Omaha City (part 11 of 26)

In St. Thomas. North Dakota, on the 21st of October, 1899, Mr. Farrington was united in marriage to Miss Katie G. Van Camp. They attend the Methodist ICpiscopal church and Mr. Farrington belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, also to the Omaha Field Club and the Athletic Club of Omaha. He is likewise a valued member of the Commercial Club and for two years was chairman of its traffic board. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he carefully studies the questions and issues which are of vital importance to the commonwealth. He has never allowed a desire for office, however, to swerve him from the strict path of business and his constant energy has resulted in notable achievements. Said one who knows him well : "While many of his undertakings may fail, yet his ability to foresee these failures and discount them, and the enormous success of his projects which win establish him in my mind entirely in a class by himself. He is an optimist of the highest order where optimism counts and is a pessimist as strong where . his foresight leads him. His energy is akin to marvelous. His ambition to attain his purpose, which he maps out in the most minute detail, is filled with dynamic force and his retention and grasp of the smallest data relative to the cjuestion at hand has challenged my admiration to perfect wonderment of the man."

Dr. Daniel Thomas Ouigley, who is accorded a position of eminence as a surgeon of Omaha, was born in Edgerton, Wisconsin, June 27, 1876. His father, Thomas Bartlett Quigley, a native of Boyle, County Roscommon. Ireland, was born in 1841 and in 1849 came with his father's family to the United States. After two years spent in Buffalo, New York, he became a resident of Edgerton, Wisconsin, and after the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted for service with the Union troops as a member of the Army of the Tennessee. He served for three years and was in the Vicksburg campaign under General Grant, taking part in the charge on Fort Hill at Vicksburg. He suft'ered a sunstroke at the foot of the fort and lay there until night, when he was discovered by the Union troops. He was an officer in the regiment and proved himself a loyal and courageous soldier, never faltering in the face of danger. In 1879 he removed from Wisconsin to Lennox, South Dakota, and there passed away in 1899. His widow, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Durnin, is now residing at Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Dr. Ouigley was a little lad of but three years when the family home was established in Lennox and there he completed his high school education. Having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he entered Rush Medical College of Chicago, from wdiich he was graduated in 1902. His first professional service was that of interne in the Chicago Plospital and later he was interne in the Englewood Hospital of Chicago. In 1903 he located for practice at North Platte, Nebraska, where he remained until 1913, when he went abroad for post graduate work in the capitals and medical centers of Europe. Upon his return he located in Omaha in 1914 and now concentrates his energies upon surgical practice, for which he is eminently fitted, having directed his studies largely along that line. He possesses a steady hand and cool nerve, added to comprehensive scientific knowledge, and his labors have been attended with a notable measure of success.

On the 15th of June, 1904, in North Platte, Nebraska, Dr. Quigley was united in marriage to Miss Helen Seyferth, a daughter of the late Edward Seyferth, and they have one child, Thomas Bartlett, born May 24, 1908.

Dr. Quigley is a republican in his political belief and fraternally is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Elks. He also belongs to the leading clubs of Omaha, including the University, the Happy Hollow, the Carter Lake and the Omaha Athletic Clubs. He is likewise a member of the Commercial Club, which is indicative of his interest in community afifairs and municipal progress. His attention, however, is chiefiy concentrated upon his professional duties, which are constantly growing in volume and importance. He belongs to the Omaha- Douglas County Medical Society, the Elkhorn Valley Medical Society, the Missouri Valley Medical Society, the Sioux Valley Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons. For six years he was councillor in the State Medical Society and was then elected vice president, while in 1914 he was made chairman of the surgical section. Li 1908 he organized the Nebraska State Health ofticers, the first society of the kind in the United States, and for three years served as its president. Among the articles on surgical subjects which he has carefully prepared are the following: "Rheumatism as a Surgical Disease," 1907, one of the first contributions on the relationship between focal infections and' rheumatism ; "Use of Sphygmomanometer by General Practitioners and Surgeons," 1908; "Tuberculosis of Bone"; "Complications following Operations"; "Suprapubic Operation for Removal of Prostate Gland"; "Relations between Radium and Surgery"; "Prevention of Death from Cancer"; "'A Neglected Point in the Etiology of Foot Diseases" ; "Abortion as a cause of Cancer of Uterus"; "A Review of the Surgical Clinics of Europe"; "The Diagnosis of Coxa Vara"; "The Neglected Anus"; "Therapeutics of Radium"; and one of the first contribvitions on the subject of blood pressure. He has attained very high professional rank and has ever advocated the highest professional standards, recognizing fully the obligations and responsibilities which devolve upon the physician and surgeon.

George A. Keyser

George A. Keyser, an attorney practicing at the bar of Omaha, his native city, and a graduate of Creighton Law School, is well known in Douglas county and throughout eastern Nebraska. He was born on the 3d of July, 1889, the only child of John and Elizabeth (Murphy) Keyser, who are natives of Pennsylvania and of Illinois respectively. They were married in Chicago and in the early '80s removed to Omaha, where the father afterward became a railroad postal clerk in the mail service. He is still in the government service after thirty-five years and has now reached the age of sixty, making trips between Omaha and Sioux City. His wife also survives at the age of fifty-five years.

Reared in Omaha, George A. Keyser attended the public schools and afterward, in preparation for a professional career, matriculated in the law department of Creighton University, from which he had graduated in 1910 on the completion of a classical course. Three years later he won his professional degree and in the intervening period he has since built up a large and lucrative practice which has connected him with much important litigation. Pie resides

George A. Keyser holds to the faith of his fathers and is a member of the Roman Catholic church. He is also connected with the Catholic Order of Foresters and the Kniglits of Columbus. His political support is given to the republican party and along strictly professional lines he has membership with the County and State Bar Associations, He is exceedingly popular among the younger members of the bar and in other walks of life, possessing social qualities and characteristics that have gained him high regard. Having always resided in Omaha, he is widely known and has a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance.

William J. Hynes

Among those who have been active in developing and promoting the grain trade that has made Omaha a great market for that commodity is William J. Hynes, now president of the Hynes Elevator Company. He was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, in 1873. ^is father, Patrick Hynes, a native of County Gahvay, Ireland, was born in 1832 and in 1848 came to the United States, establishing his home in Pittston, Pennsylvania. He responded to the country's call for troops in 1862 and served in the Civil war for six months with a Pennsylvania regiment, when illness incapacitated him for further field service. In 1898 he became a resident of Omaha, where he now makes his home, but in the meantime he had spent a considerable period in Grand Island, Nebraska.

It was at Grand Island, Nebraska, that William J. Hynes completed his public school education by graduation from the high school, and later he spent two years as a student in the State University, after which he drifted to the age of eighteen years and then found the field of labor in which he has since operated. It was at that time that he began buying grain for a grain merchant of Trumbull, Nebraska, and, finding the work congenial, he applied himself to a thorough mastery of every phase of the business and in that connection worked his way steadily upward, experience bringing to him increasing power as time went on. In 1902 he embarked in the grain business on his own account at Hastings, Nebraska, and in 1906, seeking a still broader field of labor, he came to Omaha and the same year organized the Hynes Elevator Company, of which he is the president. It has ever been his purpose and plan to give to the patrons of the company quick, efficient service and through his instrumentality the business has grown to be one of the dominating factors in the grain trade in this part of the country. Upon the sure foundation of enterprise and business integrity the prosperity of the company has been built and that it today controls an immense industry is evident to all who inquire into the history of the grain trade in Omaha. The Hynes Elevator Company has had a long and honorable career as a member of the Omaha Grain Exchange and as such has done its full share in the movement of the crops and in the progressive work that has resulted in the upbuilding of the Omaha market. The company receives and ships grain in large quantities, maintaining a line of elevators in the heart of the hard winter wheat belt of Nebraska and Iowa. Making a specialty of the milling trade, it has become one of the largest concerns connected with that line of business in the middle west. The policy pursued by the president and his associate officers embraces big business methods, personal service, excellent equipment, promptness and thorough trustworthiness. Mr. Hynes was one of the corporators of the Farmers Terminal Elevator Company, and has been its president since its organization.

On the 5th of June, 1903, in Hastings, Nebraska, Mr. Hynes was married to Miss Margaret Pickens and they have a son, William J., born April 5, 1905. The parents are adherents of the Catholic church and in politics Mr. Hynes is a republican. He belongs to the Commercial Club, which is a manifestation of his deep interest in the welfare and progress of his city. He is also a member of the Omaha Club, the Omaha Field Club, the Omaha Country Club and the Athletic Club of Omaha, and in the midst of heavy and onerous business cares he finds time for social enjoyment, which is ever a force in maintaining an even balance in the individual. Naturally his interest centers first in his mercantile aitairs and he is today a director of the Omaha Grain Exchange, having charge of the Exchange and acting as chairman of the finance committee. For a quarter of a century he has been closely connected with the grain trade and there is no phase of the business with which he is not familiar, while the spirit of advancement that has characterized his entire career has brought him to the point of leadership.

