gained along the line of his chosen profession, this service having been given in Kansas City. In his junior year he gave to the government efficient professional service in the work of eradicating an epidemic of scab in sheep in the state of New Mexico, his headquarters for this interval having been in the city of Albuquerque. He was graduated in the Kansas City Veterinary College as a member of the class of 1908, and in August of that year, after having thus received his degree of Doctor of Veterinary Surgery, he established his residence in Beatrice, where he has built up a large and representative practice that extends over a radius of many miles from the judicial center of Gage county. His veterinary hospital has the most approved appliances and facilities for the treatment and general care of horses, cattle and other animals, and he has made the same an institution of much value in this section of the state.

In politics Dr. Troemper is found aligned in the ranks of the Democratic party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.

In 1910 was recorded the marriage of Dr. Troemper to Miss Nannie Hadinger, who was born and reared at Shickley, Fillmore county, Nebraska, and they are popular factors in the representative social activities of their home city.

GENERAL. LEONARD WRIGHT COLBY was born in Cherry Valley, Ashtabula county, Ohio, August 5, 1846, the fifth son of the seven children born to Rowel and Abigail (Livingston) Colby. His parents were Americans and natives of Grafton county, New Hampshire. When he was about four years old his parents removed to a farm five miles from Freeport, Stephenson county, Illinois, where he resided until his enlistment as a private soldier in the great war of the Rebellion and his assignment to the Eighth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He was wounded on April 9, 1865, in almost the last battle of the Civil war, and was recommended for promotion and commission for gallant and meritorious services in the charge at Fort Blakely and the siege of Mobile, Alabama, where he captured a Confederate flag. After his discharge from the Union army, in 1865, he with about fifty others from his regiment enlisted with the forces of Maximilian, serving with the rank of captain for several months, until his resignation, in December, 1865. On his return home he entered the high school at Freeport, Illinois, from which he graduated in July, 1867, with the highest honors of his class. In the fall of the same year he entered the University of Wisconsin, in the regular classical course, and he was graduated in June, 1871, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, again taking the highest honors of his class. He was graduated also from the military and engineering courses at the same institution, obtaining the degrees of Civil Engineer and Mechanical Engineer and the recommendation for a lieutenant's commission in the United States army. During the last two years of his college course he was commissioned and served as captain of the university cadets at Madison, Wisconsin. Thereafter he was graduated from the law department of the university, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and in the fall of 1872 (August 22d), he came to Nebraska and opened a law office in Beatrice, being associated in business with Lynus B. Sale, a former college friend. In 1874 the University of Wisconsin conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. On June 25, 1875, he became associated with Alexander W. Conley in the organization of a company of state militia at Beatrice, and was commissioned first lieutenant of such company, which was designated as the Paddock Guards, in honor of United States Senator Algernon Sidney Paddock. In the summer of 1877 he was commissioned captain by the governor of Nebraska and placed in command of four companies of mounted rifles. He marched his battalion from Beatrice to Red Cloud, thence to northern Nebraska and Wyoming in pursuit of bands of marauding Indians. On his return he was commissioned captain of the Paddock Guards, which command he held until June 13, 1881, when he was commissioned colonel of the First Regiment Nebraska National Guard. He had command of the Nebraska state troops and six companies of United States regulars during the labor strike in Omaha in March, 1882, at which time the city was placed under martial law ; he was re-commissioned colonel July 10, 1884, and before the end of his term, on April 11, 1887, was promoted, by appointment and commission, to brigadier general and placed in command of the First Brigade, comprising two infantry regiments, a troop of cavalry, and a battery of artillery. On April 11, 1890, his commission as brigadier genera! was renewed for another term of three years.

During the winter of 1890-1891 General Colby and his command were called into active service on the occasion of the uprising of the Sioux Indians of Pine Ridge and othei agencies in South Dakota and Nebraska. The command took part with great credit in the engagement at Wounded Knee and many skirmishes along the borders of the Bad Lands, where the hostile Indians were located, and won the congratulations of Major General

Nelson A. Miles, of the United States army, who complimented General Colby on his sue cessful management of the Nebraska troops. On his return home General Colby was presented with a gold medal for "gallant and efficient services rendered the state of Nebraska." The fourth day after the battle of Wounded Knee, when the detail went out to bury the dead, an Indian baby girl about four months old was found on the battlefield, tied, in the usual fashion, on her dead mother's back, and found under a covering of snow. Her head, hands, and feet were frozen in the severe storm that followed the battle, but under proper care she fully recovered. The child was taken by General Colby to his home, was given the Christian name of Margaret Elizabeth, and the Indian name of Zintkala Nuni, meaning in the Sioux language "Lost Bird." She was reared and educated at his home, being given all the advantages of civilization.

