try homestead. In the meantime he was appointed the Postmaster of the town. In the winter of 1871 he left his farm and put up a dwelling near the church building and school-house, which he occupied until coming to Weeping Water. He was in effect the first Postmaster of Eight Mile Grove, and held the office for a period of more than eleven years, receiving his appointment from Postmaster General David M. Keys. After his removal to the town he established a grocery and drug business, the first in that neighborhood. He was during his entire residence at Eight Mile Grove a member of the School Board, serving as Secretary, and also held the various other township offices. Upon the incorporation of the town he was Magistrate for a peried (sic) of eight years.
   When Mr. King entered upon his duties as Postmaster of Eight Mile Grove, the office was paying the munificent salary of $12 a year. When he left it in 1881 it was worth $75. His main business as magistrate was in the matrimonial line, he frequently joining several couples in a day. Upon coming to Weeping Water in the spring of 1881, having sold his interests at Eight Mile Grove, Mr. King resumed business as a builder and contractor, and also operated as mine host of the King's Hotel until 1885. In the fall of that year he was elected Justice of the Peace, and controlled the bulk of the business in this line, doing also considerable in the way of conveyancing, collecting and other legal business.
   Mr. King assisted in the organization of the Baptist Church at Weeping Water, of which he has been twice elected as Deacon and still serves in this capacity. He is usually the man selected by the brethren as a delegate to the various church assemblies in the county and State. In 1860 he was elected Sheriff of Cass County, being the third man to hold this position. At that time the county had only 400 voters.
   Charles H. King is a native of Montgomery County, N. Y., born March 3, 1818, and lived there until reaching his majority, completing his studies at Watertown Academy. Upon leaving school he was engaged several terms as a teacher. Upon leaving the Empire State, about 1839, he migrated to Quincy, Ill., where he lived six months, and then moved on across the Mississippi into Van Buren County, Iowa, where he followed the profession of a teacher for a number of years. His rare courage and good business capacities commended him to the people of that county as suitable material for Sheriff, which office he first held by appointment. At the close of the term he was regularly elected, and hold the office by re-election for a period of eleven years. He also officiated considerably as County Collector. In the meantime he still pursued teaching during the winter season, and in summer operated likewise as a contractor and bidder.
   Mr. King cast his first Presidential vote in the Hawkeye State, in 1840, for Martin Van Buren. Here also his first experience as a magistrate began. He likewise found in that county one of the most estimable of young ladies, Miss Almira King (no connection), to whom he was married in Iowa, July 12, 1844. This lady became the mother of two children, and died in July, 1849, five short years after their marriage. Their elder son, Omer J., is married and living on a farm in Rock Bluff Precinct, this county; he is the father of one child. The other child, Orson D., died when quite young.
   Mr. King remained in Iowa until 1859, in the meantime having contracted a second marriage, with Miss Janetta K. Root, then of Orleans County, N. Y. Mrs. King was born in Madison County, N. Y., and was the daughter of E. K. Root, a well-to-do farmer of Orleans County. Mrs. Janetta King died in Iowa, April 11, 1865. Our subject was the third time married, March 25, 1878, to Mrs. Frances J. Greenfield. The latter was born Aug. 7, 1833, in Connecticut, and is the daughter of Stodard and Sarah J. Leech, who were natives of England, and are now deceased.
   Sylvester King, the father of our subject, was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1793. He lived there until reaching man's estate, and then migrated to Montgomery County, N. Y., during the pioneer days. He was there married to Miss Lydia Stewart, of Balaton Springs, Saratoga County, and who was born Oct. 31, 1800. They became the parents of eight children, four of whom lived to mature years, Charles H. being the eldest.
   After his marriage the father of our subject en-

gaged in mercantile business in Johnstown, N. Y. A few years later he removed to Adams, Jefferson County, and taking up a tract of new land, constructed a homestead, where he remained until about 1841. His father died about that time, and he then removed to the old homestead in Orleans County, where his death occurred about 1867. He lead been a prominent man in his community, holding the offices of Township Supervisor and Justice of the Peace, and taking a lively interest in politics. He voted for Martin Van Buren, and worked for his election. He and his family were identified with the Christian Church. The mother is still living in Orleans County, N. Y., continuing on the old homestead. The paternal grandfather was Paul King, a farmer by occupation, who spent his last years in New York State.

