CUSTER COUNTY BIOGRAPHIES
CHARLES ELMER CANNON
Charles Elmer Cannon belongs to one of the old and prominent families of the older families of Nebraska, of which state he is a native. He is a prosperous and successful farmer and well regarded as a progressive and public-spirited citizen. He has passed through the most important period of Nebraska's history and has passed his entire life within the limits of the state. He was born in Lincoln, February 4, 1875, son of Samuel L. and Lottie (Young) Cannon, given extensive mention eleswhare [sic] in this work. The parents now reside in Broken Bow. Mr. Cannon is second of a family of five children and came with his parents to Custer County in 1884, receiving his education there and growing to manhood on his father's farm. When he was old enough he engaged in farming on his own account, and on February 4, 1902, was married, at the home of the bride's parents in Custer County to Floyd Leech, a native of Nemaha County, Nebraska, who was a teacher in the public schools before her marriage. She is a daughter of Corydon T. and Anna (Risley) Leech, of whom a more extended account is to be found elsewhere in this work. Four children have been born of this union: Helen Fay, Phylis Irene, Leonard C. and Winnefred Lottie, all of whom survive.
In 1902 Mr. Cannon purchased an improved stock farm of three hunderd [sic] and twenty acres of land on section thirty-two, township seventeen, range eighteen, and there has a comfortable and well built farm residence. He and his wife are well known and popular in social circles in the community and have a large circle of friends. The Cannon family is one of the oldest in central Nebraska and many of its members have won prominence in various lines. Mr. Cannon is a republican in politics, and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Cannon was too young to recall the three days' blizzard of October, 1880, which inauguated [sic] "the winter of the deep snow," but remembers well the short and severe blizzard of January 12, 1888. With his brothers he was at school at the time of the storm broke. The children were on the way home when the father met them and took them safely home.
RALPH C. CANNON
Ralph C. Cannon, one of the younger men among the early settlers of Custer County, is well and favorably known, and a progressive and successful farmer. He is a native of Nebraska, born at Union, December 9, 1877, son of Samuel L. and Lottie T. (Young) Cannon, natives of Missouri and Iowa, respectively, and now living in Broken Bow. He was the third of their five children, and has a brother, Elmer, living in Custer County; two brothers, Cleon and Joseph, living in Broken Bow, and one sister in that city. In his early childhood, the family lived for one year in California, and thence he was brought by his parents to Custer County, and there reached maturity. He was educated in the local schools, and, after reaching his majority, purchased land, and engaged in farming on his own account.
On December 25, 1902, Mr. Cannon was married in Custer County, at the home of her parents, to Miss Daisy Thornton, a native of Iowa, who came to the County with her parents in 1884. She is at daughter of William and Flora (Goode) Thornton, who came to Custer County in 1884. The father, a native of Scotland, who came to America in 1863, died March 24, 1902, and his widow still resides on the old home farm in Custer County. Besides Mrs. Cannon, there are two sons, Walter and Frank, and five daughters in the County. Mrs. Cannon was a teacher in the public schools before her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Cannon now live on his father's homestead, on section thirty-one, township seventeen, range eighteen, of which we are pleased to show a view on one of the illustrated pages.
Mr. and Mrs. Cannon have four children, three of whom survive: Mildred, died in 1907; Grace Mabel, Ralph Dean and Samuel Leland. Mr. Cannon is a patriotic son of Nebraska, where his entire life has been spent, and has a good standing in his community, where he is recognized as an enterprising and public-spirited citizen, interested in everything pertaining to the general welfare, and ready to do his part to advance any worthy cause. He and his wife have at wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
Mr. Cannon and his brothers were at school the day of the January blizzard of 1888, their father coming for them, and conducted them safely home. Mrs. Cannon, then a little girl, was returning from a visit in Iowa with an uncle. They reached Lincoln, and remained there until the storm was over.
In politics Mr. Cannon is a republican. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America
RUFUS GEORGE CARR
Rufus George Carr, a portrait of whom is presented on another page, was one of the very early settlers of Custer County and is one of the best known men of central Nebraska. He is a prosperous and successful business man and has built up several local enterprises, in some of which he still has an interest. He was born in Redfield, New York, September 7, 1836 eldest of the seven children of George R. and Mary (Dickinson) Carr. He has three sisters now living in Nebraska: Mrs. Ida Phelps, Mrs. James Benedict, and Mrs. Harriett R. Peters; another sister, Mrs. Sarah Whiting, of Lois Banis, California. The father was born in Oneidia County, and the mother in Oswego County, New York, and both died in Custer County, where located in 1878.
In infancy Rufus G. Carr, was taken by his parents to Illinois, growing to manhood on a farm in that state. As a young man he worked at the trade of carpenter and later engaged in the mercantile business. On September 18, 1859, he was married, in Wisconsin, to Miss Sarah Daniels, a native of Colebrook, New Hampshire. They lived about one year on a farm in Illinois then moved to Wisconsin and thence to Iowa. In the spring of 1878 they accompanied a party to Nebraska, taking with them nine wagons one hundred cattle and thirty-five horses and going by way of Sioux City. The other members of the party were : Mr. and Mrs. John Orvis, with her father, George Sweet: Mr. Carr's father, G. R. Carr; Mr. and Mrs. William Coslor and Gilbert Scott. After reaching Nebraska the party camped at Compton's Ford on Cedar river and R. G. Carr and John Orvis left the others to look in Custer County for a suitable location, choosing a place on Loup river northwest of the present site of the town of Sargent. They returned to their party, still in camp, and all moved on toward the chosen home. Upon reaching St. Paul they met a number of friendly settlers, including Judge Paul and others who gave them unfavorable reports of Custer County, telling them they would be liable to have trouble with the Indians and cowboys and saying that the country was unhealthy. However, the little band of homeseekers would not be discouraged and push on. After a time they saw an old man sitting on a stump and crying. Upon their inquiring of him what was the cause of his grief they were told his father had whipped him for being saucy to his grandfather, and the entire party agreed that if people in the locality lived to such an age it was the improper place for them to settle. They continued on their way and all took up homesteads in the same neighborhood. Mr. Carr Secured a half of section two, township nineteen, range nineteen, and on his farm laid out the town of West Union, serving as its first postmaster and also conducting a general store. In 1890 he acquired about fourteen hundred acres of land in West Union township and there established the postoffice and pleasure resort known as Doris. He erected and operated a flour mill, having a capacity of one hundred barrels a day, the power being furnished by Doris Lake, an artificial body of water fed from the middle Loup river. This is a handsome lake, surrounded by fine trees and having islands and rustic bridges to add to its beauty. It is a place where the entire countryside enjoys boating, fishing and skating in their proper seasons. Mr. Carr also erected and conducted the Doris hotel and dance hall, as well as a machine shop that was run by power furnished by the water in the lake. In 1887 the West Union property was almost entirely destroyed by fire, the loss amounting to about twenty-one thousand dollars, there being an insurance of only one thousand dollars on it. However, he rebuilt and continued in business there and still has various interests. In the summer of 1911 he sold his business to James W. Lundy, retiring from active life and purchasing a comfortable home in Sargent. He has alwlys been known as a publicspirited and enterprising citizen, interested in all that benefited his locality. In establishing the village of West Union he furnished the first market for many miles around. He was the first notary public in the County and served in this capacity twelve years.
Five children were born to Mr. Carr and wife; Alda, wife of William A. Coslor, of Sargent, has three children; Eben J. deceased; Stanley V., married and living Sargent, has six children; Rodney V., deceased; Cora J., wife of Henry Pointer, of West Union, has three children. Many of the earlier settlers were assisted by Mr. Carr and encouraged to continue as residents of the County and through his capacity as a public official and the sound advice and the offer of his money which he advanced, enabled many of them to file on their claims.
ISAAC A. COLEMAN
Isaac A. Coleman is a well-known and prosperous business man of Broken Bow Nebraska, and is much interested in the welfare and progress of his community, being one of the older settlers of Custer County. He was born in Knox County, Illinois, April 9, 1843, a son of John and Sarah (Lambert) Coleman, and fifth of their nine children. He has two sisters in Wisconsin, and one sister in Kansas City, and others of the children are deceased. The father was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, of German descent, and died in Wisconsin, January 28, 1872, and the mother, a native of Indiana, died in Wisconsin, January 1, 1893. In 1847 Isaac A. Coleman accompanied his parents to Jackson County, Wisconsin, and there reached manhood, being educated in local schools. As a young man he engaged in lumbering, and, from the time he was thirteen years of, age assumed most of the responsibility of the family's support, his father being an invalid for many years.
On November 8, 1861, Mr. Coleman enlisted at Black River Falls, Wisconsin, in Company G, Tenth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, served three years, and received his discharge at Milwaukee, in November, 1864. Among the important battles in which he participated were Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, besides many minor engagements and skirmishes. While guarding railroads in Alabama he was taken prisoner and held five months and fourteen days, most of the time in Libby prison. Later he became a non-commissioned officer. At the close of the war he returned to his home in Wisconsin and resumed his former occupations. He was married at Black River Falls, May 11, 1869, to Miss Eunice C. Ormsby, a native of Parishville, New York, and in the spring of 1880 he brought his wife and two children to Wayne County, Nebraska. He purchased land and engaged in farming, but two years later sold his interests there and came, to Custer County, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land comprising the southeast quarter of section twenty-six, township eighteen, range twenty-two, which was the home place for more than twenty years. He also secured a timber claim of the same size.
Mr. Coleman has always been interested in educational measures and other movements for the good of the community and County, and served many years on the school board in district number sixty-two, and for two terms was County supervisor. In 1903 he retired from farm work and purchased a place in Broken Bow, where he erected a pleasant home. He is regarded as an enterprising business man and a public-spirited citizen. He and his wife had three children, namely: Ernest M., in hardware business at Merna, has three children; Alice, wife of L. Van Buskirk, of Wyoming, has two children; Ethel W., wife of Fred H. Ream, of Broken Bow, has one child.
DAVID COLLIER
David Collier is a successful farmer of Custer County and member of a family that has been prominent in central Nebraska for nearly thirty years. He is the fourth of the six living children of John and Janet (Todd) Collier and was born in Scotland August 1, 1869. The parents are given extensive mention in connection with the sketch of John Collier, junior, which may be found in this work, David Collier was about ten years of age when his parents came to America, sailing from Glasgow to New York in the "Nevada," the voyage lasting eleven days. They located near Lincoln, Nebraska, and there David completed his education. He came to Custer County in the spring of 1883, remaining with his father until his marriage, December 22, 1897, to Miss Nellie May Slingsby, the affair being a double wedding and taking place on the old Collier homestead, Mr. Collier's sister, Elizabeth, becoming the wife of John Garness at the same time. The Slingsby family were among the pioneers of Custer County and prominent in all affairs of interest to the community.
