office. After retiring to private life he did not engage in any private business. In 1850 he died there, at the age of sixty-five, leaving behind an unsullied name and the pleasant memory of one who in life was an eminently kind and companionable man, who was widely respected not only for his ability, but for his virtues. His wife, whose maiden name was Jane Dean, was born in Philadelphia, and died in Delphi also, Aug. 20, 1838. She was a true wife and mother, and had borne beside her husband the vicissitudes of life with uncomplaining fortitude. They were married May 1, 1810. Their children were: Catherine, born March 23, 1811; Maria, May 23, 1813; Matthew, July 1, 1816; Jane Dean, Feb. 21, 1819; Debora, April 27, 1821; Eliza Ann, Nov. 5, 1823, and John Dean, Sept. 12, 1826. Two of these are now deceased; Maria died in November, 1857, and Jane Dean in April, 1843.
   On the maternal side Mr. Simpson's ancestors came from Holland, and were settled in Philadelphia, Pa. His grandmother's maiden name was Debora Johnston, who was married to John Dean, after whom our subject was named. He came from England, but about the time of the Indian depredations there moved to Huntingdon County, Pa., where he became a leader in the warfare with the savages. He died comparatively young, leaving two children, Jane and William, the former the mother of our subject. William became a soldier in the War of 1812, and died soon after its close. John Dean had one brother, named Alexander, who became administrator of his estate, and soon became its owner. Debora, widow of John Dean, removed to Delphi, Ind., where she died in 1838. Her mother, who had removed from Pennsylvania, to the Western Reserve, died in Mansfield, Ohio, at the extreme age of one hundred and ten years.
   The subject of this biographical notice was the youngest child of his parents, and was twelve years old when they moved to Indiana. Two years later, in 1840, he became self-supporting, being a lad of great self-reliance, and blessed with health and a vigorous mind. He went to Galena, Ill, to reside with Richard Crocker, and clerked in his store. He acted in that capacity until 1843, when he went to Belvidere, it the same State, to take advantage of the excellent school in that town to complete his education, and he had as classmate there Bishop Nealey. In the spring of 1844 our subject returned to Indiana, and was a clerk in a general store until 1856. During that time his fine business qualifications brought him into public notice, and he was made Deputy Treasurer, and subsequently Clerk of the county. While acting in the latter capacity he made a numerical index of the records of deeds for the county. In September, 1856, he decided to try life on the wild Western plains, and started by rail for Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, then the western terminus of the railway, and from there took the stage to Plattsmouth. This was quite a small place at the time, with but three acres and not many dwelling-houses. Mr. Simpson commenced clerking in a general store, the trade being mostly confined to the emigrants who had come in and taken up claims. When emigration across the plains set in the merchants did a large business. In a newly settled country the men of brains come to the front, as their assistance is needed to carry out the affairs of State, and the fellow-citizens of our subject were not long in selecting him as worthy of their suffrage, and in the fall of 1857 they elected him to the position of County Treasurer. His discharge of the onerous duties of that office was so pleasing to his constituency that they re-elected him to the same position in 1859, and he thus served two full terms with great honor.
   In 1861 our subject crossed the plains to Denver, and there kept books for the Rocky Mountain News Company for one year. He then accepted a position in the Quartermaster's department, having charge of mustering the soldiers in and out of the service of the Territory of Colorado. He returned to Plattsmouth in 1864, and the following year was engaged in keeping books for a mercantile house there. In 1866 he formed a partnership with Sharp & Micelwait to carry on the lumber and grocery business. He remained a member of that company until 1869, and also acted during that time as agent for the American Express Company. In 1869 he was appointed agent for the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, which in that year had put its line through this city, the first shovel-full of dirt having been thrown up in the month of July, and in the fall of that year the railroad was in operation, Mr.

