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William R. Chaney
William
R. Chaney is a well known citizen
of Adams, Gage county, Nebraska,
where he has resided for a number
of years and become identified
with the best progress and material,
intellectual and religious development
of the town and vicinity. He
is a man of recognized integrity
and uprightness, capable in
the performance of every duty
devolving upon him, and in every
way worthy of being classed
with the foremost men of southeastern
Nebraska. He has been satisfactorily
successful in his life work,
and, having come to his present
circumstances through industry
and perseverance, knows the
value of toil and diligence
in this workaday world. He is
also honored as a veteran of
the Civil war.
Mr.
Chaney was born in Greene county.
Illinois. October 24, 1840,
of a family which settled in
that county in pioneer times.
The ancestry is Irish, and Mr.
Chaney’s father, James Chaney,
was a native of Kentucky, whence
he came to Greene county. His
wife, Sarah Smith, was a native
of Tennessee, and came of an
old southern family, resident
in that state for several generations.
Both James and Sarah Chaney
are now deceased, having spent
most of their lives in Greene
county, where they had a home
noted for its generous hospitality
and wholesome companionship.
William
R. Chaney was reared and educated
in Mason county, Illinois, and
perhaps the most valuable lessons
of his youth were the result
not of precept line on line,
but by actual experience in
practical labor in the field
and the hundred and one details
of farm life. In April, 1864,
he enlisted from his native
county in Company C, One Hundred
and Thirty- third Illinois Infantry,
under Captain Collins. The regiment
was rendezvoused at Camp Butler,
Springfield, Illinois, and was
later put on duty at Rock Island
and along the Mississippi, and
later at Camp Butler, where
Mr. Chaney received his honorable
discharge in October, 1864.
He then lived in Mason county
three years and Morgan county,
Illinois, for some years, and
in 1880 came to Gage county,
Nebraska, where he has been
one of the prosperous residents
ever since. He owns thirteen
acres in the town of Adams,
and this land is so finely improved
and so productive that it makes
an ideal and valuable suburban
estate. He has a nice house,
good barn, fruit and shade trees
in abundance, and all the complements
and accessories of a model Nebraska
home.
Mr.
Chaney was married in Greene
county, Illinois, in 1864, to
Miss Pamelia Finley. Who has
traveled life’s way with him
for forty years, and they are
co-partners in all its successes
and joys. She is a native of
Greene county, was reared and
educated there. She was a daughter
of Zuriah and Matilda (Mace)
Finley, the former of whom was
born in Greene county and was
a son of an early Kentucky settler;
the latter was a native of Kentucky,
and was eighty-two years old
when she died. Mr. Chaney is
a Democrat in politics, but
does not desire or aspire to
office. He affiliates with the
Sergeant Cox Post, G. A. R.,
at Adams, and both he and his
wife are members of the Baptist
church. He has been a member
of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows for over twenty-five
years and passed through all
the chairs, also the grand lodge
degree, and was representative
to same on several occasions.
A Biographical and
Genealogical History of
Southeastern Nebraska -
Volume 1 - 1904
Transcribed and
Contributed by:
Rita Bergendahl
Daniel Goodman
Daniel Goodman,
one of the prominent farmers and stock-raisers in Gage
County, near Adams Nebraska,
is an old-time citizen of the state, having first settled here twenty-five
years ago, and he has lived in Gage county for fifteen years. His life is a record of loyal citizenship,
for his is listed among the veterans of the Civil war, where he displayed brave
and creditable service as a soldier, and in all his subsequent activity has
been as true to duty and the obligations imposed by family and society as when
a youth wearing the blue uniform of a Union soldier.
Mr. Goodman was
born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania,
in 1845, of an old and highly respected family of that county and state. His parents, Daniel and Katie (Wagner)
Goodman, were also natives of that county, and his great-grandfather Wagner was
a patriot soldier of the Revolutionary war.
Daniel Goodman, Sr., was an honest farmer, a good citizen, a member of
the Reformed church, a Republican in politics, a man respected wherever he
went. Both he and his wife died in Pennsylvania. They had fourteen children, ten sons and four
daughters, and three sons, Eli, Nathan and Daniel, were soldiers in the Civil
war.
Daniel Goodman,
Jr. was reared on a farm and taught to work and given an honest purpose in
life. He was eighteen years old when he
decided to become a soldier. In
February, 1863, he enlisted from his native county as a member of Company I,
Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Infantry. he
was in the terrible Wilderness campaign, at the battles of Cold Harbor,
Spottsylvania Court House, Winchester
and other engagements of lesser importance.
He was around Petersburg during the last days of the war, and took part
in the grand review of the troops at the close, after which he received an
honorable discharge as an honored veteran of the greatest war in the annuls of
history, and went home with a record of
service which will always remain a matter of pride to himself and his
descendants.
Shortly after his
return from the war Mr. Goodman went west to Stephenson County, Illinois, and settled on a farm near Freeport,
where he lived until 1874, in which year he first took up his residence in the
state of Nebraska, locating in Otoe County,
near Dunbar.
