Omaha City (part 24 of 26)

Louis F. Etter was very young when the family removed to Cambridge, Illinois, so that he pursued his education in the schools there, completing a four years' high school course. For two years he received private instruction in night school, working in the day time. He then became assistant to a well known physician and surgeon, in whose service he remained for three years, and during that period he learned much concerning the practice of both medicine and surgery. Later he returned to his father's home and entered into business with him. Starting at the bottom, he gradually worked his way upward until he had thoroughly mastered mercantile interests in principle and detail. He became chief of the South Omaha Fire Department in 1900. remaining at the head of the department for four years, or through 1903. He was then appointed assistant postmaster and on the 21st of December. 1910, was appointed postmaster, which position he filled until January 3, 1913. when Greater Omaha was organized and the general postoffice became that of Omaha proper. He was then made superintendent of the South Omaha office, which position he has since efficiently filled. Over the record of his long public service there falls no shadow of wrong nor suspicion of evil, his course being at all times most commendable and satisfactory to the public. He is likewise a director of the Commercial Building & Loan Association.

Carrie Hudelson, of South Omaha, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James T. Hudelson of Tipton, Iowa, and they have three children: James F., who was born in South Omaha in 1898; Harold B., born in U)00; and Lois \V., born in 1909, all of whom are attending school.

The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Etter is a thirtysecond degree Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine and he also has membership with the Odd Fellows, the Royal Arcanum, the Modern Brotherhood and other fraternal and social organizations. He owes his advancement entirely to his own efforts, laudable ambition and persistency of purpose. He managed to acquire an education through a recognition of the value thereof, his own well devised plans enabling him to continue his studies at night school when it was no longer possible for him to attend the day schools. He stands high in the public regard as a man and as a citizen and in his official career has ever been faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation.

Claude Milton Skinner

Claude Milton Skinner, well known in Ralston as president of the Ralston State Bank, was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, July 5, 1877, a son of John and Emma (Likes) Skinner, both natives of Iowa. The former was born in Lee county and w-as a son of William Skinner, a native of Maryland. The wife of William Skinner, who bore the maiden name of Eleanor Ferree, was of Huguenot stock and a representative of one of the early colonial families of America. The paternal grandparents of Claude M. Skinner rode a single horse across the mountains to Ohio and afterward became pioneer settlers of Lee county, Iowa, taking up their abode in that district when the Indians were still there. He acted as an agent for the government in looking after public lands and subsequently he engaged in farming. At one time he was a large landowner but met with reverses. His activities were a potent element in the development of the district in which he lived and he enjoyed the respect and goodwill of his friends and neighbors. His death occurred when he had reached the age of eighty-seven years. Philip Likes, the maternal grandfather of C. M. Skinner, was born in West Mrginia and removed from that state to Mills, Iowa, while subsequently he became a resident of Hamilton county, Nebraska. He afterward made his home in Aurora, Nebraska, where he died at the age of seventytwo years. He w^as a criminal lawyer of some note.

In early manhood John Skinner engaged in teaching school for some time and removing to Seward, Nebraska, was soon afterward married in Iowa. He later went to St. Joseph, Missouri, and when two years had passed he returned to Mills county, Iowa, where he remained until 1884. In that year he became a resident of Ord, Nebraska, where he resided for two years, and later he removed to Taylor. Nebraska, where he took up a homestead and proved up on his claim. There he remained until 1891 or 1892, when, owing to a drought which caused crop failures, he removed to Hamilton county, Nebraska, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits until his demise, passing away January 15, 1916. He was a good citizen, loyal in matters of public moment and thoroughly reliable in his business dealings.

Claude M. Skinner was the eldest in a family of four children, of whom three were sons. He received his elementary education at Ord and continued his studies in Taylor county at Aurora, but the greater part of his education was acquired as a student in the Fremont Normal Academy. He took up the profession of teaching, which he successfully followed for about seven years. In 1901 he became a resident of Omaha and taught stenography for one term. Later he turned his attention to newspaper work, representing the Nonpareil of Council Bluffs. Iowa, for a year and a half in connection with the advertising department. At the end of that period he was given entire charge of the advertising department and continued in Council Bluffs until 1906. when he moved to Omaha and became advertising manager of the Omaha Daily News. He next entered the employ of the Shimer & Chase Company, real estate dealers, with whom he remained until 1908. He then accepted the management of the Ralston Townsite Company and in conjunction with Mr. Shimer platted the townsite, planned and financiered the project and put the land on the market. He brought about many sales through judicious advertising and largely contributed to the upbuilding of the town. In the spring of 1913 he organized the Ralston State Bank, which he expected to open on the 24th of March of that year, but on Sunday night the terrible cyclone occurred which caused the death of nine people, while many buildings were destroyed, including the bank building and all its property. This necessitated a delay in the opening of the bank but in November of that year business operations were begun by the institution. Mr. Skinner was made president of the bank and has so continued, L. S. Packard becoming the first cashier. The bank has had a steady growth and now has gross assets of over one hundred thousand dollars. The present brick building was erected for bank purposes and the bank is well housed, while the business methods of the institution ensure its success. \[r. Skinner has also had charge of the selling of lots in the town and showed his confidence in the future of the place by personal investment. He has not confined his activities to Ralston, however, for he has organized and promoted a number of business projects in Douglas county. He was one of the organizers of the State Bank of Omaha, in which undertaking he interested F. L. Schantz, who has from the beginning been the president of the institution. Mr. Skinner also successfully organized the .Burns Baking Company and assisted his brother in organizing the Skinner Manufacturing Company at Fourteenth and Jackson streets and he has been an active participant in a number of other successful and growing business enterprises.

On the 1st of June, 1901, occurred the marriage of Mr. Skinner and Miss Anna Kramer, of Aurora, Nebraska, a daughter of William Kramer, a pioneer of that state. The children of this marriage are : Zelma Alice, now attending high school ; John, also in school ; Ruth ; and Claude Milton, Jr.

Mr. Skinner was the first mayor of Ralston and by re-election served a second term. He was chairman of the relief committee at the time of the cyclone and his organizing ability enabled him to rebuild the town. He was largely instrumental in installing the present excellent waterworks and sewer systems and in putting in the paving and the cement sidewalks. He has a wide acquaintance in the town in which he makes his home and his circle of friends has become coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance. His life has been fraught with good results and he has constantly reached out along broadening lines of activity and usefulness. When the cyclone occurred and practically destroyed the town he did not lose heart but started out to upbuild it again and the same spirit of courage and determination has been manifest in everything that he has undertaken.

Frank E. Cress

Frank E. Cress, who for eight years has been manager of the American District Telegraph service at South Omaha, was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, May II, 1868. His father, Jacob W. Cress, was also a native of the Keystone state and belonged to one of the old families there of German lineage. He became a pioneer settler of South Omaha, and, although he had previously learned and followed the saddle maker's trade, he here engaged in building lines as a contractor and won substantial success. At the time of the Civil war, however, all business and personal considerations were put aside and he enlisted for service with the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Peimsylvania Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained at the front for nearly four years, holding the rank of major. He participated in many of the most sanguinary conflicts of the struggle and was twice wounded. For many years he was commander of the South Omaha post of the Grand Army of the Republic. He has given stanch support to the republican patty, has been an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity and is a loyal member of the Methodist church. He wedded Mary Dietrick, a native of Pennsylvania and also of German descent. She is now deceased but the father is yet living although he has retired from business. In the family were four children.

Frank E. Cress acquired his education in the schools of Pennsylvania and followed farm work there to the age of eighteen years, after which he came to Nebraska in 1889 and for a time worked as a day laborer. In June, 1894, he entered the service of the American District Telegraph Company at South Omaha as a lineman, and since that time has worked his way steadily upward step by step, until for the past eight years he has discharged the responsible duties of manager of the South Omaha branch.

On April 25, 1900, in South Omaha, Mr. Cress was married to Miss Amanda Morgan, a native of Iowa and a daughter of Clint and Jennie Morgan, now residents of South Omaha. Mr. and Mrs. Cress in religious faith are Methodists. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and his interest in the city and state is manifest in his membership in the South Omaha Historical Society. He stands for those things which are progressive in citizenship, which are most worth while to the public, and his aid and influence are always given along the lines of progress and improvement.

C. Herbert Coy

C. Herbert Coy, president of the C. Herbert Coy Seed Company of Valley. has in this connection developed one of the important business enterprises of Douglas county, his ramifying trade connections extending to all parts of the country. He is enterprising, energetic and determined and his affairs are so capably and wisely directed as to make his interests a valuable asset to the business life of his community. He was born in Hebron, Washington county, New York, July 26, 1859, a son of Edward L. and Clara (Bliss) Coy. The father was born in Bernardston, Massachusetts, and acquired his education in the schools of his native state. He afterward took up the wholesale seed business and as a young man crossed the Green mountains to New York, establishing a wholesale seed business at West Hebron, New York. The enterprise proved profitable from the beginning until he was at length in control of a gigantic seed business covering the entire United States. He remained active in that business for more than sixty years or until he retired and removed to Melrose, Massachusetts, where he passed away in 191 2. His wife, who was born in Belcher, New York, died in Melrose in 191 1.