Simpson being its first agent here. He acted in that capacity six months, but continued his agency for the American Express Company until 1873. He then went to Omaha as Secretary for the Brewer & Bemis Brewing Company, staying with them until 1874. In the spring of that year he visited Cheyenne, but spent only a few months there, and in the fall of that year we again find him in Plattsmouth, he having accepted the position of express messenger for the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, holding it until 1880. From that time until 1886 the American and Wells-Fargo Express Companies claimed his services as their agent in Plattsmouth. He resigned in the latter year to become clerk in the supply department of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company, the duties of which position he discharges with characteristic fidelity, looking carefully after the interests of his employers.
   Mr. Simpson was married, July 6, 1853, to Catherine Klepser, a native of Salem, Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Klepser, of whom see sketch on another page of this volume. She fills the perfect measure of wife, mother, friend. and her many noble qualities of mind and heart endear her to a large circle of friends. Two amiable and accomplished daughters, Lelia and Edith Luella, complete the happy household group of our subject and his wife. Mrs. Simpson has acquired an enviable reputation as a music teacher of rare merit. She first gave music lessons in Delphi, Ind., and commenced teaching in Plattsmouth in 1858, and was one of the first music teachers in the Territory of Nebraska. Her children have inherited her talent in a marked degree, and her daughter Lelia was considered a musical prodigy at twelve years of age.
   Mrs. Simpson on her mother's side is a granddaughter of Tunis William Vancleve, a pioneer of Ohio, who died in South Arlington in that State, Oct. 18, 1879, in his ninetieth year. He was born in New Jersey, in 1790, and emigrated to Warren County, Ohio, in 1818, shortly afterward removing to Montgomery County, Ohio, where the rest of his life was passed. His ancestors were Holland Dutch, and both his father and grandfather had fought in the Revolutionary War, on the patriot side. T. W. Vancleve was a soldier in the War of 1812, for which he received a pension. A brother served in the navy in the same war. One of his uncles was killed by Indians in the forest where Cincinnati now stands, and the first white child born in Dayton, Ohio, was his cousin, John Vancleve, a lifelong resident of that place.
   Tunis W. Vancleve was a blacksmith by trade, working at it both in New Jersey and Ohio, and until advancing age warned him that his days of active labor were drawing to a close. During his long life he had witnessed many changes -- States and Empires had risen and fallen, confederacies organized and overthrown, ocean steamships, railways, telegraphs and telephones had sprung into existence, and the face of the map of the world had been changed by recent discoveries. His first vote had been cast for President Monroe, and he subsequently voted for all the Whig candidates until the formation of the Republican party, with which he acted until his death. He was four times married, his last wife surviving him. He left four children, several grandchildren, thirty-two great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren, all of whom attended a family re-union, at which he presided a short time before his death.
   Mr. Simpson's wise counsel and clear, candid judgment have been used effectually in the guidance of municipal affairs, and while holding office he always made his private interests subservient to those of the public. Under his administration as Mayor of Plattsmouth, in which office he served two years, the city was well governed, and prospered accordingly. He was City Clerk from 1875 to 1883, and retired from that office with an honorable record for efficiency and fidelity.

OHN M. LEIS, a thrifty, German-American citizen, who operates a splendid farm of 160 acres in Elmwood Precinct, was born in Hoxel, Prussia, where he lived and worked with his father, who was a farmer and merchant. He educated himself by attending the splendid schools of his native town. At the age of nineteen he undertook to learn the trade of cabinet-maker