ON. EUGENE L. REED. The subject of this sketch occupies a prominent position in the history of this county, being the oldest surviving settler of importance now living here, and of which he has been a resident since the spring of 1857. The chief events in a career of more than ordinary interest are substantially as follows: A native of Trumbull County, Ohio, Mr. Reed was born May 23, 1841, living there with his parents until a little lad five years of age. His father then decided to try the experiment of life in the Far West, and accordingly made his way with his little family across the Mississippi to Washington County, Iowa, settling in Clay Township, where Eugene L. pursued his early studies in the common schools. Afterward he remained with his father on the farm, and working in the sawmill thereon until coming to Weeping Water, this county.
   Eugene L. is the son of William H. Reed, who was born in Hartland, Conn., in 1808, and in his boyhood removed to New Connecticut on the Western Reserve in Ohio. William Reed, Sr., the grandfather, of our subject. was one of the earliest pioneers in that section of country. He settled in the wilderness and felled a portion of the heavy timber around him, building up a comfortable homestead, where he lived to be an old man. Later he went to Iowa, to his son William H., Jr. He had married in early manhood Miss Lucy Hyde, of Connecticut. They became the parents of six children, all of whom lived to mature years. One died at the age of twenty-two, in Mississippi. The others lived to a ripe old age. William H. Reed, Sr., and his wife, spent their last years in Iowa, The grandmother for the last twelve years of her life was an invalid, but most tenderly cared for by her husband, who gave to her his whole attention until her death, after which he came to Weeping Water. Each traced their ancestry to the Puritans who came over in the "Mayflower" in 1620, and were, like their forefathers, Congregationalists in religious belief. Politically, grandfather Reed was a Whig and Abolitionist, and one of the first members of the Free-Soil party. In Iowa their farm was a station of the "underground railroad," and Eugene L. remembers that when a little lad of eight years he assisted in the rescue of a fugitive slave, getting him to a place of safety only fifteen minutes ahead of his pursuers.
   William H. Reel, Jr., the father of our subject, in early manhood married Miss Sophronia Clinton, who became the mother of one son and died. He was a second time married, to Miss Adelia Fuller, who, like the first wife, was at the time a resident of Ohio. Of this union there were born three children; Eugene L., of our sketch; Lucius F., who was his partner in business, and Ellen, the wife of P. E. Beardsley, of Lincoln, this State.
   After his marriage and the birth of his sons Mr. Reed moved to Washington County, Iowa, where he took up a tract of raw land, and later built a mill on the Skunk River Bottoms. He remained in that locality a period of twelve years, and in the fall of 1856 changed his operations to Nebraska Territory, coming to the present site of Weeping Water, and obtained an interest in a mill and land which comprises the present town site of Weeping Water. Then, returning to Iowa, he settled up his interests in that section with the intention of transferring them to this county.
   Mr. Reed, the owner of two sections of land and a good mill in Iowa, had unfortunately placed his name to a note for $2,700 with the usual result,

