sons and six daughters, and Mrs. S. remained a member of the parental household until her marriage.
   To our subject and his estimable wife there have been born six children, one of whom, a son, Herbert, died in infancy. The survivors are Mattie, Henry, Trinn, Herman and Melanie Rose. The eldest is twelve years of age and the youngest fifteen months. and they are all at home will their parents, forming an interesting group of which the latter may well be proud. Mr. Scharp has been a prominent man in his community, looked up to by his neighbors, and respected by all who know him. He votes the straight Republican ticket, hot has carefully avoided the responsibilities of office, preferring to devote his time and attention to his farming interests. From a modest beginning he has accumulated a good property, the result of his own industry and perseverance, he being from the first dependent upon his own resources.

 W. GILMAN, engaged in a prosperous drug business in Talmage, also deals in all kinds of stationery, silverware, jewelry, etc., and by his straightforward methods of doing business is in the enjoyment of a good patronage. He established in business here in June, 1885, and carries a full line of the articles pertaining thereto. He is one of the younger business men of the community, and bids sure to occupy a prominent position in the near future.
   Mr. Gilman is a true Westerner, having been born on the sunset side of the Mississippi, on the Platte River, at Cottonwood Springs, Oct. 27, 1862. He was one of the first white children claiming their nativity in Nebraska, his early home being only fifteen miles from Ft. McPherson, where the great conflict with the Sioux Indians took place in 1865. His father, J. K. Gilman, operated a ranch and a freight line from Nebraska City to Ft. McPherson, and lost during the Indian raids several thousand dollars' worth of cattle and mules. In addition to his other interests he was for it time in the employ of the Government, and also filled a contract of getting out ties for the Union Pacific Railroad Company. He dealt largely with the Indians, and his intercourse with them was tempered with such good judgment that they became very friendly to him, and he acquired a perfect knowledge of their language, as also did his family, being able to speak it fluently. This was a great advantage to him, and after the general raids spoken of, the Indians never molested him or his family.
   The father of our subject, with his estimable wife, was on the plains a period of four years, during which time their son G. W. was born. He wore for his first suit a pretty buckskin outfit, which was made for him by an Indian squaw, and which he preserves to this day. It is hardly necessary to say that it is looked upon by his children and friends with a great deal of interest. The elder Gilman finally decided to return to the bounds of civilization with his family, and placing them in safety in Nebraska City, he again went to the frontier with S. F. Nuckolls, one of the prominent pioneers of the State, and they began mining in the Wahsatch Mountains, in Utah Territory, remaining in that region for a period of eight years. Instead of getting rich, however, Mr. Gilman lost largely, like many others at that time. In 1876, in company with Robert Hauke of Nebraska City, he went to Dakota, and became the owner of thirteen acres of land, upon which is located the city of Deadwood. For some years he also owned two of the principal stores there, and the property was the subject of an extended litigation in which Mr. Gilman and his friend, Mr. Hauke, as plaintiffs, won their case each time, although necessarily at great expense.
   The father of our subject this time met with some success as a miner, then returned to Nebraska City, and not long afterward was seized with the fatal illness which terminated his life, Jan. 21, 1887. His was a very checkered career, and one in which he saw much of the world and men. He was born at the foot of Mt. Washington, in New Hampshire, July 3, 1829, and came of an old and highly respected New England family. During his younger years he frequently served as a guide for visitors to Mt. Washington, which then as now was a popular summer resort. At the age of fifteen years he was given a Government position as engineer on the dry docks, at Pensacola, Fla., and thus early in

life gained a good knowledge of general business. He was driven from Florida on account of the yellow fever, taking passage on a lumber vessel, which was wrecked a few days later off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and he, with one of his companions, floated for three days on a piece of the wreck, and were picked up half starved and nearly exhausted. During this time they had saved a little flour, which they wet, and dried in the sun, and ate to keep life within them. Upon being rescued young Gilman sought his old home in New Hampshire, and remained there until reaching his majority, when he came to Nebraska.
   The mother of our subject was in her girlhood Miss Martha Fitchie, a notice of whose family will be found in the sketch of William Campbell, on another page in this volume. She survives her husband, and is now a resident of Nebraska City. She was a true pioneer wife and mother, a woman of more than ordinary intelligence and force of character, and amply fitted to battle with the difficulties of the varied career which she shared with her husband.
   The subject of this sketch received his education in the schools of Nebraska City, and entered upon his business career as clerk in the drug store of Sloan & Baker, with whom he remained three years, and subsequently was with James Reed for the same length of time. His wife was formerly Miss Grace E. Gregory, and a sketch of her family will be found in the biography of S. C. Gregory, elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Gilman, as a citizen, is public-spirited and liberal, and politically, votes with the Democratic party.

