as to mark him for other honors. He was admitted to the bar as a lawyer in 1888, and to the District Court of Nebraska in the same year. Success in life has come to him not as a result of chance or some mysterious, unknown cause, but because of his determination and perseverance in whatever he undertook, frequently wresting success from the hand that would have given him only failure. He has built and occupies an excellent, substantially built residence on Fourth avenue, between Eighth and Ninth streets.
   Judge Jones stands in the front rank of active citizens, and holds a prominent position in the various circles of Nebraska City life. He is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, and is affiliated with Western Star Lodge No. 2, and with Keystone Chapter of Royal Arch Masons No. 2. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., and also of Ramplin Lodge No. 331, of the Society of Modern Woodmen, meeting in Nebraska City. Religiously, our subject and wife find their home within the communion of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, he is one of the leaders of the Republican party locally. From 1875 to 1876 he served in the City Council, giving to all excellent and entire satisfaction as a councillor (sic). His connection with the War of the Rebellion was the result of his thorough loyalty and patriotism, and this also makes him an enthusiastic member of the G. A. R. He is allied with the William Baumer Post No. 24, and holds the position of Commander.
   The portrait of Judge Jones is given in connection with this brief sketch of his life.

OHN GAHRKA, a prominent and well-to-do German farmer of Russell Precinct, has labored with more than ordinary success in developing one of the best tracts of land within its borders. He is a self-made man in the truest sense of the word, having been thrown upon his own resources early in life, and forced to make his own way in the world without other assistance than that which his strong hands and resolute will afforded. He was born in what was then the Kingdom of Hanover, Germany, May 2, 1843, and is the son of John and Anna Gahrka, who were of pure German ancestry.
   The father of our subject, who was a laborer by occupation, died in Germany in 1851, when his son John was a lad eight years of age. The mother two years later came with her children to America, and settled in Wisconsin, where she spent the remainder of her days, her death occurring in 1884, when she was seventy-five years old. To the parents there were born three sons and three daughters, the latter of whom all died young. Henry and Richard, the elder and younger brothers of our subject, continue to live in Wisconsin.
   Mr. Gahrka was a lad of ten years when he came to America with his mother, and still remembers many of the incidents of preparation and the long voyage across the ocean. They set sail from the port of Bremen, and landed in New York City, whence they proceeded to Minnesota, and spent the first winter in that State. From there they moved to LaFayette County, Wis., and the mother, with the assistance of her sons, farmed on rented land until 1870. John then purchased forty acres near by, of which he retained possession until the fall of 1882, when he sold out to come to Nebraska.
   Upon his arrival in this county Mr. Gahrka settled upon 160 acres of land in Russell Precinct, which he had previously purchased. This he has transformed from an uncultivated prairie into one of the most desirable homesteads in this region. adding to its extent in 1884 eighty acres adjoining on section 12. He has groves of willow and cottonwood, an orchard of fifty bearing apple trees, and a spring of running water. Of late years he has been engaged mostly in buying and feeding cattle. He is known all over his precinct as a man prompt to meet his obligations, industrious and enterprising. a model farmer and a thoroughly reliable citizen. His career has been one abundantly worthy of imitation.
   In LaFayette County, Wis., our subject met the lady, Miss Dora Windils, who became his wife on the 9th of October. 1875. Mrs. Gahrka is a native of the same Province as her husband, and is his junior by ten years to the very day, her birth occurring May 2, 1853. Henry and Mary (Rinkins) Windils, the parents of Mrs. Gahrka, were also born

in Hanover, where they were reared and married. They also died there in middle life, the father in 1855, and the mother in 1858. Their eldest child, a son, Henry, died when about thirty-five years old; Dora, Mrs. Gahrka, was the second born. Her younger brother, August, is a resident of Nebraska. The three children completed the household circle.
   Mrs. Gahrka in her journey across the Atlantic in 1872 was accompanied by her brother, and after landing in New York proceeded to LaFayette County, Wis., where she lived until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. G. have no children of their own, but are performing the duties of kind parents to an adopted son, John Windeits. Mr. G. uniformly votes with the Democratic party, and in religious matters both he and his excellent wife are members of the German Lutheran Church at North Branch. He is a citizen of whom Otoe County has reason to be proud.