Here the noted grasshopper scourge descended upon him, destroying his
crops and all his prospects for the time, and gave him such a bad opinion of
Nebraska in general that he returned to Illinois and did not make the venture
of settling across the Missouri for several years. But on coming to Nebraska for the second time he fared better
and came to realize the abundant resources of the state. He has been in Gage county for fourteen
years, and is now a prosperous and contented agriculturist. He owns eighty-five acres of land, with a
pretty and comfortable residence, ample barns, a fine lot of horses and cattle,
and everything needed by the model Nebraska
farmer.
In Stephenson
County, near Freeport, Illinois, in 1881, Mr. Goodman was married
to Miss Emma Reed, who has been a faithful wife and helper to him for over
twenty years. She was born in
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, one of the eight children of Daniel and Mary
(Hay) Reed, who were natives of Pennsylvania, and the former of whom died in
Otoe County, and the latter in Gage county, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Goodman have one daughter,
Essie, now the wife of Oscar Vanderpool, of Lancaster
County, Nebraska,
and they have one daughter, Goldie Vanderpool.
Mr. Goodman is a stanch Republican in politics and affiliates with the
Sergeant Cox Post No. 100, G.A.R. at Adams. He is a man of excellent business ability and
attractive social qualities, and is respected and liked by everyone.
A Biographical and
Genealogical History of
Southeastern Nebraska -
Volume 1 - 1904
Transcribed and
Contributed by:
Linda Rodriquez
Henrick L. Watson
Henrick L. Watson,
proprietor of the general blacksmith and repair shops of Adams,
Nebraska, is one of the most successful men in his line in Southeastern
Nebraska. He has been a respected resident of Adams for twenty-three
years, so that he is really an old settler. He has been engaged in his
trade continuously for forty years and his present prosperity has been
well earned.
Mr. Watson was born in
Tuscarawas County, Ohio, May 2, 1845. His father. William Watson, was
born in Scotland, of an old Scotch family, and was a tailor by trade.
He voted the Republican ticket, and was a Scotch Presbyterian in
religion. He died in Ohio at the age of sixty-nine, honored and
respected for his worthy character. His wife was Lucy Barrett, a native
of New York state, and she died when sixty-eight years old. They had
eight sons and three daughters. Their son Evanett was drum major of the
Ninety-eighth Ohio Infantry, and with Sherman in the march to the sea.
Some of the sons are deceased, and the two daughters living are Mary
and Eda.
Henrick L. Watson was
reared and educated in Ohio. During the war he enlisted in Company E,
One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio Infantry, under Captain Cables and
Colonel Taylor, and served four months. He was at Harper's Ferry, and
at various points in Virginia and Maryland. He learned his trade as an
iron and steel worker in the railroad shops at Denison. Ohio, where he
remained for five years, and became very proficient, as his subsequent
success proves. He followed his trade in Illinois and other states for
ten years, and came to Johnson county, Nebraska, twenty-five years ago,
two years later taking up his residence at Adams, Gage county, where he
founded the business which he has carried on so successfully ever
since. He has all the patronage which he can handle, and
the long continuance of some of his customers gives his work the stamp of
reliability.
Mr. Watson was married in
1887 to Miss Jennie Shaw, a grand-daughter of Benjamin Shaw and a
daughter of John Shaw, who is one of the honored old settlers of
Adams, having come here in 1857. The Shaw family history is given
on other pages of this work. John and Sarah Shaw birth reside in
Adams. Mr. and Mrs. Watson have six children: Blanche, Eda, Ruth,
Lucy, Esther, and John McKibben. Mr. Watson is a Republican in
political and he and his wife are valued members of the Presbyterian
church. They are liberal in dispensing their means and their efforts
for the general welfare, and have a happy home and many friends
throughout the town and county.
A Biographical and
Genealogical History of
Southeastern Nebraska -
Volume 1 - 1904
Transcribed and
Contributed by: Barbara
Zigenmeyer
Thomas
J. Stockman
Thomas J. Stockman, who, with his son Samuel, owns and conducts the Adams
livery and sales stables and is land agent at Adams, Nebraska, has lived in this
part of southeastern Nebraska for over fifteen years. He has displayed executive
ability and good management in his business affairs, and as a man and citizen is
held in high esteem by friends and associates. He became acquainted, mainly in
his capacity as a soldier of the government during the Civil war, with the
territory of Nebraska as it was forty years ago, so that he may be considered
among the ranks of the old settlers. Mr. Stockman was born near Goshen, Elkhart
County, Indiana, April 28, 1838. His father, Samuel Stockman, was one of the
first settlers of Elkhart County, having come from Bedford county, Pennsylvania,
of a family of German stock. His wife was a Miss Johnson, a native of Ohio, and
they were parents of four sons and four daughters. Two daughters and one son
live in Wisconsin, and another son is in Adams, Nebraska, besides Thomas. Three
sons were in the Civil war: T. J.; George, who was first lieutenant in the
Seventy-fourth Indiana, and died in 1891; and John, of the Forty-eighth Indiana
Infantry. Thomas J. Stockom County, Indiana. At the age of twenty-one
he came west to the territory of Nebraska, and in 1863 enlisted at Omaha in
Company A, First Battalion of Nebraska Cavalry, under Captain George Armstrong.