After marriage Mr. Collier brought his wife to their home on the northwest quarter of section twenty-nine, township seventeen, range seventeen, where they began housekeeping in a soddy the following summer, and lived in this for eleven years, when a neat, modern cottage home was erected. They now have four hundred acres of well improved land and have a well equipped stock and grain farm. Mr. Collier is a wide-awake, hustling farmer, progressive in his ideas and methods, and making the most of his chances for success. He is actively interested in any public movement that is calculated to advance the common good of the community or County, and is highly respected as a good and useful citizen. He and his wife have three children, namely: Mary Janet, Alfred David and Alvin Field.
Mr. Collier and his two brothers are neighbors, and all are extensive feeders and shippers of live stock. They are self-made men, and considered as among the more substantial men of the County, who perform their duties in a quiet way, and keep constantly in mind the general welfare of the state, where most of their lives have been spent, and for which all have a patriotic sentiment. Mr. Collier was reared in the Presbyterian church. Politically he is a republican, but votes independently of party lines if he prefers another candidate. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen.
An early experience of Mr. Collier, when he was a boy, is well worthy of mention. He herded cattle for eight years, and one day, while with the herd, he came suddenly upon two mountain lions, riding to within fifty feet of them. When he realized what the strange animals were, he backed his horse away from them a distance and then, gave them wide berth, having no firearms with him. His story was doubted by many until others saw the beasts in the vicinity, and confirmed his story of their presence near.
DE WITT COMSTOCK
DeWitt Comstock, of whom a portrait appears on another page, is one of the early settlers of Custer County and has passed through the various stages of its history. He met all the discouraging and trying experiences incidental to pioneer life and has always taken his part in forwarding the progress and development of County and state, being widely and favorably known. He was born in Yates County, New York, November 15, 1834, seventh child of Jonathan and Phoebe (Christian) Comstock. the father, of English descent, born in Plattsburg, New York, served in the war of 1812, and died in Wisconsin. The mother was born in Hoosac, New York, and died in Wisconsin. They were parents of nine children.
Mr. Comstock grew to manhood on a New York farm, receiving his primary education in local schools and later attending Canandaigua academy. Later he learned the trade of harness maker. He was married at Sandy Creek, New York, March 18, 1856, to Miss Martha Bennett, also a native of that state. In 1861 Mr. Comstock enlisted in Company G, Seventh New York Cavalry, spending sixteen months in the service. In March, 1882, he came with his wife and children to Custer County, Nebraska, where he preempted one hundred and sixty acres of land and later homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres on section thirty-three, township nineteen, range seventeen, which was the home place until 1898, when he retired from the farm and located in Ansley, where he started a harness making shop. Three years later he removed to Comstock, where he has since resided.
Mr. and Mrs. Comstock have had six children: Edward, married and living in North Loup, has seven children; J. W., of Ansley, is married and has seven children; Mattie, wife of M. E. Vandenberg, of Sargent, has four children; W. R., of Comstock, is married and has two children, and two children are deceased.
JOHN CONWAY
John Conway is one of the most prominent business men and largest landholders in central Nebraska, where he has been identified with various interests for about twenty-five years past. He was born at Janesville, Wisconsin, next to the oldest child of Malachi and Bridget (Bowen) Conway. The father was a native of Ireland and came to America when sixteen years of age, locating first at Hoboken, New Jersey. He became one of the "forty-niners" who sought gold in California, and his death occurred at Edgerton, Wisconsin, in 1884. The mother, also a native of Ireland, was brought to America when nine years of age, and she died at Edgerton in 1888. They had nine children, of whom those now surviving are: Mrs. Delia Tobin, of Burt County Nebraska; three sons and two daughters living in Edgerton; John, subject of this article.
Mr. Conway grew to manhood on his father's farm in Wisconsin, acquiring his education in the public schools. Later he engaged in mercantile business in Janesville, Wisconsin, which he continued four years. He was married in Janesville in August, 1885, to Kate Kemmitt, a native of Wisconsin, who died in 1886, leaving one daughter, Stella, also now deceased. In the, fall of 1887, in company with Thomas Tobin, Mr. Conway came to Nebraska looking for a location and was very favorably impressed with the land in Custer County. They returned to Wisconsin, where Mr. Conway sold his business interests and soon afterward the two young men shipped one hundred and sixty-eight head of cattle to Omaha, whence they drove them to Custer County, where they began ranching. Mr. Conway pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land on section ten, township twenty, range twenty-four, and Mr. Tobin secured one hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining. Mr. Conway also secured one hundred and sixty acres on section nine township twenty, range twenty-four, and still retains ownership of his half section of land there.
On September 2, 1903, Mr. Conway was married in Dale, Custer County, to Miss Josephine M. Dority, daughter of John N. and Martha (Jordan) Dority, the former a native of Toronto, Canada, and the latter born near Cleveland, Ohio. The father has been connected with the Burlington railroad, and he and his wife now live in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mrs. Conway has a sister in California, and her brother, Matthew, lives at Comstock, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Conway have three children: Dorothy M., John D. and Helen, all at home.
Mr. Conway is recognized as one of the substantial and public-spirited citizens in his County, where he is well known for his upright methods and has reputation for honest dealing and probity. He is one of the early settlers of the central part of the state and during his residence there has accumulated four thousand, three hundred and twenty acres of land in Custer and Thomas counties. During his five years of residence on his homestead he was engaged in mercantile business at Dunning, and since coming to the County he has always been extensively engaged in buying and shipping horses and cattle. At the same time he has retained his ranch interests, spent some time in the live stock commission business in Omaha and had large feeding places at Sargent, Nebraska. In 1908 he erected one of the finest modern residences in Merna, where the family now reside.
JACOB COOL
Jacob Cool is one of the honored pioneers of Custer County and is generally respected as a citizen of integrity and public spirit. He is a native of Iowa born July 21, 1858, the sixth child in the order of birth of Alfred and Clementine (Grammar) Cool who had four sons and five daughters. It is thought his parents were natives of Indiana but they were early settlers of Iowa, where they both died, when the son Jacob was a small child, the mother when he was six years old and the father two years later. The boy lived in Iowa until the spring of 1883, received a common school education and going out in the world to earn his living at an-early age. In the early spring of the year just mentioned he saddled a horse, and leading two other horses, started to ride to Nebraska, reaching Custer County in June and taking a pre-emption and tree claim.
In 1885 Mr. Cool secured a homestead on section six, township sixteen, range twenty-two, being one of the first settlers in the neighborhood. He and several other young men had made a trip into Nebraska with a team and wagon in 1879, but he had returned to Iowa during the winter. He was attracted to the state as a healthful place to live at the time he decided to make it his permanent home, with this object in view securing some land. He was one of the early bachelors of the County and lived alone several years before his marriage. He now resides on section thirty-two, township seventeen, range twenty-two, but retains ownership of his original homestead and preemption claim. He owns six hundred and forty-nine acres of choice land in the County and is one of the more successful farmers and stockmen of his locality, having improved and developed his land to a high state of productiveness. He had to pass through the various years of severe trial, such as years of drouth and panic, which tested men's-souls and endurance, and well earned his present prosperity.
September 13, 1890, Mr. Cool married Annie May Worth, of Custer County, daughter of David and Mary Worth, who came there in 1883. Mrs. Cool was a native of Iowa and died on the home farm March 16, 1904, survived by her husband and four children and deeply mourned, not only by her sorrowing family, but by a wide circle of friends. She was an early comer to the County and was well known and esteemed for her many fine qualities of mind and heart. Mr. Cool and his sons continue to reside on the home farm. The sons, who were all born on the home farm, are namerd [sic]: Ira, Truman, Hiram Glenn, Clyde Ray and Golden Porter. The eldest of these, Ira T., a worthy young man, of good character and high ability as a farmer, being now in his twentieth year, assists in the management of the farm. and his efforts and good judgment are a great help to his father in many ways.
CHARLES C. COOPER
Charles C. Cooper is recognized as one of the substantial business men of Ansley, Nebraska, and is one of the younger men among the early settlers of Custer County. He is a native of Putnam County, Illinois, born March 19, 1876, one of a family of six children and third in the order of birth. His father was of English descent, born in Pennsylvania, and died in Burt, Iowa, in 1907. The mother, of Scotch descent, was born in Michigan, and now lives at Algona, Iowa. Of their children, besides Charles C., there is a son living in Chicago, a daughter in Los Angeles, a son in Sioux City, a daughter in Neligh, Nebraska, and one son is deceased.
In childhood Charles C. Cooper was brought by his parents to Iowa, receiving his education in the country schools. About 1890 he came to Custer County and afterward attended Omaha business college, graduating in 1904. He worked in a bank two years after leaving school and then took up dealing in real estate, which has since been his occupation. He is a wide-awake, enterprising business man, and has won a good standing in the community.
Mr. Cooper was married on June 28, 1905, at the home of the bride's parents in Ansley, to Miss Mary Sharpless, a native of Illinois, who had been a teacher in Nebraska, to which state she came with her family in 1885. She is a daughter of James F. and Martha (Fyffe) Sharpless, and a sketch of her father, who is now deceased, may be found in this work. One child was born of this union, Emma Laura. In 1907 Mr. Cooper erected a fine modern residence, where he and his family have since resided. He and his wife are well known socially and have a large number of friends.
GEORGE A. COPSEY
One of the pioneer citizens of Nebraska, who have passed through the hardships of frontier live and attained a large measure of success through untiring energy and industry, is George A. Copsey, a native of the Empire state and a veteran or the civil war. We present a portrait of him on another page of this volume.
Mr. Copsey was born April 11, 1838, fourteenth in a family of seventeen children born to John and Mary (Talbert) Copsey, then residing in Herkimer County, New York. Besides George A. the other children now living are, a daughter in New York state: a daughter in Chicago; a son, Edward Copsey, in York County, Nebraska, and a son, William, of Grand Island, same state. Both parents were natives of Egland [sic] and they came to America about 1820. The father died in Wisconsin in 1870 and the mother died in Chicago in 1878.
In 1854, when sixteen years of age, George A. Copsey removed to Englewood, Illinois, where he spent one year, then went to Wisconsin, then a pioneer state, and engaged in farming there. He was married in Wisconsin, November 18, 1858, to Katherine Munn, a native of St. Lawrence County, New York. In December, 1863, Mr. Copsey enlisted in Company C, Sixth Wisconsin Infantry, serving until the close of the war and receiving his discharge at Washington, in June, 1865. The decisive engagements in which he participated were: Coal Harbor, Spottsylvania, Stony Creek Station, Wilderness, Five Forks, and Petersburg. He also took part in many minor engagements and skirmishes.
