Richardson County, Nebraska - Biographical sketches, 1917 (part 4 of 19)

It was in 1916 that John Lichty became secretary of tlie Richardson County Farmers Mutual Fire and Lightning Insurance Company, succeeding his brother, the late Samuel Lichty, to that position. He had for years had an active interest in that company and since taking up his secretarial duties has been virtually office manager of the concern, one of the best-established local mutual insurance companies in the state. This company was organized in June, 1887. the late Samuel Lichty having been the practical promoter of the same and a leader in the movement that led to the general introduction of such companies in this state, for it was he who wrote the bill that was introduced in the Legislature by Representative Gerdes, then representative from this district, and the enactment of which paved the way for the organization of mutual insurance companies in Nebraska. Samuel Lichty also organized the Nebraska Mutual Insurance Company, which provides fire, lightning and cyclone insurance, the Richardson county company writing- its storm insurance, through its secretary, John Lichty, in this latter company. Later a company of retired farmers in Falls City and property owners there organized the Dwelling House Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Nebraska, for the purpose of insuring city dwellings, barns and private residences against loss by fire, and Mr. Lichty also writes insurance for this company, which has many patrons tliroughout the county. The Richardson count}' company, which was formally incorporated under the laws of the state in 1891, and which originally was backed by Samuel Lichty. I. \Y. Harris, George Abbott and George Watkins, began business with the aim of eventually writing one hundred thousand dollars in insurance, but that figure was passed within n few months and the company has now more than one thousand policy holders and has in force more than two milhon seven Inmdred and fiftv thousand dollars of insurance. It is an assessment company and the losses are so almost wholly negligible that in 1916 a levy of two mills covered all assessments against the policy holders. The present officers of the company are as follow: President. N. D. Auxier, of Salem; secretary, John Lichty: treasurer, Joshua Bloom, of "\'erdon, and directors, besides the above-named officers, John Ahern, of Shubert; Martin Nolte, of Falls City; S. H. Knisley, of Falls City; J. A. Hartman, of Rulo; Gus Duerfeldt, of Barada; R. R. Draper, of Dawson: John Hollecheck, of Humboldt, and F. E. Fwing. of \'erdon.

Axdrfw Tynan

During his long and active career in this county there were few men better known in this part of Nebraska than was the late Andrew" Tynan, veteran plainsman, "bull-whacker", pioneer merchant, farmer, stockman and politician, who died at his home in Stella in the summer of 1912, and there iiave l)een few liereabout whose names are held in better memory than his. A native of Ireland, he came to this country alone as a poor, ignorant boy of thirteen and by his own indomitable energy rose to a position of influence in the community in which he settled in pioneer days and attained a degree of financial competence that mtist JKne been beyond the wildest dreams of tlie inunigrant lad who left his natixe Kilkenny and faced the shores of the new country on this side the Atlantic back in the forties. Big, generous and whole-hearted in his operations, he did on a large scale what he had to do and was successful in his various undertakings, leaving a handsome estate to his family, and his widow, who is still living at Stella, very comfortably situated in the pleasant "evening time" of her life. Unable to acquire an education in his youth. Andrew Tynan took the time out of his busy life, after he was grown, to school himself in all the essentials of a commonschool education and there was no more ardent champion of the cause of good schools in Richardson count}- than was he. An equally ardent temperance advocate he was a tireless worker in the anti-liquor cause and the .saloon in Nel)rask-a had no more fearless opponent than he, his influence and activities in that behalf doing much for the cause of temperance in this part of the state. Generous to a fault, he was ever open-handed in his contributions to all worthy local causes and when solicited for subscriptions to charitable objects simply gave money outright, if the object appealed to his sense of fitness. Originally a Republican, Mr. Tynan later became a Democrat and for years was t)ne of the leaders of that party in this county and a familiar figure and a power in cbunty, district and state conventions. Though often importuned by his friends in the part}^ to accept nominations to office, he invariably declined to be so considered and was not an ofiice holder, believing that his influence in behalf of good government and better citizenship could better and more effectively be exerted from the ranks, and it is undoubted that he did exert a fine influence in the cause of right and justice in the community he had seen develop from pioneer days. A plainsman in the old days of the overland freighters, he became thoroughly familiar with conditions out here in the days of the old wagon trails and the open plain and there were few men of that old, interesting and picturesque group that were better or more widely known than he, so that at the time of his passing in the summer of 1972 there was sincere mourning in many a heart among the old settlers hereabout.

Andrew Tvnan was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, March 8, 1833. and he remained in liis native land until he was thirteen years of age, when, in 1846. he set out alone for this country, landing in due time a friendless lad at the port of New York. In that city and in a suburb thereof he remained for some little time, working at such jobs as his hand could find to do. until he hafl earned enough money to bring him out to the great ^^'est countrv of whicli he had heard so much and which his unerring instinct told him was the place in which to develop the talents he felt inherent within him, and he made his wav to Iowa, locating at Winterset, in Madison county, that state. In the vicinity of that place he found employment as a farm hand at a wage of twelve dollars a month and there remained for several years, managing out of his wages to save about one hundred dollars a year. He tlien, in the late fifties, came over into the then Territory of Nebraska and located at Xemaha, where he presently became engaged on a freighting crew and for some \ears thereafter \\-ns thus engaged, becoming one of the bestknown plainsmen on the old overland trails to Salt Lake, Denver, and New Mexico. As an associate of Francis Withee, the fainous plainsman and freighter, Mr. Tvnan had many excitiiig and interesting experiences and in after years his tales of those days never failed to gain the interested attention of the younger generation. After some years of this form of experience, Mr. Tvnan decided to settle down and with that end in view became engaged in the mercantile business at Peru, in association with E. ^V. Holly, and from the beginning of that undertaking was very successful and while living there was married in 1868. In the meantime he had invested in a tract of land in the precinct of Muddy, in this county, and when presently his life in the store became unbearably irksome for him - his old open life on the plains having spoiled him as an in-door man - he left the store and in 1875 settled permanently on [lis fami in this county, with which he had kept in touch for years and on which he had already seen to the making of many substantial improvements. Upon locating on the farm Mr. Tynan made other and more extensive improvements and it was not long until he had there one of the best-developed farms in Richardson county. He also engaged extensively in the raising of cattle and as his operations in this line increased added to his land holdings until he became the owner of seven hundred and twenty acres I if land and was accounted one of the well-to-do men of this section of the state, leaving, as noted above, a fine estate at the time of his death on June 5, 1912; his death occurring at his home in Stella, to which place he had moved at the time of his retirement from the farm in 1897.

Oil October 8, 1868, Andrew Tynan was united in marriage to Eleanor Jennie Richardson, who was torn in the state of Pennsylvania on April 9, ]846, daughter of' Samuel and Eleanor (Hastings) Richards, natives of that same state, and of old Colonial stock, of English and Irish descent, with a strain of German on the paternal side. Mrs. Richardson died in Pennsylvania in 1849, her daughter, Eleanor Jennie, then being but three years of age, and Mr. Richardson died in Indiana in 1858, the daughter, Eleanor Jennie, thus being left an orphan at the age of twelve. For awhile thereafter she lived with her maternal grandparents in Pennsylvania and later with her father's people in Indiana. The latter later came to Nebraska to pioneer it out liere and Eleanor Jennie Richardson was living here at the time of her marriage 10 Mr. Tvnan. To that union were born four children, namely: Eleanor, who married A. R. ^IcMulIen, a substantial farmer living east of Stella, and lias three children, Richard, Joseph and Philip: Rol^ert A., a well-known stockman of the precinct of Muddy, who married Delia Harden and has three children, Robert A., Jr., Catherine and Eugene; Bessie, who married William C. Parriot, of Lincoln, this state, and has two children, Dorothy and Tynan, and Fay, who married Dr. D. A. Hewitt, now of Ritzville, Washington, to which union 'two children were born, daughters both, Elizabeth and Eleanor, the latter of whom is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. McMullen also had another ciiild, now deceased, a daughter, ^Mildred. . Andrew Tynan was reared a Catholic and was a faithful adherent ni tliat faith, but was lil)eral in his religious views and ])ermitte(l his wife to direct the religious training of her children, who were thus brought up in the faith of the Methodist church. A[r. Tynan was a I^'reemason and took an active interest in the affairs of that ancient order. Mrs. Tynan is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Stella and has for years taken an active part in the work of the Missionary and Aid Societies of that church, as well as in the general good works of the community and was an able co-laborer with her husband in helping to promote ail proper agencies for the advancement of the general welfare of the community in which tlic\- began to take their part Iiack in pioneer days.

