John T. Price

 
The career of this sterling and representative citizen of Hamilton County has covered much of the pioneer period in the history of this County, within whose borders he established his home nearly half a century ago and in which he had the distinction of being the second person to serve as County superintendent of schools.

His constructive powers touched effectively the civic and industrial development of the County and later he became prominently identified with similar pioneer service in Greeley County. He is now a venerable pioneer citizen who may well take satisfaction in reverting to the part which he has played in the progress of the great commonwealth of Nebraska.

He is living virtually retired in the village of Phillips, Hamilton County, and it is pleasing to enter in this publication a succinct record of his career.

Mr. Price was born in Rush County, Indiana, on the 21st of November, 1845,and is a son of Daniel and Sarah (Stewart) Price, both natives of the state of Ohio. The father early settled in Indiana and there he reclaimed and developed a farm in Rush County. In 1876 he became one of the pioneer settlers of Hamilton County, Nebraska, whither his son John T. had preceded him by about four years and he obtained land and took up his abode in a sod house of the type common to that early period, where he instituted the reclamation of his land to cultivation.

Here he remained until his death at the venerable age of eighty-five years and his name merits enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of the County.

His wife died in Indiana, at the age of fifty-two years, their children having been ten in number: Elizabeth, eldest of the children, died in June, 1920; Abbie and Christy likewise are deceased, as is also Jane, who died in 1920; John T., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Frances M. is a missionary in China; A. W., a railroad man, resides at University Place, near Lincoln, Nebraska; and D. E. is a resident of Grand Island, Hall County. He served as County commissioner of Hamilton County and secretary to Congressman Stark. The father was influential in public affairs in Hamilton County. Prior to coming to Nebraska he had been for a number of years a resident of Iowa.

The common schools of his native state afforded to John T. Price his early education, which was supplemented by his attendance at the Illinois Wesleyan University, at Bloomington. He became a successful teacher in the public schools of Illinois and it was in the spring of 1873 that he set forth from that state, with team and prairie schooner, to initiate his pioneer experiences in Nebraska.

Nearly four weeks were required to complete the trip to Hamilton County, this state, he having crossed the Mississippi river at Burlington, Iowa, where a ferry transferred his team and wagon, a similar medium having been utilized in crossing the Platte River, at Plattsmouth, Nebraska.

Mr. Price adjusted himself readily and effectively to pioneer conditions after his arrival in Hamilton County and that his ability along pedagogic lines did not long wait special recognition is shown in the fact that in the year of his arrival here he was chosen as the second incumbent of the office of County superintendent of schools, in which office he continued one term, or two years. He purchased one hundred and twenty acres of railroad land in the present Phillips precinct and paid for the same at the rate of three dollars an acre, The contract terms providing that the full payment should be completed within a period of ten years. On his land he erected a small frame house of primitive type, the lumber and other material used in its construction having been hauled overland from Grand Island, twenty-six miles distant. His original barns on the place were constructed of straw and he personally took charge of the breaking of his new prairie land and making the same available for cultivation.

His experiences, many of which are more pleasing in retrospect then they were in realization, were those of the average pioneer of the locality and period and he recalls that in the early period of his residence here the bones of buffaloes were to be found scattered about the open prairies and that deer and antelopes were frequently seen.

Mr. Price continued his residence on the Hamilton County farm until 1881, when he amplified his pioneer activities by removing with his family to Greeley County, where, by taking up homestead and timber claims he became the owner of a tract of three hundred and twenty acres. He bent his energies to the improving of this property and eventually perfected his title thereto. From the farm he finally removed to the village of Scotia, that County, where he effected the organization of the Greeley County Bank, of which he continued the vice president for the ensuing seven years. For three years thereafter he conducted the Walker House, a leading hotel at St. Paul, Howard County, and he then returned to Hamilton County and resumed his active association with farm enterprise.

Here he remained from 1898 until 1907, in which latter year he removed to the city of Lincoln, in order to give to his children the advantages of the excellent educational institutions of the capital city. There he remained until 1914, after which he lived with his children, at different points in the state, until 1920, when he established his home at Phillips, where he remains as an honored citizen of the County in which he gained his initial experience as a pioneer of the state.

The year 1876 recorded the marriage of Mr. Price to Miss Nancy Lutz, who was born in Indiana and who was a resident of Hamilton County, Nebraska, at the time of her marriage. Like her husband Mrs. Price is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of their children the eldest, Elizabeth, died August 19, 1912; Mary is the wife of Chris Husted, D. D. S., of Omaha; Georgia is the wife of Clarence Shahan, a commercial salesman of Omaha; and Ruth is the wife of D. M. Davis, a farmer in Wayne County, this state.                                                                          

Mr. Price is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Republican Party, and while a resident of Greeley County he served in various local offices, including those of justice of the peace and township assessor. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he is affiliated with both York and Scottish Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity, in which he served eight years as master of the lodge of Free & Accepted Masons at Scotia and also at Phillips. Mr. Price has witnessed and taken part in the splendid civic and material development of Nebraska and in reverting to conditions in Hamilton County at the time of his arrival here he states that when he passed through Aurora, the present County seat, he found the town represented by a single house.

Mrs. Amilia Werth

 
For many years Mrs. Amilia Werth, widow of William Werth, has resided in Hamilton County. She was one of the early pioneers in this part of the country, having arrived here in 1872.

Mr. Werth was born in Germany May 24, 1844, and came to the United States in 1870, going direct to Henry County, Illinois. In 1872 he removed to Cass County, Nebraska, but in the latter part of the same year located in Hamilton County, taking a one hundred and sixty acre homestead on Lincoln creek. For about six weeks a wagon box formed the only shelter for him and his wife.

Soon a dugout was built on this land, consisting of one room with a straw roof and dirt floor. They had no furniture and a bed was made from old poles and brush. A table was made from an old elm tree, the remainder of the timber being used for fuel. Mr. Werth's land was broken with the aid of a horse team, five dollars having been the purchase price of one animal. Deer, antelopes and buffaloes were plentiful in the vicinity of the homestead and he was a participant in several thrilling buffalo hunts. There was one Indian camp in that community and Mr. Werth traded with them, ate several meals with them and found them quite civilized and friendly.

 
It was on the 15th of October, 1870, that Mrs. Werth became the wife of William Werth. His death occurred January 21, 1888, being the victim of a train accident at Hampton. He was a man of great energy and ambition and became widely known throughout the County. In that early day Lincoln was the nearest town to their homestead and Mr. Werth when hauling grain to that place would stop along the road and secure work in order to obtain enough money to buy feed for the horses. On the 13th of October, 1864, he had enlisted in the Union army from Springfield, Illinois, becoming a member of Company F, Ninth Regiment Cavalry and was in active service until mustered out at Montgomery, Alabama,

October 31, 1865. Mr. Werth was one of the first County commissioners of Hamilton County and was the builder of the first bridge across Lincoln creek. Mr. Werth also had the distinction of having the first post office on Lincoln creek which was conducted in an old sod house. As a man of sterling character and great business ability, Mr. Werth endeared himself to a large number of friends throughout the community and his death caused a widespread feeling of bereavement where he had so long resided. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Werth; John, born in Cass County and who now resides in Hamilton County; Emma and Amilia, who died in infancy; Lizzie, who is now Mrs. Jacob Wall of Hamilton County; Ida, now Mrs. Henry Keith of Hamilton County; William, at home; Carl, whose death occurred in 1911; Augusta and Hannah, at home; and Henry, whose death occurred on the 12th of March, 1916.