C. Herbert Coy acquired his early education in the public and high schools of Washington county. New York, and the Hudson River Institute at Claverack, New York, and afterward continued his studies in the East Greenwich Academy at East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He then became associated with his father in the seed business at West Hebron, New York, and learned every branch and phase of the trade. That relation was maintained until 190 1, when he came west to Valley, Douglas county, Nebraska, where he organized and established the C. Herbert Coy Seed Company. While in New York he had had a great deal of seed grown for him in Nebraska and had thus become quite well known in business circles in the state. He today has an extensive trade and farmers in many parts of the United States grow seed for him on contract. His plant has a capacity of one hundred and fifty thousand bushels of seed corn and other seed and today his shipments go to all parts of the country, while the company of which he is the head sustains an excellent reputation in business circles.

On the 27th of December, 1882, Mr. Coy was united in marriage to Miss Amelia S. Madison, of West Hebron, New York, who was there born and was graduated from the Elmira (N. Y.) College for Women. She is a daughter of Dr. John H. and Margaret (Brown) Madison, the former a native of Vermont, while both passed away at West Hebron, New York, where Dr. Madison practiced medicine and surgery for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Coy have two sons, namely : Laurence, who is the secretary of the C. Herbert Coy Seed Company of Valley, Nebraska; and Howard Winfield, a college student.

In his political views Mr. Coy is a stalwart republican and has served as a member of the town board of Valley and as president of the Valley school board. Both he and his wife are active and helpful members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he belongs to the Masonic lodge at Waterloo and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Those who know him socially find him always approachable, genial, courteous and kindly. Those who know him only through business relations have found him ever just, straightforward and reliable as well as progressive, and the most envious cannot grudge him his success, so worthily has it been won and so honorably used. Step by step he has advanced in his business connections until he is now at the head of one of the largest seed houses of the west.

Robert Beecher Howell

Robert Beecher Howell, general manager of the metropolitan water district of Omaha, was born in Adrian, Michigan, in 1864, ^ son of Hon. Andrew Howell, who was born in the state of New York in 1828 and when three years of age was taken to Michigan by his father. Dr. Joseph Howell. The family is of Welsh descent, the immigrant ancestor coming to America early in the eighteenth century. Representatives of the name served in the Revolutionary war, including Joseph Howell, the great-grandfather of Robert B. Howell. Andrew Howell was reared in Michigan and became a distinguished member of the bar of the state. He served on the bench as judge of the first judicial district of Michigan and was also at one time a member of the state senate. He was married in 1856 to Miss Mary Adelia Beecher Tower and continued his residence in Detroit until he passed away in 1904, while his wife's death occurred in Omaha in 19 14.

After attending the high school at Adrian. Michigan, Robert B. Howell was appointed to Annapolis and was graduated with the class of 1885. He remained in the navy for two years, after which he resigned and in 1888 he came to Omaha as an engineer for the American Water Works Company of Illinois, with which he remained for two years. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the engineering and contracting business and so continued until 1895, when he was appointed state engineer of Nebraska, being the first to hold that office. He served for one term and then accepted the appointment of city engineer of Omaha, in which position he continued until 1897, when he entered the navy as a lieutenant in the Spanish-American war. He served through the period of hostilities and participated in important naval maneuvers, entering Ponce, Porto Rico, with the army. After the war he returned to Omaha, where he resumed the ])ractice of his profession, in which he has since continued, being now general manager of the waterworks in the city.

During the years of his residence in Omaha, Mr. Howell has been prominent in the public life of community and state. In 1902 he was elected to represent his district in the state senate', in which he served for one term. In 1904 he was made a member of the water board of Omaha and in the same year was elected for a term of six years, while in i(>io and also in 1916 he was again chosen for that position. In 191 2 he was a])])ointed water commissioner of the city of Omaha and in 191 3 general manager of the metropolitan water district of Omaha and so continues. In 191 2 and again in 1916 he was chosen in a state-wide primary a member of the republican national committee, and subsequently in 1916 a member of the executive committee of the repul)lican national committee. In 1896 he was appointed by President Cleveland a member of the board of visitors for the naval academy at Annapolis. He has always given stalwart sup])ort to the republican ])art\- and his efforts in its behalf have been farreaching and beneficial.

On the I2th of September, 1905, in Denver, Colorado, Mr. Howell was united in marriage to Mrs. Alice (Chase) Cullingham, who by her first husband had a son, James Cullingham. Mr. Howell is a Master Mason and an Elk. He belongs also to the Presbyterian church and in club circles he is well known, holding membership in the University Club, the Happy Hollow Golf Club, the Commercial Club, the Omaha Club, the Army and Navy Club of Washington and the Army and Navy Club of New York.

T. Teffery Davey

J. Jeffery Davey, an architect, has followed his profession in Omaha since 1896, operating independently since 1906, during which period he has executed various important projects, a number of substantial structures standing as monuments to his skill, ability and enterprise. He was born in Dover, England, March 17, 1874, the only son of John Davey, a native of iCornwall, England, who in the latter part of 1873 came to America. He engaged in contracting and building. In 1879 he removed to Denver, Colorado, casting in his lot with the early residents of that city. In the intervening period he has become a very prominent and successful man and is now living retired, enjoying the fruits of a well spent life. He wedded Bessie Jeffery, who was also born in England.

J. Jeffery Davey was but five years of age when the family home was established in Denver and there he attended the graded and high schools and also became a student in the State School of Mines at Golden, Colorado. Dependent upon his own resources from the age of nineteen years, he began the study of architecture and in that connection was employed for a number of years in the larger cities from vSt. Louis to San Francisco, being connected with some of the leading architects of the country, so that his training and experience were broad and valuable. At length he began practicing his profession in Colorado Springs, where he remained until 1896, when he came to Omaha and accepted a position in the ofifice of Cleves Brothers, while later he was with Charles Cleves, following the dissolution of that partnership. He continued with Mr. Cleves until 1906, when he opened an office on his own account, and has since followed his profession, in which connection his ability has brought him a liberal clientage. In point of patronage he is classed among the leading architects of Nebraska and the west and his ability is demonstrated in the fine class of buildings which he has erected, including the Plaza Hotel, Hotel Neville, the Flomar Hotel, the Delmar apartments, the medical laboratory of Creighton University and many other prominent buildings of the city and of the state. He has also built all of the Eagles' Homes in Douglas county and several Masonic Temples in the state.

On the 31st of October. 1901, in Omaha, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Davey and Miss Lauretta Boyd, a native of Dubuque, Iowa. Mr. Davey has never allied himself with any political party but in fraternal relations is well known. He has attained the Knight Templar degree of the York and the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Masonry and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He hkewise belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Royal Arcanum and the Fraternal Order of Eagles and his membership further extends to the Omaha Athletic and Carter Lake clubs. His hfe is guided by his faith as a member of the Episcopal church. He finds his recreation largely in the study of literature and has an extensive private Hbrary includmg many rare and beautiful works. In all of his life he has never been content to choose the second best and early came to an understanding of the fact that the greatest joy is that which comes through intellectual stimulus.

Daniel Bernard Butler

Omaha on the whole has been fortunate in the class of men who have occupied her public offices and today is receiving efficient service from Daniel Bernard Butler, city commissioner and superintendent of the department of accounts and finances. He was born in (Dttawa, Illinois, in 1879, ^i^d is of Irish lineage. His paternal grandfather, a native of Ireland, spent his last days in Ottawa, Illinois, where he passed away in 1883 at the age of eightyfour years. His son, Joseph Butler, was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1829, and in 1845 came to the United States. He was married in Syracuse, New York, and in the year 1885 removed with his family from Ottawa, Illinois, to Omaha, Nebraska, where he engaged in business as a contractor. He died March 5, 191 5, having for several years survived his wife, who passed away on the 7th of November, 191 1.

Daniel B. Butler, who was reared in Omaha and attended the parochial schools there, continued his education in Creighton University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree. He later entered the employ of the Pacific Express Company at St. Louis and in 1901 returned to Omaha, where he secured the position of bookkeeper in the office of the county clerk, serving in that capacity until 1905. He later spent two months as bookkeeper in a drug house in Omaha and in May, 1906, was elected city clerk, in which office he made so creditable a record that he was re-elected in 1909 for a three years' term. Loath to give up his services, the public then called him to the office of city commissioner in May, 1912, and he was re-elected in May, 1915, so that he is now serving for a second term and occupies the responsible position of superintendent of the department of accounts and finances. He has studied closely the questions affecting municipal interests and his aid and influence are always given on the side of progress and improvement. He votes with the democratic party, which has received his endorsement and support since age conferred upon him the right of franchise.