ASIL E. NEWTON, who is filling the honorable and responsible position of editor of the Palmyra Pilot, and in that relation is widely known throughout the county and even beyond its borders, is the worthy son of Benjamin H. and Amanda C. (Edmondson) Newton, who were natives of Ft. Smith, Ark., and Dalton, Ga., respectively. The Newton family is not altogether unknown in history; the early representatives of this family came from France and settled in Louisiana in Colonial days. The father of our subject was a General and served on Wheeler's staff, in the Confederate Army, also under Longstreet at Chickamauga, and under Joe Johnston at the surrender of that General after the war was practically closed by the action of Gen. Lee. The maternal side of the family represented the Unionists, and their sentiments and feelings were very strong in that direction. Upon the announcement of the secession every house in Spring Place, except James Edmundson's, was brilliantly illuminated, and nothing but his high position and vast wealth prevented his being invited to take hasty leave. This gentleman, who was the grandfather of our subject, served as a State Senator for a number of terms, and was eighty-seven years of age when he died.
   The subject of our sketch was born on the 3d of January, 1865, at Ft. Valley, Ga. He attended the public schools of Arkansas, whither the family had removed, beginning to attend the classes when about five years of age. At the time of the death of his father the family were in good circumstances, thanks to his business enterprise and forethought, but in order to give her son every advantage and benefit in the line of education the mother began to teach school. At the age of thirteen years our subject entered Hiwassee College, East Tennessee, and by diligent study was advanced to the head of his class, which position he retained almost until he was graduated, which he did with the class of '80, upon which occasion he filled admirably the position of valedictorian. He engaged as a news agent on the Southern railroads, continuing for about a year, then, in 1881, he came to Nebraska, and settled at Salem, in Richardson County.
   The marriage of our subject was celebrated at Salem, the lady of his choice being Miss Nora White, the daughter of George W. and Katie (Meyers) White. In spite of some opposition at first on the part of the parents incidental chiefly to the age of their daughter, the earnest desire of the young people was carried into effect, and they became one at Salem, Jan. 19, 1886, and with his beautiful young bride of fourteen years of age he came to Palmyra, and bought out Benjamin Saunders, the has since edited owner of the Pilot, which paper he has since edited

in an able manner. That his efforts are appreciated by the community is unquestioned, seeing that the ads, and the general circulation has largely increased, business of the office is a thorough financial success. The political sentiments of our subject are strongly Republican.

