ments for the progress and welfare of county and state. He has been an energetic and successful farmer and stockman, and now has sixteen hundred acres of land in his home farm, besides other land interests in the county. He now occupies one of the pleasant homes of the village of Arnold, and his son, Benjamin, lives on the old farm. He experienced the usual trials and discouragements of the early settler during the years of drouth and poor crops. He has always taken an active interest in educational matters, served fifteen years as a director of his school district in Mills Valley, and is now a member of the school board of Arnold. During 1891 and 1892 he served as a member of the county board.
   Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mills, all in Custer county, except the eldest: William J., married, and living in Omaha, has two children; Bernard I., married, living in Maywood, Nebraska; Benjamin H., married, and living on the old homestead farm; Helen L. and Floyd P., at home. The family are well known in social circles, and have many friends.

 

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WILLIAM BRUNE.

   One of the pioneers of the state is the above named gentleman, who has, for more than thirty years, been a resident of Nebraska. Nearly all of that time he has been identified with the agricultural interests of Wayne county, having aided materially in transforming this locality from its wild natural state into a thriving farming district. He is a man of perseverance and energy, and has met with deserved success in his labors, being classed among the leading farmers of his community.
   Mr. Brune was born, June 15, 1849, in Germany, and was the son of Frederick and Katie Brune, of Westphalia. His childhood was spent in his native land, and he served as a soldier in the army of his home country.
   In 1877, he decided to come to America on account of the greater opportunities offered the young man. He came at once to Otter (sic) county, Nebraska, where he first rented land. A few years later, he came to Wayne county, where he bought the farm of one hundred and sixty acres which has since been his home. The first few years were extremely discouragaing [sic], but prospects brightened somewhat as time went on, and by thrift and good management he has been enabled to add to the original land holding, and also to make extensive improvements. He owns three hundred and twenty acres, and also has a thrifty grove, about five acres in extent, which he planted. When Mr. Brune purchased his land, it was in a wild state. This he broke and put under cultivation, and he has erected all the buildings on the place and made every improvement.
   In 1875, before leaving his native land, Mr. Brune was united in marriage to Miss Johanna Sommer. They are the parents of nine children, named as follows: Mary, Minnie, William, Anna, Emma, Henry, Fred, Sophia and Frank, all living in Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Brune are well known among the people of this locality.

 

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COL. WALTER W. WOLCOTT.

   The gentleman above named is one of the leading business men and prosperous citizens of Central City, Nebraska, and has served him home county and state in the most creditable way for the past thirty-two years.
   Walter W. Wolcott was born in Dundee, Kane county, Illinois, December 25, 1854, and was third of nine children in the family of Oliver and Calista Wolcott, who had seven sons and two daughters. Mr. Wolcott grew up in Harrison county, Iowa, having moved from Illinois to Iowa with his parents in the pioneer days of 1861. He was a farm boy, and had received good advantages. Mr. Wolcott first came to Merrick county, Nebraska, in March, 1878, overland by team, from Harrison county, Iowa, to Merrick county, and was accompanied on the trip by his father, who also came to see the country. They returned to Iowa overland within a few days, and on April 2, 1878, Walter Wolcott and family, of wife and one child, came to Merrick county for residence. Mr. Wolcott was married to Miss Sylvia Lansberry, December 27, 1874, in Pottawattamie county, Iowa, Miss Lansberry being a native of Floyd county, Iowa, and her parents natives of Kentucky. Mr. Wolcott and family remained in Central City until joined by his father and family in 1880, at which time he went out on the Wolcott ranch, and followed farming for ten years. In December, 1890, Mr. Wolcott came to Central City to reside, and purchased the weekly newspaper, "The Nonpareil," and was owner, editor and manager of this paper for six years. Mr. Wolcott carried on this paper as a republican organ, and "The Nonpareil" was known as one of the most ably edited newspapers in Nebraska, being widely quoted along all lines. Mr. Wolcott, since the sale of "The Nonpareil," has engaged in the mercantile business, and is interested in other business propositions throughout this portion of Nebraska.
   Mr. Wolcott had a wide reputation as a newspaper man, but is probably best known by his connection with the National Guard of Nebraska, of which he was a member fifteen years. He enlisted as a private in the State Guards, and served three years as first lieutenant, three as captain, three years as major, and six years as lieutenant colonel of the First National Guards, retiring January 1, 1897. He was offered a commission on the governor's staff, with the rank of colonel.
   Col. and Mrs. Wolcott have seven children. four of whom are living: Ollie, wife of L. R. Morrow, has three children, and lives in Oregon: Mary, wife of Frank Kombrink, who is engaged