BRAHAM D. VANTINE. The spring of 1857 found the subject of this sketch on his way from Illinois to Nebraska Territory, at which time he secured the land which he now owns and occupies. He, however, did not settle upon it until the spring of 1872, he having in the meantime traveled over various portions of different States. At the time last mentioned he returned to this county and began the improvement and cultivation of his purchase, which is now numbered among the most valuable estates of Wyoming Precinct, and which is pleasantly located on section 5.
   Mr. Vantine makes a specialty of stock-raising, and in the spring of 1888 commenced a neat farm residence which, with its adjacent buildings, forms a very pleasant and attractive home. He has made for himself a good record, and is numbered among the representative men of the county. A native of Westmoreland County, Pa., he was born July 18, 1830, and is a son of Hezekiah Vantine, a native of Holland, and of substantial Dutch ancestry. It is supposed that he emigrated to the United States early in life, and it is known that he was married in Pennsylvania to the mother of our subject, who in her girlhood was Miss Mary Phillips. She as born in Pennsylvania, and was of ancestry similar to that of her husband.
   After marriage the parents of our subject settled on a farm in Allegheny Township, Westmoreland Co., Pa., where the father died in middle life, when his son Abraham D. was a little lad of seven years. Eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, were thus left fatherless. Of these five are yet living, and residents of Pennsylvania. Hezekiah Vantine at the time of his death, about 1837, was fifty-six years of age. The wife and mother survived until 1871, passing her last days at the home in Pennsylvania, and reaching the advanced age of fourscore years. Both parents were United Presbyterians from their youth, excellent and worthy people, who were highly esteemed by all who knew them.
   The subject of this sketch was next to the youngest of his father's family, received a common-school education, and grew to manhood in his native county. He came to Nebraska a single man and in March, 1859, was married, in Wyoming Precinct, to Miss Eliza J. Snell. This lady is a native of the same county as her husband, and born also in Allegheny Township, March 29, 1844. Her parents, Jacob and Eliza (Walters) Snell, were also natives of the Keystone State, of Dutch ancestry on the father's side and of Scotch on the mother's.
   Mr. Snell was a stonemason by trade, and after the birth of six children in Pennsylvania, of whom Mrs. Vantine was the eldest, the Snell family moved to Illinois and located in Rock Island City, where Mr. Snell operated as a contractor for the jail that was then in process of construction, and which is yet standing. From Illinois, in 1857, the Snell family proceeded westward across the Mississippi into the Territory of Nebraska, where the father homesteaded 160 acres on section 4, in Wyoming Precinct. Here he occupied himself as a farmer until 1861, then moved to Denver, Col., where, after a residence of twenty years, the mother died April 25, 1880, at the age of fifty-four years. Mr. Snell has since made his home with his children, and is now seventy years of age.
   Mrs. Vantine passed her eighteenth birthday in this county, but her education was completed in

Illinois. Of her union with our subject there have been born eight children, one of whom, a daughter, Elizabeth. died at the age of five years. John W., the eldest child living. assists his father in the management of the farm; Luella is the wife of John W. James, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume; Sara Littitia, James C., Frank H., Nettie and Harry E. are at home with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Vantine have labored hand in hand in the building up of their homestead, and endured together toil and sacrifice, but are now in the enjoyment of a good home and a competency. Our subject, politically, is a stanch Republican, and as a man and a member of the community has conducted himself in that praiseworthy manner which has secured him the regard of all who know him.