 
Mrs. Werth is now in possession of a farm of three hundred and twenty acres of valuable land in Hamilton County, in section 26, Otis Township. There were many hardships endured in the reconstruction period after the Civil war and also during the early pioneer days in Hamilton County, and Mrs. Werth remembers having paid as high as one dollar for a box of matches. But Mr. and Mrs. Werth allowed no obstacle to remain long in their path and she is now financially independent and one of the most prominent and highly respected women of the community.

Peter C. Krabiel

Peter C. Krabiel, engaged in general farming on section 34 in the precinct of Hamilton, Hamilton County and also interested in the Farmers' Elevator at Giltner, was born in Woodford County, Illinois, August 23, 1863. He was reared on a farm and pursued his early education in the district schools, while later he attended the town schools and for a time studied in Metamora, Illinois. Through his youthful days he remained with his parents on the home farm and early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops.

He afterward worked out as a farm hand at eighteen dollars per month and still later worked at the carpenter's trade at a dollar and a quarter per day.

The year 1883 witnessed the arrival of Peter C. Krabiel in Nebraska, for in that year he came with his parents to Hamilton County. Here he began farming on his own account on rented land in 1888 and for several years continued to cultivate leased land, but carefully saved his earnings until his capital was sufficient to enable him to purchase a forty acre farm. Then he and his father bought eighty acres upon which there was a small frame house and some minor improvements. Mr. Krabiel put every fence, post and tree on the place, substantial buildings now adorning it, and he broke about one-half of the land. He now owns altogether four hundred acres of excellent farm property on which are two sets of good farm buildings and his attention is given to general agricultural pursuits and stock raising, although he rents most of his land.

Mr. Krabiel is connected with the Farmers' Elevator Company of Giltner.He is an independent voter, nor has he ever been an office holder, but has served on the school board of district No. 70. He has led an active and useful life and his energy has carried him steadily forward to the goal of success, so that he is now one of the substantial agriculturists of Hamilton precinct.

Melchior Figi

 
Melchior Figi has been a resident of Sutton for twenty-five years and during that time has become widely known throughout the community as a business man of great ability. Twenty-four years of this time Melchior Figi has devoted to the conduct of a mercantile establishment, building up an extensive trade, but in March, 1920, he retired from that business and entered the Sutton Bank as vice president.

Melchior Figi was born in Switzerland, March 21, 1865, a son of Adam and Sarah (Speich) Figi, both natives of that country. They came to America and made their home in Wisconsin for four years, but at the termination of that period returned to Switzerland where both passed away. The father was a successful merchant and had followed that line of business throughout his entire life. Five children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Figi, four of whom are living,

Mr. Figi being the only member of the family residing in the United States. Mr and Mrs. Figi were consistent members of the Congregational church. Mr. Figi received his early education in Switzerland, but also attended the country schools in York County for a number of years. In 1880 he settled in Hamilton County, where he obtained work on his uncle's farm and there remained until he saved up enough to purchase some land and engage in farming on his own account. For sixteen years he was a leading figure in the agricultural circles of the County and then disposing of his farm removed to Sutton, where he has made his home for twenty-five years. On arriving in Sutton he engaged in the general mercantile business, in which line of work he was actively engaged until in March of the year 1920, when he became vice president of the Sutton State Bank.

In 1887 in Hamilton County occurred the marriage of Mr. Figi and Miss Abbie Clark, a daughter of F. H. Clark, an early pioneer of Hamilton County.

He was an old soldier and built the first frame house in Hamilton County, hauling lumber from Beaver Crossing and Lincoln to build his home. Mrs. Figi was the first female white child born in Hamilton County.

Five children have been born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Figi : Sarah, who is the wife of V. Breeden, station agent for the B. & M. Railroad at Ericson; Lucy, who married St. Clair Dickson, a farmer near Saronville; Fred A., who is residing in Rochester, Minnesota, where he is a doctor connected with the Mayo Brothers Sanitarium ; Anna, who is the wife of Harold Patterson, a dentist of Geneva ; and Robert, in school. Dr. Fred A. Figi was in service in the World war nine months, but did not get across. He was located at a base hospital at Hampton Roads.

Mr. Figi is a stanch republican and takes an active interest in the affairs of that party, both locally and nationally. His religious faith is that of the Congregational church and fraternally he is a Woodman, Odd Fellow and a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Figi has been active in civic affairs as a member of the town board and is now serving on the township board. He is owner of considerable land and other property, being in possession of two farms, one in Hamilton County and the other in Buffalo County and also owns the opera house in Sutton. Mr. Figi is in every sense of the word a self-made man, having acquired every dollar of his fortune by his own diligence and industry.

James Ready

One of the prosperous and representative citizens who profited by his pioneer experiences in Hamilton County is James Ready, and though he encountered severe reverses, owing to conditions that brought similar trouble to many other pioneers, his courage and self-reliance continued stanch under disaster as well as success and his appreciation of and loyalty to Nebraska is unstinted at the present time.

Mr. Ready, who now resides at Stockham, was born in Jackson County, Ohio, June 6, 1849, and is a son of James and Catherine (Tope) Ready, the former bom in Virginia and the latter in Ohio. The father gave virtually his entire active life to farm, enterprise and resided for a number of years in Illinois, though both he and his wife died in Ohio.

James Ready, the subject of this review, is indebted to the district schools of Illinois for his youthful education and there he gained early fellowship with the work of the home farm. He remained with his parents until he attained his majority and thereafter was employed at farm work and the draining and tiling of swamp land in Illinois, in which state he continued his residence until 1880, when he came to Hamilton County, Nebraska, and purchased eighty acres of railroad land, to which he later added a second tract of equal area, this also being railroad land and fifteen acres of the soil having been broken when it came into his possession. A rude board shanty provided the first dwelling on the farm, the roof boards being bent over to give drainage during rainfalls. Mr. Ready earnestly applied himself to the breaking, cultivating and general improving of his land, but the reverses which attended him by loss bf crops in the drought years of 1893 and 1894 compelled him to sacrifice his land holdings.

He thereafter farmed for a time in Clay County and upon his return to Hamilton County he turned his attention to the blacksmith trade and wagon repairing, from which he later turned to identify himself with the lumber business, in connection with which he has been employed at Stockton for abouttwelve years. He is an independent voter in political lines and his wife is a zealous member of the Presbyterian Church at Stockham.