which, proving uncongenial to his taste, he and his brother Matthew sailed for America from Bremen, March 27, 1851, landing in New York May 11, 1851. The first years of their life in the New World was passed in various employments in different places. Mr. L. spent two years at labor in a sugar refinery in New York City. He then journeyed in Pennsylvania and Maryland for two or three years, where he worked at farming and in an iron foundry until 1859, when he migrated to Canton, Fulton Co., Ill.
   It was in this year, 1859, our subject met and married Miss Kate Vogt, a native of Baden, Germany, born near the Black Forest, where she lived until she was fourteen years old, when, in company with her mother and three brothers and sisters, she came to America, landing in New York in 1852, where she went immediately to work by the week. After his marriage with this lady Mr. L. worked as a stonemason, they living in Illinois for the ensuing twenty years, when in 1876 they came to Nebraska. By hard labor and strict economy they had saved the sum of $900. and with this money and their family they settled on and proceeded to improve their home farm. Their children are: Fannie Louisa, now the wife of Mr. Horn, residing in Wabash, Neb.; John Z., residing in Holt County, Neb.; Stephen, Peter and Charles are living in Holt County, near their brother John; Calvin and the twins, George and Henry, are at home with their parents.
   By the thrift and industry peculiar to the people of which our subject is one, he has accumulated a handsome property. In addition to the home farm he owns 160 acres in Holt County, Neb., and in company with his three sons has an ownership of 1,100 acres of land in that county. The improvements on the home farm are not at this date extensive, but those which are made are of the most solid and substantial character, designed with the view of ultimately extending them largely; but the condition and appearance of his farm are not excelled by any in the precinct.
   The father of Mr. Leis, John B. Leis, was a farmer and merchant and also hotel-keeper in the mother country; his mother was Anna Mary Proesch. Both parents are dead. They were the parents of five children: Stephen and Catherine are dead; Susannah; John M., our subject, and Mathew. Susannah is in Germany; Mathew is a tailor in Brooklyn, N. Y., where he is conducting a prosperous and lucrative business.
   The scholastic education of our subject was entirely in the German language. Upon his arrival in America he applied himself assiduously to the study of the English language, until he has attained a considerable efficiency. He is a student and close observer of events, and as a means of assisting himself he has kept a complete, careful record of events as they have transpired since 1863, adopting a system of making a note daily of the occurrences of that day, and he now possesses a record which is particularly valuable, as it relates in a great measure to local occurrences.
   The wife of our subject is a large, portly, good-natured lady, an excellent housekeeper, and a lady who is worthy the respect of all her neighbors. She is a consistent member of the Lutheran Church, and her husband is a member of the Catholic Church. In politics the gentleman is a Republican; he has held no public office except that of Road Supervisor. As an indication of the bent of his mind it will suffice to say that he regularly receives eight newspapers and periodicals, and studies them all very carefully,

LIAS M. COMPTON. Nebraska has drawn within her borders men from all sections of the United States, and among her citizens the "Ohio man" has acquitted himself in a manner worthy the reputation of the Buckeye State. The subject of this sketch, a native of that State, and at present a resident of Avoca Precinct, was born in Montgomery County, Sept. 23, 1830, and is consequently fast approaching his threescore years.
   The Compton family is essentially a good one, and William, the father of our subject, was one of its most honored representatives, who, settling in Montgomery County, Ohio, when beginning his career as a farmer on his own account, there spent the remainder of his life, making for himself a record which his children may look upon with reasonable pride. William Compton was born Feb. 18,

1798, in South Carolina, and after becoming a resident of Ohio, was married to Miss Susanna Frost, of Miami County, that State. The mother of our subject, a most excellent and worthy lady, traces her ancestry to Wales. She was not permitted to spend a long and useful life by the side of her honored husband, she passing away in the prime of life, he living to a ripe old age. They were the parents of seven children, four of whom are living and making their homes mostly in the United States.
   The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in his native county which he left when a little past twenty years of age, coming into Miami County, in the same State, where he labored as a carpenter for some years. In Miami County also he was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Jenkins, who was born and reared there, and who was the daughter of Isaac and Mary (Jay) Jenkins. The Jenkins family were Quakers in religious belief, and possessed all the peculiar and praiseworthy characteristics of that peaceable sect. The parents of Mrs. Compton spent the greater part of their lives in Ohio, dying there at an advanced age. Such had been their lives among the people of their community that their names are held in kindly remembrance by it large number of friends and acquaintances.
   Mrs. Compton was carefully reared, and received a common-school education, remaining under the parental roof until her marriage. As the wife of our subject she became the mother of nine children, two of whom, a little daughter Ellen, and an infant unnamed, are deceased. Of the survivors the record is as follows: Samuel married Miss Jerusha Grubbs, and is living in Weeping Water, engaged as a brick and stone mason; William is farming in Colorado; Frank and Rollin I. are at home with their parents; Lora J. is the wife of John Fowler, an esteemed citizen of Cass County, whose biography appears elsewhere in this work; Minnie R. is the wife of Frank P. Parker, a farmer of Sarpy County, this State; Ida M. is at home.
   Mr. Compton, politically, is a sound Republican, and in religious matters, with his estimable wife, adheres to the doctrines of the United Brethren Church. Upon leaving his native State he was thereafter a resident of Tama County, Iowa, for a period of eighteen years, a part of the time living in Benton County. He came to Avoca Precinct in the spring of 1875, purchasing his present homestead of 160 acres on section 17. His buildings compare favorably with those of the industrious men around him, and he has made for himself the reputation of a peaceable and law-abiding citizen, one who is creditably filling his niche in a community of intelligent people.

