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GAGE COUNTY
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age, that of the father being eighty-five years, and of the mother eighty-four years. They are members of the Church of England, and are esteemed and honored people wherever they are known.

Our subject is the youngest but one of a family of six sons and five daughters, of whom four sons and all the daughters are living; three of the sons are residents of the United States. Joseph Cambridge, a brother of our subject, is a resident of Lincoln Township, this county, and is further mentioned in this collection of sketches. Our subject remained in his native county until he was nineteen years old, having received an English common-school education, which is a very thorough one in all the elementary branches of learning, and at the age of nineteen he started out alone for America. After the long voyage, which must have seemed very tiresome to him in his condition without friends and compelled to supply their places by making acquaintance with the companions of the voyage, he landed in New York City, and thence went to Michigan. He made his home in Saline, Washtenaw County, at which place he began to earn his livelihood as a farm laborer, and continued there for three years.

When our subject left Saline he moved to Missouri and there was married, in Atchison County, on the 27th of December, 1875, to Miss Susanna Ward, who was born in Woodford County, Ill., on the 21st of March, 1853. She grew to womanhood in her native county under the shelter of her father's rooftree, and received a good common-school education, at the age of twenty-two years moving to Missouri, where a little later she was married to our subject. Her father, Charles Ward, is a native of Lincolnshire, England, where he grew to manhood and married Miss Catherine Bainbridge, also a native of Lincolnshire, and together they came to the United States about the time when the forties were ready to give place to the fifties. They are now living in Jefferson County, this State, engaged in farming, having come in the spring of 1885.

 After our subject was married he located on a farm in Atchison County, Mo., which was their home until they came to this county in 1880, since which time they have proved themselves valuable members of society, and are warmly esteemed by the people of their community. They have not yet identified themselves with any religious denomination, but are consistent Christian people, and hear unblemished reputations. Mr. Cambridge is an ardent Republican, and has held some of the offices in the gift of the people of his township. He and his wife are the happy and indulgent parents of five children, named Albert, Eliza E., Minnie O., George F. and Grace, who have brought much sunshine to the household, it having been darkened by but one cloud, which was caused by the death of Charles W. when only a few months old.

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Letter/label or doddleACOB BACHLE has been a resident of this county since 1875, and as he has always been engaged in agriculture, he has successfully managed his farm on section 16, Lincoln Township, and has brought it to a splendid state of improvement. He has lived on his present place since 1881, and previous to his residence in this county he lived for four years in Logan County, Ill., where he was engaged for two years in farming and two years in general labor. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, on the 16th of August, 1842, and when he was about twenty-eight years old he left his native country to try his fortunes in America, immediately upon his arrival locating in Logan County. Ill. His father, Bartel Bachle, was a Bavarian farmer, and spent the whole time of his life in his native country, his death occurring in 1881, when he was seventy-two years old. He had married a German lady named Mary Ulrich, and she died Sept. 7, 1888, in Bavaria, aged seventy-seven years. Our subject is the sixth child of a family of eight, three sons and five daughters, one of the latter now deceased.

In 1870 Mr. Bachle landed in New York City, having just completed the long ocean voyage, and three years later he was married in the county in which he had taken up his residence to Miss Kate Raeder. She was born in France, on the 7th of November, 1849, and when she was twenty-one years old she had come with her parents to America. They first settled in Logan County, Ill., but since the marriage of their daughter with our sub-

 

 

   

 

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ject the parents have come to Nebraska, and now make their home in Lincoln Township, where they have made many warm friends, By their marriage our subject and his wife are parents of five children, all of whom are yet living at home, enjoying the solicitous care of their parents, and bear the following names: Albert, Fred, John, Edward and Charles.

Since his residence on his present farm our subject has made many noticeable improvements, which add to the appearance as well as the utility of the place, among which may be noted the attractive and substantial house, and the commodious barns and general farm buildings, fences, etc., all of which speak of the industry and thrift of a well-informed and careful manager. Our subject is non-partisan in politics, preferring to lend his influence to the election of honest and honorable men, irrespective of party, rather than uphold an organization of whose principles he cannot approve. He is well known as a man of strict integrity and honorable business principles, and is well liked for his social qualifications Mrs. Bachle is a member of the Catholic Church, at Beatrice. In religious belief Mr. Bachle is liberal.