In Hamilton County was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ready to Miss Anna Van Duesen, a representative of a well known pioneer family of which adequate mention is made elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Ready have three children: Laura is the wife of James Beat, Jr., a farmer of HamiltonCounty; May is the wife of Gardner P. House!, also a farmer of this County; and Earl resides at Seward, judicial center of Seward County.

Nathan W. Titman

In the passing of Nathan W. Titman Aurora and Hamilton County lost a pioneer and representative citizen. A native of New Jersey, he was born in Sussex County in 1852, reared on a farm in that County and received his education in the country schools.

In 1878 Mr. Titman removed from New Jersey to Iowa where he obtained employment on farms and his wife assisted him in every way. She did the cooking and took care of the home of a neighbor farmer who was a bachelor. In the fall his wife helped him husk eighty acres of corn and from their labor Mr. Titman realized enough to purchase a team of colts, a wagon and a harness. In February, 1879, Mr. Titman with his wife and three children started overland in a covered wagon for Nebraska. The journey proved to be long and tedious, the weather was very cold and the muddy roads made the traveling very slow. Water was scarce, for that was one of the drought years and most of the wells were dry. They finally, however, reached Hamilton County and Mr. Titman rented a farm in Orville precinct that year. In the same summer he went further west and took up a homestead and timber claim in Red Willow County and went to work to dig wells. He lost two horses that year, one from a rattlesnake bite and the other from colic, and with but forty dollars to his name Mr. Titman purchased a wild pony and returned to his home in Orville precinct. Subsequently he traded the pony for an ox team and hauled his grain to Harvard, where he found a ready market. He rented land for some years and had a hard time. His wife proved to be a helpmeet in every sense of the word and it was with her cooperation that they were able to purchase eighty acres of railroad land at six dollars an acre.

They put up a sod house on this land and were so successful in farming that they soon added an additional one hundred and sixty acres, making a total of two hundred and forty acres of land which he brought to a high state of cultivation.

Mr. and Mrs. Titman resided on the farm until 1905 when they removed to Aurora where he purchased five acres of ground and erected a fine home. His death occurred there on the 27th of July, 1907, and came as a severe shock to his many friends in the community. Mrs. Titman is still living and makes her home in Aurora, where she is a respected and prominent citizen.

To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Titman six children were horn: Charles H., at home; Emma, who is the wife of Fred Eckerson; Sanford, whose death occurred at the age of thirty-three years: Mary, who was the wife of Thomas Milliken and passed away in 1919; George, who is residing in Garden County; and Orville W., living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Throughout his entire life Mr. Titman was a democrat, having firm belief in the principles of that party as factors in good government. Mrs. Titman is also a stanch supporter of that party. Mr. Titman attended the United Brethren church and his widow is a member of that church. His fraternal affiliations were with the Woodmen. He was a member of the school hoard for years and was always active in any movement for the development and improvement of the community.

The life of Mr. Titman was spent in diligence and industry. He was a self-made man in every sense of the word, for his success was due to his own efforts and to the cooperation of his wife. In his passing Aurora lost a prominent and representative citizen and has left a void in the community that will be hard to fill.

A. C. Epperson

A. C. Epperson, engaged in law practice at Clay Center, where his ability ranks him with the leading attorneys, was born in McDouough County, Illinois, November 18, 1870, his parents being John L. and Sarah (Rine) Epperson, the former a native of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, while the latter was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. In early life the father became a resident of Illinois and devoted his early manhood to teaching school. He afterward became a station agent and telegraph operator and devoted his time and energy to work of that character from 1870 until 1880. In the latter year he removed to Clay County, Nebraska, settling on a farm, but took up the practice of law when well advanced in years. He practiced at Fairfield and at Clay Center, and in 1888 was elected to the office of County attorney, filling that position for two years. At a subsequent period he was again elected and for a second term. Both he and his wife passed away in Clay County, where they were regarded as representative and valued citizens. They had a family of three children: Martha, the wife of George Gaumer, a retired farmer living in Scotts Bluff; Charles H., a prominent member of the bar at Fairfield; and A. C., of this review. Both parents were faithful members of the Christian church and Mr. Epperson also belonged to the Masonic fraternity, loyally following the teachings of the craft. His political allegiance was given to the Republican Party. At the time of the Civil war he joined Company L of the Seventh Illinois Cavalry, of which his brother, S. A. Epperson, was serving as captain and later was promoted to the rank of major. Mr. Epperson was with the army for more than a year and participated in the battle of Shiloh.

Daniel J. Krabiel

The boyhood memories of Daniel J. Krabiel, a substantial citizen and representative farmer of Hamilton County, touch the pioneer era in the history of this County and here he has so availed himself of opportunities as to achieve a high degree of success and prestige in connection with progressive farm industry.

Mr. Krabiel was born in Woodford County, Illinois, on the 23d of December, 1869, and is a son of Daniel and Magdalena Schweitzer Krabiel, the former a native of Germany and the latter of France, from which country her parents immigrated to the United States when she was ten years of age. Daniel Krabiel had been employed by the month at farm work in Ohio prior to his removal to Illinois, to which state he drove from Ohio with team and wagon. In Woodford County, Illinois, he became the owner of a farm of eighty acres and this property he sold when he determined to number himself among the pioneer settlers in Hamilton County, Nebraska. He came with his family to this County in 1883 and in Hamilton township as now constituted he purchased two hundred acres of land, on which had been erected a small frame house and barn. Only a minor part of the soil had been broken and prepared for cultivation, but -he not only reclaimed and developed this tract but also added to the area of his farm property until he was the owner of three quarter sections in Hamilton County. He won substantial success as a farmer in this state and continued in possession of the farm property until his death in 1903 at the age of sixty-nine years, his widow having passed away at the age of seventy years, in 1911, and both were earnest and consistent members of the Mennonite church. They were sterling folk and were held in high esteem in Hamilton County

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Daniel J. Krabiel acquired his rudimentary education in the schools of his native County and was a lad of thirteen years when he accompanied his parents from Illinois to Nebraska. In Hamilton County he attended the pioneer district schools during the winter terms when his services were not needed on the home farm and upon attaining to his legal majority he initiated his independent activities as a farmer. After utilizing for some time land owned by his father he purchased eighty acres in Orville township and of his progressive success since that time no further voucher is required than the statement that he is now the owner of a finely improved farm estate of three hundred and twenty acres, devoted to diversified agriculture and to the raising of excellent types of live stock, especially red polled cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs, to which Mr. Krabiel has given marked attention during the past decade. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Co-operative Grain & Livestock Company, is independent in politics, has served as school director of district No. 11,and has shown lively and helpful interest in those projects and enterprises that have been for the general good of his home community and County.

On December 15, 1897, Mr Krabiel was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Engel, who likewise is a native of Illinois, and their only child, Glenn, remains with them on the home farm, in the activities of which he takes part.