Mr. Butler is of the Catholic faith and holds membership with the Knights of Columbus. He is also prominent in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, being past exalted ruler of lodge No. 39 and a past district deputy of the state of Nebraska.

Uncle Sam Health Food Company

Constant development in order to meet changing conditions is the demand of business hfe of today. It is necessary to continually adapt methods to the transformation that has been wrought by time and man. Every field of labor finds this. It is as manifest in the preparation of foods as in the manufacture of wearing apparel or in the building of houses. Recognizing this condition, the Uncle Sam Health Food Company has placed upon the market a laxative health food which meets the needs and demands of the age, and one of the important business enterprises of Omaha is that which is conducted under this name, with Ambrose H. Lee as president of the company, J. M. McGowan as vice president, Peter O'Malley as secretary, and Clem J. Lee as treasurer and manager, the last named having active charge of the business.

Clem J. Lee was born in Waterloo, Nebraska, a son of Ambrose H. Lee, who came to Nebraska in 1869. In 1908 Ambrose H. Lee helped organize the Uncle Sam Health Food Company of Omaha, which is now one of the leading health food manufactories of the country. The business has had a wonderful growth, and has now reached very extensive proportions. Ambrose H. Lee was chosen second president of the company in 1910 - he also has a half interest in the patented preparation of the food. Thomas F. Lee, who was graduated from the law school of the University of Iowa, became the secretary of the company and occupied that position until death called him in 1914, when Peter O'Malley became secretary. In 1910 Clem J. Lee became traveling salesman for the company, with headquarters at Kansas City - a little later he was transferred to San Francisco, California. In 1914 he was elected treasurer and manager, directing manufacture and sales of the company's food product. In the preparation of the health food the company has taken cognizance of a condition that everywhere exists - that business men do not take time to properly masticate their food, the process of digestion is accordingly inadequate and constipation results. The company has studied to remedy defects caused thereby, and in putting upon the market the Uncle Sam Health Food it has given to the public a cereal not only thoroughly palatable, but one which aids in bringing about the normal health conditions which are neglected through hasty eating. The product is made of toasted and crushed flaxseed and toasted whole wheat flakes, flavored with salt and celery.

The business has grown constantly until it is today one of the big manufacturing institutions of Omaha. More than twenty-five people are now kept busy at the plant producing this one product. The plant, which is located at Twentyeighth avenue and Sahler street, is a large one and is entirely equipped with automatic machinery, closed steel bins and conveyers. In addition the company maintains a concrete elevator of fifty thousand bushels capacity, for the storage of grain used in the manufacture of the health food. The Uncle Sam Health Food has been endorsed by the bureau of chemistry and pharmacy of the American Medical Association on account of its nutritive and laxative qualities. It is also extensively recommended by leading physicians and osteopaths throughout the country.

Charles Henry Pickens

Prominent among the energetic, farsighted and successful business men of Omaha is Charles Henry Pickens, the president of the Paxton-Gallagher Company, wholesale dealers in groceries and hardware. Throughout his business career he has been identified with this undertaking and his ability has brought him up from a minor position to the place of administrative direction and executive control. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, February 21, 1856, and comes of English ancestry. His grandfather, Jonathan A. Pickens, a native of England, came to the United States following his son, Jonathan H. Pickens, and spent his last days in Ohio. It was in Cambridge, England, in 183 1, that Jonathan H. Pickens was born and after arriving at years of maturity he was there married to Elizabeth A. Clarke. They came to the United States in 1851, settling at Detroit, Michigan, and after fifteen years removed to Omaha in 1866, finding here a little town upon the western frontier containing few elements that indicated its future progress and development. Just before coming to Omaha he. had been mustered out of service in the Union army, having taken an active

Charles H. Pickens

Charles H. Pickens was a lad of but ten summers when the family home was established in Omaha and to its public schools he is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. He was twenty-three years of age when in 1879 he entered the employ of the firm of Paxton & Gallagher at Fifteenth and Farnam streets. He has since been identified with that establishment, passing through various stages until he became general manager in 1896. In 1907 he was elected to the presidency of the Paxton-Gallagher Company. For thirty-eight years, therefore, he has been continuously connected with this house and has contributed in a very substantial measure to the upbuilding of its interests and the extension of its trade relations. The policy that he has ever pursued in business measures up to high standards and his course illustrates the value of enterprise and honesty in the attainment of success. His cooperation, too, has been sought along various other lines and he is now the president of the Nebraska-Iowa Grain Company, having its headquarters in Omaha, and is a director of the Corn Exchange National Bank.

Mr. Pickens was married in Omaha, October 3, 1888, to Margaret E., daughter of the late A. J. Doyle, and to them has been born a daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, who is now the wife of Kenneth Hitchcock Paterson, by whom she has one child, Charles Pickens Paterson. Mr. and Mrs. Pickens are members of the Episcopal church and his political affiliation is that of the republican party. He is a member of Capitol Lodge, No. 3, A. F. & A. M., Mount Calvary Commandry, No. 1. K. T., and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and his name is on the membership roll of the Commercial Club, the University Club, Omaha Club, Omaha Country Club, Omaha Athletic Club and Happy Hollow Club. He is one of the city's most substantial residents. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor, and the rewards of intelligently directed effort are today his. He stands as a representative of the best type of American manhood and chivalry. By perseverance, determination and honorable efifort he has overcome the obstacles which have barred his path to success and has reached the goal of prosperity, while his genuine worth, broad mind and public spirit have made him a director of public thought and action.

Frank C. Best

Frank C. Best, engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Omaha, is numbered among Iowa's native sons, his birth having occurred in Scott county, July 27, 1873, his parents being Mathias V. and Mary Ann (Mercer) Best, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively, their marriage being celebrated in Cadiz, Ohio. At an early period in the development of Iowa they removed to that state, where the father engaged in farming. He was also prominent and active in public life. He died at Shelby, Iowa, at the age of seventy-two years and his widow still makes her home in Shelby at the age of eighty-four. In the family were thirteen children, of whom Frank C. was the eleventh in order of birth. Three of the number are now deceased. Those still living are: Mrs. lames Robertson, a resident of Shelby, Iowa; Mrs. Oscar Mowry, also living" in Shelby, Iowa; Mrs. Nissa King, of Shelby, Iowa; Sherman, who makes his home at Manning. Iowa; Archie M., of Shelby, Iowa; A.lvin S., living at Greenland, Colorado; Ernest L.. Arthur M. and Charles W., all of whom reside at Shelby, Iowa ; and Frank C, of this review.

In early boyhood Frank C. Best attended the district schools and afterward became a student in the high school at Shelby, while later he pursued a course in the Omaha Commercial College, from which he was graduated in 1890. He afterward became connected with mercantile interests, continuing active in that line for five years, when he entered the Union Stock Yards National Bank in the loan department, occupying a position there for five years. He next entered the real estate business and in the intervening period has conducted a real estate and insurance business at Omaha. He has thoroughly informed himself concerning property values, knows what is upon the market and is able to supply the wants of his customers or assist them in making profitable sales.

On the 28th of October, 1896, Mr. Best was married to Miss Bertha C. Laird, of Omaha. The two children of this marriage are : Russell R., who was born in Omaha, August 24, 1897, and is now a junior in the medical department of the University of Nebraska; and Warren, who was born October 18, 1898, and is now attending the Omaha high school as a senior.

Mr. Best and family hold membership in the Presbyterian church. He belongs to the Field and Carter Lake Clubs and in his fraternal relations is an Elk and also is connected with the Royal Arcanum and the Woodmen of the World. He is a recognized leader in the ranks of the republican party, active in its work, and in 1906 was secretary of the republican city central committee. In 1907 he was elected to the state legislature and gave careful consideration to all the vital questions which came up for settlement before that body. In the fall of 191 1 he was chosen county commissioner, which position he filled for five years. His life has been actuated by high ideals and honorable purposes. Progress has been his watchword and in his vocabulary there is no such word as fail. Mrs. Best is well known in social circles of Omaha and their home is the scene of many delightful social functions, its hospitality being one of its chief charms. Both Mr. and Mrs. Best have a wide acquaintance, the circle of their friends being almost coextensive therewith.

Watson B. Smith

Only thirteen years had passed after the establishment of a home by first white family of Omaha until Watson B. Smith became a resident of the city. He arrived in the spring of 1867 from Detroit, Michigan, and was thereafter continuously connected with the courts. He was born in New York but in early life had removed westward to Michigan and became a law student in Detroit. He was living in that state at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war, and responding to the country's call for troops, he enlisted in the Eighth Michigan Cavalry, with which he served for three years. He entered the army as a private but five times was commissioned and received the commission of brevet colonel at the close of the war. He then returned to Michigan, where he devoted his attention to preparation for the bar and the practice of law, and with his removal to Omaha he opened a law office. The following year, however, he was made district clerk of the United States courts under Judge Dundee, and so efficient and capable did he prove in that office that he was continued in the position to the time of his death. Everyone connected in any way with the district courts knew Watson B. Smith and all spoke of him in terms of the highest regard.

