ters and one son, namely: Bertha M., Olive L. and Elmer. Bertha is the wife of Joseph H. Clapp, a well-to-do farmer of Tipton Precinct, this county; they have two children, Leslie and an infant unnamed. The other daughter is at home with her parents, as is their son Elmer. Mr. and Mrs. Sears are members in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. S., politically, votes the straight Republican ticket, as have all the male members of the family so far as he has any record of them. He takes satisfaction in the thought that he cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. The frequently has been sent as a delegate to the various State and County Conventions, has served on the Petit and Grand Juries, and is a man of decided views, whose opinions are generally respected, as they are the outgrowth of his honest convictions.

ILLIAM H. PICKENS has for some years actively promoted the growth of Plattsmouth in his capacity of contractor and builder, he ranking among the first in that business in Cass County. He has been very successful in pursuit of his vocation since coming here, and has accumulated much property, from which he delves a good income.
   Mr. Pickens is a worthy descendant of an honorable ancestry, some of whose representatives have been prominent in the public life of this country. He is a native of Ireland, although of Scotch parentage, and his birth took place in the city of Belfast July 4, 1848. His parents, Arthur and Ann (Clark) Pickers, were natives of Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland, respectively. His paternal grandfather, Andrew Pickens, was born in Berks County, Pa., as was also his great-grandfather, Gen. Andrew Pickens. The latter took an active part in the American Revolution, and was one of the youngest and bravest of the Generals under Washington. He distinguished himself in the battles of Cowpens, Eutaw Springs, Thickety Creek and Ft. Harrison. After the war he was elected to Congress from South Carolina, and served with distinction in that body. He was of French parentage, and went to the home of his fathers, loaded with years and honors, to die. His wife was a sister of Senator Carr, of South Carolina. The grandfather of our subject grew to manhood and married in his native State, and then crossed the water to Scotland and settled in Glasgow, where he worked at his trade of stonemason, and there died. His son Arthur, father of our subject, was reared in his native city, and in his youth learned the trade of weaver. Some years after marriage he moved to Belfast, Ireland, where he operated a linen factory until his death in 1849. His wife survived him but a few years, dying in Belfast in 1857. There were four children born of their marriage: Lucy married John Adams, and lives in Belfast; Margaret married R. C. Montgomery, and lives in Chicago; John, who was an engineer, was killed in a collision in California in March, 1888.
   The other son, the subject of this notice, was one year old when he was deprived of a father's care, and was nine years old when the sad event of his mother's death left him an orphan. In March, 1858, he accompanied his brother and sister to this country, and as soon as he arrived went to live with Lyman Trumbull in Hyde Park, Ill. He made his home with that gentleman until he was fifteen, and then commenced to learn the carpenter's trade, serving three years, and acquiring a thorough, practical knowledge of his work in all its details, as he had a natural aptitude for handling tools. He subsequently did journey work for a year, and then established himself as a contractor and builder, with one shop in Chicago and another in Hyde Park. The continued in business in those places until November, 1873, and on the thirteenth day of that month he enlisted for five years as a soldier in the regular army, becoming a member of Company E, 5th United States Cavalry. He thus had an opportunity to see the greater part of our western territory, and became quite familiar with the great plains, from British America on the north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and from the Mississippi on the cast to the Rocky Mountains on the west, as he was at different times stationed in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Dakota, Utah, Nevada and Texas; and he also saw something of the Pacific

