ON. JOHN B. MESERVE, the new state treasurer of Nebraska, is a resident of McCook, Red Willow county. He was born in Whitefield, Coos county, New Hampshire, January 28, 1846. His parents moved

to La Salle county, Illinois, when their son was five years old, and the following thirteen years of his life were spent on the farm. In February, 1864, when he had just turned eighteen, young Meserve enlisted in Company C, Seventh Illinois Cavalry, and served until the close of the war. Returning after honorable discharge, he attended commercial college in Chicago, and

engaged in the grain trade for the next thirteen years. He was married December 25, 1865, to Miss Charlotte A. Taylor, of La Salle county, Illinois. Mr. Meserve located in Red Willow county, Nebraska, in October, 1882, and has resided there ever since. He was in the banking business at McCook for one year, and afterwards purchased a ranch not far from that city and went into the open range cattle business, subsequently devoting his time to ranching and cattle and hog feeding, for the market. In 1893 he was defeated for the office of county treasurer of Red Willow county by the narrow margin of fifty-five votes, and in the following April was appointed to the office to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his successful opponent. Mr. Meserve was nominated the same fall for the office, and was elected, and was re-elected for a second term. In 1896 he received the nomination for state treasurer at the people's party convention held at Hastings, was accorded the loyal and hearty support of the friends of fusion, regardless of party, and was elected by 11,175 plurality. He took the oath of office January 7, 1897. Treasurer Meserve is a gentleman of high standing in the commercial community, and enters upon the arduous and difficult duties of his office with the confidence of his fellow citizens, with high hopes of a successful and proper administration of the important office with which he has been honored. Both his private and public records as a business man are such as to warrant the expectation that he will deal with the public matters and funds with which he is charged, in the most conscientious manner.

ON. JACOB V. WOLFE, commissioner of public lands and buildings, is one of the most widely known and highly esteemed leaders of the populist

movement in Nebraska. He is a, native of Indiana, and was born at Merom, Sullivan county, October 7, 1833. From his ninth to his seventeenth year young Jacob worked on his father's farm and attended school part of the year. He entered the State University at Bloomington, Indiana, and graduated from that institution in 1857 with honors. Before leaving the stage where he

had delivered his commencement oration he was engaged to teach in that popular educational institution, Glendale Female College, in Ohio. He married one of the teachers in this college, Miss Ellen Batterton, of Bloomington, Indiana, one of his classmates. The young professor was elected president of the Majors Female College at Bloomington, Illinois, and after serving one year resigned to accept the principalship of the public schools at Gosport, Indiana, where he served three years. In 1862, while engaged in teaching, a vacancy occurred in the legislative ticket and Mr. Wolfe was selected to fill the vacancy, was elected, served one term in the Hoosier legislature, and declined a second. In 1865 he was elected county treasurer by a handsome majority, and at the end of his term was re-elected. While teaching, and before entering the legislature, he pursued the study of law, and for some time attended a law school. He was excused from the legislature to permit him to pass his examination, and graduated from the law department of his college and received the Bachelor's degree. In the legislature he assisted in electing Hon. David Turpie and Thomas A. Hendricks to the United States senate. In 1871 he came to Nebraska on a recreation excursion, became infatuated with Lincoln and vicinity, purchased his present farm, where he has resided ever since. As a student of political economy and a close observer of public affairs, Mr. Wolfe inevitably became interested in state politics. He was nominated in 1890 at the first convention of the independent people's party for state treasurer, made a plain business-like canvass, ran ahead of his ticket, and received a majority of over 9,000 votes outside of Douglas