It was in 1869 that Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Frances Coon, who in 1867 came from Pittsburgh. Her father, Archibald F. Coon, arrived in Nebraska in 1870, settling at David City. Her uncle. John R. Meredith, removed from Cincinnati to Omaha in 1857 and was a well known attorney here for many years, being the associate of Judge Doane in the general practice of law until illness forced his retirement. Up to that time he had been a very active and prominent representative of the profession. He was born in Pennsylvania and his last days were spent in Omaha, where he was most widely and favorably known.

Meredith, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Gertrude, at home; RolHn C., who is in California; Louise, the wife of W. D. Reed; Sherman, Hving in Canada; and Watson B., also of Omaha. The family circle was broken by the hand of death when in November, 1881, Mr. Smith was called to his final rest. His life was fraught with good in many respects. Not only did he prove a capable official in office but his life was an extremely successful one when viewed from the standpoint of modern philosophy that "Not the good that comes to us, but the good that comes to the world through us, is the measure of our success." He was a most devoted member of the First Baptist church, active in its work along many lines. He served as superintendent of the Sunday school and was president of the Young Men's Christian Association and he did everything in his power to aid and encourage young men to develop the best in them physically, mentally and morally. At one time he was a member of the Masonic fraternity. He was very charitable both in thought and in deed and such was his nature that he shed around him much of the sunshine of life.

George Lindon Campen

George Lindon Campen, a contracting and consulting engineer residing in Omaha, has been identified with some of the most important engineering and construction projects undertaken in Omaha and the state and for a period served as superintendent of public works in the Canal Zone. He was born upon a farm in Hillsdale county, Michigan, July 27, 1867, and comes of Irish ancestry. His grandfather, George Campen, was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, and when but thirteen years of age ran away from home and made his way to the United States. Eventually he became a resident of Hillsdale county, Michigan, where he passed away in 1889, at the age of seventy-six years. The family is of the Protestant faith. John L. Campen, son of George Campen and father of George Lindon Campen, was born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, in 1844 and there wedded Anna Harford. He has devoted much of his life to farmins:, but he and his wife now make their home in the city of Pittsford, Hillsdale county. At the time of the Civil war he responded to the country's call in 1861, enlisting in the First Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, with which he served until the close of hostilities. During the latter period of the war he was held as a prisoner at Andersonville, Castle Thunder, Libby prison and Belle Isle. For a part of the time he was a scout under General George H. Custer, who later visited him at Hudson, Michigan, and offered to secure for him a lieutenancy in the United States army if he would accept it and go with the General on his Indian campaign, but because of asthmatic conditions from which he suffered Mr. Campen declined the offer and thus escaped the dreadful massacre which brought death to the General and all his force. Mr. Campen was once condemned to death while at Andersonville prison, but fate intervened and today he is pleasantly located at his home in Pittsford, Michigan.

George L. Campen attended the country schools of Hillsdale county to the age of thirteen years and later became a pupil in the public schools of Pittsford and of Hillsdale. He next entered the normal school at Ypsilanti, Michigan, and in 1885 accompanied his parents on their removal to Saunders county, Nebraska. The father purchased a farm near Wahoo and there resided for five years. G. L. Campen pursued a two years' special course in the University of Nebraska and in 1889 went to Cambria. Wyoming, as mining surveyor, there opening some mines for Kilpatrick Brothers. In 1890 his parents returned to Michigan. G. L. Campen, however, remained in Wyoming for about two years and then entered the employ of the city engineer of Lincoln, Nebraska, in which connection he continued from 1891 until 1898. He afterward spent three years in the employ of a Lincoln construction company and for three months he was acting city engineer of Lincoln, after which he was appointed to the office to fill out an unexpired term. Later he was twice elected to that position for a two years' term and rendered capable service in that connection until 1906, when he resigned and accepted the position of water commissioner of the Panama Canal Zone. He went to the scene of government activities in the Zone and in the fall of that year was made superintendent of public works, there remaining until July i, 1909, when on account of the ill health of his wife he resigned and returned to the States. Establishing his home in Omaha, he continued to occupy the position of assistant city engineer from August i, 1909, until June i, 191 2, when he resigned to engage in business on his own account as a contracting and consulting engineer. On the 20th of March, 1914, he organized The Campen Company, contractors for foundation and bridge work, and was president of the company for some time, but is now practicing independently as a contracting and consulting engineer.

On the 27th of December, 1894, in Hillsdale, Michigan, Mr. Campen was united in marriage to Miss Pearl Herschey, wdio passed away at that place on the 5th of August, 1912. Mr. Campen has an adopted son, William H., born in 1897. The religious faith of the family is that of the Episcopal church and Mr. Campen is a blue lodge Mason and an Elk. His political allegiance is giyen to the republican party and his interest in community affairs is shown in his active cooperation in the work of the Commercial Club. Along more strictly professional lines he is connected with the Technical Club, of which he is a director, and with the American Society of Civil Engineers. His entire life since the completion of his university course has been directed along a single line and this concentration of purpose and close application have been the salient features of his growing success. He has won a well earned reputation for notable ability in his chosen field and his constantly expanding powers have brought him into important connections.

Dr. Zoro D. Clark comes of a family which through a number of generations has been distinctively American in both its lineal and collateral branches. His great-grandfather served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war from Vermont. His father. Dennis P. Clark, a representative of an old family of Virginia, was born in Olean, New York, in 1828, and was married in that state to Miss Almira P. Willard. During the period of the Civil war they removed to Wisconsin and in 1870 came to Nebraska, settling at Lincoln, where the father engaged successfully in merchandising for many years. His political allegiance was given to the democratic party and he was a well known and valued resident of the capital for a long period. He died in Arapahoe, Nebraska, in 1893, and was long survived by his widow, who passed away in Omaha in December, 19 15.

Their son, Dr. Zoro D. Clark, was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1867 and acquired his public school education in Lincoln. He determined upon (he practice of dentistry as a life work and with that end in view entered the Omaha Dental College, from which he was graduated in 1899. He at once opened an office in Omaha and has practiced continuously in the same building since that date. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the scientific principles which underlie his profession and he also has the mechanical skill and ingenuity which are so indispensable in dental practice.

In Omaha, in 1906, Dr. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Jessye S. Lawrence, a daughter of George and Ida B. fShull) Lawrence, the latter a member of one of Omaha's pioneer families. Dr. and ^Slrs. Clark are the parents of the following children, Lawrence Willard, Eugene E., R. Reynolds and Zoro D. Tr.

Dr. Zoro D. Clark

The family attend the Christian Science church and Dr. Clark holds membership in both the York and Scottish Rites of Masonry and with the Mystic Shrine. In October, 19 15, he was made Knight Commander of the Court of Honor by the Supreme Council of the Thirty-third Degree at Washington, D. C. Dr. Clark is one of the publishers of the Masonic Times, which had its iirst issue in January, 191 7, it being the only paper of its kind published in the state. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a republican. He served for three years on the social service board of Omaha under appointment of Mayor Dahlman and in 1915 was appointed a member of the city recreation board, serving until 1917, when he resigned because of the demands of his practice upon his time. His interest in the welfare of his city and the solution of its civic problems has ever been that of a zealous, public-spirited and progressive citizen. He studies closely the questions which affect the economic and sociological conditions of Omaha and his influence has alw^ays been given on the side of reform, progress and improvement.

Alfred Bloom

Alfred Bloom, president of the Alfred Bloom Company, manufacturers of interior finish and fixtures and leaders in the industrial world of Omaha, is a representative of that fine class of citizens whom Sweden has given to America. His birth occurred August 6, 1863, in the southern part of Sweden, and his parents were Nels and Marie (Pearson^. Blomstejf, lifelong residents of that country. The father served in the army for a period and on resuming pursuits of civil life engaged in farming. He died in 1910 at the age of seventy-eight years, as his birth occured in 1832. His wife, who was born in 1836, passed

Alfred Bloom, who is the third in order' of hifth in a family of eleven children, received a good education and after completing the equivalent to a common school course attended a technical school in Stockholm, Sweden. When twentythree years of age he came to the United States and, realizing that the west offered better opportunities to the poor young man than the more crowded east, he located in Omaha. He secured a position in a mill here and about seven years later, or on the ist of ]\Iarch, 1893, he established a shop for the manufacture of sash and all kinds of millwork, located at Nineteenth and Charles streets. He started in a very small way but owing to the excellent work done and his wise management of his interests the business grew rapidly, and two years later he purchased a larger building at Twenty-Fourth and Grant streets, where the shop remained until 1901. In that year removal was made to the present site at Fifteenth and California streets, and the present large building of modern mill construction was erected. It is four stories in height and has a floor space of sixty thousand square feet. It is thoroughly equipped with machines of the most modern type and employment is given to from eighty to one hundred men. All kinds of special fixtures and high class interior finish work are manufactured and more than one million feet of lumber are used annually at the plant. About seventy-five per cent of the products of the factory are used in Omaha, the remainder being sold in neighboring states. The company has furnished fixtures for practically all the best business buildings in the city, including the Burgess- Nash store, Orkin's store, and the King-Swanson store. In 1901 the concern was incorporated under the name of the Alfred Bloom Company, and the officers are: Alfred Bloom, president; Gunder Lindquist, vice president; N. P. Swanson, secretary; and A. W. Bloom, treasurer. A local paper has written of

"Alfred Bloom succeeded because he would do nothing half way. Everything he produced was his best. And that all through his business career has been his policy. Today nothing but the higher grades of fixtures and mill work are turned out of the plant. There are no cheap grades. The material and workmanship of every product is the best that can be had. The remarkable success of the Alfred Bloom Company is not so remarkable if one knows Mr. Bloom, for he represents that type of successful manufacturer of Omaha who has had a big part in the building of the city. He is more than an ordinary head of an institution, for he can go into the great workshops of his company and operate as skillfully as any workman all of the intricate machines that turn out quality fixtures."