in the furniture business in Central City, and two sons; Neva, wife of John Jenkins, junior, a miller of Central City; and Mauna Loa, who resides at home.
   Col. and Mrs. Wolcott and family are well known in social and educational circles, and are one of the prominent families of their locality. Col. Wolcott has always taken an active interest in all the affairs of his county and state, and is a man who is widely and favorably known.

 

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FREDERIC W. CARPENTER.

   The old Knickerbocker state has given her share of worthy sons in peopling the west, and of these, none has done his duty as he understands it more faithfully than Frederic W. Carter, of Bloomfield.
   Mr. Carpenter was born at Afton, Chenango county, New York, September 1, 1860. His father, William A. Carpenter, was born near Goshen, Orange county, that state, and followed farming all his life. He lived in Chenango county at the time Frederic was born, and a few years later removed nine miles away to a farm near Harpersville, in Broom county. The mother, Susan (Seely) Carpenter, was born in Chenango county, and resides now in Afton, at the age of eighty years.
   Frederic Carpenter lived the first ten years of his life near Afton, and attended the schools of that town and of Harpersville until he was nearly of age. He learned the tinner's trade at Binghamton, being apprenticed, January 25, 1880, and worked in the vicinity of his home until coming west in 1883. He came direct to Nebraska, arriving in Creighton September 7, and soon after filed on a homestead in the western part of Knox county, between Venus and Walnut Grove. He lived on the homestead until 1885, seeking work at his trade from time to time, to make a living until he could prove up and secure title to his land. On these trips, he worked at O'Neill, Neligh, Niobrara, Creighton and Bazile Mills, In 1885, he moved to Creighton, and was employed here until the spring of 1891, eight years for one man.
   He then migrated to Roseburg, Oregon, when he worked at his trade for seven and one-half years. Hard times brought him disaster, and, losing his all, he abandoned everything, and returned to Nebraska. Working in Omaha for three months, he came back to Creighton, where he knew a place was always awaiting him, and had steady employment here until 1901, when he accepted a good offer at Bloomfield, and has been here ever since. He has had full charge of the tin shop of the Pioneer Hardware Store since 1906, and his excellent work gives entire satisfaction to his employer and his patrons. This was not his first visit to the site of Bloomfield, he having ridden over the country when it was a part of the open plains, and when the present townsite was a herding ground for cattle on the open range.
   Mr. Carpenter was married in Creighton, January 5, 1888, to Miss Mary Agnes Carpenter, who was born in the Dominion of Canada, a daughter of Oliver Carpenter, who was in no wise related to the Carpenters in New York. Three sons have been born to Mr. Carpenter: Wayland, who has begun railroading; Everett, deputy postmaster at Bloomfield, and Oliver.
   During the early years of his life in Nebraska, Mr. Carpenter, like the other settlers, burned hay, corn and stalks for fuel. During one of his trips to O'Neill, he was employed for two months, working seventeen hours a day, making the sheet iron hay burners that were in vogue at that time, such was the demand for those heaters.
   On his claim, Mr. Carpenter lived in a sod house, the usual dwelling of those days, and can testify to its comfort in both winter and summer.
   His marriage occurred just a week before the memorable blizzard of January 12, 1888. He lived near the store, and had hardly become settled at the time of the terrible storm. He had no occasion to go out into it, but has vivid recollections of the suffering in the frigid temperature following in its wake.
   Mr. Carpenter has never been much of a hunter, but as a fisherman he is unexcelled. He indulged himself to his heart's content during the years he lived in Oregon.
   Mr. Carpenter is a republican in politics, and a member of the Ancient Order of United workmen.