Coast, as he was at one time stationed in California. He met with many stirring adventures, and one listens to him with pleasure as he recounts tales of his soldier life. He was with Gen. Crook in Dakota at the time of the terrible Custer massacre, and his regiment was at the same time under orders from Gen. Sheridan to march for the place where the massacre occurred at the junction of the BigHorn and Little Big Horn Rivers. While they were encamped on Rosebud Creek the only survivor of Custer's command came into camp and announced the direful fate that had befallen the beloved and gallant commander and his men. Two days later our subject and his comrades were on the battlefield, where they took up the Indian trail to Yellowstone River. While on that expedition the soldiers had lived fourteen days on horsemeat, without any salt for savor. In 1874 Mr. Pickens took part in the battle of Tonto Creek, Ariz., and after the battle was promoted to the rank of Corporal by order of Gen. Crook, for personal merit and bravery in action. In 1877 he was on the Wind River expedition, under Gen. Wesley Merritt, and in the month of July he received promotion to the office of Sergeant, and also served as Quartermaster-Sergeant and Sergeant-Major. While in the army he was with his regiment in all of its marches and engagements, and took part in more than fifty encounters with the Indians. At the expiration of his term of service he was discharged at Ft. McKenney, Wyo., and returned to Chicago in November of the same year. The December following found him in Omaha, and in July, 1879, he came to Plattsmouth from that city, and at once established himself in his business as contractor and builder. In 1879 he bought a lot in a desirable residence portion of the city, and in 1881 elected the neat and commodious dwelling in which he and his family make their home. In 1883 he bought more land, and built another house, and since then has erected three other residences in Vallery's Addition. He now owns five houses, several vacant lots, and ten acres of improved land with buildings, joining the city.
   Mr. Pickens was married, Oct. 12, 1880, to Miss Emma A. DeSpain, and their pleasant home is gladdened by the presence of two children -- William Edward and Janetta. Their son Arthur John died at the age of six months. Mrs. Pickens as born in McDonough County, Ill., a daughter of William J. DeSpain who was born in Green County, Ky., March 19, 1812. His father, Peter DeSpain, whose birthplace is unknown, was of French ancestry. He was a Revolutionary soldier, serving under Washington, and after the war he settled in Kentucky, and was a pioneer of Green County, where he cleared a farm from the wilderness, and there his days were lengthened out far beyond scriptural limits, one hundred years having passed before his vigorous constitution yielded to death. Mrs. Pickens' father grew to manhood in his native county, and there learned the trade of carriage and wagon maker. He went to Illinois when a young man, and located near Decatur, where he plied his trade. Later he was a resident of Sangamon and McDonough Counties. In 1855 he moved to Schuyler county, Mo., and buying a tract of wild land there, devoted most of his time to its improvement, living there until 1860. He next made his home in Iowa for four years, and then became identified with the business interests of Plattsmouth, erecting a shop here and following his trade for awhile. He was elected Police Judge in 1876, and was reelected in 1877, dying while still an incumbent of that office, Dec. 22, 1877, being the date of his death. He was tin incorruptible Judge, and his sterling worth made him an invaluable citizen, whose death was a severe blow to the community.
   The maiden name of William DeSpain's wife was Janetta Eaton, and she was born in Woodford County, Ky., Oct. 31, 1815. Her father, George H. Eaton, was born in the same county, and his father, Joseph Eaton, was a descendant of one of three brothers who came from England in the "Mayflower." He was one of the first settlers of Woodford County, Ky., where he improved a farm and spent his best years, dying at the age of eighty-seven years. The grandfather of Mrs. Pickens was reared and married in Kentucky, and in 1830 moved with a team to Illinois, and became a pioneer of Macon County. He settled five miles from Decatur, and three years later his death occurred in his new home. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Shannon, and she was a Pennsylvanian by

birth. Her father, Joseph Shannon, was a European, who, coming to America, settled in Pennsylvania, and during the war of the Revolution served in the Continental Army as teamster. He subsequently became a pioneer of Woodford County, Ky., and there died. Mrs. Pickens' mother was left a widow with ten children by the premature death of her husband, but she bravely toiled for their sakes, and kept them together until they were grown and able to care for themselves. She passed her last years peacefully in the homes of her children in Sangamon County. There were ten children born to Mrs. Pickens' parents, all of whom grew to maturity, namely: Augustus S., Mary F., Oscar H., Columbus, Amanda, Eliza, Albert, Emilia, Nettie and Belle. Oscar served in the late war as a member of a Missouri regiment.
   Mr. Pickens is a man of calm, clear intelligence, just and generous in his treatment of others, and his force and stability of character commend him to those with whom he associates as one to be relied upon in any and all cases. A fine portrait of Mr. Pickens is given on an accompanying page.

SAAC N. WOLF, Assessor of Greenwood Precinct, is also numbered among its steady-going and well-to-do farmers, and represents a good property lying on sections 34, 11 and 9. A man beginning life at the foot of the ladder, he has made a good record, struggling amid the difficulties which fall to the common lot of man, and better than all, has gained the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens. His snug home is suggestive of peace and comfort, without any pretensions to elegance, and it is quite possible that the inmates enjoy life's blessings in as large a degree as many others who are possessed of a greater amount of land and gold. Aside from his present office, Mr. Wolf has been quite prominent in public affairs, and is a man enjoying in a marked degree the good-will of those around him.
   Mr. Wolf comes from excellent Pennsylvania stock, his parents, Martin and Elizabeth (Clouse) Wolf, being natives of the Keystone State. They removed, before their marriage, to Ashland County, Ohio, settling in Lake Towns upon a farm, where the subject of this sketch was born Aug. 7, 1839. Martin Wolf was a carpenter by trade, but was also fond of farming pursuits, which he followed almost exclusively the latter part of his life. From Ohio the family finally removed, in 1855, to Indiana, and thence a few years later they came to Nebraska, where the death of the father took place in Greenwood Precinct, in March, 1877, when he was seventy-five years old. The mother is still living, and makes her home with her daughter, Mary S. Wolf, in Greenwood Precinct. She is now aged eighty-three, one of the oldest ladies in the place. The parental household included nine children, all of whom are living, making their homes mostly in Nebraska. They are named respectively: George W., Jacob, John C., Elizabeth, Martin V., Isaac N. (our subject), Mary S., William S. and Eliza, deceased.
   Mr. Wolf accompanied his parents in their removal to Indiana and Nebraska, and in Michigan made the acquaintance of Miss Margaret Ann Clouse, to whom he was married in Dover Township, Lenawee Co., Mich. Mrs. Wolf is the daughter of Jacob and Barbara (Wolford) Clouse, who were natives respectively of New Jersey and Ohio. In the latter State Mrs. Wolf lived until a girl of twenty-one years of age, then removed with her parents to Michigan. Mr. Clouse was considerable of a traveler, delighting in going from one place to another and learning what he could of different sections of the country. The family were afterward residents of Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. Mr. C. died at the home of our subject, in this State, Dec. 20, 1884, when eighty-two years old. The mother had died some years before, aged forty-five.
   After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wolf lived for a time at Clayton, Mich., where Mr. W. was in the employ of the Michigan Southern Railroad Company a period of three years. In the spring of 1869 he came to this county and homesteaded eighty acres of land in Greenwood Precinct. Their first dwelling was a box house, in which they lived in a style similar to the people around them until they could do better. The plodding industry of Mr. Wolf in time resulted in the cultivation