April 10, 1893, General Colby was for the third time commissioned brigadier general of the Nebraska state troops, and in July of the following year his command was again called into active service, in the suppression of the strike at the packing houses in South Omaha, where order was restored without damage or casualty. In December, 1896, during the progress of the Cuban revolution against, Spain, General Colby commenced the organization of the American-Cuban Volunteer Legion, and in the following year he completed the enrollment of twenty-five thousand American volunteers, with headquarters at Matamoras, Mexico, and raised one million two hundred thousand dollars for the establishment of the Cuban republic. Upon the destruction of the battleship Maine, in Havana harbor, he tendered the services of the Cuban Legion in the approaching war between the United States and Spain. General Colby was commissioned June 3, 1898, by President McKinley, as brigadier general of United States Volunteers; he was first assigned to the command of the Third Brigade, First Division, Third Army Corps, stationed at Chickaraauga Park, Ga. l for some weeks he had command of the First

Division of the Third Army Corps, and was the ranking general in command at the time of the great review at that camp. He was afterward given command of the Second Brigade, Second Division of the Fourth Army Corps, and was thereafter for some time in command of the camp and the division at Anniston, Alabama. In January, 1899, he was sent to Havana, Cuba, and upon his return to Washington, the last of February of that year, he was mustered out of the service, with the rank of brigadier general of volunteers. Upon his return to Nebraska, General Colby was appointed adjutant general of the state, which office he held from May 6, 1901, to February 20, 1903. On August 8, 1906, he was placed on the retired list, with the rank of brigadier general.

In November, 1876, General Colby was elected state senator to represent Gage and Jefferson counties, and in 1886 he was reelected to the state senate, to represent Gage county. During the latter term he introduced" fifty bills of importance, of which about thirty passed the senate, and of the latter number more than half became laws. In June, 1891, General Colby was appointed by President Harrison as assistant attorney general of the United States, his duties embracing, among other important litigation, the defense of claims for damages against the government and Indian tribes. These involved over ten thousand cases in the court of claims and the United States supreme Court, and over forty million dollars. Upon his retirement from the department of justice he was employed by the Creeks, Cherokees, and Seminoles, three of the civilized tribes of Indians in Indian Territory, as their attorney in, Washington, D. C, and during this employment he obtained a judgment against the government and in favor of the Cherokee Nation for the sum of $6,742,000.

Since the declaration of war against the imperial government of Germany, General Colby has been active in all patriotic and war measures in the interest of winning such war. At the commencement he tendered his services to the United States and to the state of Nebraska and requested to be recalled from the retired list into active service. He has been placed on the list of officers subject to call by the war department, and, having the personal assurance of Secretary of War Baker that his services will be required in the near future, he has passed his physical examination for such service. In the meantime he has served as government agent and attorney for the draft board, as chairman of the Gage County Council of Defense, as a member of the War Works Committee, and has taken an active part in the campaigns for the several Liberty Loans, the Red Cross and Y. M. C. A. drives in the county and district.

General Colby has had a law office at Beatrice and been engaged in the practice of his profession in the several courts of the states and nation and has maintained his residence at Beatrice during all of the years since his location in the state in August, 1872. He is a member of the Society of Foreign Wars, Loyal Legion, Grand Army of the Republic, Spanish-American War Veterans, Aero League and Naval League of the: United States, the Blue Lodge and Royal Arch Masons, the Red Men, Knights of Pythias, Nebraska State Historical Society, Nebraska Pioneers, the Nebraska and American Bar Associations, the Republican Club, and the Christian church at Beatrice.

Marie Moller Colby, wife of General Leonard Wright Colby, was bom in Robel, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, and is a daughter of John F. Moller and Marie Henrietta (Muller) Moller, both being of pure German stock, and of long- established and well known families in the fatherland. The parents left their old German home on account of political oppression and came to the United States to enjoy the blessings of a free government, arriving in Lancaster county, Nebraska, in April, 1875, and locating on a farm three miles west of Firth. Six years later they moved to Roca, and on April 1, 1882, they removed to Beatrice, which has since been the family home. Mrs. Colby is the second of seven children, all of whom are living.

schools of Beatrice and at the Western Normal College at Lincoln, and later took a course in the Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She has added to her general knowledge by systematic courses of reading, a Chautauqua course, travel in this country, Canada, Cuba, and Mexico and by thorough business training. She is a member of several social organizations and clubs of the city, and in addition to attending to her many business interests has time for church and social work, and to assist her husband in his many duties as well as manage her domestic affairs and care for her attractive home.

THOMAS LePOIDEVIN. - This venerable citizen of Gage county is now living retired in the city of Beatrice, the prosperity that is his representing the results of his use of the advantages that have been afforded with the development of the natural resources of this favored section of the state, he having come to Gage county shortly before the admission of the state to the Union and having become one of the pioneer representatives of agricultural industry in Midland township. As a sterling citizen who has contributed generously to the material upbuilding of Gage county, he is entitled to recognition in this history.