Charles H. Rickards

Charles H. Rickards, assessor of Richardson county, an honored veteran of the Civil War, an old plainsman with many an interesting tale to tell of the early days hereabout, a resident since 1871 of Falls City, where he formerly was engaged in the lumber business and who, in addition to his ser\-ice during the Civil War, spent three years in the government emplo}' in Cuba following the Spanish-American War, is a native of the old Buckeye state, but has been a resident of this part of the country ever since the completion of his service as a soldier at the close of the Civil War. He was born on a farm in Adams county, Ohio, September 6, 1845, son of Henry K. and Martha (Neil) Rickards, natives of Maryland, who settled in Adams county, Ohio, where the mother died in 185 1. The father later married again and in 1865 moved to LaSalle county, Illinois, where he settled on a farm and where he spent the remainder of his life.

Reared on a farm in Adams county, Ohio, Charles H. Rickards received his schooling there and was living there when the Civil War broke out. In July, 1862, he then lacking two months of being seventeen years of age, but being a strong, husky boy, he enlisted for service as a member of the Seventh Ohio Cavalry and served with that command until the close of the war, being mustered out on July 5, 1865, with a record of never having missed a day of service during all that three years of strenuous military activity; nor was he ever wounded or ill during that time. Mr. Rickards began his service with tlie \\'estern Army under General Thomas and under th;it command ])arlicipated in the 1)attle of Nashville after g'oing with Sherman til .\tlanta. \fter Citneral Lee's surrender he was appointed one of the detail of twelve suldiers that took the infamous Henry A\'irtz. superintendent of .\n(lcrsiin\ille iirisun. to DaltDU. where he paid mi the gallows the penalty for his excessive cruelty to the Union soldiers confined in the stockade at Andersonville under his administration. After the Atlanta campaign Mr. Rickards was sent with his command, still under (general Thomas, after Hood, following the latter 's army to the Mississippi and tinence, on the Wilson campaign, through Alabama and Georgia, to Macon, wlierc the commawt! was stationed when tlie war closed.

Upon the completion of his military service ^Iv. Rickards came west and took service as a teamster and a government wagon-master at Leavenworth and was tlnis engaged on the plains for three years, during which time he had numerous skirmishes with the Indians, on one occasion the redskins getting away \\itii one hundred mules that were under his charge. He then became associated with Creighton in the building of the Union Pacific railroad, transporting supplies, and was engaged in that capacity for two years, during' which time he also had consideralile trouljle with the Indians. He then became engaged with his lirother in bu}ing cattle in Texas and in 1871 located at Falls City, where he engaged in the lumber business and was thus engaged until 1885, when he sold his establishment to W. D. Easley. Upon the out- Iireak of the Spanish- American War, Mr. Rickards received an appointment ill tlie (|uarterniaster's department and for three years thereafter was stationed in Cuba, in go\-ernment employ. In ii)Oi he returned to Falls City and there was appointed manager of the local plant of the Chicago Lumber Company, but after awhile relinquished that position and became engaged in the realestate liusiness, which he is still following quite successfully. In the fall of 1916 Mr. Rickards was elected assessor of Richardson county and is nowserving in that important official capacity. ]\Ir. Rickards is an ardent Repul> lican and has ever given his earnest attention to local political affairs, long liaving lieen regarded as one of the leaders of his party in this county. He is an acti\e niemlier of the Porter Post No. 84, Grand Army of the Republic and has for years taken a prominent part in the affairs of that patriotic organization, b'ratcrnally. he is afiiliated with the Masons and the Knights of Pythia- and in the affairs of those Ijodies likewise takes a warm interest.

On May 7, 1S70, Charles H. Rickards was united in marriage at Carthage. Missouri, to Philena Ford, who was bom in Middleton, New York, daughter of b'llmer S. Ford and wife, and who died in November. 1890, at the age of forty-five years, leaving six children, namel\- ; Joseph Elmer, nowliving at Phoenix. Arizona; Merrill Ogden, of St. Louis, Missouri; IMaude Alice, wife of R. Wherry, of Kansas City, Missouri; Raymond L., of Cleveland, (^'lio; Israel (".., of Salt Lake City, and Charles H., of Denver, Colorado.

Marshall N. Hill

Marshall N. Hill, well-known and prosperous farmer and breeder of Shorthorn cattle, living in Porter township, this county, was born on December 28, 1861, at Ontario, Canada. He is the son of Elijah C. and Arcosh (Kallerstine) Hill, natives of Ontario, who settled in Richardson county in 1865, and who endured all the hardships of the pioneer period. Elijah C. and Arcosh Hill were the parents of twelve children, six of whom are deceased, the others being Roland, who lives at Greeley, this state; Reuben, J., of Porter township; Marshall N., the subject of this sketch; Elijah C, Jr.. further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work; Mrs. Martha Van Vleet, of Crete, this state, and Grant, who lives in Cameron, Montana. Li the sketch of the life of Elijah C. Hill, Jr., in this work, there is set forth in detail an interesting account of the life oi his father, Elijah C. Hill, Sr., from the date of his arrival in Nebraska in 1865 up to recently, and the reader is referred thereto, the life of the old pioneer being a veritable human document.

Marshall N. Hill, the subject of this sketch, was reared amidst pioneer conditions in Richardson county and was educated in the district schools of his neighborhood. When twenty-one years old he started out for himself and rented land frum iiis father and is now renting land from Carl Van Vleet, his nephew. x"\t the commencement of his activities he had a credit balance of three dollars and twenty-five cents in his cash account. When a boy he herded cattle on the prairie and in this way got his first start. He is now the owner of upwards of one thousand acres of land. He also iiiherited several acres of land. Mr. Hill improved a homestead farm in the state of Washington, which he sold out in 1907 and invested in six hundred and forty acres of land in Canada. In 191 7 he commenced the breeding of Shortliorn cattle and at present has some choice strains of that well-known breed. He has also a high-grade lot of Poland China hogs and on all his agricultural activities he brings sound experience and modern methods to bear.

On July 5, 1896, Marshall N. Hill was united in marriage to Mary Etta Prilliman, born at Andersonville, Indiana, the daughter of Peter Prilliman and wife, who lived in the state of Washington when she married Air. Hill. To Mr. and Mrs. Marshall N. Hill three children have been horn, namely: Curtis James, Ruth and Hazel, who are living at home with their parents. Other children died in infancy. In political affairs Mr. Hill vote* the independent ticket. He has never been a seeker after political office, preferring- lu devote his time and energies to his extensive land and stock interests. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fllows.

Mr. Hill relates an interesting incident of his boyhood days. He remembers that in the early morning of August 3, 1874, a terrific hail storm sprung up which destroyed eleven acres of corn his father had planted and which was about to tassle, but was all ruined by the hail. The hail came not alone in the ordinary form, but also in large pieces of ice. It cut through three thicknesses of shingles, broke out windows on the northeast of the house and killed a hog. In the course of its onward fury it pealed the bark from trees and broke down hedges. It extended over an area five miles in width and about eleven miles in length. I\Ir. Hill, though a boy at the time, has a vivid recollection of the ravages of the storm. A neighbor had been (Jut working when it came along and was badly injured about the head.

John Al. I'Aans, president of the Farmers State Bank of Shubert and one of the best-known and most progressive citizens of the northern part of Richardson count}-, is a native of the old Buckeye state, but has been a resident of Xebraska since 1885, in which year he came to this county and became engagetl as a school teacher. He later engaged in merchandising and not long afterward became engaged in the banking business and has ever since been thus engaged, a period of nearly a quarter of a century, during which time he has become hue of the best-knoivn bankers in this part of the state. He was bi^rn on a farm in Gallia county, Ohio, August 28, 1862, son of Evan L. and Elizabeth ( Rees) Evans, both of whom were born in that same county and who are now living at Shubert, in this county.

I'Aan L. l^'.vans was born on Noxember _:;, 1S40. on the same farm on which his son was born and is a son of Da\-id and l-'Uen ['".xans, who came lo this country from their native Wales in 1823 and bought land in Gallia county, Ohio, the patent for the I'A-ans land there bearing the signature of Andrew Jackson, then President of the United States. On that pioneer farm on which he was born l^an I. J-lvans grew to manhood and after his marriage established his home on the place, continuing to live there, his house being within one hundred yards of the 1-iouse in which he was born, until he and his wife came to this county in 1905, in order to be near their children, and have since n-iade their home at Shubert. Mrs. I-lvans also was boiti in

Gallia county, Ohio, in 1S42, in the neighborhood of the Evans home, a daughter of John and Ellen Rees, who came to this country from their native Wales and settled in Ohio in the early twenties. To Evan L. Evans and wife were born five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being as follow: Wellington L., assistant cashier of the Farmers State Bank at Shubert; Mrs. I. A. McDowell, of Hiawatha, Kansas; ]\Irs. A. S. Hartsook, of Gallia county, Ohio, and David L., who died in that count\- at the age of twenty-five years.