Joseph Howard Rushton

Joseph Howard Rushton, whose optimistic spirit makes him a valuable addition to the business circles of Omaha and, moreover, a distinct asset in citizenship, is now president of the Fairmont Creamery Company, with which he has been continuously identified for a third of a century. A fixed purpose he believes to be one of the elements of success and thus he has closely adhered to one line of business, to which he has given his entire thought and undivided attention. Mr. Rushton^ is a native of England, his birth having occurred in Manchester in 1849. His father, George Rushton, who was born in England in 1823, married Isabella Hoyle. He came to the United States in 1848 and his wife reached America in 1851. Settling first in Lisbon, Illinois, he there remained to the time of his death, which occurred in 1887. For some years he had survived his wife, who passed away in 1876. He was the founder of the family in the new world, his father, George Rushton,' never having come to the United States.

In the schools of Kendall county, Illinois, Joseph Howard Rushton pursued his early education, arriving there when a little lad of but two years. Ultimately he became a student in Jennings Seminary at Aurora, Illinois, and then took up the profession of teaching, accepting the superintendency of the schools at Piano, Illinois, in 1873. There he remained for six years or until 1879. when he began studying law. In that year he removed to Aurora, Illinois, and in 1880 was admitted to the bar. For a year he practiced in Aurora and in 1881 removed to Fairmont, Nebraska, where he practiced for four years. He then abandoned the practice of law but has a knowledge of legal principles above that of the average lawyer. Becoming allied with commercial interests, he helped to organize the Fairmont Creamery Company in 1884 and has since devoted his attention to the business, which in 1907 was removed to Omaha. He served as secretary and treasurer from 1884 until 1897 ^"d in the latter year was elected president of the company, in which position he has since continued. This company are manufacturers of and wholesale dealers in butter, cheese, ice cream and artificial ice, and also wholesale dealers in eggs and poultry, besides doing a large commercial cold storage business. Associated with Mr. Rushton in the management and control of the business are : E. T. Rector, who is vice president of the company; E. F. Howe, secretary; and George W. Sumner, treasurer. Mr. Rushton thoroughly believes in the policy of adhering to one line of business and it has been his close and concentrated attention of thought and activity along a single line that has led to his substantial success. His industry is seldom equalled and his loyalty and friendship to all those with whom he has come in contact generally follows in proportion to their habits of industry. Said one who has known him well for a quarter of a century: "Fle is justly entitled to the honor of a place in history as the

Edison of the creamery and dairy industry." In a word, his initiative has resulted in develo])ing many new plans and methods which have been of direct and great value to the business. He has been a wide reader and thorough student of his own business, is a strong organizer and developer of men.

On the 25th of March. 1875, in Lisbon, Illinois, Mr. Rushton was united in marriage to '^liss Minnie J. I'utt, daughter of William Putt. To them have been born five children, as" follows: Grace Isabella, the wife of Dr. John D. Cortelyou. who is professor of German in the Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan. Kansas; George Howard; Raymond \V. ; Arthur L. ; and Alice Louise.

^Ir. Rushton attends the Methodist Episcopal church and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. He is a' member of the Happy Hollow Club, of the University Club and of the Commercial Club of Omaha, associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct. It is characteristic of him that he stands stanchly in support of every principle in v.hich he believes. Studious by nature, he is continually broadening his knowledge by reading and research and he possesses an analytical mind seldom equalled. He is loyal to a fault to all those in whom he believes. Optimistic in his opinion, he has no time or patience for the views of a pessimist. He inherits the English thrift and disposition to dominate in all the affairs in which he takes part or is interested. One who has known him intimately through long years said: "Summing up the Hfe of Mr. Rushton we would, without doubt, be justified in recording his name with those of the great men of his generation."

Frederick W. Simpson

Frederick W. Simpson, now living retired, first came to Omaha on the 4th of May. 1869, from Watertown, New York, and for many years was closely associated through business and other connections with the development and progress of the west. He is a native of New York, born October 3, 1842, and is the only survdvor of a family of twelve children whose parents were Mr. and Mrs. John H. Simpson, of Watertown, New York. There he was reared and at the time of the Civil war he enlisted at Watertown in May, 1861, as a member of the Thirty-fifth New York Volunteer Infantry. After serviog with that command as a private for two years he was transferred to the Tenth New York Heavy Artillery and at different times w^as connected with the First, Ninth, Eighteenth, Sixth and Twenty-fourth Army Corps. He served altogether for four years, one month and eighteen days and was promoted to the rank of first sergeant in the Thirty-fifth Regiment, was made first lieutenant on the reorganization of the regiment and afterward was advanced to the rank of captain. Throughout the entire j^eriod of his service he w'as connected with the Army of the Potomac and he participated in many important engagements, including the battles of Petersburg and Richmond.

With the close of the war Mr. Simpson returned to New York but after four years sought a home in the middle west, arriving in Omaha on the 4th of May, 1869. W^hen a year had passed he took a trip to Utah, then returned to Omaha and later went to the east with the intention of bringing his family to this city. He became ill, however, when in New^ York and accordingly changed his plans. He then went to work on the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, in which connection he was employed in different capacities until 1878. The following year he established his family in Omaha, where he has since continued, and for six years he was connected with the mechanical department of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. He then went into business on his own account on Cuming street in 1887, establishing a blacksmith and carriage mak- ing shop, which he conducted for twelve or thirteen years, winning substantial success through his unfaltering industry and persistency of purpose. Eighteen years ago he retired from active business life and has since enjoyed well earned rest. On the 15th of January, 1902, he was appointed secretary of the Douglas County Soldiers' & Sailors' Relief Committee, which office he has since acceptably filled.

Mr. Simpson was married in Browmville, Xew York, on the 29th of January, 1866, to Miss Rachel Powers, also a native of the Empire state. She passed away in September, 1914, and of their family of two sons and two daughters only one is now living, Grace M., wife of William Arthur, of Omaha.

Fraternally Mr. Simpson is connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old comrades who wore the blue uniform in the darkest days of the country's history. He is also connected with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and many years ago he was an active democrat. His long residence in Omaha has made him widely known here and the sterling traits of his character are recognized by all with whom he has come in contact.

Howard Taylor Rogers Judson

Howard Taylor Rogers Judson, superintendent of the Alidland Glass & Paint Company of Omaha, was born September 2^,, 1878, in the city in which he yet makes his home. He is a cousin of F. W. Judson. He acquired his education in the schools of Omaha but put aside his textbooks at the age of fifteen years and began earning his living as an office boy in the employ of a physician, with whom he remained for a year. He was afterward cash boy for two years in Mrs. Benson's store and afterward spent about five years as telegraph messenger with the Western Union Telegraph Company, the Postal and the American District Telegraph Company. He afterward became associated with the Klopp & Bartlett Company of Omaha and in 1899 he entered the employ of the Midland Glass & Paint Company in a minor capacity. It took but nine years for him to familiarize himself with every branch of the business and work his way upward through intermediate positions to that of superintendent, in which connection he has remained continuously since 1908.

On the 23d of April, 1902, in Omaha, Mr. Judson was married to Miss Emma H. Schellberg, a daughter of John David Schellberg, and they have become the parents of a daughter, Elinore Eunice.

Mr. Judson's military record covers two years' service with the Thurston Rifles of Omaha. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United \\'orkmen. He belongs to the Kountze Memorial Lutheran church and the jirinciples which have guided him in all of his life's relations are such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. His latent powers have responded to the call of opportunity and a recognition of the forcefulness of industry as a factor in the world's work has led to the attainment of the creditable position which he now occupies.

Dr. Joseph Cory Moore became a representative of the medical profession in Omaha "in 1887 and for many years actively and successfully engaged in practice but is now largely living retired. Ohio claims him as a native son. his birth having occurred at Cadiz, that state, December 17, 1851. His father, John

Moore, was born at Cadiz in 1811 and in early life followed the occupation of farming but afterward turned his attention to merchandising in his native city. He married Elizabeth McCullough, who was born in Ohio in 1813, and both passed away in Cadiz, the death of the mother having occurred in 1856, while the father was called to his linal rest in 1881.

Dr. Moore was but five years of age at the time of his mother's demise. He pursued his public school education in Cadiz and afterward matriculated in the University of ^Michigan for the study of medicine. Later he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1882. He then came to Nebraska and was engaged in active practice at Oakland until 1887, when he removed to Omaha, where he opened an office and has since continued in the practice of medicine and surgery although he is now practically living retired, his son. Dr. John Clyde Moore, having succeeded him in his professional work, in which he is closely following in the footsteps of his father. For many years Dr. Joseph C. Moore maintained an enviable position in the front ranks of the medical practitioners of Omaha and his counsel is yet greatly valued but he does not care to continue in active practice, feeling that he has earned the right to rest from arduous professional labors. He now has valuable interests in a cattle ranch in Wyoming.