 

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HARLEY A. LONGNECKER.

   Harley A. Longnecker, counted among the successful farmers in Boone county, Nebraska, resides on a rented farm northeast of Albion. He has made that region his home for the past ten years, and during that time has become well and favorably known as a citizen of sterling worth and high business principles, enjoying the respect and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact.
   Our subject is a native of Livingston county, Illinois, born on the 17th day of December, 1873. He spent the first seven years of his life there, then his parents moved into LaSalle county, and remained for about sixteen years, Harley receiving his education in the common schools of that vicinity. About that time he started for himself, engaging in farming with a brother in the northern part of Iowa, but only remained there for a short time, coming to Taylor county, that state, and farming for a time.
   In March, 1897. Mr. Longnecker made a trip to Boone county, Nebraska, and was married in Albion on the third of the month, to Miss Minnie L. Galyean, at the home of her parents, the young couple immediately returning to Iowa for residence.

   Mr. Longnecker made his home in Taylor county for three and a half years, becoming very successful in his farming operations, but decided to try his fortune in Nebraska, and in the fall of 1900, came to Boone county for permanent residence. He rented land here, and has since then been engaged in mixed farming and stock raising.
   Mr. and Mrs. Longnecker have three children, namely: Clifford E., Leora Mae and Jesse Harold, who form a bright and interesting circle, and their home is one of the pleasantest one may wish to visit. Mrs. Longnecker comes of an old pioneer family, her father now being dead, but her mother resides in Loretto, Boone county.
   Our subject is the youngest of thirteen children in the family of William and Sarah Longnecker, both being deceased.

 

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AUGUST SWARD.

   Prominent among Antelope county old settlers is August Sward, who has made this region his home for many years, and has done his share in the development of the agricultural resources of this section of the county. Mr. Sward lives on section twenty-eight, township twenty-three, range seven, where he owns six hundred and forty acres of good land.
   Mr. Sward is a native of Sweden, being born in Erburn village, Stockholm province, November 18, 1849. Like so many of his countrymen, our subject became imbued with a desire to seek his fortune in the new world, of which they had heard such glowing accounts, and in 1869, Mr. Sward left his native country for America by way of Guttenburg to Glasgow, Scotland, and from there embarking on a steamship for New York. After landing in the United States, he proceeded to Pennsylvania, where he worked for fifteen years in a mine.
   Mr. Sward was joined in wedlock, May 17, 1873, to Miss Katrina Carlson, and Mr. and Mrs. Sward are the parents of five children, named as follows: Edward, Emma, Stella, Walter and Martha. They are a fine family, and are highly esteemed and respected by all who know them, and they have many friends.
   In 1884, Mr. Sward. with his family, came to Antelope county, Nebraska, taking up a homestead claim on section thirty-two, township twenty-three, range seven, and on this land built a good, substantial sod house, which served its purpose well for nine years, and then, in 1893, sold out, and moved to section twenty-eight, where he now lives. Along with the other settlers, he suffered many setbacks during early days. In 1894, he lost all his crops by reason of the severe drouth of that year. He well remembers the memorable blizzard of January 12, 1888. At that time the children were at school, and remained there all night, and until the storm abated, one of the boys making his way to a neighbor's house to procure food for the scholars.

 

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JAMES LEDWICH.

