Hall County, Nebraska - Chapter 28, 1920 (part 15 of 16)

T. H; FRITTS. - Long before the world had any conception of the mighty uses to which electricity might sometime be applied, there were scientific investigators who gave close study to everything pertaining to this force as then known, and thereby made the discoveries that have been so revolutionary in almost every line of activity. It was about a quarter of a century ago that T. H. Fritts, who is so well known in Grand Island became interested in the electrical business, which interest has continued to the present day. He is vicepresident of the Central Power Company of Grand Island.

T. H. Fritts was born in Lyons, Burt County, Nebraska, November 3, 1872, a son of Gideon and Martha A. (Cockrell) Fritts. They were born and married in Ohio and moved from there to Burt County in the early sixties. The father acquired land on which he lived until his death in 1914, at the age of seventy- nine years. Mr. Fritts' mother still lives on the old home place. Of their seven children the following survive : W. J., who lives on the old homestead in Burt County; a daughter, now Mrs. Eckleen, lives in Lyons ; the subject of this review who has lived at Grand Island for the past thirteen years, and Arcelia, who lives with her mother in Burt County.

Gideon Fritts was one of the founders of the Presbyterian church in Burt County and the first organized meeting of the congregation was in his house. He gave liberally to church purposes and was the largest donator to the church which yet stands on the main street in Lyons. In his political convictions he was a Democrat. Before coming to Nebraska as a permanent resident he had been a soldier in the army during the Civil War and as long as he lived was a rigid supporter of temperance, law and order.

as an apprentice in the electrical business in South Omaha, being engaged in various branches of this industry for seven years. For two years he was otherwise occupied, before returning to the business in which he was trained, taking charge of an electrical plant at Wayne, Nebraska, for five years. In June, 1906, he came to Grand Island to become manager and vice-president of the Central Power Company, in which he is financially interested. His time is largely taken up with the duties of this position as he has charge of all the company property in seventeen towns in Nebraska, to which electric power is supplied.

Mr. Fritts was married in March, 1892, to Miss Josephine Higley, who was born in Decatur, Nebraska, a daughter of Lewis D. Higley, who settled in the early eighties in Burt County. Mr. and Mrs. Fritts have two children : Victor, who is connected with the Western Electric Company of Chicago, and Bernadine, the wife of Robert E. Pfeiffer, who is manager of the Central Power Company's plant at Kearney. Mr. Fritts is an earnest and public spirited citizen but is not unduly active in politics, being an independent voter. Fraternally he is identified with Lodge No. 604 Elks, Grand Island.

JESSE C. BURKERD, a highly esteemed retired citizen of Wood River, has been identified with the development of Hall County for almost fifty years. He is the owner of a large amount of valuable property in the county and of choice real estate in Wood River. He was born in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. August 7, 1849. His parents were John and Hannah (Siverly) Burkerd. Of their fourteen children laut three are living: Mrs. Theresa Wise, Jesse C. and Julius W. The parents were natives of Germany. They settled in Milwaukee after reaching the United States, where the father was a carpenter and ship builder, and in 1852 removed to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming until his death in 1862.

Jesse C. Burkerd was three years old when the family settled near Appleton and he remained at home until his father's death, when he joined his brother Nicholas, at Clinton, Illinois. While attending school near his brother's 'fann, he worked for board and clothes for two and a half years, and worked for other farmers in De Witt County for seven years, until he came to Hall County and took an eighty acre homestead inside the railroad limits. This was in 1871. Later he bought two hundred and twenty acres of adjoining railroad land, paying $5 an acre. This land Mr. Burkerd saill owns and it is at least worth $125 an acre today. He continued on the farm during many years but in 1888 secured a satisfactory tenant and moved into Wood River, where he owns the handsome residence in which he has lived since.

On March 18, 1873, Mr. Burkerd married Miss Achsah J. Guy, who was born at Mechanicsburg, Ohio, a daughter of Samuel K. and Calista (Plummer) Guy, who had the following children : Wesley, Milton, Achsah, Aden and Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Burkerd have had three children : Nellie and Nettie, twins, and Frederick. Nellie, deceased, was the wife of C. W. Hooton. She is survived by three children: Erma A., the wife of Elmer Wiggin, of Wood River; and Alice and Lawrence Hooton, both of whom live with their grandparents in Wood River. Nettie is the wife of Edwin Rounds, in the furniture and undertaking business at Wood River. They have two daughters. Frederick Burkerd is a graduate of the Wood River high school, and is also a graduate pharmacist. He is conducting a drug store in Scotia, Nebraska. He married Emma Shimmerman. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. and Mrs. Burkerd are active workers in the Methodist Episcopal church in Wood River and are interested in many worthy charities and public welfare movements. They have a wide social circle both in town and country. Mr. Burkerd has been a very successful man in his business undertakings, and in his time has handled money in large amounts, but he has never forgotten the first twelve cents he ever earned, by directing a stranger through a belt of pine timber. To this first capital he kept gradually adding until it amounted to twenty-two cents and then he became the proud owner of what every boy longs for, a pocket knife. He relates a story of his early boyhood that has probably been retained in memory because of the impression a day of real enjoyment left to a little boy whose pleasures were neither varied nor numerous. It was on a memorable Fourth of July that his father gave Jesse and his brother Lewis five cents each, with which to celebrate the day in proper manner. The mere matter of walking four miles to the scene of patriotic goings on and with the certainty of having to walk the distance back, did not in the least interfere with their anticipations of pleasure. They sturdily trudged off and reached Bachelor's Hill warm and thirsty. Jesse immediately expended his fortune in a glass of cooling liquid which the brothers divided, while Lewis saved his for fire crackers that had to be exploded before dark because the lads remembered that the chores awaited their home coming, and they did not dare delay. At last two tired and happy boys reached the home farm and probably their day's adventures served them for conversation many months afterward. Mr. Burkerd laughs heartily as he tells this story and its pathos will be echoed in the heart of many another who reads it, remembering a boyhood that had more serious tasks than opportunity for healthy "fun."

Edgar Samuel Leavenworth

EDGAR SAMUEL LEAVENWORTH. - Some one has said, "Expect great things, attempt great things and great things will result." This may not be true in every case, but in the life of the subject of this record it most undoubtedly is.

Edgar Samuel Leavenworth is a native of the Green Mountain State, and was bom at Hinesburg, Chittenden County, not far from Lake Champlain, March 6, 1859. His parents were Abel E. and Mary G. Leavenworth, both of whom are now deceased. Abel E. Leavenworth was an honored veteran of the Civil War, serving as Captain of Company K, Vermont Volunteers. He was a finely educated man and for twenty years was principal of the Vermont State Normal School.

Edgar S. had exceptional educational advantages and graduated from Beaman Academy, at New Haven, Vermont. His first business venture was when a young man of nineteen he engaged in a mercantile enterprise, on borrowed capital, with an experience of only three years as a clerk in a store in New Haven. He successfully conducted this business until 1880, when he disposed of the business and went to Dakota Territory, establishing himself in the same line of business at what is now Melville, North Daktota, becoming a pioneer in the community. When Foster County was organized he was elected its first treasurer and held the office two terms.

Subsequently he became a resident of Hall County, locating at Wood River, where he now owns six hundred and seventy acres of land and is accounted one of the substantial men of the county. For twenty-two years Mr. Leavenworth has made a specialty of feeding sheep and his operations in this line have reached extensive proportions, feeding as high as forty-eight thousand head in one year. Other enterprises have been benefitted by the sound judgment and keen business ability of

October 30, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Edgar S. Leavenworth and Miss Emma E. Gifford, a daughter of Henry O. Gifford. They are members of the Presbyterian church, and in politics Mr. Leavenworth is a Republican. He is also a thirtysecond degree Mason, and is a member of the Shrine and Knight Templar orders. He is public spirited to a high degree and is president of the commercial club, and belongs to the order of the Loyal Legion.

MRS. ELIZABETH HORN, one of Wood River's most highly esteemed residents, has passed the greater part of her life in Hall County. She was born in Germany, September 30, 1860. Her parents were Carl and Mary (Sweiger) Schultz, both of whom were bom in Germany. They had seven children, four daughters and three sons. The father was a carpenter by trade, a good workman and a man of steady habits, but as he saw only a poor future ahead of him in his native province, with a family growing up around him, he decided to emigrate to America and endeavor to secure land in the hope of succeeding as a farmer. He came to the United States reaching Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1871, and in the following year homesteaded five and a half miles south-- east of Wood River, in Hall County. His family joined him there in 1873, and on that old homestead Mrs. Horn lived until her marriage. Her people, like other pioneers in this section, had to work hard in order to make a living, but they were naturally industrious and frugal and they succeeded much better than many others.

On September 22, 1875, Elizabeth Schultz was married to Mildred Horn, in Grand Island, Nebraska. He also was a native of Germany, born in Bavaria, and was only nineteen years old when he came to the United States, and was a young man yet when he en- - listed for service in the Civil War. He served three years as a member of the Sixty-eighth New York Infantry, participating in several great battles, and was twice wounded. By trade he was a shoemaker and after the war was over he came to Sidney, Nebraska, where he conducted,' a shop imtil 1873, when he came to Grand Island. Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Horn went to Fort Hartsofif, where he conducted a shoemaking shop for two years, working mainly for the soldiers at the fort. In 1877 he built a shoe shop at

Wood River, which he operated for twentynine years. Ill health fell upon him, however, and he had to give up work, and for a number of years prior to his death, which occurred June 1, 1913, he had been an invahd, tenderly taken care of by his faithful wife.