On the 6th of October, 1878, at Hennepin, Illinois, Dr. Moore was united in marriage to Miss Emma B. Markley, who passed away in 1891, leaving four children : David Cory, who was chief electrician on the United States Steamship Quiros and was drowned at Shanghai, China, October 11, 1915, when thirty-six years of age; Ila May, the wife of John Boies, of Greeley, Colorado; John Clyde, who is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and is his father's successor in practice ; and Eldred Delmar, who completes the family. Having lost his first wife, Dr. Moore was married again in 1893 in Omaha, his second union being with Clarinda Jane Evans.

Dr. Moore is a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, while Mrs. Moore is a member of the North Presbyterian church. Fraternally he is a Knights Templar Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and for five years he served on the Omaha board of education but has never sought nor desired political preferment, feeling that his professional duties make full demand upon his time and attention. Both he and his son hold membership in the Omaha-Douglas County Medical Society, the Nebraska State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and the well earned reputation of the father is being sustained l)y the son, so that the name Moore has long been a synonym for high efficiency in the field of medical practice in Omaha.

Samuel Evan Rogers

Samuel Evan Rogers, an Omaha pioneer who has been one of the builders of the city, is now living retired. He was financially interested in banking and real estate enterprises in Omaha and for many years was an active factor in furthering business along those lines. He was born in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, February II, 1822, and in direct line traces his ancestry back to Samuel Rogers, who was the first settler in New Jersey of that name and who had a family of five children, one of whom, Anne, became the wife of Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Joseph, son of Samuel Rogers, served with distinction in the Revolutionary war. One branch of the family remained in New England and another branch moved south, settling in Kentucky. It is from this branch that Samuel E. Rogers is descended. His father, William Robert Rogers, was born in Flemingsburg. Kentucky, December 14, 1 800, and wedded Dorcas Dent, whose birth occurred in Flemingsburg. Feb- ruary 21. 1799. She passed away in Michigantown, Indiana, August 26, 1853, after which Wilham R. Rogers came to Omaha, where his death occurred October 13. 1854-

Samuel Evan Rogers is a graduate of Wabash College, of Crawfordsville, Indiana, which institution has conferred upon him the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts. He was graduated in July, 1848, and is the last living member of his class. When his college course was completed he became editor of a weekly paper called the Reveille, published at Pekin, Illinois, and at the same time he engaged in the practice of law there. Attracted by the opportunities of the growing west, he arrived in Omaha on the 28th of October, 1854, and assisted in starting the town, contributing much to its early development through the erection of between eighty and one hundred houses. His operations in real estate were extensive as the years went on and he also became a leading figure in financial circles, for some time conducting a private banking house under his own name, while he also became identified with the State Bank of Nebraska and the Merchants National Bank. In 1882 he set out a fine orange grove in Sutherland, Florida, and there spent the winters for thirty years, returning to Omaha in the spring.

On the 31st of October, 1841. in Michigantown, Indiana, Mr. Rogers was married to Miss Martha Brown, daughter of John Slack Brown. She accompanied her husband when he drove from Omaha to Salt Lake City in 1861 and returned the following svmimer. They had some rather exciting experiences with the Indians, who occupied the entire western country at that time. Mrs. Rogers died January 13, 1907, the period of her married life covering more than sixty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers became parents of a son, G. Samuel, mentioned elsewhere in this work.--'''

In his political views Mr. Rog=efs.". has long been a stalwart democrat. He was formerly a member of the*]\Iasonic order and he belongs to the Unitarian church. In the different localities in which he has lived he has been called upon for public service, filling the office of postmaster at Havana, Illinois, while in Nebraska he was a member of. both the first' arid second territorial legislatures, the first convening January' 16, 1855, and the second on the i8th of December of the same year. Thus it was that he became closely associated with the work of shaping early legislative measures of the state as well as with the growth and upbuilding of his city and the influence of his labors is yet felt. He has now reached the very venerable age of ninety-five years, an honored and respected resident of Omaha, where he has made his home for more than six decades. There has been no phase of its development with which he has not been familiar, and throughout the entire period he has borne an active and helpful part in promoting public progress.

Thomas E. Mickel

Thomas E.- Mickel is president of Mickel's Nebraska Cycle Company of Omaha and also of the Mickel Investment Company and his _ interests along those two lines constitute an important factor in the commercial circles of his city. He was born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, July i, 1864, and is a son of Thomas E. and Sylvania (Peterson) Mickel, who were natives of New Jersey and were of New England stock. Becoming a resident of Ohio, the father there engaged in farming for many years and at the time of the Civil war became a member of the Home Guards. He died at Point Pleasant in 1913 at the venerable age of seventy-eight years, while his wife survived until 1914 and was eighty-four years of age at the time of her death. In their family were five children, one of whom has now passed away.

schools of his native state and when his textbooks were put aside he made his initial step in the business world as an employe in a brickyard, in which connection he continued until the spring of 1884. He then embarked in business on his own account and remained alone until 1891. He established his present business in 1904 under the name of Mickel's Nebraska Cycle Company and in the intervening period has built up a trade of large proportions, being associated in its conduct with George E. Mickel, who is a partner. Mickel's Nebraska Cycle Company handles X'ictor Victrolas and various commodities of a similar character, doing business at Fifteenth and Harney streets, in Omaha. Aside from this Thomas E. Mickel is president of the Mickel Investment Company, of Omaha, and Mickel Brothers, of Des Moines, Iowa.

In 1884 Mr. Mickel was united in marriage to Miss Florence Sherman, of Point Pleasant, Ohio, who died in Omaha in 1900. There were four children of that marriage. William E., who was born in Omaha and is a graduate of the city schools, is now married and still makes his home here. Fle has two sons, Robert and William E., Jr. The second of the family is a daughter, Grace, who is a graduate of the Omaha schools. Clyde, who resides in Omaha, is married and has two sons, Thomas E. and William Lee. The youngest of the family, ]\Iay, was born in Omaha. She is the wife of Morton D. Gray and they have two children, Jacciueline and Martha D. For his second wife Mr. Mickel chose Miss Idabelle Thorpe, of St. Joseph, Missouri, whom he wedded in 1904, and her death occurred in 1912 as the result of an accident.

Fraternally Mr. Mickel is connected with the Knights of Pythias and with the Modern Woodmen of America and is favorably known in those organizations as well as in business circles. Point by point he has worked his way upward and whh each advance he has had a broader outlook and wider opportunities. Fortunate in possessing character and ability that inspire confidence in others, the simple weight of his character and ability have carried him into important relations.

George Parks

George Parks, city commissioner of Omaha and the head of the National Construction Company of that city, occupies a position among the most prominent and substantial residents of Douglas county. His labors have been a most potent element in bringing about the progress which has made Omaha the metropolis of Nebraska and one of the great trade centers of the middle west. A notable career of successful achievement marks the life record of George Parks, who was born in County Armagh, Ireland, March 15, 1858, a son of George and Katherine (Hughes) Parks, who were likewise natives of the Emerald isle. In early life the father engaged in the manufacture of brick and later became a fiax buyer. He died, however, when but forty-seven years of age and in 1881 his widow came with her family to the new world, settling in Chicago. In 1888 she removed to Omaha and lived there to the time of her death, v/hich occurred in 1913, wdien she had reached the age of eighty-two years. In her family were seven children, of whom George Parks is the eldest. The others are : Robert, who was married at Kansas City, Missouri, January 8, 1902, to Cecelia M. O'Connell, a daughter of William and Mary O'Connell, and who passed away November 20, 1912, in South Omaha; James, a well known contractor of South Omaha; John; Mrs. Peter Henry; Mrs. Patrick Smith; and Mrs. Peter McCrane.

In his youthful days George Parks attended the public schools of Ireland and at the age of twelve years began work in the spinning mills of Keady, Ireland, where he learned the trade of spinning and weaving, being first employed by the firm of William Kirk & Sons. He afterward removed to Dundalk, Ireland, where he was employed in spinning and weaving mills until 1871, when he abandoned that work and entered upon an apprenticeship to the bricklayer's and mason's trade at Dundalk, Ireland. There he worked at his trade tuitil 1877, when he came to America, thinking to try his fortune on this side the Atlantic. He was so well pleased with the country and the opportunities here offered that he subsequently sent for his mother, who with the younger children of the family crossed the Atlantic, as previously stated.