John M. Evans was reared on the home farm in Gallia county, Ohio, and completed his schooling in the old Rio Grande College in that county. He then taught school for a couple of years in his home county and in 1885 came to Nebraska, locating at Stella, and for two 3'ears thereafter was engaged in teaching school in this county, in the meantime becoming employed in the store of W. R. Wyatt at Stella. Seven years later he became engaged in business at Shubert as a member of the mercantile firm of Colglazier &- Evans, and two years later was made cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Shubert, a position he occupied for twenty-one years, or until his election on January i, 191 7, to the office of president of the bank, which responsible position he now occupies. In the meantime Mr. Evans had become a landowner and is still the owner of a half section of land in North Dakota. He recently sold his farm of one hundred and twent\- acres in tlie Shubert neighl^orhood. Politically, Mr. Evans is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but has not been an ofiice seeker. He is an active, energetic and progressive business man and in his capacity as a banker has done well his part in the development of Shubert during his many )ears of residence there. The Farmers State Bank of Shubert was organized in 1895 by Warren Hutchins, J. L. Slocum, J. R. Cain, I. W. Harris, Dr. J. A. W. Hull and J. M. Evans, with a capital of $12,500, which lias since been increased to $20,000. A recent statement of the bank's condition showed that it had a surplus of $8,000 and deposits to the amount of $240,000. The present oflficers of the bank are as follow: President, J. M. Evans: vice-president, J. R. Cain; cashier, G. S. Hutchins; assistant cashier, W. L. Evans, and the al:tove nfiicers and Warren Hutchins and L. L. Jones, directors.

Mr. Evans has 1)een twice married. In 1886, in Ohio, lie was united in marriage to Martha E. Norman, who died at her home in this county in 1893. On April 15, 1896, Mr. Evans married Godie R. Richardson, daughter of J. H. Richardson, a well-known and sul)stantial farmer who lives southeast of Shul)ert, in tlie precinct of Barada. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have a very pleasant home at Shubert and take a proper part in the general social activities of their home town. They are members of the Christian church and ^h. Evans is clerk of the same. He is a member of the local lodge of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Stella and takes a warm interest in Masonic affairs.

Levi L. Davis

By close application and able management Levi L. Davis, now living in retirement in his pleasant home in Humboldt, became one of the leading agriculturists of Richardson county, where he has long been rated as a good citizen in the best sense of the word. He was born on September 9, 1846, in Dekalb county, Illinois, and is a son of Albert and Martha (Robinson) Davis, both natives of Canada, where they spent their earlier- years and from there came to the States to establish their home, being among the early settlers in Dekalb county, Illinois, where they became well established through their industry.

Levi L. Davis was reared on a farm in his native county and state ajid there worked hard during the crop seasons. During the winter months he attended the common schools. He was married in Illinois on March 18, 1869. .The following year he came to Nebraska and settled on the farm owned by C. ^i. Hummel, located in Franklin precinct, Richardson county. His wife was known in her maidenhood as Jennet L. Sterns, and she was - born, Januar\ 19, 1847. ''i l^ekalb county, Illinois. Her death occurred at Humboldt, Nebraska, September 21, 1907.

\M-ien Levi L. Davis came to Richardson county his worldly possessions consisted only of four horses, a few household goods and five dollars in money. He \\ent to work earnestly and prospered with advancing years. Soon after t:d<ing up his residence here he bought one hundred and sixty acres, ior which he paid only ten dollars per acre, going in debt for most of it. The ]ilace had been but little improved, being only partly broken and onl\- a nulc log house stood on it: but Mr. Davis eventually had all the land under a hit^li state of cultivation. He weathered the grasshopper ^^ears without being seriouslx' damaged. Six \cars later, in 1876, he sold his first farm and i)ought three hundred and twent\- acres, buying quit-claim deeds. He later erected a large, commodious dwelling on this farm. He now has two farms of three hundred and twenty acres each in the home place, which is well improxed in every respect. He also owns two farms of one hundred and sixty acres each. He finally became one of the most extensive and most successful farmers in Richardson county, handling large numbers of live stock of all kinds from year to year. He remained on the farm until in July, 19 1 5, when, having accumulated a comfortable competency for his old age, he removed to a fine modernly-appointed home in Humboldt, in which town he is a stockholder in the Home State Bank, also a director in the same.

Politically, I\Ir. Davis is a Republican and has always been more or less active and influential in local public affairs. He has held various precinct offices, including that of treasurer of P'ranklin precinct.

The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis : Everett, who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska; Royal, in Waterman, Illinois; Ruby, at home; Hazel, the wife of R. D. Hicks and they live in Lincoln, Nebraska; Pearl, the wife of Frank Reynolds, of Simpson, province of Saskatchewan, Canada, anrl the)' have three children, namely: Lee, Lucille and Doris.

Mr. Davis is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accom-. plished unaided, having started out in a very unpromising environment but he forged ahead despite of obstacles.

Lacob C. Tanner

Jacob C. Tanner, former county clerk of Richardson county and one of the best-known and most progressive merchants in Falls was born in the city of St. Joseph, Missouri, but has been a resident of Falls City since he was fifteen years of age, having come over into this state with his parents from Missouri in 1884. He was born on March 30, 1869, son of Jacob J. and Caroline (Ruegge) Tanner, both of European birth, the former a native of Switzerland and the latter of Hanover, who became prominent residents of Falls City and the latter of whom is still living there.

Jacob J. Tanner, who died at his home in Falls City in 1906, was born at Schafhausen, in the republic of Switzerland. October 27, 1842, and when fourteen years of age. in 1856, left his native land and came to this country, locating at St. Joseph, Missouri, where he was engaged in the manufacture of wagons with the firm of Tanner Brothers and was there thus engaged when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted for service as a member of the First Regiment, Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, joining that command at Omaha, and in 1863 was advanced from the rank of a private to that of (55) corporal. Upon the completion of his military service he returned to St^ Joseph, where he resumed work at his trade as a carriage-maker and where he presently married, making his home there until 1877, when he moved to (lallatin, Missouri, where he became engaged as a contractor in railroad ties and a manufacturer and shipper of walnut lumber. In 1880 he transferred his mill to Hamilton, Missouri, where he was engaged in the same line until he had practically exhausted the avarlable timber in that belt, after which, in the fall of 1884, he moved to Falls City and there established a hardware store, which he conducted for a couple of years, or until 1886, when he sold that store and engaged in that city in the agricultural-implement business and was there thus engaged until his death in 1906. Mr. Tanner was a Republican and had served the public as a member of the city council and as a member of the board of supervisors. He was a Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His widow, Caroline (Ruegge) Tanner, who is still living at Falls City, was born in the kingdom of Hanover, December 25, 1847, ^"d was ten years of age when she came with her parents to this country, the family proceeding on out to Nebraska and settling in Richardson county, later moving to St. Joseph, Missouri, where she was living at the time of her marriage to Mr. Tanner. To that union seven children were born, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being as follow : Albert A., now a resident of Lincoln, this state ; Clara M., assistant postmistress at Falls City; William H., of Omaha; Walter W., who is clerking in his brother's hardware store at Falls City, and two daughters, who* died in infancy.

As noted above, Jacob C. Tanner was fourteen years of age when his parents located at Falls City. He had received schooling at St. Joseph, at Gallatin and at Hamilton and after his arrival at Falls City attended school there for a year. He then took a course in the Commercial Business College at St. Joseph and was engaged as a clerk in his father's hardware store at Falls City when his father sold the store to Crook & Company. Young Tanner continued as clerk and bookkeeper for the latter firm for twelve }'ears. In the meantime he had been giving his close personal attention to local politics and became recognized as one of the active young workers in the Repul> lican ranks. In 1901, as the nominee of that party, he was elected countv clerk and served in that capacity until 1905. In this latter year he was nominated by his party as the candidate for county treasurer, but was defeated, the campaign of that year going against the Republicans. In 1906 Mr. Tanner bought his present store and has since Ijeen engaged in the hardware busi- ness, also in the general plumbing and heating business, and has done very well, being recognized as one of the leading merchants of the city.

On October ii, 1898, Jacob C. Tanner was united in marriage to Sophia A. Lange who was born in this county on December 23, 1867, daughter of Fred Lange and wife, natives of Germany and early settlers at old Arago, in this county, and to this union has been born one child, a daughter, Helen E., Ijorn on July 19, 1902, now in high school. Mr. and Mrs. Tanner have a pleasant home at Falls City and take an interested part in the city's general social activities. Mr. Tanner is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias and of the Royal Arcanum, and in the affairs of these several organizations takes a warm interest.

Jess R. Harrah

Jess R. Harrah, former editor and proprietor of the Dazvson Reporter, one of the liveliest village newspapers in this part of the state, is a native son of Nebraska and has lived in this state all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in the neighboring county of Pawnee on F'ebruary 15, 1886, son of John and Neva A. (Smith) Harrah, natives, respectively, of Indiana and Illinois and both of Scotch-Irish descent, who are now living at DeRidder, in Beauregard parish, Louisiana.