OB W. CASSEL. Among the practical, prosperous farmers of Otoe County who are active in sustaining her great agricultural interests, and who were numbered among her pioneers in the early days of her settlement, the subject of this sketch is worthy of more than passing notice. His farm on section 29, Four Mile Precinct, with its well-tilled acres, its commodious, substantial buildings, and many other valuable improvements, is classed among the best in this part of the county.
   Mr. Cassel was born Dec. 7, 1835, in Warren County, Ind., and is a son of the Hon. John Cassel, a noted pioneer of Nebraska. His father was born in Newberry District, S. C., Aug. 14, 1801, his father, the grandfather of our subject, being a native of the same district. The Cassels were of English ancestry, and settled in South Carolina in Colonial times. The grandfather of our subject moved to Kentucky about 1805, and after to Ohio, where he became a pioneer of Warren County. He cleared a farm and resided there until about 1835, when he went to Indiana and settled in Fountain County, of which he remained a resident until his death. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Huffman, and she was also a native of South Carolina.
   The father of our subject was but a boy when his parents moved to Ohio; there he was reared and married, Sarah Thomas becoming his wife in 1827. She was born in Wayne Township, Warren Co., Ohio, her father, Edward Thomas, a native of Pennsylvania, being a Pioneer of that county. The maiden name of his wife, grandmother of subject, was Parmelia Wright. After marriage Mr. Cassel continued to live in Ohio until 1833 or 1834, and then started west with teams and located in Warren County, Ind., as one of its pioneers. He bought a tract of timber land, and in the home that he built up there the subject of this sketch was born. The nearest market for some years was Chicago, 125 miles distance, a small place at that time, and it used to take from ten days to two weeks to make the round trip. On one of these trips he was offered in exchange for his team forty acres of land now included in the city. He did not trade, as the low, swampy land was anything but desirable for agricultural purposes, and the town at that time gave no promise of its present greatness. He cleared his land in Warren County and resided there until 1856, when he sold his farm with the intention of making his future home in the Territory of Nebraska. Gathering together a part of his household effects, he and his wife and their eight children started on the long journey with four wagons and ten horses. Wherever night overtook them they camped and cooked their meals, and in the month of July arrived at Nebraska City. Mr. Cassel bought a claim from a squatter on section 32, of what is now Four Mile Precinct. Ten acres of the land were broken, and with the small frame house, into which the family immediately moved, constituted the improvements on the place. Deer, wild turkeys and other wild animals still lingered in this section, but in the winter following the deer became easy victims in the deep snow that was not crusted hard enough to bear them, and they were nearly exterminated. Mr. Cassel improved a fine farm and was a resident here until his death, which was a great loss to the community, as he was a man of sterling worth and strong character, who identified himself with the best interests of the county. He took part in public affairs, and in 1858 was elected to the Territorial Legislature. He was a firm supporter of the Union cause in the trying times that preceded the war. Mrs. Cassel, who was in every respect worthy of such a husband, now lives with her daughter, Mrs. Thaler, in Palmyra, Neb. She has eight children living, namely: Joseph M., Job W., Parmelia (now the wife of William Thaler), Nancy, William H. H., James, Elijah T. and Edwin W.
   The subject of this sketch was the third child born to his parents, and he was reared in his native county, gaining his education in the pioneer schools of the time, the primitive school-house where some

of his youthful days were passed being built of logs, with rude slab benches for the pupils to sit upon. When not in school he assisted in the farm work, and when his parents removed to Nebraska he went with them, and in the same year took up a claim in the Missouri River bottom and entered it from the Government at the land-office at Nebraska City in 1857. In 1858 he traded that hold for his present homestead on section 29, Four Mile Precinct, adjoining the old homestead. It was a tract of wild prairie land at the time, and the next year he commenced its improvement by breaking quite a tract and planting a grove and orchard. In 1859 he went to the mountains, crossing the plains, and in the fall of 1859 returned and sold his farm, staying here until the spring of 1860, when he again went to the mountains, and the following three years was engaged in mining in different places in Colorado. He subsequently took up the business of freighting from Nebraska City to the mountains, but at the end of a year he again turned his attention to mining, and for nearly two years was thus employed in Virginia City, Mont. After that he returned to Nebraska City, and bought his old place back again with the capital gained in the Rockies, and has been a continuous resident here since. His farm comprises 240 acres of rich, alluvial soil, whose fertility and productiveness are practically inexhaustible.
   Mr. Cassel was married in 1865, to Miss Mary Harmon, and their pleasant household circle is completed by the presence of the four children who have been born of their union, namely: Loan, Wittier N., Albert and John. Mrs. Cassel comes from good old New England stock, and is herself a native of Massachusetts, born in the town of New Marlboro, to Oliver and Dina Melissa (Norton) Harmon. Her father, who was a pioneer of Nebraska, was born in the town of Suffield, Conn., where his father, Alexander Harmon, was engaged in farming for many years; he died in New Marlboro, Mass. The maiden name of his wife, grandmother of Mrs. Cassel, was Mary Hanchett, and she died in Rockford, Ill., at her daughter's. Mrs. Cassel's father was reared on a farm, and after marriage located in New Marlboro, Mass., and later moved to Canaan, Conn., where he bought a farm, which he managed successfully until 1855. In that year he sold all his property in Connecticut and bought a farm in Aurora, Ill., which was one mile south of and is now included within the city limits. He resided there until 1862, and then started with his wife and three children for the Territory of Nebraska, with two wagons and one carriage, bringing a small part of his household goods. After traveling twenty-one days they arrived at Nebraska City, and Mr. Harmon bought the southwest quarter of section 27, Four Mile Precinct. The improvements consisted of sixty acres of broken land and a log house, and on that place he made his home until his death, Dec. 19, 1874. In the meantime he had added to his landed estates until he possessed 320 acres, besides a tract of 160 acres in Palmyra. Mr. Harmon was a well-educated man, and used to teach in his younger days. He was an extensive reader, and at one time edited the agricultural department of the Nebraska City Press. He was twice married; his first wife, the mother of Mrs. Cassel, died in Massachusetts, her native State, in 1850. His second wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Aldrich, died in Cedar Rapids, lowa, a few years after her husband's death. There were two children by the first marriage and one child by the second.
   Mr. and Mrs. Cassel are conscientious members of the Baptist Church. They are true Christians, happy in their family relations, kind and helpful toward their neighbors, and those who have been unfortunate, or are in need, never appeal in vain to them for sympathy and assistance. Mr. Cassel takes a lively interest in the political questions Of the day, and uses his influence to promote the interests of the Republican party, of which he is a stanch advocate.

