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694
The History of Platte County Nebraska

JAMES HENRY GALLEY

James Henry Galley, son of James and Ann Whittaker Galley, was born in Macclesfield, England, on April 23, 1840, and came to the United States in 1853 with his parents, brother and sisters. They first settled in Utah, in the Mormon settlement, where James Henry, at the age of thirteen, secured his first job, as a sheep herder on a ranch.

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James Henry Galley

In 1859, the family left Utah and settled in Nebraska near Columbus. In 1860, James Henry and his brother, Samuel, built on their farm what was then one of the finest frame homes in the county. Their parents died in 1861, and James H. bought the Galley farm and retained ownership of it through the years that followed.

In 1862, James H. Galley enlisted in Company K, second regiment of the Nebraska Cavalry. The regiment wintered at the Pawnee reservation and early in 1863 was sent with General Sully on his campaign against the Sioux, which terminated in the Battle of White Stone Hills in North Dakota, where the Indians were routed after a hard fight. Later that year, the regiment was mustered out of service and Mr. Galley returned to his farm near Columbus.

In 1866, in partnership with Vincent Kummer, James H. Galley opened his first store. It was a general merchandise store, one of the first of its kind in Columbus, and was located in a sod building on Seventh Street. A year later, they sold out, and again Mr. Galley returned to farming.

In 1873, J. H. Galley formed a partnership with his brother, Samuel. Their store was established under the firm name of J. H. Galley & Brother. The name of the business firm was later changed to the Galley Dry Goods Company. J. H. Galley was the head of this firm for fifty-six years. In 1880, the Galley Brothers founded a branch. store at Creighton, Nebraska, which Samuel managed until 1892, when they dissolved partnership. At that time J. H. Galley became the owner of the Columbus store and Samuel took over the Creighton store.

J. H. Galley achieved a marked success in his business and was for many years one of the most prominent merchants in the city. His store was originally on Eleventh Street, but in 1912, Mr. Galley erected a two-story double-front building at 2419-21 Thirteenth Street and moved his stock of goods there. About that time, the Galley Dry Goods Company was incorporated with J H. Galley as president, and his son, Bert J., who had been associated with him in business for some years, as secretary of the business. When James Henry Galley retired from active participation, Mr. and Mrs. Albert J. Galley carried on for him until they sold their stock of goods to the C. D. Thrift Stores in 1929, and the building to the Levine Brothers, who leased it to the C. D. Thrift Company.

On February 22, 1871, James Henry Galley was married to Helen Hudson, the daughter of Henry J. and Sarah Shefford Hudson. Judge Hudson, a prominent figure in the early years of Platte County history, was born in London, England, November 28, 1822, and died February 14, 1903, in Columbus. Mrs. Hudson was born in London and died in Columbus. Helen Hudson Galley was born in London on June 10, 1850

Mr. and Mrs. James H. Galley had eight children: Albert J., "Bert," of Columbus; Vincent H., deceased; Walter, of St. Joseph, Missouri; Mrs. Mark Rathburn, of Boulder, Colorado; Mrs. Arthur Lindstrum, of Des Moines; William Hudson, who was married to Georgia Chatfield, died on May 3, 1910, in Columbus; Earl of Omaha and Hastings; and Clifford, of Omaha.

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Albert J. Galley

On February 22, 1925, Mr. and Mrs. James Henry Galley celebrated their Golden* Wedding Anniversary. Mrs. Galley at that time held the distinction of having lived for seventy-five years, sixty-nine of which were spent in Platte County. She died on March 11, 1926, in Columbus.

James Henry Galley, who at the time of his death had lived for seventy-one years in Platte County, died in Columbus on March 24, 1930. In the early days the Galleys and the Hudsons belonged to the group known as the Josephite Mormons.


* Fifty-fourth.

ALBERT J. GALLEY

Albert J. Galley, the son of James H. and Helen Hudson Galley, was born in Columbus Township, on January 5, 1872. He had five brothers and two sisters: Walter, of St. Joseph, Missouri; Ethel, was married to Mark Rathburn, of Boulder, Colorado; Earl R., of Omaha, married to Lillian Ernst; Maude E., the wife of Arthur Linstrum; Clifford R., of Omaha, married to Louise Gottschalk; Vincent H. and William H., deceased.

