ada, but they never came into this country. Mr. Robertsan (sic) spent three years at Schuyler, in Colfax county, Nebraska, and then made his way to Scottsbluff county, finding the present busy, prosperous, little city of Gering, a settlement of two log houses and one sod house. Later he homesteaded in Morrill county and pre-empted an entire section of land, all of which he has sold. Mr. Robertson was married at Columbus, Nebraska, to Miss Myrtle May Folnsbee, who was born in Missouri, and they have had children as follows: Mrs. Mary Hays, lives at Mitchell, Nebraska; Harry, lives at Whealand, Wyoming; Mrs. Alta Detrick, lives in Missouri; Robert, a farmer; John, safely returned home from military service in France; Clifford who went to France with the American Expeditionary Force as did his older brother, spent fifteen months in France, and saw hard service, later being attached to the army of occupation in Germany; and Myrtle, who resides at home. Mr. Robertson is an independent voter. LLYN O. McHENRY, one of the leading merchants of Morrill, is distinctly a Nebraska product as he is a native son of Scottsbluff county. Here he was born, here he was reared and educated, here he married, and here he has practically lived his life to the present time. He belongs to a family which is well and favorably known in the county and also the Panhandle and which is highly respected for its contribution to the civic and material welfare and progress of this section of the state. Llyn McHenry was born in Scottsbluff county, May 26, 1891, being the son of Oliver O. and Mary J. (Hall) McHenry, of whom complete mention and portraits appear on other pages of this volume, to whom were born five children: Elizabeth, who married John A. Burton and now lives in California; Matthew H., a resident of Gering; Lucy, who married John M. Springer and now lives in California; Harry H., who resides at Springer, Wyo.; and Llyn 0. Llyn grew up here in his native county, attended the excellent public schools, and thus laid the foundation for his subsequent business career. After his school days were over he accepted a position in the county court house as deputy clerk of the district court, a position which he so ably filled that he remained in office for seven years. The young man, however, had decided that he would enter business independently and with an idea of learning the intricacies of finance first hand, entered the Gering National Bank of Gering, where he was able to gain practical and theoretical knowledge of banking. Two years later, while holding a lucrative and responsible position with this institution Mr. McHenry responded to his country's call for men to enter the army and aid the United States and the Allies to make the world safe for democracy and rid it of the horror of the Hun. After entering the army he was stationed at Fort Logan for a year and a half and after receiving his honorable discharge at the close of hostilities returned to Scottsbluff county. Soon after returning Mr. McHenry formed a partnership with R. B. E. Quick and the two men established the Quick Drug Company at Morrill, Neb. They have a fine store building, excellent and attractive equipment and are able to handle a constantly, growing trade. Mr. McHenry's varied business experiences as well as those in the army supplement the natural ability and qualifications which mark him as an able executive in any line of business, thus he and his partner are conducting successfully an establishment that has varied demands and requires far sight as well as work to keep abreast of the constantly changing demands and wider field. That they are fully able to do this is demonstrated by their gratifying returns financially as well as the ever-increasing clientele which they enjoy. Mr. McHenry is a Republican in politics and though he is the supporter and advocate of every movement for the improvement of Morrill and the surrounding district and in every way lives up to his own high standard of American citizenship he is now far too busy to take an active part in politics, but throws his influence to the man best qualified to serve the county and city. He is a wide reader of the best literature of the day as well as a student of subjects allied with his business and thus keeps abreast of the times and for the firm we predict a prosperous and successful future. On May 29, 1912, Mr. McHenry married Miss Delight Byers, who is also a native of our great commonwealth, born in Washington county, where she was reared and was given the benefit of an excellent education. Mrs. McHenry is a gracious woman of charming personality, who has made many friends in the city of Morrill, where the McHenry home is regarded as one of the most hospitable. Mr. and Mrs. McHenry have one child, Ina Corrine, who is at home. The entire McHenry family are splendid people and well merit the high esteem of their friends and their business associates. Scottsbluff county is the richer by the mere fact that it has such citizens who will hand down to posterity their traditions and high ideals of what true Americans should be. |