Mr. and Mrs. Horn's two oldest children were the first bom in Wood River. There are five of the family living today, namely: Mary M., Charles P., Henry W., Anna B. and Otto J. Maiy M. is the wife of Otto. Abraham, a machinist at Gering, Nebraska. They have five children and are members of the Presbyterian church. Charles P. is in the employ of the Foster Lumber Company, at Pickrell. Gage County, Nebraska. He married Lena Lawson and they have three children. They belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a Mason. Henry W. is foreman of a lumber yard at Basin, Wyoming. He married Nina Teesinger and they have one son. They attend the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a Mason. Anna B. and Otto J. both reside with their mother in the comfortable residence she owns in Wood River, to which she has but recently welcomed home this youngest son, who deserves extended mention for he is a hero of the great World War now mercifully ended.

No history of any section of the United States will be complete if it eliminates the story of the heroic actions of the gallant men who marched into what were for many the very jaws of death, in a foreign land, with almost unbelievable^ courage, and the wounds that many must bear during the rest of their lives^ should by every one be esteemed noble badges of honor. In giving the interesting military record of Otto J. Horn, it may properly be recalled that his father was a brave soldier of the United States in other days, and that courage and loyalty are but natural inheritances.

Otto J. Hom enlisted March 4, 1918: was sent to a medical school at Fort Riley, Kansas,, where he was trained four weeks, and then was sent to Camp Crane, Allentown, Pennsylvania. After two weeks of training there, he was attached to a medical unit that left an American port April 14, 1918, on the United States vessel Von Steuben, formerly a German raider, the Crown Prince Wilhelm. This ship was a part of the great northern convoy, and was attacked by a German submarine when about three days oft' the coast of Ireland, but reached Brest France, on April 20, 1918. Two days later Mr. Hom left Brest for a casual replacement company at Blois, France, where he was assigned to Ambulance Company

No. 2 of the First Division. This company was sent to the front on May 27th, to the sector known as Death Valley. While Mr. Horn was busy performing- his dangerous duty of helping carry off the wounded to the rear, his protective mask was shot off his face by shrapnel, but he immediately put on another mask and continued his merciful work, when the second mask was shot from his face. By this time he was so nearly overcome by the enemy's gas that he hardly had strength to stagger to the form* of a soldier already dead, wrench off the mask from one who would never need it again. He adjusted it to his own face but then lost consciousness. For eighteen ^ hours he lay undiscovered, then was rushed to ^ a hospital where he was a patient for five weeks. He was then transferred from the ambulance company to Company D, Sixteenth Infantry, First Division, which was sent on July 1^, into the memorable fight of Chateau Thierry. Again he was wounded by shrapnel and being injured in three places, was carried from the field and for seven weeks lay in a hospital recovering from his injuries, when he was again sent back to his old organization. On September 17, while making preparations with his company for the big drive on St. Mihiel, he fell on the field from shell shock and lay there for three days before he was discovered. Again he was in the hospital and remained there until November 21, when he found himself sailing for home on the ship Nansemond, which arrived at Hoboken on December 7, after a stormy voyage. He was sent to Ellis Island Hospital and on January 21, 1919, was discharged on the surgeon's certificate of disability, at Plattsburg, New York, reaching his home and his rejoicing mother four days later. Mr. Horn is very modest concerning his bravery but his friends and fellow citizens are proud of him.

MARCUS R. ABBOTT, one of Hall County's representative men for many years, an early settler near Wood River and a dependable man in every relation of life, was born at Hatley, Province of Quebec, Canada, February 15, 1844, and died in Hall County, Nebraska, May 4, 1912. He was the third in a family of seven children born to Abiel B. and Sabra (Young) Abbott, the others being: Edward K., Othman A., Mrs. Luella Stokes, Ai H., Mrs. Martha North, and Edgar P.

Boone County, where he was graduated from the high school. He served through three years of the Civil War, and was a corporal in Company G, Ninety-fifth Illinois volunteer infantry, that participated in the battles of Shiloh and Vicksburg, and was distinguished with his comrades for many exhibitions of personal bravery. In 1867 he accompanied his brother, Othman A. Abbot, to Hall County, the latter locating in Grand Island, Marcus R., however continuing farther west and for a time worked on a ranch in California. In 1872 he returned to Hall County and took up a homestead situated four miles south of Wood River, which property, many times enhanced in value, belongs to his surviving family. In those early years of occupancy, Mr. Abbott added to his income by working as a clerk at times in the general store of James Jackson, in Wood River, and also taught school in District No. 5, where old Wood River was started in 1867. For thirtyfive years Mr. Abbott remained on his farm, having developed and improved it until it is one of the most attractive and valuable properties in the county. He ' continued to add to his acreage until he owned four hundred and eighty acres of fine land, a tribute to his industry and business judgm^t. He was widely known and was alway^*identified with the worthy enterprises thal^roved beneficial to this section. He was a charter member of the Masonic Lodge in Wood River.

In her father's home, four and a half miles southwest of Wood River, on November 26, 1876, Mr. Abbott married Miss Carriei E. Weldon, who was born in Oswego County, New York, July 5, 1859, third of four children bom to James M. and Jane (Irving) Weldon, who had two other daughters and one son: Fidelia and Adelia, twins, and James M. The father of Mrs. Abbott served in a heavy artilley regiment from New York during the entire period of the Civil War, and escaping all its dangers, continued a soldier in the United States army two years longer. Mrs. Abbott was liberally educated. Prior to coming to Hall County in 1873, she was a student in the high school of Sand Creek. New York, afterward attending school in Grand Island during the fall of 1873 and the spring of 1874. During the fall of 1875 and spring of 1876, she taught school in district 27, four miles southwest of Wood River, further teaching experience being interrupted by her marriage in November of the latter year to Marcus R. Abbott. For thirty-five years Mr. and Mrs. Abbott resided on their homestead, as mentioned above, but since Mr. Abbott's death she has occupied her attractive, comfortable residence in Wood River. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, a daughter and a son, Sabra J. and Roscoe C. The former, principal of the Wood River high school, is a graduate of this school and also the Baptist College, Grand Island. She resides with her mother and both are prominent in the city's church and social life. The latter, a graduate of the Wood River high school and of the Nebraska State University, has been instructor in chemistry in the university for the last four years. He married Miss Hazel Gooden, a daughter of Albert L. and Emma (Fee) Gooden, and they have one daughter, Barbara. Mrs. Abbott is a member of the Eastern Star and during two terms was worthy matron. During the past two years she has been a faithful, indefatigable worker in the Red Cross movement, being chairman of the organization at Wood River, which may well be proud of what it has accomplished in the great and merciful work in which is has so patriotically engaged, there being to its credit 2,000 hospital garments, 1,800 knitted articles and 8,000 surgical dressings. Both she and daughter are active members of the Presbyterian church and their benefactions to many charities will never be wholly known.

SAMUEL A. SHERRERD. - One of the representative men of Hall County well and favorably known over its entire extent, is Samuel A. Sherrerd, a prominent merchant in Wood River. He came first to Hall County in 1877 but did not establish a permanent residence until about a decade later. Mr. Sherrerd is a notable example of a self-made man, and the story of his progress from orphaned childhood to his place among men of worth and responsibility, teems with human interest. It illustrates the positive value of industrial persistency and personal integrity.

Samuel A. Sherrerd was born at Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 14, 1860. His parents were John and Rachel (Furman) Sherrerd, natives of Pennsylvania, both of whom died when Samuel A., their fifth child was but two years old. Their other children were : Frank, William, Mary, and Mrs. Lydia Bennett. By a former marriage Mrs. Sherrerd had one daughter, now Mrs. Emma Gilmore. The father was an educated man and for some years was a bookkeeper for the Scranton Coal and Iron Company.

Shipman, who took him to her home and cared for him until he was six years old, when it was thought best by his relatives that he should go to his uncle, Peter Barber, who conducted a drug store. It is probable that Mr. Barber aimed to make a druggist of his nephew and while attending school Samuel assisted, as a dependable boy can, in various ways about the house and in the store and picked up a not inconsiderable knowledge of business. It seems, however, that his natural inclinations were not along the line of his uncle's business and therefore the trade he started to learn was that of a jeweler. When he was fifteen years old he left the shelter of his uncle's home and went to Philadelphia a where he secured a position with the firm of Lippincott and Company, manufacturers of soda water and equipments, who had a concession at the Centennial Exposition. Two years later, in 1877, he came to Hall County and in considering the business field offered by the pleasant little village of Wood River, he noted the following business houses: a general store conducted by A. G. Hollister and James Jackson; Edward McDermott's blacksmith shop ; Charles Horn's shoe store ; Dr. Gibson's drug store ; James Kennedy's saloon ; James A. Shick's hotel ; a livery stable conducted by James Williams and Carl White; an old stone burr fiour mill operated by the Thorp Brothers ; and a one-mule dray line run by Fred Swartz.