   James Ledwich, the present mayor of Broken Bow, Nebraska, and one of the most prominent attorneys of Custer county, was one of the original homesteaders of the county. He is a native of Shoreham, Vermont, born July 14, 1844, eighth child of Robert and Bridget (Louth) Ledwich, who had eleven sons and four daughters. When a small child, his parents moved across Lake Champlain into New York state, and there he grew to manhood on a farm. He received a common school education, and in October, 1861, enlisted in Company K, Ninety-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry, spending four years and seven months in the service. He received his discharge in New York City in February, 1866 He served under McClellan through the peninsular campaign, and participated in the battle of Williamsburg. He took part in the battles of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks; in the seven days' retreat to Harrison's Landing; marched thence to Fortress Monroe, and on to Suffolk. He was serving under General Butler during the campaign in front of Petersburg in 1864, took part in the campaign before Richmond, marching into that city in April, 1865, and was serving under General Grant at the time of Lee's surrender He was a non-commissioned officer, being first sergeant of Company K.
   After his discharge from the army, Mr. Ledwich returned to New York, and soon afterward went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he took a course in the business college of Bryant & Stratton. After completing his commercial course, he spent nine years traveling through the south as agent for a fire insurance company. In 1875, he came west to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where he joined his family in the town of Avoca. His parents had come to Iowa in 1870. In 1876, Mr Ledwich attended the Iowa College of Law at Des Moines, from which he graduated in the spring of 1877. In 1878, he came to Wilbur, Saline county, where he engaged in the practice of his profession, and in the spring of 1884, he came to Broken Bow, where he was one of the first attorneys, the only others who had located there prior to that time being Silas Holcomb and John S. Kirkpatrick. In 1885, Mr. Ledwich took up a homestead three miles south of Broken Bow. He is one of the leading attorneys of central Nebraska, and in connection with his law practice, deals in real estate.
   Mr. Ledwich was married in Crete, Nebraska, January 14, 1885, to Miss Delia Wisner, daughter of Captain Wisner, an early settler of Saline county, who is now deceased. Mr. Ledwich and wife have five children: Arthur E., Domain, Ralph, Louise and Ruth. Mr. Ledwich is a member of Washburn Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Broken Bow, and in politics he is a republican. With the exception of a few years spent in Douglas county, Custer county has been his home continuously since he first located there

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GEORGE W. WATSON.

   One of the best-known members of one of the older families of Nebraska is George W. Watson, a native of the state, born at DeSoto, Washington county, December 17, 1860, at a time when Nebraska was a territory. He is the oldest of three children born to James and Eliza (Coulter) Watson, both natives of Indiana. The father was of a Welsh descent, and served in Company B, Second Nebraska Cavalry, in the Civil war. He settled in Washington county in 1856, and died there February 20, 1869. During his residence here, he ran a shingle mill at times, while a neighbor had a saw mill. The lumber and shingles they rafted to Omaha, where they were used to build and cover many of the early houses there. The mother was of Scotch parentage, and died on the old homestead in Washington county in July, 1873. Besides George B., there is one son and one daughter, Horace G., of Douglas county, Nebraska, and Luella, wife of Calvin Taylor, of Blair, Washington county.
   Left an orphan at the age of twelve years, George W. Watson remained in his native county until attaining his majority, and there received his education. He then engaged in farming, and in 1880 went to Missouri, where he spent a year and a half in Worth and Nodaway counties, then returned to Washington county. On November 11, 1885, he married Margaret Leach, who was born in Indiana, daughter of Abraham and Mary (McKnight) Leach, both natives of Canada. Mr. Leach located in Washington county in 1878, and is now living in Custer county, where his wife died in 1902. Besides Mrs. Watson they have three sons in Valley county, Nebraska; one daughter in Grant county, Nebraska; one son in Joliet, Illinois; one son in Washington county, Nebraska, and one son in North Dakota. Mrs. Watson is now serving her third term as director of school board number fourteen, and both she and her husband are well known and popular in their part of Custer county.
   In the spring of 1889, Mr. Watson brought his wife and two children to Custer county, where he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land on section twenty-two, township sixteen, range seventeen, which is still the home place. They occupy a highly ornamental frame dwelling beautifully situated in orchard and grove. We are pleased to call attention to a view of this fine esate [sic] on another page of this volume. He has been closely identified with the best interests of his locality, and has held various township offices. He is a successful farmer and man of affairs, and owns three hundred and twenty acres of fertile and well-cultivated land, devoted to stock and grain, and well improved as regards substantial buildings. None of the corn raised on the place is ever sold; on the contrary, he buys each year and feeds from forty to sixty head of cattle, one to two hundred head of hogs, and has usually thirty to forty head of horses on the place.
   Five children have been born to Mr. Watson and wife, namely: Ferneman, deceased; Myrtle wife of W. E. Wolford, of Custer county; Earl D., at home; Nina, wife of O. A Wolford, of Rushville, Nebraska; H. Glenn, at home.
   Mr. Watson has a vivid memory of conditions in Nebraska during his early years and has witnessed the remarkable development that has taken place there since he was old enough to take cognizance of it. He has every reason to be proud of his success and of his family.
   Mr. Watson was present at one of the notable events of the early history of the state, but being an infant in arms, of course remembers nothing of it. His parents were in the train going up the valley when at Rawhide creek one man of the party wantonly killed an Indian woman sitting peacefully on a log watching the covered wagons go by. The entire party would have been massacred had they not consented to give up the culprit that the Indians might be avenged. They compelled the whites to stand around in a circle while they skinned the murderer alive and then permitted the whites to go on their way. The elder Watson did not look while the punishment was inflicted but of course heard the victim's cries.
   During one of the early blizzards, that of April 12 to 14, 1873, the family kept their cow in the kitchen to save her from freezing, and were compelled to do their cooking on a box stove in another room. It is related that some bachelor neighbors kept their four oxen in their small cabin the three days for the same reason; there was nothing else to do. In the blizzard of January 12, 1888, Mr. Watson braved the storm to feed his stock, but felt it necessary to wear a veil over his face.
   Both Mr. and Mrs. Watson are members of the Christian church; he, with his son, is a member of the Modern Woodmen and Mrs. Watson affiliates with the Modern Brotherhood of America. In politics Mr. Watson was formerly republican but for the past fifteen years has been totally independent of party ties.