ANDREW J. DUNHAM, who is one of Morrill county's substantial farmers and stockmen, is also one who has built up his fortune through individual effort. Left an orphan when five years old, his memories of childhood and early youth have no home setting, and the opportunities that came to better his condition, were those he found for himself. Andrew J. Dunham was born in Mansfield, Connecticut, November 5, 1860, a son of Ephraim and Mary (Little) Dunham. His young mother died when he was born, and his father when the boy was five years old. He was cared for in the city of Windsor, Virginia, but lived in Newhampshire (sic) for the next four years and before starting out on his own account, had some educational training, and lived in Massachusetts and Connecticutt (sic) until at the age of twenty-one years he began working in Minnesota remaining there until 1888, when he came to Box Butte county, Nebraska, and homesteaded near Hemingford and proved up on his one hundred and sixty acres. He lived there for about twenty years and then moved to Morrill county. Here, in 1907 he bought a relinquishment claim of one hundred and sixty acres and subsequently an entire half section of land. He now has four hundred and eighty acres of fine grazing land and feeds fifty head of cattle and one hunred (sic) head of hogs annually, and carries on general farming on his eighty irrigated acres. Mr. Dunham is quite modest over all he has accomplished, but undoubtedly it shows strong character and high principles and Mr. Dunham deserves great credit. Mr. Dunham married Miss Lena Anderson, who was born in Norway, where her parents spent their entire lives. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Dunham, namely: Mrs. Eva Fleheaty, of Bayard, Nebraska; Mrs. Myrtle Ross, of Bayard; Melvin, a farmer in Morrill county; and Verne, Opal, Hattie, Hazel and Anna, all at home. The children have attended school regularly and have been taught to prize an education. Mr. Dunham has been a member, of the town school board for ten years. He is independent in politics. EMMONS C. VIVIAN, who is a representative of one of the old and substantial pioneer families of Morrill county, Nebraska, has spent the greater part of his life here, being a youth of sixteen years when he accompanied his parents to this section. He was born in Cass county, Nebraska, August 24, 1872. The father of Mr. Vivian, Richard Vivian, was born in England, in 1830. In 1844 accompanied by a brother, he took passage in a sailing vessel, which was on the sea for three months before reaching the harbor of New York. During the voyage the brother of Mr. Vivian disappeared and supposedly was accidentally drowned. Richard Vivian was a fine man and it would be interesting to know how the young English boy spent his time before he came to Nebraska, which was prior to 1872. In the meanwhile he was married to Miss Elizabeth Frazier, who was a native of New York. She died in Nebraska, March 10, 1896. They had four children, of whom Emmons Clarkson was the last born. In 1888 Richard Vivian removed from Cass to old Cheyenne, now Morrill county, and took a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres and a tree claim of the same extent. The entire purchase at that time was nothing but wild prairie, but Mr. Vivian lived to see great changes wrought through his industry. At the present time all that land is irrigated and wonderfully productive. Mr. Vivian died in 1911, having been very successful as a farmer and ranchman. Emmons Clarkson Vivian remained with his father and grew to manhood well acquainted with farm and ranch life. In 1897 he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres for himself, under better conditions perhaps, than had attended his father, but under no such favorable opportunities as at present are presented, when the homeseeker, if he has sufficient capital, may possibly secure an irrigated farm that will produce more abundantly than in any other state in the Union. Mr. Vivian's homestead is such a farm, all irrigated and finely improved. Adjoining his farm is the forty-nine acre farm of his wife, also improved and irrigated, and it is upon this tract that the comfortable farm-house stands. In Morrill county, in 1900, Mr. Vivian was united in marriage to Miss Blanche Snider, who was born April 4, 1879, at Kirksville, Missouri. She is a daughter of Albertus and Armilda (Legan) Snider, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in Indiana. They came to Nebraska some thirty years ago and homesteaded near Camp Clark. They now live retired in Idaho. Mr. and Mrs. Vivian have one child, Carol. Mrs. Vivian is a lady of intellectual requirements and has interested herself greatly in the matter of public education. Her work in this direction has been recognized by election to the school board, on which she has served |
