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John Edward Higgins
John Edward Higgins, farmer and stockman, was born at Schuyler, Nebraska, June 18, 1878, son of William and Elizabeth (Casey) Higgins. William Higgins was born in Ballahagderen, County Mayo, Ireland, March 17 1845, and came to America in 1860, at the age of 15. He was a farmer for many years in Colfax County, and died at Schuyler, December 8, 1910. His wife, Elizabeth, was born in Ballahagderen, June 6, 1848, and died at Schuyler, March 20, 1908. She was a home maker and church leader.
Upon finishing his rural school education, John E. Higgins attended Fremont Normal College from 1897-1900, and Creighton University 1902-04. A leading farmer in his community. He has served as secretary and director of the Farmers Grain Company of Schuyler 12 years, secretary of the Farmers Union 15 years, is past president of the Colfax County Farm Bureau and a director of the County Fair. A Democrat, he is precinct committeeman at the present time and has been chosen delegate to three state conventions. During the Republican landslide for Harding, he was defeated for the office of state representative. For four years he has served as precinct assessor in his home precinct.
It was through his efforts that the Nebraska Power Company built a high line into the rural districts to furnish them with light and power. Five different times he was sent as a delegate by the farm bureau to organize agriculture, and he was also a delegate to the Farmers Union State Convention four times, where he furnished old time selections on the violin. A school teacher for two years before going to Creighton Medical College, he still holds his credit for those years of study.
He was a member of the committee from Colfax County to send a carload of food to the drouth stricken area in 1931. A member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church and the Dublin Community, he is a committeeman in the latter, and has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for 27 years. President of a branch chapter of the Red Cross since 1915, he has served at the head of all Red Cross drives in his community. An oldtime fiddler, Mr. Higgins enjoys playing the violin, and has played over the radio many times and won many first prizes in fiddling contests.
When his father came to America he started working for $12 a month, and when he retired was worth $100,000. Mr. Higgins still lives on and owns part of the same farm upon which he was born 53 years ago. He is a stockholder in the Nebraska Power Company and the Farmers Union State Exchange.
He was married to Cora Mary Corcoran, at Denver, June 20, 1917. Mrs. Higgins was born at Rock Falls, Illinois, July 12, 1884, and was a school teacher at Denver, prior to her marriage. They have two children, John Edward, born June 6, 1918, and Sheila Elizabeth, born August 2, 1920. Both are musicians and play frequently in society and over the radio. John is a violinist and Betty a pianist. Residence: Schuyler. (Photograph in Album).
Merle C. Higgins
A merchant until 1917, Merle C. Higgins has, since 1919, been in the banking business. Born at Bethany, Missouri, July 14, 1892, he is the son of Milton A. and Mettie I. (Cornelison) Higgins. The father, a native of Bethany, born January 13, 1863, was for many years engaged in the mercantile business. He is now a banker. His ancestry is Irish.
Mettie I. Cornelison was born in Madison County, Iowa, January 13, 1868, of Swedish ancestry. Both parents reside in Benkelman. Upon his graduation from the Haigler, Nebraska, High School, Merle C. Higgins attended Cotner University for a short time. Thereafter several years he was engaged in business with his father, leaving to enter military service in 1917. He served two years in the World War, as a sergeant in Company B, 355th Infantry.
Upon his return to Benkelman, Mr. Higgins became vice president of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank, which position he still holds. For a short period in 1928. He was bank examiner. He has held all offices in the American Legion, has been treasurer of the Red Cross since 1920, and treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce since 1925.
Mr. Higgins is a member of the Christian Church, the Masons, the Parent-Teachers' Association and the Nebraskana Society. His favorite sports are golf and horseback riding, and his social clubs are the Rod and Gun and the Golf Clubs.
On July 26, 1919, he was married to Inez R. Herring at Benkelman. Mrs. Higgins, who was a teacher before her marriage, was born in Cheyenne County, Kansas, March 21, 1896, and is descended through the maternal line to Lord Baltimore. They have one son, Val M., born May 17, 1925. Residence: Benkelman.
Ole E. Higgins
Ole E. Higgins was born on a farm near Brownville, Nemaha County, Nebraska, October 10, 1874. His father, David Higgins, who was a farmer and livestock breeder, was born in Cattaraugus County, New York, March 4, 1850 and died on his farm in Nemaha County, August 1, 1898. His parents were Welsh settlers who came from New York to Wisconsin and from there to Nebraska where they made homes in Nemaha County in 1859. They helped to develop Prairie Union into one of the finest rural communities in the state. Stella, which became the nearest town, was founded in 1882.
