time he his been a stanch Republican. He was elected to the State Senate in 1875, and re-elected with a largely increased majority in 1877. He has frequently been called upon to serve on various committees of importance. He was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee through both terms of office. His service was most acceptable to his constituents, who recognized his constant interest in their welfare. Among the fraternities, as elsewhere, the stable character, high principle, clear intellect and untiring energy of Judge Chapman are recognized and acknowledged. He is a member of the Plattsmouth Lodge No. 7, of the I. O. O. F.; Plattsmouth Lodge No. 6, of the A. F. & A. M.; Nebraska Chapter No. 3, R. A. M., and Mt. Zion Commandery No. 5 of Knights Templars.
   The portrait of this able jurist and well-known citizen of Cass County adorns a page of this volume -- a fitting tribute to the worth of the man, as well as an indication of his deserved prominence in the community.

OBERT TROOP is a member of the firm of Egenberger & Troop, who conduct one of the best appointed and best managed groceries in Plattsmouth, and although they have been established but little more than a year they already command a good paying trade, which extends even beyond the city limits.
   Mr. Troop was born in Ireland, Feb. 23, 1843, and his father, likewise named Robert, was also a native of that country, and was of Scotch ancestry. He received a good education in his younger days, and then learned the trade of a machinist, serving an apprenticeship of five years. He did not continue to follow that trade, however, after his term of service expired, accepting instead the stewardship of one of the large estates in his native island. In the year 1844 he emigrated to America with his family, and located at Davenport, Iowa, which was then but a village. Iowa was then a Territory, the settlements being confined to the region adjacent to the Mississippi River, and the greater part of the land was owned by the Government, and for sale at $1.25 an acre. Mr. Troop continued to reside in Davenport from 1844 until his death, Feb. 3, 1873, and during that time witnessed its growth from an insignificant town to a large and important city of 20,000 inhabitants. He was for some time engaged as an accountant in a bank, and he subsequently became a salesman in a lumber-yard. He was a man whose integrity and many good traits of character commanded the respect of those with whom he was associated, and his kindly disposition won their regard. The maiden name of his good wife was Jane Agnew, and she was also a native of Ireland. They had quite a family of children, eight of whom grew to maturity: Eliza married Murt Connor, and lives in Coal Valley, Ill.; William, James, John, Samuel and James are all deceased: Thomas lives in Cass County, Neb.; and Mary lives in Plattsmouth.
   Our subject was but a year old when his parents came to the United States, so he can recollect no other home than this, his adopted country, and when the great Civil War broke out, and our flag was threatened with dishonor and these United States with disunion, he patriotically sprang to their defense, and fought with the zeal and bravery of a native-born citizen. Amid the pioneer influences, of his early home his character was molded in strength and vigor. He received a very good rudimentary education in the early. primitive schools of Davenport, which has since been supplemented by observation, experience and reading. At the youthful age of twelve years he began to depend upon his own resources for a living, and found employment as a cabin boy and assistant cook on a Mississippi River boat. He followed boating on the river in different capacities until August. 1862. In that month he enlisted in Company E, 20th Iowa Infantry, and went to the front to assist in fighting the battles of his adopted country. Among the more important battles in which he took an active part were those of Prairie Grove and the siege and capture of Vicksburg. He was taken prisoner at Morganzie Bend, La., in November, 1863, and was confined in the rebel prison at Tyler, Tex., until September, 1864. He was then exchanged and joined his regiment, and fought with it at Ft. Blakely, and also at. the fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay. After that he and his comrades

were stationed at Mobile until their discharge, in July, 1865. Our subject returned to Davenport at the close of his military career, here engaged as mate of a steamer owned by Smith & Howlett.
   He continued in their employ sixteen months, and then turned his footsteps toward Nebraska. Here he found employment in the construction department of the Union Pacific Railway the ensuing two years. He then returned to Davenport to take charge of the street car stables. At the end of two years he left that place to take a similar one at Milwaukee. He had charge of the street car barns there until the spring of 1876, when he again took up his residence in Nebraska. He bought a farm in Eight Mile Grove Precinct, Cass County, and managed it with good results until the fall of 1887. He then formed a partnership with J. V. Egenberger to engage in the grocery business. They have been much prospered in this venture, their credit stands high in financial circles, and they bid fair to place themselves among the foremost representatives of the mercantile interests of Cass County.
   Mr. Troop and Miss Lou Moore were united in marriage Dec. 18, 1870. She is a native of Missouri, and a daughter of George Moore. Mr. Troop bears a high reputation for honest dealings, and the cheerfulness, cordiality and urbanity that distinguish his manners gain the good-will and liking of all who come in contact with him. He is prominently identified with the G. A. R., as a member of McConihie Post No. 45, and he also belongs to Cass Camp No. 32, U. W. To the many friends whom they have gathered around them he and his wife often extend the generous hospitality of a home made attractive by its coziness, and the true courtesy of the host and hostess. Politically, he is a Republican.