of the greater part of his land, of which he still retains possession. He has been a man more than ordinarily public-spirited and liberal, uniformly willing to assist by the best means in his power the projects calculated for the good of the community around him, He is a stanch Republican, politically, and is serving his third team as Assessor. In 1880 he was the Census Taker of Greenwood Precinct, and has frequently served on the Petit Jury. He has been active in the councils of his party in this section of the county, and frequently been sent as a delegate to its various conventions. Upon the organization of his school district he was chosen a Director, serving as such many years. He organized the second school in his precinct. In religious matters, both he and his estimable wife belong to the Free-Will Baptist Church. They have two children only, Mary E. and Nancy L., who continue under the home roof.

OHN M. LLOYD is a practical farmer and stock-raiser of Liberty Precinct, and he is successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits on a fine farm of 160 acres on section 34. It is well located and has on it an elegant residence, very commodious and comfortable, beautifully situated on a knoll overlooking a fine scope of country.
   Our subject is a native of Lycoming County, Pa., his birth having occurred March 8, 1857. His father, Edward Lloyd, was a native and lifelong resident of the same State, his death occurring when our subject was a boy eleven years old. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Montgomery, is still living, and is a very intelligent, thoughtful woman of less than three-score years.
   J. M. and his twin brother, Harrison W., a farmer in Liberty Precinct, are the youngest but one of the members of the family. His brother is a married man, having taken as a wife Risa Bingham, of Pennsylvania. He of whom we write was carefully reared by his mother, and was partly educated in his native State. He was a self-reliant lad, of more than ordinary push and intelligence, and when fifteen years of age came to Nebraska, making his home in Otoe County the first year.
   He was in the employ of the Government as a stage route agent between Nebraska City and Ashland, Neb. He was later engaged as a cattle herder for some time and finally took up his home in Liberty. He was subsequently married in Liberty Precinct at the home of his bride, Mrs. Maria R. Compton, nee Reed. She was born in Fountain County, Ind., Nov. 7, 1846, being a daughter of Hiram and Sarah A. (Lyon) Reed. Her father is now deceased, having died at Covington, Fountain Co., Ind., in December, 1883, at the age of sixty-four. Mrs. Reed is yet residing in Covington, and, although sixty-nine years old, is still hale and hearty. Hiram Reed was a native of Pennsylvania, and came of a good old Pennsylvanian family. He was a farmer, and when a young man went to Indiana to pursue his calling, and he was there married, his wife coming from Ohio, her native State. Mrs. Lloyd, of this notice, was reared in Fountain County, and received an excellent education, which well fitted her for the vocation of teacher, which she followed with success a short time before her marriage, in her native county, to John Compton, also a native of Fountain County, he having been born near Hillsboro in July, 1846, He was a son of Terry and Mary Compton, who are still living in Fountain County in the enjoyment of a serene old age, having retired from active life as farmers. Immediately after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Compton made a trip to this State and settled on the farm in Liberty Precinct; Mr. Compton having previously obtained it some years before. It was the year 1875 that they settled in their new home and began life as farmers with every prospect of future success. But two years later death invaded the little home and removed the husband. His marriage had been blessed to him and his wife by the birth of one child, Lulu, who died some months after her father's death.
   Since Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd were married, Nov. 17, 1878, they have spent three years in Fountain County, Ind. After their return to this State they settled on the farm which had belonged to her first husband. Since it has come under our subject's management, by a judicious expenditure of money and labor he has made extensive improvements, and has greatly increased the value of the estate,