George Parks made his way at once to Chicago, where he secured immediate employment as a bricklayer. He did considerable work along the line of his trade in connection with the packing house interests and he remained a resident of Chicago until 1888, when under contract to the Armour-Cudahy Packing Company he came to Omaha to take charge of all the brick and iron work in connection with the erection of the Cudahy- Armour packing plant in South Omaha. An entire year was consumed in the erection of the first plant. In 1889 he returned to Chicago to erect the addition to the Armour plant, having entire charge of the brick work. At the same time he had the contract for the Hammond packing plant in South Omaha and he also erected the St. Agnes church in South Omaha, together with many store buildings, carrying on these numerous projects at the same time. He was awarded the contracts therefor and had the personal charge of these vast building enterprises. He completed the entire Hammond packing plant in South Omaha in 1892 and also the plant of the Omaha Packing Company, another vast building project, in the same year. In 1893-4 he built and completed the brick work of the warehouse and shipping plants of the Cudahy Packing Company in New Orleans and the Cudahy packing plant at Seattle, Washington. He also built the Masonic Temple at Logan, Iowa, and in 1896 built the Fort Wayne (Ind.) plant for Cudahy, together with several buildings in Chicago for the same interests. He was the builder of the John Cudahy plant in Chicago, also of the glue factory for?' the Armour Company at Chicago, and he built the Cudahy packing plants at Brockton, Massachusetts, at Boston and at Fall River, Massachusetts. In 1897 he erected the magnificent palatial residence of Mr. Cudahy on Dewey avenue in Oijiaha and the same year built the Sioux City (Iowa) plant. In 1899 he erected the Adams-Kelly building, a building for the John Deere Plow Company and many other important business blocks and large public buildings in Omaha, as well as many private residences which add much to the architectural beauty of the city. Mr. Parks has the distinction of having erected the greater part of the prominent buildings in Omaha. In 1899 he built the Hammond packing house in St. Joseph, Missouri, also the Viles- Robbins Packing Company plant at St. Joseph and the plant of the St. Joseph- American Beef Packing Company. In 1900 and 1901 the construction of the plant of the Cudahy Packing Company at Kansas City occupied his attention and in 1902 he built the substation for the Metropolitan Street Railway in Kansas City, and in 1904 he rebuilt the plant of the Cudahy Packing Company at Los Angeles, California, which had been destroyed by fire. It was about that time that he began to devote his attention to paving and he secured the contract for the paving for Lincoln, South Omaha and Kearney, Nebraska, which he completed. He afterward built the South Omaha sewer system and the ice houses for the Cudahy interests at Seymour Lake. Lie has erected more buildings in Omaha than any other man in the past twenty-five or thirty years and his work stands as a monument to his skill, ability and genius. In this connection one of the local papers wrote :

"Twenty-eight years a dominant factor in building South Omaha ! For more than twenty years the company entrusted with the paving of the city's streets! The men who erected the huge Armour-Cudahy packing plant and constructed the monster Cudahy ice house at Seymour Lake I These are a few of the milestones in the career of the National Construction Company of South Omaha. The rapidity with which merit is recognized in the substantial middle west is responsible for many of the excellent conditions affecting the lives of residents of its commercial centers. By the same token city improvements have been executed by companies that stand out in perfect harmony with the general scheme of rounding out a nietropohs worthy of the efforts of those who have completed the gigantic tasi<. Thoroughness is the watchword in city contracts. The organizations of experts that have mastered these problems and completed enormous paving contracts to the entire satisfaction of all the people, have a prior claim on public patronage and esteem. And such an institution is the National Construction Company of Omaha, 749 Brandeis building, of which George Parks, one of the best known men in construction circles in the middle west, is president. The National Construction Company is organized upon a cooperative basis, hence the strength that is behind it and the prestige carried by the name of the company. Every member gives his full time to the firm's business. Every department head is an efficiency expert in his line. Satisfactory service and the successful completion of every contract is the natural result. It was in 1888 that George Parks came to South Omaha at the head of his crew of men, with the contract for the erection of the great Armour-Cudahy packing house in his inside pocket. With the completion of that enormous task the capability of Mr. Parks as a contractor was recognized. South Omaha's future appealed to Mr. Parks and he decided to make the city his home. And it was but a few years until he became listed among the leading contractors of the city. It was perhaps in his ability to complete paving contracts that he won greatest esteem. Perusal of paving work completed in South Omaha during the last year alone mutely tells the story of city improvement. These strides toward metropolitanism were assured when the contracts were placed in the hands of heads of the National Construction Company. Here's a portion of the paving completed: Twentieth from S to Y; Twenty-seventh from H to L; Twenty-eighth from D to F ; H street from Twenty-sixth to Twenty-fourth ; Nineteenth from H to G; Sixteenth from Missouri avenue to M; N street from Sixteenth to Twentieth; Fifteenth from M to O; Twenty-ninth from Q to R ; Twenty-eighth from 0 to R. This enviable record for one year's work is a tribute to the ability and efficiency of the contractors. In addition to the street paving the National Construction Company paved ten alleys in the downtown district as well as laying more than three blocks of pavement for the Jetter Brev/ing Company. When the Cudahy Packing Company's ice house at Seymour Lake was completed by the National Company at a cost of approximately seventy-five thousand, dollars in 191 5, the story of successfully applied efficiency was retold. During the paving season the company gives employment to one hundred and fifty Omaha men. More than ten thousand dollars is paid to these men every month. This money goes back into Omaha channels where it will benefit the taxpayer. Through its contracts the National Construction Company is keeping this money in Greater Omaha. This is being done by a fair policy of equitable profits whereby the public receives a double return."

Aside from being president of the National Construction Company, Mr. Parks is president of the George Parks Company of Omaha. In May, 1916, he was appointed to succeed John C. Drexel, as city commissioner. As a city official, superintending the department of street cleaning and maintenance, Mr. Parks gives his official duties the same close attention as he has given his own private business, eliminating all partisan influence and putting his department on a strictly business basis.

At Chicago, on the 29th of August, 1886. Mr. Parks was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Storm, born September 20, 1869, in Cleveland, Ohio, a daughter of Frank and Annie (Corcoran) Storm, natives of Germany and Ireland respectively. They have become parents of fourteen children ; Ann, born in Chicago, June 23, 1887, is now Mrs. John Mugan, of South Omaha, and has three sons, John, Robert and Joseph. Margaret was born in Omaha, July 28, 1888. Catherine was born January 26, 1890. George, Jr., born October 7, 1891, married Lillian Dworak, and has a daughter, Mary Margaret. He is active in the management of his father's business. Marie, who was bom August 23, 1893, died in infancy.

John, born September 26, 1894, is in his father's employ. Robert, born April 25, 1896, is in the plumbing business. James, born July 25, 1898, is a student at Spalding College. Gertrude, born July 3, 1900, is a student at Father Judge's school. Florence, who was born July 6, 1902, Cecelia, born August 30, 1904, and Mildred, born March 16, 1907, are all attending St. Bridget's school. Claire and Francis, twins, were born February 4, 1910.

The religious faith of the family is that of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Parks also has membership with the Knights of Columbus, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the. Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Parks has been termed by those who know him "a prince of good fellows." He has become a recognized leader in business affairs and his life record is the story of thrift and business sagacity grafted on western energy and enterprise. Every day in his life must mark oft' a full-faithed attempt to know more and to do more. The simplicity and beauty of his daily life, as seen in his home and family relations, constitute an even balance to his splendid business ability.

William G. Ure

In this age when much is heard concerning incapability and dishonesty in public office it is most pleasing to contemplate the career of such a public official as William G. Ure, treasurer of Douglas county, and to hear the expressions of public confidence which continually bear testimony as to his capability, fidelity and trustworthiness. Loyalty in every relation of life is one of his most marked characteristics and when there is a duty to be done he prepares for it with the utmost thoroughness, carefully studying every phase of the situation that he may thoroughly inform himself concerning its needs, demands and opportunities.

Mr. Ure was born on a farm in Linn county, Iowa, May 9, 1867, and comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry, manifesting many of the sterling traits which have descended to him through that lineal strain, ever constituting a source of strength in the citizenship of any community wherein it is found. His paternal grandfather, Robert Ure, was born in Scotland and came to the United States in 1838 at the age of sixty years. He was a farmer by occupation and his last days were spent in Linn county, Iowa, where he passed away in 1849. His son, William Ure, father of William G. Ure, also took up the occupation of farming as a life work. He was born in Sterlingshire, Scotland, in 1828 and was therefore a lad of ten years when he accompanied his parents to the new world, becoming a resident of Linn county, Iowa, in 1841. For a long period he was actively identified with agricultural pursuits there and his ability as a business man and loyalty as a citizen led to his selection for official honors. For nine years he served as county supervisor and bridge commissioner of Linn county and for two terms he represented his district in the Iowa state legislature, leaving the impress of his individuality upon legislation enacted during that period. He was also one of three commissioners who selected Anamosa, Iowa, as the site of the state penitentiary. He died in 1898 and is still survived by his widow, who is now living in Omaha at the age of eighty-nine years.

William G. Ure supplemented his early education, acquired in the district schools of Linn county, by five years' study in Monmouth College at Monmouth, Illinois. Later he spent two years in the furniture business at Minden, Nebraska, under the firm style of Nichol & Ure and in 1891 he removed to Omaha, where he entered the real estate and loan business, in which he has since been successfully engaged, negotiating many important realty transfers and also enjoying a good clientage in the other departments of his business.