ORNELIUS VOSBURGH is a successful, well-to-do farmer, who occupies a place of prominence among the agriculturists of Centre Precinct, where he has a highly productive farm on section 9, admirably adapted to the cultivation of grain, in which he is extensively engaged.
   Our subject was born in Lackawanna Township, Luzerne Co., Pa., Oct. 30, 1834. His father, Charles Vosburgh, was a native of New York, born near the Hudson River, in the town of Hudson, Nov. 10, 1809. In early manhood he removed to Luzerne County, Pa., and was there united in marriage to Miss Milicent Van Leveller, and with her he lived in happy wedlock for the unusual length of fifty-two years. Of their union thirteen children were born, all of whom are still living. The mother of our subject passed away on the 29th of January, 1886, thus closing a life well rounded in years, well spent, and full of all things that go to make a good woman. The father of our subject is now passing his declining years in Lackawanna, where he is well known and honored, and is there tranquilly awaiting life's great end. His father, Cornelius Vosburgh, was born on the 19th of March, 1786, and spent the early part of his life at Hudson. From New York he went to Pennsylvania, and from there removed to Illinois, where his death occurred March 24, 1864, at the age of seventy-eight years and five days. He was a farmer and blacksmith, and followed those pursuits nearly all his life. His wife was born Sept. 23, 1786, and died Nov. 29, 1877, her life being prolonged to the advanced age of ninety-one years, two months and six days. The following children were born to her and her husband: Seymour V., Phoebe, Charles (father of our subject), Eliza, Samuel, William, Samuel, Fidelia, Clarissa, Pamelia and James.
   Cornelius Vosburgh remained with his father until he had attained manhood, then started forth to see something of the world, turning his footsteps westward, and in 1855 we find him located in Rock Creek Township. But after trying farming there a year, he retraced his steps toward his Eastern home, going as far as DeKalb County, Ill., where he engaged in agricultural pursuits until the year of the Chicago fire, 1871, when he again came westward, and in Floyd County, Iowa, followed his calling for awhile. But California held strong attractions for him, and he was soon on the way to the Pacific Coast. He spent a few years in the Golden State and in Washington Territory prospecting, but not liking that region for a farming country, in 1876 we again find him in DeKalb County, Ill., where he resided until October, 1881,

when he came to make his home, in this State, settling on land that he had previously purchased, whereon he still abides. From the wild prairie, by incessant and well-directed labor, he has built up a comfortable home, and has a farm under good tillage, has set out a good grove of trees, in orchard of apple trees of four acres, and all kinds of small fruits; he has also planted pear trees, but has had no success with them. He is continually making improvements, and his place already compares favorably with other farms owned by men who have been here much longer.
   Cornelius Vosburgh and Cornelia C. Howlet were united in marriage May 23, 1859, and their wedded life has been blessed to them by the birth of four children, three of whom are still living -- Alfred H., George W. and Gertrude J. George married Miss Barbara Angel, and they have one child, Lewis Edward; Gertrude married Charles B. Andrews, son of D. D. Andrews, of whom see sketch on another page of this work. Mrs. Vosburgh was born in Lee County, Ill., Jan. 29, 1842, and the first eight years of her life were passed in her native place. She then went to Syracuse, N. Y., and staid with an uncle until she was sixteen years of age, and in 1855 returned to Illinois. She is a daughter of H. G. and Amanda M. (Canfield) Howlet, natives of Syracuse, N. Y., where they lived until after their marriage and the birth of three children, when they moved to Niles, Mich., and thence to where Chicago now stands in the year 1835, and were thus numbered among its early pioneers. There were then only three houses there, and a butcher shop. Mr. Howlet owned the land on which the old Board of Trade building afterward stood. He subsequently sold his property there, and took up his residence in Dixon, Ill., and later removed to a place three miles northwest of Paw Paw Village. He was one of the Deputy Sheriffs who helped to break up the "Dick Allen Prairie Banditti," he arresting Allen himself. He was in other ways prominent in public affairs, was Justice of the Peace, and held various other offices. He died Jan. 7, 1888, his wife having preceded him many years, dying in the year 1852. They were the parents of nine children, five of whom lived to maturity. Parley Howlet, the grandfather of Mrs. Vosburgh, was a native of Vermont. He moved from there to New York, and died on his large farm near Syracuse. The maiden name of his wife was Phebe Dodge.
   Mr. Vosburgh is thoroughly respected for those characteristics that mark the true man and the honorable citizen. He has avoided public office, excepting to act as Roadmaster, preferring the quiet of his cheerful fireside to the cares of public life. Yet in every other way he is ready to do aught that will promote the welfare of the township. He has ever stood by the Republican party since its formation, and has not lost an opportunity to cast his vote in its favor since he attained his majority.