At the close of the war Mr. Copsey returned to his home in Wisconsin and in the fall of 1878 brought his wife and five children to Custer County, homesteading on one hundred and sixty acres of land on section twenty-seven, township seventeen, range eighteen, where he resided until 1896, at which time he retired from active life and moved to Ansley, where he bought a good home, which they now occupy. In 1899 he sold his homestead and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of well improved land which had been equipped as a stock and grain farm, but he has continued to make his home in Ansley. He was instrumental in organizing school district number one, the first in Custer County, and served many years as treasurer of the board.
Six children were horn to Mr. Copsey and wife: Artemus, who died in 1909, left six children and his widow, living at Westerville; Ella married Douglas Polkenhorn, of Iowa, and they have five children; Harley, of Gretna, Nebraska, is married and has seven children; Rose, wife of George Fletcher, of Colorado, has six children; Effie, wife of David Gardner, of Westerville, has nine children and Raymond, at home. Mr. Copsey is well and favorably known in his part of the County and has always taken an active interest in local affairs. In his early days in the state, Grand Island, eighty miles distant, was his nearest trading point, and he drove oxen in operating his farm.
BENJAMIN F. COX
Benjamin F. Cox, a progressive and enterprising stock and grain farmer of Custer County, is interested in various business ventures in the County and is generally respected as a man of good business principles and character. He was born in Jackson County, Indiana, August 16, 1856, fourth in the family of seven children born to Jabez J. and Margaret (Hubbard) Cox, natives, respectively, of Kentucky and Indiana. The father was a soldier in the Mexican war and both parents died in Indiana. Besides Benjamin F., others of the children now surviving are: Henry, of Custer County; Adelbert, in Perkins County, Nebraska; and one daughter in Indiana.
Mr. Cox received the usual educational. advantages accorded a farmer's son in Indiana country schools, and in 1875, when he was nineteen years of age, went to Iowa, working at farming in several counties in that state. In the fall of 1882 he came to Hamilton County, Nebraska, and in the fall of 1883 came to Custer County and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land on section eight, township seventeen, range twenty-two, and a timber claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining on the east. This was the home place many years, and on February 22, 1891, was married to Christina Kaupp, a native of Illinois, who came with her parents to Custer County in an early day. The Kaupp family have been prominent in the development and upbuilding of Custer County. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cox, as follows: Lloyd William, Della A., Chester V., Hazel R., Ralph, Benjamin F., junior, Gladys I. and Margaret, all at home.
Mr. Cox is one of the earlier settlers of his part of the County and has prospered with the development of the region. He became successful in his agricultural operations through ambition and energy and in his home farm of eight hundred acres has a fine, well equipped estate, well adapted for stock and grain farming. He owns some fourteen hundred and forty acres of land, including the home farm, and is interested in the farmers' elevator at Merna, of which he is a director. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers' State Bank of Merna, and is its president. He helped organize school district number one hundred and fifty-two, serving on its board several years. He is an intelligent and progressive citizen and has a wide circle of friends in Custer County, where he has lived nearly thirty years.
FRANK COZAD
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Cozad are members of pioneer families that have long been well known in central Nebraska, and they own a pleasant home and well-equipped farm on section fifteen, township nineteen, range twenty-one, being of the few who have remained on their original homesteads. Mr. Cozad was born in Vinton County, Ohio, December 5, 1848, the youngest of the nine children born to Joseph and Mary (Davis) Cozad. One child died in infancy, after which there were five sons and three daughters. The father died before the birth of Frank Cozad, and his mother died when he was a small boy. He is not sure how many of his brothers and sisters now survive, but knows of the deaths of four, besides the one who died in infancy. Mr. Cozad lived near his birthplace until March, 1863, then enlisted at Bourneville, Ross County, in the Light Twenty-fourth Ohio Independent Battery, Artillery, in which he served until June, 1865, receiving his honorable discharge at Camp Denison, Ohio, at the close of the war. In July of the same year, he enlisted in the regular army for three years, and at the close of his period of enlistment, spent one year as a private citizen, and in August, 1870, re-enlisted for five years, being discharged at the end of this time. He spent nearly the entire eight years of army life on the frontier, one year in Kansas and the remainder of the time in the Dakotas. His final discharge bears date of August 1, 1874, signed by Captain John Hartley, of Company B, Twenty-second Regiment of Infantry. He thus has the distinction of having three honorable discharges from the United States army, and naturally gathered a detailed knowledge of frontier life, and had many interesting experiences during his service. He was with the first expedition sent by the government to survey Yellowstone Park in 1873, and the engineers laying out the Northern Pacific railroad. He had many chances to see and study the Indians in their natural, wild life, participating in battles with them at the mouth of the Tongue river and along the Big Horn.
After his discharge, in August, 1874, Mr. Cozad moved to Montgomery County, Iowa, and in December of the same year, came to Custer County, Nebraska, then known as territorial land.
He was married in Montgomery County, December 28, 1874, to Miss Louise Wieland, daughter of Daniel and Christine Wieland, and the young people came to Cozad, Dawson County, Nebraska, after their marriage. In 1876, he made a permanent settlement in the region now organized as Custer County. They secured a homestead on the southeast quarter of section fifteen, township nineteen, range twenty-one, in July, 1879, which has since remained the home farm. He later purchased the southwest quarter of section fourteen. They spent a few years on the South Loup, near Callaway, when they first came to the region. Mr. and Mrs. Cozad have passed through the days of pioneer times and hardships to a time of prosperity and comparative case. They have four children: William H., who met an accidental death in his twenty-second year, April 28, 1899; Mary Caroline, wife of William Kiell, living six miles northeast of Merna, has two daughters; Nora Ellen, wife of Henry Williams, living six miles north of Merna, has three children; Bert E., married, and living on the southwest quarter of section fourteen, township nineteen, range twenty-one, has two children. The family is well known in various circles, and has a high standing in the community. Mr. Cozad was formerly a republican in politics, but of late years casts his ballot independently of party lines. In 1895, he united with the Christian church, and took an active interest in the Sunday school.
Mr. Cozad will never forget an experience in one of the early blizzards while in the service in Dakota. He and a comrade were carrying the mail from one post to another, and spent the night in the deserted shack of a French trapper. Their provisions exhausted, they were compelled to remain here for over a day and a half without food, until the storm abated. Daring the night, Mr. Cozad dreamed of steaming viands, only to awake hungrier than ever, and find it was a taunting dream.
EVERETT J. CRAWFORD
Everett J. Crawford, of Comstock, Nebraska, is well known as a banker and successful business man, having helped in the organization Farmers & Merchants bank there. He belongs to a pioneer family and was born in Westerville, August 16, 1885, junior son of Nathaniel J. and Sarah Emma (Woodfill) Crawford, the former a native of Bangor, Maine, and the latter of Indiana. The father was born April 17, 1841, and when but a small boy was taken by his parents from Maine to Jefferson County, Indiana, where he reached manhood's estate. He enlisted in Company A, Fifty-fifth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served three months, and re-enlisted in Company L, First Regiment Indiana Heavy Artillery for three years. He received an honorable discharge at the close of the war, having served for about sixteen months as a non-commissioned officer.
At the close of the war Nathaniel J. Crawford became a machinist, working at his trade in Chicago, Denver, and other cities. He came from Denver to Nebraska and took a homestead on Clear creek in Custer County, in 1879. This farm was on the southwest quarter of section one, township sixteen, range eighteen, and he set at work to improve it, developing a valuable estate there. He was identified with the early growth and posperity of the region and a man known for his strict integrity in business transactions.
On February 22, 1882, Mr. Crawford married Sarah Emma, daughter of John G. and Jane (Storms) Woodfill, fourth of their eight children in order of birth. She came to Custer County September, 1879, making her home with an uncle until the time of her marriage. Her parents are deceased and the only surviving members of the family are herself and her brother Conrad A., of California. Mrs. Crawford is a pioneer of Custer County, having a practical knowledge of early days and frontier life. She has been active along all lines of progress and is highly esteemed in various circles. Mr. Crawford had many hardships to meet in his first years on the homestead, having to go to Kearney or Grand Island for supplies, and, with the exception of a year spent in Westerville, lived there until the fall of 1909, when he located in Comstock, where his death occurred February 18, 1910, survived by his widow and three children, Fred B., the elder son, born on the homestead farm March 23, 1883, a prominent young man of Custer County, married Miss Ena Welsh, April 6, 1910, and they live on the old Crawford homestead; Everett J.; and Miss Twilla, a teacher in the public schools of Comstock. Mrs. Comstock now lives with her son, E. J., at Comstock.
Everett J. Crawford finished the common school course, spent one year in Broken Bow business college and one term in Wesleyan university in Lincoln, graduating from the commercial department in 1908. In the fall of that year he took a position in the First National bank at Ansley, and in 1909 helped to organize the bank of which he has been cashier since October, 1909, being also a director. He is one of the best known young business men in the County, of recognized integrity and ability. The bank with which he is connected is a sound financial institution, with a capital and surplus of fifteen thousand dollars. Vencel Krikac is president and J. W. Yockey Vice-president. Since its organization it has shown a healthful and encouraging growth. It is a home bank, owned by local men, the more conservative farmers and business men of Custer County. At the close of the business done October 7, 1909, the first day's business, they had deposits to the amount of eight hundred and fifty-two dollars, and on October 7, 1910, deposits of fifty-six thousand dollars, each succeeding month showing an increase in business.
On May 4, 1910, Mr. Crawford was united in marriage with Martha M., daughter of James and Josephine Hiser, born and reared in Custer County, where her parents were early settlers. Mrs. Crawford died at her home in Comstock May 15, 1911, survived by her husband and infant daughter, Marion Martha. Mrs. Crawford was greatly loved by her friends for her beautiful character and fine qualities of mind and heart. Her loss was a great shock to her family and all who knew her. She graduated from Ansley high school in May, 1901, and in 1902 from the Ursuline conservatory of music at York, being highly talented as a musician.