None of these business enterprises appealin to Mr. Sherrerd, so he went to the farm of his uncle Joseph Furman, who lived one mile north of Wood River and hired out to him as a general helper. He remained on the farm long enough to learn the harnessing of a team and the use of a plough, but soon decided that still another line of work would be more congenial if he could find it. He was young enough to welcome adventure and this he found on many occasions after he reached Walcott, Wyoming. For three years he was a cowboy in that state. He then made his way to Fort Collins, Colorado, and it may be said that there, for the first time, he went into the line of work for which nature evidently intended him, becoming an employe in a dry goods store and continued there until he returned to Wood River, Nebraska, having maintained, during these years of absence, friendly communication with a number of its residents. When Mr. Sherrerd settled here permanently, he went into the jewelry business, but through subsequent expansion he has become proprietor of one of the largest general mercantile establishments in this section of the county.

In 1907 he erected his handsome cement and stone business building, with dimensions thirty eight by ninety-five feet situated on the corner of Ninth and Main streets, Wood River. In addition he owns a beautiful modern residence. He has always been a careful, conservative man in business and when serving in public office, as he frequently has done, has maintained the same attitude. Mr. Sherrerd was postmaster of Wood River during the entire administration of President McKinley, and subsequcjently, at different times, has served as a member of the town board.

At Wood River, November 15, 1888, Mr. Sherrerd married Miss Cora Shick, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of James and Chrisk tina (Morrison) Shick, who had other children, as follows: Mrs. Addie E. McElvain, Mrs. Bessie Root, Welcome, Frank and Elizabeth Mercer. Five children were born to Mr. and J^Irs. Sherrerd: Earl, who was a soldier in training at Camp Funston for service in the World War when the peace armistice was signed ; Ruth, the wife of Tracy F. Tyler, a teacher in the Fremont high school ; Rachel M., a student in Drake University, at Des Moines, Iowa ; Helen, who has assumed duties in her father's business, is a graduate of the high school in Wood River and also of the Conservatory of Music, in Grand Island ; and James, a student in the Wood River high school. Mr. and Mrs. Sherrerd have one granddaughter, Ruth Geraldine, the child of Mr. and Mrs. Tyler. Mr. Sherrerd and his entire family are members of the Presbyterian church, in which he has served as deacon. For many years he has been a member of the different Masonic bodies.

As an echo of early days in Hall County, the following incident coming under Mr. Sherrerd's observation, may be of much inter- -est to readers of this history that is being made as complete as possible. It was in 1879, -while ^Ir. Sherrerd was working for his uncle ]\Ir. Furnian. One fine morning a rough appearing young man rode up to Mr. Furman's door and introduced himself as Albert Spear, an acquaintance Mr. Furman had made some time before at Medicine Bow, Wyoming, and with true western hospitality he was invited to make the farm his home. He accepted without demur and remained a not too welcome guest for three weeks, or until he was captured by detectives who were on his trail. As the story was afterward revealed, he had been a carpenter with a bridge gang at Medicine Bow and from there had gone to the Black Hills, ostensibly to dig for gold, but evidently fell into bad company and was made the leader of a band of fourteen outlaws who decided that robbery would bring them gold more quickly than the pick and "washing." After several minor successful robberies, the gang held up a government treasurer coach that was hauling bullion from Deadwood to Sidney. The robbers secured about $140,000 but in the melee Spear was said to have killed one of the government guards. After his arrest, which strangely came about through his desire to have in his possession a picture of his mother that had been put away in a trunk, to which one of his gang comrades had access. When Spear escaped after the robbery he took advantage of his acquaintance with a reputable man like Mr. Furman, and not only accepted board and lodging, but brought his ill gotten wealth with him and concealed it in an old hog pail that he buried under a pile of manure in Mr. Furman's farm yard. This money was recovered for the government. He was taken back to Wyoming and was sentenced to the penitentiary for life and served ten years, when he gained his release through a curious situation that came up between the treasurers and other officials of Nebraska and Wyoming. This was in reference to Wyoming having no penitentiaries at that time, hence Nebraska was called on to incarcerate all criminals, and when Nebraska, quite naturally it would seem, presented a bill, Wyoming declined to pay it, with the result that the doors of the Nebraska dungeons swung open to alien prisoners. No doubt there are many who will read this true record who have also read romances on the same subject and with the same reputed ending, for it is said that in a large western city that shall be nameless, there later was a man of wealth and high official position, who was honored, trusted and respected, under another name, who once was the mail thief of this little tale.

RUDOLF DURTSCHI, who has large and valuable farm and stock interests in Hall County, is one of the truly enterprising business men of Wood River. He was born July 15, 1880, in Ness County, Kansas, the only son of John and Leopoldina (Jacob) Durtschi. His father was born near Berne. Switzerland, and his mother in Austria, both of whom came young to the LTnited States, the father in 1872. .\fter their marriage in Ness County, Kansas, they lived on a farm until 1883, when they came to Nebraska. The father bought land near Bellwood, in Butler County, where they still live. They have three children : Rudolph, Mrs. Rosa Fruth, and Ruby. Miss Ruby

Durtschi is a graduate of the Albion high school and of the Normal school at Kearney, and subsequently a student in Leland Stanford University.

Rudolph Durtschi obtained his education in the public schools and assisted his father and sometimes the neighbors as a farmer. Followhis marriage he moved to Boone County v^^here he bought land near Albion and engaged in farming and raising stock until the spring of 1908, when he came to Hall County. Here he purchased five hundred and forty acres, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation. He breeds registered Shorthorn cattle and Poland-China hogs. He also owns a tract of tweny acres adjoining Wood River, on which stands his comfortable residence. Aside from his agricultural interests, Mr. Durtschi is connected with important enterprises in Wood River. He represents the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and carries the largest volume of insurance risks on farms, in this neighborhood. He is president of the Central Nebraska Elevator Company, at Wood River, which handles coal as well as grain. He is also secretary of the Central Nebraska Fair Association at Grand Island.

At Bellwood, Nebraska, March 22, 1905, Mr. Durtschi married Miss Etta Judevine, who was born at Bellwod, and is the youngest of five children bom to Frederick C. and Mary E. (Page) Judevine, the former a native of Wisconsin, and the latter of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Mrs. Durtschi has three brothers and one sister: Royal, Frank, Clifford, and Mrs. Ethel Byers. Mr. and Mrs. Durtschi have three children, two daughters, Gladys M. and Lorna L., both of whom attend school at Wood River; and one son, Ronald R., who is three years old. Mr. Durtschi is not active in politics but is a citizen who feels his responsibilities as a prominent business man, and he readily and liberally co-operates in all movements for the benefit of city, county and state when his judgment approves-

MILTON C. WINGERT, a representative of one of the old families of Hall County, is a progressive business man who, with his three sons, is carrying on a rather remarkable gardening enterprise in the environs of Wood River that is meeting with profitable results. The Wingerts do a large wholesale business and successfully compete with California growers.

His parents were Peter S. and Maria (Reynard) Wingert, natives of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Their children were as follows : Salmon M., Mrs. Mary E. Schisler, Mrs. Anna M. Allen, Mrs. Alice C. Adwers, Mrs. Ida V. Millhollen, George Milton C, Mrs. Emma J. Squires, William C. and Jeremiah A. Peter S. Wingert was a farmer all his life. In 1866 he removed to Warren County, Illinois, and from there to Hall County, Nebraska, in 1873. locating a homestead ten miles northwest of Grand Island. The family lived in a sod house at first and their hardships were many. From 1874 to 1876, with other pioneer disadvantages, they had to endure the ravages of the grasshopper pest. They possessed the true pioneer spirit, however, and with courage, J industry and frugality came safely through a " period of general distress. Mr. Wingert and his wife reared their children in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Milton C. Wingert was fourteen years old when the family came to Hall County. He went to school as the opportunity was afforded but his advantages were not comparable tothose he has given his own children. He well remembers early days here and the necessary family economics, when his resourceful mother browned rye and barley grains to take the place of accustomed coffee, and when a dime for a Fourth of July celebration seemed like a fortune to him. General farming continued to be his business until he entered upon his present gardening enterprise. He owns ten acres at Wood River and because of his unusual success in the past, in 1919 is renting fifteen additional acres. His land is irrigated systematically and is under the highest state of cultivation. He is assisted by his sons. Albert, Ralph and Miles, all of whom are deeply interested as they may well be in sO' profitable a business. Their main crops are cabbage, sweet potatoes and onions. As an indication of the extent of their shipping business, it may be stated that in 1918 they sold seventy tons of cabbage alone, for $90 a ton. They grow their own plants in hot beds, having 3,000 feet of space under glass, and get their plants out ahead of the California markets, liaving new cabbage ready to ship by the 20th of June. Mr. Wingert owns his business quarters on Main street, Wood River, and also a comfortable, attractive residence here.

At Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1886, Mr. Wingert married Miss Roberta Calhoun, who was bom in Illinois. Her parents were Noah and Julia A. (Parkinson) Calhoun, the former of whom was bom at Bedford, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Jo Daviess County, IlHnois.

Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun had nine children: Roberta, Chrissie E., J. Manley, WilHam R., John S., Mrs. Hattie L. Bannore, Mrs. Josephine Stewart, Charles W. and Mrs. Jennie L. Snyder. Mr. and Mrs. Wingert have four sons: Albert H., Curtis P., W. Ralph and Miles :^L Albert H. Wingert, a graduated pharmacist, is a hardware merchant at Wood River. He is a Republican in politics, is an Odd Fellow, and belongs to the Baptist church. He married Olive Slusser and they have one son and two daughters. Curtis P. Wingert, who was clerk for the Dirk Lumber Company before enlisting for service in the World War, was assigned to Ambulance Corps Hospital No. 26, Des Moines, Iowa. He isa member of the Presbyterian church, is a Republican in politics, and belongs to the Woodmen of the World order. He married Bemice Davies. they have two daughters, and their post office is Broken Bow. W. Ralph Wingert, associated in the hardware business with his brother at Wood River, as well as with his father in gardening, is a graduate of the high school here. He is a Republican and an Odd Fellow and both he and wife belong to the order of Highlanders. He married Elizabeth Francis. Miles M. Wingert, a graduate of the city schools, resides at home. Mr. and Mrs. Wingert are members of the Presbyterian church. For many years he has been a member of the order of Odd Fellows, and is a Republican in politics.

ERNEST DIEFENDERFER, one of Wood River's substantial business men, came to Hall County with his parents when ten 3'ears old and has claimed this as his home ever since. In the meanwhile, however, a number of years were spent at other points further west, and during these he experienced many adventures inseparable from the life of a Wyoming cowboy.

Ernest Diefenderfer was born May 2, 1869, at Sharon, in Mercer County, Pensylvania. His parents were John H. and Louisa (Markle) Diefenderfer, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They had the following children : Sylvia, Ernest, Martin, Calvin and Albert, the two last named being deceased. The father was a carpenter by trade and became a contractor and builder- In 1877 he visited Nebraska on a prospecting tour. Being pleased with the appearance of the country he decided to move here and brought his family as far as Shelton, Buffalo County, in 1879. Shortly afterward he bought land two miles northeast of Wood River, in Hall County, to which the family removed. He found employment at his trade while his two sons, Martin and Ernest, did the greater part of the farming. Later he engaged in the hardware and farm implement business in Wood River, where he died in 1909.

Ernest Diefenderfer attended the public schools in boyhood and remained at home assisting his father until 1887. He then went to Saratoga, Wyoming, where he hired out as a cowboy and rode the range for nearly eight years, his employers being a cattle company, owned by the Kirkendall Company of Denver; the Swan Land and Cattle Company, of Chugwater, Wyoming, and the Reading Cattle Company, Grand Encampment Hills, Saratoga, Wyoming. He next found employment as a driver for the Yellowstone Transportation Company, Yellowstone Park, and remained one year, going then to the W^heatland Development Company, which was operating a state experimental station at Wheatland, Wyoming. He remained there two years and then returned to Hall County, subsequently entering the implement and hardware business in Wood River with his father and brother Martin. Since then he has increased his business activities. He owns and operates one of the finest garages in Wood River, a cement building forty by eighty feet in dimensions, and is agent for the Dodge automobiles. In addition he supplies when called on, an automobile hearse to Wood River, Shelton, Cairo and Gibbon. As a business man, social factor and good citizen he is known all over the county.

The marriage of Ernest Diefenderfer to Miss Cora Estella Foreman, was celebrated at Shelton, Nebraska, August 30, 1898. She was bom at Newman Grove, Madison County, Nebraska, and is the daughter of Samuel and Esther (Thompson) Foreman, the former of whom was born in Iowa and the latter in Norway. Mrs. Diefenderfer has one sister, Mrs. Margaret McDonald. Mr. and Mrs. Diefenderfer have three children : John H., a graduate of the Wood River high school and a student in the York Business College, York, Nebraska; and Homer J. and Carrol, both of whom are pupils in the public schools of Wood River. Mr. and Mrs. Diefenderfer are members of the Presbyterian church. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and both are members of the Eastern Star and the order of Highlanders. He keeps an open mind in political matters and votes as an Independent.

New England family that has more than once contributed men of great achievement to the nation. He was born in Addison County, Vermont, October 8, 1876, a son of Oliver William and Virginia C. Eaton. Oliver William Eaton was an early settler in Hall County and was one of the pioneer sheep feeders in Nebraska. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of ^^'ood River.

Harrison S. Eaton obtained early educational training in Wood River and later attended school and college at Denver, Colorado, and Evanston, Illinois. Developing business tastes, Mr. Eaton first accepted the position of assistant cashier in the Merrick County Bank, in Clarks, Nebraska. From there he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Wood River, of which institution he later was elected assistant cashier, a position which he filled until he succeeded F. M. Penny as cashier. This is one of the soundest banks of Hall County and one that has always had the full confidence of the public, the Eaton name from the beginning being a valuable asset. Mr. Eaton is a member of its board of directors. He also has other business interests, being the owner of a large amount of real estate, sheep feeder and shipper on a large scale, and a stockholdr in the Central Nebraska Elevator Company.

In political affiliation, Mr. Eaton has always been a Republican, but in local matters afTecting the general public, he recognizes no party division, and for fifteen years has given service conscientiously as a member of the village board. He stands as one of Wood River's most trustworthy citizens and has borne many financial responsibilities for the public good, at present being treasurer of the cemetery association and treasurer of the Red Cross. He belongs to the order of Elks, lodge No. 604, Grand Island.

JOHN J. CARTER, one of the best known mill men in Hall County, having been identified with the milling business since boyhood, has kept pace with its development in machinery and methods, and as president of the Wood River Roller Mill, Wood River, Nebraska, occupies a very important position in the milling industry.

Mr. Carter was born in New Jersey, March 16, 1867. one of a family of ten children born to Frank and Harriet (Malett) Carter, natives of Cambridge, England. Of their children,

John J. was the fourth in order of birth, the j others bearing the following names : Mrs. | Sarah Kuntz, Mrs. Anna E. Patton, Mrs. Car. 1 rie Schafer, Edward C, Thomas H., IMrs. Catherine Schafer, Oscar M., Carter B. and Mrs. Josephine Biggerstaff. The father of Mr. Carter was a miller by trade. In 1874 he removed from New Jersey to Ashland, Nebraska, where he continued in the milling business until the close of his life, his death occurring February 4, 1884. He had been an industrious man all his life but had not accumulated a competency. He was a member of the Episcopal church.

John J. Carter was seven years old when the family came to Nebraska, and as early as ^ that, when released from school spent his time | in the mill assisting his father. In this way, without realizing it, he learned the business and when his father died he was able to step into his father's place, although only seventeen years old at the time. He worked for W. T. Allen, at Ashland, for the next two years, in the meanwhile taking care of his widowed mother and other dependents. It was in this same mill, when but eight years of age that he earned his first five dollars, which he expended for a suit of clothes, being justly proud of his ability to help take care of himself. In 1886 Mr. Carter went to Hebron, Nebraska, where he worked for eleven years for the milling firm of W^etherald Bros. In 1898 he moved to Ansley, in Custer County, where he entered the employ of the Ansley Milling Company and remained six years. In 1904 he came to Wood ,Rivef where, in association with his brother, Edward C. Carter, he bought the old Thorp mill, afterward entirely dismantling it and after putting in new, modern machinery, operated it until 1907, under the firm style of Carter Brothers. In that year John J. Carter bought his brother's interest and conducted the business alone until December 27, 1909, when the mill was destroyed by fire. As the insurance on the property was only partial, Mr. Carter sustained a loss of $9,000. Perhaps people do not really value friendship untill it is put to the test. In suffering from the above disaster, Mr. Carter found that he had a large circle of friends and back of them a reputation for business integrity that in itself was an important asset, and by the beginning of the next year he was able to formulate plans for reentering business. In April, 1910, in partnership with Martin Diefenderfer, he built the Wood River Roller Mill, which they conducted together until August, 1912. when they took out papers of incorporation, John J. Car- ter, who owns owns one-half of the stock, becoming president and Martin Diefenderfer, vice president, who, with R. R. Root, secretary and treasurer, own the other half, the thus formed being one of sound financing and acknowledged ability. A large business is being done and this is considered a very important commercial enterprise of the town. Mr. Carter owns one of the attractive residences of Wood River.

On July 29, 1891, Mr. Carter married Miss Carrie B. Ayres, who was born in Illinois, a daughter of John A. Ayres. Mrs. Carter has one brother, Charles Ayres. To Mr. and Carter the following children have been bom : Jessie, the wife of Jerome Paulk, who conducts a garage in Wood River; Walter A., a soldier with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, connected with the medical detachment of the Thirty-ninth Infantry; Hugo E., employed in the Wood River Rolling mills ; John J-, a student in the high school at Wood River, and Helen E. and Grace E., both of whom are in the grammar school. The family attends the Presbyterian church. Politically Mr. Carter is a Republican. For many years he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity. During the World War he has loyally cooperated with others in giving assistance to his country.

PATRICK HOYE. - To be able to visualize conditions in Hall County when Patrick Hoye, one of her most highly respected citizens who now lives retired in Wood River, came here as a pioneer, the clock of time must be tured back forty years. Wood River then was but a hamlet, and Mr. Hoye's present finely improved, productive farm a stretch of wild prairie land, visited by wild cats, overrun by coyotes and infested with the deadly rattlesnake, while the fear of vengeful Indians in this region was not entirely unfounded. Mr. Hoye has been a witness of and has borne an important part in the county's wonderful development. He is vice-president of the Citizens State Bank of Wood River.