ENRY C. CUTLER. Among the prominent and successful farmers and enterprising men within the limits of Cass County, the name of our subject holds a proud place. His handsome home is situated on the west half of section 16, in Greenwood Precinct, and consists of 320 acres, all under a high state of cultivation. He is a husbandman of no small ability, keeps his home in the best condition, and makes agriculture a science. This gentleman was born in Cass County, Neb., Aug. 16, 1864, and as a specimen of a native-born Nebraskian, he does his native State full honor. He is the son of Martin B. Cutler, who was born in Cayuga County, N. Y., Dec. 2, 1836. He came to Nebraska thirty-three years go, when he was twenty years old, and settled on a farm in Greenwood Precinct. He purchased one-half of section 16 from the State ten years ago, when he moved onto it.
   The father of our subject was married to Miss Caroline McHerron, April 12, 1858. This lady was born in Keokuk County, Iowa, in 1841. They were the parents of two children -- George H. and Henry C. George H. was born June 24, 1860, in Cass County, Neb. The father died at the age of fifty-three. Henry C. Cutler was married, Nov. 14, 1888, to Miss Lillian Walker, a daughter of George Walker, residing on section 8, in Greenwood Precinct. Her father came to Nebraska in 1887, from Sidney, Fremont Co., Iowa, where Miss Lillian was born, and settled on their. present homestead. The grandmother of our subject, Mrs. Axenia Cutler, was born Dec. 17, 1810, in Cayuga County, N. Y., and was the wife of L. H. Cutler, who was born in Guilford, Vt., Aug. 20, 1805, where he was en-

gaged in the mercantile business until the time of his death. She was the mother of six children, named; Martha R., Axenia; Martin B., the father of our subject; Elizabeth R., Charles J. and Frank L.
   The father of our subject, Martin B. Cutler, was married to Miss Gertrude Border in 1877. She now survives him, and lives in the village of Greenwood. Our subject's father enlisted for a period of nine months for service against the Indians in the West. At the expiration of this term of service he organized a company of scouts, of which he was elected First Lieutenant. After his discharge from this service, and on his return home, he was elected to the office of Sheriff of Cass County, which he filled most acceptably for a period of four years. After this he retired to his farm, where he died March 29, 1885. Our subject and brother George H. went into the business of raising thoroughbred cattle, horses and hogs on what is well. known throughout the northwestern part of the county as the "Highland Stock Farm."
   A tour of inspection of the farm of our subject and his brother, cannot fail to be of interest to the admirer of thoroughbred stock, of the different species handled by these gentlemen. The horses in comfortably designed and roomy boxstalls, the cattle sleek and contented in their quarters, and the hogs with their various fine points displayed to the best advantage, in their clean, well-lighted pens, convey an idea of comfort and animal contentment seldom witnessed. These same animals, when roaming over the pastures, present a scene calculated to inspire the brush of a Rosa Bonbent. The owners of these fine animals possess a complete knowledge of the business in which they are engaged; they bring to it science and the skill derived from their own experience, as well as availing themselves of the knowledge gained by years of patient study and practice by men who have grown old and gray in its pursuit. The result is they have a stock farm second to none in value in the West.
   Our subject and his brother George received a first-class education, first in the common schools in the neighborhood, and afterward attending the High School in Plattsmouth, where they were graduated with honors, since which time they have been engaged in active business. George is in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, as locomotive engineer, having entered their service since the time of the great strike, which occurred Feb. 22, 1888.
   In his domestic relations our subject is an exceptionally well-favored man. He has just brought to his home a handsome young wife, a splendidly formed, handsome, blonde lady of medium height. She is well educated and refined, and is capable of adorning any position in life in which she may be placed. In securing this lady for a life partnership our subject has undoubtedly made the most successful venture of his life, and in the coming years, when time has tried their affection, as fire tries pure gold, he can turn his thoughts backward, and say that the 14th of November, 1888, was the most fortunate day of his life. His grandmother, who is still living, hale and hearty, is one of the representative ladies of the old school. No one can be in her presence without feeling the beneficent influence of her kindly and happy disposition. The father partook largely of the characteristics of his mother, and during his lifetime intercourse with him was a benefit to all his friends. George H. Cutler was married to Miss Annie Hansen, of Cass County, Dec. 25, 1880.