In his pohtical views Mr. Ure is a stalwart republican and ranks as one of the active leaders of his party in Douglas county. Arriving in Omaha a quarter of a century ago, he soon became prominent in a public way because of his advocacy of equal taxation. In the early days the corporations were bearing a very small part of the burden of taxation. The vast railway terminals of Lincoln and Omaha were paying practically nothing toward the support of municipal government and Mr. Ure became probably the foremost advocate of terminal taxation, being instrumental in securing the passage of a law that has resul ed in the railroads contributing annually thousands of dollars to the support of the city of Omaha, to say nothing of the benefits accruing to Lincoln and other cities over the state. Henry T. Clark, Jr., and N. P. Dodge, Jr., were the members of the house of representatives in charge of the terminal tax bills and hey were unable to answer the figures advanced by the railroads. Mr. Ure was therefore sent for to meet the opponents of the terminal tax, and going to the capital, he there remained until the opposition was thoroughly subdued. There are few men in the state as familiar with the principles of taxation or as capable of arraying figures and thereby demonstrating facts as William G. Ure. From 1906 until 1908 inclusive Mr. Ure filled the position of county commissioner of Douglas county and in 191 1 he was elected county treasurer, while reelections have continued him in office to the present time. Since his first election the responsibility of caring for the funds of the water district, the funds of the city of South Omaha and the village of Dundee have been added to the office, involving the handling of additional millions annually. The business of the office has been so conducted by him that many thousands of dollars have been saved during his incumbency, resulting from investing the funds in a way never done by any former treasurer. As county commissioner he made an enviable record. The county funds were in a deplorable condition when he became a member of the board, there being a deficit of two hundred thousand dollars in the general fund, but at the end of Mr. Ure's term the office was not only free of the deficit but had such a surplus as put the county on a cash basis and enabled the commissioners to pay promptly for all goods purchased.

His active interest in community afi^airs is further indicated by his membership in the Commercial Club. He also belongs to the University Club and to the Happy Hollow Club. He is a member of the United Presbyterian church and comes of a long line of ancestors connd'cted with that religious organization. Mr. Ure served as treasurer of the Billy Sunday campaign committee, handling all the funds, amounting to about fifty thousand dollars, and reported daily to the last penny. Society in its usually accepted sense has no interest for him, but he is easy of approach and he holds friendship inviolable. His success in public life has come because of the fact that he has always been found on the side of the people - not the common people, as the politician expresses it, but the people as a whole - the public as against private selfish interests.

Seymour M. Sadler

Seymour AI. Sadler, engaged in the abstract business in Omaha, was born hi Monroeville, Ohio, June 25, 1854, a son of William and Martha (Webster) .Sadler, whose family numbered six children, of which Seymour M. is the eldest. The father was a native of Ireland and when but three years of age was brought to the United States by his parents, who settled in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, near Akron. He eventually became a well known lawyer of Sandusky, Ohio, and later removed to Centerville, ^Michigan, where he practiced for fifty years. He spent the last three years of his life in the home of his son at Centerville, where he passed away in December, 1909, at the age of eighty-six years, his death resulting from a shock causd by faUing downstairs. During the war he offered his services to the government three times but was rejected. However, he succeeded in raising three companies which went to the front, but he was not allowed to enlist on account of a broken limb. His wife, a native of Connecticut, died in the fall of 1916 in Centerville, Michigan, at the age of eighty-two years.

Following the removal of the family from Ohio to Centerville, Michigan, Seymour M. Sadler there pursued his public school education and in 1869 he entered the University of Michigan from which he was graduated in 1874. He is today the oldest living graduate of the academic or literary department in Omaha. When his course was completed he read law under the direction of his father and was admitted to the bar at Centerville, St. Joseph county, Michigan, in 1876. He took up the active practice of the profession, which he followed until elected for a two years' term to the office of circuit court commissioner. Subsequently he was nominated for the same position as a repubHcan but was defeated by the greenback party. In 1878 he removed to Maquoketa, Iowa, where he remained in active practice until 1882. He came to Omaha in 1882 and secured a position with the Burlington Railroad, with whom he remained until 1886. He then accepted a position with the Midland Guarantee & Trust Company, with whom he remained as secretary until 1892, when he established an abstract business on his own account, opening an office in the Patterson block, then the leading office building of Omaha. He has since continued in the abstract business and is today the veteran in that field in Omaha. He has a most complete set of abstract books, his work being most systematically and thoroughly done, and he is now accorded a liberal patronage.

On the 13th of September, 1877, Mr. Sadler was married to Miss Nellie Campbell, of Centerville, Michigan, a daughter of Richard Campbell, of Detroit. They have become the parents of two children. Clarise Martha, who was a student at Buchtel College, at Akron, Ohio, and various musical centers in the east, died April 21, 1904, in Omaha, at the age of nineteen years. Clifford C, born in Centerville, Michigan, May 29, 1879, is a graduate of the Omaha high school. He then entered railway circles in the employ of the Union Pacific, with which company he remained for a number of years but since 1906 has been in business with his father. He wedded Miss Agnes Duff, a graduate nurse of Omaha, and they have two children: Seymour Duff", who was born in Omaha in 1904; and Edith Campbell, born in 1906. Both are attending school.

In pohtics Mr. Sadler is a republican giving general support to the pruiciples of the party. He is prominent as a Knight of Pythias and in Masonry has attained the Knights Templar degree. He is also connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and enjoys the warm regard of his brethren of these fraternities. He now has a wide acquaintance in Omaha, where he has lived for many years, and his popularity results from a social, genial nature and ready appreciation of the good qualities of others.

John Henry L. Williams

Industrial activity in Florence finds a worthy and substantial representative in lohn Henry L. Williams, a well known contractor who throughout the period of "his residence here has been engaged in building operations. He was born m Williamsport, Indiana, January i, 1848, and is a son of Enos and Catherme (Ludincrton) Williams, who were also natives of Wdhamsport. His paternal grandfather John Williams, a native of Virginia, married Miss McCormack. who was born in Dublin and was most liberally educated there. She enjoyed wide reputation as a writer of hymns. The grandfather of J. H. L. Williams was married in Virginia and took his bride in a wagon drawn by oxen to Indi- ana, traveling after the primitive manner of the times, lie seeured a large tract of government land and the town of Williamsport was named in his honor. He was closely associated with the early settlement and pioneer progress of the district and there remained until 1H49, when he sold out and removed to Dallas county, Iowa, where he also invested in large land holdings. He then concentrated his efforts upon farming in that region up to the time of his retirement from active business. He continued to make his home in Dallas county until his death, which occurred in 1875, when he had reached the notable old age of ninety-three years. He was regarded as a very wealthy man as wealth was judged in those days.

Enos Williams was reared and educated in Indiana and in 1849 ^^^ ^'^^^ his family to Iowa, where he became proprietor of a saw and grist mill which was probably the lirst steam mill in Dallas county. The machinery was taken by ox team from Keokuk, the streams being forded and the trails followed until the destination was reached. There Mr. Williams remained until 1853, when he disposed of his farm lands, his mills and other interests in that locality and removed to Peoria, Guthrie county, Iowa, where he opened a sawmill and became closely and actively identified with the business development of that region. He laid out an addition to the town and had the first and only mill in Guthrie county, having received a grant of forty acres as an inducement to locate a mill there. He platted the forty acres, built a store, a blacksmith shop, a boarding house and several dwellings and there remained until the spring of 1854, when he sold out and went with his family to Plattsmouth, Nebraska, where he arrived on the 3d of June, 1854. At that place he erected a mill and also bought large tracts of land upon which he built houses. Again he was proprietor of a store and blacksmith shop and in his store he carried an immense stock of goods, all of which was brought by steamboat. He continued his undertakings in that connection and during the war had charge of the commissary for General Lyons. He was with the General when that intrepid soldier was killed and he continued in active connection with the army until the close of the war or for more than four years. In the meantime he had sold out his business but retained his land and in the fall of 1864 he removed to the Pawnee Indian reservation, going there under Major D. H. Wheeler as an engineer. He took charge of the government saw and grist mill at that point and there remained until the fall of 1865, when he came to Douglas county and bought land a mile and a half north of Benson. There he spent the balance of his life in farming and passed away April 10, 1872, at the age of forty-five years, his demise being caused by pneumonia. He was a typical pioneer and state builder and contributed in large measure to the development and progress of the various localities in which he lived.

John Henry L. Williams was the eldest in a family of five children and he continued with his father, becoming an active factor in the business in 1865. Previous to this time he was in his father's employ on a salary.

On the 28th of November, 1867, Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss Loretta Schroeder, of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Joseph Schroeder, born in Maryland, whose father removed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when Joseph was but two years old. Mr. and Mrs. J. H. L. Williams are the parents of seven children, as follows : Lilly Ann, who is now the wife of Edward Templing, of Douglas county; John Wesley, who is engaged in business as a partner of his father; Joseph Enos, a resident of Waterloo, Nebraska; Olive, who is the wife of Fred Hender and lives on a farm three miles from Florence; Loretta, who gave her hand in marriage to L. M. Smith, of Omaha; Stella, the wife of Thomas Kendrick, of Omaha; and Edith, who is Mrs. Frederick Wight.