ICHARD A. WHITE is a prominent business man of Nebraska City, where he has been extensively engaged as real-estate and insurance agent. He is a native of Missouri, born about twelve miles from Marshall, the county seat of Saline County, Aug. 28, 1836. He is descended from Virginian ancestry. His father, John A. White, was born in Virginia, near the town of Abingdon, and was there reared and married, Elizabeth Atkins, also a native of the old Dominion, and a daughter of Joseph Atkins, becoming his wife. They moved from their native place to Missouri in 1834, and settled in Saline County, the removal being made with teams. Mr. White became a man of mark among the pioneers of that part of the country, as he was a man of great enterprise, possessing keen foresight, and was well gifted both mentally and physically. He bought 1,000 acres of wild land, the greater part of it prairie, and resided in Saline County until 1838, when he sold his property there and moved to Platte County, Mo., where he bought a tract of timber land one and one-half miles from Platte City. He engaged actively in farming, using slave labor, and tobacco and hemp were the chief products that he raised. In 1843 he disposed of his farm and made another move, Andrew County, Mo., becoming his place of residence. He purchased about 1,500 acres of unimproved land, the greater part of it prairie, and devoted his energies to clearing a large farm, and to raising hemp, corn and other products. St. Louis was the nearest market, and there being no railway then, he used to ship his produce down the river to that city. In 1850, with his son, our subject, and three slaves, he journeyed overland to California, and there they all engaged in mining until the fall of 1851, when they returned home, by way of the Isthmus, New Orleans, Mississippi River, and from St. Louis on the stage to Andrew County. In the following year Mr. White sold his farm in Missouri, and again started for California, accompanied by his family and a colony of his friends and neighbors, with several teams and quite a lot of cattle. He was not destined, however, to reach the land of promise that held such alluring prospects to a man of his temperament and ambition, for when they had traveled over 300 miles from their old home, and were out on the wild, desolate plains, far from any habitation, he was attacked with cholera, and in a few hours the world, with its hopes, its joys and its sorrows, was naught to him, for he had passed from mortality to immortality. Kind and loving hands prepared a burial place for him where he died, and his bereaved family, parting from their friends, left the lone grave on the wild prairies, and, in accordance with the departed father's advice, retraced their way to Missouri, thence to Virginia, the home of their forefathers. They resided there about three years, and then returned to Missouri to settle in Andrew County, and the mother bought a home and lived in Fillmore Village a few years. In 1864 she came to Nebraska City to make her home with her children her remaining days, and died while visiting her daughter in Fairbury, Neb., in 1880. She had married a second time, Benjamin F. Dillon becoming her husband, and they had one child. She had eight children by her first marriage, four of whom grew to maturity.
   Richard White, of whom we write, was reared in his native State until he was fourteen years old. It was at that age that his father took him to California, and to the wide-awake young lad who was naturally fond of change of scene and adventure, this was a great and never-to-be-forgotten event.

He still remembers every incident of the long journey by teams over the plains and mountains, from the time that they started, in the month of April, until their arrival in Hangtown, 100 days later. He can also give a vivid account of life in the rude mining camps of that period. After his return with his father to Missouri, he spent the intervening few months in his old home before they started again for California. After his father's death he returned with his mother and his brothers and sisters to Missouri and to Virginia, and continued to live with them for a time after they had again settled in Missouri. He was married in that State, in August, 1857, to Miss Margaret E. Burns, a native of Clay County, Mo., and a daughter of Jeremiah Burns. They have five children living, namely: John B., Effie, Charles, Lee and Elizabeth.
   In 1863 Mr. White, following in the footsteps of his father, whose energetic and enterprising character he had inherited to a great degree, also became a pioneer. Pushing on to the very frontier of civilization, he located in Colorado, near the present site of Denver, and thus became one of the earliest settlers of that State, which was then a Territory with but very few inhabitants, there being no settlements in the intervening country between that and the Missouri River, excepting on the West Branch of that river, where a few people had located. Mr. White first engaged in stock-raising, and later in freighting across the plains. In 1864 he removed with his family to Nebraska City, making that his headquarters, whence he still continued freighting to the different military posts, and to the mining camps in the mountains until the completion of the Union Pacific Railway in 1867. He then turned his attention to the auction and loan business, continuing in that about eight years. He then opened an office for the purpose of engaging in his present business as an insurance and real-estate agent. In his busy career Mr. White has accumulated a comfortable property, and with the aid of his good wife, he has built up one of the coziest homes in this vicinity.
   Mr. and Mrs. White are stanch members of the Christian Church, and none of their fellow-members are behind them in good works or in the kindness of heart that prompts them to feel charitably toward others. Mr. White belongs to Frontier Lodge No. 3, I. O. O. F., and in his political affiliations he sympathizes with the Democrats, although he was in his earlier years a Whig.