and to meet this was obliged to turn over most of his property, having left only a team and his household furniture. This necessitated a beginning again at the foot of the ladder. In company with his son Eugene he put up a small mill in what was then the Far West, the first of its kind in that locality, and the farthest mill toward the setting sun until reaching the coast. It was completed and opened up for business in the fall of 1861. Father and son operated this until their construction of what was afterward long familiarly known as Reed's Mill, in 1865, and which is still standing. After the completion of this mill our subject remained here until 1866. He then moved to Milford, having become interested in a mill site at that place. In the meantime, however, at the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Burt felt that he could not do otherwise than hasten to the defense of the Union, and in June, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, 1st Nebraska Infantry, which was called Thayer's Regiment, and which afterward was under command of Gen. Livingston. Mr. Reed went in as a private and came out a non-commissioned officer. This regiment operated mostly with the Western Division of the army, and participated in the battles of Independence, Mo., Springfield and Ft. Donelson, and went with the campaign of Gen. Fremont throughout the Southwest. Those acquainted with the history of that time will recall the fact that Missouri was no unimportant battleground during the war, the guerrillas and bushwhackers being peculiarly destructive in their operations. At the hard-fought battle of Ft. Donelson, where Floyd sought to escape with 10,000 troops, the regiment was in Gen. Lew Wallace's division, and stood the brunt of Floyd's charge alone.
   Mr. Reed about this time was seized with pneumonia and confined in the hospital at Cincinnati, Ohio. At the expiration of his term of enlistment he received his honorable discharge, in October, 1862, and returning to this county resumed, as soon as able, his former operations in Weeping Water. He had in the spring of 1859 purchased an interest in the original town site, and later owned all the ground upon which it now stands. He has since made three additions, one being East Riverside and her Park Addition, which embraces about 140 acres. He conducted his milling business until 1868, then sold out and became one of the firm of Reed Bros., who opened one of the first general stores to be established in Weeping Water. It is now Reed Bros. & Co. Lucius F. died in January, 1880. The firm comprised Eugene L. and Lucius F.
   The father of our subject sold his mill in 1872, and the year following returned to Weeping Water, where he lived retired from active business until passing away about 1885. His second wife had died in 1854. He was subsequently married, and his last wife is still living. William H. Reed was the first man to make any move toward establishing the town of Weeping Water, securing the land before it had come into market, his claim being "jumped." He lived to see a fine and flourishing city, built up from the spot which, when he first looked upon it, was little more than a wilderness. He purchased the land, a quarter-section, of Elam Flower, and attended personally to laying out a large portion of the town. It naturally followed that he was thereafter chosen by the people who came in and settled to fill the various offices, which became necessary as the community enlarged.
   The subject of this sketch, like his father before. him, developed at an early age more than ordinary abilities, and after having served in various other positions of trust and responsibility, was elected in 1868 to the State Senate on the Republican ticket. While in the Legislature he was associated with many of the important committees, and distinguished himself as a safe adviser and temperate counselor in matters of moment. He believes in compulsory education, and has taken a warm interest in the establishment and maintenance of schools, being usually connected with the School Board of his district. Although no office-seeker, he has been active in the councils of his party, and keeps himself well informed upon current events.
   Mr. Reed was the first Republican Postmaster appointed by President Lincoln. He assumed charge of the office in 1862, discharging its duties conscientiously until the incoming of the Democratic administration in the spring of 1885. He was sent from Nebraska to the National Republican Convention which nominated Blame, although he had

been strongly in favor of renominating Arthur. He was frequently appointed a delegate to the County and State Conventions, being uniformly active and efficient in connection therewith.
   Mr. Reed reserved one block of the original town site for the establishment of Weeping Water Academy, which, in addition to this gift of land, he has also endowed, and has been largely instrumental in bringing it to its present prosperous condition. It is now the favorite institution of learning in Southern Nebraska. He also holds in reserve two blocks for the campus when the new building is erected. He was the founder of the Weeping Water Bank, the first institution of the kind in the place, and was elected its first President. He is also President of the Weeping Water Lime and Stone Company, who have their headquarters south of town, and which ship a hundred cars per day of crushed rock and 250 barrels of lime, besides rubble stones of all dimensions. This latter enterprise was established in 1885, and now gives employment to 200 men. Mr. Reed has an interest in the Pressed Brick Company of Weeping Water, of which he is also a Director, and which was established in 1888. He was one of the founders of the Weeping Water Creamery, and is President of the Town Company, in fact there have been few enterprises in which he has not been interested and in which he has not been called upon to exercise his uniform good judgment in their conduct and establishment.
   The marriage of Hon. Eugene L. Reed and Miss Anna Bellows, of Weeping Water, was celebrated at the home of the bride in this place, Nov. 11, 1865. This union resulted in the birth of two sons and two daughters, the eldest of whom, Will E., is a student of Dartmouth College, in his junior year. Estella, Clinton and Lucile are at home with their parents, who purpose to give them also the advantages of a first-class education.
   Mrs. Reed was born in Ashtabula County, Ohio, in 1849, and is the daughter of Josiah Bellows, a native also of the Buckeye State, where he lived until 1857, then coming to Nebraska Territory he settled on a tract of new land west of the present site of Weeping Water, before it had assumed even the dignity of a village. He there commenced farming in true pioneer style, but was permitted to labor a brief time only, dying the year after his arrival, and leaving a widow who was the mother of three children, and who gave birth to a fourth child after the death of her husband. The eldest, a son, B. F. Bellows, is now in business in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. The others are True and J. H. Bellows. The maiden name of the mother of Mrs. Reed was Celestia Mills. She died in 1862.
   Mr. Reed was the first merchant in Weeping Water to have a cash carrier placed in his store, and which for some time was regarded with a great deal of curiosity, being quite an innovation upon the old system. The store building is located at the corner of I and Randolph streets, and was erected in 1868.