As his name indicates, Mr. LePoidevin is of French lineage, and he was born on the beautiful island of Guernsey, in the English channel, on the 25th of March, 1840, the eldest of the seven children of Job and Rachel Le Poidevin, both of whom were bom on the island of Guernsey, descendants of old and honored families of that island, many of the inhabitants of which still speak the old Norman French language. John, the second son, is a resident of Odell, G^age county; Rachel died at the old home on the island of Guernsey; Joseph is a resident of the state of New York ; Amelia is living on the island of Guernsey; Alfred is a resident of New York state; and Alice died on the island of Guernsey, where the parents passed their entire lives. In the schools of his native island Thomas received his limited educational training in his youth, and it later became his to profit by the lessons gained and under the direction of that wisest of all teachers, experience. Within the reign of Queen Victoria of England he served, seven years, in the English militia, and this experience is one to which he often reverts with special satisfaction now that England and France have become allied in fighting for humanity in the greatest war in the annals of history, for he feels a natural and inherent loyalty to both England and France.

In 1863, at the age of twenty-three years, Mr. LePoidevin came to the United States. Within a short time after arriving in the port of New York city he made his way to Racine county, Wisconsin, where he found employment at farm work. He continued his residence in the Badger state until 1866, when he came to Nebraska Territory and entered claim to a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, in what is now Midland township, Gage county. He forthwith began with vigor the work of reclaiming and developing his pioneer farm, and the first dwelling which he there erected was a modest house constructed of rough lumber from the native cottonwood timber, the little home being fourteen by sixteen feet and one and one-half stories in height, - a home superior to those of the average pioneers of the county, many of whom used primitive dugouts and sod houses. As prosperity attended his efforts Mr. LePoidevin made gradual improvements on his farm, to which he added by the purchase of an adjoining tract of eighty acres, and he provided a substantial and commodious house as the home for his family. In his pioneer experiences he relates that he cut his first crop of wheat with an old-time cradle, and that in those early days there were but two threshing machines in the entire county. He took a great interest in the movement which brought statehood to Nebraska and gave his help in other enterprises for the general good of the community. With the passing years he developed one of the valuable farms of Gage county, wbere he still retains ownership of a fine estate of two hundred and forty acres, well improved. He remained on his old home- stead until 1903, when he removed to the city of Beatrice, where, still hale and vigorous, he and his devoted wife are enjoying the rewards df former years of earnest toil and endeavor, and where they are known and honored as venerable pioneer citizens of the county. Both are earnest members of the Christian church and he is a Republican in politics. He has never sought public office but while residing on his farm he served for a number of years as school director for his district.

On the Sth of December, 1867, he married Miss Teanna Tanner, who was born in the fair little republic of Switzerland, on January 16, 1847, and who was about eight years old when her parents, John and Babette Tanner, came to America and established their home at Etna, Licking county, Ohio. From that state they came to Nebraska in the year 1867, and the father obtained a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, east of Beatrice, both he and his wife having passed the remainder of their lives in this county and their names having a place on the roll of the pioneers of this section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. IvePoidevin became the parents of ten children, and it is most gratifying to record that death has never yet invaded the family circle. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the children : Adelia is the wife of Lincoln Thornburg, a successful farmer of Midland township; Almeda is the wife of Edward Essam, living five miles east of Beatrice ; John is a prosperous farmer in Rockford township; Bertha, who resides at Beatrice, is the widow of Hanford Chase; Mabel is the wife of Merl Hughes, of this county; Ezra is a successful farmer and resides eight miles north of Beatrice; Charles is a representative exponent of agricultural industry in Midland township; and Marie, Josephine and Ceba remain at the parental home, - an attractive residence at 522 South Ninth street, Beatrice.

'JOHN S. JONES has been a resident of Gage county since his childhood and has here, in his mature years, found ample opportunity for the achieving of success worthy of the name. Here he has been closely identified with banking enterprise during the entire course of his active business career, and of the same he is now a prominent representative in the county. He holds the position of cashier of the First National Bank of Wymore, which is recognized as one of the leading financial institutions of Gage county, and to the advancement of the interests of which his careful and progressive administrative policies have largely contributed. Mr. Jones is essentially one of the representative citizens and business men of the thriving little city of Wymore and. is properly accorded consideration in this histoiy, - a publication on whose advisory board he has served during the period of compilation.