faithfully and efficiently for six years. Mr. and Mrs. Vivian are widely known and universally esteemed. ZIBA VALETTE CLEVELAND, who is resident of Bayard, came early to Nebraska and for many years was a substantial farmer. He was born in the state of New York, April 24, 1844. His parents were S. A. and Ruth (Ferris) Cleveland, who spent their lives in New York. Mr. Cleveland's oldest brother died in the Civil War. One brother, I. A. Cleveland, is a retired druggist living in Chicago, and a sister, Mrs. Ida J. Weed, lives in New York. From his native state Mr. Cleveland went to Iowa and bought land on which he followed farming for twenty years. In 1886 he moved to Banner county, Nebraska, homesteaded, pre-empted and secured a tree claim and subsequently proved up on all, when there were but three houses between his homestead and Kimball. He sold out there and in Banner county and moved to near McGrew and from there retired to Bayard. He built the first frame house in Hull precinct and the first school in the precinct was held in his kitchen for three months. Later Mrs. Cleveland taught three terms of school in a sod house. In Iowa, in 1875, Mr. Cleveland was married to Miss Mary Warrington, a daughter of David and Sarah Jane Warrington, the former of whom was born in Indiana and the latter in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland had four sons born to them, namely: Bert, who is a farmer in Scottsbluff county; Ralph, who lives at Spokane, Washington; Lee R., who lives at Bayard; and Roy, who died when aged twenty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland have a very comfortable home at Bayard. He has always been interested in the public schools and has served on school boards for thirty years. He has also been a justice of the peace. In politics he has always been a Republican and has voted for fifty years. He is independent as regards religious beliefs. VERT B. CARGILL, the owner and managing editor of the Western Nebraska Observer, published at Kimball, is one of the most prominent members of the newspaper fraternity of the Panhandle, where he has been located nearly a decade. A journalist in this twentieth century occupies a vantage ground from which great influence extends; he may build up a cause worthy of public support; may lead men to action in state and civic affairs and plays an important part in the development of the section of the country where his paper circulates. Not only the city of Kimball, but Kimball county as a whole has large reason for congratulation that the Observer is in such skilled, safe, sagacious and thoroughly clean hands. It is one of the best general newspapers published in the Panhandle, as well as an outspoken, fair play exponent of the best elements of the Republican party; it is in all respects well worth the care and sound judgment displayed in its columns and reflects credit on the owner-editor, Vert B. Cargill. Mr. Cargill was born in Iowa, July 14, 1884, the son of Ezra C. and Stella E. Cargill, was reared in his native state and received his education in the public schools of Shannon City. Soon after graduating from the high school, the young man entered the employ of the Shannon City Sun, to learn the practical end of the newspaper business. He worked in the printing department from 1900 until the following year, leaving to become associated with the Gravity (Iowa) Independent, where he finished his apprenticeship as printer. Having mastered the trade, Mr. Cargill rose rapidly in the printing business for so young a man and became the foreman of the Coming (Iowa) Free Press in July, 1905. This business connection continued for nearly five years during which time he learned all the varied intricacies of the publishing and newspaper business, became well and favorably known among the publishers of Iowa and in June, 1910, was offered and accepted the position of managing editor of the Afton (Iowa) Star-Enterprise. In July he took charge of that sheet, soon becoming a joint owner of it in partnership with Senator Charles Thomas, of Kent, Iowa. Three years later Mr. Cargill sold his interest in the Star-Enterprise to Mr. O. T. Meyers. After looking over the Nebraska territory, he came to the belief that there was a great future for men of the Panhandle and cast in his lot with this section when he bought the Western Nebraska Observer published at Kimball. Taking over the management of the paper in August of that year, Mr. Cargill has enlarged the original plant, has a good and lucrative job printing business which is run in connection with the paper which today is one of the live, up-to-date, progressive publications of the western half of the state, yielding a strong and wide spread influence in Kimball and adjoining counties, where it plays an important part in the moulding of public opinion. |