Albert J. Galley attended the Columbus schools and was graduated from the Columbus High School in the class of 1888. He was enrolled in a school of commerce in Omaha, during 1889 and 1890.

His first work was as a clerk and bookkeeper in his


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father's dry goods, and clothing store. He remained there for twenty-two years, from 1890-1912. In 1912, the business was reorganized and Albert became the secretary-treasurer of the Galley Drygoods Company. At one time he served as president of the Columbus Land, Loan, and Building Association. He was the city treasurer from 1900-1905

On February 23, 1909, at Columbus, Albert J. Galley was married to Grace Maude Woods, the daughter of Henry and Susan Clark Woods. The Woods family came to Columbus in 1878, and Mr. Woods died there in 1887. He was a member of Company C, of the Fifteenth Regiment of the Indian Volunteer Infantry, in which he enlisted in 1861, as a drummer. Mrs. Woods died in Columbus on October 13, 1914. Mrs. Galley had one brother, Charles Henry Woods, born July 8, 1883, who died in February, 1903.

Albert J. and Grace Woods Galley had three children, Albert Jr., James and Marcia, all were born in Columbus, and graduated from Kramer High School.

Albert Charles, born February 25, 1910, is married to Willamine Rollinger and lives in Joliet, Illinois; James Henry, born February 13, 1912, is married to Rose Wunderlich. They live in Washington, D.C., and have one daughter, Susan Louise Galley; Marcia Galley is the wife of J. R. Houston. They live in Evanston, Illinois, and have two daughters: Marcia Rumbold born July 4, 1943, and Elizabeth Galley Houston born December 20, 1946.

Mr. Galley has the distinction of being the oldest fire chief in Nebraska, from the standpoint of years of service in that capacity. He served as chief from 1897-1899, and was reelected to that position again in 1906, and served until 1930 when he was made honorary chief. He has been a member of the Columbus Volunteer Fire Department since 1895. He became a member of the Columbus Band around 1890 and was one of the charter members of the present City Band and served as its secretary-treasurer for twenty-five years. He was a charter member of the Sixty School Mates Club. He was president of the Nebraska State. Volunteer Firemen's Association in 1909, and is a member of the A. F. and A. M. Albert Galley was appointed chief of police in 1930 and held that office for seven years. He was elected city clerk of Columbus in 1937, and reelected each two years since that time. Politically he is affiliated with the Republican Party.

Mr. and Mrs. Albert J. Galley were charter members of the Platte County Pioneers Association, and Mrs. Galley has been secretary-treasurer of that society since 1922.

Mr. and Mrs. Albert J. Galley are members of the Grace Episcopal Church.

CLIFFORD R. GALLEY

Clifford R. Galley was born in Columbus, Nebraska, May 6, 1892. He was the youngest son of James H. and Helen Hudson Galley.

On both his father's and his mother's side of the family his ancestors were among the early settlers in Platte County, and were early members of the reorganized church of the Latter Day Saints & of Jesus Christ. Both his father and his grandfather had made the trek west with the Mormon train in 1853, and returned to Platte County from Utah in 1859 when they settled in Columbus Township. His maternal grandfather was H. J. Hudson, an elder of the early Latter Day Saints' Church in Columbus. In 1857 he headed the Mormon Colony that settled near Genoa.

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Clifford R. Galley

 

Clifford attended the Columbus schools and was graduated from the Columbus High School in 1910.

From 1910-1911 he was enrolled, at Prude University at Prude, Indiana. From 1912-1914 he was associated with his father, James H. Galley, and his brother, Albert J. Galley, in the Galley Drygoods Store in Columbus.

From 1914-1915 he was in Seattle, Washington; 1916-1917 he was again with the Galley Drygoods Company; 1917-1918 He was a salesman in Iowa with the Burghs Adding Machine Company; 1918-1937 he served as a city fireman in Columbus; 1918-1938 he was the owner and manager of the Grey Taxi Company. For a time Jay Henley was his partner in this business concern.

