Richardson County, Nebraska - Biographical sketches, 1917 (part 9 of 19)

Reared at Beatrice, Clifford F. Phillips completed the course in the high school there and then took a course of collegiate work at the University of Nebraska in preparation for the further study of law and thus equipped by preliminary study, entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated in 1914. Upon receiving his degree Mr. Phillips returned to Beatrice and was there engaged in the law office of Hazlett & Jack, acquiring practical experience m the practice of his profession, until in May, 1915, when he located at Falls City and there opened an office for the practice of his profession, practicing alone there until in January, 1916, when he formed his present partnership with Frank A. Hebenstreit, under the firm name of Phillips & Hebenstreit, which firm is enjoying a constantly increasing practice, both young men having distinctly "made good" during their comparatively brief residence in that city. Mr. Phillips is a Republican and his activities in behalf of the interests of that party provided so effectual a recommendation to the leaders of the party in this county that he was made secretary of the Republican county central committee and is still serving in tliat capacity. From the very beginning of his residence in Falls City he demonstrated his capacity for active service as a "live wire" and in May, 1916, he was elected secretary of the Falls City Boosters' Club and has since done excellent service in behalf of the promotion of the city's interests along all lines.

On March 26, 191 5, Clififord F. Phillips was united in marriage to Kathryn Justesen, of Council Blufifs, daughter of Peter Justesen and wife, of that city, and to this union has been born one child, a daughter, Ellen Jane. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are members of the Presbyterian church and take a proper part in church work and in the general good works of the city, as well as in the social and cultural activities of the community, helpful in promoting all worthy causes hereabout. Mr. PhiUips is a Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in the afifairs of these two popular fraternal orders takes an active interest.

William C. Norton

Under the able management of William C. Norton, the Humboldt Standard is wielding a potent influence for the general good of the people of Richardson county, for he is a man of progressive ideas and unquestioned public spirit.

Mr. Norton was born, December 21, 1869, at Evansville, Wisconsin. He is a son of John T. and Delphine (McMillan) Norton, natives of New York state, where they spent their earlier years, later moving to Wisconsin, and in 1874 came to Richardson county, Nebraska. The father devoted his active life to the grain and live-stock business, in which he was successful. His death occurred on September 26, 1916, at the age of eighty years. His wife died on November 7, 1907, at the age of fifty-eight years. Three children were born to John T. Norton and wife, namely: Charles M., who lives in Humboldt; William C, the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Laura M. Campbell, who resides at Hastings, Nebraska.

William C. Norton was educated in the common schools and in the Humboldt high school. When thirteen years of age he began learning the printer's trade in the office of the Standard and has since been connected with that paper, with the exception of twelve years, when he was employed in city printing offices. He returned to Humboldt in December, 1908, and took charge of the Standard, which he has improved in various ways, brightening it up from a mechanical standpoint and increasing its circulation. The

Standard is well edited and its columns set forth each week the best of the local and general news. It is recognized as a valuable advertising medium.

On ;May 3, 1896, ]\Ir. Norton was married to Sue IM. Willis, of Humboldt, a daughter of S. P. Willis, who is now a resident of Colorado. To Mr. and Airs. Norton two children have been born, Harry K., born on November 2, 1897, ^"^ Delphine, October 12, 1901.

Mr. Norton is a Democrat and is active in the support of his party. He has served as city clerk of Humboldt. Fraternally, he belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of .\merica and the .\ncient Order of United ^^'orkmen. He belongs to the Presliyterian church.

John Harden Coons

Among the successful farmers and stockmen of Porter precinct, this county, is John H. Coons, owner of the east half of section 28, that precinct, containing three hundred and' twenty acres of prime land. He was born on March 11, i860, in Sangamon county, Illinois, and is the son of Benjamin Thomas and Hannah E. (Smith) Coons, both of whom were twice married.

Benjamin T. Coons, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Morgan county, Illinois, on April 11, 1826, and died on December 15, 1916. He was the son of Martin Coons, a native of Lexington, Kentucky, who in an early day became a settler of the state of Illinois. Benjamin T. Coons came to Richardson county in 1869 and in the following year bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of and near Stella, Muddy precinct, paying for the same two thousand one hundred dollars. He farmed on this land for the rest of his active life until he retired about 1892. He was generally recognized as a successful farmer and stockman. In addition to his work on the farm, he was also interested in the cause of education and served on the township school board for several years. He was a member of the Baptist church and a liberal subscriber to its upkeep.

Benjamin T. Coons was married twice. His first wife was Martha Smith, and to that union two children were born, namely : Mrs. Alargaret Thompson, deceased, and Mrs. Nancy Creed, who lives in Humboldt, this state. By his marriage to Hannah E. Smith, sister of his first wife, he became the father of nine children as follow : William, who lives in \\'ebster county, this state; John H., Mrs. Mary Dawson, also living in Webster; Mrs. Laura Creed, living in Humboldt, this state; Louise, also living in

Humboldt; Charles, deceased; George H., in Frankfort, Kansas; Mrs. Pearl Jones, deceased, and one that died in infancy. By her former marriage to Dow RobiiKon two children were born, James H., living in ^^'ebster, Nebraska, and a girl who died when young. Dow Robinson was a native of Illinois; his parents were born in Kentucky. Mrs. Hannah (Smith) Coon's parents, James Smith and wife, were natives of Morgan county, Illinois, and came to Pawnee county, Nebraska, about 1S82 and lived there for the remainder of their lives.

John H. Coons was nine years old when his parents came to this state. He attended the Hays district school and later assisted his father on the farm; he also worked one year for M. E. Quinlan, an old settler. In 1882 he started doing for himself by renting land, working in this way up to T884, when he went into the livery business at Stella. He then, from 1886 to 1892, rented land in Nemaha county, and in 1892 he bought his present farm, which was the homestead of a Mr. Smith, from Hagerstown, Maryland, later owned by Alex Coleman. At the time Mr. Coons bought the land from Fredrick ]\Iarquette, some improvements had been efifected on it. Since it has come into Mr. Coons' possession he has made further extensive improvements and has set out a large grove of trees, which adds considerably to the general appearance of the place. In addition to his farming activities he is also engaged in breeding and feeding of live stock, and in this line, as in his general farming, he has met with a large measure of success.

On March 9, 1886, John H. Coons was united in marriage to Llevellyn Rosenberger, a daughter of Absalom and Elizabeth (Smith) Rosenberger, natives of \^'est Virginia and Illinois, resijectively, who were early settlers of the state of Iowa and who came to Richardson county in 1884, both dying at a later date while living with Mr. Coons. Absalom Rosenberger was born in December, 1826, and died in 1890. His wife was born in 1830 and died in 1907. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Coons no children have been born, but they have adopted two children, namely : William JNI. Rife, a sketch of whom appears in another part of this work, and Arlo H., now a private in Company A, Fourth Nebraska Infantry Regiment, enlisted for service in the great war.

;\lr. Coons has always given loyal support to the Democratic party, but on certain occasions he is an independent voter. He has served his township as road overseer for the past six years and in other ways served his township and county. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church. He is a member of the Farmers Union and is president of the Dawson district of that organization.

Jacob S. Heim

Another member of the Heim family who is a prominent farmer of Richardson county, is Jacob S. Heim, owner of one hundred and sixty acres of fine farming land in the northeast quarter of section 8, Grant precinct. He is a native of the Keystone state, having been born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, on July i6, 1866. He is a son of John J. and Rosina (^Heim) Heim, and has been a resident of this part of Nebraska since he was sixteen years old.

John J. Heim, also a native of Pennsylvania, was born on July 2, 1847, "1 Lycoming county, that state. He continued to live there for thirtyfive years, at the end of which time, in 1882, he came to Grant precinct, Richardson county, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he at once proceeded to cultivate. As time went on he prospered in his farming operations and later added to his land holdings. He owned the place on which his son, Jacob S.. now lives, and he is now living retired on the Israel L. Heim place; his wife, who is somewhat older than he is, also li\es on the same place. To John J. Heim and wife the following children were born : Elizabeth, who married Samuel Heim, of Grant precinct, this county; Jacob S., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Anna Stoltz, who lixes in I'orter precinct; ^Irs. Mary Stratton, who lives in Brownville, this state: Israel L., of Grant precinct, on the old Heim homestead; ^^'ilIiam, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and Lucy, wlio married \\\ Draper, Manila, Iowa.

As stated above, Jacob S. Heim was sixteen years old when he came with his parents to this county in 1882. I''or a period of five years he attended the Dawson district schools and on leaving school he worked for his father on the farm for several years, or up to the time of his marriage. He then moved to his present farm of one hundred and si.xty acres, which he Ijought from his father. On this land he has made manv valuable improvements and in 1914 built a modern house at a cost of fiftyfive hundred dollars, and which is one of the most substantial residences in Grant precinct. It is equipped with furnace, hot and cold water, gas lights and other features that go to make up a comfortable home. In 1907 he erected a substantially built barn, thirty-two by thirty-eight feet, and in other ways has kept abreast of re(|uirements making for efficiency in his farming operations.