"Silver Maple Farm," Residence of Geo. W. Watson.

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CHARLES M. STICHLER.

   Among the prominent settlers of Valley county, Nebraska, we mention the name of Charles M. Stichler as being one of the best known from the fact that he has spent the past twenty-six years in this county, excepting two years, one of which he spent in Washington state, and the other in the state of Missouri, always being satisfied to return to Nebraska. During his long residence here, Mr. Stichler has devoted his best efforts to aiding in the development of the natural resources of Valley county, and helped to build up the community in which he chose his home.
   Charles M. Stichler was born in Dubuque county, Iowa, January 4, 1863, and was sixth of twelve children in the family of Adam and Mary (Harker) Stichler, who had seven sons and five

daughters. The father and mother are both dead; eleven of the twelve children are living, five of whom reside in Nebraska. Charles M. Stichler and brothers Leonard and Martin, reside in Valley county; all having been raised and brought up on a farm.
   Charles M. went out for himself in his twentieth year, going to Colorado for a trip to see the western country. After spending a few months in Colorado he returned to Iowa, and in the spring of 1886 came to Valley county, Nebraska, going on a farm his father had purchased from the railroad company on section thirty-three, township twenty, range thirteen. Charles now owns a part of this farm, and also has purchased additional land, so he now has a fine farm of four hundred and forty acres, which is well equipped and improved with good buildings, and on which he has a good home. He raises good breeds of stock, making a specialty of Shorthorn cattle and Clydesdale horses.
   Mr. Stichler was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Honeycutt in Scotia, Nebraska, on April 25, 1887. Miss Honeycutt is a native of Indiana, born near Terre Haute, April 12, 1869; her parents, Moses and Nancy (Butcher) Honeycutt, were early settlers in Nebraska, but now reside in Bremer, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Stichler have had ten children, eight of whom are living, namely: Gladys; Mabel, wife of William Wheatcraft, they living on part of the old Stichler farm; and Gertie, Hazel, Nettie, Walter, Herman, and Harold, all of whom are living at home.
   Mr. Stichler has stuck closely to Valley county, although in 1890, he went to the state of Washington, living in Terius and Tacoma for about a year, and in 1894 went to Davis county, Missouri, for a year, always returning to Valley county satisfied that Nebraska was a good place to live. Mr. Stichler's brother, Martin, lives in Valley county; his brother, Leonard, is married and lives in North Loup, Nebraska.
   Mr. Stichler is an active man of affairs, and always ready to do his part toward the development of Valley county; he has served as township treasurer, and also as a member of the township school board. Mr. Stichler and family have a wide acquaintance and many friends. He is independent of the party lash, voting for the man best fitted for the office, regardless of the ticket on which he may be running, and affiliates with the Ancient Order of United Workmen of Ord.
   When Mr. Stichler came to Nebraska, Scotia was the terminus of the railroad. Not a sod had been turned on his place when he settled there. He has passed through the "soddy" days, having had two dwellings of that construction, using the second one until 1906, when be built a fine, large frame house, with the usual conveniences. A view of the home with its large barns and accompanying outbuildings, is presented on another page of this work. An orchard of one and a half acres gives a varied supply of good fruit.