In the year 1867 Mr. Williams took up the occupation of farming in Douglas county and remained upon his land until 1916 but in addition to cultivating his fields also engaged in freighting. In 1878 he took up construction work on the railroad, his first contract being on the Julesburg branch from Julesburg,

Nebraska, to Greeley, Colorado. In that undertaking he was in partnership with his brothers, C. F. and W. M. Williams, their interests being carried on under the firm style of Williams Brothers. They operated quite extensively as railroad contractors, employing one hundred and twelve teams and owning an immense amount of construction machinery, while a large force of workmen were retained. They conducted an extensive business but the partnership was dissolved by the death of C. F. Williams when he was forty-five years of age. The business was then carried on by J. H. L. Williams and his brother until 1904, when the latter retired and John Williams, son of the former, took over his uncle's end of the business, which is still being carried on by father and son under the firm style of Williams & Son. The latter now has the field management, while Mr. Williams gives his attention to the matter of buying.

Mr. Williams has always avoided political activity as an office seeker, for his business has never permitted his time being given to outside interests. He continued upon the farm until March, 1916, when he sold his place, which was known as the Maple Grove Farm and which was pleasantly situated four miles west of Florence. He had purchased the property for seven dollars and fifteen cents per acre and sold it for two hundred dollars, owing to the rise in values brought about by the development of the county and also owing to the many splendid improvements he had placed upon his land. In addition to his other interests Mr. Williams removed three quarters of a million yards of earth at South Omaha for the stock yards and did a large share of the grading in Omaha.

Mr. Williams is connected with the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Modern Woodmen of America. In 1917 he and his wife expect to celebrate their golden wedding. They now have thirty-one grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren, all born and living in Douglas county. Mr. Williams is everywhere spoken of as a fine man with a most excellent family. His record is absolutely clean and commendable and his life history may well serve as a source of emulation to all who have regard for those things which are most worth while in the individual. Wherever known he is held in high esteem and most of all where he is best known.

Charles W. Baker

One of the best known consulting and hydroelectric engineers in this section of the country is Charles W. Baker of Omaha, the president of the Baker Construction Company. He was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, April 13, 1875, a son of I. N. and Sarah E. Baker, the former a native of Posey county, Indiana, and the latter of Sangamon county. Illinois, where she was educated and married. In 1879 the father removed with his family to Hall county, Nebraska, and the following year became a resident of Hamilton county, while later he established his home in Giltner, Nebraska. His last days were passed in New Plymouth, Idaho, where he died on the 21st of November, 1915. at the age of sixty-six years. His widow is still residing there at the age of sixty-five years. In their family were two sons, the elder being Harry O. Baker, who is now engaged in fruit raising at Payette, Idaho.

During his boyhood days Charles W. Baker attended the public schools of Nebraska and pursued his college course at Grand Island. His eyesight, however, became afl:'ected and he had to lay aside his books. He then took up music as a profession, possessing much natural talent in that direction, and he remained a teacher of music at Giltner, Nebraska, until 1894, when he became connected with a noted consulting engineer, under whom he secured actual experience in the field. He afterward \vent to Chicago. Illinois, where he obtained a position as conductor with the Chicago Street Railway Company, remaining there until 1902. That year witnessed his removal to Payette, Idaho, where he took up contracting and carpenter work and also taught music. He later became a resident of Pawnee, Nebraska, where for a year he was engaged in the lumber business and at the end of that time went to Des Moines, Iowa. Through careful study and research work and through close application he became well qualified to take up the profession of engineering and, removing to Omaha in 1909, he organized the Baker Construction Company, Incorporated. He became president of the company, with H. P. Buhman as vice president ; R. Kincaid, of Omaha, as secretary; and Peter Mangold, of Bennington, Nebraska, as treasurer. They are doing business as civil and hydroelectric engineers and contractors. Their purpose is the generation of hydroelectric power for interurban and lighting service and the development of electric railways in interurban connections. He feels that the work of the company has just been begun, that it has scarcely more than started upon its initial step in the development of a business which has already proved most far-reaching and eitective, constituting a valuable asset in the development of the state.

On the 20th of October, 1897, at Loami, Illinois, Mr. Baker was married to Miss Grace Greenwood Graham, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. R. Graham, the former for many years postmaster at Loami. The two children born of this marriage are: Leah Alta, who was born at Giltner, March 22, 1900, and is now a junior in the high school of Omaha; and Roscoe, who was born in Payette, Idaho, July 26, 1903, and is now an eighth grade pupil in the Omaha schools.

In politics Mr. Baker maintains an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment. He is an active and helpful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is serving as chorister. He deserves all the praise implied in the term a self-made man, for he has worked his way upward through persistent effort, utilizing each offered opportunity and never fearing to venture where favorable chance points out the way.

John Webster Towle

John Webster Towle well merits the reputation of being a farseeing publicspirited citizen who has operated boldly and continuously in business and by the stimulus of his exertions has aroused the enterprise of others, while through this means he has furnished remunerative employment to many while at the same time he has promoted his individual success. There are many tangible evidences of his public spirit that may be cited, but none indicates more clearly the position which he holds in public regard than the fact that into his hands was given the task of supervising all construction work done by the relief committee following the terrific cyclone which visited Omaha in 1913.

Mr. Towle w^as born in Falls City, Richardson county, Nebraska, August 28, 1872. His father, Edwin S. Towle, is a native of Mishawaka, Indiana, born of New England stock in 1843, and in the year 1862, when a youth of nineteen, he arrived in Nebraska, being married in Richardson county April 15, 1867, to Miss Kittie L. Dorrington. At the time of the Civil war Edwin S. Towle responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting in 1862 in Company L, Second Nebraska Volunteer Cavalry, of which he became first duty sergeant. He served until the latter part of 1863 and was honorably discharged for physical disability. His duty had called him to the Dakota frontier. Returning to Nebraska after being mustered out, he entered upon the practice of law and has not only left the impress of his individuality and ability upon the record of the Nebraska bar but also upon its legislative history. He was called to represent his district in the general assembly and during his second term's service, in 1875, w^as speaker of the house. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is one of its recognized leaders in the state. Both he and his wife are yet residents of Falls City and ]\Ir. Towle is still a forceful factor in the community and in the commonwealth with which he has so long been connected.

Spending his youthful days in his native city, John W. Towle attended the public schools until graduated from the high school and then went to Ithaca, New York, where he entered Cornell University, completing a course therein with the class of 1894. In 1897 he became a resident of Omaha and accepted the position of agent for the Canton (Ohio) Bridge Company, with which he remained for three years. In 1900 he embarked in business on his own account as a bridge engineer and contractor. In 1899 he organized the Nebraska Bridge Supply & Lumber Company, of which he became president, and, with the passing years his interests developed and expanded until he became one of the foremost representatives of industrial activity in this part of the state. He afterward organized the Western Bridge & Construction Company, which conducted an extensive business in bridge building throughout various western states. At length he retired from that connection and formed the Omaha Structural Steel Works, of which he is the president. This company now controls a large and growing business, figuring most prominently in industrial circles not only of Omaha but of the middle west. He has ever been recognized as a man of well balanced capacity and powers and upon the foundation of indefatigable energy, thoroughness and persistency of purpose he has builded his success. He has long occupied a central place on the stage of business activity and his labors have found culmination in the development and control of the Omaha Structural Steel Works, which is today a most important concern, being a contributing element to the substantial development and upbuilding of this entire part of the country.

If there is one chapter in the life record of Mr. Towle for which he deserves credit more than any other, it is that which covers his work during the reconstruction period in Omaha following the "cyclone of 1913, which so largely devastated the city. Omaha faced the gigantic task of rebuilding the city which had been laid low. It was not the problem of the pioneer who comes to a district where there is vast land expanse with natural resources at his command, but the problem of caring for hundreds of homeless people, of directing energies so that business could be almost immediately resumed- and of meeting exigencies that have to do with almost every phase of life that bears upon the health and the welfare of a community. Mr. Towle was put in charge of all construction work done by the relief committee, amounting to seven hundred separate jobs. This appointment, while it brought upon him much strenuous labor, was as well an honor, showing how high is the regard in which he is held by his fellow townsmen and how great the confidence reposed in his ability. The promptness and efficiency with which he discharged his duties constitutes a record of which he has every reason to be proud.

On the 3d of September, 1894, at Geneva, Illinois, Mr. Towle was married to Miss Naomi Frances Everts, a daughter of James S. Everts, now deceased. They have become the parents of two daughters. Marion Ruth and Naomi Everts, both graduates of Brownell Hall of Omaha and of Bradford Academy at Bradford, Massachusetts.