Heim, who was born in L3'Coming county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Jacob G. and Regenia (Gross) Heim, further mention of whom is to be found in a sketch relating to Joseph G. Heim, of Dawson, which appears in another part of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob S. Heim are the parents of two children, namely, Verna, who was graduated from Dawson high school in 191 3 and now living with her parents, and Elma, who attends the district school.

Mr. and Mrs. Heim and their children are members of the United Evangelical church and are earnest attendants on its services. Mr. Heim' is a warm supporter of the Republican party and is now serving on district No. 92 school lx)ard. and has been treasurer of the same since 1901, his interest in educational affairs being generally recognized throughout the county.

Bernard Riley

One of the oldest native-born residents of Richardson county is Bernard Riley, who, after a successful and very active career as a general farmer is now living in retirement in Dawson. He was born, April 12, 1861, in West Muddy precinct, this county, laeing the first white child born in that precinct that is now living in Richardson county. He is of Celtic descent, and a son of IMichael and Mary (O'Brien) Riley. Michael Riley was born in Ireland in 1826, but left his native land when a young man, crossed the Atlantic in an old-fashioned sailing vessel in 1847 ^"d took up farming in the state of New Jersey. In 1859 he penetrated to the interior of our continent, locating in Richardson county, Nebraska, having made the long trip to St. Louis on the railroad, and from there by steamboat up the Missouri river to Rulo, Nebraska, from which ])lace he drove out to the land on which he located in West ^luddy precinct, buying one hundred and sixty acres for which he paid eight hundred dollars. He set to work in usual pioneer fashion, built a log cabin and turned the wild prairie sod with a team of oxen and soon had crops growing. His nearest market was Brownville. This was still the domain of the Indians, but they never molested him, the "Jayhawkers" giving him far more trouble than the red men. -Later in life he recalled man}- interesting incidents of that primitive period here. He took one of his first crops of wheat to Brownville, for which he received two dollars and fifty cents per bushel, and with the proceeds bought his first high-wheeled wagon, for which he paid one hundred and ten dollars. Once, during the winter following the close of the Civil War he drove a number of fat hogs, in company with his neighbors, who also took along their porkers, a 'distance of twenty-five miles to Aspinwall, Crawford county, Iowa. A severe snow storm overtook them while on the way and the hogs began piling up and the men had hard work saving their swine. The blizzard was so severe that large fires had to be built to keep the drovers from freezing. Michael Riley became a successful farmer, owning a good farm two and one-half miles northeast of Dawson, where he died in 1886. His wife, Mary O'Brien, was born in Ireland in 1830. She worked hard helping her husband get a start in the new country and for some time she kept a boarding house, feeding the graders who worked on the Burlington railroad when it was being built through this county and later fed the train crews. Her death occurred in 1894. Both these parents were members of the Catholic church. They helped organize one of the school districts in Grant precinct, where they settled after the close of the Civil War. Their family consisted of seven children, namely : Daniel, who lives on the old homestead in Grant precinct ; James is deceased: \\'illiam lives in Grant township; Bernard, of this sketch; Michael lives in Grant township: Mrs, Mary Clancy lives at Dawson, this county, and Anna, who died in infancy.

Bernard Riley grew up on the home farm, and, like all pioneer boys, found plenty of hard work to do. He attended the early-dav district schools, then studied at the St. Benedict College, Atchison, Kansas. He and his brothers remained on the old farm for a number of years. In 1890 he began working in the flouring-mill at Dawson, and later was manager of the mill for a period of seven years. He then went to western Nebraska and operated a cattle ranch in Duel county. After selling out there he went to Cherry county, this state, and continued in the ranching business for eight years, after which he returned to Dawson, where his family had remained during his absence in the western part of the state. He owns a valuable and wellimproved farm of four hundred and eighty acres near Dawson, eighty acres in ^^'ashington county, Kan.sas. and one hundred and sixty acres in Canada. He managed w ell and has made a pronounced success as a farmer and stockman. He built bis present attractive home in Dawson in 1906. It is of brick veneer and contains seven rooms and stands on a hill in the east part of town. It has all modern improvements. Mr. Riley is a shareholder in the local electric light and telephone companies.

.Mr. Riley was married in August, 1901, to Mary Riley, a daughter of Daniel :md Kllen ( Rvan) Rilev, both natives of Ireland, from which countrv they came to America in tlieir earlier career and located in Richardson count\-. Their daughter. Alary, was born in .September, 1869. in Grant township, where she grew to womanhood and was educated, her parents owning a good farm a mile east of Dawson. Her father is deceased, but her mother, aged seventy-eight years, is living with Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Riley, of this review. Three children have been born to Bernard Riley and w-ife, namely: Michael, Ellen and Mary, all at home.

Samuel Book Bobst

Richardson county bears the prideful distinction of having within its borders and claiming as one of its best-known and most honored citizens the oldest continuous resident of the great state of Nebraska. When, at the annual meeting of pioneers of Nebraska held at Lincoln on January 10 and II, 191 7, the large cake which is usually prepared as an award of honor to the state's oldest surviving pioneer was presented to Samuel Book Bobst, of Humboldt, there was general rejoicing throughout this county and Mr. Bobst was made the recipient of the unanimous congratulations of this whole community, for the honor that had come to him was well merited. Not only is Mr. Bobst the premier pioneer of Nebraska, but his father was the first judge of Richardson county and was the first postmaster m the region now comprised within the bounds of this county, he having "kept" the postoffice at Pleasant A^aliey on the old trail, back in the middle fifties, during the time of the very beginning of a social order out here on the then frontier of civilization.

Samuel Book Bobst, a well-known and well-to-do building contractor at Humboldt, an honored veteran of the Civil War and from the days of his boyhood actively identified with the interests of this state, is a native son of the old Buckeye state, but has been a resident of Nebraska since he was ten }ears of age, having come here with his parents in the year in which the vast territory theretofore known as the Indian country became formally recognized by the government as Nebraska Territory, extending from Texas on the south to Canada on the north and to the Rockies on the west. He was born on Alarch 28, 1B44, at Rushville, in Fairfield county, Ohio, son of Christian and Sarah (Book) Bobst, natives, respectively, of the state of Pennsyl- vania and of the state of Maryland, who had located at Rushville. where Christian Bobst engaged in the mercantile business and also became a farmer and landowner. In January, 1854, Christian T^obst disposed of his interests in Ohio and determined to establish a home out here in the then Indian country. The trip with his family was long and toilsome, but was finally accomphshed and the pioneer "pitched his tent" in a favored section in the southwest corner of what later came to be organized as Richardson county, on the Pawnee county line, and there established his home. He pre-empted a tract of land, paying for the same one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre, and put up a log cabin on the same and there installed his family. That old pioneer log caljin, which occupies a spot just over the line in Pawnee county. is still staniling and remains an object of much interest to the present generation. Nebraska Territory was set apart by the government in that year and Christian Bobst was appointed first judge of the district and was also appointed postmaster, the postoffice established in his little log cabin being given the pleasing name of Pleasant ^'alley. The first election held in this district and over which Judge Bobst presided, was held at Archer and there were but nineteen votes cast at the same. The Indians still were numerous hereabout at that time, Ixit wefe friendly and displayed no inclination to give the settlers trouble. St. Joseph was the nearest market in those days and the chief subsistence of the pioneers was cornmeal and game, of which latter there, happily, was no end, and Mr. Bobst still recollects the great sport he had hunting out here in the days of his boyhood, when game, of a wide variety was so common that his youthful prowess with a gun was easily rewarded. Judge Bobst was just beginning to see his way clear to the development of a fine piece of property on his pioneer farm when death brought his labors to a close in 1859, five years after his arrival here. He left his widow with three children in her care, the subject of this sketch then having had a brother, Robert, who was killed at Blue River, Missouri, during the Civil War, while serving as a member of the Second Colorado Regiment, and a sister, Martha, who married William Emigh and is now deceased, Mr. Bobst now being the sole survivor of the twelve children born to his parents.

As noted above, Samuel B. Bobst was ten years of age when he came out here from Ohio with his parents and he has been a resident of Nebraska ever since, now the dean of the pioneers of this state. - He had begun his schooling back in Ohio and when a school presently was established in tlie neighborhood of his home, upon the coming of other settlers to that section, he entered that school. A week later, however, the pioneer school house was (lestroved bv fire, and that ended the "term." He later entered Professor

^rclvinse}"* school at Pawnee City, but when the Civil War broke out he lost interest in schooling and on November i. 1862. he then being but eighteen years of age, he enlisted for service as a member of Company G, Second Nebraska Cavalry, and with that command went to the front, continuing with the same until his discharge on December 14, 1863, his term^of enlistment being at an end. He straightway re-enlisted as a member of Company G, Sixteenth Kansas Cavalry, and with that command served until the close of the war, the greater part of that service having been scout duty in Kansas. Missouri and Arkansas and in the campaigns directed against Price and Ouantrell. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Bobst returned home and resumed his place on the farm, at the same time turning his attenti(Mi to carpenter work and in 1872 entered the employ of the Atchison & Nebraska railroad and was engaged in building depots and section. houses along the line o{ that road until the line was taken over by the Burlington. In 1873 he married and settled at Firth, on the line between Gage and Lancaster counties, where he became engaged as a Iniilding contractor and there remained for about six years, or until 1878, when he moved over to Sterling, in Johnsun county, and was there further engaged in contracting until 1881, when he came back to his home county and located at Humboldt, where he ever since has been very successfully engaged in the general building and contracting line, one of the best-known building contractors in Richardson county, ^fr. Bobst is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to political affairs, 1nit has not been a seeker after public office. He is a past commander of William Mix Post No. 66, Grand Army of the Republic, and has for years taken an active part in the affairs of that patriotic organization. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the local lodges of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United A\orkmen and takes a warm interest in the aft'airs of these organizations.