"Noble Valley Stock Farm," Residence of Charles M. Strickler.

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JOSEPH W. MALY.

   Among the representative farmers and stock raisers of Pierce county, Nebraska, who have aided materially in the development of that region, and also of the northeastern part of the state in earlier days, striving to advance the best interests whenever possible, a prominent place is accorded Joseph W. Maly, who resides on his well improved estate in section eighteen, Thompson township. He is a gentleman of energetic character, and well merits his high standing.
   Joseph W. Maly, son of Joseph and Fanny (Morage) Maly, was born in the village of Chaslavi, Bohemia. He has three brothers, Warren, Frank, and John, and two sisters, Mary and Anna, all of whom are residing in Saunders county, Nebraska. His father was born in 1828, in Chaslavi, while the mother was born in 1829; and both are still living on the old home place in Saunders county.
   The parents, with their family, came to America in 1872 and settled in Saunders county, Nebraska, where the father homesteaded land. Here our subject passed his boyhood days, attending the country school, which was held in a sod school house, when not assisting in the farm work at home.
   Mr. Maly, when a boy, experienced all the hardships endured by the early settlers in those days, when people lived in sod houses and dugouts, and hay and corn were used for fuel. Our subject and family experienced the two great blizzards of 1873 and 1880; they lived thirty-five miles from a railroad, and had to drive to market with ox teams, the journey taking about a week to go and return.
   Mr. Maly was united in holy wedlock to Miss Anna Proaski, and to this union six children have been born, whose names are as follows: Emma, Bessie, Millie, Tillie, Olga, and Ella, all of whom are living at home.
   Mr. and Mrs. Maly came to Pierce county, Nebraska, from Saunders county, in 1892, buying land from Tom Moore, remaining on this place up to the present time. Mr. Maly owns one hundred and sixty acres in section eighteen, Thompson township, and he and his family are highly respected by all who know them. In religious faith, they are Catholic.

 

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CHARLES E. TAYLOR.

   Charles E. Taylor, prominent in official circles of Howard county, Nebraska, is also one the substantial citizens in the commercial life of that region. He is cashier of the Citizens National Bank, and for two years held the office of mayor of St. Paul, filling the office to the satisfaction of the entire community, gaining many friends in every walk of life. Mr. Taylor is a very young man to hold the different offices to which he has been elected, and in every instance

has filled the same in a most creditable manner, possessing a remarkably keen and pleasant personality and winning the regard of all with whom he comes in contact by his integrity and straightforward business principles.
   Mr. Taylor was born in Ashton, Illinois, December 9, 1872, and is a son of John and Susan Taylor. When a lad of seven years old, the family moved to Sherman county, Nebraska, and there Charles attended the local schools, later going to the St. Paul high school for two years. During 1892 and 1893, he was a student at the Western Normal College, at Lincoln, returning to Ashton, Sherman county, in the latter year, where he entered the employ of Taylor & Conklin, storekeepers of that place.
   Mr. Taylor first came to St. Paul in August, 1895, going into the county clerk's office as deputy clerk, and on January 1, 1898, became deputy county treasurer, and served for two terms. In the fall of 1901 he was elected county treasurer of Howard county and held the office for four years. In January, 1906, Mr. Taylor became connected with the St. Paul State Bank, was appointed cashier of the institution the following month, and remained in this position until November, 1909, when he was appointed cashier of the Citizens National Bank, of St. Paul, which office he is now filling. During 1907 and 1908, Mr. Taylor was mayor of St. Paul, and as such discharged all the duties of the office with tact and ability.
   On June 17, 1901, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Vera Force, who is a daughter of one of the pioneer families of Howard county. Mrs. Taylor is a charming young woman, and they have two beautiful little daughters, now about six years of age. They occupy one of the handsome residences of their city, and are among the prominent and popular members of society.