Lewis C. Anderson

A sterling pioneer citizen whose activities in connection with the development of the agricultural resources of Hamilton County marked him as a constructive agent in furthering the civic and material progress of this section of Nebraska, is Lewis C. Anderson, now living virtually retired in a pleasant home at Marquette, and his character and achievement well entitle him to recognition in this history.

He was born in Denmark, in the year 1855, and is a son of Andrew C. and Dora M. (Larsen) Larsen, who did not come to America until after their son Lewis C., of this review, had established his home in Nebraska. In his native land the father became a skilled artisan in the manufacturing of wooden shoes and he continued to follow his trade in Denmark until 1870, when he and his wife came to the United States and established their home in Hamilton County, Nebraska, where he purchased forty acres of government land and forty acres of school land, in Otis township. His original habitation on this pioneer farm was a small sod house which he provided with a board floor, an improvement that was lacking in many similar houses of the locality and period. The lumber used in this primitive domicile cost only thirteen dollars and was hauled by team from Central City.

In the developing and improving of his land he set out a small orchard and also planted a number of forest trees. He reclaimed much of his land to cultivation and both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives in Hamilton County, where he died in 1895, at the age of sixty-six years, and his wife lived to be seventy- eight years of age. Both were zealous communicants of the Danish Lutheran church. It is interesting to record that Mr. Larsen found ready demand for the wooden shoes which he manufactured after establishing his residence in Nebraska.

Mr. and Mrs. Larsen became the parents of four children: Antamena, the eldest, still resides in Hamilton County, where her husband, the late J. P. Christenson, was a prosperous farmer; Lewis C., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Lena is the widow of Samuel Anderson, who was a farmer of Hamilton County; and Anton P. is a resident of Grand Island, Nebraska.

Lewis C. Anderson is indebted to the schools of his native land for his early education, and there he served a five years' apprenticeship to the trade of carpenter. He received no pay for his services during this period, but the discipline was of enduring value, as he became a skilled artisan. He continued to work at his trade in Denmark until 1874, when he immigrated to the United States and came to Hamilton County, Nebraska, where he purchased eighty acres of railroad land. At a price of five dollars per acre he employed men to break the land of this embryonic farm and in the meantime added to his revenues by finding employment at his trade in Grand Island, Hall County. As a builder he worked on the first schoolhouse in that now vital and progressive little city and continued to devote the greater part of his time to work at the carpenter's trade until 1876, when he established his residence on his farm. In that year he erected a small frame house on the place and from time to time purchased more land in the same part of Otis Township. He has since sold the greater part of his land in Hamilton County, but is the owner of a valuable tract of one hundred and seventy acres in Merrick County. He endured the trials and perplexities that fell to the lot of all the pioneer farmers of this locality and knows well the efficacy of corn and cornstalks as fuel and the dubious pleasure of being compelled to grind wheat in a coffee mill when it proved impossible to take the grain to a mill on the Platte river, a number of miles distant. He continued his residence on his farm until 1915 and in the meantime had developed it into one of the valuable landed properties of Hamilton County. Upon leaving the farm he removed to Marquette, in which village he is now living retired, in full enjoyment of the prosperity that has crowned his many years of zealous toil and enterprise in connection with farm industry.

Mr. Anderson is a loyal and appreciative citizen of his adopted County and state, is independent in politics and he and his wife arc communicants of the Danish Lutheran church.

The year 1887 recorded the marriage of Mr. Anderson to Miss Martena Christensen, who was born in Denmark, a daughter of Peter and Johanna Christensen, who came to Hamilton County in 1872 and became pioneer settlers near the present village of Hampton, where Mr. Christensen took up a homestead and reclaimed a productive farm.  

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson became the parents of eleven children, of whom nine are living : Dora is the widow of Otto Fethersen, who was a farmer in Hamilton County; Edward F. is a farmer in Merrick County; Elmer F. and Andrew C. are vigorous exponents of farm enterprise in Hamilton County;Emma N. is the wife of Jeremiah Benson, a farmer of this County; Louis P., Clara M., Scenne and Rudolph M. remain at home. One child died in infancy and Josephine died at the age of seven years.

Clarence Cass

Clarence Cass, operating extensively and successfully in the real estate field of Aurora and Hamilton County, was born in Oswego County, New York, October 29, 1868, his parents being O. W. and Mary Jane (Crippen) Cass, both of whom were natives of the Empire state where they resided until 1872. Attracted by the opportunities of the growing west they came to Nebraska, settling in Hamilton County where Mr. Cass secured a homestead claim which he still owns, having in the meantime converted it into a rich and valuable property. He is now living in California, but his wife passed away in 1889. They were the parents of five children, three of whom were born in New York and two in Hamilton County.

The three born in New York first opened their eyes to the light of day in the same house where had occurred the birth of their father, his six brothers and one sister. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 0. W. Cass are: Clarence; Melvin J., who is connected with his brother Clarence in business but is now at Long Beach, California, for his health; H. D., a farmer living near Burwell, Nebraska; O. W., who carries on farming near Aurora; and Florence, the wife of George Bowen, a druggist of Rainier, Oregon. The parents were members of the Baptist church with which Mr. Cass is still identified and fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, while in political faith he is a democrat. Clarence Cass completed his education as a high school pupil in Aurora and through the period of his boyhood and youth, when not busy with the duties of the schoolroom, his attention was largely given to the work of the home farm. He continued to carry on general agricultural pursuits until he attained his majority and then became connected with the dry goods trade as clerk in an Aurora store in which he was employed for five years. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the restaurant business and was active along that line for seventeen years, conducting a business of gratifying proportions. He dates his residence in Aurora from about 1891. In 1914 he purchased the real estate business of W. W. Shenberger and has since handled real estate, collections and insurance.

He has both farm and city property for rent and has negotiated many important realty transfers. With the thoroughness that has always characterized him he has acquainted himself with all property that is on the market and thoroughly knows real estate values. He is also a stockholder in the First National Bank and the Farmers' State Bank and is the owner of land in Hamilton County.

On the 10th of October, 1910, Mr. Cass was married to Miss Clara Pense, a native of Illinois, whose father was one of the pioneer residents of ClayCounty,Nebraska, where he secured a homestead claim upon which he spent his remaining days.

Mr. and Mrs. Cass have one child, Lawrence, now nine years of age. Mrs. Cass belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church and is a lady of many admirable qualities.

Mr. Cass holds membership with the Masonic fraternity, with the Highlanders and with the Modern Woodmen and his political endorsement is given to the Republican Party. He is interested in all that pertains to general progress and improvement in his community and his aid has been a tangible force in bringing about advancement and development along various lines.

