McPherson is one of the newest counties, having been organized in 1890. It has an area of 1,584 square miles and a population of 517. Tryon is the county seat. Stock raising is the principal occupation, and in 1900 the county live stock was valued at $721,295. The soil is generally sandy, but the valleys in the east contain fertile land. Hay of excellent quality is found in the western valleys, and the hills and high lands offer good grazing for stock. Although a great part of the soil is unfit for cultivation, the county comprises 127 farms. About 2,000 acres are devoted to the growing of corn. There are eleven school districts and 135 children of school age in this county.

      L. C. RENEAU was born April 26, 1865, in Pickett County, Tennessee. His father, B. J. Reneau, was a lumberman and farmer. Mr. Reneau came to Nebraska in 1886, taking a homestead. He has ranching interests in connection with his duties as County Clerk. He was appointed County Clerk in 1895 and has been five times elected to succeed himself.

      FLORA FARROW was born May 22, 1874, at Unity, New Hampshire, where she received her education in the common schools. Her father was a farmer. She came from New Hampshire to Nebraska and has been engaged in teaching. She is now the Superintendent of McPherson County.

      GEORGE H. DALY was born in Great Britain in 1844. His father, Charles Daly, was a piano manufacturer. In 1880 he came from New York to Ohio and five years later settled in Nebraska. He received his education in the common and high schools. Mr. Daly is a member of the Republican party and is serving as Judge of McPherson County. In New York he was a member of the Board of Supervisors and also served as County Judge in Ohio.

 

      The first men to explore this county were, presumably, Herman Braasch and Frederick Wagner, two Germans from Jefferson County, Wisconsin. Headed by Herman Braasch, twenty-four families settled at Norfolk on the 17th day of July, 1866. The most noteworthy men of this settlement were Martin Graasch, Gottlieb Roeke, Charles Ninow, William Rublow and 'William Winter. The first really permanent settler was Capt. O. O. Austin, who settled on Shell Creek, in the southwestern part of the county. In 1876 Hon. Frank Welch of Norfolk was elected a member of Congress. Madison County was organized in 1868 and its present population is 16,976. Norfolk, the largest town, has a population of 3,883, while Madison, the county seat, has a population of 1,479. There are 6,297 school children and seventy-eight school districts in the county. Seventy-eight of the school buildings are frame and eight brick. In twenty-four districts school is held nine months or more, while in fifty-three districts school is held from six to nine months. There are six graded schools, which are supplied with fifty-five teachers. Teachers' salaries have been greatly increased during the last five years. About one-half of the rural schools have added libraries within the last year. Highlands and valleys are of equal extent, covering 80 per cent of the county. Grasses are the principal natural resource, and there are many springs conveniently situated for the watering of stock. The live stock market, which amounted to $1,886,347 in 1900, is largely composed of cattle and hogs. Hay land and the best farm land are equally valuable, selling at $40 to $50 an acre. There are 1,703 farms, which comprise an acreage of 360,679 acres.

      WILLIAM BATES was born in Herefordshire, England, March 4, 1848. In 1867 he came to the United States and remained in

Illinois until 1870, when he removed to Nebraska. In 1871 he located in Madison County, where he has since resided. In 1885 he married Miss Mary B. Kest and they have five children. He is serving his fourth term as County Judge and is a member of the Democratic party. He has held several offices prior to this, such as Village Treasurer and Clerk and Justice of the Peace of Battle Creek, Nebraska.

      CHRISTOPHER SCHAVLAND was born in Stavanger, Norway, August 27, 1866, a son of Ole Schavland, a shipowner and superintendent of a light-house station. In 1886 he came to the United States and located at Newman Grove, Nebraska, where he was a Bank Cashier. He came to Madison in 1896 where he has since resided. He was educated in the Latin School at Stavanger, Norway. Mr. Schavland was married to Miss Bolethe Thomassen in 1888 and they have three children. He is affiliated with the Republican party and was Clerk of the District Court for eight years and is now serving his first term as Treasurer of Madison County.

      EMIL WINTER was born in Norfolk, Nebraska, May 26, 1870. He removed with his parents to Watertown, Wisconsin, and returned to Madison, Nebraska, in 1894. He is a graduate of the Northwestern University of Watertown, Wisconsin. He was married to Miss Augusta Wynhoff of Tripoli, Iowa, in 1895 and they have two daughters. He is affiliated with the Democratic party and has been Deputy Postmaster, Cashier of the Madison State Bank and at present is the Clerk of Madison County. His father came from Watertown, Wisconsin, and settled at what is now Norfolk, Nebraska, in 1866, being one of the earliest settlers.

      C. W. CRUM was born at Independence, Iowa, October 11, 1864, of Dutch parentage. He came to Antelope County, Nebraska, in 1872, where his father took a homestead. In 1881 he removed to Weeping Water, Nebraska, where he was the first student in the academy at that place. He attended this school for two years and later studied law. Then he engaged in the real estate business in Knox County, coming to Norfolk in 1892, where he lived until elected County Superintendent. He has also spent one year at Oberlin College. At the age of eighteen he left home without any schooling and acquired his education since. In 1890 he was married to Miss Harriet Monroe and they have two children. He is now serving his fourth term as County Superintendent.

     J. J. CLEMENTS was born in Iowa County, Iowa, in 1857, where he received his education in the common schools. In 1889 he came to Norfolk, Nebraska, where he has since resided.