Elizabeth (James) Higgins, mother of Ole Higgins, was born at Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio, September 23, 1850. Of Welsh ancestry, she was the daughter of Rev. John T. James, a wealthy pioneer farmer and the founder of Penuell Church in Prairie Union. She died at Stella, May 1, 1914.
Mr. Higgins, who has always lived in this state, received his education at the Higgins' district school at Stella. Together with his sons he is owner and proprietor of the Evergreen Stock Farm, which is operated under the firm name O. E. Higgins & Sons, and is situated just six miles northeast of Stella. He is a member of the Nemaha-Richardson Dairy Herd Improvement Association; the Standard Poland-China Association; and the Holstein- Fresian Association of America.
His marriage to Harriet Louisa Wilkinson was solemnized at Auburn, Nemaha County, Nebraska, December 19, 1895. She was born of English parents, who were farmers, near Farmington, Knox County, Illinois, February 24, 1878. She came to Nebraska with her parents when one year old, and has since lived here. To this union ten children were born, all of whom are living. They are: Opal, born April 30, 1897, who married Jesse E. Moritz; Lilah, born November 22, 1898, who married James A. Simmons; Marie, born March 4, 1900, who married T. W. Overman; Ferne, born September 20, 1901, who married Elmer A. Moritz; Faye, born October 2, 1902 who married Loyal Parsons; Abigail, born October 23, 1905, who married John B. Coupe; Charles David, born August 9, 1907; Nellie, born November 14, 1910, who married Lawrence H. Winfrey; Ole Edwin, born September 25, 1912; and Elmer Estel, born May 1, 1914.
During the World War Mr. Higgins assisted in all local drives. He has always been active in the various civic and religious affairs of his community. He was reared in the Baptist Church, his mother being one of the first members of the Prairie Union Baptist Church, and his grandfather Thomas Higgins was the founder of the Sunday School of this church. At the present time he is affiliated with the new community church in Stella. He is a member of the Stella Chamber of Commerce, the Red Cross, and the Nebraskana Society. He is a Royal High-
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lander. In 1928 he was awarded a silver medal for second highest ranking herd in Nebraska. Perhaps Mr. Higgins' most noteworthy achievement was the award he received in the form of a gold medal, presented to the owner of the prize dairy herd in Nebraska for the year 1929. He was also awarded a wall plaque for the third highest herd in the United States by the Dairy Tribune, a national farm organization. Residence: Stella. (Photograph on page 548).
George Grover Hilder
George Grover Hilder was born at Wymore, Gage County, Nebraska, December 6, 1888, the son of John George and Martha (Garrett) Hilder. His father, who is a retired lumberman, was born at Burwash, Sussex, Old England, December 17, 1853, and has served as township clerk and president of the Wymore school board; he came to this country in 1872. His mother, who was born at Linwood, Saunders County, Nebraska, January 20, 1863, and died at Diller, Jefferson County, Nebraska, November 16, 1926, was a prominent club woman. She has an interesting genealogy which dates back to General Proctor of Revolutionary fame; many of her ancestors had much to do with the settlement of Kentucky and subduing the Indians. Her paternal ancestry dates to Joel Estes; she was eligible to membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution, and was active in the Eastern Star.
Mr. Hilder, who is a Master Farmer in Gage County, is moderator of the school board, is a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and holds membership in the Nebraskana Society. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club, the Masons, Eastern Star, and the Geographical Society. During the war he was solicitor for loans in Gage County.
On August 18, 1909, he was united in marriage with Winnie Bertha Roberts at Wymore. Mrs. Hilder, whose ancestors were residents of Wales, was born at Wymore, June 9, 1889. They have three children: Esther, born June 12, 1910, who is a teacher; Harold, born January 29, 1914, who is a junior in the Wymore High School; and Wayne, born October 11, 1921. Residence: Wymore. (Photograph in Album).