GEORGE B. CRIST
George B. Crist belongs to a family that has long been prominent in Custer County, Nebraska, and several members of it are given mention elsewhere in this work. George B. Crist was born in Putnam County, Ohio, September 22, 1851, the oldest of eight children born to John W. and Sarah (Hull) Crist. He has a brother, Levi Crist, now living near Kirk, Colorado, the others of the family are deceased. His father, who was of German descent, was born in Ohio and served in Company B, Second Nebraska Cavalry during the Civil war, having come to the state as early as 1856, settling at Desoto in Washington County. He died in Arkansas in 1899. The mother, also a native of Ohio, and of Irish descent, died in Washington County, Nebraska, in 1866. As an infant, George B. Crist accompanied his parents to Iowa, where the family lived until 1856, then came on to Nebraska, locating in Washington County. When the father enlisted in 1864 the family was living in Iowa for a time. After the war they all returned to Nebraska, where George B. grew to manhood and received his education. He then engaged in farming and in 1883 moved to Custer County and homesteaded on one hundred and sixty acres of land on section twenty-seven, township sixteen, range seventeen, which is still his home.
On January 7, 1886, Mr. Crist married Ella Gentry, who was born in Dekalb County, Missouri, a daughter of A. J. and Mary J. (Cowan) Gentry, who in 1863 came to Sarpy County, Nebraska. Mr. Crist and wife have four sons, all at home, namely: John A., Charles C., Francis M., and George R. G. Mrs. Crist's father, was born in Indiana, and died in Custer County, in 1895. The mother, was born in Knox County, Tennessee, and died in Custer County in 1906. Mrs. Crist has four brothers and one sister in Nebraska, one sister in California, and one sister in Oregon.
Being one of the very early settlers of Nebraska. Mr. Crist has passed through all the trials which made the lot of the pioneer go hard, and his success came as the result of untiring energy and industry, coupled with a brave disregard of discouragements. In politics he is a democrat. He and his wife are able to enjoy their present prosperity with a keen sense of its worth and the feeling that it is well earned.
ISAAC M. CRIST
Among the earliest settlers of Custer County, Nebraska, were the Crist family, and Isaac M. Crist is a native of that County. He is one or the younger generation of farmers to operate in his region and is successful to a gratifying degree. He is one of the ten children of Seth and Eliza (Masterson) Crist, and was born June 12, 1880. He grew up amid pioneer conditions and attended the early schools of his native County. After leaving school he engaged in farming.
On March 3, 1909, Mr. Crist married Miss Maud Roach, who was born in Hamilton County,Nebraska. The Roach family were early settlers of Hamilton County and Mrs. Crist's father, Milton Roach, was born in Iowa and now lives in Custer, as does her mother Mrs. Ora (Smith) Roach. She has three brothers and one sister in the County. Two daughters have blessed the union of Mr. Crist and wife, Audrey and Naoma.
Mr. Crist is an enterprising and energetic farmer and follows modern ideas in carrying on his work. He is well known and popular in his community, where he has spent his entire life, and has made his influence felt in public affairs. Mr. Crist cultivated his grandmother's farm six years, consecutively, and had occupied it a year prior to that time. In the spring of 1911 he leased for two years the farm of his father-in-law in section thirty-two, township seventeen, range seventeen, and is interested in farming and stock raising. He is a representative of a prominent family that has long had a good standing in Custer County, and has every reason to be proud of his name and ancestors. In political views he favors the democrats and populists, and fraternally is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
LEVI L. CRIST
Levi L. Crist claims the distinction of being the first white person born within the limits of Washington County, Nebraska, and has spent most of his life in that state. He was born at DeSoto, February 12, 1858, third of the eight children born to John W. and Sarah (Hull) Crist. He has one brother, George B., who lives in Custer County. When sixteen years of age he went to Iowa and spent a couple of years there, then returned to the old home in Nebraska, and in 1882, secured a homestead on one hundred and sixty acres of land on section twenty-seven, township sixteen, range seventeen, where he lived several years.
On March 24, 1883, Mr. Crist married Eunice M. Highly, who was born in Nebraska, a daughter of G. W. and Mahala Highley, and in 1894 moved to Missouri. After spending about four and one-half years in that state Mr. Crist removed to Arkansas, then leaving Arkansas on account of poor health, landed at Topeka, Kansas, Mrs. Crist died January 28, 1900, at Topeka, Kansas, being survived by her husband and the following six children: Alva, married, has two children and living in Colorado; Arta, wife of Bert Sell, of Colorado, has four children; Etta, wife of Hershel Sherbeck, of Custer County, has one child; George Milton, married Mae Burdick, and living in Custer County; Elsie and Elver Lester, at home.
In the fall of 1901, Mr. Crist returned to Custer County and has settled on section sixteen, township seventeen, range thirteen, a part of his father's timber claim. He is a patriotic son of Nebraska and always took a commendable interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of his County and state. In political matters Mr. Crist is a socialist. He is a member of the Deciples of Christ, and has always been recognized as a reliable, substantial citizen. During his long residence in Nebraska he made many friends For some years having been troubled with asthma Mr. Crist in 1911 decided on going west for his health, so on Thursday, October 12, 1911, with his bible in his pocket and a white ribbon on his coat he left the loved home, and people and state, and started for Colorado in a covered wagon, driving four good horses. He took with him Elver Lester, his son, leaving his daughter, Elsie Highly Crist, with Etta Sherebeck, his sister, for the present, expecting her to join them in Colorado in the near future. His present address is Carey, Colorado.
SETH S. CRIST
The Crist family were among the very early settlers of Saunders County, Nebraska, and have always stood for the best interest of every community where they have lived. Seth S. Crist was born in Mercer County, Illinois, August 4, 1861, fourth of the six children born to Andrew and Catherine (Wagner) Crist. He has a brother at Thedford, Nebraska, a sister at Ansley and a sister at Ashland, Nebraska, a brother at Kirk, Colorado, and a sister deceased. The father, Andrew Crist, was born in Carroll County, Ohio, of Scotch-Irish parentage, and died in Custer County, Nebraska, January 23, 1907, and the mother, a native of Columbiana County, Ohio, is now living with her son, Seth, although she still owns the home place. Andrew Crist was married in Hancock County, Ohio, in 1849, and in 1869 homesteaded in Saunders County, Nebraska.
When a small boy about eight years of age, Seth S. Crist accompanied his parents to Saunders County, where the family lived eleven years, then they came to Custer County, where they made their permanent home. He received his education in Nebraska and engaged in farming after he reached manhood. On September 25, 1880, he was married, in Saunders County, to Eliza A. Masterson, who was born on the line between Monroe and Appanoose counties, Iowa, and in childhood came to Nebraska with her grandfather, Clark Masterson, who migrated to the west after his wife's death. The parents, John Wesley and Martha Jane (Louder) Masterson, were both natives of Indiana. The young couple began housekeeping on their present home place in Custer County, on sections ten, fourteen and fifteen, township sixteen, range seventeen, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land. Their first dwelling was a dugout found on the place in section fifteen, when they first came, and in this they lived until 1890, when their present frame dwelling was erected on section fourteen. We give a view of the home and its surroundings, besides one of the dugout, elsewhere in this work. The place now comprises one hundred and twenty acres in section fourteen, and an adjoining eighty acres in section fifteen.
Mr. Crist and wife had ten children, namely: Isaac M., married and living in Custer County, has two children; Ivan B., died in infancy; Susie R., wife of John E. Bray, of Sherman County, has six children; Amy S., wife of Fred Carmody, of Custer County, has three children; Andrew W., married and living in Custer County, has two children; Lovado, wife of Jesse Carmody, of Valley County, has one child; H. Otis, Oscar William, Fern L., and Emory R., at home.
Mr. Crist was identified with much of the early history of Nebraska, and is a patriotic and public-spirited citizen, whose integrity and uprightness have won him many friends. He served as director of school district number fourteen for five years, and in all measures affecting the public welfare endeavors to wield his influence on the side of progress and right. He has been untiring in his efforts to bring his farm to a high state of productiveness, being recognized as one of the most progressive farmers of the County.
Among the hardships of the early days was the dry year, 1894, when he, more fortunate than most neighbors, raised a little corn in the draws. He mowed his wheat and fed it like hay, thus wintering his stock quite comfortably. The hail of the following year damaged only the corner of their farm. During the blizzard of April 12 to 14, 1873, Mr. Crist and his father started home with some hogs, which the father had purchased. The boy, finding the storm too severe, returned to his uncle's and remained there until the storm abated; he remembers the fierce wind shook the house and gave them no little uneasiness. In the best known blizzard, that of January 12, 1888, Mr. Crist started to a neighborhood sale, and when the storm broke made his way home. The children were kept in the school house until morning, when they were safely brought home, a very hungry lot.
JAMES H. CUTLER
James H. Cutler, a carpenter, builder and contractor of Custer County, has erected many of the best buildings in Anselmo, Callaway, Merna and Broken Bow, besides smaller towns in the region. He has helped put up many of the large grain elevators. However, in recent years he has paid considerable attention to farming and stock raising, in which he has been successful to a gratifying degree. He passed through the pioneer days of hardship and privation and he and his wife have reared a fine family in Custer County. He was born in Marshall County, Indiana, February 14, 1848, youngest child of the seven sons and three daughters of David and Lois (Hopkins) Cutler. He lived on the home farm until 1868 and on September 17, of that year, married Elmira Mosholder. After marriage they moved to Osage, Mitchell County, Iowa, making the three weeks' trip with a wagon and team. They reached Mitchell County in October, and in the fall of 1869 returned to Indiana, but soon after came back to Iowa, where Mr. Cutler worked on a farm for his brother.
In the spring of 1870, Mr. Cutler's brother, William, went to Beatrice, Nebraska, and in September of that year James joined him, his wife coming later, reaching there on Christmas day. They lived on a farm about six miles from Beatrice until March, 1872, then James Cutler, with his wife and two children, removed to Nuckolls County, where they took up a homestead and lived on it for five or six years, then moved into the town of Edgar, three miles north of their farm, and lived there until the spring of 1882, during which time Mr. Cutler leaned the carpenter's trade. In February, 1882, he came to his pre-emption claim five miles southeast of Anselmo, Custer County, where he lived until 1894, the year of severe drouth, when he removed to Sheridan County, Wyoming, and after twelve years spent there, during which he worked in lumber and railroad tie camps, returned to Custer County. In 1904 he purchased the northeast quarter of section thirty-two, township nineteen, range twenty-one, and the following year purchased the southeast quarter of the same section, to which they moved in 1908. He and his wife have a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres, and a modern residence built in 1909. We give this as the subject of one of the illustrations on another page. Their first residence in Custer County was a dugout, which was later replaced by a "soddy." During the three-day blizzard of April, 1873, Mr. Cutler braved the storm once a day to feed and water his stock. He shot several deer in the pioneer days, but only wounded them; however, he brought down many antelope and has killed his buffalo, the latter event occurring on a fork of the Republican river in the edge of Colorado.