Patrick Hoye was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, March 17, 1849. His parents were Daniel and Elizabeth (Cronin) Hoye, natives of Ireland and their entire lives were spent there. They had the following children: Mary, John, Patrick, Bernard, Thomas P., Daniel, and two daughters who died in childhood from the effects of scarlet fever. The father owned a small, well kept farm but his main business was stone contracting. He was not possessed of great wealth but was a man of some consequence and when Patrick was twenty years old, having finished school, secured a contract for him from the English government to finish certain public roads with cobblestone. When it came to signing the contract, however, the government agent decided that Patrick was too young for so important a job and gave it over to an older applicant. Prior to this Patrick had intimated a desire to emigrate to America and this disappointment strengthened his determination. His father finally gave consent with the money for the youth's passage to the United States. When Mr. Hoye reached Castle Garden, New York, he had one English sovereign, equal at that time to $4.48 in United States coin, as his capital on which to start on his way to fortune.

That Mr. Hoye immediately secured work with a brick contractor in New York, indicates the decision of character which has had much to do with his subsequent success in life. He did not wait for an opportunity to work to come to him but found it for himself. This was in 1869 and wages were high for that time, Mr. Hoye receiving $14 a week for teaming during the year he remained in New York City. As is usually the case, however, the cost of living was high. At the end of the year Mr. Hoye found that with the strict economy he had exercised, he had been able to save but $65 and in his judgment such a result would not satisfy his ambition, therefore in May, 1870, he started out to find something more profitable. During that year he worked in a tannery in Warren County, Pennsylvania, and during the next seven years engaged in farming in Susquehanna County during the summer seasons and followed the tanning business at Montrose during the winters. While he lived in New York he became interested in reading the New York Tribune edited at that time by Horace Greeley, and was much impressed by the great editor's advice to young men to go to the western part of the United States, where there was opportunity for all. Acting upon this advice, Mr. Hoye reached Hall County in 1879, locating three miles north of Wood River and still owns the land on which he first settled. He now has two hundred and eighty acres of very fine farm land in the county, together with a handsome modern residence in Wood River.

At Montrose, Pennsylvania, on February 14, 1876, Mr. Hoye married Miss Mary A. Kelley, who was born in Pennsylvania. Her parents were John and Anna (McCoy) Kelley, both natives of Ireland. To Mr. and Mrs. Hoye the following children were bom:

Daniel J., who is a druggist in Overton, Nebraska, married Lillian Whalen; John A., in the drug business in Wood River, married Allora Babel and they have a son and daughter; Thomas P., who is an extensive feeder of cattle, hogs and sheep, was trained at the State Agricultural College, Lincoln, married Fannie Conway and they have two sons and two daughters; Bernard J., an extensive stockman of Hall County, married Catherine Miller and they have one son and one daughter; Anna, the wife of Leo Mullen, farmer and stockman, and grand treasurer of the A. O. U. W. Grand Lodge of Nebraska at Grand Island, has one daughter; and M. Gertrude, who, like her older sister, is a graduate of the Wood River high school, resides with her parents. Mr. Hoye and all his family belong to the Roman Catholic church. He is a member of the order of Modern Woodmen, and with all his sons belongs to the Knights of Columbus. Formerly he was quite avtive in the political field. He served two terms as school director of District No. 16 and two terms as school treasurer; six years as assessor of Wood River precinct, and six years as a member of the county board of supervisors, of which board he was chairman for one year. Mr. Hoye's reminiscenses of early days in the county are full of interest and lack of space alone prevents their presentation to the reader. On one occasion he was bitten by a prairie rattlesnake and his life was saved only, through prompt and strenuous medical attention.

FREDERICK J. MILLER, one of the prominent business men of Hall County, extensively engaged in feeding and shipping cattle and hogs, accompanied his parents to this county when fourteen years old, and this has been his chosen home ever since. He is widely known and because of business integrity and genial manner, he can lay claim to an ever widening circle of friends. He is not only considered trustworthy in business but also in public affairs, and although no active politician, has been the choice of his fellow citizens as supervisor of District No. 3, Hall County, in which office he is serving.

' Mr. Miller was born May 5, 1866, in Fayette County, Iowa, the second son of Jacob F. and Catherine F. (Hedinger) Miller, both of whom were born in Germany. Of their family of seven children the following are living: Mrs. Sophia Shultz, Carl P., Frederick T., Mrs. Augusta C. Horth and Mrs. Amelia B. Parks. The parents of Mr. Miller came to the United States in 1856 and settled in Iowa, where the father secured land near Arlington, in Fayette County, for $1.25 an acre. In 1880 the family came to Hall County, locating ten miles north of Wood River. The father bought a half section of railroad land and two hundred and forty acres of school land, paying $5 an acre for the former, which is yet owned by his heirs. The parents^ of Mr. Miller were quiet, industrious, thrifty people who in many ways set a worthy example.

Frederick J. Miller was fourteen years old when the family located in Hall County. His school advantages were three months during the winter seasons, the remainder of his time until he became a recognized factor as a farmer, being usefully spent on the home place with intervals of recreation that wholesome youth demands and generally secures. In answer to a question concerning his first earning of money, a very pertinent one because Mr. Miller has accumulated a reasonable fortune, he replied that the sixty-five cents he first earned was the hardest to get and the most enjoyable to spend of any money he has ever since secured. At that time the little striped squirrels and the gophers were great nuisances to farmers and the capture of one of the former brought a penny and the latter were worth five cents apiece. On the occasion referred to Mr. Miller was inspired to great activity because of an approaching Fourth of July celebration at Strawberry Point, which he did not want to miss. With his sixty-five cents safe in his possession he was one of a happy crowd of youngsters conveyed in a box car over the newly laid tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, to the picnic grounds. Notwithstanding the ten cent car fare and a day of feasting and sport, he says he found some money still in his pocket when he reached home in the evening. That little story may point a moral as well as amuse, for the lad who could first earn his money before he thought of spending any, and could save some of it in the face of unusual temptation, is one of the most substantial and respected men of his community.

For the past thirty years Frederick J. Miller has been in partnership with his brother, Carl Miller, and their interests have been identical in the business of farming and feeding and shipping of stock. They owri a tract of twenty acres adjoining Wood River, where they carry on the stock business. Frederick ']. Miller owns four hundred and eighty acres of land northwest of Wood River but has resided in the town for the last nine

The marriage of Frederick J. Miller was celebrated on December 28, 1887, in Marshall, Saline County, Missouri, to Miss Anna LMcGrath, who was born at Lexington, Kentucky. Her parents were Daniel and Jennie (Cannon) McGrath. Both parents were born in Ireland and had the following children : John, Elizabeth, Catherine, Lillie, Anna L-, Richard, William, Thomas, Nora, Hughes and Robert. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have four daughters : Catherine, who is the wife of Bernard J. Hoye, a farmer near Wood River, and they have a son and a daughter ; Blanche, who is the wife of Forest W. Miller, assistant sales manager of the Cudahy Packing Company, in the main office at Chicago, and they have one son ; Alice, the wife of Thomas J. R. Langan, a farmer near Wood River, and they have one daughter: and Gladys, a graduate of the Wood River high school, lives with her parents.

GEORGE E. CR.^WFORD, whose valuable and finely improved farms make him one of the substantial men of Hall County, now lives retired in Wood River, where he owns a handsome modern residence. He settled in this neighborhood when this thriving little city was represented by a railroad depot and section house two miles west of the present site of Wood River, and has borne his full part in the development that the last forty-five years of eft'ort has brought about.

George E. Crawford was born at Elkhart, Indiana, August 15, 1844, the seventh in a family of eleven children born to his parents, George E. and Hannah (Beardsley) Crawford. His brothers and sisters were: Mrs. Alice McClellan, Henry, James, William, Mrs. Mary Cole, Mrs. Martha Hass, John, Charles, Lewis and Laura. The father of this family was born in Pennsylvania, of Scotch parentage, and the mother in Ohio, of Scotch-Welsh ancestry. They were members of the Presbyterian church.

Mr. Crawford spent his boyhood days on hij father's farm near Laporte, Indiana, received a district school education and worked at home until he was twenty years of age. He then enlisted for service in the Civil War, in' February, 1865, entering Company K, One Hundred Fifty-first Indiana Infantry, and served until the end of the war under General Thomas, receiving his honorable discharge at Nashville, Tennessee. He had been a faithful .'-oldier but after seven months of military life the old farm routine did not seem attractive and in 1866 he came to Denver, Colorado. Here he worked for one year for his brother William, who was engaged in freighting with oxen between Nebraska City, Denver and Echo Canyon. Mr. Crawford then purchased four yoke of oxen and for the following three years continued in the freighting business on his own account and when he sold his outfit he came to Hall County. In- July, 1870, he located a homestead on Prairie Creek, eight miles north of where old Wood River, represented by a section house, then stood. There had been some attempt made at settlement there as James Jackson operated a small store on his farm two miles still further west and kept the post office. In 1874 the present site of Wood River was established.

By 1874 Mr. Crawford had forty acres of sod corn, having broken prairie, put in the seed as soon as he had built his sod house and had rented additional land. To any one acquainted with early county history, the story of the grasshopper invasion need not be told. It carried with it disaster to many a striving, hard-working settler, and when the pest had departed from Mr. Crawford's flourishing corn field, there was nothing but the despoiled soil left. Many discouraged pioneers returned to their eastern homes or hopefully moved to other states, but Mr. Crawford was more persistent, and while, for a time he could make little headway, to use his own expressive word, he "tinkered" around enough to make a living and the time came when he was well rewarded. He owns two of the most beautiful and productive farms in the vicinity of Wood River.