It was on December 7, 1873, that Samuel Book Bobst was united in marriage to Susan Plummer, who was l)orn at Piqua, Ohio, May 10, 1858, daughter of James and Maria ( Judkins) Plummer, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of western Virginia. Mrs. Plummer died in 1869 and the next year, 1870, James Plummer and his four daughters, Susan, Emma, Luella and Fannie, came to Nebraska and settled near Firth. Emma Plummer married David F. Stewart and is now deceased. Luella Plummer married Charles Ross and is now living at Goodland, Kansas, and Fannie Plummer married Charles Feldcamp and is now living at Chicago. Mr. and

Mrs. Bobst have one child, a son, William E., born on September 21, 1876. William E. Bobst, a traveling salesman, now living at Spencer, Iowa, married Amber Silverstoff and has one child, a daughter, Jnanita, now nine years of age.

William Steele Power

Tiie name of William Steele Power, one of the leading agriculturists and stockmen of Richardson county, needs no introduction to the readers of this history, for his long and useful life record in Richardson county speaks for itself. He was born on March 12, 1842, near New Bloomfield, Perry county, Pennsyhania. He is a son of John and Sarah (Steele) Power. The mother was a sister of Joseph Steele, a pioneer of Falls City, whose grandson, Robert Steele, lives on the old Steele home place near Falls City. John and Sarah Power were natives of Pennsylvania. He was born in 1802 and died in 1862; she was born in 181 1 and died in 1882. Mr. Power, of this sketch, is of Scotch Presbyterian stock. To John Power and wife eight children were born, an equal number of sons and daughters, namely: Mrs. Harriet Bailey, living in Spokane, Washington; William S., of this sketch ; John and Chester, living in Humboldt, Nebraska; Charles, who died at Humboldt in 191 1, and his widow is living on the home farm near there.

William S. Power grew to manhood in his native state and attended the common schools and the old Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, being a classmate of Mrs. Martha Weaver, of Falls City. He remained in the East until 1870, when he made his first trip to Falls City, Nebraska, spending two years there, during which time he helped haul lumber from Brow n- \-ilIe for the Steele dwelling. In February, 1864, he enlisted in the Union army for service in the Civil War, ajid served until in August, 1865, in the signal corps, having been assigned to the department of West Virginia. He was in many dangerous positions and performed his duties very faithfully and ably. He carried messages to General Sheridan at the battle of Winchester, where Sheridan made his famous ride and turned defeat into victory, which ride has been immortalized by the poem of Thomas Buchanan Read. Mr. Power also served under Sheridan at the battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, also at New Market and Piedmont, also at Hunter's Raid at Lynchburg. He was also with the army in its raid throughout the Shenandoah \'alley.

the old home place for a period of fourteen years, being at the head of the family. In 1880 he came to Nebraska again and settled on the farm he now owns in Humboldt precinct, which consists of two hundred and forty acres. He has a productive and highly improved farm, one of the most desirable in the precinct. His large attractive home was built on a commanding height, overlooking the beautiful Nemaha Valley. He also owns a good farm in western Nebraska. For two years after he purchased this farm he lived in the old Hull House, erecting his present home in 1882, living in a rude shack while it was being built. He has been very successful as a general farmer and stockman. In his partnership with his brothers he has long been engaged in buying and shipping live stock. They are the most extensive dealers in live stock in Richardson county, and they handle more sheep than any other firm in Southeastern Nebraska. They handled over twenty thousand head of sheep in the spring of 1917; they sell most of their sheep to feeders and sometimes have as many as ten thousand sheep on hand at one time. They do business under the firm name of Power Brothers.

Mr. Power was married on January 15, 1880, to Edith Sands, who was born on April 26, 1862, near Bloomfield, Perry county, Pennsylvania. She is a daughter of Ephraim P. Sands, who was born in Pennsylvania, in 183 1, and died February 3, 1865. He served during the Civil War in the One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, while in the .serxice. According to Captain Woodruff of Company E, in which he served, Mr. Sands was a brave and efficient soldier. His wife, Susan Slade, was born in 1833, and died on April i, 1904. They were parents of five children, namely: John M., who died October 7, 1866; Clement P. lives in Halifax, Pennsylvania; George Hayes makes his home in the West; Edith, who became the wife of Mr. Power, of this sketch, and William E., wlio died in 1864.

The following children have been born to William S. Power and wife : William Hull, born on October 8, 1880, lives on the home place and married Hallie Vaught, and they have four children, William, Leonard, Loree and George D, Power, born on October 14, 1888, lives in Oregon, married Maude Goolsby, of Dawson, Nebraska, and they have two children, Sarah Edith and Zella. Irene, only daughter of the subject of this sketch, died in 1890 at the age of eight years.

educated and cared for by the state of Pennsylvania at the Soldiers Orphans Home at Loysville, Pennsylvania' until she was sixteen years of age.

Politically, Mr. Power is a Democrat. Although always a very busy man he has found time to take an interest in public affairs, serving one term as justice of the peace, also as a member of the school board in his district. Fraternally, he belongs to the Knights of Pythias at Humboldt, and he is a mernber of William Mix Post, No. 66, Grand Army of the Republic, and was adjutant of the post for a period of fifteen years. He has always stood ready to aid in any movement having for its object the general welfare of his precinct and county, throughout which he is known as a man of true public spirit and unswerving honesty.

Josiah Frank Relf

Josiah Frank Relf, public surveyor of Richardson county and one of the most widely recognized drainage experts in this part of the state, is a native of the neighboring state of Missouri, but has been a resident of Nebraska since he was eight years of age and of Richardson county since he was twelve. He was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of Maysville, county seat of Dekalb county, Missouri, March 21, 1881, son of Thomas A. and Sarah (Peniston) Relf , natives of the state of Indiana and both of English descent, the former a son of Josiah Relf, who was born in England.

Thomas A. Relf was married in Indiana and remained there until 1879, when he came west and settled on a claim near Edmond, Norton county, Kansas. In 1880 he moved to Missouri and settled on a farm in the vicinity of Maysville, in Dekalb county, presently moving from there to Neosho county, Kansas, whence, in r888, he came with his family to this state and located at Brownville, in Nemaha county, where he remained until 180,:;, in which year he moved down into Richardson county with his family and settled on a farm in the vicinity of Salem. There Mrs. Relf died in 1904 and Mr. Relf shortly afterward went to Columbus, Kansas, in the neighborhood of which place he is now living on a farm. To him and his wife the following children were born: Charles Walter, a farmer, living near Columbus, Kansas: Mrs. Nellie Otta Mullen, of Mountain Park, Oklahoma: Josiah Frank, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Rosa Mullen, living near Harrison, Arkansas; William, a farmer near Columbus, Kansas; Benjamin, a farmer

Josiah F. Relf was about twelve years of age when he came to this county with his parents and he grew to manhood on the home farm in the vicinity of Salem, from the days of his early boyhood an able assistant to his father in the labors of improving and developing the home place. His schooling in his early years was neglected and he did not enter the eighth grade of the high school at Salem until after he was twenty-one years of age, when he began to recognize the importance of acquiring a higher education. After going to school there for three years he entered the state normal school at Peru, with a view to fitting himself -for teaching, and was in attendance there two )ears, working his wa)^ through school by doing chores for residents of that town and by working in a brick yard for his room and board. During his school vacation he became engaged as a solicitor and in this line did so well that he earned enough money to carry him through the College of Civil Engineering at the State Universit}-, which he entered in 1907. During the years iQio and 191 1 he worked as an engineer and in 1912 finished his course at the university and was graduated as a civil engineer. Following- his graduation he was employed as deputy county surveyor of Lancaster county and late in the summer of that same year was appointed to fill an unexpired term in the office of the county survcN'or of Richardson county, performing his duties in that connection so faithfully and so admirably that he was elected to that oftice in 1914 and was re-elected in 1916, therefore now serving what may really be regarded as his third term in that important office. During his college course Mr. Relf specialized in drainage work and has come to be looked upon as an expert in that line of engineering. He assisted in putting through the h\g drainage project in Nemaha county in 1912-13, drainage district No. 3, at the same time having charge of drainage district No. 4, Richardson county, and is now in charge of drainage district No. i, this countv, doing an excellent work in extending the drainage system of this section of the state.

In March, 1910, Josiah F. Relf was united in marriage to Ida May Stevenson, of Lincoln, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Relf have a pleasant home at Falls City and take a proper part in the general social and cultural activities of their home town. They are members of the Presbyterian church and take an earnest part in church work and in the general good works of the comnuinitv. Mr. Relf is a Republican and has given his thoughtful attention t(i local political affairs since the days of his boyhood.