John Harrah came to Nebraska in 1870 and was married in this state. Upon coming out here he homesteaded a tract of land on Turkey creek, in Johnson county, at a time when there were very few settlers in that part of the country, his house at that time being the only one between Tecumseh and the Otoe Indian reservation. He built up a good farm there and then sold it and moved to Pawnee county, where he built up another farm and sold the same to advantage and moved down into Kansas, where he remained about six years, at the end of which time he moved to Minnesota, where he remained until the fall of 1904, when he returned to Nebraska and located in Richardson county, remaining here until June i, 191 5, when he moved to Louisiana, where he and his wife are now living, as noted above.

Jess R. Harrah was nine years of age when his parents moved to Kansas and he was fifteen when they moved to Minnesota, he thus receiving his schooling in three states. When the family came to this county in 1904 he became engaged in farming, but later took up newspaper work at Burchard. over in Pawnee county, and presently bought the Burchard Times, which he pulilished for two years, at the end of which time he sold that paper and returned to Richardson county, locating at Dawson, and on December 15. 1914, bought the Dawson Reporter, which he recently sold. After taking possession of the Reporter Mr. Harrah made numerous important improvements in the paper and added quite materially to the equipment of his plant, having had one of the best-equipped village newspaper plants in this part of the state and published a very sprightly newspaper, the circulation of which liad l)een largely increased under his able editorial direction. 'Sir. Harrah also is a photographer of much skill and takes delight in the finished products of his camera. JMr. Harrah sold the Reporter on June 6, 1917. and is now engaged as a contractor and builder.

On June 7. 1906, Jess R. Harrah was united in marriage to Lena M. Gerber, of Hiawatha, Kansas, and to this union have been born four children, \Varren, \^ernon, Chauncey and Bernice \'iral. Mr. and Mrs. Harrah have a pleasant home at Dawson and take a proper interest in the general social and cultural activities of their home town and the community at large, helpful in many ways in promoting such movements as are designed to advance the common welfare.

Morgax H. A'Axdfa'Exter

The Hon. Morgan H. V'andeventer, former representative in the Legislature from this district, former member of the board of commissioners for Richardson county, one of the real pioneers of this section of Nebraska, an extensive landowner and one of the first settlers in the precinct of ]\Iuddy in the northern part of the county, a resident of the town of Stella since 1888 and formerly and for more than forty years actively engaged in the livestock l)usiness in this county, now living practically retired at his pleasant home in Stella, is a native of the old Hoosier state, a fact of which he never has ceased to be proud, but has been a resident of Nebraska since 1859 and is thus very properly entitled to be accounted as one of the real "old-timers" of this section. He was born on a pioneer farm in Carroll county, a little to the west of the north central section of Indiana, September 9, 1836, son of Christopher and Elizabeth (Baum) Vandeventer, of Dutch stock, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Ohio, who left Indiana in i860 and came to the then Territory of Nebraska, settling in this county, where their last days were spent.

Jiorgan H. Vanpea-Exter Richardson Countv, Nebraska

one years of age, in 1822, went to Indiana, where he married EHzahetli Baum and later settled on a farm in the vicinity of Delphi, in Carroll county, one of the early settlers of that county. There he and his wife reared their family, remaining there until the spring of i860, when they came out here and settled on a tract of land which their son, the subject of this sketch, had pre-empted the year before in this county and here they spent the remainder of their lives earnest pioneers of Richardson county. They were the parents i)f ten children, Isaac, George, Jonas, Morgan, Ira and Jane (twins), Margaret, Matilda, Reuben and John, all of whom save the two first named, the elder sons, came to Nebraska in i860. The first-named, Isaac Vandeventer, served as a soldier of the Union during the Civil War, a member of an Ohio regiment, and George and Jonas Vandeventer served as members of the Fifth Missouri in that struggle l^etween the states, the latter losing his life in the service.

Morgan H. \'antleventer was reared on a pioneer farm in Intliana and remained there until he was past twenty-two years of age, when, in the spring of 1859, by the general agreement of the family, he came West with a view to picking out a home place in the then new country. After a bit of prospecting he decided that this section of the then Territory of Nebraska ofl:'ered exceptional ad\'antages for settlement and he pre-empted a tract near Prairie Union in Muddy precinct, this county. He built a one-room cabin on the l)lace. a structure sixteen by eighteen feet in dimension, and made some other preparations there fur the coming of the family and then traded his gold watch to an Indian for a pony and rode back to Indiana, arriving safely at Delphi, where he was able to give a good account to the family of the progress of his mission out ^^'est. The family straightway began to make preparations for the long trip and in the spring of i860 drove through to this county and took possession of the place that had been made ready for them the summer before. At that time there were but five other families in Muddy precinct, the Ouinlans, the Hays and .\ndy Tynan on the Muddy and E. P. Pattison and the Stouts on Sardine creek. For the children of these families the first teacher was pioneer Cunningham, who conducted a school two or three months a year in that settlement for some little time. The \'andeventers settled down into their new home without much discomfort and soon were well estaiilished. the parents having had previous experience in pioneering in their younger days back in Indiana and were thus quite able to make the best of the situation. When the Civil War broke out the three elder sons of the family being away at the front, Morgan H. Vandeventer, the next son, became the practical mainstay of the pioneer home and had to stay at home to keep things going, but he aided in the organization of a company of Home Guards and received from Governor Nance a commission as an officer of that company. During this period of service it was his painful duty to drive over to Independence, Missouri, and bring back to this count)- the bodies of three of the boys who went out from this section and were killed in battle, these soldiers having been his brother Jonas, A. Ewing and George Randall, and the bodies of Jonas V'andeventer and George Randall were buried in Prairie Union cemetery, Ewing being buried in the orchard of the Ewing homestead. After his marriage in 1862 Morgan H. Vandeventer established his home on a farm near Prairie Union, he having in the meantime become-the owner of two farms in that vicinity, and there he lived until the spring of 1869, when he moved to the place he long afterward occupied, the northeast quarter of section 29. on Muddy creek, where in 1870 he erected the largest house in the precinct. That farm he improved in excellent shape and as he prospered in his operations added to his land holdings until he became the owner of four hundred and forty acres. Along in the middle se\enties Mr. Vandeventer became actively engaged in the live-stock business and it was not long until he was one of the best-known stockmen in this part of the state. For more than forty years, or up to the time of his retirement from general business affairs in the spring of 1916, he continued engaged in the live-stock business and for seven years of that time operated in association with Ben Morgan at Salem. In the summer of 1888 Mr. V^andeventer left the farm and moved to Stella, where he engaged in the mercantile business in partnership with J. H. Overman and was for seven years thus engaged, in addition to looking after his other interests. Mr. Vandeventer is a liepublican and for three years (1870-72) served as a meml:)er of the board of county commissioners from his district and as chairman of the Ijoard signed all the bonds issue<l by this county as a bonus for the building of the old Burlington & Missouri Ri\er railroad through this county. In 1890 he was elected representative in the Legislature from this district and served with distinction in the House during the session of 1891. Mr. Vandeventer is a member of the Christian church and for fifteen years or more has been serving as an elder in the same. F"or more than forty-two years he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is the bearer of one of that order's medals issued tt> members who have been identified with the order for more than forty years. He first became a memlier of the lodge at Salem and when a lodge was raised at Stella he transferred his memljership to the latter. This latter lodge was presentl\- merged with the lodge at Falls City, but after awhile had its charter restored and Mr. Vandeventer has since been affiliated with the Stella lodge, for many years one of the most active members of the same, as he is one of the most venerable. Despite the fact that he is now in the eighty-first year of his age, Mr. Vandeventer retains much of his aforetime vigor of mind and body and continues to take a warm interest in current affairs.

Mr. \'andeventer has been twice married. In January, 1862, about two years after coming to this county as a permanent settler, he was united in marriage to Sarah Jane Brown, who also was born in Indiana, a step-daughter of John S. Hughes, one of the pioneers of this section, and to that union four children were born. John Albert, who is now living at Longmont, Colorado; Burl J., who is now a resident of Jewell county, Kansas, and Walter J., born on September 17, 1866, who is now the owner of two hundred acres of land in this county and is also cultivating the old home farm in section 29, and Charles, who died at the age of seven months. On December 24, 1886, Walter J. Vandeventer was united in marriage to Keturah Mason, a daughter of T. J. Mason. Mrs. Sarah Jane Vandeventer died in December, 1890, and on December 12. 1891, Mr. Vandeventer married Miss Lois R. Lynn, who was born in Illinois, a daughter of Seaman Lynn and who died on January 26. 191 5.

Peter M. Gergens

One of the most up-to-date farmers of Franklin .precinct. Richardson county, is Peter M. Gergens. who was born in Ross county, Ohio, December 26. 1861. He is a son of Jacob and Appalonia (Frick) Gergens. The father was born in Germany, but when about five years old his parents brought him to America, the family locating in Ohio in 1834. There he spent his boyhood and finally came West, in 1864, locating in Nemaha county, Nebraska, where he remained about fifteen years: then located in Richardson county, in 1879, near \^erdon, engaging in general fanning there until he retired from active life, moving to the village of Humboldt, where his death occurred in 1905, at the age of seventy-six years. His widow siu'- vived until 191 2, dying at the age of seventy-four years. To these parents thirteen children were born, three of whom are now deceased.