John S. Jones was born on a farm near Williamsburg, Iowa, and the date of his nativity was August 3, 1877. He is a son of John S. and Ann S. (Lloyd) Jones, both natives of Wales and representatives of staunch old families of that portion of the great British empire. John S. Jones, Sr., was bom in Wales in September, 1844, a son of Thomas Jones, and in his native land he was reared and educated. As a youth he became associated with the great coal-mining industry in Wales, and he was twenty-seven years of age when he came to the United States. His prior experience readily gained to him employment in coal mines in Pennsylvania, but after remaining about two years in the old Keystone state he removed to Iowa county, Iowa, and turned his attention to farm enterprise, in the vicinity of Williamsburg. There he continued operations along this line for a period of four years, and he then, in 1881, came with his family to Gage county, Nebraska, and established his residence on a farm four miles south of Wymore. There he gave his active supervision to the work and improvement of his farm until the time of his death, which occurred July 10, 1888. His marriage to Miss Ann S. Lloyd, daughter of John and Elizabeth Lloyd, was solemnized in Wales and his young wife accompanied him on his immigation to America; she is still living and resides with her youngest daughter, at Wymore. John S. and Ann S. (Lloyd) Jones became the parents of eight children, all of whom are now married and well established in life, all save the eldest of the number having been born after the family home was established in the United States. The names of the children are here noted in the respective order of birth : Elizabeth, Sarah Ann, Maggie, John S., Jr., Mary Ella, Robert V., Edith, and Luther Ellis.

John S. Jones, Jr., the immediate subject of this review, was about four years old at the time of the family removal to Gage county, and here he has since maintained his home. He was but ten years of age at the time of his father's death and as he was the eldest son large responsibilities thus early fell upon him in connection with the work and management of the home farm. He was associated with his devoted mother in carrying forward the activities of the farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-four years, his educational advantages in the meanwhile having been those of the district schools and of the high school at Wymore, where he was a student two years. Upon leaving the farm Mr. Jones assigned its management to his brother Robert and became bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Wymore. One year later he was tendered and accepted the position of assistant cashier of the newly organized State Bank of Wymore. of which he was made cashier two years later. In 1907 this well ordered institution received charter as a national bank and was incorporated with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Jones continued as cashier of the bank until its building was destroyed by fire, in 1910, and in that year its stockholders and directors made a move of distinctive expediency and wisdom, in purchasing the stock and business of the First National Bank. Upon the consolidation of the two institutions the title of First National Bank of Wymore was retained, and Mr. Jones has continued as cash' ier of the vital and substantial institution to the present time. The bank bases its operations on a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, its surplus fund is ten thousand dollars and its deposits are now in excess of six hundred and fifty thousand dollars

Mr. Jones is loyal and progressive as a citizen and is always ready to given his co-operation in the furtherance of projects advanced for the general good of his home city and county. In politics he is found staunchly aligned in the ranks of the Republican party, and he and his wife are active members of the Methodist Epicopal church of Wymore. Mr. Jones is affiliated with Wymore Lodge, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, of which he is past master ; with Hiram Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of which he is past high priest, and with Mount Herman Commandery, Knights Templars, in the city of Beatrice, besides which he holds membership in Sesotris Temple of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Lincoln, and in Violet Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, at Wymore, of which latter he is serving as worthy patron in 1918, his wife being likewise affiliated with this chapter. Mr. Jones takes specially deep interest in educational affairs and is serving at the time of this writing as president of the Wymore board of education.

On the 28th of June, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Jones to Miss Mary Elizabeth Roberts, who was born near Iowa City, Iowa, on the 9th of January, 1878, her parents soon afterward coming to Gage county, Nebraska, where they still maintain their home. The names and respective dates of birth of the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Jones are here entered: Gordon John, October 12, 1908; Eleanor May, May 19, 1911 ; and Dwight, July 4, 1914.

In connection with the nation's participation in the great world war Mr. Jones has been very active in Red Cross and Liberty Loan work, with a spirit of loyalty that prompts him to give to the government and its gallant military and naval forces every possible assistance.

SIMON B. HARTZELL, a progressive farmer of Rock ford township, was bom March 21, 1879, and was an infant at the time when his parents established their home in Gage county. He is a son of Eli E. Hartzell, who is now living retired at Holmesville, this county. Eli E. Hartzell was born in Mahon- ing county, Ohio, March 19, 1837, and his parents, George and Jane (Smart) Hartzell, who were bom and reared in Pennsylvania, removed in an early day from the old Keystone state to Ohio. EH E. Hartzell received in his youth the advantages of the common schools and as a young man he went to Indiana, where he engaged in the lumber business. Later he resided, for intervals of varying duration, in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and in 1881 he came with his family to Gage county, Nebraska. He settled in Riverside township, and there he continued his successful activities as a farmer for fully twenty years. Several years ago he removed to Arkansas, but after remaining there a short time he returned to Gage county, where he has since lived virtually retired and where he now maintains his home at Holmesville. His wife, whose maiden name was Miralda Quigley and who was a resident of Mahoning county, Ohio, at the time of their marriage, was bom December 13, 1840, a daughter of Dr. Quigley, her father having been a physician and having been engaged in the practice of his profession in Ohio for more than half a century. Eli E. and Miralda Hartzell became the parents of seven children: Willis is deceased; Rush and Jay are engaged in farm enterprise in Nemaha township, this county; Homer is a resident of Portland, Oregon ; Mary, who became the wife of Rev. Gustave Briegleb, is deceased ; Simon Bert, of this review, was the next in order of birth; Harry is a physician and surgeon by profession and is engaged in practice at Eldorado, Kansas.