Charles F. Weick

Charles F. Weick, former treasurer of the precinct of Arago, this county. and one of the best-known farmers and stock breeders in that part of the county, owner of a fine farm in section 5 of Arago precinct, where he and his family are very comfortably situated, is a native of Germany, but has been a resident of Richardson county since he was eleven years of age. He was born in Baden, Germany, on March 14, 1869, son of Karl and Elizabeth (Dast) Weick, also natives of Baden, the former born in 1838. who came to this country with their family in 1880 and proceeded on out to Nebraska and settled on a farm in the precinct of Arago, later moving up into the precinct of Barada, where Karl Weick bought a farm and established his home, but did not live long to take part in the development of the place, his death occurring there in 1883. His widow is now living in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in the seventy-eighth year of her age. Karl Weick and wife were the parent.^ of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being Louise, who married J. Werner and is living near Salem, this county ; Albert, now a resident of Laramie, Wyoming : Max. also of Laramie : Emma, wife of H. Ahlers, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Henry, deceased.

As noted above, Charles F. Weick was but eleven years of age when he came to this countr}' with his parents and settled in this county. He completed his schooling here and on account of the death of his father so soon after locating here, much of the responsibility of looking after the afifairs of the farm early fell upon his youthful shoulders, he being the eldest of the children. After a time he rented a farm and began farming on his own account and in igoo bought his first farm, the well-kept tract of ninety acres in section 5 of Arago precinct on which he is now living and where he has made extensive improvements. This farm has the advantage of having on it fifteen acres of natural timber and is one of the desirable tracts in that .section. In 1911 Mr. Weick began breeding horses and has done very well. He makes a specialty of Percherons and has done much to improve the strain of horse flesh throughout the county. He paid seven hundred and fifty dollars for one of his stallions, the three-year-old "Champion 110978". bred in Iowa, and has won several first prizes at oiie time and another at the Falls City horse shows. He also is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs and his herd leaders are registered animals. Mr. Weick is a Republican and for four years served as treasurer of his home precinct.

nie Ruegge, who was born in this county on May 23, 1871, daughter of Fred W. and Dora ( Hoose) Ruegge, natives of Germany, who are now living in the precinct of Arago, this county, and to this union four children have been born, Fred, Edith, Elmer and Laura, all of whom are at home. The Weicks are members of the Lutheran church and take a proper part in church work and in the general social activities of their home community. Mr. Weick is a member of the local lodge of the Woodmen of the World at Barada and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.

John O'Grady, one of Richardson county's best-known and most progressive farmers and the proprietor of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in the Dawson neighborhood in Grant precinct, is a New Englander by birth, but has been a resident of this county since he was six years of age, his parents having settled here -in 1870. He was born in Connecticut on April I"], 1864, son of Hugh and Margaret (Connor) O'Grady, natives of Ireland, who had come to this country with their respective parents in the days of their youth, both the O'Gradys and the Connors settling in Connecticut. Hugh O'Grady became a sailor and followed the sea for twelve 3'ears. Hugh O'Grady and Margaret Connor were nifirried in Connecticut and after their marriage continued living in that state until 1870, when they came to Nebraska and settled on a farm in the neighborhood of that on which the subject of this sketch now lives. Hugh O'Grady was a good farmer and developed a fine piece of property out of the uncultivated tract he bought upon coming out here. His wife, who was born in 1839, died in 1899 ^"^ he still survives her, now making his home at Dawson. He was born in 1838. He and. his wife were the parents of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, four of whom were born in Connecticut and the remainder in this county, namely : John, the immediate subject of this biographical sketch ; Frank, of Dawson ; James, who is in business in Dawson ; Hugh, who is farming over the line in the neighboring county of Brown, Kansas; Mary, deceased ; Mrs. Kate Riley, of Dawson ; Patrick, a farmer, of Grant precinct ; Daniel, deceased ; Nellie, deceased ; Joseph, a farmer, living at Dawson ; Margaret, also of Dawson, and Dominick, a farmer, also living in Grant precinct.

Connecticut with his parents, John O'Grady grew to manhood on the home farm in the vicinity of Dawson, receiving his schooling in the local schools, and remained on the home farm, a valuable assistant to his father and brothers in the labors of developing and improving the same, until his marriage in 1888, when he rented a farm and began farming on his own account, remaining on that place until 1898, when he bought a quarter of a section of practically unimproved land, part of his father's place, in that same neighborhood and there established his home and has ever since made that his place of residence. As he prospered in his undertakings he added an adjoining "eighty" and now has a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres and one of the best farm plants in the Dawson neighborhood, the excellent manner in which the place is kept up testifying to the progressive and up-to-date methods adopted by the owner. Mr. O'Grady has erected a handsome, modern residence on his place and his ample barns and other farm buildings are in keeping with the same.

On April 23, 1888, John O'Grady was united in marriage to Johanna Clancy, who was born on a farm in the immediate neighborhood of Dawson, this county, May 2, 1871, a daughter of Patrick and Johanna Clancy, natives of Ireland, who upon coming to this country located at Salem, New Jersey, where they remained until in January, 1871, when they came to Nebraska and settled on a farm in this county, pioneers of the Dawson settlement, and developed a fine piece of property there. Mrs. Clancy, who was born in 1843, ^i^d o'^ that farm in September, 1903, and Mr. Clancy, who was born in 1840, survived until in March, 1913. They were the parents of eight children, those besides Mrs. O'Grady, the third in order of birth, being as follow: Mrs. Margaret Zimmerman, of Lincoln, this state; Mrs. Mary O'Grady, of Dawson; Mrs. Kate O'Connell, living on a farm near Dawson; Michael, deceased; Mrs. Nora Cummings. of Grant precinct: Alice, deceased, and Nellie, deceased.

To John and Johanna (Clancy) O'Grady ten children have been born, namely: Mary, who died at the age of eighteen months; Anastacia, wife of Michael Tiehen, a farmer, living south of Dawson; Hugh, a farmer of Grant precinct ; Josephine, a teacher in the public schools of this county, now teaching a district school south of Salem, and Patrick, ^Michael, Margaret. Daniel and Bernard, who are still at home. The O'Gradys are earnest members of the Catholic church and take an interested part in parish affairs, as well as in the general good works and social activities of their home community. Mr. O'Grady is a Democrat and takes a proper interest in political affairs, but has not been an office seeker. He is a member of the local council of the Knights of Columbus at Falls City and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.

Louis W. Nofsger

Louis W. Nofsger, one of the careful tillers of the soil in Nemaha precinct, was born in Speiser precinct, this county, May 6, 1888, a son of Jacob and Rosa (Spahr) Nofsger. Jacob Nofsger was born near Springfield, Ohio, December 25, i860, and there he grew to manhood and attended school. He came to Nebraska about 1882, and bought a farm in Speiser precinct, Richardson county, which he operated imtil Itis death in 1905, during which period of nearly a quarter of a century he was ranked among the leading general farmers of his vicinity. He was a Democrat, a member of the German Reformed church, and belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America. His widow, also a native of Ohio, was born on January 15, 1862, is still living, now making her home at Humboldt, this county. The following children were born to Jacob and Rosa Nofsger: John, who lives in Humboldt, Nebraska; Emma, who married Otto Gergelman, and is now deceased; Fred, who lives in Humboldt; Louis W., the subject of this sketch ; Samuel, who is farming in Speiser township, and Elizabeth of Humboldt.

Louis VV. Nofsger was reared on the home farm and received his education in the district schools. He began farming for himself in 1912 on rented land and, in 191 5, he bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section i, Nemaha precinct and has become well launched in his life work while yet a young man, giving promise of eventually ranking among the best farmers of the county. He has made a number of improvements on his place, including the erection of a modern home and a good barn. In connection with general farming he raises graded Shorthorn cattle.

On February 28, 1912, Louis W. Nofsger was married to Pearl Seitz, who was born on October 21, 1887, at Humboldt. She grew to womanhood and was educated in the common schools of Humboldt, and in the Peru State Normal, after which she taught school. She is a daughter of Samuel and Arminda (Holder) Nofsger, natives of Illinois and early settlers of Richardson count\-, who are both now deceased. Two children ha\e been

Mr. Nofsger is a Republican, but is not a biased partisan, being inclined to vote independently. He and Mrs. Nofsger are members of the United Brethren church.

Elijah T. Libbee

Elijah T. Libbee, one of the real "old-timers" of Richardson county, an honored veteran of the Civil War and a substantial farmer, proprietor of a well-kept farm of one hundred and thirty acres south of Dawson, in the precinct of Grant, where he has made his home for more than jialf a century, is a native of the great Empire state and was reared in Illinois, but has been a resident of this county since 1865, having come out here in territorial days. He was born on a farm in Allegany county. New York, Februar\^ 27, 1842, son of Truman L. and Martha Amelia (Angel) Libbee, natives,, respectively, of Vermont and England, who were married in Steuben county, New York, and later moved to Allegany county, same state, where they remained until 1855, in which year they moved to Illinois and settled on a farm in Schuyler county, that state.