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Letter/label or doddleBADIAH B. ALLINGTON. The subject of this sketch is another link in the chain of evidence of the fact that the West is largely the offspring of the East, that its progress and development are due to Eastern energies, intelligence and indomitable perseverance. He was born in Bellona, Yates Co., N. Y., Feb. 26, 1859, and is the son of Daniel K. and Emma E. (Coffin) Allington. He was the only child born to his parents, who upon their marriage settled in New York and there brought up the little one given them. The father died there on the 2d of December, 1859, and the mother came to Gage County with our subject on the 8th of March, 1879, and still resides with him.

 The burden of the family falling upon the shoulders of the widowed mother, was taken up with all the heroic bravery with which womanhood, and more especially motherhood, is endowed, and the fact that our subject has attained to the success he has, demonstrates the manner in which the mother bore the burden and met the obligation. Our subject received a fair English education, and afterward engaged in farming in New York State. In March of 1879 he came to Nebraska and located on the Big Blue River, about one mile east of his present farm, to which he removed in 1882. It will have been noted that he attained his twentieth birthday only a few weeks prior to his coming to Nebraska, and is still quite a young man. In view of the past, and the possibilities of the present outlook, it were safe to predicate that the biography of our subject will contain after a few years a record of success most brilliant and satisfactory.

On the 19th of January, 1882, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Mary Roderick, the estimable daughter of John M. and Susannah Roderick, of Gage County, Neb., but natives of Pennsylvania. Their daughter Mary was born in Green County. Wis., Jan. 22, 1866, and until her marriage her home was with her parents. For further details regarding this interesting family the reader is referred to the sketch of Mr. Roderick, which appears upon another page. There have been born to our subject and wife two children, viz: Susie E., who was born on the 23d of April, 1884, and Frank D., on the 20th of March, 1886.

The farm of Mr. Allington comprises 160 acres, and is situated on section 25 of Riverside Township. When he took possession of the land in 1882 it was in nowise distinguishable, excepting by the stakes that marked it out from the surrounding prairie, but our subject went to work, bringing into requisition every particle of knowledge or experience ever obtained by him, and backed it with all the restless energy and magnificent strength of his young manhood. His mistakes he made stepping-stones to ultimate success; his failures he examined until he found their cause, with the determination that they should find no repetition. Thus he has struggled manfully on, and every succeeding year has found him stronger and better able to cope with the exigencies of life in a new country. The entire farm is either in a good state of cultivation or in pasture. He has provided substantially built granary, barn, corn crib, stabling, etc., and his residence would do credit to a much older, more

 

 

   

 

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experienced and wealthier man. Our subject contemplates the erection in the near future of a new barn, which has been rendered necessary by various extensions in other departments, and from the preparations made to effect this, it is certain to be accomplished, and he will then be the owner of one of the finest and most complete in its adaptability and convenience in the county.

Our subject's wife is connected with the Baptist Church, while his mother is a member of the Methodist communion. This lady is a daughter of Alva and Elizabeth (Fowle) Coffin, who were natives of New York. Her mother died in Yates County, N. Y., in 1836; the father married Harriet Allington the following year, who proved a second mother to his child. Both our subject and wife receive the heartiest respect of the community. which admires the manly pluck, energy and goaheaditiveness of Mr. Allington, no less than the many estimable womanly qualities of his wife. In questions connected with the political economy of the country, and the various issues arising from the same, our subject stands with the Democratic party, and has done so since he has been a voter.

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Letter/label or doddleRS. FANNY HARDY is an estimable and exemplary Christian lady, who has twice suffered the bereavement of an affectionate and devoted companion, and is now making her home in Island Grove Township. She was born in Nottinghamshire, England, Dec. 21, 1826, and is a daughter of Thomas Wilkenson. His wife's maiden name was Cosens; both were born in Nottinghamshire, England. In the year 1851 she was united in marriage with Mr. Thomas Wakefield, who was also born in Nottinghamshire, and whose ancestors were residents of England. They came to America, and for a time made their home in New York, and in 1852 they moved to Chicago, where they lived but one month, when Mr. Wakefield died. Of this marriage there were five children, but two of whom are now living: Caroline, the wife of John Thompson, resides in Iowa; Mary Ann, the wife of Chambers Adams, resides in Illinois.

 In 1854 our subject was united in marriage with Mr. Richard Hardy, who was born in Linolnshire, England, in June, 1826. He lived in his native country for twenty-five years, after which he came to America and made his home in New York, where he remained two years. He then went to Whiteside County, Ill., where he lived for twenty-five years, and in 1874 he came to this county, making his home in Island Grove Township until the time of his death, in 1875. By this marriage they had a family of eleven children, six of whom are now living, and are mentioned as follows: George G. resides in Logan County, Kan.; Isaac W. is in Island Grove Township. Fannie M. married William Reed, and resides in Island Grove Township; Jane A. is the wife of George Gallagher, of whom a sketch is appended: Arabella E. is the wife of Henry Wookey, of Rawlins County, Kan.; Richard D. remains unmarried, and resides in Island Grove Township. Mrs. Hardy is an esteemed member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Blue Springs, and is leading a life of patient resignation, devoting herself to her children and their happiness.