IMENUS ADAMS, son of the well-known George W. Adams, of Avoca, has charge of his father's farm in this precinct, and is evidently, in point of industry, enterprise and intelligence, a "chip of the old block." Of the Adams family of this county a sketch will be found elsewhere in this work, having for its subject the father, George W. The Adams farm is devoted mainly to the raising of fine stock, a specialty being thoroughbred horses and Short-horn cattle. The farm is beautifully located on section 3, and comprises 520 broad acres with substantial and convenient buildings, the whole fulfilling the popular idea of the model country estate. Of this our subject has had the charge for the last five years. and in the management of its various interests is evidently proving himself a success.
   Mr. Adams was born at the farm which he now occupies, Sept. 15, 1862, and was reared amid the quiet pursuits of country life, acquiring a practical education in, the district school and remaining at home until his marriage. This interesting event in his life occurred Dec. 5, 1883, at the home of the bride, Miss Louise Gruber, in Liberty Precinct. Mrs. Adams was born in that precinct, March 19, 1863, and is the daughter of the well-known Peter Gruber, one of the most prominent farmers in the southeastern portion of this county. Mr. G. is a native of Germany, born and reared in one of the Rhine Provinces, where also he was married to Miss

Jacobina Opp, a native of the same locality. After the birth of three children they emigrated to the United States, settling first in the city of St. Louis, Mo. A few years later they came to this county, and Mr. Gruber secured land in Liberty Precinct during its early settlement. True to the instincts of his substantial German ancestry, he labored diligently, and is now the owner of a fine property, including a large and valuable farm of over 600 acres, which, with its buildings, live stock and machinery, forms one of the attractive points of interest along the southern line of the county.
   Mrs. Adams was reared under the parental rooftree, where she lived until her marriage, and is a lady in every way fitted for her position in life as the wife of a prominent and enterprising citizen. The young people have started out with the fairest prospects, and enjoy the good wishes of hosts of friends.

OHN V. EGENBERGER. This gentleman is the senior member of the well-known firm of Egenberger & Troop, grocers, of Plattsmouth. He was born in the village of Waldhausen, which lies about five miles from Buchen, the capital of Grossherzogthum Baden, Germany, on the 24th of October, 1854. His family had been residents of that village for several generations, and seldom had any member of the family gone far from it to live, He is the son of John V. and Halena Egenberger. His father was a farmer, and reared his son to agricultural pursuits. He died in the year 1869, when about forty-five years of age.
   The mother of our subject previous to her marriage bore the name of Helen Guthmann and is the sister of F. R. Guthmann (see sketch of that gentleman elsewhere in this volume). She came to America in September, 1872, and now resides in Plattsmouth. She is the mother of ten children, six of whom are living. These are: Mary, the wife of Henry Weckbeck; Veronica, the wife of William Weber; Louisa, who is married to Hammond Spies; Fred and Ludwig, single, all of whom are residents of Plattsmouth.
   The subject of our sketch attended the schools of his native village until the spring of 1872, when, with his parents and relatives, he came to this country, and with them made his home in Plattsmouth. He commenced life in the New World by working on a farm in Cass County, and after the first year spent twelve months in Lancaster County, where he was engaged as a clerk in the store of his uncle, J. V. Weckbeck. There he remained for nine years, after which he was in a hardware store for two years, and then engaged in mercantile pursuits in his own interest. In 1887 he formed a partnership with Robert Troop, and began his present business, which has succeeded far beyond their expectations.
   On the 16th of September, 1876, our subject was united in wedlock with Miss Mary Halschuh. She was born in Plattsmouth to John and Mary E. Halschuh, in June, 1859. Her parents were natives of Hesse-Darmstadt, in the village of Erbuch, and came to this country in the year 1853. There have come to Mr. and Mrs. Egenberger five little ones, to whom they gave the names here appended: Eddie, Albert, Freddie, Annie and Mena.
   The subject of our sketch is a thoroughly capable business man and a much respected citizen, understanding and appreciating the principles of government and the institutions of liberty of the country. He is a member of the Board of Trade, and holds a leading position among the business men of Plattsmouth. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., and meets with Trio Lodge No. 81, and is also identified with the Liederkrantz.