In August, 1887, Mr. Bloom was married to Miss Augusta Erickson, of Omaha, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Erick Anderson. Three children have been born to this union. Alvin W. was born in Omaha in June, 1888, and is a graduate of the Omaha high school and of Augustana College at Rock Island, Illinois, which conferred upon him the A. B. degree. He is now treasurer of the Alfred Bloom Company. Anna J. was born in Omaha in 1890 and is a graduate of Milwaukee-Downer College at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is now the wife of Bernard Johnston, of Omaha. Ellen M. was born in Omaha in 1892 and is a graduate of the Linden wood College for Women at St. Charles, Missouri.

Mr. Bloom is independent in politics, casting his ballot for the candidates who, in his judgment, are best fitted for the office in question. He is a director of the Emanuel Hospital, is a member and one of the trustees of the Lutheran church and belongs to the Noon Day Club and the Commercial Club, associations which indicate the extent of his interests. When he arrived in Omaha as a young man he had only a dollar but he possessed assets of great value in his sound judgment, his strength of character, his willingness to work, and as the years have passed he has advanced steadily until he now takes high rank among the business men of Omaha.

Robert H. Olmsted

Robert H. Olmsted is one of the popular attorneys of Omaha, especially among the boys and young men of the city and of the suburban town of Florence, for in them he takes a deep interest, doing everything in his power to assist them and enable them to choose wisely in marking out their course of life. In a word, he stands for every uplift movement for the benefit of the individual and the community and his keen sympathy and ready understanding of boy life enables him to keep in close touch with the youths of the district in which his labors are put forth. Mr. Olmsted is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Clermont county, January 8, 1863, his parents being Thomas Bingham and Irvenia E. (Porter) Olmsted, the former a nephew of John A. Bingham, of Cadiz, Harrison county, Ohio, who was one of the leading lawyers of that state and for many years was ambassador to Japan. The parents were both natives of Ohio, the father's birth having occurred at Cadiz. When a young man he left his native county, spent a few years in Iowa, subsequently returned to Ohio and took up his residence in Franklin township, Clermont county, where he passed the remainder of his life on his farm, which he gave the name of Elm Farm. His death occurred in 1890 at the age of fifty-six years. His was an active and well spent life and he was recognized as a successful man He left a valuable estate, for aside from his close connection with farming interests he had many investments in property and in stocks. He owned much farm land in Iowa and he was one of the original stockholders of the Cincinnati Street Railwaj' Company and the Cincinnati Gas Company. He was a great Bible student and was prominent in the Presbyterian church. He was married in Clermont county to Miss Irvenia E. Porter, who died on Elm Farm in 1910, when seventy-three years old. They became the parents of six children, as follows : T. D., who is engaged in business as a merchant of Dillon, Montana; John S., who resides on the Elm Farm in Ohio but is planning to take up his abode in Omaha in the immediate future ; Eloise ; Robert H., of this review; Mary, living in Florence, Nebraska, and Mrs. Harriet N. Kenyon, who is also a resident of Florence, this state.

In his youthful days Robert H. Olmsted became a pupil in Hanover College of Hanover, Indiana, which he entered in his sixteenth year. He was graduated from the literary department in 1885 and afterward became a student in the College of Law at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1888. He was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Ohio the same year but came to Omaha on the 2 1st of September, 1888, and entered upon law practice in this city, becoming a member of the firm of McCoy & Olmsted - a partnership that existed for twentyfive years, so that they were the oldest law firm in the city when the connection was discontinued. Since that time Mr. Olmsted has confined his attention to the private practice of law and is one of the most successful representatives of the Dar of Florence and of Omaha. The excellent record which he has made is indicated in the fact that his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree in 1906. He has wide and comprehensive knowledge of legal principles and is seldom, if ever, at fault in his application to a point at issue. Aside from his law practice he has entered into some business connections, being now a director of the Omaha Macaroni Company and is treasurer and director of the Keirle Construction Company of Omaha.

On the 2ist of November, 1889, Mr. Olmsted was united in marriage to Miss Beatrice Birkhauser, her parents being Mr. and Mrs. Peter Birkhauser, representing a well known and prominent family of Omaha. Mr. and Mrs. Olmsted are the parents of two children, Florence, who \^as born in Omaha. December i, 1890, attended Brownell Hall and is now the wife of Bentley G. McCloud, cashier of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, by whom she has a son, Bentley G., born in Chicago. Robert H. Olmsted. Jr.. who was .born in Omaha in January, 1900, is now a high school student. -':---:- .:/

The religious faith of the family iS' that of -the- Presbyterian church, to which they loyally adhere. Mr. Olmsted votes with the republican party, of which he is a stalwart champion, and in 1899 he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature, in which he served for one term. He was also city attorney of Florence for twenty-five years and in that connection made a most creditable record. He has attained high rank in Masonry, reaching the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and he is also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles and was president of Florence Lodge for two years. His professional connections are with the County and State Bar Associations. In a review of his life record it will be seen that Mr. Olmsted's advancement is attributable entirely to his close application, persistency of purpose and laudable ambition. Choosing as a life work a calling in which advancement depends entirely upon individual efifort and merit, he has made continuous progress and is today one of the well known and most highly repected of Omaha's attorneys, enjoying the good will and confidence of his professional brethren and the high regard of all who know him in every relation of life.

His work in behalf of young men would alone entitled him to mention among the representative citizens of Omaha. He has long been interested in the work of assisting boys and youths to develop character of worth, keeping them in good company and surrounding them with such influences as will call forth the best in their manhood. He has formed what is kno^vtl as the Keystone Club of Florence, a musical organization having a membership of twenty-six, and he devotes all of his leisure time to the club, which he finances out of his own pocket. He is also president of the Boys Club and every summer he takes a large party of poor boys on a two weeks' camping trip in the country. His is the practical religion which recognizes the temptations of the individual and recognizes as well that the spark of divinitv is in each one. He has followed the Browning admonition. "Awake the little seeds of good asleep throughout the world," and the older precept: "Train a child up in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." The weight of his influence, his encouraging words, his timely assistance and his example have constituted a force which has wrought for good in the development of young manhood in Florence.

The distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments but rather to establish his position by the consensus of public opinion on the part of his fellowmen, and judged by this standard John Prentiss Lord ranks with the eminent American surgeons, his methods having in considerable measure partaken of a pioneer character in that he has wrought along original lines in the successful treatment of many notable cases and thereby established methods and standards which others have adopted. He has practiced continuously in Omaha since 1886, his life work including hospital as well as private practice and activity in the educational field.