The second daughter of our subject, Jane A., is the wife of George Gallagher, a well-known farmer residing on section 7 of the same township in which our subject resides. His father, Patrick Gallagher, was born in Ireland, and his mother, Ann (Harris) Gallagher, was a native of England. Both the father and mother came to America while single, and their marriage occurred in this country. They have a family of eight children, of whom Mr. Gallagher is the fourth child, and was born in St. Claire, Mich., on the 22d of March, 1850. When he was fourteen years old he began to work on a farm near Kingston, DeKalb Co., Ill., where he remained for eight years, and at times engaged in work as a carpenter. In 1871 he came to this State and made his home in Johnson County, where he was married to Elizabeth F. Bates. She was a native of England, and after her marriage became the mother of one child, who died in 1879, her own death occurring in the following year, 1880.

In 1883 Mr. Gallagher married the daughter of Richard and Fanny Hardy, who was born in Whiteside County, Ill., Aug. 22, 1865. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., of Blue Springs Lodge No. 84, and has served as a member of the School Board

 

 

   

 

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for some time. He is a Republican in politics, and is interested in the political as well as the educational affairs of his township. During the first years of his residence here he experienced some hardships and met with some misfortunes, but now those trying times are past, and he is well and comfortably situated on his farm, enjoying the confidence and esteem of the residents of the community.

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Letter/label or doddleRED KRACKE is the owner of a beautiful and highly cultivated farming property of 210 acres, which is situated partly in Grant and partly in Clatonia Township, on sections 31 and 6. This property became our subject's in the spring of 1879, since when he has continued most industriously engaged in the work of its improvement, working assiduously and constantly. He has supplied his farm with a very fine set of farm buildings, such as are usual, and for a property of this description, a daily necessity. These are substantially built, well arranged, and excellent in their adaptation to the various requirements for which they were built.

Our subject obtained his land by purchase at different times, and from a small beginning has worked his way gradually--some might even think, slowly--but nevertheless surely, from a sphere limited and circumscribed in possession and opportunity, to that it is his pleasure today to occupy. His previous home had been in Jackson County, Iowa, for the nine years immediately preceding. To that place he had come from his German home, having been born in Hanover, in the German Empire, upon the 23d of December, 1853.

 In his native country the subject of our sketch was educated and brought up. He continued to live with his parents until he was sixteen years of age, then, leaving his parents (they consenting to the change), he, with heart though sad in taking what might prove the last farewell, yet fired by the high hope and inspiring ambition which is the very soul of young manhood, took ship for the New World, in due time set foot upon American soil, and began life for himself. Going to Jackson County, Iowa, he speedily found work upon a farm and began his labor, with which he was fully familiar, although in some details work was performed differently from what he had been used.

The marriage of our subject was observed with éclat and amid most pleasurable congratulations in Clatonia Township, March 12, 1884. The maiden of his choice, who has so completed the happiness of his life, Ellen Meyer, was born in Hanover, in Germany, in the year 1866. She came to this country and State directly from her Hanoverian home in the year 1882, and has since continued to make it her place of residence. She is now the happy mother of three bright, healthy little ones, who have received the names: Benjamin, Lena and Fred.

In the Lutheran Church, in which they were early brought by baptism and confirmation, Mr. and Mrs. Kracke have always made their religious home, continuing devotedly attached to its creed and services. In matters political our subject has espoused the cause of the Republican party, and usually votes its ticket. He has drunk deeply at the spring of American liberty and independence, and is thoroughly imbued with the spirit of her citizens. He is progressive, wide-awake and enterprising, of strict honor and upright character, a worthy representative of a worthy people, the German-American citizen.

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Letter/label or doddleOSIAH A. SPEER is an energetic young farmer residing on section 34, Island Grove Township, and although he has been a resident of this county but three years he is building up a splendid home and gaining a reputation for industry and integrity. His father, John Speer, was born in County Monaghan, Ireland. He was quite a small boy when he came to America, and made his home in Jo Daviess County, Ill. There he met Miss Mary Moore, whom he afterward made his wife. Both are now living in the same county in which they began life together, and they have reared a family of eight children, seven of whom are now living. The father has been engaged in farming and dealing in stock.

Our subject was born in Jo Daviess County, Ill.,

 

 

   

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