HEODORE JOHN, a well-to-do general farmer and stock-raiser of Stove Creek Precinct, has a farm which in all its appointments ranks among the best in this locality, and is one of which the owner may well be proud. Eighty acres of his land, forming the original homestead, with its substantial house, barns and other buildings, are located on the northeast quarter of section 20, and the remaining 160 acres of his land are on the opposite side of the street on section 21, the farm comprising in all 240 acres of improved land. It has good fences of hedge and wire, beautiful

groves planted by his own hands, three acres of orchard containing 200 trees, and well supplied with water, Stove Creek running through it, and it is admirably adapted for a stock farm, to which purpose he devotes it largely, raising well-graded cattle, hogs and horses, having eight of the latter. Our subject is a veteran of the late Civil War, wherein he fought with valor for the country of his adoption, and has as fine a military record as any soldier, his experiences as an officer in the German Army, in the Fatherland, doubtless proving beneficial to him on Southern battle-fields.
   Mr. John was born in Prussia, Aug. 16, 1831, to Benhart and Johanna (Huss) John, also natives of Germany. His father was a farmer of some means, and owned a farm of 240 acres in his native country, of which he was a lifelong resident, his death occurring there in 1842. His widow departed this life in 1860, To that estimable couple were born five children, as follows: Theodore, Oswald, Herman (deceased), Ollo and Augusta.
   Their son Theodore, of whom we write, passed his boyhood in the place of his nativity, spending most of the time, as soon as old enough, in school, until he was fourteen years old. After his education was completed he went into a brewery, and there worked until he was eighteen, when he entered the German Army, serving in the cavalry as orderly as a private, and served in that capacity three years, and was then promoted to be Sergeant, and was a commissioned officer the remainder of the twelve years that he was in the army. His life there finally proved too irksome, and longing for greater freedom, he retired from the service, and went back to his old employment in the brewery. In 1860 he set out for the United States, sailing from Hamburg in the steamer "Bavaria," and after a rapid passage of eight days landed at New York. He went from there to Albany, where he found work in a brewery. In 1861, he went to LaCrosse, and was for a time engaged in the same work. The same summer he went to Clinton County, Ill., and was employed on a farm there until the fall of 1861. At that time he enlisted in the 3d Missouri Cavalry, and after staying in camp three months under Gov. Stewart, was mustered out. In January he re-enlisted, and became a member of the 12th Illinois Cavalry, Company B, and was mustered in at Chicago, and in the spring of 1862 his regiment was sent to Virginia to join the Army of the Potomac. It took an active part in several skirmishes, and in the following battles: Culpeper, Shaftsbury (three days), battles of Gettysburg, Pamunkey, etc. In Richmond the Union soldiers burned the stores of the rebel army, and otherwise created great havoc inside the fortifications, the regiment in which our subject was engaged taking an active part in that siege. It was then ordered back to West Point, and thence to Chicago to recruit, it being but twenty-five strong after the hard fighting through which it had passed. Three months later it was ordered from that city to New Orleans, and after being transported to that city, was sent on the raid up the Red River. After that our subject and his fellow-soldiers were sent back to Memphis, and in the spring of 1865 he was honorably discharged in Springfield, Ill., after having served his adopted country three years and six months, in the front ranks of his regiment all the time, but was never wounded, and his vigorous constitution repelled all sickness.
   After the close of the war Mr. John went to Clinton County, Iowa, and worked on a farm for six months, and then his system for the first time began to give way to the effects of his hardships on Southern battle-fields, and he was ill until the next spring (1866), when he sought the healthful climate of Nebraska to restore his physique to its wonted vigor, coming by steamer to Nebraska City. He there entered into business as a freighter, teaming goods or supplies with six yokes of bulls to Fts. Laramie and Smith, making four trips in the next two years. In the fall of 1867 he went back to Nebraska City, and in the spring of 1868 came to Cass County, having decided to try farming, and took up his present homestead of eighty acres on section 20. This part of the county was comparatively unsettled at that time, there being but two or three settlers ahead of him, and he had to start from the very beginning and evolve his farm from the wild, uncultivated prairie. We have seen how he has prospered since then, and has added to his original purchase in spite of the discourage-