Truman L. Libljee remained in Illinois until 1864, in which year he moved with his father and mother to Utah, but two years later left that territory and came to Nebraska, settling in this county. He pre-empted a tract of land in section 22 of the precinct of Grant and proceeded to improve and develop the same, remaining there until 1876, in which year his father died and he returned to LTtah, where he remained with his widowed mother until her death. He then returned to this county, but after a sometime further residence here, retired from the farm and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he spent his last days. He and his wife were the parents of four cliildren, the subject of this sketch having had two brothers, Marshall, a veteran of the Civil War, now deceased, and All>ert, now living at Lansing. Michigan, and a sister, Mrs. Martha White-Berry, who died in 191 5. Marshall Libbee also was a pioneer of Richardson county and his last days were spent at Dawson.

Elijah T. Libbee was about thirteen years of age when his parents moved from New York to Illinois and in their state he grew to manhood, receiving his schooling in the schools of Schuyler county, and was living there when the Civil War broke out. On October 14, 1861, he enlisted for service as a member of Company D, First Regiment, Missouri Volunteer Infantry, the engineering regiment of the Army of the West, and served with that command until his discharge, on a physician's certificate of disability, in a hospital at St. Louis in May, 1863. Mr. Libbee was in the engineering service and served in Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi, during that periotl of service having participated in the siege of Island No. 10, the battle of New Madrid, the siege of Corinth and in tlie campaign through Mississippi. At Memphis he was taken ill with lung fever and for five months was confined to hospital there, later being transferred to the hospital at St. Louis, where he presently received his discharge.

LTpon the completion of his military ser\ice Elijah T. Libbee returned to Illinois, where he was married in the spring of 1864. He continued tomake his home there until 1865, when he and his wife came to the then Territory of Nebraska and settled on a farm on the north side of the Nemaha river, in the neighborhood of the present town of Dawson, this county. A year later Mr. Libbee moved down to the south side of the river, entered there the tract of land on which he is now living and has ever since lived there, a period of more than fifty-two years, during which time he has seen this region develop from its wilderness state to its present highly-jorganized and prosperous condition as one of the most thriving agricultural regions irt the West. It did not take Mr. Libbee long to get his land under cultivation and he had a good start there before the days of the grasshopper visitations that discouraged so many of the later settlers. He has continually added to the improvements on his home place and has long had one of the wellkept farms in that part of the county, though his active participation in the labors of the farm in recent years have been mainly confined to a directing capacity. Though now well past seventy-five years of age Mr. Libbee retains Iiis physical vigor to a remarkable degree and still reads without the artificial aid of glasses. He is a Republican, his first vote having been cast for Abraham Lincoln, and ever since coming to this county has taken an earnest interest in local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public ofiice. He is an active member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Dawson, taking a warm interest in the affairs of that patriotic organization, and is also afliliated with the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at that place, one of the oldest Odd Fellows in that part of the county.

On April 3, 1864, in Schuyler county, Illinois, Elijah T. Libbee was united in marriage to Mrs. Nancy Emily Davis, who died in 1895, at the age of fiftv-three vears. To that union eleven children were born, as follow : Mrs.

Mina Warren, who lives east of Barada in this county; Mrs. Adella Hogue, who lives south of her father's place in Grant precinct; Mrs. Amanda Pool, hving east of Barada; Levi, who is now hving in the state of Wyoming; ]\Iarion, a resident of the state of Washington ; Mrs. Emma Ingram, who, with her husband, continues to hve on the old home place ; Willis, deceased ; Fred, who is at home : Burt, of Elkhorn, this state, and two who died in infancy. Marion Libbee, now living in Washington, was a member of Colonel Bryan's regiment, the famous Third Nebraska, during the Spanish-American War and with that regiment saw service in Cuba.

Frederick Wittwer

The late Frederick ^\'ittwer, an honored veteran of the Civil War and at the time of his death at his fine farm home on Spring creek, in the precinct of Xemaha, in 1909, one of the most extensive landowners in Richardson county, v.as a native of the republic of Switzerland, but had been a resident of this country since he was eleven years of age and of the West since the davs of his young manhood, having come out here before the days of the Civil War, he and his brother, Gottlieb, having been among the earliest settlers in the precinct of Nemaha in this county. After serving for more than three vears as a soldier of the Union during the Civil War Frederick Wittwer returned to this county and after his marriage in 1868 established his permanent honie on Spring creek. Since his death his widow has been making her home at Salem, where she is very comfortably situated.

Frederick Wittwer was born on April 3, 1840, and was eleven years of age when his parents, John AVittwer and wife, left their home in Wermiss, Switzerland, and came with their family to this country in 185 1, locating in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. There Frederick Wittwer grew to young manhood, remaining there until the late fifties, when he and his brother, Gottlielj Wittwer, came West with a view to establishing themselves as farmers in the then Territory of Nebraska, which at that time comprised all the former Indian country from the Territory of Kansas north to the Dominion line and west to the Rockies. They liked the appearance of things in this county and took o\er a ciuarter of a section of land on Spring creek, in the precinct of Xemaha, paving down on the purchase price of the same the not extravagant sum of fifty dollars and assuming obligations for the balance, and were engaged in improving and developing the place when the Civil ^^'ar broke out. On April 5, 1862, Frederick Wittwer enlisted for service in the Union army as a private in Company G, Thirteenth Regiment, Kansas Volunteer Infantry, and with that command went to the front, serving until the close of the war, and received his final discharge at Little Rock on June 26, 1865, a period of service covering something more than three years and two months, during a part of which time he was attached to the commissary and transport service as a mule driver. Mr. Wittwer participated in the chase of Price's command through Missouri and Arkansas and he was in several of the most notable engagements of the campaign in the Southwest, including the battles of Westport and Cape Girardeau. His brother, Christian Wittwer, also was a soldier of the Union, serving in an Ohio regiment, and was a participant in the great battle of Shiloh.

Upon the completion of his Anilitary service in the summer of 1865 Frederick Wittwer returned to this county and here resumed the pursuits of peace, engaging actively in the work of developing his land on Spring creek. After his marriage in the spring of 1868 he established his home on Spring creek and as he prospered gradually added largely to his holdings until he presently came to be recognized as one of the leading land speculators in this county and a citizen of much substantial worth, at the time of his death he and his wife owning four hundred and eleven acres in their home farm, five hundred and forty acres four and one-half miles west of Salem and three thousand one hundred and thirteen acres in Greeley county, this state, besides other interests of a valuable character. Mr. Wittwer was originally a Republican, but- later espoused the cause of the Democrats and for years took an active part in local politics, for some time serving as assessor of the precinct of Nemaha, as a school director and in other local capacities, ever doing his duty as a good citizen. He was a member of the German Reformed church, as is his widow, and was an active participant in local good works. He was an active member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and ever took a warm interest in the affairs of that patriotic organization. Diu"- ing the great land rush into Oklahoma in 1889 Mr. Wittwer joined the "race"' and came out with a fine quarter-section claim. * He died at his home on Spring creek on January i, 1909, being then in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and not long after his death his widow moved to Salem, where she is now living. In the spring of 1916 she sold one of her farms and then divided the estate among her children, though retaining in her own right five hundred and forty acres of land. Mrs. Wittwer is a very capable manager and is (|uite well circumstanced.

r'ui'^e t(i ]\rary Ann Stalder, wlio was born in Fulton county, Ohio, on July .^o. 1S51. a (laughter ot Jacol) and Mary Ann ( I'^ankhauser) Stalder, natives lit the re])ul)lic of Switzerland, who left their home in Bern and came to this c(n!ntry. settling in Ohio, where they remained until in March, 1865, when they came to Nebraska with their family and settled on a farm ten miles west of Salem, where the)' spent the remainder of their lives, substantial pioneers of that community. To Frederick and ]Mary Ann (Stalder) Wittwer were born fourteen children, namely : Edward, a substantial farmer of the precinct of Nemaha; \A'^illiam, of Las Lunas, New Mexico; Charles, of Nemaha precinct; Mrs. Rosa Porr, of that .same precinct; Henry, now a resident of Kansas; Joseph, of the precinct of Nemaha; Hiram, of that same precinct; Peter, a resident of Greeley county, this state; Isaac, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Louis, of the precinct of Nemaha; Elizabeth, a professional musician, who is now making her home at Los Angeles, California; Rachel, a teacher in the schools of North Platte, this state ; Salome, who is at home with her mother at Salem, and \"iola, who received her education at Brownell Hall College at Omaha and is also at home.

l->edrick Bucher, -Sr., one of Richardson county's most substantial ranclimen and the proprietor of a fine place of more than six hundred acres in the old Middleburg section of Speiser township, is a native of the republic of Switzerland, but has been a resident of this country and of this county since tS8i and has done exceedingly well since entering upon his farming operations here. He was Ixjrn in the canton of Bern on August 23, 1849, son of i'redrick and Mary Bucher, also natives of Switzerland, who spent all their lives in their native land. Fredrick Bucher was a miller, as was his father befure him. and the old mill is still Ijeing operated there, now under the direction of his other son, John.