Owen Wright

To the younger generation, of the present day there is much of romance in the history of the pioneer period in Nebraska, and only those who participated in the labors and trying experiences of the pioneers can realize fully that the romantic features have needed the haze and glamour of the perspective of years to bring them into relief. Owen Wright, now one of the venerable and honoredcitizens of Hamilton County, is a man who gained more than casual pioneer experience, for in the early period of Nebraska statehood he devoted much time to hunting and trapping in the wilds of this commonwealth, knew the Indians by personal contact, endured the hardships of the wilderness and yet enjoyed to the fullest extent the free and open life of the prairies and hills. He has been a resident of Nebraska for a full half century and his reminiscences of the early days are graphic and interesting.

Mr. Wright was born at Belmont, Wisconsin, October 25, 1847, and is a son of Ajalon and Sarah Wright, who were numbered among the pioneer settlers of the Badger state and of whose eight children all are living except one who was killed at the battle of the Wilderness.

Owen Wright was reared to adult age under the conditions of the pioneer days in Wisconsin, where he attended the common schools and where he gained his initial experience in connection with farm industry. In the autumn of 1871 he and his brother Cyrus drove overland from Wisconsin to Nebraska with two teams and wagons and they passed the first winter in Fillmore County. In the spring of 1872 Owen Wright came to the farm which is his present place of residence,

in Hamilton township, Hamilton County, he having here taken a preemption claim of one hundred and sixty acres and his original habitation on the place having been a rude dugout. The unbroken prairie gave little semblance of the fine farms which mark the County at the present day, but Mr. Wright was a vigorous and sturdy young man who was well equipped for the hardships and labors of the pioneer. His little prairie farm was soon made deserving of the name of home, for in the summer of 1872 his parents joined him, they having driven through from Wisconsin with ox teams. They passed the remainder of their lives in Nebraska. Mr. Wright began the development and cultivation of his land, upon which he gradually made good improvements in the erection of needed buildings and here he continued to maintain his headquarters until 1886, when he removed to Grant County, where he took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres and a tree claim of one hundred and sixty acres and where he remained five years, within which time he perfected his title to the land. He then returned to his old preemption farm, in section 32, Hamilton Township, Hamilton County, and this excellent farm has since continued to be his home. He is associated with his brother and his sons in the ownership of nearly an entire township in Grant County and they have made this land one of the fine stock ranches of that section of the state. On his home farm Mr. Wright has erected the substantial buildings which now mark the place as one of the model farms of Hamilton Township and every one of the large trees on the place was planted by him many years ago. He was the first homesteader in Hamilton Township and has done well his part in the development of the resources of the County and in furthering civic and industrial advancement. He has been a successful agriculturist and stock raiser and on his farm today may be seen excellent types of shorthorn cattle and Poland China swine, to which types of live stock he has given special attention.

As a hunter Mr. Wright has shot buffaloes, deer and antelopes through the Hamilton County section of Nebraska, and during the first five years of his residence in the state he gave much time to trapping all through the wilds of western Nebraska, besides continuing his journeyings across the line into Colorado.

He was often absent six months on such expeditions and was a successful trapper of otter and beaver. On his trips he encountered many Indians and at times weeks would pass without his seeing a white man. More pleasing in retrospect than participation were his experiences in connection with droughts, grasshopper devastations and blizzards of the early days, but it is most interesting to listen to his many reminiscences concerning the pioneer period in Nebraska history, for his fellowship in pioneer life was of the closest order.

On the 14th of February, 1876, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Wright to Miss Letitia B. Collins, who was born in Athens County, Ohio, and who was a childhood playmate and sweetheart of Mr. Wright's in Wisconsin, where their marriage was solemnized, their bridal tour having been the journey to the pioneer home which Mr. Wright had provided in Hamilton County, Nebraska. Their children are: Ida, the eldest, is the wife of Edgar Graham and they reside in Wisconsin; Eva is the widow of William Donaldson and maintains her home in Kansas; Addie is the wife of John Marks, a farmer in the state of Iowa; Ira is a prosperous farmer in Union township, Hamilton County, as is also Orren; Lena remains at home; and Lloyd is a progressive exponent of farm enterprise in Hamilton precinct.

 
Mr. Wright has interested himself loyally in community affairs, has given many years of service as a member of the school board of his district, both as director and treasurer; is a republican in politics; has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity for more than twenty years and has received the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and his wife holds membership in the Order of the Eastern Star.

John J. Kline

A pioneer farmer of Hamilton County was John J. Kline and his death which occurred March 14, 1914, came as a severe shock to his many friends. A native of Ohio he was born in Portage County in 1848, a son of John and Margaret (May) Kline. John J. Kline was but eight years of age at the time of his father's death and at that early age began to assume responsibilities. He obtained such educations was afforded in the country schools of Ohio, and when seventeen years of age learned the carpenter's trade which line of work he followed until the removal of the family to Illinois, when he was a young man. He farmed rented land in that state where his marriage occurred in 1875 and in 1880 Mr. Kline and his family came west. The trip was made by train and they settled in Hamilton County in 1883, buying one hundred and sixty acres of land whereon he built a small frame house, shed and stable and made additional improvements. He planted an orchard but this largely died out as the result of the droughts of '93 and '94. He was a very successful farmer and increased his holdings from time to time until he had a fine ranch of two hundred and forty acres in section 32, Scoville Township. He was a man of great energy and determination and allowed no obstacle, however great, long to remain in his path.

 
In 1875, while residing in Illinois, Mr. Kline was married to Miss Bertha Horschler, a native of Mount Pulaski, Logan County, that state. Her parents were Melchior and Mary (Young) Horschler. Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kline: Anthony H., whose death occurred at the age of twenty-three years; George, engaged in farming in Hamilton County ; Lena, who is the wife of William Wonder lich, a farmer of Hamilton County; Katherine L., at home; Ralph, who passed away at the age of two years ; Cecelia, at home ; Daniel E., farming in Hamilton County ; Elmer, who died in infancy; Mary L., who is the wife of Cyril Wonderlich, a farmer of Hamilton County; Clara M., who is Sister Leonarda at St. Anthony's School, Cedar Rapids, Nebraska; Francisca, who is Sister Francis Dominick in the St. Agnes Academy at Memphis, Tennessee; and Irene, who is also a nun, being known as Sister Theodore and is at St. Patrick's School, Fremont, Nebraska.

Throughout his life Mr. Kline was a stanch democrat, having firm faith in the principles of that party as factors in good government. Fraternally he was well known as a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Royal Highlanders and the Knights of Columbus. His religious faith was that of the Catholic Church and he was a member of the St. Joseph church at Giltner. Having had but few educational advantages himself, Mr. Kline was a fervent worker in furthering any movement along that line and he served as school treasurer for a period of twenty- seven years. He was also for many years road overseer of the precinct. The greater part of Mr. Kline's life was devoted to farming and he became well known and an influential leader in the community. His death, March 14, 1914, was an occasion of deep sorrow throughout the vicinity, for in his passing Hamilton County lost a representative citizen.

Jacob Budler

Jacob Budler, for many years prominent in agricultural circles of Hamilton County, is now residing retired on his home farm in section 31, Valley township, a prosperous and respected citizen. A native of Germany, he was born on the 28th of December, 1851, and twenty years later came to the United States, in the spring of 1871.