From 1927-1932 he was the manager of the Packard Motor Company in Columbus; and from 1935-1942 the owner and manager of the Galley Recreation Club.

He disposed of his business interests in Columbus at the beginning of World War II, and during the war served with the fire squad that was assigned to the Bomber Plant in Omaha.

Since 1946 he has been the co-owner and manager of a steak house at the corner of Fiftieth and Center Streets in Omaha.

He was married on October 26, 1914, to Helen Theresa Krause. They had three children, Gretchen, Margot and Clifford Jr., all of whom were graduated from Kramer High School. Helen Krause Galley died March 25, 1934. Gretchen Galley is the wife of Patrick Shea of Long Island, New York. They have a son, Patrick Jr., born February 28, 1947. Margot Galley is the wife of Emanuel R. Alexander of Atlanta, Georgia, they have two children Helen and Alex.

Clifford Galley Jr. served as a pilot with the American Air Forces during World War II. He was commis-


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The History of Platte County Nebraska

sioned a captain in April, 1944, and was killed in action on June 4, 1944, while on a flying mission to San Gabriel, France.

In the late 1930's Clifford R. Galley was married to Louise Gottschalk, the daughter of L. Fredrick and Helen Hohen Gottschalk.

Mrs. Galley was graduated from Columbus High School and attended Ferry Hall and Northwestern University.

She had two children by a former marriage, William Jr. and Natalie Schroen.

During World War II William Schroen Jr. was enlisted in the Air Corps, and served overseas from December, 1943-1946. During that time he was stationed in Casablanca, Egypt, Italy, and in India. Since 1946 he has attended college in Omaha and worked there.

Natalie Schroen was graduated from Kramer High School, and the University of Omaha.

Clifford R. Galley was state president of the Nebraska State Firemen in 1936. In Columbus he held memberships in the Columbus Fire Department, the Chamber of Commerce, the B.P.O.E. (Elks), the Lions Club and the Wayside Country Club.

Mr. and Mrs. Clifford R. Galley are members of the Grace Episcopal Church.

CAMDEN JOSEPH GARLOW

Camden Joseph Garlow was born in Marion County, West Virginia, March 23, 1857, the son of Joseph and Jiretta Morgan Garlow.

His father was a native of Virginia, and his mother was the daughter of Colonel David Morgan who served in the Union Army together with his five sons.

In 1863, Joseph Garlow served for three months in the West Virginia Infantry with the rank of major. He died in 1889, and Jiretta Morgan Garlow died in 1878.

Camden J. Garlow received his early education in a private school, the Marion County schools, and the West Virginia State Normal School, at Fairmont, which he attended for three years.

He left school on the death of his mother, prior to his graduation, in 1878.

On April 1, 1881, he arrived in Platte County, Nebraska, where he had secured a county school near Creston, Nebraska. He taught there and later became the principal of the Third Ward School, in Columbus.

In 1882, he registered as a law student with Judge J. G. Higgins and spent his evenings and vacations preparing for the law profession. He also received help in his study from two other well known Columbus lawyers of that day, Byron Millet and W. N. Hensley.

C. J. Garlow was admitted to the Bar in 1885, and practiced law in Columbus until 1947. In his law work, he specialized in insurance litigation.

He served one year as president of the Fraternal Insurance Lawyers Association of the United States. He was interested in the local organization and successful management of several Columbus business enterprises, including the West End Sewer Company, of which he was president; the Columbus Gas Company; the Platte County Independent Telephone Company, and the Fontein Piano Company. Politically, Mr. Garlow was a Republican, and represented the Third Ward as a member of the City Council for two years. He served nearly two years as quartermaster of Company K, First Regiment of the Nebraska National Guard. During World War I, he was chairman of the Platte County Council of Defense. In his fraternal connections, he belonged to the York and Scottish Rites, in Masonry, to the Mystic Shrine and held the highest office in the lodge, Commandery and Council. He was one of the first members of the Columbus Rotary Club and chairman of the Rotarian's program for boys, in which he sponsored the Boy Builder's Club for twenty years. He was a Presbyterian.

On September 14, 1886, Camden Joseph Garlow married Mamie Abbie Winslow, of Columbus, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Winslow who came to Platte County in 1883.