In Hall County, on February 21, 1878, Mr. Crowford married Miss Helen Ewing, who was born in the state of New York. Her parents, Robert and Mary (Ferguson) Ewing, were born in Scotland. They had the following children : James, Mrs. Helen Crawford, Robert, Mrs. Mary West, Mrs. Annie Curtiss, John, William, Charles and Edwin. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford have two children: George E. and Annie M. George E. Crawford was graduated from Hastings College and then passed a year as a student at the State Agricultural College, Lincoln. For some time he was superintendent of schools at Thedford, in Thomas County, Nebraska, but is now operating one of his father's farms near Wood River. He is independent in his political opinions, is a Presbyterian in religious belief and belongs to the order of Odd Fellows. The maiden name of his wife was Esther Cline. Miss Annie M. Crawford is a lady of intel- lectual attainment and a graduate of Hastings College. She is instructor in mathematics and languages in the public schools of Shelton, Nebraska, and is active in church circles. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford are members of the Presbyterian church, Mr. Crawford being one of the elders in the church in Wood River. The family is one held in very high esteem.

JOHN E. ROUNDS, a representative business man of Wood River and secretary of the Wood River Commercial Club, Has had an unusually full and interesting life since he was brought to Nebraska by his parents, in 1879. He was born at Manchester, Illinois, December 28, 1872, one of a family of two children born to his parents, William and Angeline (Boon) Rounds. He has one sister, Edna M. Rounds, who belongs to that noble body of war workers connected with the Y. M. C. A. organization in Paris, France.

Mr. Rounds still owns the old family homestead situated two and a half miles southeast of Wood River, on which his parents settled after their long "prairie schooner" journey from Illinois was completed. There was much to contend with in those early days but every member of the family possessed his own portion of Scotch-English thrift and energy and the hardships of other days have long since passed away. Mr. Rounds attended the public schools until he finished work in the tenth grade.' He found himself possessed of a natural inclination toward mechanics and therefore, in 1902-3 he took a preparatory course in Highland Park College, Des Moines, Iowa, where he studied electrical engineering, later continuing in the same line of study in Montana College, Deer Lodge, Montana. It required considerable self denial and a large amount of persistence for Mr. Rounds had no wealthy backer, in fact paid part of his expenses himself by teaching forge work in the shop for_ two years and by operating the steam power plant at Deer Lodge. From there he went to Bozeman, Montana, and after taking a special course in electrical testing in the agricultural college there, secured a position with the Westinghouse Electrical Manufacturing Company of East Pittsburg. Pennsylvania. When he landed in Pittsburg, Mr. Rounds relates, he had just $26 and payday was almost a month away, but he had been well drilled in frugal ways and by strict economy he made his meager capital carry him over the interval and even had $2 to spare. He worked hard in this position and took night shift hours as it was possible then to get pay for over time, and in a period of eighteen months he succeeded in saving $200. He was then transferred to Denver, where for one year he had charge of the company's stock department. For the responsibility he had to incur Mr. Rounds felt that his wages were too low and that caused him to resign and he then came back to Hall County. Six months later, however, the company called him by telegraph to return to them at increased salary and take charge of the company's interests at Butte, Montana. He remained in Montana for ten years and during that time filed on a homestead and rented other land and became an extensive wheat farmer, operating four hundred acres. When he returned to Hall County he retained his land but sold all his personal property. He has invested at Wood River and has built a fine garage here of cement construction, with dimensions of one hundred by fifty feet which he finds too limited for his rapidly increasing business and plans are under way to add space so that the building will be' a hundred feet square. He is sales agent for the Overland and Buick cars.

Alany successful business men get so accustomed to large financial transactions that they lose sight of their first eflforts in the money line, but Mr. Rounds says that his first attempt brought him such personal anguish for a time that he can remember it well. After a little boy works faithfully over a patch of pop com and harvests a heavy bag of the grain and carries it to the grocer along about Christmas time when boys need quite a little bit of cash, and finds that all of ninety-five cents is coming to him, he naturally feels that it will be a serious but delightful matter to invest the same in gifts for others. When Grocer James T. Britt announced that it was his regular business policy to pay for pop corn only in trade, there was a brokenhearted little lad at the counter. Through one of the mysterious ways that mothers have, this little business was finally adjusted and everything turned out in a satisfactory way. This little story may recall to many another reader one of the little tragedies of boy life.

On Christmas Day, 1910, l\Ir. Rounds married at Arriba, Colorado, Miss Ida J. Jensen, who was bom at Albert Lea, Minnesota, and is a daughter of Edward Jensen. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rounds: William S., aged seven years; Ellen L., is five years old; Edward C, deceased; Beth E., whose years number two ; Jane M., aged eighteen months, and an infant son. Mr. Rounds is a sound Republican in his political sentiments but he has never been willing to

DAVID D. O'KANE, postmaster and one of the substantial business men of Wood River, Nebraska, has been identified with affairs in Hall County since 1883 and has lived in the state since he was six years of age. From that time to the present seems a comparatively short period in the actual passage of time, but seemingly a century many have gone by when the progress and substantial development made in this part of the country is considered. In all this change Mr. O'Kane has been vitally interested and has borne a leading part.

David D. O'Kane was bom at Polo, Illinois, December 8, 1868. His parents were Joseph and Mary (Davie) O'Kane, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Ireland. David D. was the youngest born of their family of eight children, the others being : Mary, deceased ; James, deceased ; John H., postmaster at Gothenburg, Nebraska ; Daniel, employed in the postoffice at Wood River; Mrs. Elizabeth Sanders, who lives at Norfolk, Nebraska ; Mrs. Josie Kelley, who resides in Omaha, and Mrs. Anna Worthing, who lives at Lost Angeles, Cahfomia.

In 1874 the parents of Mr. O'Kane moved to Dawson County, Nebraska, locating two and a half miles northwest of Willow Island. His father was a ranchman and had work for all his boys to do and it was not long before little David claimed recompense for herding his father's cattle. When the family reached their new home in Dawson County, they found no provision for comfortable family life like that they had enjoyed in Illinois. They had shipped lumber to this point from Clinton, but transportation was slow and delayed and they were forced to live in the school house as it was the sole building in the neighborhood until their own house could be put up. It was in this same building that Mr. O'Kane . later attended school. He was about twelve years old when he was able to qualify as a sportsman. Game was plentiful and he kept the larder well supplied with deer meat, ducks and wild geese. He relates that droves of. wild horses would gallop across the country and that it was great sport to chase them but it was difficult to catch any of the old ones and when the young colts were captured if was almost impossible to raise or break them for use on the farm.

left the home ranch and went to Alda, Nebraska, where he learned the art of telegraphy, and in the fall of 1883 he came to Wood Rjver as night operator. This pleasant little city has since been his settled home, although for some time he worked up and down the railroad line as telegrapher for short periods. A man of energy and enterprise, Mr. O'Kane was one of the early promoters of the now necessary telephone service. In 1902 he organized the Nebraska Telephone Company, with country lines working out of Wood River and has been its able manager ever since. He has given encouragement to many other laudable enterprises in the county and his fellow citizens know that they may safely invest if he gives support. He owns valuable real estate at Wood River which includes his comfortable residence and the brick building in which the post office is located.

On November 27, 1905, Mr. O'Kane married Miss Agnes Whalen, who was born in Illinois, a daughter of Thomas and Anna Whalen, who were the parents of four sons and three daughters : John, William, Frank, James, Mrs. Elizabeth L. Hoye, Mrs. Anna Dunn, and Mrs. Agnes O'Kane. Mr. and Mrs. O'Kane have the following children: Mary, a student in the Wood River high school ; Leo David, a pupil in the fifth grade at school; Robert Harold, also doing well at school ; Gretchen, has reached her fifth year, and Charlotte, at the charming age of two years. In politics Mr. O'Kane is a Democrat and in addition to serving for the past four years as postmaster, he has served several terms as village clerk. He has conducted an insurance business in connection with real estate handling for some time, for the past fifteen years having been active along many lines. He and family belong to the Roman Catholic church and he is a leading member of the Knights of Columbus. He was one of the founders and is a prominent factor in the Wood River Commercial Club.

CHARLES HEUBNER. - Among the general farmers of Hall County who have been successful in their operations during recent years, one who has passed his entire life in this community is Charles Heubner, of Alda township. It has been his fortune to have been connected with agricultural matters all of his life and his privilege to have found in his employment both profit and contentment. Mr. Heubner was bom in Hall County in 1874, a son of Fritz and Nancy (Kay) Heubner, natives of Germany who came to the

United States as young people and were early settlers of Hall County, where they rounded out useful and honorable lives. After securing a public school education, Charles Heubner adopted farming as his life work, :^nd with the passage of the years through good management and the use of modern methods he has made a successful showing and accumulated a tract of two hundred and forty acres. This is under a high state of cultivation and has been improved with the erection of good buildings and the installation of up-to-date improvements. As a general farmer, Mr. Heubner is alive to the possibilities of his vocation, and makes his land pay him well for the labor which he exepnds in its cultivation. In 1898 Mr. Heubner married ]\Iiss Nancy Kay. To this union there have been born seven children : Fred, who is employed on a Hall County farm; Harry and Henry, twins, who are engaged in assisting their father in the work of the home place; Eddie, Donal and Lilly, who all live with their parents, and Ella, who is deceased. Mr. Heubner maintains an independent stand upon political questions, prferring to use his own judgment in the choice of candidates instead of being confined by strict party lines. He has been content with the work of his farm and the pleasures of his home, and has formed no lodge connections.