ERMAN M. FRERICHS. The agricultural and stock-raising interests of this county are worthily represented by the subject of this sketch, who owns and occupies 160 acres of good land on section 7, Rock Creek Precinct. during his five years' residence here he has effected many improvements, and distinguished himself as a farmer of modern ideas, not content with anything less than to excel.
   Mr. Frerichs came to this county during his boyhood days, his father settling in Rock Creek Precinct in the spring of 1869. Herman M. received his education in the common schools, an education which was begun in his native Hanover, where his birth took place April 25, 1851. He was a little lad six years of age when he crossed the Atlantic with his parents, they first settling in Madison County, Ill. Thence they crossed the Mississippi into the young State of Nebraska.
   The father, Abraham Frerichs, was of pure German birth and parentage, and married Miss Rachel Uben, they becoming the parents of six children. Further mention is made of him and his excellent wife in the sketch of John Frerichs, a brother our subject, which will be found elsewhere in this volume.
   Our subject continued a member of the parental household until reaching his majority, and then began on his own account. One of the most important steps at this time was his marriage with Miss Rena Bohlken, which took place at the home of the bride, in Nemaha County, Neb. Mrs. Frericbs was born not many miles from Springfield, the capital city of Illinois, Aug. 3, 1859. She came to Nebraska with her parents when two years old. She completed her studies in the schools of Nemaha County, this State, and was carefully trained by an excellent mother to those housewifely duties which have so much to do with the happiness and

comfort of a home. The three children of our subject and his estimable wife comprise two daughters and a son -- Lizzie, Mary and Henry. They are all at home with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. F. were reared in the doctrines of the Lutheran Church, to which they still loyally adhere, attending services now in Rock Creek Precinct. Mr. Frerichs, politically, is a solid Republican.

EWIS F. CORNUTT. Nebraska City owes its importance among the cities of the new West, not so much to any natural advantages or special facilities for commerce or travel, as to the wide-awake, farsightedness and wise continued enterprise and effort of certain of its citizens. Among these, and by no means the least of them, is the subject of our sketch, who was born in Grayson County, Va., on the 22d of May, 1833. His father, Alexander Cornutt, was born in the same county, as was his father before him. The family is of Scottish extraction, the great-grandparents of our subject having come to this country from Scotland.
   The grandfather of our subject was by chosen occupation a farmer, and followed the same in Grayson County for many years. Later he operated in connection therewith a saw and grist mill. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Sutherland. She also was of Scotch parentage. The father of our subject was reared upon a farm, all his early recollections were connected therewith, and eventually he made it his chosen calling. He died in August of 1886, having arrived at the advanced age of seventy-seven years. His wife, the mother of our subject, was Jemima Rhudy, who was a native of Virginia and of German ancestry. This lady now resides on the old homestead in Grayson County, Va., where the Cornutt family have for so many years made their home. There were born to them eleven children, all of whom it was their pleasure to see grow to years of maturity and enter honorable positions in life. As yet the family circle is unbroken by death, all of them are happily married, and have families of their own.
   The subject of this writing is the second child, and was reared in his native county. Recognizing the inestimable value of education, his parents provided for him the very best obtainable at that time. As soon as he was strong enough various tasks were assigned to him in connection with the farm, which were increased in proportion to his strength and enlarged intellectual grasp. When seventeen years of age he was engaged as clerk in a general store at Independence, the county seat of Grayson County, and continued thus employed for three years, when he returned home, and there he remained until September, 1854. At that time the vivid descriptions of the Far West, and the riches promised to those who went there, decided our subject to start thitherward. Accordingly he started with a colony of families similarly minded, who. loaded their wagons with everything that might be needed by the way, and in beginning their new life, and by the aid of their teams, set forth upon their journey. The westward way lay through the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, and after crossing the Ohio River on through Illinois until they reached the Father of Waters opposite St. Louis, to which city they crossed. From there they proceeded through the State of Missouri to Nebraska Territory, reaching Nebraska City on the 6th of November, after two months of travel, which, beyond the incidents common to such experience, was devoid of the more exciting and often tragic scenes that came to some such travelers.
   At that time there were but three families in Nebraska City, and the surrounding country was still unsurveyed and in the hands of the Government. The city was being surveyed at the time of their arrival. It is difficult looking at the Nebraska City of to-day, with its houses of commercial importance, its elegant residences, railroads, broad streets, filled with the usual busy crowd, all intent upon the various purposes of life, to imagine or picture the city as it was when our subject first saw it. There was but one store, which was kept in a diminutive frame building, and carried a stock, all included, perhaps, not of greater value than $300. There was nothing to indicate the future city. After staying a little while here Mr. Cornutt returned to Atchison City, Mo., and there engaged until 1860, engaging in mercantile pursuits. Then he returned to Ne-