Mrs. Garlow was born May 10, 1869, at Putney, Virginia, and when fourteen years of age, came to Platte County with her parents. She was a talented student of music and shortly thereafter, went to Ferry Hall, at Lake Forest, Illinois, where she studied music for a year. The following two years, she studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music. She returned to Columbus in the spring of 1886, and that autumn was married to Mr. Garlow. After her marriage, she, taught music and was the organist at the Presbyterian Church for twenty-seven years, prior to the federation of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in Columbus.

Camden Joseph and Mamie Abbie Winslow Garlow had one daughter, Ethel Gwendolyn. She, like her mother, was a talented musician. She studied voice at the Boston Conservatory, in Kansas City and in Omaha. She was married to Grover Long, a Columbus attorney, who died in 1936. Mrs. Grover Long lives in Columbus.

MICHAEL P. GASPERS

Michael P. Gaspers prominent Walker Township farmer, came to Platte County with his parents, Michael and Ann Marie Gaspers, from Mineola, Iowa, in March, 1894. He was born there March 12, 1877. His father, born in Germany, September 15, 1837, died July 17, 1921, in Lindsay, Nebraska. His mother, born in Germany in 1844, died in Lindsay, February 7, 1930.

Mr. Gaspers has two brothers and four sisters: Catherine, who was Mrs. Jacob Krebs, died October 23, 1916, at Humphrey, Nebraska; Nickolas is married to Mary Loeffler; Helen, Sister M. Comandina, died April 4, 1943, at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois; Peter is married to Mary Wagner; Anna died March 30, 1913, at Lindsay; Mary is Mrs. Tony Huseman.

Michael attended the schools of Lemars, Iowa, and came to Platte County at the age of seventeen.

On May 30, 1900, at St. Bernard, Nebraska, he was married to Margaret Wagner, the daughter of Martin and Margaret Brachle Wagner. Michael and. Margaret Gaspers had eleven children: John Michael,


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born April 25, 1901, was a staff sergeant with the Fifteenth Air Force, in the African and European Theatres, and before entering the service, June 17, 1942, he operated a farm in Rushville; Mary Ann, born August 27, 1902; Martin, born May 6, 1905, is married to Regina Heiman; Helen Clara, now Mrs. Killian Schaecher, was born January 31, 1907; Harry Joseph, born December 9, 1908, is married to Emma Weidner; Tony, born October 23, 1910, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1934. In December, 1939, he was sent to the Philippine Islands, and was stationed there at the time of Pearl Harbor. He was in the battles of Bataan and Corrigedor, and on May 6, 1942, when Corrigedor fell, Staff Sergeant Gaspers was taken prisoner by the Japanese, and held in the Japanese War Prisoner camps until September 2, 1945; Joseph Francis, born October 24, 1912, is married to Grace Miller; Gertrude, born October 25, 1914, is now Venerable Sister Regine; twins, Paul Mathew and Pauline Rose, were born December 10, 1916; and Rose Elizabeth was born July 7, 1918.

The Michael Gaspers are members of the Holy Family Church in Lindsay.

HENRY GASS, SR.

Henry Gass, Sr., was born in Canton Basel, Switzerland, on May 13, 1844, and came to the United States on June 5, 1868. He spent a short time in Pennsylvania and Michigan, and then located in Rochelle, Illinois, where he was employed in a furniture store. In 1870, he came to Columbus. He was known as the dean of Columbus business men, having been in business there for fifty-six years, up until the time of his death on November 26, 1926. Mr. Gass had two brothers: John, who resided in Switzerland, died June 1, 1928; and Samuel Gass, Sr., of Columbus, died June 21, 1928.

Henry Gass had been an apprentice in the cabinetmaker's trade in Switzerland. After his arrival in Columbus, he worked for several months as a carpenter and that same year established a cabinet shop of his own which, in the years that followed, grew into one of the largest furniture and undertaking establishments in Nebraska.

The first furniture and coffins that Mr. Gass handled in his shop were those he himself made by hand. His time-worn records showed that the first coffin he made was for "a man killed by Indians," on August 4, 1870.