EMIL BOLTZ is one of the native sons of Hall County who is making a success of his farming operations. He was born on the place which is now his home, June 3, 1881. His parents, Claus and Johannah (Kay) Boltz, were born, reared and married in Holstein, Germany. They had two children when they came to America and soon after landing in this country established their home in Alda township. Hall County, Nebraska. The father bought forty acres of land which he later traded for the place where Emil now lives. This was also a forty acre tract to which he added eighty acres and here he passed away more than thirty years ago. The mother survived until about five years ago when she too was called to her final rest.

Emil was reared in the neighborhood and received an excellent education in the public schools of his district, making the most of his opportunities. Upon completing his studies he determined upon an agricultural career, having been reared in the country he decided farm life appealed to him. For some years he remained at home assisting in the operation of the land which gave him an opportunity to demonstrate his abilities. Some time before his mother died the estate was divided and Emil purchased the home place. Here his mother lived until her death. He is the owner of two hundred and twenty-two acres and does general farming.

Emil Boltz married Miss Hahn, who was also born in Hall County, and she has become the mother of four children : Arthur, Dora, Daniel and Hazel.

PETER F. McCULLOUGH. - A resident of Hall County for thirty-seven years, Mr. McCullough passed the first quarter of a century of his residence here in agricultural work, but during more recent years has been the representative of the Omaha-Moline Plow Company, although he is still the owner of a valuable farm in Center township. His career has been an illustration of typical self-made success, and today he stands as one of the substantial men of his community.

Mr. McCullough was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1859. He acquired his education in the public schools of the City of Brotherly Love and grew to manhood there, but his opportunities for success were restricted and, seeking a broader field in a new country, in 1882 he made his way to Nebraska and purchased eighty acres of land in Center township, which has since been his home. From practically its virgin state he developed his property into a productive and valuable farm, upon which he devoted himself to general operations with a generous measure of success, and continued to follow the pursuits of the soil with unremitting energy until 1909, when he accepted an attractive offer from the Omaha-Moline Plow Company, the traveling representative of which concern he has since been. During his extensive travels during the past decade, he has become widely and favorably known among the farmers of Hall County, and wherever his acquaintance has extended he has the confidence and esteem of the people.

Mr. McCullough married Miss Ellen Searson, and to them there have been born seven children : Thomas, married and resides at Alda, he being the manager and operator of his father's farm ; Albert, married and resides in Idaho ; Mary, married and resides at Grand

Island ; John and Bryan, the former married and the latter single, who reside in Florida; Charlie, who lives at home and assists in the work of the farm, and Floyd, attending the high school at Grand Island.

In his political views, Mr. McCullough is a Democrat. His religious faith is that of the Friends Church, which he attends at Alda. He holds membership in the United Commercial Travelers.

EARL E. DAVISON is among the younger generation of successful men of Hall County. He was bom in Center township. May 22, 1896, the son of Henry Davison who is living retired in Grand Island, a record of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume.

Earl E. was reared on the fann and attended the public schools and when not busy with his text books assisted in the operation of the home farm. On reaching man's estate he chose the occupation to which he had been reared and is now successfully operating one hundred twenty acres belonging to his father.

May 3, 1919, occured the marriage of Earl E. Davison and Miss Grace Howell, also a native of Hall County, a daughter of E. J. and Betty (Kelly) Howell, who reside in Grand Island. Mr. and Mrs. Davison are members of the Methodist Church in Alda, and are held in the highest esteem by all who know them.

FLOYD J. MECHAM. - Among the younger element of agriculturists carrying on operations in Hall County, one who has already made a success of his chosen vocation and is working one hundred and twenty acres of land is Floyd J. Mecham of Center township. Mr. Mecham is a man who brings to his work a knowledge of general principles of agriculture and modern, scientific methods, and through their application in his daily round of duties has found the medium through which he has attained prosperity.

Mr. Mecham was born in Adams County, Nebraska, November 13, 1885, and belongs to a family which has resided in Hall County for a number of years, founded here by his father, Clinton P. Mecham, a sketch of whose career will be found on another page of the work. His education was acquired in the public schools, following which he settled down to a life as a tiller of the soil, and. as before noted, his success has been of a definite and gratifying character. The one hundred and twenty acre property, well cultivated and very productive, has been made increasingly valuable by the erection of good buildings and the making of various other improvements, and through intelligent study of the problems concerning his vocation and industrious work in the matter of cultivation of the soil, Mr. Mecham has become known as one of those to whom Hall County looks for its continued development and progress in an agricultural way in the years to come.

Mr. Mecham married Lena Forburger, of Lincoln, a daughter of a retired contractor of that city, and to this union there have been born two children: Dale and Floyd J., Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Mecham belong to the Methodist church. He is a Democrat in his political allegiance, although his only activity in politics is the casting of his vote for good men and beneficial measures. He has no lodgeconnections.

HARVEY L. STARKEY, M. D. - The medical profession in Hall County has no more able or experienced physician and surgeon than Dr. Harvey L. Starkey, who has been established at Wood River for the past decade. In addition to his professional endowment. Dr. Starkey has other claims deserving recognition by his fellow citizens because of his loyal attitude and patriotic and unselfish services during the World War, from which he was honorably released December 16, 1918.

Harvey L. Starkey was born March 16, 1865, in Ritchie County, West Virginia, one of a family of nine sons and four daughters born to Enoch A. and Jane (Cunningham) Starkey. The father of Dr. Starkey was born in June, 1828, at Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia, and the mother was born in 1830. All of their thirteen children survived to maturity wjth the exception of one son, who died at tlie age of nine months. Enoch A. Starkey was a carpenter by trade. He lived at Clarksburg during his earlier life, moved then to Burning Springs, where he lived for ten years, in 1852 was married, ten years later served as a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, afterward locating in Roane County, where his death occurred at the age of eighty-six years.

In the public schools of Roane County, Dr. Starkey received the educational training that made him an acceptable teacher and for twelve years he remained in the schoolroom, in the meanwhile doing preparatory medical reading in preparation for a course in Barnes Medical College, St. Louis, Missouri, from which insti- tution he was graduated with his coveted dergree in 1899. He immediately entered into medical practice at Junction City and Harrisburg, Illinois, until May, 1909, when he came to Hall County, purchasing the practice of Dr. W. J. Redfield of Wood River. He speedily won the confidence and personal esteem of the Wood River people and in no case has this early estimate been changed. Always deeply interested in public affairs as an enlightened and earnest citizen, and with the memory of a patriotic father, Dr. Starkey, when his country became involved in war, began to make preparations to do his part. When the government called on his profession for help, he made a personal matter of it and immediately offered his services. Unexpected business complications, however, prevented his taking the first examination, but he was ready for the second, on June 19, 1918, and on July 9th following he received a commission as captain, being assigned to the officers' trainig came at Fort Riley, Kansas. After completing training there, on September 25th he was appointed to the base hospital at Fort Riley, but telegraphic instructions from Washington, D. C, changed the assignment and he was ordered to Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, where he became a member of the brigade on duty in the infirmaries. When the influenza epidemic broke out he was made assistant sanitary inspector of the camp. After strenuous work in this office for one month, he was assigned to section F of the hospital annex, where he became ward surgeon, with responsibility over four wards and two hundred and eighty beds, few of which were vacant at any time. Dr. Starkey is very modest concerning the work he did in getting the sick soldiers on their feet again and speeding them back to their companies, but in many sections of the country his name is gratefully remembered by brave youths who came under his medical ministrations and cheering influence at that time. Dr. Starkey was again transferred and given command of infirmary No. 3, and was discharging his duties there at the time of the signing of the armistice, his honorable discharge following as mentioned above. He immediately returned to Wood River and resumed practice, with broadened outlook taking up again the problems of health and sanitation that civil as well as military life present to the conscientious physician.

On June 19, 1892, Dr. Starkey married Miss Dorcas Stewart, the youngest in a family of two sons and five daughters born to William P. and Anna (Straley) Stewart, of Reedy, West Virginia. The father of Mrs. Starkey had large timber interests and was in the hotel business. For twelve years before her marriage, Mrs. Starkey taught shcool. She is a woman of education and social charm, and an admirable mother of four adopted children, she and Dr. Starkey having opened their home and hearts and have given through adoption, their honorable name to Florence, Evelyn, William and John, their ages ranging from two to eleven years. Mrs. Starkey is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. She has been one of the most enthusiastic workers in the Red Cross ranks in Wood River, gives attention to many social obligations, and enjoys membership in the order of the Eastern Star, the order of Rebekah, and the Royal Highlanders. Dr. Starkey is a Thirty-Second degree Mason and an Odd Fellow and is identified with other organizations both fraternal and professional.

ISAAC K. WATSON, well and favorably known in Hall County for many years, was one of the substantial farmers and worthy citizens of Jackson township. His memory is not only preserved because of his high personal character and useful citizenship, but also by his descendants who reflect credit on his honorable name.