Reared in his native Switzerland, Fredrick Bucher grew up to the life of the mill and became an expert miller. In 1871 he married Louise Marmett, also a native of Switzerland, born in 1847. and after his marriage continued working in the mill and presently became manager of the same, operating it for five years, at the end of which time it became necessary for him t(j give way to his brother, who is still operating the mill, and look for another place. Seeing no opening there to his liking he decided to come to the United States and make a new home in the West, regarding which he had heard much as the land of opportunity. Disposing of his interests in Switzerland he came to this country in 1881, arriving here with about four thousand dollars, and si.x months later bought the place on which he is now living and where he has lived ever since, never having had cause to regret the decision that prompted him to come to Nebraska.

Upon coming to this county Mr. Bucher looked about a bit and on December 9, 1881, bought two hundred and forty acres of land owned by George Gerdes, who was then keeping the postofHce at "Middleburg", in Speiser township and who had erected on the place a small frame house. In that house Mr. Bucher and his family settled down and proceeded to develop the farm. It was necessary for Mr. Bucher to assume somewhat of a debt on taking possession of the place, but he had a stout heart and had no doubt of his ability to discharge the obligation. From the very beginning of his operations there he was successful and it was not long until he was able td liegin enlarging his land holdings, and this he kept up until now he is the owner of six hundred and twenty-two acres, one of the best-kept ranches in that part of the county, his eldest son, Frederick, now being the practical manager of the ranch, Mr. Bucher some time ago having practically retired from the active labors of the place. He has a fine eleven-room house on the place, a great improvement over the little postoffice building in which he first had his home there, and his great barn and extensive hay and cattle sheds, together with the other impro-\-ements of the place are in keeping. In 1898 Mr. Bucher made a trip back to his old home in Switzerland on a visit to his brother and sisters, but was quite content to return to his home in Richardson county and is equally content to spend the rest of his life in this country.

Mr. and Mrs. Bucher have two sons, Frederick and John Alfred, and a <laughter, Louisa, the latter of whom is at home. The brothers own a quarter of a section of land in this county and a ranch of fourteen hundred acres over in Phelps county and are doing very well in their operations. Frederick Bucher married Lucy Hunzeker and has six children. Gertrude, Leo, Erold, Margaret, Frederick and Marie. John A. Bucher married Sophia Eis and lias one child, a son, Raymond. The Buchers are members of the Reformed church and take a proper part in church work, as well as in the general good works and social activities of the community, helpful in all proper ways in advancing the common welfare of the neighborhood in which they live. Mr. Bucher is a Republican, but votes independently in local politics, and ever since becoming a citizen of this country has given his earnest attenti(in to political affairs.

William >.I. W'eddle, one of the best-known farmers and stockmen of the precinct (jf East Muddy in this count}-, is a native of the old Hoosier state, but has been a resident of Nebraska since he was nine years of age, having come here in 1872 with his parents from Illinois, to which state they had moved from Indiana some years previously. He was born on a farm in the vicinity of Xashville, in Brown county, one of the most picturesque regions in all Hoiisierdom, November 19, 1863, son of Lewis M. and Atartha A. ( Meaner ) ^^'eddle, both of whom were born in that same county, who became pioneers of Richardson county and here spent their last days, the former dying at the home of his son, the subject of this sketch, in the fall of 1915.

Lewis M. \Veddle, an honored veteran of the Civil War, \\'ho became one of the most substantial pioneers of Richardson county, was born in Brown county, Indiana, October 6, 1842, and spent his lx)yhood on a farm. On February 5, 1863, at Nashville, the county seat of his home county, he married Alartha .\. Fleener and established his home on a farm in Brown county. The next year, in August, 1864, he enlisted for service in the Union army during the Civil A\^ar and was honorably discharged in 1865. The next year, in 1866, he moved with his family to Vennillion county, Illinois, and remained there until 1872, when he moved to Nebraska and located near Nebraska City. After the drought of 1874 he came down into Richardson county and located near Shubert, in which ser.ticn of the county he spent the remainder of his life. At first he lived northeast of Shubert, but about a quarter of a century ago he moved to the farm cast of Stella, where his son. the subject of this sketch, now resides, and six years later moved to Shuliert. In that village his wife died in 1908' and he afterward made his home with his son, Williaiu 'SI. Weddle, in whose home he died on November 24, 1915. His body was interred in Prairie Union cemetery with Masonic ceremonies. -Mr. W'eddle had been a Mason since 1875. He also w-as a member of Ancient Order of United ^^'orkmen and of the W^oodmen of the World and was a member of the Christian church. Mr. Weddle took much pride in his family and each child received a substantial inheritance. He was especially proud of tlie little people of the family, tlie grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and made himself one of them, taking them about with him and spending long hours in \ isiting with them; during the later years of his life, for their enjoyment, e\er having about him a liberal supply of candy and other -'goodies.'" During the grasshopper invasion of 1875 ^I''- ^Veddlc gladiv would have abandoned his land prospects here and would have moved back to Illinois if he had had money enough to pay the freight on his small belongings, but he was compelled to "stick it out" and it is well that he did, for he presently began to prosper and he prospered largely, between 1876 and 1900 being regarded as one of the most extensive shippers of live stock hereabout, many times shipping train loads of cattle at a time. During his later years he turned the management of his farms over to his sons, but continued to the last to give considerable personal attention to the large mule-breeding industry he' had built up and which his son, William M. Weddle, is still carrying on with much success. Mr. Weddle gave his earnest attention to local civic affairs and for some time served as county supervisor from his district. To Lewis M. \\'eddle and wife were born eleven children, all of whom are still living and of whom the subject-of this sketch was the first-born, the others being as follow: Selman, of Ouincy, Illinois; Sarah, wife of George Brisby, of near \'erdon, this county; Mrs. .Mmeda Lewis, north of Shubert; James A., southeast of Stella: Lenora, wife of Fred Colglazier, of Falls City; John F., of Stella; Walter J. and Oscar E.. of western Nebraska; L. \\'alkup, residing southeast of Stella and Gertrude, wife of Samuel Harris, also living scjutheast of Stella, all of whom were with their father during the last week of his illness and were all present at his funeral.

.\s noted above, William M. Weddle was nine years of age when his parents came to Nebraska and he completed his schooling in the Walnut (irove school in the precinct of Barada. From thje days of his boyhood he was an able assistant to his father in the labors of improving and developing the home place and when twenty-one years of age began farming on his own account on one of his father's farms up in Nemaha county, but in 1897 moved to the farm of twn himdred acres, a part of his father's estate, where he is now living and where he ever since has made his home. He has made many substantial improvements on that place and has one of the best farm plants in the neighborhood. !'"or years .Mr. Weddle has given special attention to the breeding of mules and has done much to improve the strain of that valuable and hardy stock hereabout. Mr. Weddle is a Democrat and has ever gi\en a good citizen's attention to local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office. He is a memlier of the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Ancient Order of I'nited Workmen and in the aft'airs of these several organizations takes a warm interest.

birth of tlie eleven children born to John H. and Martha E. (Matthews) iJiiinan, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Illinois, who came to this county in the spring of 1877 and continued to make their home iiere until their retirement from the farm and removal to Bonesteel, South Dakota, where they are now living, Mr. Doman being now (191 7) seventysix years of age and his wife, seventy-two. Mr. and Mrs. Weddle have three children, Lillie ]\I., wife of Charles Hall, of the neighboring county of Nemaha: Charles S., of the precinct of Barada, and Anna L., who was born in 1907. The W'eddles have a very pleasant home in East Muddy precinct and take an interested part in the general social activities of their home communit}-.

W'illiam Riley, extensive landowner and cattle breeder, may be classed among the pioneers in this part of the state of Nebraska, having lived here since the year after his birth, and by his industry has raised himself to be one of the substantial farmers of Richardson count}-. He was born near Salem, New Jersey, on September 2y, 1858, the son of ^Michael and IMary (O'Brien) Riley, who landed at Rulo, this county, in 1859 ^"^1 who were pioneers here for eight years before Nebraska was admitted to the Union.

Michael and Mary (O'Brien) Riley were married in 1853 in New Jersey and came to Nebraska Territory in 1859, coming on to Rulo, this They travelled by ox-team from the latter place to within three miles of Verdon, in Liberty precinct, and there Michael Riley secured a quarter section of land, having previously obtained a warrant from an old Mexican soldier, giving the right to enter the land. He bought a small house which he moved to his claim and here he and his wife and three sons and liis brother-in-law, Thomas Farrell, and his wife and son made their home together. This house was destroyed a couple of weeks later by a tornado, but the scattered boards were gathered and with the addition of some new lumber they rebuilt the house. !^Iichael Riley had two yoke of oxen and proceeded to break the land, soon having the same under cultivation. He sold out in 1864 and bought one hundred and twenty acres near Dawson, where he lived until 1884, when he liecatue the owner of a tract of land northeast of Dawson and there spent the rest of his life. Michael and Mary Riley were the parents of seven children, namely : Daniel, who lives in Grant precinct: James, who died in Omaha in 1907: William: Bernard, the first of the famil\- born in this county : Michael, who is farming the ptace on which his father died; Mary, who married M. J. Clancy, of Dawson, and Annie, who died in 1871. The parents of these children were boni in County Tipperary, Ireland, the former in 1826 and the latter in 1830 and were married in this country, where Michael Riley came in 1847 ^""l Mary O'Brien in 1851.