At the time he came to Columbus, it was a village of about two hundred population, and there was only one house north of Tenth Street. His first shop was located on Seventh Street, which was then the business section of the town.

In 1871, he erected a building on the lot where his home, on Washington Avenue, of recent years stands. The first floor of the building was used for his store, and the second floor for living quarters.

Business growth necessitated more spacious quarters, and in 1878, he erected a new store at Eleventh Street and Twenty-third Avenue, where he installed his first complete line of factory-made furniture. Around 1910, his Eleventh Street store was destroyed by fire, and he built the brick block on Thirteenth Street, between Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Avenues, which then became the home of his firm, Henry Gass and Company.

From boyhood his two sons, Samuel and Henry, worked with their father in his expanding business. Although Mr. Gass continued as head of the business until 1922, when he sold out to his sons, Samuel and Henry, Jr., he retired from its active management in 1907.

On August 3, 1872, at Rock Island, Illinois, Henry Gass, Sr., was married to Elizabeth Schmid, who was born in Watwil, Canton St. Gallen, Switzerland, on August 11, 1849. Mrs. Gass came to America and then to Rock Island, Illinois, in 1872.

Mr. and Mrs. Gass had two sons and two daughters: Henry, Jr.; Samuel; Rose, Mrs. Phillip Smith, of Columbus; and Emily, Mrs. August Merz, deceased.

On August 3, 1922, in Columbus, Mr. and Mrs. Gass celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary, at their home. Mrs. Gass died on March 12, 1923.

Mr. Gass was one of the founders and a charter member of the Evangelical Protestant Church, founded as the German Reformed Church, in 1872.

SAMUEL GASS, JR.

Samuel Gass, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Schmid Gass, was born in Columbus, Nebraska on August 15, 1875. His father was born in Switzerland, on May 13, 1844, and came to Columbus in 1870, where he opened the first furniture store and undertaking parlor in the town. He died in Columbus on November 26, 1926. Samuel's mother was born in Switzerland on August 11, 1849, and died in Columbus on March 12, 1923.

He had one brother and two sisters: Henry, Jr.; Rose, Mrs. Phillip Smith; and Emily, Mrs. August Merz, deceased.

Samuel attended the Columbus grade school, and the Columbus High School. Following that, he worked with his father and brother in the Henry Gass and Company Undertaking and Furniture business.

In 1922, when his father, Henry Gass, Sr., retired from the business, Samuel and his brother, Henry, Jr., bought the interests of Henry Gass and Company. In August, 1923, Samuel purchased the interest of Henry Gass, Jr. In 1924, Henry, Jr. opened a new funeral home on Twenty-fifth Avenue, and in February, 1925, he bought the funeral business of the Henry Gass and Company founded by his father.

Samuel continued in the management and ownership of the Gass furniture business at 2415 Thirteenth Street until 1945. This firm, at that time, was one of the oldest businesses in Columbus, it had been in operation from 1870.

On September 20, 1905, at Schuyler, Nebraska, Samuel Gass was married to Winifred L. Higgins, the daughter of Patrick M. and Mary Elizabeth Sloan Higgins. Mr. Higgins, a farmer, was born on March 19, 1846, in Ireland, and died on April 12, 1895, at Schuyler. Mrs. Higgins was born on December 7, 1852, in Virginia, and died on February 13, 1907, at Schuyler.


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The History of Platte County Nebraska

Winifred Higgins Gass had four brothers and six sisters. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Gass had three children: Charles Samuel, Eola Elizabeth, and Mary Katherine.

Charles Samuel was born in 1907. He was graduated from Kramer High School in Columbus and from the University of Notre Dame, where he received his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1930. He then went to Los Angeles, California, where he became associated with a law firm.

Eola Elizabeth Gass was graduated from the Sacred Heart Convent, at Duchesne. She attended the University of California at Los Angeles as a freshman, and was graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. She was affiliated with the Delta Gamma Sorority and belongs to the Los Angeles alumnae group. She has been engaged as a private secretary in Los Angeles.