Dr. Lord was born near Dixon, Illinois, April 17, i860, a son of John L. and Mary Louise (Warner) Lord, both of whom were descended from old New England families. After attending a district school Dr. Lord continued his education in the North Dixon high school and in the Ferris Academy at Dixon, while in preparation for a professional career he entered Rush Medical College of Chicago, from which he was graduated with the class of 1882. He then opened an office in Creston, Illinois, where he remained in active practice until 1886, when he entered the Post Graduate Medical School of New York. On the completion of his course there he removed to Omaha and has devoted his attention exclusively to surgery since 1893. In the preceding year he was appointed to the chair of anatomy in the Creighton Medical School and in 1893 became professor of surgery in that institution and attending surgeon to St. Joseph's Hospital, thus continuing until 1912, when he resigned those positions. In the same year he became professor of orthopedic surgery in the medical department of the University of Nebraska and so continues, being regarded as one of the ablest educators in the medical field in the middle west. He has been surgeon in chief of the Nebraska Orthopedic Hospital at Lincoln since its establishment in 1905 and he is attending surgeon to the Clarkson Hospital and attending gynecologist to St. Catherine's Hospital. Dr. Lord did notable work as one of the first to make practical the application of skin grafting in large bone cavities, which had been first suggested for early healing in mastoid operations. He used this method to heal extensive cavernous defects in the upper part of the tibia and his work has attracted the wide attention of the profession. His contributions to professional literature are regarded as most valuable. He was for several years on the editorial staff of the Western Medical Review, a medical journal of Omaha, which he was chiefly instrumental in establishing, and his writings appear frequently in other medical journals. Among the many valuable papers which he has read before medical and surgical associations may be mentioned "Conservative Amputations," "Lead Ileus Mistaken for Appendicitis," "Traumatisms of the Contents of the Abdominal Cavity," "Congenital Hip Misplacements," "Leucocytosis as a Factor in Surgical Diagnosis," "Conservative Foot Amputations without Flaps, the Skin Defects Covered by Skin Grafts," "Enterostomy in Intestinal Obstruction," "Improved Technic," "Adjustable Loop Splints for Interrupted Plaster Casts in the Treatment of Compound Fractures," "Variations from Routine Necessary in Hernia Operations," "The Surgery of the Paralyses," "The Choice of Treatment in the Cure of Nevi," "The Prevention of Deformity," "Operation to Prevent Recurrence in Intussusception," "The

Treatment of Severe Crushing Injuries of the Extremities," "The Treatment of Compound Fractures and Objections to the Use of Foreign Material," "Meatotomy Plus Meatorraphy," "Free Fat and Fascia in Anthroplasty of the Inter Phalangeal Joints."

Dr. Lord's high standing among his colleagues dnd contemporaries is indicated in the honors which have been conferred upon him in the various medical societies to which he belongs. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons and was honored by being made one of its first Nebraska governors. He was president of the Nebraska State Medical Association in 191 1, the Omaha Medical Association in 1899, and the Western Surgical Association in 1910, and is a member of the American Medical Association, the Nebraska State Medical Association, the Omaha Medical Association, the Southwestern Iowa Medical Association, the Sioux Valley Medical Association, the Medical Society of the Missouri Valley, of which he was president in 191 5, the Elkhorn Valley Medical Association, the Western Surgical Association, the American Orthopedic Association, the American Railroad Surgeons' Association, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Surgical Association, the Illinois Central Surgeons' Association, and the American Association of Clinical Surgeons. He is a life member of the Rochester Surgeons' Club and a member of the National Society for Prevention of Tuberculosis. He is local surgeon for the Chicago, Rock- Island & Pacific Railroad Company, district surgeon for the Illinois Central Railroad Company and a member of the medical reserve corps of the United States Army. He is frequently found as an interested attendant at clinics both in Europe and in America.

In 1886 Dr. Lord was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Urilla Swingley, a daughter of Upton Swingley, of Rockford, Illinois, and they have two children, Upton Prentiss and Frances Louise, the latter the wife of Roger T. Vaughan, of Chicago. Dr. Lord is a Congregationalist in religious faith and an active worker in St. Mary's Avenue church. He has also been a director of the Young Men's Christian Association for many years and he is serving on the board of trustees of the University of Omaha. Something of the nature and breadth of his interests is further indicated in the fact that he has membership in the National Geographic Society and the Society of Colonial Wars and is an earnest supporter of the purposes and plans of the Commercial Club of Omaha and a member of its executive committee and chairman of its city health and hospitals committee. He Hkewise belongs to the University, Palimpsest and Happy Hollow Clubs. His life is strong, purposeful and resultant and his career the expression of talents most wisely used for the benefit of his fellowmen. .

George Mesershmidt

George Mesershmidt, who organized and is still head of the Omaha General Iron Works, manufacturers of structural steel fire escapes and ornamental iron work of all kinds, is one of the younger business men of the city and is fast coming to the forefront in industrial circles. He was born in Germany, October 18, 1880, and is a son of Frederick and Barbara Mesershmidt, also natives of the fatherland, where they remained until called by death, the father in 1909 and the mother in 1912. The father was a farmer by occupation.

George Mesershmidt is the youngest in a family of six children and received his education in Germany, where he remained until he was eighteen years old, when he emigrated to the United States. After living for a time in Jersey City, New Jersey, he went to Baltimore, where he worked at various things, and later he was employed in the iron business in Pittsburgh. He followed the same line in Cleveland, Ohio, and in Chicago. Illinois, and subsequently went to Texas, remaining for a time at San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. In 1906 he returned to Chicago, where he worked at his trade for about two years, l)Ul in 1908 he came to Omaha and was connected with several companies working in iron. In 1912 he organized the Omaha General Iron Works, of which he is still president and which in the intervening five years has grown rapidly, being now one of the leading enterprises of the kind in the city. The company manufactures structural steel fire escapes and also makes ornamental iron work of all kinds, and its products are well known to the trade as being of uniformly high quality. The concern is incorporated and the other officers are : Thomas Cockin, vice president; and D. B. Van Every, secretary and treasurer. Mr. Mesershmidt deserves much credit for the success of the business, for he has, to a great extent, determined the policy of the company, and his thorough knowledge of the technical phases of the business has been of the greatest value in the management of the foundry. He is not only president of this company but is also connected with the commercial life of the city as a member of the Builders Exchange.

In March, 1908, Mr. Mesershmidt was married to Miss Annie Rothcliff, of Omaha, a daughter of Joseph and Minnie RothclifTt". Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mesershmidt, namely: Edna, whose birth occurred in 1910 and who is attending the public school ; and Frederick and Helen, born respectively in 1912 and in 1915.

Mr. Mesershmidt votes for the candidates and measures of the democratic party, as he is convinced that its policies are in harmony with the principles of good government. He is not indifferent to any phase of the public welfare but has never taken a very active part in civic affairs. Fraternally he belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and within and without that organization has many loyal friends. The gratifying success which he has gained is the measure of his energy, his business acumen and his executive ability, for he came to this country a poor boy and has at all stages in his career been dependent entirely upon his own resources.

Omaha has every reason to be proud of the medical profession as represented within her borders, for the number includes many thoroughly trained and highly proficient physicians and surgeons. In a calling where advancement results entirely from individual merit Dr. T. Tennyson Harris has made for himself a most creditable place. He was born in Cuba, Illinois, November 17, 1882. His father, DeWitt Harris, a native of Illinois, belongs to one of the old families of that state of English lineage. Among representatives of the family are those whose loyalty has been proven in times of war as soldiers in the War of 1812, the Mexican and the Civil wars. For a long period DeWitt Harris was connected with the Indian service of the United States government and is now at Williamsburg, Virginia, with the department of agriculture. For many years he has followed educational work and has been a professor in leading colleges in various states. He married Sarah Barlow, a native of Kentucky and of English lineage, and they became the parents of two children, the younger being Dr. Ray B. Harris, also a physician of Omaha.

The elder, Dr. T. Tennyson Harris, pursued his early education in the public schools of Des Moines, Iowa, and after leaving the high school there studied at Drakei University of Des Moines and in the Iowa State College at Ames. He next entered Creighton University and won his Bachelor of Science degree in 1907, while in 1910 his M. D. degree was conferred upon him. Prior to taking up the study of medicine he engaged in educational work, teaching in the West high school of Des Moines for two years. While at Ames he studied electrical engineering and followed electrical construction work in Omaha prior to his graduation from the medical school. When qualified for the profession, however, he at once entered upon active practice and has since devoted his time and energies to his professional interests. For the past six years he has been serving as chief police surgeon for the city of Omaha. He makes a specialty of X-ray work and is Roentgenologist for St. Catherine's Hospital of Omaha. In fact his practice is limited to X-ray and bone work and he is also instructor in that branch at the Creighton Dental College and instructor in surgery in the Creighton Medical College. He belongs to the Omaha-Douglas County Medical Society, the Nebraska State and the American Medical Associations, to the Omaha Roentgen Society, the National Geographic Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Harris votes with the democratic party but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He has membership with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of the Scottish Rite, and is a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member Phi Beta Pi, a medical fraternity and in the national organization has held office. That he is appreciative of the social amenities of life is indicated by his connection with the Carter Lake Club, and that he is not unmindful of individual responsibility in promoting higher moral standards is evidenced in his membership in the First Christian church. Dr. Harris largely provided the means for his college and university course and is recognized as a man of marked strength of character, actuated in all that he does by a laudable ambition. He has ever attempted to reach the highest professional standards in his chosen life work and he is today considered one of the most expert Roentgenologists of Nebraska.

Trimble Brothers Emmet A. Erway

Emmet A. Erway is now practically living retired in Valley, although he gives personal supervision to his invested interests, which include farming lands in Nebraska and in North Dakota. He was born in New York, October 8, 1850, a son of Ezra and Charlotte (Gardner) Erway, who were natives of Pennsylvania and New York respectively but have now passed away, the father having died in Madison, Wisconsin, while the mother's death occurred near Valley, Nebraska.