Mortimer L. Hildreth
A physician and surgeon since 1880, Mortimer L. Hildreth was born in Lee, Massachusetts, January 9, 1850, and has resided in Nebraska since 1874. His parents, James Edgar and Sarah Ann (Bullock) Hildreth, were both natives of New York. His father was of French and English descent, his ancestors having come to America in Colonial times. His mother was descended from Colonial settlers from England and Holland. James Edgar Hildreth died at Tekamah, in 1906, and his wife died in Burt County, in 1876. Dr. Hildreth attended public and private schools in New England, and received his M. D. from Rush Medical College in 1880. He has contributed articles to medical journals. throughout his professional career, and has held many professional offices. He is former president and former secretary of the Nebraska State Medical Society and held the chair of medicine at the Sioux City College of Medicine for some time. He was a member of the house of delegates of the American Medical Association, has served as president of the Nebraska Society of Railway Surgeons, and was delegate from Nebraska to the Pan-American Medical Congress in Washington. On October 25, 1882, he was married to Carolyn Elizabeth White, at Lyons, Nebraska. Mrs. Hildreth who was born at Milburn, Illinois, February 23, 1857, is descended from Scotch-English settlers in America about 1850. There are three children: Beulah, born March 20, 1885, who married Shepherd M. Dunlap; Raymond C., born October 8, 1888, who married Blanche Forrester; and Helene, born December 21, 1895, who married Edward Gillette
Dr. Hildreth is a member of Lyons Presbyterian Church, and has served on the Lyons School Board, for many years, and is a member of the Red Cross, and the Young Men's Christian Association. Residence: Lyons.
Bertha Steele Hill
Bertha Steele Hill, daughter of Arthur Seth and Mertie Elvina (Monti) Steele, was born at Oberlin, Kansas, July 22, 1894. Her father was born at Platville, Wisconsin, January 24, 1865. He is a banker at Oberlin, and is chairman of the board of directors of the Oberlin National Bank. His ancestry is traced to William the Conqueror, and among his Revolutionary ancestors is Lieutenant Colonel Solomon Wills of Tolland, Connecticut. His wife was born at Lincoln, August 28, 1873, and is of the Sherrill family of Kentucky. She is a prominent clubwoman.
Bertha Steele was graduated from Decatur County High School in 1913, and attended Kansas University one year. On December 23, 1916, she was married to Ralph Wright Hill at Oberlin (see Nebraskana). A resident of Nebraska for the past four years, Mrs. Hill has always been active in club and civic organizations. A member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she also belongs to the P. E. O., and the Order of Eastern Star, of which she is past matron. She is a member of the Red Cross, the Nebraskana Society, and the First Methodist Church of Hebron. For some time she has been active in Woman's Club work, and is now president of the Hebron Woman's Club. Her hobby is reading. Residence: Hebron.
Daniel T. Hill
Daniel T. Hill, dental surgeon, was born at Carmel, New York, July 19, 1857. His father, Daniel T. Hill, Sr., was a Baptist minister, born at Milton, Ulster County, New York, November, 1803, and who died at Syracuse, Nebraska, March 9, 1887. Sarah Jayne (Merritt) Hill, his mother, was born at Carmel, November 3, 1820, and died at Cornwall, New York, May 10, 1884. Both were of English descent.
Dr. Hill was graduated from Amenia Seminary in 1874, and in 1877 was awarded the D. D. S. degree at the New York College of Dentistry. He was admitted to the practice of dentistry at Cornwall, June 1, 1877, and from that date until 1883 was engaged in the dental practice at Cornwall. Since 1883 he has been a dentist at Syracuse, Nebraska.
He was married to Tella H. Capron at Purdys, New York, July 11, 1877. Mrs. Hill, whose ancestry is English and French, was born at White Plains, New York, October 31, 1857. Five children were born to their marriage, one of whom is living. They are: Ruby, born June 18, 1878, who died June 19, 1878; Pearl, born October 17, 1883; Myrtle H., born May 26, 1885; Clair L., born December 13, 1886, who was graduated from the Lincoln Dental College in 1910, and practiced with his father up until his death January 11, 1926; and Claud A., born March 13, 1893, who died August, 1893.
Dr. Hill is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is also a member of the National Dental Association, the Nebraska Dental Association, the Red Cross, the Nebraskana Society and the I. O. O. W. His hobby is the American trotting horse. He is a Republican, and is now serving as mayor of Syracuse. Residence: Syracuse.
George Clayton Hill
George Clayton Full, life underwriter, was born at Tabor, Iowa, November 25, 1869, and for more than 59 years has been a resident of Nebraska. He is the son of Edgar Strong and Delia Sophia (Jones) Hill, the former of whom was born at Wakeman, Ohio, January 23, 1834. He was a farmer, grain merchant and undertaker, county