 

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CHARLES J. ROOD.

   Charles J. Rood, born on July 4, 1851, the fourth child of Charles P. and Marianne Rood, bears the distinction of being the first white child born in his township in Waushara county, Wisconsin.
   Mr. Rood grew to manhood years on the Wisconsin farm, receiving the usual school advantages of that time and place, and for some time taught school in his home county.
   On April 3, 1872, Mr. Rood and his brother, George, left Wisconsin, starting overland for the Loup Valley in Nebraska. Their party was only one of several that left Waushara county that spring, all bound for the North Loup Valley. The two Rood boys, with Oscar Babcock and a Mr. Jacobs, who had joined them at Grand Island, reached the Valley on May 13.
   Charles and George Rood took a homestead on the east half of section thirty-four, township eighteen, range thirteen, and the former, the principal subject of this sketch, has thus been a resident of Valley county since the date of the first settlement. Mr. Rood has followed farming and stock raising, and has also given much of his attention to the agency business, representing the McConnon's Remedy Company since 1903.
   Mr. Rood has been closely identified with the progress and development of Valley county, especially along educational lines. He taught school in district number one, in 1874, and the following year taught in the first frame school house opened in Ord district, Mrs. Haskell having previously taught in a dugout.
   Mr. Rood was married to Rosa P. Furrow at the home of her father, John Furrow, (one of the original settlers of the Valley) on October 30, 1875. To them were born ten children, named as follows: Bertha Alice, Byron R., Nina, Esther A., Marianne, Marcia, May, Carrie, Bayard A., Elsie Lee, and Eunice Pauline.
   Mr. and Mrs. Rood have resided in Valley county since the date of the first settlement and have thus become identified with the development of this beautiful region. They are highly respected and esteemed by many friends.

 

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FRANK TANNEHILL.

   Frank Tannehill, who resides on section twenty-five, township twenty-three, range one, Madison counnty [sic], Nebraska, is proprietor of one of the most valuable estates in Madison county, and has been a resident of that county for a number of years. He is prominently known throughout the section where he resides as one of the foremost farmers and stock men, and is one of the prosperous men of his locality.
   Mr. Tannehill is a native of Indiana, being born in that state February 15, 1862; he is a son of August and Amanda (Potter) Tannehill. The father was born in Indiana, the mother's birth occurring in the same state. Our subject's father served in the civil war, enlisting in company C, One Hundred and Sixtysixth Indiana Volunteers, and saw active service as captain of his company from 1862 to 1865, until the close of the war. Mr. Tannehill's father is a descendant of the illustrious poet Tannehill, and comes from a good family. He went to Pike's Peak in 1854, with an ox team, during the rush to the gold fields, and altogether has had quite and eventful life.
   In 1883 the father, with his family, came from Indiana to Madison county, Nebraska, where he bought three hundred and twenty acres of fine land, known as the B. E. Reed homestead. When he purchased this farm there was a log house on the land, which has since been replaced by a frame structure.
   In the pioneer days of settlement in Nebraska, elk, deer and antelope were plentiful, and were

often seen in herds throughout the country; prairie fires were a great source of anxiety and danger when the family first came here, and many times they fought the rolling mass of flames to save their home, lives, and property. Our subject well remembers these incidents, and took active part in building up the foundation for if prosperous and resourceful country.
   In 1883, Mr. Tannehill, our subject, was united in marriage to Miss Lucrettie Loney, a native of Indiana, and Mr. and Mrs. Tannehill are the parents of seven children, whose names are as follows: Maude, Eva, Clyde, Esther, Allen, Josephine, and Joseph, deceased. They are members of the Christian church (Campbellites) and Mr. Tannehill is a democrat.
   Mrs. Tannehill's parents came to Cuming county, Nebraska, from Indiana, in the year 1867 and are old settlers of the state, highly esteemed and respected by all.