Ten children have been born to Mr. Cutler and wife: Albert L., of Kansas City, has one child; Maggie, wife of L. W. Wilson, of Merna; they toured the continent of Europe in 1910, attending the Passion play at Oberammergau during the summer; Ernest, who is married and lives in Montana, has two children; John, married and living in Montana; Pearl, wife of J. W. Roberts, lives in Merna and has five children; Herbert, married and living in New Helena; Arab, wife of Oscar Wilson, of Edgar, Clay County, has one child; Frank, Dae and Laura, are at home. Dae is a successful teacher in the Custer County schools. The family have a wide circle of friends. Mrs. Cutler has two sisters in Clay County, Nebraska, Maggie, now Mrs. J. B. Johnson, and Mary, wife of Doctor F. D. Anderson. Although Mr. and Mrs. Cutler have been married over forty-three years, they retain their capacity for enjoying life, and seem to have the secret of remaining young and active. They have a keen interest in the progress of events, and have the gratification of knowing their children are well settled in life and doing well. In politics, Mr. Cutler is a republican, and affiliates with the Merna lodge Modern Woodmen of America.
ALVIN DAILY
Alvin Daily an early settler of Custer County, has been closely identified with the affairs of his district and is well known throughout the County. He and his wife are always ready to give of their time and means to all worthy projects and although among the younger people of the early settlers, have passed through many periods of Nebraska history. Mr. Daily was born near Hallsville, in Otsego County, New York, January 1, 1862, the eldest child of William Grant and Phoebe (Howe) Daily, the father also a native of that County and born in the town or township of Decatur, February 8, 1833. William Grant Daily was the seventh born of twelve children of Peter and Lucretia (Fox) Daily, and his parents were both natives of New York, where they were married and reared their children. William G. Daily married Phoebe Howe, March 18, 1861, and they quietly celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1911, on their farm near their sons. In 1871 he moved with his family to Altoona, Knox County, Illinois, and two years later located near Wapello, in Louisa County, Iowa. They lived for a time near Sterling, Logan County, Colorado, coming to Custer County, Nebraska, in 1894. After coming to Nebraska, Mr. Daily purchased the southeast quarter of section sixteen, township twenty, range twenty-one, where he and his wife have a pleasant farm home and both are active for their age. They are respected and honored by all who know them. Mr. Daily is in his seventy-eighth and Mrs. Daily in her seventy-fourth year. They spent sixteen years in Iowa, four in Colorado, and have been in Nebraska eighteen years. Eight children were born to them, of whom six survive: Alvin, of Custer County; Leon, of Iowa; Ella, now Mrs. John H. Brooks, of Colorado; Sadie, now Mrs. Thomas Morgan, of Iowa; Marion S. and Rose, who is Mrs. Lee Athey, of Custer County. Mr. and Mrs. Daily have twenty-three grandchildren.
Alvin Daily was reared on a farm, receiving his education in district and graded schools. In 1871 he came with his parents to Altoona, Knox County, Illinois, where they remained two years and then removed to Louisa County, Iowa, where they remained about sixteen years. Two of the children had died in New York, and two were born in Iowa. Alvin Daily lived on the farm in Iowa until 1882 and in his twentieth year started out in life for himself. He was married May 26 of that year to Rose Dell Peters, daughter of Daniel H. and Mary (Lake) Peters, eldest of their six children and a native of Delaware County, Ohio. Her parents were natives of Ohio and moved from that state to Iowa in 1881. The father died in August, 1900, and the mother in November of the same year. Mrs. Daily has brothers as follows: Frank J., of Kansas; Milton H. Peters, is married and has lived in Custer County since 1906; Mark, lives in Iowa; Wilbur S., is married and has lived in Custer County since 1900. Mrs. Daily is a woman of pleasing personality and manner and has won many friends. Mr.and Mrs. Daily have an adopted son, Alexander Victor, who is developing a strong liking for stock raising and farming.
At the time of his marriage Mr. Daily was engaged in farming, although he had previously taught school for some time during the winter terms. In November, 1883, he and his brother Leon came to Nebraska with a covered wagon and four horses, and stopped one season in Howard County, farming on rented land. In the winter of 1883 Mrs. Daily joined her husband in Howard County and in the following May they came to Custer County, taking a homestead on section twenty-four, township twenty, range twenty-two, where they lived until 1896, when they moved to the northeast quarter of section sixteen, township twenty, range twenty-one, where Mr. Daily had purchased a farm in 1895. He had begun to improve this place before locating on it and the Daily farm now consists of four hundred acres of choice land, part of which lies along the Middle Loup river. It is one of the finest stock and grain farms in the vicinity and has fine fields of hay and pasture land. Mr. Daily has made it notable success of raising alfalfa, of which he makes a specialty. His farm is well equipped with modern machinery and appliances and is known as "The Meadows." One hundred and twenty-five acres are seeded to alfalfa, timothy and clover. A fine brook runs through the barnyard and lots, supplying unlimited clear water. He also makes a specialty of stock raising, which has been very profitable. A gasoline engine is used to supply running water to the house and barns and runs a private dynamo and storage battery for lighting the dwelling, barn and grounds. This is probably the first country house in the County to use electric light.
Mr. Daily is progressive along educational and moral lines and has always taken all active part in political matters. He served on the County board during 1902, 1903 and in politics is a democrat, but in local elections votes independent of party lines. He is a charter member of lodge number two hundred and seventy-seven, Ancient Order of United Workmen, of Anselmo. He and his wife have a pleasant home, surrounded by fine trees and they have a fine orchard. Mrs. Daily also has it small conservatory of flowers and plants in the home, in whose culture site has been very successful. The family has experienced life in the primitive dwellings of the west, having worn out three "soddies" before building their present comfortable frame dwelling. We are pleased to show an engraving of "The Meadows" on another page of this volume.
JOHN DAVIS
John Davis, now living retired from active life at Ansley, Nebraska, is one of the early settlers of Custer County and has been identified with the history and development of the same for more than a quarter of a century. He is the son of Joseph and Mary A. (Arnold) Davis, who were pioneers of central Nebraska, and was born July 29, 1863, in Macon County, Illinois, being the fourth of eight children. He has a brother in Wisconsin; one sister, Mrs. Esther Lannum, living in Ansley; another sister, Mrs. Charles Arnold, also living in Custer County; a brother, William Davis, in Broken Bow, and others of the family are deceased. The father, who was of German and English descent, was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and died in Ansley in January, 1901, and the mother of English descent, was born in Virginia and died in Custer County in 1898.
At the age of seventeen years Mr. Davis came with his parents to Custer County and there the father secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land on Clear creek.
John Davis remained with his parents until his marriage July 4, 1889, at Grand Island, Nebraska, to Kate Caves, who was born in Waushara County, Wisconsin. She had been a teacher in the public schools of Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska, and is one of eleven children, all of whom still survive. She has a sister, Mrs. Bert Lanphear, in Rock County, Nebraska; four brothers and two sisters in Wisconsin; a sister in Arkansas; one in Montana, and another in Iowa. Her parents, Joel and Eliza (Stratton) Caves, were natives of England, and both died in Wisconsin, he in 1886 and she in 1880.
After his marriage Mr. Davis located in Ansley and engaged in the meat business and dealing in stock. He pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land on Clear creek, in 1885, and became a large landholder and an extensive stock feeder. In 1910 he erected the fine home where they now live. He and his wife had one child, C. Joda, who died October 10, 1910, at the age of eighteen years, sadly mourned by her parents and many friends.
Both Mr. Davis and his wife have spent a large part of their lives in Nebraska and they are well and favorably known. They are intersted in the progress and welfare of the County and state and are ready to lend their influence to the furthering of any measure calculated to advance the common interests.
FRED E. DELANO
The Delano family, of which Fred E. Delano is a member, dates back to the time of the Puritans in Massachusetts. The immigrant ancestor, who bore the name of Phillip De La Noye, and a Frenchman by birth, came to America in the good ship "Fortune," in 1621, one year after the landing of the Mayflower, and he and other members of his family were associates of such noted characters of history as John Alden and Priscilla Mullen. Fred E. Delano has made a success of farming and stock raising in Nebraska, and is one of the solid, substantial citizens of the central part of the state. He and his immediate family have been widely known for their progressive activity along the lines of education and similar public movements and have stood for the best interests of the community where they have lived. Mr. Delano was born in Oakland County, Michigan, April 13, 1859, third of the five children of Mortimer and Rosetta (Stevens) Delano. The father, who came to Oxford township, Oakland County, Michigan, about 1840, was a poineer [sic] of that township. He was a native of Genesee County, New York, born May 14, 1823; his death occurred on the Delano farm in Custer County, Nebraska, in August, 1898. His wife, also a native of New York, was born August 30, 1825, and her death occurred in 1896, while on a visit with her husband to the old Michigan home. Those of their children now surviving are: Will S., living in Custer County, Nebraska, a sketch of whom appears in this work; Milton, of Flint, Michigan; Adelia, wife of Henry Ward Bristol, of Roswell, New Mexico; and Fred, subject of this sketch.
Mr. Delano was reared on a farm and remained with his parents until coining to Cherry County, Nebraska, in the fall of 1886. He had received the usual common school education given a farmer's son and was a graduate of the Michigan agricultural college at Lansing. He was well prepared for a life of farming and possessed ability to succeed in this line of work. Upon coming to Cherry County he secured a homestead there and in December, 1888, returned to Oakland County, Michigan, where March 27, 1889, he married Miss Rose Shoemaker, daughter of Calvin and Mary (Cole) Shoemaker; the maternal grandfather was the Reverend Thomas Cole. A week after their marriage, the young couple. came to their homestead, remaining there until December of the same year, proved up on the claim, and then came to Custer County and made their home on the old Delano farm where his father lived. In 1895 they located on the southeast quarter of section twenty-five, township seventeen, range seventeen, which they later purchased, and which has since been their home. Upon first locating there they lived in a "soddy," but now they have a fine, new modern country home, fitted with a furnace and a private gas plant, as well as many other conveniences and comforts. It is with pleasure we present a view of this elegant, well furnished country home, and substantial outbuildings, on another page of this work. This commodious home compares very favorably with the one in which they began housekeeping on this place, and they now own one of the best equipped grain and stock farms in their section of the state.