The family hold membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Towle gives his political allegiance to the republican party, giving strong endorsement to its principles and putting forth every efi'ort to promote its success. In 1912 he was a delegate to the republican national convention. He belongs to the Elks, the University, Country, Field, Rotary, Commercial, Athletic and Omaha clubs. His interest along those lines centers chiefly perhaps in the University Club and for three years he was a member of its board. At the present time he is serving as president of The Cornell University Alumni Association and as trustee of the First Methodist Episcopal church. Reading between the lines, one recognizes the fact that his interest and efforts have been centered and directed in those channels through which flow the greatest good to the greatest number, and while he has never sought to figure personally before the public in any light or any relation, his intfuence is felt as a strong, steady, moving force in the industrial, social, political and moral movements of the community which result in the upbuilding of a better city and in the adoption of higher standards of citizenship.

Edmund George McGilton, a distinguished attorney of Omaha and former lieutenant governor of the state, is a recognized leader of public thought and action in Nebraska, and it is moreover a recognized fact that in all of his public service he has held to high ideals, subordinating personal aggrandizement to the general welfare and partisanship to the public good. He was born in Eau Galle, Dunn county, Wisconsin, February lo, 1859, and comes of a family of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Thomas McGilton, was born in the north of Ireland and throughout his life engaged in the operation of a grist mill. He emigrated to Canada and there on the 21st of December, 1825, ai Hemingford, John H. McGilton was born. After arriving at years of maturity he wedded Gratia Eleanor Burke and in the year 1854 they removed to Eau Galle, Wisconsin, where their remaining days were passed, the death of Mr. McGilton occurring February 5, 1910, while his wife passed away May 25, 1889.

Pursumg his education in the public schools of Wisconsin, Edmund G. McGilton completed the high school course at Menomonie with the class of 1878 and afterward entered the University of Wisconsin, taking the modern classical course. He was graduated therefrom in 1883 and in the following year filled the position of superintendent of schools at Menomonie, but he had become imbued with the desire to make the practice of law his life work and in 1885 he completed a course in the law department of the State University and soon afterward became a representative of the legal department of the Wisconsin Central Railway Company. He also traveled for a few years in the northwest for the Northwestern Manufacturing Company but in January, 1888, succumbed to the allurements of Omaha and has since remained an active and distinguished member of its bar save for the period when his official duties kept him in Lincoln. He stands very high in his profession, being recognized as one of the ablest lawyers of the state, which is demonstrated by the fact that he has been connected with much of the most important litigation during the past twenty years. No one better knows the necessity for thorough preparation and no one more industriously prepares his cases than Mr. McGilton. His course in the courtroom is characterized by a calmness and dignity that indicate reserve strength. He is always courteous and deferential toward the court, kind and forbearing toward his adversaries. He examines a witness carefully and thoroughly but treats him with a respect which makes the witness grateful for his kindness and forbearance. His handling of his case is always full, comprehensive and accurate ; his analysis of the facts is clear and exhaustive ; he sees without effort the relation and dependence of the facts and so groups them as to enable him to throw their combined force upon the point they tend to prove.

On the 4th of April, 1889, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, Mr. McGilton was married to Miss Lina A. Williams, a daughter of Origen Williams, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, after which he brought his bride to the new home which he had prepared in Omaha. They now have one child, Eleanor, but lost two daughters, one at the age of nine months and the other at the age of five years.

Mr. and Mrs. McGilton hold membership in the First Congregational church, of which he is a trustee and in the work of which he takes a very active and helpful interest, doing all in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. He is prominently known in lodge and club circles, belonging to St. John's Lodge,

F. & A. M. ; the Royal Arch Chapter ; the Commandery ; the Tangier Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of which he was illustrious potentate in 1910, while he has also filled other offices in the Shrine. He is likewise identified with the Woodmen of the World and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is an active supporting member of the Commercial Club and a force m bringing about the projects promulgated by that organization. He turns to golf and motoring for recreation in the summer months and he belongs to the Omaha Club, the Omaha Country Club, the Happy Hollow Club and the Carter Lake Club. His military record covers experience as second lieutenant in the University Battalion at Madison, Wisconsin. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and the public regards him as one who is "absolutely straight in politics." He will stoop to none of the underhanded, questionable means to which wily politicians will frequently resort in order to attain their ends. He believes in an honest, open fight and the rule of the majority, and his fellow citizens of Nebraska manifested their confidence in him when in 1902 he was elected lieutenant governor by a majority of more than ten thousand. That' his straightforward work was appreciated was indicated by his reelection in 1904 by a majority of equal strength. Said the World-Herald in this connection : "When he retired from office with honors, he again returned to Omaha to resume the law practice that had shown constant growth. He is now providing legal facilities for the transacting of big business in a manner that signifies security and satisfaction." Further proof of the position of distinction to which he has attained as a lawyer is indicated in the fact that on the 27th of July, 1916, at the convention of the Commercial Law League, a national organization, he was elected president. At the same time he is never neglectful of the duties of citizenship and he has always been one of the most active members of the Tribe of Ak-Sar-Ben, in which connection his efiforts have been far-reaching "and beneficial in the upbuilding of Omaha, i - jiAiiii .' .^-^

Milton Theodore Barlow, president of the United States National Bank, for fifty-two years has been a resident of Omaha and throughout the entire period has been associated with banking interests. His high position in public regard is due not only to the success he has achieved but also to the straightforward business policy which he has ever followed. He was born in Greencastle, Indiana, in 1844. His father, Milton Fry Barlow, a native of Kentucky, was married in Indiana to Miss Angeline Knight. Throughout his entire business career he was connected with manufacturing interests at Greencastle. He died in 1851, while his wife passed away in 1848.

Milton T. Barlow obtained his education by attendance at the public schools of Greencastle and at Asbury University, now De Pauw University. In May, 1864, he responded to the country's call for troops for one hundred days' service and became a corporal of Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for the period of enlistment. Later he came to Omaha, where he has made his home continuously since August, 1864, and throughout the intervening period of more than a half century he has been closely associated with its banking interests. Soon after his arrival he became a clerk in the bank of Millard, Caldwell & Company and, working his way upward in that connection, was admitted to a partnership in 1868 under the firm style of Caldwell, Hamilton & Company. The business was carried on under that organization until 1883, when the institution became the United States National Bank, with Mr. Barlow as cashier. He so continued until 1897, when he was elected to the presidency, which position he filled until January, 1915, when he was made chairman of the board of directors and was succeeded in the presidency by Victor B. Caldwell. Upon the latter's death in December, 191 5, however, he was again elected to the presidency in January, 1916. It is seldom that one can claim continuous connection with a bank for a period of fifty-two years, but throughout his entire residence in Omaha Mr. Barlow has been identified with the institution of which he is now the chief executive officer. He has ever recognized the fact that the bank is most worthy of credit and support which most carefully safeguards the interests of its depositors, and he has therefore avoided everything in the conduct of the business that partook of the nature of an unwarranted risk. He is also a director of the United States Trust Company of Omaha.

On the 19th of December, 1867, Mr. Barlow was married to Miss Mary Hays, who died in 1885, and in 1894 he wedded Sarah M. McClintock at Riverside, Illinois. His only daughter, Ollie, died in 1878 at the age of eight years. His son, Milton F. Barlow, was born in January, 1905.

In politics Mr. Barlow is a republican, having supported the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He was appointed a member of the Omaha water board by the governor of Nebraska upon the establishment of the board and served as chairman for five or six years. He is a Master Mason and a member of the Ak-Sar-Ben, the Commercial Club, the Omaha Club and the Country Club. Through more than a half century's connection with Omaha's history his has been an unblemished character and with him success in life has been reached by sterling qualities of mind and a heart true to every manly principle.

Dr. F. H. Kinyoun, a practicing physician and surgeon of Omaha, was born in Irvington, Nebraska, November 15, 1890, a son of Robert E. and Elma (Chapman) Kinyoun, who were natives of Iowa and of Claysville, Pennsylvania, respectively. The former was a son of James E. Kinyoun, a native of Ohio, who became one of the pioneer settlers of Iowa and afterward an early settler of Nebraska, still making his home in Lincoln. He is one of the veterans of the Civil war. The father devoted much of his life to agricultural pursuits and in 1896 removed to Harvard, Nebraska, since which time he has been engaged in farming near Harvard, where he is now living at the age of fiftyseven years. He was married at Prescott, Iowa, to Miss Elma Chapman and she is now fifty-three years of age. Her father, Henry Chapman, was a native of Ireland but in young manhood crossed the Atlantic to the United States and established his home in Pennsylvania. There he was married to Susan Botkins, who has always lived in the Keystone state. They are -still residents of Claysville, Pennsylvania. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Kinyoun were four children : Henry C, living at Clay Center, Nebraska ; Robert E., a resident of Harvard; F. H., of this review; and Claude, whose h'ome is at Harvard.