REDERICK D. LEHNHOFF, of wide reputation in connection with the brick and tile manufactories of Plattsmouth, was born near the city of Hanover, in the Province of that name in Germany, on the 11th of August, 1831. That was the home of the Lehnhoff family for many generations. He is the son of Frederick and Caroline (Ahlswede) Lehnhoff. His father, like his grandfather, Christopher Lehnhoff, followed agricultural pursuits and trained our subject in the same.
   Accompanied by his wife and seven children, the father of our subject emigrated to America in the year 1847, taking passage at Bremen, and landing in the city of New York on the 3d of July. From New York they journeyed up the Hudson River and the canal to Buffalo. From there they went via the lakes to Milwaukee, then a small and comparatively unimportant place. After making all necessary provision for their comfort, he left his wife and family for a time, and with four others hired a team the better to explore the wilderness, Each took a tract of land, Mr. Lehnhoff selecting his in Jefferson County, about thirty-two miles almost due west from Milwaukee. There was about five acres of land cleared and a fair log cabin on the place. and the family took immediate possession. There was no railroad in the district, and Milwaukee was their nearest market. The region abounded in all kinds of wild game, of which he was not slow to take full

advantage. A fine farm speedily became an accomplished fact, and there the family continued to live until 1879; then removal was made to Plattsmouth, where the father spent his last days with his children, dying in the year 1882, aged eighty years.
   There were nine children born to the parents of our subject. Their names are as follows: Frederick D., Henry; Dorothy, who is the wife of G. Schnasse, of Rapid City, Dak.; Caroline, who is married to A. Tartsch; Minnie, now Mrs. Charles Buskirke; Louise. The wife of G. Benty; August, William and Charles. William and Charles were born in the United States, the others in the old country.
   Our subject attended school quite regularly in his native land, and was sixteen years of age when he came to America with his parents, and continued to reside with his father until 1859, when, with a number of others. his companions, he started with a four-horse team anal wagon for Pike's Peak. The time occupied en route was five weeks; they crossed the Missouri River at Plattsmouth on the 8th of May, 1839. They very soon met large numbers returning from the mountains, by very far the large majority being without means, discouraged, and so far as that venture was concerned broken-spirited. The effect upon our subject and his companions was such as to deter them from their original purpose, and they determined to return.
   The subject of our sketch and brother Henry took up a claim of 160 acres in Centre Precinct, Cass County. and at once built a small house and took possession. They traded their horses for a land warrant and entered the land from the Government at the Nebraska City office. This was truly frontier life, and provided them with an interesting and by no means unprofitable experience. Our subject continued farming there until 1864, and then sold his interest in the farm to his brother, and came to Plattsmouth.
   Since his settlement in Plattsmouth our subject has been engaged in various branches of business, including general mercantile, grain, wood and coal. When the Plattsmouth Brick and Tile Manufacturing Company was started he became a large stockholder, and indeed was one of the prime movers in the enterprise. For the past three years he has been manager of the company. The company has a kiln with a capacity of 10,000 per day, and it is of the pattern known as the continuous kiln, built under the Bochnke patent, and was the second of the kind constructed in the United States.
   On Oct. 27, 1861, our subject was united in marriage with Katie Reichert, a native of Bavaria, who came to America with her parents, George and Katie Reichert, when about seven years of age, to Ohio, and on the death of her parents lived with her uncle, and subsequently removed with his family to Nebraska. There have been born of this union three children, viz.: Matilda, George and Frederick. Our subject and family are held in high regard in the town, and are worthy members of society. Politically, Mr. Lehnhoff is a Democrat, and fully appreciates the liberty of franchise and Republican government, and is thoroughly imbued with the American spirit.