ments offered by grasshopper raids, in which that insect made way with his entire crops one or two seasons, and the destructive powers of high winds and drouths.
   Mr. John was married in St. Louis, in March, 1868, to Miss Rosa Fullemer, a native of Germany, and she has made his home pleasant and attractive to her family, and also to their many friends. The household circle is completed by the three children who have been born of their marriage -- Minnie, Annie and Willie.
   Our subject is possessed of sagacity, forethought and energy, so combined with those useful qualities of prudence, thrift and steadiness of purpose, that he cannot fail to accomplish what he attempts, and thus his success was assured from the start. He and his wife are among the leading members of the Catholic Church of Elmwood, and were active assistants in building it. In his political opinions Mr. John is strongly Republican.

OHN JOHNSON, of English ancestry and who is numbered among the well-to-do residents of Rock Bluff Precinct, is the subject of an interesting history. His parents, William and Jane (Talifairo) Johnson, were natives respectively of England and Virginia. The paternal grandfather, John Johnson, Sr., also of English birth and ancestry, spent his entire life upon the soil of his native country. His son William emigrated to the United States when a young man and settled in the Old Dominion, where he was married to Miss Talifairo.
   The maternal grandfather of our subject met his death while serving as a soldier in the Revolutionary War under the immediate command of Gen. George Washington. It was while he was at home on a furlough that he was killed at a mill near his home by the Tories. William Johnson after his marriage, leaving the Old Dominion, migrated to Alabama, when his son John was a mere child, he having been born in Buckingham County, Va., Dec. 15, 1813. They located among the pioneers of Montgomery County, Ala., during its early settlement, where our subject lived until about 1840; then turning his steps westward, he crossed the Mississippi, and located in Montgomery County, Mo., where he engaged in farming, and was married six years later, Jan. 27, 1846, to Miss Jemima C. Thornbill. This lady was the daughter of Thomas L. and Lucy (Strange) Thornhill. Her paternal grandfather, William Strange, married Miss Sarah Lee, and both were natives of Virginia. The father of Mrs. Johnson was own cousin to Jefferson Davis, and her mother also was own cousin to the first wife (the daughter of ex-President Taylor) of the President of the Confederacy. To John and Jemima Johnson there was born a family of eighteen children, fifteen sons and three daughters. Of these five are living, namely: William T., Thomas R., Austin; Catherine S., now Mrs. J. M. Berger, a resident of Rock Bluff Township, and Andrew J.
   Mr. Johnson left Missouri in January, 1865, coming to Nebraska Territory, and locating in Rock Bluff Precinct on the land, from which he made a good farm, and where he now lives. He is the proprietor of 400 broad acres, comprising the homestead, on sections 1 and 2, and has also 160 acres on section 16 and fifty acres of timber south of the city, besides ten acres of timber on the Island below Plattsmouth. The home farm is well improved, with good buildings, and the land is in a high state of cultivation, as is also the land on section 16.
   Mr. Johnson, politically, has been a lifelong Democrat. During the war, and while a resident of Missouri, his horses, wagon, and a yoke of cattle were stolen by thieves, who sold the property. There was then an organized band of these marauders, who made it their business to drive away stock and carry off everything which they could secure, including meat, groceries, and everything that could be turned into money or that they could make use of in any way. One night after Mr. Johnson had slaughtered thirty hogs, the thieves came and stole all the backbone with the exception of five, and upon those they put poison. This was discovered by the fact that they left the cellar door open, and the cats who got in and ate of the meat died of the poison which was intended to kill the family. Mr, Johnson soon after left the country with his family, also leaving undisturbed the pois-