William Riley came to Richardson county with his parents when an infant of six months. He attended the district schools of his neighborhood and after finishing school, worked as a railroad section hand at Dawson for about one year. At the end of this period he helped his father on the farm. He and his brother worked together until the estate was settled, when he became heir to one hundred and sixty acres of prime land, on which there was only a small house. In 191 1 he built a modern house of nine rooms, neatly painted white, and finished throughout with all conveniences necessary to domestic comfort. He also built a cattle, horse and hog barn, and everything around his farm is in excellent condition. Mr. Riley carried out the erection of all these buildings and effected the improvements at considerable cost ; he set out a large grove of trees and planted evergreens on the north side of the buildings, which add much to the beauty of the farm. He is now the owner of five hundred acres of land, forming the home place, in section 13, Grant precinct: he has eighty acres in Liberty precinct and one hundred and twenty acres in Nemaha precinct. In addition to his farming activities he is engaged in raising Aberdeen Polled Angus cattle and has some choice strains of that breed.

William Riley has been twice married. In 1885 he was united in marriage to Johanna Fenton, a daughter of Jerry Fenton, and who was born in Virginia and died on July 22, 1889, aged twenty-three years. To this union two children were born, who died in infancy. On March 8, 1907, Mr. Riley was married to Katherine Kelly, daughter of Martin and Nora (O'Neil) Kelly, natives of Ireland, where her father was born in 1828 and died in 1902. His wife was born in 1858 and died on May 30, 1900. They were married in \^'isconsin and came to Richardson county in 1879, settling in Ohio precinct, where they spent their last days. They were the parents of nine children, as follow: Martin J., living in Liberty precinct; Mary Ellen, who married J. J. Tangney and lives in Kansas City, Kansas; James, of Liberty precinct; Katherine, who is the wife of the subject of this sketch; Bridget, living on the old home place; Anna Nora, living in Ohio precinct and keeping house for her brothers: Elizabeth, who married W. T. Cully (67) and lives near Friend, this state, and John and Miles, living on the old homestead in Ohio precinct. No children have been born to Mr. Riley's second marriage, but he and his wife have adopted two children, John and Mary Donnelly, who are cousins. Mr. Riley and his wife are members of the Catholic church and are active in all church affairs. Mr. Riley is a supporter of the Democratic party, but has never been a seeker after public office. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and of the Farmers Union, and in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest. Mr. Riley has given evidence of his love of country by purchasing liberally of Liberty Bonds and contributing to the Red Cross.

Francis Wither

In the historical section of this work there is set out in most interesting fashion Francis Withee's own story of "Life on the Plains in Early Days," and there is therefore no necessity at this point for an enlargement of the details of that adventurous period in the life of the "old-timer" whose name forms the caption for this biographical sketch. Suffice it to say that Mr. Withee, who is one of the real pioneers of Richardson county, as well as one of the best-known men in the county, for three years after coming here acted as a freighter and "bull-whacker'' on the plains, his last trip from Nebraska City to Denver being made in 1866. During that period he had many stirring adventures and came to be as familiar with conditions on the plains as any one of that courageous band whose activities in this region in the early days of the settlement of the plains and the mountain country, created one of the most interesting and picturesque incidents in the history of the United States. Mr. Withee is a well-read man of keen intellect and the diary he has kept for many years is a veritable epitome of the history of Richardson county and this adjacent region and a most valuable contribution to the annals of the great state of Nebraska, whose development he has watched from the very beginning and in which development he has done well his part.

Francis Withee, former justice of the peace in and for the precinct of Porter, former assessor of that precinct, the proprietor of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the vicinity of Stella and one of the real "old settlers" of Richardson county, is a native of the old Buckeye state, but has been a "Westemer" since he was three or four years of age and a resident of Nebraska since 1858, he having come across the river from Iowa with his father in that jear, the family setthng on this side in the then Territory of Nebraska, which at that time comprised all that wonderful stretch of country from the Territory of Kansas north to the Dominion line and west to the Rockies. He was born on a farm in Aurelius township, Washington county, Ohio, November i6, 1844, son of Ephraim and Deborah E. (Grant) Withee, natives of the state of Maine, and the former of whom later came into Nebraska by way of Iowa and here spent his last days.

Ephraim Withee was born at Norridgewock, in Somerset county, Maine, Mai-ch 6, 1810, a son of Nathaniel and Lydia (Fairbrother) Withee, both of old New England stock, the former of English descent and the latter a daughter of a Scotsman who came to this country and married a girl of the old French-Acadian stock, a member of one of those unhappy families of Acadians who were driven from their pleasant homes in Acadia (Nova Scotia) down onto the inhospitable coast of New England; an incident so feelingly narrated in Longfellow's "Evangeline." Reared in Maine, Ephraim Withee there grew to manhood and married Deborah E. Grant, who also was lx)rn in Maine, in 1816, daughter of Samuel Daniel and Abigail (Bickford) Grant, both natives of that same state, members of old New England families, of Scottish descent. After his marriage Ephraim Withee moved to Ohio, in 1838, and settled in Washington county, that state, where he settled on a pioneer farm and where he remained until 1848, when he disposed of his holdings there and came West, via steamboat route, settling in Lee county, Iowa, where he followed saw-mill work and teaming. Two years later, in 1850, he moved with his family to \^an Buren county, same state, but not finding conditions on the farm there to his liking, presently moved to Bonaparte, in that county, and thence to Croton and later to Keosauqua, same county, where he presently found himself "getting ahead" in the way of cattle and other possessions. There he remained until 1858, in which year he moved across the state of Iowa and on across the river into the then Territory of Nebraska, settling on a Missouri river "bottoms" farm in Nemaha county between Nemaha county and Brownville, and where he established his home, one of the early settlers of that section. He remained there until the spring of 1864, when he traded what the river's encroachments had left of his "bottoms" farm for the north half of section 12, town 314, later organized as Porter precinct, this county, assuming a considerable obligation of debt as "boot," and moved down here, arriving on May 2, 1864, and establishing his home on the northwest quarter of the above section; he and his sons proceeding- to improve and develop the same and at the same time takro60 RICHARDSON COUXTY, NEBRASKA.

iiig contracts to "break" other land thereabout in exchange for acreage, receiving an acre of land for each acre broken up for cultivation. There Ephraim Withee remained until in the early spring of 1871. when he left the farm and moved up into Nemaha City, where his death occurred six weeks later, May 16, 1871. Ephraim Withee was thrice married and was the" father of six children, of whom but two grew to maturity, the subject of this sketch and his brother, George Withee, the latter of whom years ago left this count}^ for the coast and died and is buried at Portland, Oregon. The mother of these children died in Iowa in 1852 and Ephraim Withee later married Elizabeth Williams, after whose death he married Ann Hillyard, who survived him and who later remarried.

As noted above, Francis Withee was but four years of age when his parents moved from Ohio to Iowa and he was thirteen when he came over into Nebraska with his father in 1858. Inured to pioneering from the days of his childhood, he grew up hardy and competent, accustomed to the wild, free life of the plains, and on October i. 1862, he then being a month or more under eighteen years of age, began the life of a freighter, "bull-whacking" across the plains, and followed that hazardous and adventurous occupation for three years, making his last trip from Nebraska City to Denver in 1866; interesting incidents in which period of his life are entertainingly set out in his own story of "I,ife on the Plains in Early Days," presented elsewhere in tlris work. Upon abandoning the life of a plainsman Mr. Withee settled down on the home farm in the precinct of Porter and was a valuable aid to his father and brother in the development of the same. After his marriage in the spring of 1871 he settled down on the old home place and has continued to make that his home to this day, one of the best established farmers in the northern part of the county. Upon their father's death George Withee took the east half of the Withee half section and Francis later became owner of the home quarter section, which he improved in admirable shape and on which now, in the pleasant "evening time" of his life, he is very comfortably situated. During his boyhood Mr. Withee was an ardent "Know-Nothing." his father having been one of the most active supporters of that "American" party ; but upon the fonnation of the Republican party became affiliated witli that party and has ever since been an ardent Republican, for many years one of the leaders of his party in this county. For one term Mr. Withee served as justice of the peace in and for the precinct of Porter and was for many years assessor of that precinct, assessing the same fourteen times, a record of incumbencv in that office there. He also has served as school director and

On April 5, 1871, Francis Withee was united in marriage to Mary Elizabeth Elmore, who was born in Morgan county, Illinois, October 13, 1848, and was reared in Cass county, same state, daughter of Darius and Mary (Young) Elmore, who settled in Nebraska in 1868. To this union four children have been born, namely: Jessie, who is at home; Luella F., who married E. W. Clift, of Humboldt, this county, and has three children, Ethel Doris Lee, Warren and Harold Eugene; Ephraim, born on January 4, 1880, who died on July 2, 1915, and Joe Henry, born on March 8, 1882, who is operating the home farm. The Withees have a very pleasant home and have ever taken a proper part in the general social activities of their home community, e\'er helpful in promoting such agencies as have been designed to advance the general welfare. Mr. Withee has been a Freemason since June 19, 1880, on which date he became a member of Oak Lodge No. 29, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Nemaha City, and is a charter member of the lodge (No. 105) of that ancient order at Stella, in the afifairs of which he ever has taken a warm interest. He also is a member of the local lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen at that place.