Eli E. Hartzell, who has passed the age of four score years, is one of the venerable and highly honored citizens of Gage county, and IS a man of broad mental grasp,' a citizen who has been loyal in all of the relations of life. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. ' -

Simon Bert Hartzell gained his early education in the schools of Gage county, including the public schools of the city of Beatrice, and his initial activities as an independent farmer were conducted on land owned by his father. Later he was engaged for eleven years in the operation of a farm in Hanover township, under a Scully lease, and three years ago he purchased his present fine farm, in Rock ford township, the same comprising two hundred acres. When he purchased the property it was not provided with buildings, as those formerly on the place had been swept away by a cyclone, a few years previously, the disaster being the more malign by reason of the fact that on the farm two persons were killed at the time. Mr. Hartzell erected a good house on the farm and also provided a modern barn and other requisite farm buildings. He gives his attention to diversified agriculture, raises and feeds cattle for the market and is proving successful in all departments of his vigorous farm enterprise.

Mr. Hartzell married Miss Jewell Hickman, who was born in Macoupin county, Illinois, and who is a daughter of the late J. T. and Sarah (Piper) Hickman. Mr. and Mrs. Hartzell have four children - Ruth, Blanche, Simon B., Jr., and Raymond.

DAVID GRAF has been a resident of Gage county since 1875 and for more than forty years he and his wife have maintained their home on their present farm, in Section 4, Midland township. His sons now have the active management of his extensive farm estate and he and his wife are, under most gracious environment and associations, enjoying the generous prosperity and comfort that properly crown their former years of earnest endeavor - sterling pioneer citizens to whom is accorded the fullest measure of popular esteem.

David Graf was bom on his father's farm in Northville township, LaSalle county, Illinois, September 27, 1845, the second in order of birth in a family of six sons and four daughters, and of the number seven are still living. The honored father, Samuel Graf, was born and reared in the fair little republic of Switzerland and was a young man when he came to America and in the state of Pennsylvania found employment at his trade, that of tailor. In Somerset county, that state, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Louise Anna Parker, and about the year 1833 they numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of La Salle county, Illinois. There Mr. Graf reclaimed and improved one of the excellent farms of Northville township, and upoA this homestead he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, he having passed away in 1876, at the age of seventy-five years, and his widow having been one hundred years of age at the time of her death, which occurred in October, 1916. Both were zealous members of the Presbyterian church.

David Graf was reinforced for his later service through the experience he gained on the old homestead farm in Illinois, where his early educational advantages were those afforded in the district schools of his native county. There he continued his active association with farm enterprise until he had attained to the age of twenty-seven years, when he found employment as a farm hand, working by the month. In 1875 he came to Gage county, where his father had purchased for the sons six eighty-acre tracts of land, and on one of these tracts, east of Beatrice, the subject of this sketch initiated his independent activities as a farmer. The following year he purchased his present homestead place of one hundred and sixty acres, in Section 4, Midland township, where he and his gracious wife have continuously maintained their residence during the long intervening years, which have been marked by constantly increasing prosperity, won through earnest and honest endeavor on their part. On the place the original home of the family was a frame shanty that had been erected by the previous owner, Andrew J. Pethoud, who was one of the earliest settlers of the county and did much important surveying work in the early days. This primitive house continued as the Graf abode for fifteen years, and then removal was made to the commodious and attractive frame house which Mr. and Mrs. Graf now occupy, the buildings which he has erected on his farm property being among the finest in the township and being kept in the best of repair - a fitting token of thrift and prosperity. Mr. Graf is now the owner of a fine landed estate of two hundred acres and his wife owns farm property of equal area in the same township. Vigorous and progressive policies always marked the activities of Mr. Graf as an agriculturist and stockgrower, and the principles which he thus inculcated in his sons have caused them to follow with equal efficiency the same policies in their management of the fine estate owned by him and his wife.