Peter M. Gergens was about three years old when his parents brought him to Nebraska and here he grew to manhood and attended the public schools, remaining at home until he was twenty-two years old, when he started in life for himself as a farmer by renting land. He bought his present excellent farm in section 23, in Franklin precinct, on September 6, 1895. The place consists of three hundred and forty acres. It had only a small house and barn on it when he took possession. He went to work with a will and has by his perseverance and close application developed one of the Ijest improved and most productive farms in his locality. He has built a modern twelve-roomed dwelling, around which he has set out a large number of valuable trees, orchard and shade. He has made a specialty of handling large numbers of grade stock from year and year, and no small portion of his annual income has been derived from this source.

Air. Gergens was married on February 9, 1888, to Anna Reynolds, who was born in Bureau county, Illinois. She is a daughter of Isaac and Martha (Lockard) Reynolds, who removed from Illinois to Nebraska in 1882 and now live at Humboldt, Richardson county.

Three children have been born lo Mr. and Mrs. Gergens. namely: Florence, the wife of John Iliff, and they live on a farm near Humboldt; Raymond, married February 14, 1917, to \'era Treaster. and lives on a farm in Porter precinct, and Warren, who is the youngest.

Politically, Mr. Gergens is a Democrat and has long been more or less active in public affairs. He is now serving on the school board of his district, having been a director of the same for a period of eighteen years. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern AVoodmen of America. He and Mrs. Gergens belong to the Methodist Episcopal church.

The late Jacob Majerus, who at the time of iiis death at his home in Falls City in the spring of 1914, was accounted one of the most substantial landowners and retired farmers of Richardson county, was of European birth, but had been a resident of this country since 1868, in which >ear he came to Nebraska and became a pioneer of the Rulo neighborhood, later moving to Falls City, where his la.st days were spent.

Jacob Majerus was born in the grand duchy of Luxemburg on June 5, 1840, and there grew to manhood. In 1868 he came to the United States and came on out to the then new state of Nebraska and located in this county. He bought a farm in the vicinit}- of Rulo, over in the eastern part of the countv. and after his marriage two vears later estaljlislied his home there.

Six \ears later lie bought a half section of land in that same neighborhood and on that latter place lived for twenty-two years, or until 1898, when he retired from the farm and he and his wife moved to Falls City, w-here the latter is still living. Mr. Majerus l^ecame a \ery successful farmer and as he prospered added to his holdings until he became the owner of nine hundred acres of land, a part of which lay in the adjoining counties of Brown and Nemaha, over the line in Kansas, besides his home place in Falls City, which carried with it three acres and nine lots in the eastern part of the city. ]\[r. Majerus was a Democrat and was a member of the Catholic church, as is his widow, and their children were reared in that faith. Jacob Alajerus died on April 28, 1914.

On ^[arch 31, 1870, Jacob Majerus was united in marriage to Elizabeth W'ilker, who was born at Buffalo, New York, December 11. 1851. daughter of \\'illiam and Agnes (Sanders) Wilker, both of whom were of European liirth. born in the kingdom of Prussia, but who were not married until after their arri\al in this country, their marriage taking place in Buffalo, New ^'ork. where thev remained for some time, later moving to Delphos, Ohio, where tHe}- made their home until 1865, in which year they came out to the then Territory of Nebra.ska and settled on a farm in the timber, in the neighborhood of Rulo, this count)-. The farm that \Villiam Wilker bought there was partlx- improved and had on it a log cabin in which he established his himie, the family living in that humble abode until he presently was able to erect a more comfortable house. William Wilker died at Rulo in 1888 and his widow survived him for more than fifteen years, her death occurring in 1904. Elizaljeth Wilker was about fourteen years of age when she came w ith her parents from Ohio to this county and was living here when she married ^Ir. Majerus. To that union twelve children were born, namely : Magdalina, who died at the age of five years: John Joseph, who died in infancy; Margaret, who married John E. Tangney and is now deceased; Mary, wife of John E. Sullivan, a real estate dealer and stockman at Effingham, Kansas; .Vnna, who died at the age of seven months: John J., a farmer, living two miles east of b'alls C\t\ ; Theodore, a farmer, living near Rulo ; Henry, who is farming the old home place near Rulo: Jacob, who was drowned while swimming in the ]\[uddy river in 1908: Helen, wife of John C. Mullen, a well-known lawyer at Falls City: Mrs. Anna Krieger, living on a farm east of Falls Citv, and Catherine, wife of Elmer Niery. now living in California. Mrs. :\Iajerus also has an adopted daughter, Christina, daughter of her deceased daughter, Margaret, and who is now a Sister in the convent of ^ft. St. Scholasticas at .\tchison, Kansas.

John Wiltse

The Hon. John Wiltse, judge of the county court for Richardson county and one of the best-known lawyers in this part of the state, former mayor of Falls City and a substantial landowner and stock raiser of this county, is a native son of Richardson county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in Jefferson precinct on January 2, 1876, son of Jerome and Mary L. (Wahl) Wiltse, natives of New York state and pioneer settlers in Richardson county, the former of whom is still living, a resident of Falls City since his retirement from the active labors of the farm and a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume, together with something of a genealogical character relating to the Wiltse family in this country. Jerome \\'iltse and his wife were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom are still living and further reference to whom is made in the sketch relating to their father.

Judge Wiltse is a twin, his twin brother, James Wiltse, now a resident of Lincoln, where he is engaged in the real-estate business. The judge received excellent training for his judicial position, having been for some years prior to his elevation to the bench a practicing attorney at Falls City. Reared on the home farm, he su])plemented the course in the district school in the neighborhood of his home b\- a course in the Falls City high school and then began teaching school, to which useful calling seven of his brothers and one sister also applied themselves in the early days of their successful careers. For ten years he taught in the schools of Richardson county, meantime continuing his labors on the farm during the summer seasons, and during all that period gave much of his leisure time to tiie'study of the law, completing his studies under the preceptorship of Clarence Gillespie. He was admitted to the bar in 1904 and opened an office for the practice of his profession at Falls City, the county seat, where he ever since has been located. In iQii he was elected city clerk of Falls City and in 1913 was elected mayor of the city. To this latter office he was re-elected, resigning the office to enter upon the duties of judge of the court following his election to that important office in 19 15. During Judge Wiltse's incumbency in the mayor's office many important public improvements were carried to completion in Falls City, including the considerable extension of pavements and the installation of tlie street lighting and sewer system, which was completed during his term. Judge Wiltse is the owner of more than three hundred acres of land in this county and is extensively engaged in the live-stock business in association with his brother. Clarence C. Wiltse. The judge is a Republican ant! has for year? taken an active part in the political affairs of the county, long- having been looked upon as one of the leaders of his party in this county.

On May 15, 1904. Judge Wiltse was united in marriage to Elsie M. Peck, who was bom in the precinct of Ohio, this CQunty, May 23, 1879, a daughter of George \V. and Sarah (Maust) Peck, natives of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, who came to this county in 1869 and the latter of whom is still living, now a resident of Falls City. For five or six years prior to her marriage Mrs. Wiltse was engaged as a teacher in the schools of this county. The judge and his wife have four children, namel\- : Lawrence G., born on February 21. 1905: John H., September 6, 1906; Homer G., February 27, 1909. and Virgil J., June 27, 1912. Judge and Mrs. Wiltse are members ©f the Methodist church and the judge is a member of tlie board of stewards of the same. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is vice-grand of the same.

Dr. John M. Greene, of Falls City, one of the best-known physicians and surgeons in this part of the state, is a native son of Nebraska, but was reared in the state of New York and did not return to his native state until some years after he had begun the practice of his profession. He was born on a pioneer homestead farm in Saunders county. September 9, 1874, son ot Isaac and Emma J. (Kilner) Greene, pioneers of that section, v.ho later returned to their native state of New York and there spent their last days.

Isaac Greene, an honored veteran of the Civil War, was of old Colonial stock, a descendant of General Greene of Revolutionary fame. He was born and reared in New York state and was living there when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted for service as a member of Company B, Fourteenth New York Artillery, and with that command went to the front, ser\'ing from the spring of 1863 until the close of the war, and was present at Lee's surrender at .Appomattox. During this period of service he was a participant in c^ne of the most hazardous and destructive cliarges of the entire war, his regiment having been a part of the command that was flung into the deadly "crater"' at the battle of Petersburg and he was one of the twenty men that escapetl alive from that terrir)le cauldron of death. He was captured by the enemy, but soon afterward succeeded in effecting an escape. His lirother. Tiiomas

Greene, ilied in the service just before the fall of Petersburg. Mr. Greene saw mucli actix e service along; the Potomac and in the Virginia campaign and came out <it tlie war a seasoned veteran. Upon the compleiion of his military service lie returned to his home in New York, where he presently married and shortly afterward came to Nebraska and took a homestead farm in Saunders county and there established his home, but the grasshopper visitation in that section during the year 1873 so discouraged him that he presently gave up his homestead there and moved over into Butler county and entered on a quarter section, the present site of David Git}', which he not long afterward sold and then returned to New York, settling at ^ledina, where he engaged in the manufacture of parlor furniture and was thus engaged until his retirement from business at the age of fifty-nine years. His wife died there in Januar}-, 1895, at the age of forty-seven years, and he survived until in January, 19 15, he being sixty-eight years of age at the time of his death.