In his youthful days Dr. Kinyoun attended the public schools of Nebraska and afterward became a high school pupil at Clay Center, being there graduated with the class of 1906. He next entered Drake University at Des Moines, Iowa, where he devoted two years to the arts and sciences and to preparatory work. He next entered the medical department of Creighton University, from which he was graduated on the 29th of April, 191 5. His first professional experience came to him as interne in St. Mark's Hospital at Salt Lake City. On the 1st of September, 1915, he returned to Omaha and in the intervening period, covering about a year and a half, he has built up a large practice. He has taken post graduate work in the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons and by constant reading and study he has continually broadened his knowledge and promoted his efficiency. He has served as assistant police surgeon and while

On the 19th of May, 191 5, in Omaha, Dr. Kinyoun was married to Miss Marie Freeland, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Freeland, well known in Omaha. They have one child, Jack Homer, born in Omaha on the 7th of July, 1916.

Dr. Kinyoun had no assistance in the acquirement of his education after leaving the public schools but earned the money which enabled him to pay his way through the more advanced institutions, and at all times was prompted by a laudable ambition and an unfaltering determination. He is now a member of the Phi Beta Phi medical fraternity of Creighton University and he belongs to the Douglas County Medical Society, the Nebraska State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, thus keeping in touch with the trend of modern thought and progress.

Walter T. More

Walter T. More, of the law firm of More & Jacobson, was born in Shelton, Nebraska, November 25, 1886, a son of Frank H. and Helen (Torrey) More. The father, a native of New York, came to Nebraska in 1880, settling in Shelton, where he engaged in mercantile business. In 1892 he removed to Kearney, where he was engaged in the same line for a number of years, meeting with substantial success. At length he decided to sell out and removed to Omaha, where he established the Tri-City Mercantile Agency and in this, too, he has met with prosperity, being still actively engaged along that line at the age of sixty-four years. His wife was born in New Jersey and in girlhood removed with her parents to Wisconsin, the family home being established at Lake Geneva, where she was afterward married. To Mr. and Mrs. More have been bom three children: Mrs. W. C. McConnell, of Saratoga, Wyoming; Walter T. ; and Helen, living with her parents in Omaha.

In early life Walter T. More entered the public schools of Shelton, Nebraska, and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1904. He afterward became a law student at Creighton University, where he completed his course in 1914 and then entered upon active and successful practice. He is now senior partner in the firm of More & Jacobkon and they occupy a creditable position as prominent lawyers of the city, practicing in all the courts. He worked his way through college and his determination to thus secure an education argued well for later success in active practice. He now stands high in legal circles and his clientage is of a distinctively representative character.

In politics Mr. More maintains an independent course. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and to the Fraternal Aid Union and he is also identified with the Gamma Eta Gamma, a legal fraternity.

William Herman Bucholz

Arriving in Nebraska when a youth of sixteen years, William Herman Bucholz almost immediately afterward entered banking circles and throughout the intervening period has made steady progress in connection with the financial interests of the state and ranks today with its leading bankers as the first vice president and therefore one of the executive officers of the Omaha National Bank. He was born upon a farm, in Clayton county, Iowa, in 1866, a son of Dietrich W. and Mary (Wolke) Bucholz. The father, a native of Hanover, Germany, was born in 1817 and was therefore about thirty-two years of age when in 1849 ^^^ came to the United States, setthng in Clayton county, Iowa, where he married. There he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in T883, while his wife passed away in 1871.

William II. Bucholz was but five years of age at his mother's death and was a youth of but seventeen when he was left an orphan. After attending the district schools of Clayton county and the high school at Guttenberg, Iowa, he ran away from home at the age of sixteen and made his way to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he began work on the State Journal but did not like that occupation and after three monihs went to Norfolk, Nebraska, wdiere he obtained a position in a bank. The institution, however, was soon voluntarily liquidated and when seventeen years of age he secured the position of deputy treasurer of Madison county, Nebraska, in which capacity he continued for three years, doing in reality all the work of the office. In 1886 he entered the Norfolk (Neb.) National Bank, first as assistant cashier, and upon attaining his majority was made cashier. After twelve years' connection with the institution he was elected to the presidency and so served for five years. He then disposed of his s'ock in that institution and went to Oakland, California, where for two years he was vice president of the Central Bank of Oakland. His identification with banking interests in Omaha dates from 1906, when he became cashier of the Omaha National Bank, of which he was elected a vice president in 1910. In January, 19 17, he was advanced to the position of first vice president and thus he is active in controlling one of the most stable and important financial institutions of the state's metropolis.

On the 31st of December, 1890, in Norfolk, Nebraska, Mr. Bucholz was united in marriage to Miss Marian K. Rainbolt, daughter of the late N. A. Rainbolt, who was an Indiana soldier in the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Bucholz have two children, Frederick Herman and Arden Kingsbury. Mr. Bucholz's military record covers service for eight or nine months with a militia company of Norfolk, Nebraska, of which he was orderly sergeant. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, and, while not a politician in the usually accepted sense of office seeking, he served for two years as a member of the city council of Norfolk. He is a Knight Templar Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine and his fraternal relations also extend to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to the Omaha and Country Clubs and also to the Commercial Club, which association indicates his interest in the city's welfare and upbuilding. He is a member of the Congregational church and his aid and influence are given at all times on the side of material, intellectual, political and moral progress. He stands for high ideals in citizenship, while the integrity of his own business career indicates his standards of manhood.

In professional circles in Omaha, Dr. Charles Impey figured prominently for many years or until death terminated his labors. He became a resident of the city in 1885 and passed away on the loth of January, 19 16. He was a native of Missouri, born near Savannah, January 6, 1853, and from Skidmore, that state, he removed to Chicago and afterward to Omaha. While in Chicago he attended medical lectures and he completed his professional course by graduation from the medical department of the University of Kentucky at Louisville as a member of the class of 1874. He then began practice in Graham, Missouri, and in 1885 went to New York for post graduate work at the New York Post Graduate Medical School. Later in that year he arrived in this city, where he opened an office and entered upon active practice as a physician and surgeon. During his last years he concentrated his energy upon surgery and had a very extensive and important practice. Through the latter part of that period he was associated with his son, Dr. Chester C. Impey, who was a graduate of the Creighton Medical College and did post graduate work in the Post Graduate Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Charles Impey for several years conducted a private hospital in Omaha, called the Central Hospital, at Twenty-second and Seward streets, and he was also a member of the staff of the Wise Memorial Hospital. There was no important discovery of the profession with which he was not familiar, for he kept in touch with the latest scientific research and investigation and was at all times abreast with the best thinking men of the age in relation to anything having to do with the complex mystery which we call life.

In 1876, at Graham, Missouri, Dr. Impey was united in marriage to Miss J ennie E. Freytag and to them were born six children : Charles F., now in San Francisco, California; John Earl, living in Omaha; Chester C, a practicing physician of this city; Fred W., who died in 1884, aged seventeen months; Fannie I., who is the wife of Edward H. Blakely; and Gladys J., who married W. Harold Downey.

Dr. Impey erected for his family an attractive home on Pacific Avenue. He attended the Episcopal church but was connected with no fraternities or clubs. He was, however, a fellow of the American Medical Association, and a member of the Nebraska State Medical Society and the Omaha-Douglas County Medical Society. He was a very active man in all that pertained to Omaha and its welfare and he displayed untiring energy when working along the line of his profession. His knowledge was broad and his judgment seldom, if ever, at fault, and the value of his service was plainly indicated in the extensive practice that was accorded him and in the high respect entertained for him by professional colleagues and contemporaries. -

Charles H. T. Riepen, a member of one of'th.e leadings undertaking firms of Omaha and also a pioneer settler, came from Germa:ny to this city in his early youth, so that he is almost a native son. He was born in Holstein, Germany, April 27, 1862, his parents being Detlef and Henrietta (Hahn) Riepen, who were also natives of that country. They crossed the Atlantic in 1869 and made their way direct to Omaha, which was then but a small town. The father secured a position in the machine shops of the Union Pacific Railway, having previously learned his trade in his native land, and there he was employed until 1880, after which he retired from active life. He died in Omaha at the advanced age of eighty-one years and his wife passed away in this city at the age of sixty-nine. They had a family of four children : Fritz, who passed away in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1913; Mrs. Dora Tibke, of Omaha; Mrs. Christina Schnetz, of Omaha ; and Charles FI. T., who is the youngest.

The last named attended the public schools of this city in his boyhood days and afterward pursued a business course under the direction of Professor George R. Rathbun, who is still a resident of Omaha and was a prominent educator in his day. On putting aside his textbooks Mr. Riepen secured a position in the clerical department of the Union Pacific Railway Company, with which he remained for eight years. Later he was connected with clerical work with different concerns until he entered into partnership with O. S. Hulse in the undertaking business in 1906 at No. 701 South Sixteenth street. They have been successful from the beginning and this is regarded today as one of the most reliable firms of the city.

On the 6th of September,' 1887, in Omaha, Mr. Riepen was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Callahan, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Callahan. They have one child, Mrs. Helen Heeney, who