Emmet A. Erway left home at the age of twelve years to earn his own living" and whatever success he has achieved or enjoyed is attributable to his own efforts intelligently directed. He worked upon the home farm in his youth and at the age of twenty years he began railroading, being first employed at Sedalia, Missouri. Later he was yardmaster at Galveston, Texas, and for some years was upon the run between Denison. Texas, and Muskogee, Oklahoma. Later he engaged in railroading in Colorado on the Denver & Rio Grande but in 1889 removed to Valley. He still owns farming lands in this state and South Dakota, and after taking up his abode in Valley he bought and shipped stock for two years. At the present time, however, he is living practically retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil.

In Missouri Mr. Erway was united in marriage to Miss Lovina Martin, a native of that state, by whom he has one son. R. M., who is engaged in the drug business at Valley. Nebraska. Politically Mr. Erway is a democrat but has never been a seeker after office, preferring to give his attention to his business affairs. His has been an active and useful life and his energy and determination have enabled him to work his way steadily upward until he has reached the goal of substantial success.

George A. Rohrbough

George A. Rohrbough is best known as one of the proprietors and managers of the Omaha Commercial College from 1884 until 1908, and since 191 1 as president of the American Security Company and vice president of Home Builders, corporations all located in Omaha, Nebraska.

Mr. Rohrbough is a graduate of a Lutheran college of high standing in Illinois, of which state he is a native, his birth having occurred in Llancock county on the 28th of January, 1859. His teachers at the Lutheran college included: Dr. D. L. Tressler^ president; Professor L. F. M. Easterday in the department of mathematics, who later was called to the University of Nebraska ; Dr. Richards, professor of languages, who afterwards was called to the Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as professor of philology; Dr. E. F. Bartholomew in the chair of natural science, an expert in chemistry, who was later called to the presidency of the Augustana College at Rock Island. Illinois : and Dr. Giese, philologist, teacher of German, Hebrew and Sanskrit.

After finishing the classical course, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Mr. Rohrbough came to Omaha and being associated with his brothers, became manager, secretary and treasurer in 1884 of the Omaha Connnercial College, then a small school under the management of A. L. Wyman, with a daily attendance of forty pupils, two hundred annually. In this school a normal department was established where pupils were prepared for high school, colleges and universities and as teachers. Mr. Rohrbough had charge of this department until 1891, when he took a course in business and finance at the Rochester Business University, Rochester, New York. There he had as teachers Professor L. L. Williams, who was appointed by the United States as plenipotentiary to England, Professor Rogers, and his assistants. Professor King and Professor Osborn, editor and publisher of the Williams & Rogers Series of Commercial Textbooks, the most widely adopted series in the United States.

Under the management of Mr. Rohrbough and his coworkers the Omaha Commercial College grew to the fifth position in order of the largest institutions of its kind in the United States, with an average attendance of over one thousand annually, covering -a period of twenty-six years, enrolling students who in later years have become prominent as doctors, lawyers, ministers, judges, bankers, merchants and financiers. The measure of Mr. Rohrbough's accomplishments is best determined in the success of the many thousands of pupils who are to be found in almost every city in the United States in all the various walks of life. The value of an influence such as that wielded by Mr. Rohrbough in his school work would be difficult to estimate, and its far-reaching effect is reflected in the success of thousands of young men and young women, who as pupils under him laid the foundations for their subsequent success in the business and professional world. No better evidence of the keen appreciation and deep gratitude manifested by Mr. Rohrbough's former pupils for his efforts in their behalf could be asked than the many expressions of this character from them in a dozen different states, which limited space prevents being quoted here.

Mr. Rohrbough is of German descent, and in religious faith is a Methodist. He is a direct descendant of the Anthony Rohrbough. of Germany, who in colonial times settled on the eastern slope of the Alleghany mountains and who brought with him the religious faith of the State Church, then in power. On his mother's side of the house he is a direct descendant of the Jacksons. of whom Stonewall Jackson was a representative. His great-grandfather, Anthony Rohrbough, who

George A. Eohrbough

Mr. Rohrbough is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree, the Happy Hollow Club, the Commercial Club, the Real Estate Exchange, and of the Methodist church, of which he has been a member during his residence in Omaha, being a member of the official board many years. He has also been a stanch supporter of the Young Men's Christian Association and active in religious work.

Since 191 1 Mr. Rohrbough has associated himself with several other local reputable business men and organized the Home Builders and The American Security Company. The Home Builders, under the management of its officers and directors, has already taken a position among the leading financial institutions of Omaha and the middle west. Many of the beautiful homes, hospitals and apartment houses have been built by the Home Builders.

Mr. Rohrbough is yet in health, energy and ambition a young man. He was reared on his father's farm, situated in Hancock county, lUinois. Notwithstanding he had an opportunity to live the life of a farmer and stock raiser, he decided early in life in favor of the profession he entered into, much to the displeasure of his father, who wanted his assistance in the management of the farm.

In 1887 ^^^- Rohrbough was married to Miss Delia Felgar, daughter of John Felgar, of Minden. Illinois. Of his home family are three children, Gracie I., Merrill C. and Byron F., who are all graduates of the University of Nebraska. The daughter is married to Wilhelm B. Bonekemper and lives in Portland, Oregon. The elder of the sons, Merrill C. married ^liss Helen Heaton, daughter of Robert A. Heaton, of Wahoo, Nebraska, a banker of that city.

The one satisfying pleasure that arouses interest most with Mr. Rohrbough is the memory he has of the twenty-six thousand boys and girls, men and women, who were with him daily in the class room and labored day and night while in school, and for months and sometimes years after leaving school, thus weaving together personal interests that will never be forgotten.

Dr. Walter O. Henry, specializing in the practice of surgery, in which connection he has won a well earned and enviable reputation, was born in Columbus, Adams county, Illinois, in 1858. His father. Dr. Samuel Henry, was born in the north of Ireland in 1828 and was one of a family of twelve sons and four daughters, all of whom came to the United States with the exception of one son. All, however, have now passed away. Dr. Samuel Henry in 1849, when a young man of twenty-one years, bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the new world. He located at Columbus. Illinois, and afterward took up the study of medicine, being graduated on the completion of a course in Dartmouth College. He then returned to Columbus, where he engaged in active practice and up to February, 1916, followed his profession at Camp Point. He had reached the eighty-eighth milestone on life's journey, when on April 14, 1916, he passed to his final reward. He was married in Adams county, Illinois, to Harriett Newell Wells, a native of Elmira, New York, who died in 191 1.

Dr. Walter O. Henry acquired his public school education at Camp Point, Illinois, and prepared for the practice of medicine as a student in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York city, being numbered among its alumni of 1879. He then returned to Camp Point. Illinois, where he remained in practice for a year but at the end of that time removed to Pawnee, Nebraska, where he opened an office and continued in practice for ten years. Seeking a broader field of labor and one which would give him wider scope to specialize in surgery, he came to Omaha and has since given his undivided attention to surgical work.

Thoroughly famihar with anatomy and the com})oncnt parts of the human body, possessing a cool and steady nerve combined with quick decision in emergencies, he has done most excellent work in his chosen lield and his ability is widely acknowledged by members of the profession as well as by the general public. On August I, 19 1 6. he removed to Los Angeles, California, where he is rapidly building up an independent practice in his profession.

On the 5th of October, 1882, in Pawnee City, Nebraska, Dr. Henry was married to Miss Fannie Lynn Potts. Llis religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and his political belief that of the progressive party. In 1912 he took a very active part in progressive politics and has continued therein since that time, having been nominated in 1916 for United States senator. His political position is but indicative of his spirit at all times, for he is ever ready to take a forward step leading to better conditions and higher results.

Besides many articles for medical journals and a textbook on gynecology, which subject he taught for many years as professor in the medical department of the Creighton University, he has written two books of great interest and importance on other subjects. His first book, Equitania, deals in a very practical way with the every day questions of human life, and as its name implies aims to give the laws and conditions which should prevail in a "Land of Equity," where every one should have a fair chance and a "Square Deal." His last book, recently off the press, is a series of essays on the need for fewer laws, but a more practical interpretation of the ten commandments, and the causes of the great European war, and the principles upon which peace must rest to be permanent.

Nicholas L. Guckert

Nicholas L. Guckert, member of the firm of Guckert & McDonald, tailors, located in the Woodmen of the World building, has been a resident of Omaha since 1882. Early in life he was apprenticed to the tailor's trade in Newark, New Jersey. In 1881 he came west to Council Bluffs, remaining one year, and came to Omaha in 1882. In 1887 he established himself in the tailoring business and has so continued successfully for thirty-seven years.