ENRY VOLLMAN, a farmer of Otoe Precinct, in good circumstances, first set foot upon the soil of Nebraska July 26. 1856, eleven years before its admittance into the Union as a State. He consequently ranks among its earliest pioneers. and has contributed his quota toward the development of one of its most prosper-

ous counties. His property embraces 140 acres on the southwest quarter of section 6, where he has instituted fair improvements, and brought his land to a good state of cultivation. He is a self-made man in the broadest sense of the term. In his youth he had the advantage of a common-school education, and by his own efforts has improved himself mentally by a course of general reading, and as a penman he is especially fine. He has been a close observer of men and things, and has embraced every opportunity to keep himself posted upon matters of general interest to the thinking man. Among the industries our subject is both carpenter and farmer, receiving his early instructions from his excellent father, who was a mechanic and a builder of good repute.
   Our subject was born on the 4th of February, 1830, near the city of Frankfort, in the Province of Hesse-Cassel, Germany, and was the elder of a family of two children only, the younger being his sister Elizabeth, who is now the wife of John Schmidt, and they live in Louisville, Ky. Our subject was named after his father and his sister after his mother. They also were of German birth and ancestry, and the latter died when her son Henry was about six years old. The father was married a second time, and of this union there were born four children, two of whom are deceased; the others emigrated to America, and are now residents of Indiana and Louisville, Ky., respectively.
   In the spring of 1855 the family emigrated to America, settling in Louisville, Ky., to which city Henry, our subject, had preceded them in the year 1853. There the father followed his trade, and lived to the advanced age of seventy-three years, his death taking place in 1873. Henry, Jr., served an apprenticeship of four years at the carpenter's trade, and was a young man twenty-three years old when he came to America. He left Louisville in 1855, and crossing the Mississippi, took up his residence in St. Joseph, Mo., where he followed his trade of carpenter, and from there went to Savannah, Mo., where he learned cabinet-making, and where he lived until coming to the Territory of Nebraska.
   Our subject, upon crossing the Missouri, in July, 1856, located in the embryo town of Nebraska City, still pursuing his trade of carpenter, and invested his surplus capital in 140 acres of Government land, for which he paid $1.25 per acre. Here he was married two years later to Miss Ursula Schindler, who was born in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland. and is the daughter of Jacob and Anna (Zwecke) Schindler, who were natives of the same canton (For her parents' history see biography of her brother, Deitrich Schindler.) Mrs. V. came to America in 1857, with her father and two stepbrothers. Her father's family consisted of six children, three of whom are now living. Of her union with our subject there have been born four sons and three daughters, namely: Henry; Anna, who died when twenty-five years old; Edward W., Emil, Henrietta, August and Maggie. Henry is at home with his parents; Anna married Emil Bourlier, and became the mother of one child, a daughter, Ilia Anna, who is now living with her grandparents, the mother having died May 25, 1885. The remaining children are single and living at home.
   The Vollmann residence is a neat and tasteful structure, one and one-half stories in height, and adjacent is a well-built barn and other accessories of a well-ordered homestead. Mr. V. has planted fruit and shade trees, and gathered about himself and his family many comforts. He votes the straight Republican ticket, but has never sought the responsibilities of office. His residence is situated within a stone's throw of the station of Paul, on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, the road passing through a portion of his farm. Its close proximity to the railroad renders his farm more valuable.