Isaac K. Watson was born at West Liberty, Iowa, August 30, 1860. His parents were Albert and Speedy Watson, who had six children : Lewis, Albert, Isaac K., Anna, Maria and Cora. His father was in easy enough circumstances to permit his attending college after completing the high school course at West Liberty, and he remained in Iowa City until he was graduated from the University of Iowa. Although prepared in this way for a profession, he chose the vocation of farming, and prior to 1885, when he removed to Nebraska, he followed agricultural pursuits in Iowa. In 1885 he came to Hall County and purchased two hundred and forty acres, situated in section 21, Jackson township. To the cultivation and improvement of this land, in conjunction with such citizenship duties as he thought best to assume for the general welfare, he devoted the rest of his life. His death resulted from an attack of pneumonia, January 8, 1889.

Mr. Watson's first marriage took place February 22, 1882", to Miss Mary A. Gundlach, of Fayette County, Iowa, daughter of John and Mary Gundlach. They had four children: Clark A., John K., and Harry H. The last named died in infancy. The others reside in Iowa. The mother of these children died dur- ing an epidemic of measles, on July 12, 1890. On June 9, 1891, Mr. Watson married Mrs. Almeda L. (Gardner) Burbank, of Loup City, Nebraska, for his second wife. She was the widow of Don C. Burbank, and a daughter of Louis D. and Mary A. (Warren) Gardner. Mrs. Watson's father was born in Medina County, Ohio, and her mother in Rock Island, Illinois. She had seven sisters and one brother: Clara, Minnie, Hattie, Abbie E., Etta, Mary and Marta, twins, and Harry, the three eldest dying in infancy.

Mrs. Watson was married first, December 29, 1885, at Verdon, Nebraska, to Don C. Burbank, who came to Nebraska from Benton Harbor, Michigan, and settled near Loup City, in 1882. He died of typhoid fever, on November 12, 1886, leaving one daughter, Donnie C, the wife of Ray Dubbs, a farmer in Cameron township. Hall County. Mr. and Mrs. Dubbs have three children : Raymond, Lewis and Inez. After Mr. Burbank's death, his widow returned to the home of her parents, where she resided until her marriage to Mr. Watson in the summer of 1891. They then took up their residence on the beautiful farm of Mr. Watson in Jackson township. After his death she remained on the farm looking after the healthful rearing of her children, until the spring of 1918, when she turned over the management of the place to her son Arthur Lloyd, and retired to Wood River, where she has a wide circle of friends.

To Mr. and Mrs. Watson four sons and one daughter were born : Lewis E., Arthur Lloyd, Roy, Orval and Elsa A. Lewis E. Watson was born June 5, 1892. He is a farmer near Arcadia, Nebraska. On October 6, 1915, he married Alice A. Cox, of Wood River, and they have three children. Arthur L. Watson was born October 25, 1893, and on March 6, 1918, was united in marriage to Nora C. Moore, of Shelton, Nebraska. They reside on the old Watson place in Jackson township. Roy Watson was born March 16. 1896, and after being graduated from the Wood River high school, went to work on the home farm. On December 3, 1917, he enlisted in the United States navy, at Omaha. After four months of seamanship training at Great Lakes, Illinois, he was sent to Philadelphia and assigned to the transport Corolla, sailing April 23, 1918, for Brest, France, where he yet remains on duty as a member of the naval military police. Orval Watson, who was born July 28, 1897, died October 17, 1897. Elsa A Watson, the only daughter, was bom December 2, 1898. She was educated in the public schools of Wood River and completed the high school course. On July 9, 1918, she was united in marriage to Owen Frederick, of Wood River, whose military record is well worth repeating.

Mr. Frederick enlisted for service in the World War, on June 14, 1918, at Grand Island, Nebraska. Being assigned to the department of automobile mechanics, he was sent to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he completed his course of training and on August 13, 1918, was transferred to Valparaiso, Indiana, where he had additional training for three weeks, being sent from there to Camp Purdue, and remained there two months attached to the Motor Transport Corps, holding the position of master truck driver. Six weeks in Camp Sheridan, Illinois, followed, where he was fitted out with his over-sea equipment. The sudden signing of the armistice interrupted further government transport plans, but on December 17, 1918, Mr. Frederick was transferred -to Fort Wingate, New Mexico. There he assisted in storing explosives shipped from eastern arsenals and continued this work until March 14, 1919, when he was transferred to Camp Eunston, Kansas, where, five days later, he was honorably discharged. Although he has had much in military training, Mr. Frederick is well prepared for civil life. He is engaged in Wood River as an expert automobile mechanic.

HILMER BENSON. - While men in any confidential relation with big business houses may attract attention through certain gifts or talents, it is the quiet, faithful, matter-of-fact, ever dependable man with the best interests of his firm at heart, who gives the greatest satisfaction during his useful life, and is most missed when death calls him away. For twenty-two years the late Hilmer Benson was a familiar figure at Wood River. Ever assiduous in the performance of his duties, trusted by everyone because of his honesty and uprightness, he had many personal as well as business friends.

Hilmer Benson was born in Odsmal, Sweden. April 18, 1860. His parents were Benjamin and Inger Johanna (Hermanson) Benson, who had four sons : Bernard, Elam, Hilmer and Anders. Hilmer Benson attended the public shcools in his native land until he was fiftteen years of age, when he entered his uncle's general store as a clerk, where he had thorough business training. In October, 1887, when twenty-seven years old. he came to the United States and after landing came west, stopping first at St. Paul, Nebraska. A few months later he removed to Palmer, Nebraska. He found employment as a clerk in Palmer and remained there until June, 1889, when he came to Wood River. In this pleasant little city he spent the remainder of his life. As a clerk he entered the employ of F. M. Penny and continued with him until Mr. Penny sold out to Mr. Brett, and remained with the new merchant until the close of his life, having a record of eighteen years of continuous service in the same business establishment. He was known to almost everyone and anxiety was felt when it was learned he was prostrated with an attack of pneumonia, which was the cause of his death on Febraury 7, 1911.

At Kearney, Nebraska, November 3, 1889, Mr. Benson married Miss Hildur M. Peterson, who was born in Jonkoping, Sweden, January 4, 1864. Her parents were Carl J. and Christiana M. (Lund) Peterson. Mrs. Benson was the second born of three children, the -others being: Sixtus and Bertha C. As young people, Mr. and Mrs. Benson had been warmly attached to each other in Sweden, and rather than have him leave his business and make the long journey to Sweden for their marriage, she decided to come alone to the United States and reached Wood River, Nebraska, September 28, 1889. Their marriage followed as already stated. Three sons were born to them: Charles Allan, Finer Hilmer and Curt Oscar. The eldest, Charles Allan Benson, was born at Wood River, November 5, 1890. He obtained his education in the Wood River public schools and then became a farmer. The subsequent history of his brave young life will be found, with his photograph, in the soldier section of this work. His death occurred while in the service of his country, October 7, 1918. Finer Hilmer Benson, the second son, was born in Wood River, November 12, 1891, and was graduated from the high school in this city in the class of 1911. In the following year he finished a course in Balls Business College, and is assistant cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Wood River. The third son, Curt Oscar Benson, was born in Wood River September 13, 1897. He was graduated from the Wood River high school in the class of 1915, and from the Creighton College of Pharmacy in the class of 1918. He is engaged with the Hoyes Pharmacy in Wood River. Mrs. Benson and sons are members of the Presbyterian church. She is an active worker in the Red Cross movement and her sons have been equally interested in forwarding every patriotic measure. No family in Wood River stands higher in public esteem.

WILLIAM V. RYAN, a farmer in Hall County for many years, has lived retired in Wood River since 1913, where he has a wide acquaintance and many friends. He was born in Jersey County, Illinois, June 25, 1856, the son of William and Catherine (Blaney) Ryan, both of sound old Irish stock, although his mother was born after her parents came to the United States and had settled in Pennsylvania. His father, William Ryan, was born in County Limerick, Ireland, being twenty years old when he came from his native land to America in 1848. In 1852 he married Catherine Blaney, at Jerseyville, Illionis, and of their family of six sons and two daughters, William V. Ryan was the firstborn.

William grew up on his father's farm in Jersey County, Illinois, and in boyhood attended the country schools. In answer to a question as to farm wages in his youth, he was led to recall an experience of his own, when he was paid $3 a day for binding wheat, following a dropper, and when the job continued for six days, he felt he had made a fortune. On February 4, 1880, Mr. Ryan married Miss Catherine Caveny, of Carlinville, Illinois. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1856, a daughter of Michael and Ann (Coan) Caveny, who came to the United States from Ireland but were married in New Jersey.

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan became the parents of the following children : Anna Laura, the wife of William Kearney, a farmer and stockraiser in Jackson township. Hall County, and they have eight children ; Mary Agnes, the wife of John Moore, who operates his own three-chair barber shop at Shelton, Nebraska; Thomas E., an expert barber, operates his own three-chair shop at Wood River; Fllen, the wife of William Moore, a farmer and stockman in Jackson township, is the mother of one son; John W., a prosperous and popular young farmer in Jackson township, owning a fine automobile ; James S., who is employed as a barber in a fifteen chair shop at Omaha, has been honorably discharged from military service and his photograph and record may be found in the soldier section of this work, and Joseph Francis, employed as a barber by his brother in Wood River. Mr. Ryan and his family belong to St. Mary's Catholic church. He has always been a Democrat politically.

CECIL S. SHERER, who belongs to one of the well known early families of south central Nebraska, may, any day, be found interested and busy with peaceful activities on his father's farm near Wood River, in