Mr. and Mrs. Delano have two children, Harry Calvin and Lois Elsie. The former graduated from the state university farm school in the class of 1911, and the latter in the class of 1912. Mr. Delano's father, mother and brother Milton came to Custer County, Nebraska, in the spring of 1889, and the parents continued to make their home there until their deaths. The elder Delano organized the Farmers' Club in June, 1889, under the trees of the place which Fred E. owns, and the club has had a continuous existence since that date. Before the new house was completed, Mrs Delano entertained seventy members of the club in their three-room "soddy," and all had a most enjoyable time. Mrs. Delano's parents are also both deceased. Her mother died in Michigan in 1871, and her father died in 1910, being in his eighty-third year. She has two brothers and a sister residing in Michigan.
In reaching their Cherry County homestead, Mr. and Mrs. Delano encountered the spring floods; in many places on the road from Thedford to their claim the hay flats were under water. Here in the sand hills Mrs. Delano had one of the finest flower and vegetable gardens ever known in that region. A pet deer they owned, made itself very much at home in these gardens, eating their crop of cabbage at one time. The contrast of the soddy and the treeless billows of sand in this region was in strong contrast with the old settled state of Michigan in which the bride had been reared, but she soon became accustomed to pioneer surroundings, and has done her share cheerfully in building their fortune and keeping their beautiful new modern home.
Mrs. Delano is a member of the Congregational church of Arcadia. Mr. Delano affiliates with the Modern Brotherhood of America, and in politics is a progressive republican. He has served a number of years as township official, and was also for many years director of the school board of district number eleven.
WILL STEVENS DELANO
Although the home of Will Stevens Delano has for some years been in Lincoln, Nebraska, he still spends about half of his time on the farm in Custer County, and he is one of the best known men throughout the state. He is a native of Oxford township, Oakland County, Michigan, born October 16, 1856, second of the five children of Mortimer and Rosetta (Stevens) Delano, natives of the state of New York, who were early settlers in Michigan and later pioneers in Nebraska. The family is mentioned at some length in connection with the sketch of Fred E. Delano of Custer County, also appearing in this work. Will Delano received a good education, graduating from the Michigan Agricultural College at Lansing, in 1881, and the following year left his native state. He entered the training department of the United States weather bureau, and six months later was assigned to work at Yuma, Arizona, being put in charge of the station there.
On November 16, 1883, Mr. Delano was united in marriage with Miss Ada Crawford, at Yuma, Arizona. She was born in Oxford township, Oakland County, Michigan, and came to Yuma to be married, as Mr. Delano was unable to leave his station. At that time the weather department of the government was under the control of the war department. After spending two years at that point Mr. Delano was transferred to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he spent two years, and thence went to Valentine, Nebraska. He remained in the service until January, 1887, then served two months as deputy County clerk in Cherry County, and in March of the same year came to Custer County and located on a farm on section thirty-six, township seventeen, range seventeen, of which he had purchased the north half. He has spent much of the time since 1907 in Lincoln, where his children have had the advantage of attending the public schools and the state university, and his wife and the children have lived there since 1903. The names of the three children are as follows: Crawford M., electrical engineering department, class of 1913; Clarissa, in the Lincoln academy, class of 1912; and Herman S., in the university and under private instructors.
Mr. Delano is a life member of the Farmers' National Congress and has served numerous times as the Nebraska delegate to conventions by appointment of the governor. He served as the Nebraska state commissioner to the Atlanta exposition, and is known in many parts of the country for his deep interest in agricultural and kindred subjects. He is secretary of the Nebraska Farmers' Congress, and a member of the Nebraska Rural Life Commission, being in charge of one of the ten sections of the commission - that of taxes - and has named thirty-five associates on the committee. He has long made a special study of economics along these and other lines, and is a fluent speaker, as well as a deep and logical thinker. He is broad minded and liberal in his views, and has hosts of warm friends who extend him their sincere regard and respect. In politics he is republican, and a member of the Modern Brotherhood of America.
The first four months on his Nebraska farm, Mr. Delano spent in a "soddy," which was soon replaced with a more commodious dwelling. He began growing alfalfa in 1891, and the scant crop of two cuttings of this was all he raised in 1894, the dry year. It is worthy of note that Mrs. Delano was postmistress of the Lee Park office for a period of fifteen years before the rural routes displaced the small interior offices.
GEORGE F. DEWEY
George F. Dewey, a successful and progressive farmer and stockman of Custer County, is a self-made man, and he and his wife have earned their present fine farm and comfortable home through untiring energy and thrift. He was born in Eldorado, Fayette comity, Iowa, January 1, 1868, third in order of birth of the eight children of Samuel and Amelia (Young) Dewey, who had three sons and five daughters. The father was a native of Indiana and the mother of England. He came to Iowa with his parents in 1855, was married there, and all the children were born in that state. In June, 1880, Samuel brought his wife and seven children to Nebraska, first settling in Wahoo, Saunders County. Later he purchased a farm on the line between Lancaster and Saunders counties. He died in a hospital in Omaha in September, 1905, having made his home with his sons in Custer County for five years prior to his death. The mother died in Wahoo in May, 1896. Seven children now survive: Mary, now Mrs. E. F. Peck, lives in Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska; James H., living north of Ansley in Custer County, married and came to the County in March, 1892; George F., whose name heads this article; Louise, employed by the government at Washington, District of Columbia; Laura E., now Mrs. J. H. Charling, of Saunders County; Myrta, a teacher in the public schools of Polk County, Nebraska; Helen, wife of Dr. Clarence LeMar, lives in Osceola, Nebraska.
In June, 1880, George F. Dewey located in Saunders County, and lived on his father's farm on the line of Lancaster County until 1892, then came to Custer County and engaged in farming and stock raising. He was married January 1, 1897, to Bertha L. Bristol, daughter of Clarence R. and Nancy A. Bristol, a native of Iowa, their union taking place at Broken Bow. They have two children, Laura Emma and Frank R. Mr. and Mrs. Dewey live on the southeast quarter of section six, township fourteen, range eighteen, where they have a comfortable modern house, and a well equipped grain and stock farm. He made his first purchase on land in 1900 and now has six hundred and forty acres of choice farm land in his home farm, two hundred acres lying in section six and four hundred and forty in section five. He is a progressive farmer and is identified with the best interests of his community. The family are highly regarded and have many warm friends, having established themselves in the confidence and regard of their neighbors and associates.
Mr. Dewey was renting four hundred and eighty acres of land in 1894, and owing to the drouth, raised nothing but an armful of roasting ears - a larger crop than most of his neighbors. During 1893 and other bad years he worked in eastern Nebraska, and in Rock County six months at one time. In 1899 hail destroyed his crops, leaving little worth gathering. Mr. Dewey came to Nebraska too late for big game, but Mrs. Dewey enjoyed venison while living in Cherry County.
Until the spring of 1911 Mr. Dewey occupied a sod house, but at that time the family moved into one of the most pretentious country residences in the eastern part of Custer County. A view of the new residence with the old soddy included, is to be found elsewhere in this work.
In politics Mr. Dewey is republican; he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Royal Highlanders.
HALSEY A. DOANE
One of the most prominent, successful and influential farmers and stockmen of central Nebraska is the above named gentleman, who can truly claim to be one of its pioneers. Since coming into the state, when but three years old, he has resided in many different counties, and is familiar with the resources of each.
Mr. Doane was born on March 28, 1863, and was the second of five sons born to George W. and Lucinda (Wheeler) Doane. They moved from Madison County, Wisconsin, (the subscriber's birthplace) to Otoe County, Nebraska, in 1866, so that most of his life has been spent in the state. Nebraska was then but a territory, and there were few settlers in this County. The father took up a homestead here, but soon after moved to the northeastern part of the state, making his home in Knox and Cedar counties until his death in 1909. The mother died in Cedar County, December 5, 1906.
The principal subject of this sketch grew up to his younger manhood years in Otoe County, living on the old homestead farm until he was twenty-one years of age. He then went to Knox County, later, in the fall of 1907, coming to Custer County, where he purchased land in section eight, township fifteen, range seventeen. He at present controls about six hundred acres, having leased one hundred and sixty acres in section sixteen. He has made many improvements, and now is the proprietor of a well-equipped grain and stock farm, and is an extensive feeder and shipper, having usually more than one hundred and eighty head of cattle to feed.
Mr. Doane was married to Miss Sylvia M. Jones, daughter of George and Hannah (Maple) Jones, in Knox County, September 8, 1886. The Jones family, consisting of father and nine children, came to Knox County two years previous to the above date. The father was one of the original homesteaders of Knox County. The mother had died in Iowa a number of years before they moved to Nebraska, but the father lived until December 12, 1908. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Doane: Hope, Anna, Ivan G. and H. Irwin, all of whom are living, and at home.
Mr. Doane may truly be called a self-made young man, and has the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. He is one of the true pioneers, and has had much to do with the growth and development of agricultural interests in central and eastern Nebraska. In politics Mr. Doane is republican, and is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Mason City, having transferred his membership from Knox County.
Mr. Doane lived in a log house in Otoe County, and in a "soddy" for some years in Knox. Deer and antelope were plentiful in those days, coming into the fields to feed on the settlers' corn.
Mr. Doane was in Cedar County during 1894, the year of drouth, raising but two bushels of corn to the acre, but was fortunate in harvesting a crop of wheat that ran fifteen bushels to the acre in that favored locality.
ANTON P. DOBESH
Anton P. Dobesh, one of the most widely-known men of Custer County, Nebraska, belongs to a representative family, and one that is highly respected wherever known. He is a man of business ability and energy, being progressive in his ideas, and actively interested in all measures calculated to advance the general welfare and prosperity. He was born in the village of Rouchovany, Moravia, a part of Bohemia, January 13, 1861, next to the eldest of thirteen children born to Tomas and Josephine (Job) Dobesh. The parents were born, reared and married in Moravia, and came to the United States in the spring of 1871, sailing from Bremen to Baltimore, in the "Columbia" it is believed, and spent nineteen days on the water. With their six children, they first, located on a homestead in Saunders County, Nebraska, which the father secured, and there several children were born. There were, in all, seven sons and six daughters in the family. One daughter, Annie, now Mrs. Pelan, lives on the old home farm, two sons and one daughter live in Custer County, and one son and two daughters live in Butler County, Nebraska. The mother of these children died in Saunders County in 1884, and the father, now in his eighty-fourth year, has retired from farm life, and resides in Weston, Saunders County. He is highly respected as an upright and reliable citizen, and has a large number of friends.