 

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AUGUSTUS MORROW.

   Augustus Morrow and family are well known among the older settlers of Custer county, where they have aided in furthering the cause of education and other progressive movements. Mr. Morrow was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, June 8, 1835, third child of the four sons and three daughters of Wilson J. and Barbara (Metz) Morrow. Both parents were natives of Pennsylvania, where they were married and both are deceased. In 1855 the family left Pennsylvania and located in Peru, Illinois, and Mr. Morrow has a sister and two brothers still living in that state. In 1856 he worked on river boats, having charge of ice barges that were being shipped to southern states. He was also employed as a watchman on steamboats, and in similar capacities.
   At the time of the civil war Mr. Morrow enlisted in an Illinois regiment, being mustered in at Chicago in June, 1862, as a member of Company A, Sixty-ninth Volunteer Infantry. He served on gunboats and transports during most of his term of service and also served on detached guard duty. He was mustered out in the fall of 1864 and returned to Peru, where he again worked for the ice company during the winter months.
   In January, 1870, at Peru, Mr. Morrow married Esther Robinson, and they began living on land he owned on the river bottom near that village. He carried on farming during the summers and worked on the river in the winters. In the fall of 1883 he came to Custer county to look the country over for a suitable place to locate, and took a homestead on the southeast quarter of section twenty-two, township seventeen, range twenty-five, returning to Illinois to spend the winter. In March, 1884, he came to Nebraska again, bringing a car of household goods, three horses and a cow. The journey was made by rail to Cozad, and then across country to the new home. In June of the same year his wife and five children made the trip to the homestead, and the family have continued since to make that their home, except for five years spent on a Kincaid homestead in Logan county. Thus Mr. Morrow became a homesteader a second time. This second home was located eleven miles northwest of Arnold. He is one of the few original homesteaders still in possession of their farms and has made a splendid success of his years in Nebraska. He has done his share in promoting the general welfare and progress and is recognized as an enterprising and public-spirited citizen. Mrs. Morrow died on the homestead February 4, 1904, sadly mourned by her family and friends and missed in the community where she had lived so many years.
   Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Morrow, of whom six now survive: Martha, at home; Dr. John H., a physician and surgeon, married and living in Merna, has five children; George W., Augustus J., Charles R., and. Wilson E., at home. The last-named is the only one born in Nebraska,. Martha and Charles R., also own Kincaid claims in Logan county.

 

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HON. NEIL M. NELSON.

   Honorable Neil M. Nelson, county commissioner of Pierce county, Nebraska, is one of the most prominent men of affairs in that portion of his state. He has always taken an active interest in the welfare of his county and state, has served in various offices of trust, and has invariable performed his duties faithfully and well, thereby gaining the highest esteem of all.
   Our subject was born on March 18, 1855, near the village of Horsens, province of Jutland, Dellmark, a, son of James and Anna (Paulson) Nelson. The elder Nelson learned years afterward that as a soldier in the Danish army, he had opposed his venerable friend, Christian Hecht, of Plainview, a German soldier, in the battle of Idstedt.
   In the latter fifties, James Nelson, with his family, embarked at Keil on the "Humbolt," an emigrant ship bound for the United States, and after a stormy voyage of six weeks landed in New York.
   Their first permanent location was made at Omaha, where Neil attended his first school. Mr. Nelson was one of a band of Mormon proselytes on their way to Salt Lake City, Utah, but not until reaching Florence, six miles north of Omaha did he learn that polygamy was one of the tenets of the Mormon faith. He left the colony here, and returned to Omaha, where he secured employment at his trade of wagonmaker, and followed that work until 1868. Moving to Dakota, he spent a short time in looking over the state before returning to Nebraska to buy a farm near Pilger, Stanton county. Here he prospered wonderfully, soon being able to add a half-section to his original quarter, He lived on that homestead until

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