Judge Benjamin S. Baker

Judge Benjamin S. Baker, who for three years served as justice of the supreme court of New Mexico and has been judge of the fourth judicial district of Nebraska, is a man of forceful character and notable ability. Upon the history of the state he has left his impress, his eft'orts being a potent force in upholding its legal status. A rare combination of talent, learning, tact, patience and industry has gained him the commendable place which he occupies as lawyer and jurist. Born in Sabula, Iowa, in 1855, he is a son of Samuel and Eliza (Lewis) Baker, who were married in Ohio and in 1854 became residents of the Hawkeye state. The father, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in 1817 and passed away in Iowa in 1906 at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, having long survived his wife, who died in 1874. Samuel Baker always followed the occupation of farming as a life work. His political allegiance was given to the whig party and after its dissolution to the republican party.

Judge Baker was reared upon a farm in Johnson county, Iowa, from the age of five years and attended the district schools, but at the age of fourteen years he left home and began teaching a country school. In 18651 he became a student in the preparatory department of the University of Iowa, and in 1871 was graduated from the university with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Resum- ing the profession of teaching, in which he had so early made his initial step, he served as principal of the schools of Mason City and later of Webster City, but resigned his position at the latter place in order to become a law student in the State University, from which he was graduated in 1874 with the LL. B. degree. He then located for practice in Webster City, where he remained for three years, after which he removed to Fairbury, Nebraska, in 1878 and entered upon the practice of law in this state. There he remained for twelve years, or until February, 1890, since which time he has been a member of the Omaha bar. He had just been appointed United States district attorney for Nebraslia, which position he occupied for four years.

He was first called to public ofifice when in Iowa, being elected county suoerintendent of schools of Hamilton county, in which capacity he served for one term. In 1888 he was elected to represent his district, comprising Jefferson and Fair counties, in the Nebraska state legislature, and at the close of that term he received appointment to the position of United States attorney in 1890. While a member of the house he was largely instrumental in promoting the Nebraska registration law and was also the author of a law allowing foreign corporations to become domestic by filing articles with the secretary of state. These laws have created nation-wide comment. Then came his appointment from President Harrison to the position of United States district attorney and after four years of creditable service in that office he was elected in 1895 district judge of the fourth Nebraska judicial district. He took his place upon the bench and his decisions indicated strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough knowledge of the law and an unbiased judgment. He possesses those qualities that enabled him to lose his individuality, his personal feelings and his prejudices in the dignity, impartiality and equity of the office to which life, property, right rmd liberty must look for protection. At the close of the four years' term he was reelected and remained upon the bench until 1902, when he resigned and was appointed judge of the supreme court of New Mexico, remaining in office in that territory for three years, when he resigned and resumed the practice of law in Omaha. While upon the district bench he heard the noteworthy state embezzlement case against Bartley and Bohln, the latter city treasurer of Omaha. Judge Baker was again called to office in 1912, when he was appointed corporation counsel, but on the ist of January, 1913, he resigned to resume the private practice of law. His clientage is large and of a distinctively representative character. He was nominated by the republicans for congressman from the Second Congressional District in April, 1916, but was defeated by the liquor interests. The World-Herald, writing of him, said :

"To Omaha students of every-day affairs of city and state the name of Benjamin S. Baker is synonymous with action and results. Every metropolis has many men and institutions that have a prior claim on public patronage and esteem. The individual or the institution that, while profiting from patronage, gives back to the public benefits in the form of cooperative activity, substantial legal assistance, development and investment, occupies a position of prominence and sets a splendid example deserving of emulation. That's the reason B. S. Baker holds a position of honor at the top of his profession and among his fellowmen. As corporation counsel for Omaha, Mr. Baker has steered the civic ship out of many threatening storms. His record shows a list of victories and achievements for the good of the city, government and all of the people of Omaha."

On the 7th of April, 1897, in Omaha, Judge Baker was married to Miss Myrtle Carroll, a daughter of William Carroll, a Civil war veteran of Iowa. Judge Baker is identified with both the York and Scottish Rite bodies of Masonry and with the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and along strictly social lines his connection is with the Field Club and the Happy Hollow Club. He is equally loyal in his support and advocacy of the Commercial Club and its purposes. He has always given his political allegiance to the republican party and he has ever been a close student of those questions and issues of the day which are to the statesman and man of affairs of deep import. He brings to bear in the solution of pubhc problems the same analytical power and keen discrimination which characterize his work at the bar. He possesses a keen, rapid, logical mind, plus the business sense, and a ready capacity for hard work. An earnest, dignified manner, marked strength of character, a thorough grasp of the law and the ability to correctly apply its principles have been factors in his effectiveness as an advocate and counselor.

Walter Scott Jardlne

Walter Scott Jardine, one of Omaha's pioneer business men and president of the Omaha Merchants Express & Transfer Compaay and also president of the Van Nostrand Plow Company, was born on a farm in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on the 2 1 St of December. 1857. His father, James B. Jardine, was a native of Scotland, born in 1821. and on coming to the United States in 185 1 he located in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He was a slater by trade and opened the first slate quarry in that state. In later years he removed to Omaha and retired from active business. In New York city he married Mary A. Flinton, who was born in Leeds. England. In 1868 they became residents of Omaha, where their remaining days were passed, the father departing this life in 1897, while the mother's death occurred in 1903.

Walter S. Jardine pursued his education in the public schools of Omaha and when a youth of eleven years entered the employ of Tony Murray for "nothing a day," as he expresses it. He made good, however, and at the end of three vears was receiving a salary of three dollars and a half per day. On the 17th of February, 1869. he launched the scows which constituted the initial step in the building of the Union Pacific bridge over the Missouri river and in early life he also aided in the construction of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad from Omaha to Plattsmouth and the Northwestern from Omaha to Blair. He afterward left his position and purchased a team, after which he engaged in teaming in the early morning and in the evening, while the daytime was devoted to attending school, for he had come to realize how hampered he was by the lack of early educational opportunities. When his textbooks were finally put aside he concentrated his entire attention upon the teaming business, in which he has continuously engaged, since 1876. The business today, however, bears little resemblance to the original enterprise, for, starting with one team, he now has over one hundred teams used in the business, which is conducted under the name of the Omaha Merchants Express & Transfer Company, of which he is the president. He is likewise the president of the Van Nostrand Plow Company. In 1894 he purchased seven hundred acres of swamp land in Harrison county. Iowa, and by diverting a stream through this land the overflow left the silt on the surface and raised it from four inches to eighteen feet. This is today one of the most productive farms in Iowa. Mr. Jardine was also among the first men to introduce land drainage in Iowa and he aided in passing some of the present drainage laws of that state.

On the 19th of February. 1894, in Omaha, Mr. Jardine was united in marriage to Miss Lorinda Rhoda Gotham, by whom he has three children, Josephine, Ruth and Walter S. Mr. Jardine is a life member of Scottish Rite Masonrj' and of the Mystic Shrine and was formerly identified with the Knights of Pythias, with the Elks and with the Eagles. In politics he is a republican and in May, 1915, accepted his first office, that of city commissioner, having previously preferred to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He brings to the duties of his position sound business judgment and public spirit and is making good, just as he did when he started out to earn his living at "nothing a day." He is one of the founders and an active member of the Knights of

Walter S. Jaedine

Ak-Sar-Ben, an organization that has done much to promote and exploit the interests of Omaha, and he was also one of the promoters of the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition held in 1898. In 1903 he succeeded in organizing the Omaha Business Men's Association, which has up to the present kept Omaha free from strikes or internal industrial trouble. In a word, his efforts have been far-reaching and important. He has been a close student of conditions in every business relation and his studies and activities have brought results that have not only promoted his own fortunes but have been of great worth to the public, and best of all. he is continuing an active factor in the world's work and the same habits of thoroughness, close application and study are still making him a forceful factor in promoting public progress.

W. Farnam Smith

W. Farnam Smith, well known in real estate circles in Omaha for thirty years, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and is descended from a family of English origin. His father, Henry Farnam Smith, was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, and became a member of the bar, practicing law in Boston. He was married in New Hampshire to Miss Esther Straw and passed away in his native city, while his widow afterward became a resident of Lincoln, Nebraska, where she spent her last days.

In the public schools of Quincy, Massachusetts, W. Farnam Smith pursued his early education, while later he attended the Thayer Academy of that state. He made his way westward to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1883, becoming connected with the Burlington Railroad, and in 1887 he removed to Omaha, where he embarked in the real estate business, in which he has since continued. Thirty years' connection with this line indicates clearly that he has won a substantial measure of success. He thoroughly understands the real estate market in every phase and detail, making a specialty of handling large estates and is regarded as a most accurate valuator of property and in the course of his long connections with the business has negotiated many important realty transfers. His operations have continually broadened in scope and importance and he is now president of several real estate companies and director in other well known companies.

In politics Mr. Smith is a republican and his religious faith is that of the Episcopal church. He is identified with various oragnizations, including the Ak-Sar-Ben. the Omaha Club, the Omaha Country Club, the Commercial Club and the Athletic Club of Omaha. He is one of the most prominent and best known citizens of Douglas county, having those qualities which make for leadership in both business and social circles.