Having been but a child when his parents returned from Nebraska to New York, Doctor Greene received his early schooling in the schools of Medina, in the latter state, supplementing the same by a course in the preparatory academy in connection with Cornell University and in the normal school at Brockport, New York, and then entered the medical department of the University (if New York, from which he was graduated in 1898. Thus admirabl) equipped for the practice of his profession. Doctor Greene opened an office at ]\Iedina, New York, and was there engaged in practice for a year, at the end of which time he returned to his native state of Nebraska and opened an office at Plattsmouth, where he remained for three \ears and during which time he took a post-graduate course in the medical department of the Uni\ersit>- of Louisville. He then moved to Manley, Nebraska, where he remained a couple of years, at the end of which time, in the spring of 1906. he moved to Salem, this county, wdiere he remained until his removal to Falls City in 1908. In the meantime, in 1904, Doctor Greene had taken a second pnst-graduate course, specializing in surgery at the New York Polyclinic. He also has on numerous occasions taken special study at Mayo Institute and has become widely recognized as one of the leading surgeons in this part of the state. The Doctor has handsomely appointed offices in the Richardson County Bank building and keeps constantly abreast of the wonderful modern advancement that is being made in his profession. In 1914 he was apjjointed city physician and served for two years.

On Ndvember 10, 1904, Dr. John M. Greene was united in marriage at Plait'^miiutb. this state, to Dorotbv ^^'ehrbein, of that citv, daughter of Will- iam Wehrbein and wife, the former of whom died in 1896. and to this union had been born one child, a daughter, Eleanor, born in [906. The Doctor and Airs. Greene are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take a proper interest in church work. They have a very pleasant home at Falls City and have ever taken an interested part in the general social and cultural activities of their home town, helpful in promoting all good causes. Doctor Greene is a Knight Templar and a Royal Arch Mason, generalissimo of the local commandery and high priest of the local chapter, has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for more than twenty-one years and ill the affairs of these orders takes a warm interest.

Victor G. Lyford

Victor G. Lyford, one of the leading merchants and business men of Falls City and president of the board of- regents of the Nebraska State University, is a native of the state of Illinois, but has been a resident of this state since 1891 and of Falls City since 1899, when he engaged in the mercantile business in that city and has ever since been thus engaged, now the proprietor of the largest store of its kind in Richardson county. He was born at Neponset, in Bureau county, Illinois, August 16, 1859, son of Joseph and Josephine ( Hinman ) Lyford, the former a native of the state of New Hampshire and the latter of Illinois, who were the parents of eight children, five of whom are still living. The mother of these children, who was born in Groveland, Illinois, in 1836, died in 1870 and the father afterward married again and to that union six children were born, five of whom are still living. Joseph Lyford was born at Canterbury, New Hampshire, November 31, 1828, son of Joseph and Caroline (Dow) Lyford, and was about eight years of age when his parents came West and settled in Illinois. There he was reared on a farm and later engaged in the mercantile business at Neponset, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1900, he then being seventytwo years of age. The Lyfords are an old Colonial family, the first of the name in this country having been an Episcopal clergyman, who came from England in 1627 and settled in New England, where the family is still widely represented.

Reared at Neponset, Victor G. Lyford was made familiar with the details of the mercantile business from his boyhood, the foundation for his successful career having- been laid in his father's store when a boy. Upon com- pletiiig the course in the schools of his home town he entered the Methodist College at Abingdon. Illinois, and after his graduation from that institution studied law in Chicago and in 1883 was admitted to the bar. In that same year he came to Nebraska and for a few months thereafter was engaged in the practice of law with A. R. Talbot at Lincoln, luit finding the law not t<i his liking presently returned to his old home town in Illinois, where he engaged in the mercantile business, operating a general store, and where he remained for six years, at the end of which time he disposed of his interests there and returned to Nebraska and started a store at Humphrey, up in Platte county, where he remained for eight years, or until 1899. when he sold out there and moved to Falls City, where he opened a general merchandise store with a ten-thousand-dollar stock of goods and where he ever since has been successfully engaged in business, now having the largest store in the dry goods, women's ready-to-wear line, carpets and groceries line in the county. Upon locating at Falls City Mr. I.\ford rented a store room fifty by one hundred feet, on Stone street and there remained until 1901, when he moved into his present commodious quarters, where "he carries well-stocked lines in the four departments represented in his store. In addition to his extensive mercantile interests ^Ir. Lyford has given close attention to the general business affairs of his home town and is president of the Leo Cider and \"inegar Company of Falls City. He is a Republican and has given earnest attention to local political affairs, has served as a memljer of the local .school toard and is president of the board of regents of the Nebraska State University.

On September 24. 1885, during his residence in Illinois, Victor G. Lyford was united in marriage to Florence N. Willits, who was lx)rn at New Boston. Illinois, a daughter of William and Mary (Alyea) Willits, natives of Indiana and both of whom are now deceased, and to this union six children have been born, namely : Mabel, who married Fred M. Brown, of Lewiston. Montana, and has two sons, Lyford and Philip: Grace, who married F. M. Graham, of Buffalo, ^^'yoming, and has two sons, Robert and Frederick; Gertrude, who marrietl Lloyd Shaffer, of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Helen, wife of Richard P. Dittmar. of Hannibal. Missouri, and Constance and Florence, who are now students of the Nebraska State L'niversity. The Lyfords have a very pleasant home in Falls City. Mr. Lyford having bought and remodeled along modern lines his present hhndsome residence at a cost of eight thousand dollars, and have ever taken an interested part in the general social activities of their home town. Mr. and Mrs. Lyford are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Lyford is president of the board of trustees of the same. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America and in the affairs of these several organizations takes a warm interest.

Reuben Harshbarger

Reuben Harshbarger. well-known breeder of thoroughbred, registered Shorthorn cattle, owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 5 and one hundred and twenty acres in section 6, all in Porter precinct, this county, was born on November 26, 1858, in Stephenson county, Illinois. He is the son of William and Sarah (Cauble) Harshbarger, natives of Pennsylvania, descended from Pennsylvania-German stock, and Avho were early settlers in the state of Illinois. They came to Nebraska-in 1871 and located on section 7, Porter precinct, Richardson county, and establishe<l themselves on a farm, which they improved' and developed, andhere they engaged in farming for the rest of their lives. William Harshbarger died on his farm in i8c)i, at the age of seventy-eight; his wife died in 1892, at the age of eightythree. William Harshbarger and wife were the parents of nine children, namelv : Samuel, John, Simon. Frank and Margaret, all deceased ; Henry, who lives in "Porter precinct; Ira, living in Humboldt; Reuben, the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Lizzie (Ray) Sites, of PIumlx)ldt.

Reuben Harshbarger began doing for himself at the age of nineteen. He ciMiimenced by renting land at the low figure of fift}- cents an acre on the land known as the John Rausch farm, in 1876. He also rented land for one-fifth of the crop; he was renting in all for a jjeriod of four years. In 1880 he made his first purchase of land in Porter precinct, at sixteen dollars an acre, working the tract for four years. He then sold out and spent the next four years in Kansas. In 1889 he bought one hundred acres in section 6, Porter precinct, at thirty-five dollars an acre. His next purchase of one hundred acres was also in section 6, for which he paid sixty dollars an acre, and his final purchase consisted of eighty acres, part of the present home place, paying eighty dollars an acre for the tract. This land is now held to be worth one hundred and .seventy-five dollars an acre, at least. Following his settlement in 1889 on section 6, Mr. Harshbarger. with commendable enterprise, carried out substantial improvements on the holding. He has lived on the farm in section 5 since 1910, and on this farm also he has incurred considerable expense in laying out improvements. In addition to his labors on the farm, Mr. Harshbarger has, since 1905, been engaged in breeding thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle, holding private and annual sales, the desire to obtain some of his choice strains being keen amongst buyers and top prices are usually paid him. x\t the present time he has fifty registered cattle of highest quality and since the beginning he has been successful along that line.