OUIS SCHACHT. This very prominent German farmer and wealthy citizen of Osage Precinct is, perhaps, the most widely and favorably known of any man along the southern line of Otoe County. He is the owner of 760 acres of valuable land, and is extensively engaged in stock-raising, breeding cattle, horses, mules and swine. Notwithstanding his extensive personal interests, he is more than ordinarily public-spirited and liberal, warmly interested in the establishment and maintenance of schools and churches, and all

the institutions which will tend to elevate the people. He gives liberally to religious organizations, and deeded two acres of land to one of the districts for a school building and grounds. This is only one example of his generosity, as he is the man to whom the citizens first apply for assistance when any enterprise is set on foot calculated to be of general good to the community.
   Equal in goodness with her husband, and blessed with an abundance of sound common sense, is the wife of our subject, who presides with grace and dignity over his domestic affairs, and encourages him to every worthy ambition. Mrs. Schacht, although not having been a resident of the United States a very long period, has learned the English language very readily, and adapted herself rapidly to the customs of the people around her. Their home is one of the most attractive spots in the landscape of this region. The residence is tasteful and commodious, and the barns and out-buildings fully in keeping with the requirements of the progressive agriculturist. The premises are well kept, good order and cleanliness seeming to be the paramount objects. The well-fed stock ranging, over the broad fields forms a most pleasing picture, and the air of comfort and abundant means at once strikes the beholder with admiration.
   The subject of this sketch was born in the Province of Westphalia, Prussia, on the 4th of June, 1846, and is one of the younger sons of Christof and Wilhelmina (Brune) Schacht, who were natives of the same locality, and of pure German ancestry. The father was born in 1797, and when a youth of eighteen years entered the German army and fought under Frederick William III against the first Napoleon. At the close of the war he returned to the occupations of farm life, became an extensive land-owner, and spent the remainder of his days in his native Province. He lived to the advanced age of eighty- five years, and died in March, 1882. He had survived his estimable wife a period of fourteen years, her death having taken place in 1868, when she was fifty-five years old. A more extended notice of the family will be found in the sketch of William Schacht, a brother of our subject, on another page in this ALBUM.
   The boyhood and youth of Mr. Schacht were spent under the parental roof, and in common with the youth of Germany he was given an excellent education. He was bright and ambitious to learn, and later attended the evening schools. At the age of eighteen years, desirous of something better than the prospect held out to him in his native land, and also believing a change of climate would be beneficial to his somewhat impaired health, he resolved to emigrate to the New World. Setting sail from the port of Bremen on the steamer "Maine," in the spring of 1864, he landed in New York City three weeks later, after a very stormy passage. Thence by rail he made his way to Franklin County, Mo., and a year later came by steamer to Nebraska City. Thence migrating to the southwestern part of the county, and being pleased with the face of the country, he purchased 200 acres of land, which is now included in his present homestead. It was then a tract of wild prairie, not a foot of which had been disturbed by the plowshare. Mr. Schacht at once set about the improvement of his property. devoting ten acres to the planting of groves, set out an orchard of 600 apple trees, together with the smaller fruit trees, and gradually erected the buildings required for his comfort and convenience. In due time he invested his surplus capital in additional land, 240 acres of which is in McWilliams Precinct. The balance is in Osage and Johnson Counties, Neb. He superintends the operations of the home farm and leases his other land.
   In the winter of 1872 Mr. Schacht, desirous of seeing his aged father, crossed the Atlantic, and spent twenty-six weeks among the friends of his boyhood and youth. This visit was the means of bringing about 100 of his German fellow-citizens to America, who settled mostly in Nebraska. Mr. Schacht has never regretted the day that he set foot upon American soil, and Otoe County has reason to congratulate herself that he located within her borders.
   Mr. Schacht was married in his native Province, June 4, 1878, to Miss Louisa Wellmann, who was born in what was then the Kingdom of Hanover, July 24, 1856. Mrs. Schacht is the daughter of Henry and Louisa (Heitmma) Wellmann, who were natives also of Hanover, and the father a farmer in good circumstances. He, however, was cut down