HARLES PHILPOT is a prosperous and representative farmer and citizen of Mt. Pleasant Precinct. and resides on his magnificent farm located on section 23. He is a native of Jo Daviess County, III., where he was born Feb. 10, 1847. He is a son of John and Sarah (May) Philpot. Our subject from his earliest years was accustomed to the privations and toils of pioneer life, both in his native county and his present home. His means of acquiring an education was confined to the public schools of the neighborhood, which had not then acquired the perfection they have today; but having naturally a studious mind, he continued his course of study, reading all available books and papers, and studying by observation the events of the times as they transpired about him, he now possesses a well-stored mind and an eminently practical education.
   The father of our subject, John Philpot, was a native of Kent County, England, and his mother a native of Illinois. He emigrated to America when quite a young man, and after extended tours through the country. both North and South, he finally located in Jo Daviess County, Ill., where he lived for many years. He was married twice; the first wife bore

him no children, but his second and present wife has borne him eight, five of whom are living: Charles, our subject; John and James live in Mt. Pleasant Precinct; Alfred is in Jo Daviess County, Ill., and Mary is the wife of E. P. Hay, and resides in Cass County, Neb., In 1872 the father removed from his home in Illinois to Carroll County, Mo., where he resided but a short time, when he came to Nebraska, and located in Mt. Pleasant where he has resided ever since. He is well along in years, and is enjoying the comforts which he has so richly earned. A cousin of the mother of our subject. named James Drousdle, took an active part in the Black Hawk War.
   Our subject and Miss Cerelia L. Barrett were married Nov. 19, 1868. The lady was born in Jo Daviess County. Ill., May 30, 1852, and is a daughter of Lockhart and Nancy J. (Carter) Barrett. Her father was born in York State, and her mother is supposed to be a native of Rock Island County, Ill., but it is not positively known to be true, as the records of her family were lost. Her parents were early settlers in Jo Daviess County, and reared a family of eight children, four of whom are living: Cerelia L., the wife of our subject; William L., a resident of Cass County; Prince A. resides in South Omaha, Neb., and Benjamin F., a resident of Valparaiso, Neb.
   Mr. and Mrs. Philpot with two children migrated to Cass County, Neb., in 1872, coming overland in a wagon. They had one team of horses and a few cattle. They camped out wherever night overtook them, and after a wearisome journey of five weeks, they arrived at and settled on their present farm, which was in a wild condition, but by dint of energy, perseverance and good management, by both himself and wife, they have improved it, and gathered about them so many conveniences that they now possess one or the most valuable farms in the county. These good people have become the parents of a family of eleven children; eight are living, namely: James W., Wallace M., John W., Charles E., May E., Bettie L., Lottie E. and Cynthia J. The three who are dead were named: Julia L., Albert W. and Benjamin F.
   In the accumulation of the estate of which he is the owner our subject has been ably assisted by the counsels and good offices of his wife. Coming as she did to a new and wild country, she accepted the condition, and has left nothing undone to make their venture a permanent success, which they have admirably accomplished, as is evidenced by the snug and comfortably arranged home, and the well designed and located buildings, necessary to shelter the stock and care for the crops raised on their farm.
   Mr. Philpot his been repeatedly solicited to accept public office from the hands of his neighbors, which he has steadily refused, only accepting some position connected with the advancement of the educational interests of the precinct, in which he takes an especial pride. He is now serving as Treasurer of the district, and has been connected with the School Board for a number of years. He is public-spirited, and is in ardent supporter of any plan having for its object the general good. Himself and wife are active members of society, and they fill a prominent position in a highly creditable manner, In politics he is strictly Republican.

ILLIAM R. LEWIS, a wide-awake farmer, living on eighty acres of choice land section 31, Elmwood Precinct, was born in LaSalle County, Ill., Aug. 31, 1847. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1862, but was rejected on account of his age, being considered too young, as he was then but sixteen years of age. As soon as he was old enough to handle a plow he was obliged earn his own living. As a result his facilities for obtaining an education by attending school were of the most limited extent, but being possessed of a naturally quick, observing turn of mind, he has overcome that deficiency to such an extent that he is now a well-informed man.
   Mr. Lewis was married, Jan. 16, 1877, to Miss Flora B. Hite, the daughter of David Hite, whose biography will be found on another page in this volume. In 1880 they came to Nebraska. They are the parents of two children: Viola Maude was born in Illinois, and Allie E. was born on their