On January 14, 1879, Reuben Harshbarger was united in marriage to Clara Metz, who was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, on July 10, 1858, a daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Andrews) Metz, natives of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania-German stock. They were early settlers in Illinois and came to Nebraska in the spring of 1876 and settled on the farm which Mr. Harshbarger now owns. Thomas Metz died in 1886 at the age of seventy-six years and his wife, who survived him for several years, died in igoi, at the age of eighty-one years. To ^Ir. and Mrs. Harshbarger two children have been born, namely: Verna, who married Roy Trimmer, of Porter precinct, and they are the parents of three children, Herbert, who died at the age of three years; Cecil and Dale; and Jesse L., living on the old home place, who married Ethel Williams and has two children living, Gladys Evelyn and Forrest, and one, Joseph Reuben, who died at the age of two years.

Mr. Harshbarger is a supporter of the Democratic party, but has never been a seeker after public office, preferring to devote his time to his agricultural interests. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen and of the Woodmen of the World.

John Ahern

One of the progressive agriculturists and honored citizens of Richardson county of a past generation, was the late John Ahern, whose sterling Celtic blood made him a man of man}' commendable personal traits. He was born on August 17, 1836, in Limerick, Ireland, and when eight years old his mother brought him to the United States, the voyage across the Atlantic in an old-fashioned sailing vessel requiring many weeks. They first located in Albany, New York, where he grew to manhood and attended school. Leaving there he came to Galesburg, Illinois, where he was married in 1858 to Ellen Donovan, who was born on November 25, 1835, and her death occurred at Shubert, Nebraska, June 13, 19 12.

Mr. And Mrs. John Ahern

During the Civil War Mr. Ahem was employed in a hay press at Galesburg, later removing to Elmwood, Illinois, where he remained until 1866, when he came to Richardson county, Nebraska, buying a farm in East Muddy precinct, one mile south of Shubert, and, by close application and persistent effort he developed a good farm and established a comfortable home. By good management he prospered with advancing years and added several other good farms to his holdings, at one time owning seven hundred and ten acres of valuable land in this county, also fifteen hundred acres in North Dakota. He engaged in general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale, becoming one of the leading general agriculturists in Richardson county. He was a man of rare executive ability and foresight, and, being a close observer and a wide miscellaneous reader he kept fully abreast of the times in scientihc farming and stock raising. Before his death he deeded his lands to his children, giving each an excellent start in life. He was a splendid example of a successful self-made man, for he came to Nebraska a poor man, and by his own honest and industrious efforts forged to the front, accumulating a handsome competency, in fact, was one of the wealthiest men of his county. He endured the usual hardships and privations of pioneer life on the frontier and after the first year here would have sold his home farm for two dollars and fifty cents per acre and moved to a new country, but Mrs. Ahern discouraged such a course, prevaiHng upon him to remain here, believing in the future development of the country. It was her desire to rear her sons in the country, far removed from the disagreeable influences of cities and towns.

To John Ahern and wife the following children were born: Charles, deceased; John, living in Barada precinct; Alfred, Thomas, Mary Ellen and Bessie, all on the home place; William, farming near Shubert, Nebraska; Edward and Walter, both on the home place. They all own valuable farms in Richardson county. Alfred is a fruit grower, owning a fine eighty-acre orchard of well-selected fruit. He is owner of the well-known A. G. Shubert fruit farm. These children were all given good educational advantages.

Politically, Mr. Ahern was a Democrat, but was never especially active in public affairs, nor a seeker after political office. He belonged to the (^atholic church and assisted in building St. Ann's church. His death occurred on November 6, 1913, at the age of seventy-seven years, after a long, useful and honorable life of which his descendants may well be proud. All of the .\hern children were liberal contributors to the Red Cross fund, and Alfred Ahern invested in Liberty bonds, thus showing their love of country.

Jason Tlmerman

Jason Timerman, a former member of the board of county commissioners for Richardson county and one of the best-known and most substantial farmers of the precinct of Porter, now Hving retired. in the pleasant village of Stella, is a native of the great Empire state, but has long been a "Westerner" since he was three years of age and a resident of Nebraska since he was twenty, having come to this county with his parents in 1869, the family .becoming pioneers of the precinct of West JMuddy. He was born in Jefferson county, New York, March 7, 1849, son of Jacob and Rosina (Flanders) Timerman, who emigrated with their family from that state to Illinois in 1852 and who remained in the latter state until 1869, when they came out to Nebraska and settled on a quarter-section farm in the precinct of West Muddy, in this county, where they spent the remainder of their lives, Mrs. Timerman dying seven years later, her death occurring on May 12, 1876, and Mr. Timerman surviving until January 4, 1900, he being seventy-nine years of age at the time of his -death. Jacob Timerman and wife were the parents of thirteen children, of whom the subject of this sketch was sixth in order of birth, the others being as follow : John, a veteran of the Cixil War. who is now living at Neodesha, Kansas ; Mrs. Amy Bartlett, deceased, who was the wife of a Civil War veteran; Amos, who enlisted for service as a soldier of the Union during the Civil War and was killed in the battle of Atlanta, Georgia; Romaine, who also was a soldier of the Union during the Civil War, now deceased; Sydney, another veteran of the Civil War, now a resident of North Platte, this state; Nelson, who is engaged in the hardware business at Verdon, this county; Mrs. Ellen Shuck, deceased; Mrs. Emma Shuck, of Guide Rock, this state; Frank W., who is living on the old home place in the precinct of West Muddy; Mrs. Hattie West, who died at Guid? Rock: Lydia, who died in infancy, and Carrie, wife of J. E. Gilbert, of Stella.

.As noted above, Jonas Timerman was but little more than a babe when his parents moved from New York state to Illinois and in the latter state he grew to manhood. During the progress of the Civil ^^'ar he attempted several times to enlist and get to the front to join his four elder brothers and his brother-in-law, and in this patriotic endeavor had the sanction of his father, who was glad to have sons to serv-e in so noble a cause, but his youth was against him, he having been but si.^een years of age when the war closed and his pleas to enter the service were invariably rejected by the recruiting officers. When the family came to this county in 1869 Jason Timerman entered upon the task of helping to improve and develop the home place, his father having bought an unimproved farm in West Muddy, and presently bought an "eighty" in the neighboring precinct of Porter, going in debt for the same, and after his marriage in the following summer (1880), established his home on that eighty, he and his wife beginning their housekeeping in very humble style in a little house fourteen by twenty feet in dimensions. He gradually paid off the debt on that place and ten years later bought an adjoining "eighty", which he also improved and developed in fine shape and it was not long until he had there a splendid farm, well improved and highly cultivated and one of the most comfortable homes in that part of the county, his quarter section long having been recognized as one of the best farms in that neighborhood. There Mr. Timerman continued to live, actively engaged in farming and stock raising, until 1905, when he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Stella, where he has since made his home and where he and his wife are very comfortably situated. Mr. Timerman is a Republican and has held township and county offices, having for some time served as assessor of his home precinct, for one term as a member of the board of county commissioners from his district and for twelve years as a member of the school board. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran church and he is a member of the local lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, to which he has belonged for more than thirty-two years and which for seven years he served as financier.

On August 15, 1880, Jason Timerman was united in marriage to Frances Otto, who was born in Germany on January 23, 1855, and who was but a babe in arms when her parents, Henry and Anna (Lambert) Otto, in that same year, came to this country and settled in Outagamie county, Wisconsin, where they remained until the spring of 1866, when they came to Nebraska and settled in. the precinct of Muddy, in this county. There Mrs. Otto died in the fall of 1876. In 1880 Mr. Otto went to Kansas, where he spent his last days, his death occurring there in 1884. To Mr. and Mrs. Timerman one child has been born, a son, Ona H., who was born on October 8, 1881, and who died on May 8, 1906, at Los Angeles, leaving a widow, who is now living at Orange, California. Ona H. Timerman was a graduate of the L'niversity of Nebraska and was for some time an instructor in the university, the youngest instructor on the staff of three hundred in that institxition. He later was elected county surveyor of Richardson county, the youngest person ever elected to that office in this county. Declining health forced him to seek a change in the climate of Los Angeles and he died in that city, mourned by hosts of warm friends in this county and in other parts of Nebraska.

Michael Riley

Michael Riley is one of four brothers extensively engaged in farming and cattle raising in Richardson county. He is the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of choice land in sections ii, 14 and 22, Grant precinct, where he farms on a large scale and raises an excellent strain of the wellknown Polled Angus cattle. He is the son of pioneer parents, Michael and Mary (O'Brien) Riley, and was born on September 14, 1863, in West Muddy precinct, this county.