In LaSalle county, Illinois, March 3, 1875, recorded the marriage of Mr. Graf to Miss Adeline Hazemann, who was there bom March 25, 1856, her parents, Jonathan G. and Amelia (Smith) Hazemann, having been natives of France and having become pioneer settlers of LaSalle county, Illinois, where they passed the residue of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Graf have four children : Alpha D. and John G. remain with their parents and have the active management of the home farm; Clarence D., who is a Successful farmer in Filley township, married Miss Elizabeth Jensen and they have three children ; Fordyce H., the maiden name of whose wife was Hazel Burket, is serving, in 1917-1918, as city clerk of Beatrice, judicial center of the county.

Mr. Graf has been distinctively the supporter of civic and industrial progress and development in Gage county and while he has shown loyal interest in community affairs and given staunch support to the cause of the Democratic party he has never consented to serve in official positions other than those of road supervisor and school director. He and his wife are earnest members of the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints, and they are genial and kindly pioneer citizens whose circle of friends in Gage county is limited only by that of their acquaintances.

GEORGE HUNKLE, secretary and manager of the Farmers' Elevator Company, at Holmesville, in Rockford township, is one of the leading exponents of the grain business in this part of the county and is held in high esteem in the county that has represented his home for more than thirty years. He was born in the state of New York, June 1, 1876, and as he was left an orphan in early childhood he has no definite information concerning the family history. He was placed in an orphans' home in New York city, and when nine years of age he was sent with other boys from that institution to Nebraska, where he became a member of the family circle of William Woolsey, a farmer in Lincoln township, Gage county. Here he was reared to manhood and received the advantages of the local schools. He remained with his foster-parents until he had attained to his legal majority and for some time thereafter he was independently engaged in farm enterprise in Lincoln township. He then went to the village of Ellis, where he learned the trade of telegraphist, and after having been employed as an operator at Jansen and Plymouth, Nebraska, he returned to Ellis, Gage county, and engaged in the grain business. In December, 1901, he was made manager of the firm's business and of this position he continued the incumbent until the business was sold to Black Brothers, with whom he continued in a similar capacity, at Holmesville, until they sold their elevator and business to the Farmers' Elevator Company, in 1913, since which time he has given most efficient service as secretary and manager of this company. Mr. Hunkle is a Republican in politics, and is affiliated with the Ellis Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as is he also with Beatrice Lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.

In 1912 Mr. Hunkle wedded Miss Fannie Lemmel, who was bom in Saline county, this state, a daughter of Philip and Eliza Lemmel, the former of whom is deceased and the latter of whom now resides in the city of Beatrice. Mr. and Mrs. Hunkle have a fine little son, Donald G.

CHARLES J. McCOLL has been a resident of Gage county since 1888 and in the city of Beatrice he has long controlled a substantial and representative business as a skilled painter and paperhanger, his pleasant home being at 225 North LaSelle street. A scion of the staunchest of Scottish ancestry, Mr. McCoU was born in Argyleshire, Scotland, on the 13th of August, 1852, a son of James and Mary (McGinness) McCoU, who the next year, 1853, immigrated to America and established their home in York county, Provirice of Ontario, Canada, where the father became the owner of a small farm and where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. Of their eleven children the subject of this review is now the only survivor. After the death of James McColl his widow engaged in the dairy business, and by her energy and ability she made the enterprise distinctly successful. Both were members of the Presbyterian church.

Reared to adult age in York county, Ontario, Charles J. McColl received in his youth but limited educational advantages, but in connection with the practical affairs of life he has effectively made good this handicap. In the city of Toronto he learned in his youth the trade of painting and graining, and after there following his trade for a number of years he decided to identify himself with the progressive western section of the United States. On the 1st of May, 1888, he arrived in the city of Beatrice, and here he has since continued his residence, the while he has been consecutively engaged in business as a painter and paperhanger, in which field of enterprise he has built up a prosperous business that makes him one of the leading exponents of the same in the judicial center and metropolis of Gage county.

March 6, 1881, recorded the marriage of Mr. McColl to Miss Susan Bates, who was born in Huron county, Ontario, Canada, a daughter of Thomas and Susan (Sterling) Bates, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Scotland. In Canada Mr. Bates followed the trade of plasterer and there both he and his wife continued to reside until their death. Mr. and Mrs. McColl became the parents of three children : Ethel died at the age of twenty-three years ; Eva is a popular teacher in the Central school in the city of Beatrice, and Mary is an efficient teacher in the high school at Shickley, Nebraska. Mrs. McColl and her daughters are members of the Presbyterian church.