Upon his arrival in this country Jacob Budler first located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he obtained employment in a dairy. He remained in that connection until May of that year, when he began to realize the greater opportunities offered in the west and as a result left Pennsylvania for Illinois, locating at Aurora. He made his home there for about nine years, working out by the month for about four years and then farming rented land for the remainder of the time.

In 1879 he came to Nebraska, locating in Hamilton County, where he bought one hundred and twenty acres of land and there was a sod house and a shed on the place. Part of the land had been broken and the remainder being in prairie he immediately set about to cultivate it. He had brought a horse team and some farm machinery with him from Illinois. After purchasing his land, for which he paid eight and a quarter dollars per acre, Mr. Budler was without funds, but it was not long before he had his land on a paying basis. His farm is now composed of three hundred and ninety-three acres with two sets of buildings.

While residing in Illinois the marriage of Mr. Budler to Miss Katrina Bermes was celebrated at Aurora on the 25th of February, 1872. To them thirteen children have been born, four claiming Illinois as their native state: John, Antone, Henry and Nettie, all born in Illinois; Frank, died in infancy; Marie; Bennie; Rosy; George; Albert; Annie and Lula. One died unnamed. Henry is in the United States army and was active in the Spanish-American war. This family has been closely bound together, each doing his part toward the making of the family fortune. Sickness has played but little part in their lives and for the most part the family circle remains intact.

 
Mr. Budler and family are consistent members of the Catholic Church and he is a generous contributor to its every cause. He has always taken an active part in the development and improvement of the community in which he has so long resided, and he served his fellowmen as road overseer for one year. Mr. Budler is now living retired on his home farm, which is being conducted by his son, Bennie, and his son-in-law, Clyde Henthorhe. He has labored hard and faithfully and is well entitled to the rest from hard work which he is now enjoying.

Nels W. Peterson

Another of that fine element of Scandinavian citizenship that has played a large and important part in the civic and industrial progress of Hamilton County is Nels W. Peterson, who is one of the substantial exponents of farm enterprise in the township where his well improved farm is situated. Mr. Peterson was born in Sweden, April 6, 1850, and in his native land he was reared and educated. At the age of twenty years, moved by the urge of ambition and resolute purpose, he came to the United States and it is entirely through his own ability and well ordered efforts that he has made his way upward to the plane of substantial prosperity. He passed the first four years in the state of Mississippi, where he found employment in the cotton fields. Later he went to Tennessee and other parts of the country and within a short time after the great Chicago fire established his residence at Princeton, Illinois, where he worked on a farm for two years and here his marriage occurred. He gave nine years of effective service in connection with the nursery business conducted in Illinois by a nephew of William Cullen Bryant, the distinguished American poet, and in 1885 numbered himself among the pioneer settlers of Hamilton County, Nebraska. Here he rented land for five years. He recalls with somewhat grim humor that when the assessor made his first official visit to the Peterson home he found the possessions of Mr. Peterson to be chiefly summed up in a good wife and three vigorous children. He continued his residence for five years on the farm of John J. Nordgren, who aided him in buying horses and otherwise getting a start on the road to independence. Mr. Peterson recalls with most appreciative, memory this old and loyal friend of the early days.

Upon leaving the Nordgren farm Mr. Peterson purchased his present fine homestead place of one hundred and sixty acres, the farm having at that time virtually no buildings except a small and crude shanty, which served as the temporary habitation of the family. The land of this locality was then without fences and it required both courage and vision to develop a farm from the virgin soil. The homestead is now equipped with good buildings, including a commodious and modern house which was erected by Mr. Peterson in 1902 and a fine orchard adds to the attraction and value of the place. Mr. Peterson's former nursery experience proved of great service to him in his development of this orchard and his technical skill is shown in his growing three kinds of fruit on one tree. He has been one of the energetic and progressive agriculturists and stock raisers of the County and gives special attention to the raising of hogs of excellent grade. So noteworthy have been his activities in the supplying of the best of seed corn that he has locally gained the title of "Seed-corn Peterson." He has raised and sold more seed corn than any other man in Hamilton County, his annual sales aggregating hundreds of bushels of the wonderful "Golden Superior' corn, in the propagation of which he has been remarkably successful and in which fact he takes much pride. Knowing well the needs and limitations of farmers he always sells his seed corn at reasonable prices. He takes loyal interest in all that touches the well being of the community, is a democrat in politics, has served twenty years as a member of the school board of his district and he and his wife are active members of the Swedish Mission church.

The maiden name of Mrs. Peterson was Ajinie Swanson. She was born in Sweden and was thirteen years old when she accompanied her parents, John and Christina (Erickson) Swanson on their immigration to the United States, where the parents passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have a fine family of seven children: Albert, Oscar, Meda, Nancy, Delia, Esther and Hiram. Meda, who passed away in March, 1921, was the wife of Nels Peterson, who is engaged in farming not far distant from the home of his wife's father. All of the other children are at home with their parents.

Emil Anderson

Emil Anderson is progressive in his activities as one of the representative agriculturists and stock raisers of Hamilton County, his farm being in section 9, Monroe and Phillips Township. He was born in Sweden in the year 1873, the date of his nativity having been August 27, and he was but a boy when his parents numbered themselves among the sturdy pioneer settlers of Hamilton County, Nebraska. He is a son of Carl and Anna Anderson, who immigrated to America in 1878 and who, after remaining about four months in the city of Chicago, came to Nebraska. The father obtained wild land in Hamilton County and instituted the development of the fine farm now owned and occupied by his son Emil, the immediate subject of this review. On this old homestead Carl Anderson passed the remainder of his life, and here he died at the age of seventy years. On first coming to the County he rented land, but in 1888 purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, this being the farm which he brought to productiveness and which represented his home at the time of his death, his widow being now a resident of Tacoma, Washington.

Emil Anderson was reared and educated in Hamilton County and he recalls that in his boyhood days Indians were still in evidence in this section of the state, while herds of antelopes were frequently to be seen. He was reared under the conditions and influences of the pioneer farm which is the present stage of his activities and which he rents from his widowed mother. He recalls' the little sod house of two rooms which was the first home of the family and realizes fully the burdens and responsibilities borne by his honored parents in connection with the hardships that  marked the pioneer period in the history of this section of Nebraska. He has literally grown up with the country and has continuously been associated with farm enterprise, having assumed control of the old home farm in the year 1900, and his success has been on a par with his energy and good judgment in his agricultural and live stock enterprise. The family name is one that has long been honored in connection with the civic and industrial history of Hamilton County, and he is fully upholding its prestige.

In 1900 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Anderson to Miss Emma Bergmark, daughter of John Bergmark, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work, and the two children of this union are Myrtle and Irving.

Mr. Anderson's political allegiance is given to the Republican Party; he served as township assessor in 1919-20 and has given effective service also as moderator of the school board of his district. He and his wife hold membership in the Swedish Mission church of their community.