braska City, and with others formed a company to develop the mines of Colorado. The company bought a saw and quartz mill, and with them our subject went to Colorado and located at Quartz Valley, near Central City. At that place he operated the sawmill for six months, and then sold his interest and returned to Nebraska City, by way of the overland stage.
   By that time Nebraska City had grown to be quite a town, although west of it no cities had been established, and in the interior buffaloes were still to be found in large numbers. Upon his return our subject engaged in clerking in a general store until 1862, when he went once more to Central City, Col., with his family. There he engaged in mercantile pursuits for some time. There were no railroads west of the Missouri River at that time, and all goods were of necessity transferred by teams, coming generally by way of Nebraska City. Freight was very high, usually about ten to twelve and a half cents per pound. This of course had the effect of making the retail price high in proportion. After two and a half years, a period upon the whole prosperous, and financially satisfactory, our subject returned to Nebraska City and engaged in freighting from that point west to Central City and other points. He continued thus engaged until 1866, and then embarked in the coal, wood and lumber trade, which he has since been exclusively engaged in.
   On the 8th of January, 1856, the subject of this epitome was united in marriage with Laura J. Hail, who has presented her husband with eight children, William A. and Wiley S. the only two living, both of whom are residents of Culbertson, Neb. The wife of our subject was born in Grayson County, Va., and is the daughter of William B. and Mathilda Hail, of whom a sketch is presented elsewhere in this volume, and emigrated to the West in company with the subject of this sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Cornutt are devout members of the First Presbyterian Church, our subject filling the office of Elder in the church, and is also Superintendent of the Sunday-school.
   Mr. Cornutt has always been deeply interested in all matters connected with the advancement of the interests of the young, and evinced the same by the manner in which he performed every duty that came to him while serving as a member of the School Board. The citizens expressed their big esteem and confidence by electing him City Treasurer. His position in regard to affairs of political import is with the Democratic party, of which he is a firm adherent and hearty supporter, The reader of this biography will have noticed that the early opportunities of our subject were circumscribed and limited. The opportunities for advancement were not extensive, but he has made the most of each presented, find by careful thrift, intelligent planning, and indefatigable perseverance and effort, made his way to the front rank of prominent and honored citizenship. In all business circles he is regarded as a man of unimpeachable honor and business integrity. His reputation is untarnished, and his character much to be admired. In the community at large both he and his family are held in high regard by all.

 H. BROKING, who is a leading farmer of Rock Creek Precinct, is the owner of 240 acres of land, having his homestead on section 11, which comprises eighty acres, and 160 acres on section 8. He settled where he now lives in the spring of 1878, having moved from Madison County, Ill., of which he had been a resident for a period of ten years.
   The birthplace of our subject was in Hanover, Germany, where he first opened his eyes to the light on the 5th of June, 1848, during the reign of King William. His father, Henry Broking, Sr., was a carpenter by trade, which Henry, Jr., also learned, and which he followed from the time he was a youth of eighteen years until reaching his majority. Then, not being satisfied with the outlook for the future in his native Germany, he crossed the Atlantic in advance of some of his family, joining his two brothers, and located in Madison County, Ill., where he occupied himself at farming. In the spring of 1874 he was joined by his parents and the other children, the latter locating in the vicinity of Alton, Ill., where they lived until the death of the father about thirteen years later, when he was sixty-