Anton P. Dobesh accompanied his parents to America when he was about ten years of age, and as a youth helped with the work on the farm in Saunders County, receiving a common-school education. In the spring of 1879, he came up into Custer County for the purpose of looking the country over, thinking to locate there. In due time he took up a homestead and timber claim on section eighteen, township fourteen, range eighteen, his nearest neighbor being four miles distant, and his nearest trading point Kearney. He is one of the few original homesteaders to retain possession of his original farm throughout the years up to the present time, and has been closely identified with the progress and development of the region.. He has made a specialty of stock-raising, and ships several carloads of cattle to market each year. He is a self-made man, and has passed through the various periods of hardship and privation that have been the lot of the old settlers in Custer County, developing his land into a fine stock and grain farm, which is well equipped and improved. He makes a specialty of Durham-bred cattle, and during the last few years has raised a large amount of grain. He owns two thousand acres of rich farming land, and is one of the most successful men of central Nebraska.
Mr. Dobesh married in Saunders County, March 19, 1882, Mary Tomsicek, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Novacek) Tomsicek, who came to America in the spring of 1878, sailing from Bremen to Baltimore. Mr. and Mrs. Dobesh have five living children: Anton K., who is married, and lives in Custer County, has two children; Frank, Josephine, Tomas and Mary, all at home. These children were all born on the homestead, and attended local schools.
Mr. Dobesh was reared in the Catholic faith, and is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics he is a staunch republican, and at one time was one of the only two members of his party in the precinct.
The hard times of the early nineties bore severely on the settlers, several years of drouth or hail succeeding each other with little intermission. In 1894, Mr. Dobesh harvested but a little fodder, and two years later lost everything by hail.
Kearney was their nearest market in the early years of settlement here, the trip there and back requiring three or four days' travel. Deer and antelope were to be seen on the prairies in great numbers, but soon disappeared.
FRANK DOBESH
Frank Dobesh, a prominent and well-known citizen of Custer County, is one of the self-made pioneers of central Nebraska, and has reached success in life through earnest effort and untiring energy. He belongs to a family that is highly respected in the region, and especially well known among the Bohemian people there. He is the third of thirteen children born to Thomas and Josephine (Job) Dobesh, who were born, reared and married in Moravia, a part of Bohemia, and came to America with six of their children in 1871. The family is mentioned at length in connection with the sketch of Anton P. Dobesh, contained in this work. Frank Dobesh was born in the village of Rouchovany, Moravia, October 19, 1862, and was in his ninth year when brought by his parents to Saunders County, Nebraska. The family sailed from Bremen to Baltimore in the "Columbia," spending fourteen days at sea.
Mr. Dobesh came into Custer County in the spring of 1881, his next older brother having already taken up a homestead there, and secured a homestead on the northeast quarter of section twelve, township fourteen, range nineteen; this place has been his home since that time, a period of more than thirty years. He passed through the usual hardships and discomforts incident to pioneer life and now owns thirteen hundred acres of desirable stock and farm land. He also owns other farm land and has large cattle interests, shipping one or two carloads annually. He and his family occupy one of the most comfortable homes in Custer County, surrounded by a grove of trees and having a fine orchard. They are highly regarded as one of the pioneer families and have a large number of friends. Mr. Dobesh has been instrumental in forwarding the progress and welfare of his County and state and is regarded as an upright, substantial citizen.
On February 3, 1885, Mr. Dobesh married Mary, daughter of John and Mary (Dibelka) Jelinek, whose family came in 1869 from Bohemia to Omaha, where they resided ten months and then took up a homestead in Saunders County. Mr. and Mrs. Jelinek still live in that County; Mrs. Dobesh is the only one of their children now surviving. She was four years of age at the time her parents came to America. Five children have been born to Mr. Dobesh and wife: Mary, wife of Joseph Orchard, lives on section three, township fourteen, range eighteen, and they have one child, Vivian; Charley, Arthur, Gracie and Emil, all live at home. The children were all born on the homestead.
When Mr. Dobesh first settled on his land he "batched if" for a year in a dugout with a good roof and sod front. After marriage they lived for a year in a "soddy" and then built a small frame house; in the fall of 1898 he built his present fine dwelling of eight large rooms. We show a full page view of the dwelling surrounded by the barn and other out-buildings. It is one of the best situations in this part of the County. In 1894, the dry year, Mr. Dobesh harvested ten or eleven tons of fodder, but no corn; this, however, was more than most of them raised. Mr. Dobesh is a republican in politics.
E. M. DODGE
E. M. Dodge belonged to an old family of Custer County. He was a native of Fulton, Illinois, born January 9, 1859. He received his education in his native state, and there attained his majority. In company with his parents and sister, he made the trip from Indiana to Fillmore County, Nebraska, in the fall of 1883. They made this journey in typical emigrant style, with a covered wagon and horses, and were six weeks on the way. They engaged in farming in Fillmore County, and in the summer of 1886, Miles Dodge came on up into Custer County. The following summer his parents also came to the County, where they spent the remained of their lives. One of their daughters, Mrs. Cosner, lives in Merna, and another, Mrs. Samuel Trot, in Anselmo, Nebraska.
Mr. Dodge was married, February 21, 1887, to Maggie, daughter of Joseph B. and Emma (Bristow) Smith, old settlers of Fillmore and Custer counties. A sketch of Mr. Smith appears in this work, with extensive mention of his family, which has been prominent in many circles in central Nebraska. Five children were born to Mr. Dodge and wife: Glenn, living in Seattle; Jessie, Kenneth, Bertie and Marvel, all at home. Mr. Dodge was a representative citizen, and was identified with the progress and upbuilding it his community.
LEWIS R. DOUSE
Lewis R. Douse is one of the best known men in Custer County, where he and his wife were among the pioneers. He was born in Sherborn, Massachusetts, October 20, 1845, elder child of William and Caroline (War) Douse, who had one son and one. daughter. The father was born in Sherborn, September 3, 1815, he being a descendant of Laurence Douse, who emigrated from Broughton County, Hauts, England, to America prior to 1642, and settled in Charlestown about 1649, and the mother was born September 3, 1820.
Mr. Douse was reared in a small village and lived at home on his father's farm until his twenty-tbird year, when he came west to seek his fortune. July 16, 1864, he enlisted in Company F, Sixtieth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Robert H. Chamberlain. He was mustered out in November, 1864, returned to his home in Massachusetts, and worked on a farm and in a shoe factory for about three years. In March, 1868, he removed to Grinnell, Iowa, and engaged in farming near there.
Mr. Douse was married at Lynnville, a village near Grinnell, to Sarah M., daughter of Samuel and Caroline Wagner, of Ohio. In June, 1873, Mr. and Mrs. Douse, with their son, William, and their daughter, Eliza Caroline, left their Iowa home, in company with the father of Mrs. Douse, Samuel Wagner, with his wife and five children, for Nebraska. The trip was made with a prairie schooner and they reached Custer County in July. They stopped for a time at Harvard, and went on to Loup City, making no land entry until Feburary 1874. Mr. Douse was the first permanent settler in Custer County, but although he settled on his land before 1874, he was the second to make land entry, being preceded by Frank Ohme, who filed on his homestead in January, 1874. Mr. Douse secured lot three, section Twenty-six, township eighteen, range seventeen, situated in the middle Loup valley and on the Loup river. He erected a house on the bluff overlooking the river and commanding a fine view of the valley and river. This homestead shanty was built from slabs that were hauled from Loup City, twenty-five miles distant, but this residence is now replaced with a modern home, with pleasant surroundings, and the family have one of the prettiest farm homes in their part of the County. Mr. Douse is one of the substantial and highly respected citizens of his community and the family are held in high respect and esteem by their many friends. Mr. and Mrs. Douse are especially well known by the older settlers and others who passed through Custer County in early days.
Eight children were born to Mr. Douse and wife, of whom seven now survive: William, born in Iowa, married and living northwest of the home farm, has three children: Eliza; Alice, the first white child born in Custer County, born February 22, 1875, is the wife of Charles Sims, of Oklahoma, and they have three children: Lewis is married and lives on the home farm; Lawrence, married and living west of the home place, has two children; Elmer and Ethel at home; Nellie, deceased. All except the two eldest children were born on the home farm. Mr. Douse and wife believe in the advantages of education and have given their children the best opportunities they were able in this direction. All of them have taught school more or less and the family is one of refinement and culture. Their home is a pleasant one to visit and they have a wide circle of friends and acquaintences They have one adopted daughter, now ten years of age.
Mr. Douse and his three half-brothers are the only survivors of his fathers family. The Wagner family were also original homesteaders of Custer County, but Mrs. Douse is the only member of her family now living in Custer County. Her parents, are deceased; her brother Samuel lives in Sherman County; her brother William, in Cherry County; one brother lives in Iowa, another in North Dakota, and one sister in Kansas.
ALBERT R. DOWNING, M. D.
Dr. Albert R. Downing, of Merna, is one of the best known physicians of Custer County and has one of the largest practices in his profession in central Nebraska. He is a native of Camp Point, Illinois, born July 27, 1861, third of the children of William and Mary (Bates) Downing, who were parents of three sons and two daughters. One brother of Dr. Downing, Joseph, is also a physician and surgeon, and lives at Rising City, Nebraska.
Dr. Downing was educated in the common schools of Camp Point, and in his seventeenth year began a college course at Lincoln, Illinois, remaining there two years, after which he spent one year in college at Valparaiso, Indiana. He later studied medicine at Quincy and graduated from the Quincy (Illinoi) [sic] Medical College March 10, 1886, after which he located in Waco, Nebraska, for the practice of his profession. In 1895 he left Waco and came to Merna, and is now the oldest practitioner of that town. He has built up a splendid practice through his ability and standing in his profession, and this extends over a large field.
Dr. Downing was married in Waco, April 11, 1888, to Miss Emma Stickler, daughter of Joseph W. and Nancy Stickyer [sic], pioneer residents of Waco, who came to Nebraska in 1876, and two children have been born of their union, William, born in the town of Henderson, York County, now sixteen years of age, and Howard, who has reached the age of fourteen years, both young men of promise. Dr. Downing and his wife are well and favorably known in educational and social circles and he is a member of the state and County medical societies, in which he has taken a prominent part. He served some years ago as County physician of Custer County. Mrs. Downing's mother and two of her sisters reside in York; her brother George B., is now pastor of the Presbyterian church of Ansley, Nebraska, and another brother, T. J. Strickler, is president of the state conference of the Methodist Protestant church and lives in Kansas City.