Mr. McColl is affiliated with the Knights & Ladies of Security, the Order of Ancient Foresters, and the Ancient Order of Shepherds, in each of which he has passed all of the official chairs. In politics he has been a staunch Republican during the entire period of his residence as a naturalized citizen in the United States, and he has been influential in political affairs in Gage county. While a resident of St. Thomas, Canada, he served as a member of the city council, and this experience gave him special resourcefulness when he was called uj>on to give similar service as a member of the city council of Beatrice. His ability and popularity marked him as an eligible candidate for higher official preferment, and in 1908 he was elected representative of Gage county in the Nebraska legislature, in which he served one term. Though the lower house of the legislature was strongly Democratic, Mr. McColl proved a strong, minority leader and was assigned to various important committees, including those on public lands and buildings, towns and cities, and labor and insurance.

JACOB ESSAM has been a resident of Gage county since he was a youth of eighteen years and by his well ordered industry and enterprise has gained secure vantage-place as one of the representative farmers of Midland township, where he is the owner of a well improved farm property of four hundred acres, his attractive homestead place being situated in Section 24, on rural mail route No. 3 from the city of Beatrice, which is about four and one-half miles distant.

Mr. Essam was born in Schuyler county, Illinois, May 10, 1863, was there reared on his father's farm and there acquired his early education in the district schools. He is a son of James and Susanna (Fitz) Essam, both natives of York county, Pennsylvania, where the former was born April 8, 1834, and the latter on the 12th of May, 1840. James Essam was a young man when he removed from the old Keystone state and settled in Illinois, where his activities as a farmer were carried on first in Fulton and later in Schuyler county. In 1880 he disposed of his property in Illinois and came with his family to Gage county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, in Logan township. He improved one of the excellent farms of the county and continued to reside on the old homestead until his death, which occurred August 22, 1902, his widow having been summoned to the life eternal on the 5th of May, 1909. Both were earnest members of the Dunkard church and exemplified their faith in their daily lives, their names meriting enduring place on the roster of the honored pioneers of Gage county. Of their eight children the firstborn is Henry, who is a prosperous farmer in Riverside township; Jacob, of this review, was the next in order of birth; Mary is the wife of James Canning and they reside in the state of Kansas ; Edward is a successful farmer in Logan township ; Miss Rebecca resides in the city of Beatrice, and is the homekeeper for her bachelor' brother, John, the next younger of the children; Charles likewise resides in Beatrice; and Harvey resides upon and operates his father's old home farm, in Logan township.

As previously intimated, Jacob Essam was a youth of eighteen years when he accompanied his parents to Gage county, and for some time thereafter he was employed by the month at farm work, his compensation being twelve and one-half dollars a month. For several years he farmed on rented land and it was about twenty-five years ago that he purchased one hundred and sixty acres, the old homestead of his father-in-law, in Midland township. This proved to be the nucleus of the large and valuable landed estate of four hundred acres which he has since accumulated through his energetic and well directed activities as an agriculturist and stock-raiser, and he has made many permanent improvements of excellent order on his property, including the rebuilding and remodeling of the house on his homestead and the erection of other farm buildings of model type and facilities. Mr. Essam is one of the substantial and popular citizens of Midland township, where he has served fifteen years in the office of township treasurer and for many years as a member of the school board of his district. He is independent of strict partisan lines in politics and gives his support to men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. His wife is an active member of the Christian church.

February 14, 1880, recorded the marriage of Mr. Essam to Miss Mary E. Bartram, who was born in Macoupin county, Illinois, a daughter of William and Mary Bartram, with whom she came to Gage county, Nebraska, in 1878, her parents settling on the farm which is now the homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Essam, both having here passed the remainder of their lives and Mr. Essam having purchased the farm at the time when the property was placed on sale in the final adjustment of the estate. Mr. and Mrs. Essam have four children : James, the maiden name of whose wife was Esta Doan, is a prosperous farmer in Midland township; Bessie is the wife of Ezra LePoidevin, a farmer in Holt township ; Evart remains at the parental home and is associated with his father in the work and management of the farm; and Gilbert, who married Miss Pearl Bible, is one of the progressive young farmers of Midland township.

JOHN W. BURGESS, treasurer of the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company, which is the most important industrial corporation not only in the city of Beatrice but also in Gage county, has been for more than thirty years actively and prominently identified with the civic and business affairs in Beatrice and he is properly accorded recognition in this history.

John Warren Burgess was bom in Cook county, Illinois, on the 3d of November, 1865, and is a son of Eli and Marietta (Childs) Burgess, who were born in Saratoga county, New York. Their marriage was solemnized in the old Empire state and thence they removed to Cook county, Illinois, prior to the

Civil war. Eli Burgess was a man of staunch character and of much intellectual ability. In the earlier period of his career he was a successful teacher in the public schools and thereafter he was engaged in the mercantile business for some time. He became a farmer near Dundee, Illinois, and finally removed from the farm to that village, where he continued to be engaged in mercantile enterprise until his death, his wife also having there passed the closing years of her life. They became the parents of four sons, of whom the eldest is Edwin A., a civil engineer by profession and a resident of the city of Chicago; Arthur C. still resides at Dundee, Illinois, where he is a representative business man; William E. is deceased ; and John W., of this review, is the youngest of the number.