He was stationed on the frontier guarding the government trains and settlers
from hostile Indians, and the troops did excellent service in suppressing the
depredations. He was at Fort Kearney and Plum Creek much of the time. While
arresting parties at Camp Douglas he was struck by a gun, breaking his collar
bone and otherwise being injured so that he was crippled for two years. Civil
war, and since returning to peaceful pursuits has done equally well in civil
life. He was honorably discharged at Omaha, and then returned east. He was in
Indiana until 1877, when he went to Wisconsin, and for the following ten years
was engaged in farming in Dunn and Barron Counties. He came to Gage county,
Nebraska, in 1887, and later bought the livery business which he and his son are
now carrying on so successfully. They have a good barn, good facilities, and
their patronage is large. Mr. Stockman is also agent for Wisconsin lands in
Dunn, Barron, Polk and Chippewa Counties, and has some fine agricultural lands
there, which are destined to reach a high value when developed and improved. He
is an excellent authority on real estate in those counties because of his long
residence there. Mr. Stockman is in every way a first-class business man, and
his reliability and integrity have never been questioned. In 1859 Mr. Stockman
was married at Warsaw, Indiana, to Mary Jane McKibben, who was reared and
educated in Indiana and was a daughter of Samuel McKibben, of Warsaw; Seven
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stockman: Parthena Burton, of Cameron,
Wisconsin; Tillie Cook, of Cumberland, Wisconsin; Alice Evans, of Adams,
Nebraska; Samuel, the partner of his father in the livery business; E. L., in
the barber business at Adams; Frank; and Retta, who died in Wisconsin at the age
of sixteen. Mrs. Stockman, who was a member of the Methodist church and a
beautiful character and devoted wife and mother, died in July, 1896.
Source: "A Biographical and genealogical history of southeastern Nebraska"
(1904)
Submitted by:
K. Torp
Daniel
Confer
Daniel Confer, a well known farmer and popular citizen of
Adams township, Gage county,. Nebraska, has resided here since 1884. He is a
frank and genial gentleman, successful in business, honored and esteemed at home
and abroad. He made a creditable record as a soldier in the civil war, and
since returning to peaceful pursuits has done equally well in civil life.
Mr. Confer was born in Hocking county, Ohio, March 3, 1838, of a family
noted for honesty, industry and sobriety. His great-grandfather was a solider in
the Revolution. His grandfather, Andrew, was a native of Pennsylvania, and his
father, John Confer, was born in Ohio, was a farmer and died in Wells county,
Indiana. He was a Democrat of the Jackson type. He married Miss Eliza Poling.
She was a member of the United Brethren church. They were parents of fourteen
children, and four of the sons were soldiers in the Civil war: Daniel, William,
of the One Hundred and First Indiana Infantry, killed at Chickamauga, Peter, in
the One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Indiana Infantry and now living in Wells
county, Indiana, and Samuel. Mr. Confer was reared on a farm near Bluffton,
Wells County, Indiana, was taught the value of independent labor and received
his education in the public schools. In September, 1861, he enlisted at Bluffton
in Company A, Thirty-fourth Indiana Infantry, under Captain Swaim and Colonel
Steele. He veteranized in February, 1863, and served till the end of the war. He
was at the siege of Vicksburg for forty-seven days, until the stars and stripes
floated over the fort on July 4, 1863; he was at Jackson, Mississippi, and under
General Ord for some time. His regiment was then ordered to Texas, and was on
duty there until the close of hostilities. After the war he located in Wells
county, Indiana, and remained there until he came west in 1884. In 1864 Mr.
Confer was married in Wells county, Indiana, to Miss Mary L. Robb, who has been
a noble wife and mother for forty years. She was born in Warren, Trumbull
County, Ohio, a daughter of Peter and Nancy Robb. Her brother, Rev. C. O. Robb,
was a soldier in the war, and is now located at Pawnee city, Nebraska. Mr. and
Mrs. Confer have six children: Charles, John, William, Howard, Orman, and Martha
Morical, of Firth, Nebraska. Mr. Confer is a stanch Republican.
He is a
member of the Sergeant Cox Post No. 100, G. A. R., at Adams, being popular among
his old army comrades as with all his fellow citizens and associates. He is a
man of strong physique, endowed with physical and moral courage for all the
trials of life, and has a career to be proud of, both in Nebraska and wherever
he has had residence. He and his wife are both members of the United Brethren
church.
Source: "A Biographical and genealogical history of southeastern Nebraska"
(1904) -
Submitted by:
K. Torp
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