WILLIAM F. DUNBAR
William F. Dunbar is one of the enterprising farmers of Custer County who believe in modern methods and by using them attain success. He has spent all his life in Nebraska and well remembers when this part of the state was nothing but a vast prairie. He was born in the town of Dunbar, Otoe County, Nebraska, November 11, 1864, the seventh child of John and Anna E. (Watson) Dunbar, both natives of Ireland. The father of Scotch and Irish descent, was born in 1820 and came to the United States with his parents when he was about nine years of age. The family first settled in the state of New York, but about 1832 moved to Canada. The mother accompanied her parents to Canada in 1830, and they located near Stratford, Ontario. John Dunbar and wife were married in Canada about 1850, and in 1857 they brought their three children with them and located in Otoe County. They came to Chicago and on to St. Louis by rail, took a boat from there to St. Joseph, then made the trip overland to Nebraska City. They were among the very earliest arrivals in Otoe County, where they spent the remainder of their lives. The father died in August, 1903, in his eighty-third year, and the mother in May, 1903, in her seventy-third year. They came to Otoe County when Nebraska City was on the steamboat route of the Missouri river, and when freighting was carried on between there and Denver. They passed away in the village of Dunbar, which had been named after the family. Of their six sons and six daughters, eleven now survive, all, except one daughter, Dora Wilson, wife of Denver Wilson, who lives in Iowa, being residents of Nebraska. One son and three daughters live in Dunbar, one daughter lives in Lincoln, one son in Lincoln, three sons in Custer County, besides William Thomas, Merritt and Alfred.
William Dunbar made his home in Otoe County until removing to Custer County, March 1, 1902. He purchased the Higgins original homestead farm on the northwest quarter of section twenty-two, township eighteen, range seventeen, and the southeast quarter of section twenty-one. He has a fine half-section farm, where he has erected a handsome, modern home, with steam heat, bath, and modern conveniences and appliances. From it, there is a fine view down the valley. It is one of the finest farm residences in the County, and is surrounded by a grove of trees and a fine orchard. Mr. Dunbar has been developing and equipping his land into a modern small stock and grain farm, being himself a practical farmer of long years of experience. He is an extensive feeder and shipper, and one of the successful men of central Nebraska.
On March 12, 1888, Mr. Dunbar was united in marriage with Miss Charlotte Elizabeth Latter, daughter of William and Anna Marie Latter, their marriage taking place near Dunbar, Otoe comity. Mrs. Dunbar is a native of Germany, and came to Illinois with her parents in 1882. They settled near Alton, and the parents lived in that state until 1892, when they came to Otoe County. The mother died, April 1, 1909, in Curtis, and the father still resides there. Mrs. Dunbar has one brother and three sisters living, one brother in Wisconsin, one sister at Curtis, one in Kansas, and one in St. Louis. Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar have six children: Charlotte, wife of Robert H. Stone, lives in Comstock, Nebraska; Mamie Elizabeth, Wilda Beulah, William Vernon, Vesta Leona and John Frederick, all born in Otoe County, except John, who was born in Lincoln. The family have many friends, and are well regarded in various circles, being representative of their community's best interests.
ROBERT R. DUNCAN
Robert R. Duncan, cashier and active manager of the Home Bank of Merna, Nebraska, is one of the most prominent business men of Custer County, where he has lived since 1888, with the exception of two years. Mr. Duncan was born in Buffalo, New York, February 17, 1857, the seventh child of James and Christine (Ross) Duncan, who were parents of six sons and six daughters. In April, 1857, the Duncan family moved to Ashkum, Iroquois County, Illinois, and located on an Illinois farm. Both parents were natives of Scotland and at the time of coming to Illinois they had five children. They lived in Iroquois County a number of years and the sons and daughters one by one left the home circle and started out in life for themselves, forming new ties and going to homes of their own. The mother died in 1885 and the father in March, 1908, the latter being then in his eighty-seventh year.
The last child to leave the old home in Illinois was Robert R. Duncan. He received his education and early business experiences in Illinois, and lived with his parents until coming to Custer County in the spring of 1888. He engaged in the hardware business in the new town of Merna, with a Mr. Kelly, the firm name being Kelly & Duncan. Mr. Duncan remained in this business until 1903, then returned to Illinois, intending to remain there permanently, but felt the fascination of his old pioneer life, in Nebraska too strongly to be satisfied in the east, and came back to Merna in June, 1905, soon after which he helped in the organization of the Home Bank of Merna, since which time he has held his present position in this institution. The officers of this institution are all old time business men of Custer County and of recognized integrity and ability: N. Jacquot, former president, died in June, 1911; J. S. Francis, president; Mr. Kellenberger, vice president, and Robert R. Duncan, cashier and manager. This is one of the most important organizations of Custer County and has been influential in the development and upbuilding of the region. The bank now occupies a fine modern building, well adapted to the use for which it was erected, and containing suitable safety vaults, etc., for insuring the proper care of capital and depositis [sic], securities, and other valuables entrusted to the care of the institution.
Mr. Duncan was married in Ashkum, Illinois, May 5, 1890, to Agnes McDonald, a daughter of Aleck and Catherine McDonald, natives of Scotland, but early settlers of Illinois. Both Mr. Duncan and his wife are the only ones of their immediate families who live in Nebraska. Her father died in Illinois in 1904, at the age of seventy-five years, and her mother died in 1909, aged eighty-eight years. Mr. Duncan is president of the Merna school board and is actively interested in progress along all lines. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and the Independent Order Odd Fellows orders.
WILLIAM GALE EASTMAN
The late William Gale Eastman was one of the early settlers of Nebraska, spending many years before his death in Custer County. He was born at Aurora, Illinois, January 4, 1858, the only child of Daniel and Jane (Gale) Eastman, both of whom died in Illinois. The father, a naive of Canada, was of French parentage, and died in Aurora, February 19, 1862, and the other, a native of Long Island, died in 1883. The father settled in Illinois in an early day, as a physician in a French-Canadian colony, but died when his son was a small child. After receiving an education in the schools of his native state, Mr. Eatsman [sic] took up farming as an occupation, and at the age of sixteen years removed to York County, Nebraska, where he found employment working for farmers and eventually took up farming on his own account. On September 19, 1877, he married Rachel J. Hickenbottom, who was born in Appanoose County, Iowa, and came to York, Nebraska, in 1874. She was a teacher in York County schools before her marriage. Her father, Stephen Hickenbottom, was a native of Kentucky; he was one of his parents' two children, who rode with their mother on horseback, the father leading in front, all the way through the wild timber country from Kentucky to central Illinois. He died in Iowa in 1889. The mother, Mary C. Taylor, was born in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She died in Broken Bow, January 11, 1911.
In 1892, Mr. Eastman sold his farming interests in York County, removed to Custer County, remained there one year, then returned to York County, and about eight years later decided to make his permanent home in Custer County, which he did, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land on section eleven, township sixteen, range seventeen, where he remained until his death, January 15, 1906. He was survived by his widow and five children, namely: George, died in 1907, leaving a widow and two children; Callie B., is the wife of F. M. Johnson, of Waunetta, Kansas, they have three children; Zella L., married Jesse Oates of Custer County, and have one child; Orpha J., wife of Francis Marsh, of Custer County, has one child; William G., is at home.
Mr. Eastman served two terms in the Nebraska legislature, and was most highly esteemed for his intelligence and ability in all his undertakings. He served two terms as County supervisor in Custer County and was for twenty years a local minister for the United Brethren and Methodist churches. He was an earnest christian and a successful farmer, winning many friends by his high character and upright life. He was mourned in many circles, where his presence and influence were sorely missed. He owned six hundred and forty acres of land, which he had developed into a stock and grain farm, well equipped and provided with substantial buildings. His widow still lives on the home place and has a large circle of friends in the community. Mrs. Eastman has three brothers and two sisters in Nebraska: William T., at Broken Bow; James W., in Custer County, and Rolla E., at Callaway; Mrs. Chris Jensen, in Custer County, and Mrs. Frank Moore at Callaway.
Mr. and Mrs. Eastman lived in a dugout for a short time in Kansas, later occupying a log house. On coming to their farm in Custer County, they built a "soddy," which was their home until 1905, when their present neat cottage was constructed. A concrete barn is one of the most substantial buildings on the place. We are pleased to give a view of the home and surroundings on another page.
Mr. Eastman was originally a republican in politics, but being a man of temperate habits, later worked with the prohibitionists; of late years he supported the candidates of the populist party. Fraternally he was a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Modern Brotherhood of America.
THOMAS W. EDWARDS
Thomas W. Edwards, of Custer County, Nebraska, the owner of one thousand acres of farm land, is preeminently a self-made man and widely and favorably known in his part of the state. In the early years of his residence in Custer County he met and overcame the trying experiences and incidents of pioneer existence and he is a good example of what a man may become through energy and perseverance. He is a native of Herefordshire, England, born August 28, 1843, youngest of the four children born to William and Elizabeth (Farr) Edwards. He has a brother in Australia and the other two children are deceased. The father, a native of Warwickshire, England, died in Wales in April, 1844. The mother, a native of Herefordshire, died in Wales in the latter part of the eighties.
Mr. Edwards reached manhood in his native country and engaged in farming there. He later secured the position of farm bailiff over a large estate. He was married in Wales in 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Wheelding, a native of that country, who died in 1880, leaving four children: Elizabeth, wife of Drapper Tappin, of Logan County, Nebraska, has six children; William also lives in Logan County; Thomas, of Los Angeles, California, has one child; Charles is married and living at Broken Bow, Nebraska.
In 1881 Mr Edwards came to America, and after spending a few months in Ohio, came to York County, Nebraska, two years later removing to Custer County. In January, 1883, he secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land on the northwest quarter of section twenty, township seventeen, range twenty, where the family resided many years, and which is still in his possession. In 1901 he retired from farm life and purchased a comfortable home in Broken Bow, which has since been the family residence. He is a prosperous and successful man of affairs and at one time owned eighteen hundred acres of stock and grain farm land in Custer County; besides the farm land now in his possession he owns considerable desirable city property. He won the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens and takes a commendable, interest in the affairs of his County and state.
On March 28, 1885, Mr. Edwards was married (second) at Broken Bow, to Mrs. Jene Hutchison, the ceremony being performed by Judge John A. Benjamin. Mrs. Hutchison, whose maiden name was Anderson, was born in Paesley, Scotland, and came to America in June, 1880. She was the youngest of ten children born to George and Jessie (Thompson) Anderson, the former a native or Carlisle, Scotland, and the latter of Glasgow. The father died in Scotland in August, 1867, and the mother died in her native country in March, 1869. Mrs. Edwards enjoyed excellent educational advantages and has traveled extensively. She is a woman of culture and high character, and has many warm friends. There are no children by the second marriage of Mr. Edwards.
They are both identified with the Presbyterian church, Mr. Edwards being the ruling elder of the First Presbyterian church of Broken Bow. Mrs. Edwards connection with church dates back to early girlhood days.
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