The lineage of the Burgess family traces back to Welsh origin and the Childs family was one of early settlement in the state of New York, where members of the family married representatives of the fine old Van Tassell family, whose name is linked with the founding of the early Holland Dutch colonies in the Empire state.

The early educational advantages of John W. Burgess were those afforded in the public schools of his native state, and after having attended the high school at Dundee he was for one year a student in Wheaton College, at Wheaton, Illinois, after which he completed a normal course in what is now Valparaiso University, at Valparaiso, Indiana. As a representative of the pedagogic profession he taught in the public schools of Henry and Kane counties, Illinois, besides which he gave effective service in the office of superintendent of schools for the latter county.

In the autumn of .1887 Mr. Burgess came to Beatrice, Nebraska, where he has since been actively associated with the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company, of which he is a stockholder and director and of which he has served long and effectively as treasurer. He has done much to further the upbuilding of - this large and important industrial corporation and as a citizen has shown marked loyalty and progressiveness. He and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. In December, 1891, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Burgess to Miss Sarah E- Dempster, who, like her husband, was graduated in the institution now known as Valparaiso University. Mr. and Mrs. Burgess have three sons: Warren C., who is a graduate of the University of Colorado, is now in the employ of the Westinghouse Electrical Manufacturing Company; Harold D. is a student, in 1918, in the University of Kansas; and John Paul is a student in the Beatrice high school.

JOHN I. McGIRR, M. D. - In promoting general efficiency along all lines of human endeavor there has come in these later years a distinct recognition of the supreme value of concentration of effort, and this is specially true in the medical profession, in which exponents iind the maximum success and are able to give the most benignant service through devoting their attention to perfecting themselves and exploiting special departments of practice. In Gage county Dr. McGirr has gained exceptional prestige by such concentration and he gives his time and attention primarily to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose, and throat. He maintains his residence and professional headquarters in the city of Beatrice and is known, through his character and high professional attainments, as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of this part of the state.

Dr. McGirr was born at Reddick, Kankakee county, Illinois, on the 23d of March, 1873, and in his native commonwealth he received his rudimentary education, his age at the time of the family removal to Nebraska having been twelve years. The Doctor is a son of Francis M. and Judith (Barkey) McGirr, the former of whom was born in the fair Old Emerald Isle, a scion of a family of patrician antecedents and superior educational status, and the latter of whom was born in the state of Pennsylvania, their marriage having been solemnized in the state of Illinois. Francis M. McGirr was reared and educated in his native land, where he received excellent advantages, his father, Joseph McGirr, who continued to maintain his home in Ireland until his death, at the venerable age of eighty-five years, having been a man of fine intellectuality and having served many years as a schoolmaster, in which connection it may be noted that he spoke and taught eight different languages. Francis M. McGirr was a young man when he came to the United States and that his loyalty to the land of his adoption was of perfervid order needs no further voucher than the statement that he went forth as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, in which conflict he served three years, as a member of Battery K, First Illinois Light Artillery. During his later years of residence in Nebraska he perpetuated the more gracious memories of his military career through affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic, and in all of the relations of life he exemplified the same instinctive loyalty and high sense of personal stewardship that prompted him thus to defend in his young manhood the righteous cause through which was perpetuated our national integrity. His wife was a girl at the time of her parents' removal from the old Keystone state to Illinois, where she was reared and educated, her father, the late Enos Barkey, having finally removed with his family to Nebraska and become one of the early settlers of Gage county, where he was a prosperous farmer and where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives.

After the close of the Civil war Francis M. McGirr engaged in farming in Kankakee county, Illinois, and in that state he remained until 1885, when he came with his family to Nebraska and purchased land in Gage county. Here he developed one of the valuable farms of the county and he continued to reside upon his old homestead until 1901, when he removed to the city of Beatrice, his death having here occurred in 1905, and his widow having passed to eternal rest in 1913. Mr. Mc- Girr was one of the honored and influential citizens of Gage county, a man of broad mental ken and well fortified convictions, and he commanded the unequivocal respect of his fellow men. He was reared in and ever held to the faith of the Catholic church, and his wife was a member of the Mennonite church. They are survived by four children: Edward B. is successfully engaged in the realestate business at Beatrice; Frederick O. is engaged in the practice of his profession at Beatrice, as a representative member of the Gage county bar, and is serving, 1917-1918, in the office of supreme court commissioner; Dr. McGirr, of this review, was the next in order of birth ; and Virgil E. is a retired farmer residing in Beatrice: he served as deputy sheriff of Gage county and for several terms as chief of police of Beatrice.