R. URBAN H. NORRIS, physician and surgeon, and an esteemed resident of Greenwood, was born near Findlay, Ohio, and grew up on a farm on which his father had settled in 1832. His early life, in common with other farmers' sons of that time, was spent alternately working and attending the common schools in the town of Findlay, which were unusually good. His parents had a proper conception of the value of a good education, and as a consequence insisted that our subject should have every facility within their reach for acquiring complete and thoroughgoing instruction. At the age of fourteen he entered the High School in Findlay, from which he was graduated with honors. At a very early period in life he conceived the idea of becoming a physician and surgeon, and devoted all his energies to

acquiring a knowledge which would facilitate his attaining to the object of his ambition.
   The mother of our subject died, and it almost broke the hearts of her children and husband; the latter was getting well along in years and thought a change to the golden South would be beneficial to his health. In pursuance of this decision, he removed with his entire family soon after the mother's death to Southwestern Kansas. After living there several months he went to Oskaloosa, Iowa, where our subject began studying for the medical profession under the censorship of Dr. Crowder. After studying with the Doctor for three years, at the age of twenty he entered the University of Iowa, at Iowa City, attending one course of lectures. He began the practice of medicine with his former preceptor, where he remained a period of two years. At the expiration of this time he removed to Ashland, Neb., and completed his studies under the direction of Dr. Mansfield, and finally, as a completion and rounding out or a full course, he attended the Medical College at Omaha, where he attained a high position in his class, and was graduated in the spring of 1882.
   The long practical experience of our subject, capped by the thorough course of his study at Western medical colleges, insured his immediate success upon coming to Greenwood in 1880. He is as well and favorably known as any physician in Southeastern Nebraska, and his practice has been crowned with unusually successful results. He is a self-made man, having paid his own way through the various colleges, and his whole expenses while studying under his preceptors, by the fruits of his own labor. His practice engages his entire attention, and he devotes himself most assiduously to his loved profession, studying all the latest literature pertaining to his chosen walk in life, losing no opportunity of informing himself of the best methods and remedies, and in all ways keeping thoroughly abreast of the times.
   The Doctor was married in Kansas to Miss Angeline Bell, in 1882. This lady was born in Knox County, Ohio, and is the daughter of Albert and Areboa Bell. Her home in Ohio was near that our subject in his early days, and in his youth the Doctor was smitten with one of Cupid's darts, and after, preparing himself for a life of usefulness, he took to his heart his first love, and now the Doctor and his lovable wife are happy and content in their new and elegant home, and they, in company with their two children, Ethel M. and Ralph W., present a picture of contentment that is seldom beheld. During the summer of 1885 the Doctor built a commodious residence, two full stories high, located on one of the most beautiful building sites in Greenwood. The whole house is most conveniently arranged, possessing all the modern improvements which can add to the comfort and well-being of his little family. His office and laboratory, complete in all the equipments for the successful practice of his profession, is in a wing of his residence. His practice is very satisfactory, and is extending daily.
   Our subject's father was John Norris, born in Wayne County, Ohio; his mother was Mary Lavina Hartman, born in Richland County, in the same State. The father is now residing in Dallas, Tex., and is the proprietor of a large cattle ranch in Denton County, that State. He has attained the ripe old age of eighty-six years, and is still active and hearty. The mother died Sept. 2, 1875, aged fifty-one years. The Doctor is the youngest of. three children. The other two children were Ambrose and Semilda. His brother Ambrose resides in Dallas, Texas as does also his sister Semilda, now Mrs. Alfred Alerd, and is the mother of two children. Grandfather Norris was born in England, as was his wife. The maternal grandfather and grandmother of our subject were born in Germany, Prof. Norris, of the University of Pennsylvania, is a distant relative of the Doctor.
   The neighbors of the Doctor have succeeded in inducing him to serve them as a member of the Board of Education of Greenwood, for a period of three years. He is also a member of the Nebraska State Medical Association, and is a very prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, being connected with the local lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Greenwood. He is also a member of Greenwood Lodge, I. O. O. F. In politics he is a thorough-going Republican.
   While the Doctor has succeeded in working his way up to the position he now holds, it is due to his great force of character and his disposition to