Mary Katherine Gass attended the St. Bonaventure grade school and was graduated from Kramer High School. She went to Duchesne University, in Omaha, for her freshman year in college, to St. Mary of the Woods College, at Terre Haute, Indiana, for her sophomore year, and was graduated from the University of Nebraska, with the Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. She is a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority. Following her graduation she worked for the government and as a private secretary in Omaha and in Los Angeles.

Samuel Gass has traveled extensively in the United States. He is a member of the B.P.O.E, (Elks) and politically is affiliated with the Democratic Party.

CHARLES SAMUEL GASS

Charles Samuel Gass, the son of Samuel and Winifred L. Higgins Gass, was born in Columbus, Nebraska, November 13, 1907. His father was born in Columbus. Charles Samuel has two sisters: Eola Elizabeth and Mary Katherine.

He attended the Columbus grade school, and the St. Bonaventure grade school. He was graduated from the Columbus High School in 1925, and from the University of Notre Dame, at South Bend, Indiana, in 1930, at which time he received his Bachelor of Laws degree.

Following his graduation, he started the practice of law in Los Angeles, California. For the past several years he has been associated with the law firm of Bodkin, Breslin, and Luddy, of Los Angeles, where he has done outstanding legal work.

During World War II, Charles Gass served from 1942-1946 with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with headquarters in Washington, D.C.

His hobbies are sports and music. He is a member of the B.P.O. Elks in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and the Notre Dame Club. He holds memberships in the American Bar Association, the California Bar Association, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Charles S. Gass is a member of the Catholic Church. Politically, he is affiliated with the Democratic Party.

HENRY GASS, JR.

Henry Gass, Jr., son of Henry and Elizabeth Schmid Gass, was born October 2, 1879, in Columbus. His father, a cabinet-maker, was born May 13, 1844. Henry Jr., had one brother, Samuel, and two sisters: Rose, Mrs. Phillip Smith; and Emily, Mrs. August Merz, deceased.

Henry Gass, Sr., immigrated to the United States on June 5, 1868, and came to Platte County in 1870. A few years later, Mr. Gass began making coffins and branched out into a furniture store and funeral home, the first in Columbus.

Henry, Jr., attended the Columbus schools and then became associated in the Henry Gass and Company with his father and his brother, Samuel.

In August, 1923, Henry Gass, Jr., old his interest in the Henry Gass and Company to his brother, Samuel, and in October of the same year, Henry purchased a lot and started the construction of a new funeral home, at 1263 Twenty-fifth Avenue. The modern funeral establishment was opened in March, 1924. In February, 1925, he purchased the funeral business of the Henry Gass and Company from his brother, Samuel, and the Gass firm was then incorporated by Henry, Jr., and his cousin, Christie Gass, as owners and operators. Christie Gass is deceased. William F. Haney is now associated with Henry Gass in the business. Through the years, the Gass Funeral Home has continued as one of the finest funeral homes in this section of the country.

On August 9, 1904, at Colorado Springs, Colorado, Henry Gass, Jr., married Sophia Kaufmann, daughter of John E. and Augusta Gradowski Kaufmann. Mr. Kaufmann, a lumberman, was born in Germany, June 9, 1850, and died on October 17, 1928, in Columbus. Mrs. Kaufmann was born in Germany and died in Columbus on August 17, 1908. Sophia Kaufmann Gass had three brothers and three sisters.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gass, Jr., had two children: Dorothy, the widow of Lawrence D. Parrett; and Marjorie, married to William Francis Haney. Both Dorothy and Marjorie were graduated from Columbus High School and the University of Nebraska. Marjorie also attended Stephens College.

Henry Gass holds membership in the B.P.O.E. (Elks), the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Rotary Club, and the Columbus Fire Department. His hobbies are baseball, football, golf and music.

The Henry Gass family are Lutherans. Politically, Mr. Gass is affiliated with the Democratic Party.

SAMUEL GASS

Samuel Gass, son of Christian and Anna Giesin Gass, was born in Anveil, Canton Basel, Switzerland, on June 3, 1854, and died in Columbus on June 2!, 1928. His parents were natives of Switzerland, where his father was a farmer. Samuel was a brother of Henry Gass, Sr., of Columbus.

Samuel attended the village schools in Switzerland and at the age of sixteen, learned the cooper's trade.


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