Mr. Cargill is one of the progressive men of the middle west who advocates personally as well as editorially all movements that tend to the development of the city and county. He is alert to present to the people the latest and best discoveries in agriculure (sic), irrigation and education thus being a great force for progress. He is a staunch supporter of the tenets of the Republican party and served as county chairman of the Republican County Committee and at all times takes an active part in local politics and affairs. Mr. Cargill is a charter member of the Masonic Lodge No. 294 of Kimball and was Master of the organization from 1917 to 1919. July 31, 1911 Mr. Cargill was united in marriage with Miss Belle M. McElroy, the daughter of Samuel and Mary McElroy, at Corning, Iowa. The McElroy family are of Irish extraction and Mrs. Cargill's parents were born in the Emerald Isle, coming to America many years ago. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cargill: Mary Elzene and Wayne McElroy, seven and five years of age respectively. Since coming to the southwestern part of Nebraska, the Cargill family have made many warm friends in Kimball, where they are progressive and leading residents of a growing and populous city. OSCAR E. FORSLING, sheriff of Kimball county, Nebraska, most efficiently fills an office of danger and importance. As long as unruly elements insist on breaking the law in a community, public officials must be elected to curb them in order to protect the innocent. These officials, in the nature of things, must be men of great personal courage as well as of close discernment and sound judgment Such an official is the sheriff of Kimball county. Oscar E. Forsling was born July 19, 1873, in Sweden. His parents were John and Inga Forsling. Their nine children all reached maturity, the following members beside Oscar R. being well known in this locality: Anna, who married B. A. Norberg, and their son, Ensign Thor Norberg, was an officer at Great Lakes training station, Chicago, during the great war; Alfred, who occupies his ranch situated eight miles west of Kimball; Clarence A., who is a large landowner in Kamball (sic) county, served two terms as county sheriff; Augusta, who married Rev. A. M. Breener, chaplain at Camp Taylor during the World War, they being the parents of three sons in the service, one of whom, Paul, died at Des Moines, a victim of influenza; Frank, who lives at Kimball; and Emma, who is the wife of E. A. Hagstrom, a prominent farmer living six miles from Kimball. In 1883 the parents of Sheriff Forsling came to the United States and for one year afterward the father worked in the Pullman shops at Pullman, Illinois, then came to Nebraska and in 1889 filed on a homestead in Kimball county. Oscar E. Forsling was twelve years old when he accompanied his parents to Kimball county, and grew up on his father's prairie farm. Some fifteen years of his life were spent riding range as a cowboy in Colorado, Wyoming and southern Montana, and thus his thorough knowledge of this western country can scarcely be overestimated, not only having knowledge of the configuration of the country, but of the people, among whom he has hosts of friends. On November 25, 1900, Oscar E. Forsling was united in marriage to Miss Ethel Whitman, who is a daughter of Fred M. and Mary (Francis) Whitman. Sheriff and Mrs. Forsling are members of the Presbyterian church. In politics he has always believed in the principles of the Republican party and has taken a somewhat active part in its councils in Kimball county. After serving six years as deputy county sheriff, he was elected sheriff in the fall of 1907 and is still serving. For a number of years he has been prominent in the fraternal order of Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed all the local chairs and after serving one term as deputy grand chancellor, in 1918 was again elected, and on several occasion has attended the meetings of the Grand Lodge in an official capacity. He belongs also to the order of Modern Woodmen of America. WILLIAM D. ATKINS, one of the prominent and representative men of Kimball county, has spent many useful years in this section, to which he came with his father, March 22, 1889. He was born in Davis county, Iowa, September 2, 1869, son of Peter L. and Delilah Atkins. He has one brother, Dallas K., who lives in Kimball county. William D. Atkins grew up on his father's farm in Davis county and obtained his schooling there. When his father decided to move to Nebraska and secure a homestead, William D. determined on the same course and both father and son proved up on their land in Kimball county. They at first went into the |
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