His parents, Michael and Mary Riley, came from New Jersey, where the)- were married in 1853, to Nebraska, coming on to Rulo, this county, in 1859. They made the trip by ox-team from Rulo to a point within three miles of Verdon and there Michael Riley secured one hundred and sixty acres of land. He bought a small house which he moved on to his claim and here he and his family and his brother-in-law, Thomas Farrell, and the family of the latter made their home together. At the end of a couple of weeks his little house was uprooted by a tornado and they immediatelv set to work to reconstruct it, getting additional lumber for the purpose. With two yoke of oxen Michael Riley commenced the task of breaking his land and soon had it in a state of cultivation. He sold this holding in 1864 and. bought one hundred and twenty acres near Dawson, where he lived until 1884, at which time he bought a tract of land northeast of Dawson, where Michael Riley now lives, and there spent the rest of his life. Michael and Mary Riley were the parents of seven children, namely: Daniel, of Grant precinct; James, who died in Omaha in 1907; William, living on the old home place in Grant precinct: Bernard, the first of the family born in this county, lives in Dawson: Michael, the subject of this sketch; Mary, who married M. J. Clancy, of Dawson, and Annie, who died in 1871. The elder Michael Riley was born in 1826 and came to this country in 1847; his wife was born in 1830 and came to America in 185 1. They were natives of County Tipperar}'-, Ireland, and were married in this country. They were members of the Catholic church.

Michael Riley was educated in the district schools of his neighborhood, after which he helped his father on the farm. He was twenty years old when his father died and he then took charge of the home place. Ten years later his mother died and he then bought out the other heirs to the one hundred and sixty acres of the home place, and here he has since been engaged in general farming and cattle raising, now being the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land. In 1914 he built a modern house, equipped with steam heat, gas lights and hot water, at a cost of six thousand dollars, and here he and his family are comfortably situated. In 1907 he built a cattle barn and carried out other valuable improvements. In 1905 he commenced breeding Aberdeen Polled Angus cattle and in this line, as in his farming, he has met with much success, his Aberdeen cattle fetching good prices on the market. Hard work and thrift have been large factors in his success.

On November 29, 1899, Michael Riley was married to Ellen Fenton, who was born on March 25, 1870, at Norwich, Connecticut, the daughter of Jeremiah and Katherine (Calnan) Fenton. To Mr. and Mrs. Riley four children have been born, as follow: Mary, born on August 10, 1902, who is at home; Joseph and Paul, who are deceased, and Michael J., born on October 20, 1908. Mr. Riley and his family are members of the Catholic church and he is a member of the Knights of Columbus.

The Hon. Joseph C. Yutzy, of Falls City, doctor of dental surgery, now retired from active practice of his profession, a pioneer of his profession in southeastern Nebraska, an honored veteran of the Civil War, former representative in the Legislature from this district, former mayor of Falls City, formerly and for twenty years a member of the school board in that city and in other ways identified with the civic and general affairs of this community since his arrival here back in the seventies, is a native of the old Keystone state, but has been a resident of Nebraska for the past forty years and has therefore been a witness to and a participant in the development of this region since pioneer days. He was born on a farm in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1843, son of Daniel and Magdalena (Brennaman) Yutzy, natives of Germany, whose last days were spent in that county.

Daniel Yutzy was born in 1802 and was reared in his native land, and remained there until he was twenty-one years of age, when, in 1823, he came to the United States, working his way over as a sailor, the passage requiring eleven weeks, and settled in Pennsylvania, where he began work helping to dig the old Pennsylvania canal at a wage of fifty cents a day. He eventuallv settled in Somerset county, where he married and established his home on a farm, becoming a substantial and well-to-do farmer and a man of influence of his community. He was twice married. His first wife, Anna Brennaman, a native of Germany, who had come to this country with her parents when a girl, the family settling in Pennsylvania, bore him six children, three sons and three daughters, Mary, Catherine and Enoch, deceased; Samuel, a resident of Pennsylvania and of Florida; Joel, who continues to live near the old homestead, and Anna, wife of Jonas J. Beachey, living near Grantsville, Maryland. The mother of these children died and Daniel Yutzy then married his deceased wife's sister, Magdalena Brennaman, who was born in 1816 and who was but six years of age when her family came to this country, and to that union also were born six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being as follow: Jeremiah, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Lydia, deceased; Mrs. Barbara Beall, of Sandpatch, Pennsylvania, and Dr. Simon M. Yutzy, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a former instructor in the medical department of the University of Michigan at that place. The mother of these children died in 1863, at the age of forty-seven years. The father survived until 1882, he being eighty years of age at the time of his death.

Joseph C. Yutzy grew up on the home farm in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, a valued aid in the work of improving and developing the same, and was living there when the Civil War broke out. On August i, 1862, he then being nineteen years of age, he enlisted for service in Company C. Fifty- fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and with that command went to the front and remained in the service until mustered out at the close of the war. He participated in the battle of Gettysburg and at the battle of New Market, Virginia, May 15, 1864, was seriously wounded, being shot through the right arm and the left leg. and while thus disabled was taken prisoner by the enemy. In the July following, his wounds then being far from healed, he was transferred to Libby Prison and thence, after a while, to Belle Island and thence, in the fall, to Salisbury Prison, where he remained, still suffering terribly, until his exchange on February 22. 1865. Upon his exchange he was taken to Wilmington, North Carolina, and thence by transport to Annapolis, where he was given a berth in the barracks and where he was cleaned up, trimmed up and made well again and given proper clothing. He was then given a thirty-day furlough and arrived home on March 18, 1865. There he suffered a relapse, due to his weakened condition, as a consequence of the terrible suffering he had undergone, and for a time it was thought he could not recover. His furlough was extended for thirty days and while he was thus laid up his regiment was captured by the enemy and held prisoners until the surrender of Lee not long afterward. He presently joined his regiment at Annapolis and there received his honorable discharge, the command being mustered out of the service at that point. Upon the completion of his military service he relumed home and resumed his studies in school, later beginning to teach school, and was thus engaged for two years, spending his summer vacations in the study of dentistry under the preceptorship of Dr. W. C. Hicks, at Myersdale, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1867 he married and settled down to the practice of his profession at Myersdale.

For twelve years Doctor Yutzy remained in practice at Myersdale and then, in 1878, he came West looking for a likely place to locate in this then new country. Among the places he investigated was Falls City and so well pleased was he with the outlook here that he decided to remain, a decision he never has had cause to regret. Upon taking this decision the Doctor returned East for his family and without loss of time established his home in Falls City, continuing there in active practice until a stroke of paralysis on November 26, 191 5, compelled his retirement. Doctor Yutzy built up an extensive practice, having been one of the real pioneers in his profession in this part of the state and is widely known throughout this whole section. The Doctor is a RepubHcan of the "standpat" type and from the very beginning of his residence in this county took an active part in local civic affairs. He represented this county in the Nebraska state Legislature for two terms, served one term as mayor of Falls City and for twenty years was a member of the local school board, in all his service in behalf of the public giving of the best that was in him for the common good.

Doctor Yutzy has been twice married. It was in October, 1867, in Pennsylvania, that he was united in marriage to Sarah E. Beane, to which union seven children were born, namely: Charles, a skilled musician, who is now operating a moving-picture theater at Lebanon, Indiana ; Grace, wife of D. D. Reavis, of Falls City; Henry Clay, who is engaged in the railroad service at Albert Lea, Minnesota ; Anna Dickinson, who died at the age of six years ; Elizabeth, who also died at the age of six: Nellie, wife of Frank Uhlig, a farmer of this county, and Philena, wife of Frank R. Wilson, of Washington, D. C. The mother of these children died in 1886 and on May 24. 1888, Doctor Yutzy married Mrs. Kate (Quinn) Boyle, widow of Basil Boyle and the mother of three sons, Langdon E. Boyle, now a resident of San Francisco, California; Basil T. Boyle, of St. Louis, a traveling salesman, and Walter S. Boyle, of Memphis, Tennessee. Mrs. Yutzy was born at Leavenworth, Kansas, a daughter of Andrew and Maria Quinn, natives of Ireland and early settlers at Leavenworth. Doctor and Mrs. Yutzy have a pleasant home at 1609 Lane street. Falls City, and have ever taken a proper part in the general social and cultural activities of their home town. The Doctor is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, in the affairs of which patriotic organization he ever has taken a warm interest and is past commander of the local post, having been the first commander of the same. He became an Odd Fellow back in Pennsylvania in 1871 and is past grand marshal of the grand lodge of that order in this state, having been a representative to the grand lodge from his local lodge for ten years. He also is a Mason and a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and in the affairs of all these organizations took a warm interest and still continues that interest, though now unable to continue the active participation in the affairs of the organizations that he delighted in during his years of physical activity.

Tames M. Wheeler

The late James M. Wheeler, of Shul^ert, who for many years was one of Richardson county's best-known pioneer farmers, an honored veteran of the Civil War, former treasurer of the precinct of Barada and former mayor of Shubert, who died in the fall of 1903 while returning home from the national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic at San Francisco,, was a native of the great Empire state, but had been a Westerner from the days of his childhood, his parents having moved to Wisconsin when he was about five years of age, and had been a resident of Nebraska and of Richardson county since 1866, having settled here in the spring following his discharge from the army in the fall of 1865. fTc was born in the state of Xew York on September i, 1839. son of Cargill and Abigail (^.^'ebste^) Wheeler, natives of that same state and representatives of old colonial families, who came West in 1845 and settled in Wisconsin, where they spent the remainder of their lives, influential pioneer residents of Greene county, that state.