Jacob E. George

Among the enterprising and progressive citizens that Russia has furnished to Hamilton County is numbered Jacob E. George who won his success through his farming operations and is now living retired in Aurora, enjoying the comforts and luxuries of life by reason of his former industry and toil. He was born in southern Russia, October 30, 1851, and was there educated. He took up the profession of teaching which he followed for four years before coming to the new world, teaching in both the German and Russian languages. He had been educated in the Gymnasium school and at length determined to try his fortune in the new world, crossing the Atlantic in 1874. He at once made his way to Nebraska and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of railroad land. For a few months he worked for a farmer at fifteen dollars per month and then his employer advanced him fifty-six dollars and he made his first payment on his farm. He continued with his employer, however, for two years and in the meantime was getting a start on his land.

He first built a sod house in 1875 and when his parents came to the new world he gave them the primitive little dwelling. Subsequently he built another sod house and in 1878 built his first frame house which contained two rooms. He lived on the farm until 1884, continuing its cultivation year by year until that time, when he traded the property for a farmers' flour mill in the southern part of the county. He afterward bought more land, however, when he sold his mill in 1889, acquiring three eighty-acre tracts in York County. This he subsequently sold and bought more land in Hamilton County. He now owns eleven hundred and twenty acres of land, all of which has been acquired through his own efforts and from his property he derives a most substantial and gratifying annual income. All of this land is now very valuable and would sell at a high figure. He has always displayed sound judgment in making his investments and his business record is such as should serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what can be accomplished through resolute will intelligently directed.

 
On the 25th of November, 1877, Mr. George was married to Christina Eberhardt, a native of Russia and a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Eberhardt. Her father, who was a blacksmith, died in Russia but the mother afterward came to the United States and passed away in Mississippi. To them were born eleven children, five of whom are living, Mrs. George being the eldest. By her marriage she has become the mother of six children, five of whom survive: Louisa, the wife of C. K Penner, a dairyman of York County, Nebraska; William C., a minister of the German Methodist Episcopal church, who was educated in Warrenton, Missouri, and Chicago, and is now located at Clatonia, Nebraska; Emil, who is on his father's home farm; John J., who is engaged in farming in Hamilton County; and Mollie, the wife of Helmuth Griess, also a farmer of Hamilton County. Annie is deceased.

 
Mr. and Mrs. George are loyal supporters of the Methodist Episcopal Church and in politics he is a republican. He has served on the school board, has been road supervisor and at all times is loyal to the interests and welfare of his adopted County. Since 1913 he has made his home in Aurora, purchasing a residence at No. 905 K Street which he rebuilt in 1915 and which is today a modern and attractive
dwelling. There amid pleasant surroundings he is spending the evening of life. He has reached the Psalmist's allotted span of threescore years and ten but in spirit and interests seems yet a man in his prime.

Thomas Timmons

Thomas Timmons is one of the many men actively engaged in the cultivation of the soil of Hamilton County, of which he has been a resident since April, 1873. A native of Maryland, he was born in that state on the 15th of June, 1842, a son of Stephen Timmons. His father removed from Maryland to Indiana about 1869 and there resided until his death, which occurred at the age of sixty-five years.

Thomas Timmons came to Hamilton County about April, 1873, driving through from Ottumwa, Iowa, the trip being made with a yoke of cattle and covering a period of about four weeks. In the spring of that year Thomas Timmons homesteaded eighty acres in the County and on that prairie land he made a dugout in which he resided for four years. At the termination of that time he moved onto the flats and there built a sod house. He broke some of his land with his oxen, but finding them too slow, sold them and purchased a team of horses. When Thomas Timmons arrived on this land he had in his possession twenty dollars, one cow, and a plow. He soon had his land in a state of cultivation, however, and there were plenty of wild birds and a few deer from which to obtain meat. Central City was then the closest trading post and was known as Lone Tree. Mr. Timmons is still residing on his original eighty acre tract in section 34, Bluff Township, which is highly improved and on which stand good buildings, those structures having been built by Mr. Timmons himself. His brother, Lem, came to Hamilton County about 1880.

 
In 1884 Mr. Timmons was united in marriage to Miss Rhoda Benson, the event taking place in Ottumwa, Iowa. To them seven children have been born: Mary and Alice, both deceased; Benjamin, who is residing in Hamilton County; Ethel Benson of Hamilton County ; Sally Jensen, also a resident of Hamilton County ; and Amos is residing on the home place, and runs his father's farm; and Ernest, who is at home.

The earnest and persistent work of Mr. Timmons has been the source of his success, enabling him to surpass many who started out in life earlier or more advantageously. His record may well serve as a source of encouragement to others, showing what may be accomplished by one who has the will to dare and to do.

S. W. Carlson

S. W. Carlson, whose well conducted garage at Aurora is bringing him gratifying success, is numbered among Nebraska's native sons, his birth having occurred in Saunders County, October 3, 1884. His parents, John and Marie (Nelson) Carlson, were both born near Stockholm, Sweden, the former in 1835 and the latter in 1850. They were married in that country and came to the United States in early life. The father crossed the Atlantic in 1845, becoming a resident of Detroit, Michigan. He was a blacksmith by trade and worked along that line at various places. Removing to Omaha, Nebraska, he followed blacksmithing in the shops of the Union Pacific Railroad and at an early day, in the settlement and development of Saunders County, he took up a homestead within its borders. There was not a house between Fremont and Lincoln at that time and he and Jack Carlson lived in a little sod house such as was common on the frontier.  A prairie fire burned everything around their home one year. Mr. Carlson afterward improved his farm, built thereon a good residence and equipped the place with all modern accessories incident to the progress and development of a modern farm. In 1902 he disposed of his property there and removed to Hamilton County, where he purchased two hundred and seventy-seven acres of good land. His wife passed away in Saunders, while Mr. Carlson survived for some time and died in a hospital at Omaha, Nebraska. They were the parents of two children, one of whom was Signa, who became the wife of Nels Nelson, who was drowned November 7, 1907. The other member of the family was D. S. W. Carlson of this review. The parents were both members of the Lutheran church and in his political views Mr. Carlson was a republican. He started out in the business world empty handed, but as the years passed won a substantial measure of success.

D. S. W. Carlson was educated in the schools of Dodge County and of Fremont, Nebraska, attending the Fremont Normal. His youthful experiences were those of the farm bred boy, and when not busy with his textbooks he worked on the home farm, continuing to till the fields after reaching manhood, until 1905. He then turned his attention to carpentering and contracting and built a number of farm buildings and churches in Hamilton County. In February, 1920, he turned his attention to the automobile business, in which he has since been engaged. He now handles the Studebaker car, having the County agency therefor. He owns a large garage and does all kinds of repair work on automobiles. He also has an oil station and every branch of his business is proving profitable, owing to his capable management, keen discernment and unabating energy. He devotes his entire time to the garage and the agency and is today one of the prominent representatives of the automobile trade in Hamilton County. He still owns the old home farm which is well improved and from that property he derives a substantial annual income.