Israel L. Heim

Israel L. Heim figures among the best and most enterprising members of the farming community in Richardson county. As a breeder of thoroughbred registered cattle Tiis name is known outside the limits of his home county, many breeders of Aberdeen Polled Angus cattle attending his private sales to obtain some of that choice strain for breeding purposes. He was born c»i October 26, 1873, in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, a son of John J. and Rosina (Heim) Heim, also natives of the Keystone state, the former born on July 2, 1839, and now living with his son, Israel, on the old homestead, and the latter born on August 8, 1838, who came to Richardson county in 1882.

John J. Heim settled on a farm in this county now owned by his son, Israel, and continued actively engaged in farming up to the time of his rietirement. He is the son of Jacob and Regina (Steiger) Heim. Jacob Heim came to this country from Germany when eleven years old, in 181 7, with his father, also named Jacob, a native of Germany. Regina Steiger Wcis born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Leonard Steiger, who was born in Germany. Rosina Heim, mother of the subject of this sketch, was a daughter of Christian Heim, who married Rosina Wagner. He came to America when eighteen years old, in 1817. John J- and Rosina Heim were the parents of seven children, namely : Elizabeth, who married Samuel Heim, of Grant precinct; Jacob, who lives one mile north and one and a half miles. west of his brother, Israel L. ; Mrs. Anna Stoltz, who lives near Humlx)ldt; Mrs. Mary Stratton, living in Brownville: Israel L., who lives on the home place; William, who lives in Arizona, and Mrs. Lucy Draper, living in Manilla, Iowa.

Israel I-. Heim was educated in the schools of Dawson and after completing his schooling he remained on his father's farm, a valuable aid to him in the work of cultivating the land. He subsequently bought the farm from his father and had the house, which was built in 1899, remodeled in 1913 and is now modern in every respect, amply surrounded by shade trees and evergreens. His farm of one hundred and sixty acres is located in section 10, Grant township, and is well improved and in excellent condition. In 19 1 2 Mr. Heim began breeding Aberdeen Polled Angus cattle and has some splendid specimens of thoroughbred registered stock. He has a herd of ten cows, headed by the thoroughbred, "Dinsmore Lad," bought from L. H. Howe, of Humboldt. He sells much of this stock to cattle breeders at private sales. He also raises thoroughbred Duroc-Jersey hogs, of which he ships about a carload annually.

On October 4, 1899, Israel L. Heim was united in marriage to Gertrude Draper, who was born in Iowa, on January 16, 1878, a daughter of William I. and Isabelle (Talboys) Draper, who came to Nebraska in 1879, settling in Richardson county. In a sketch appearing in another part of this work relating to William I. Draper (Mrs. Heim's father), more extended and fitting reference is made to the Draper family, who were originally of English descent. To Israel L. and Gertrude (Draper) Heim the following children have been born: Theodore, born on July i, 1901, now attending Dawson high school; Rosina, March 14, 1903, and Lucy, March 23, 191 1.

Mr. Heim is a supporter of the Republican party, but reserves the right to vote independently as occasion demands and has never been a seeker after public office. The Heim family are members of the United Evangelical church and warm supporters of the same. Mrs. Heim is a graduate of the Dawson high school and taught school for some years. She was assistant principal of the Dawson high school for one year and also taught in the district schools of Humboldt. Mr. and Mrs. Heim are cultured and refined people, who take much interest in the cultural and social activities of the coniniunitx- in which- they live. Their modem home is furnished with taste, everything- betokening- excellent judgment.

William L Draper

William L Draper, a farmer, now living in Grant precinct, east of Dawson, who has been all over the states in search of experience, was born on January 2, 1850, in Warren county, Iowa, a son of John M. and Rebecca (Stanton) Draper, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively. John M,. Draper was the son of John Draper, a native of Virginia, whose ancestors came from England. Tradition has it that the original members of the Draper family came from England in an early day and settled in Virginia, the Carolinas and the East.

John J\I. Draper was born in 1820 and died in February. 1868. His wife, Rebecca (Stanton) Draper, was born in June, 1826, and died in July, 1913. She was a daughter of Richard Stanton, of Tennessee. The parents of John M. Draper migrated to Indiana in the thirties of the last century and settled in Marion county, Indiana, and were among the pioneer settlers of that part of the Hoosier state. In 1847 John M. Draper settled in Warren county, Iowa, where his son, William I., was born and reared. In 1862 John M. Draper enUsted for service in the Civil War and became a member of Company D, Thirty-fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. His death was caused by a kick from a mule; his death ensued thirteen days later, and he was l)rought home for interment in February, 1863. John M. and Rebecca (Stanton) Draper were the parents of six children, namely: Mrs. Ruth Hunt, who died in Iowa in 1875; Mrs. Rachel Flesher, who lives in Oregon; William I., the subject of this sketch; Eliza, deceased; Mrs. Cora Jenkins, who lives in Cooper county, Missouri, and Mrs. Virginia Porter, who died in 1915 in Kansas City, Missouri. Following the death of her husband, Mrs. Rebecca Draper left Iowa in 1867 and some time later married Daniel Fox, and still later, moved to Missouri, where she died.

William I. Draper left Iowa in 1867 and started out to see the United States, traveling all over the countn,' to the Pacific coast and doing all kinds of work that offered. During the course of his travels, extending over a period of ten years, he gained considerable experience in worldly afifairs and finally drifted back to Iowa. Following his marriage in 1877, he came to

Richardson county in 1878 and rented a farm for two years, at the end of which period he bought eighty acres of land in section 12, Grant precinct; there were no improvements on the holding. Mr. Draper proceeded without delay to put his land into cultivation and presently built a house, success attending all his efiforts. He lived on this farm from April 18, 1881, until his removal to his present home, near Dawson, on March 13, 1904. He added to his original eighty acres, finally getting together one hundred and ninety-eight acres. He sold his original place recently and bought the east half of the northeast quarter of section 13, and is now the owner of one hundred and ninety-eight acres, all in one tract.

On February 21, 1877, William I. Draper was united in marriage to Isabelle Talboys, who was born on July 8, 1856, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Thomas and Anne (Vose) Talboys, natives of the city of Birmingham. England, who emigrated from that country U^ Iowa in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Draper are the parents of six children, namely: Gertrude, wife of Israel L. Heim, further mention of whom is made in another part of this work, in a notice of the life of Mr. Heim; Walter E., a practicing physician, living at Manilla, Iowa, since 1906, a graduate of the Medical College of Sioux City, Iowa; Tida, who married Alfred Swanson, a railroad engineer, who lives at Sioux City, Iowa; Mrs. Orra Swi.segood, who lives near Verdon, this county; Arta, who married John Parriot, lives at Elwood, this state, and John, a student in Kansas Citv V'eterinary College. Mr. Draper is a Republican, but votes independently as occasion requires ; he has never been a seeker after public office.

John W. Wixox

John W. Wixon, an honored veteran of the Civil War and one of the best-known pioneer farmers of this section of Nebraska, who has been living retired in the pleasant village of Stella since 1891, is a native of the great Empire state, but has been a resident of the West since he was fourteen years of age and of this state since 1869, coming over here from Iowa, he previously having been a resident of Illinois and of Minnesota, a soldier from the latter state and a member of the famous First Minnesota, which bore the tragic record of having lost the largest percentage of its numbers of any regiment engaged in the Civil War. He was born in the state of New York on December 28, 1839, a son of \A'illiam L. and Eleanor (Finch)

Wixoii, the fcirmer of whom was Ixirn in that same state, a son of Seth Wixon, a soldier of the War of 1812, whose father, of EngHsh descent and a member of an old Colonial family, was a soldier in the patriot army during the Revohitionary War. Eleanor Finch also was born in New York state, a daughter of Robert Finch, of Scottish descent.

\\'illiam L. Wixon left New York state with his family in 1855 and moved to Bureau county, Illinois, where he was engaged in farming until 1859, when lie moved to a farm near the city of Springfield, in that same state, and there remained imtil the fall of i860, when he moved to Minnesota, where his death occurred in the following year. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order of birth, the others being as follow : Mrs. Rosella White, a widow, now living at Moscow, Idaho; Edward H., deceased, who was a veteran of the Civil War, a member of the Thirty-fourth Illinois Infantry ; ;\Irs. INIarilla H. Lawton, deceased; William L., deceased, who also was a veteran of the Civil War. and member of the Fourth Minnesota Infantry; Olive, deceased; ?^Irs. Josephine Wood, deceased; Mrs. Emily E. Clark, of Minneapolis, ^linnesota; Frank L., deceased, and Mrs. Ida May Copeland, deceased. It will be noted by the above that two of Mr. Wixon's brothers also were soldiers of the Union during the Civil War and it also is worthy of iKjte that all his ))rothers-in-law also served as soldiers in behalf of the L'nion during that great struggle between the states.