It was in 1908 that Mr. Carlson was united in marriage to Miss Laura E. Hunt, who was born at Phillips, Nebraska, a daughter of Joseph Hunt, who settled in Hamilton County in 1871, owning land near Phillips where he makes his home at the present time, having retired from active business. To Mr. and Mrs. Carlson have been born seven children, four sons and three daughters: Marie, Deroyce, Hubert and Donald, all in school; Helen, Millard and Dorline.

Mr. Carlson is an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity, loyal at all times to the teachings and purposes of the craft. In politics he maintains an independent course, voting for men and measures rather than parties, nor is he at any time neglectful of the duties of citizenship, but gives active aid and support to all measures and movements for the public good. He and his family occupy a nice home at No. 1405 L Street in Aurora and are now pleasantly situated in life.  Mr. Carlson's record illustrates what can be accomplished through determined purpose and laudable ambition. He is one of the native sons of Nebraska whose record reflects credit upon the parent state.

Alexander McDougall

The typical Scotch determination and thrift have been potent in enabling Alexander McDougall to win a goodly measure of material prosperity and within a period of nearly forty years' residence in Hamilton County, Nebraska, he has advanced from the status of an obscure pioneer farmer of most modest resources to that of one of the substantial citizens and representative agriculturists and stock raisers of the County, his well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres, being situated in section 26, Monroe township.

Of the staunchest of Scottish lineage on both the paternal and maternal sides, Alexander McDougall was born in the state of Pennsylvania, on the 13th of September, 1855, and is a son of Matthew and Isabel (Douglas) McDougall, who became the parents of seven children, the father having died when but thirty-six years of age in Illinois. The mother survived him many years and was a resident of Hamilton County at the time of her death. Matthew McDougall was born in Scotland and was a youth when he came to the United States. From Pennsylvania he removed to Illinois in the year 1857, the major part of his active career in this country having been one of association with farm enterprise.

Alexander McDougall is indebted to the public schools of Illinois for his early education, which was limited in scope and when he was a lad of twelve years he began to depend largely upon his own resources. He gave most of his time to farm work and his initial venture as an independent farmer was made in Illinois.

There was solemnized his marriage to Miss Isabel McAllister and he continued his alliance with farm industry in Illinois until 1885, when he came with his family to Hamilton County, Nebraska, and prepared to undertake the labors and responsibilities of developing and improving a farm. He brought with him a goodly supply of household effects, a few farm implements, a team of mules and a cow, so that he was not without due provisions for establishing a comfortable home.

He first purchased a tract of eighty acres, but this he later sold. He then rented a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Monroe Township, which he worked for eighteen years before purchasing it in 1904. His well ordered enterprise and careful methods have resulted in the development of this place into one of the valuable farm properties of the County. The little frame house that was the original habitation of the family has been supplanted by a commodious and modern dwelling and the other buildings on the farm are of excellent type, properly arranged for the practical uses to which they are applied in connection with the diversified operations of the well kept farm. The first wife of Mr. McDougall was about twenty-eight years of age at the time of her death in 1883, her children having been three in number, namely: Matthew J., who died at the age of thirty-seven years; Nora, who died at the age of nineteen years, in 1900; and Julia, who is the wife of Merle Coon, of Aurora, Hamilton County. The second wife of Mr. McDougall bore the maiden name of Jennie May Firth and she was born and reared in Illinois. She proved a true helpmeet to her husband in connection with his progressive career as a farmer in Hamilton County and on the old home farm her death occurred in the year 1909. Of this union were born seven children : Pearl is the wife of Fred Fowler of Aurora, this County; Ira became a member of the United States army, his enlistment having occurred in New Mexico in 1910 and his service having continued during the period in which the nation was involved in the great World war; Edna is the wife of Charles Cunningham, a farmer in
Hamilton County; Minnie is the wife of Chester Cunningham of Aurora, this County; Iva is the wife of Wiley Garrison and they reside in the state of Illinois; Arvilla is the wife of James Morrell of Hamilton County and lives on a farm; and Beckford remains at the paternal home.

In politics Mr. McDougall gives his allegiance to the Democratic Party and while he has labored earnestly and faithfully in achieving prosperity during the period of his residence in Hamilton County, he has not been unmindful of his civic responsibilities and has shown loyal and helpful interest in community affairs.

He is now in independent financial circumstances, as the result of his own well directed efforts and in view of his present status there is significance in the statement that upon coming to Hamilton County he was compelled to go in debt for the first bill of groceries which he here purchased. He has been one of the world's determined and productive workers and well merits the success which has rewarded his efforts.

John Bankson

Among the many prominent and successful agriculturists that Sweden has contributed to Nebraska is John Bankson, who was born in that country in 1850. He has come to be widely known throughout Hamilton County as a farmer of great ability and so great has been his success that he is today living retired in Central City, financially independent.

 
In 1868 John Bankson came to the United States, first locating in Pennsylvania, where he worked at odd jobs for some time. He was fireman in a sawmill there but finding this job and various others not to his liking he decided to come west and as a result located in Hamilton County, Nebraska, on the 28th of

June, 1878. He bought one hundred and sixty acres, three-quarters of a mile west of Hordville, about sixty acres of which land was then in cultivation. He had about one thousand dollars with him when he located in the County and out of this sum he purchased up-to-date farm machinery. For six years he made his home in a sod house and then built a frame home. Eighteen years ago Mr. Bankson retired to Merrick County and lived on a small farm near Central City for a few years but in 1915 removed into the town. There he is now residing and has one of the finest homes in Central City. Mr. Bankson is also in possession of three hundred and sixty-four acres of fine land all of which is located in Hamilton County.

 
In 1873 occurred the marriage of Mr. Bankson and Miss Johanna Nickelson, that event taking place in Pennsylvania. To this union have been born eleven children : Eanold, who is a mail carrier in Oakland, California ; Doris Burrows, who is now residing in Berkeley, California ; Albert, residing in Hordville ; Nancy, at home ; Ernest, who is residing at Bayard ; Julia Randall, residing in Hordville ; Esther, who is residing at home ; Seth, living at Bayard ; Newton, who is farming the home place in Hamilton County; Amos, who is residing in Bayard; and Evert, at home.

The Bankson family are all consistent members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Bankson is fraternally identified with the Highlander Lodge. He has always been active in civic affairs and for nine years was road supervisor in Hamilton County.

The success of Mr. Bankson as an agriculturist in both Merrick and Hamilton counties is readily conceded and he is also widely recognized as a prominent and representative citizen.

History of Hamilton and Clay Counties, Nebraska

Supervising Editors George L. Burr, O.O. Buck

Compiled by Dale P. Stough By George L. Burr, O. O. Buck, Dale P. Stough

Published 1921

Transcribed and Contributed by:  Nancy Hannah

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