cock. Eight children complete the family circle of our subject and his wife, namely: Robert, Thomas, Herbert, George, Amelia, John, Nellie and Victor.
   Our subject was reared to believe in the doctrines of the Episcopal Church, and is an active member of the Plattsmouth church of that denomination. He is generous and charitable to a degree, quietly and unostentatiously contributing of his wealth to the support of any worthy object. He is also public-spirited, and all schemes that he believes will in any way benefit the city, meet his cordial approval and substantial support. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity, and is a prominent member of Lodge No. 6, at Plattsmouth. He and his family move in the highest social circles of this community, and they entertain their numerous friends in a delightful manner in their attractive home.

OHN G. HAYS, a venerable and honorable citizen of Plattsmouth, was one of its earliest pioneers. When he located here in the days of '56 even a man of his discernment could scarcely have foreseen the busy and thriving city of to-day with upwards of 10,000 inhabitants, in the little hamlet that he then found here, consisting of perhaps a half-a-dozen board shanties and log buildings on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River on the one hand, and the wild, lonely prairies, rolling away to the distant horizon on the other. The squatter's claim that he bought from the original owner, and entered at the land office when the Government threw the land on the market, is now included in the city and is very valuable property.
   Mr. Hays was born in Dauphin County, Pa., July 15, 1806. Patrick Hays, his father, was, it is thought, a native of the same county, and it appears, from the best information at hand, that his father, David Hays, was born in Ireland and came from there with two brothers to make his home in this country. He settled in Pennsylvania, and was there married to Miss Martha Wilson. He subsequently moved from Dauphin County to Franklin County, in the same State, and bought a farm there, on which he spent the remainder of his life. The father of our subject was reared and married in his native county, and in 1807 moved with his family to Cumberland County, Pa. He bought a farm there and until his death carried on agriculture. The maiden name of his wife was Miss Elizabeth Galbraith. She was also a native of Dauphin County, and a daughter of John and Mary (McCulla) Galbraith. She spent her last years on the home farm in Cumberland County. She and her husband had nine children, all of whom grew up, and the following are their names; Mary M., David S., John G., James W., Robert, Martha, Elizabeth, Jane, William. Of this family our subject and his brother Robert are the only ones living.
   The former was the third child in order of birth and the second son of his parents. He grew to a sturdy manhood in Cumberland County, whither his parents removed when he was about a year old. There were no free schools in his youth and he was educated in schools taught on the subscription plan, his attendance being limited to the winter sessions, as at other times of the year he had to assist in the farm work as soon as large enough. He remained an inmate of the parental household until he was nineteen years old, and was then apprenticed for three years to learn the trade of tanner at a place now known as Orrstown. After the expiration of his term of apprenticeship he did journeywork for six months, and then went to Ohio and established a tannery near Dayton, which he operated for two years. He next owned and managed a tannery in Springfield, buying hides of the butchers in that neighborhood, and then selling the leather at Cincinnati. That city was a distance of eighty miles from his home, and the leather was transported by teams. He carried on the business there until 1853, and then located in Greenfield, Highland Co., and conducted the same business there, having bought a tannery. In 1856 he sold his property in Ohio and came to the Territory of Nebraska, coming by stage across Indiana, Illinois and Iowa to Fort Des Moines, where he had an opportunity to finish the journey in a wagon with other parties that resided there and were bound for Plattsmouth. On his arrival he took in at a glance

the insignificant little town by the Missouri, with its two log buildings, half-a-dozen or so plank shanties, and one store, kept by Messrs. Slaughter & Vallery, pioneer merchants of Cass County. On the land that he purchased of a squatter he erected a temporary shelter in the shape of a small plank house, in which he lived for a time. He soon platted a part of his land, as it was in a desirable residential quarter of the embryo city, and he disposed of it at good prices.
   Mr. Hays has been twice married, the first time in Montgomery County, Ohio, to Amanda Weakley, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Alexander) Weakley. This wife of his early manhood died while yet in the prime of life in Springfield, Ohio, in 1848, and her death was lamented by many who esteemed her for her worth. There were four children: Annie, widow of James Gibson, lives in Springfield, Ohio. He was born in Clarke County, Ohio, and had been married to Miss Ladiska Marshall. He had started the Fremont Tribune. He had a good military record as a gallant soldier in the 1st Ohio Infantry, in which he served three years and one month. Mrs. Gibson has one child living, Horace. Her eldest son, George, died at the age of twenty-one years. Thomas W. married Mary White, and lives in Pittsburgh, Pa.; Thomas has two children, James W. and Nettie. Mary J., the widow of William Mathison, lives in Dayton, Ohio; John Newton died at Fremont, Nebraska, leaving a widow and one daughter. Mrs. Mathison has one son, named Hays. Mr. Hays was married a second time in 1850, in Dayton, Ohio, to Miss Lydia Fields. She died at Greenfield, Ohio, in 1853, after a brief but happy married life.
   It will be seen that Mr. Hays has been a resident of this State since early territorial days, and has been a witness of its wonderful progress. He has assisted in promoting the material prosperity of Plattsmouth, and also its moral elevation by the influence of a manly, honest, sober, Christian life. He has witnessed its growth from its infancy, when it did not number more than fifty or a hundred inhabitants at the most, to its present size and importance, with a population of upwards of ten thousand people. In his political views our subject, who was in early life a Whig, has been a Republican since the formation of that party, and is still a stanch supporter of its policy. Mr. Hays has for more than fifty years been a member of the Presbyterian Church and has served since 1835 as Elder, and has always been a worker in the Sunday School. He is a man of deep religious faith, and is calmly awaiting life's great end in the sincere belief of a happy future in a world without end.

ACHARIAH W. SHRADER, Among the men who have most worthily filled their appointed niche in the world's great temple, the subject of this sketch deserves more than a passing mention. He settled on section 25, Mt. Pleasant Precinct, and since that time has given his attention mainly to the construction of a homestead, and the development of his land, but at the same time has contributed, as opportunity offered, to the various enterprises arising from and closely connected with the well-being of the people around him. He is a man well spoken of by his neighbors, and one who has made for himself a worthy record.
   The Old Dominion is accredited with the birth of our subject, which took place in Tazewell County, Dec. 26, 1848. Henry and Edith Shrader, his parents, were also born there, but traced their ancestry to Germany. It is believed that the first representatives of both families in this country crossed the Atlantic during the colonial days, and were among the first people to till the soil of Virginia. They prospered and multiplied, and were people notable as being of more than ordinary industry and honesty, good citizens in the highest sense of the term. As far as can be learned their record is eminently worthy of preservation.
   To the parents of our subject there were born eleven children, only one of whom has been called from the household circle. The remaining ten are located as follows: George W. is now carrying on farming in Rock Bluff Precinct, this county; Gilly A. is the wife of William Yost, and they reside in Virginia, as do also Christina, the wife of James Holbrook, and Tirittia (Mrs. Jacob Absheer). Andrew J. migrated some years ago to the Indian

Territory; Zachariah W., of our sketch, is next in order of birth; Joseph L., in this county; Marion F., Joshua V. and Naomi (Mrs. James Day), continue upon their native soil in Virginia; Melinda is deceased. The mother died at the old homestead in the spring of 1887, and the father in the fall of that same year.
   Mr. Shrader remained a resident of his native State until a young man of twenty years, and in 1868 turned his steps westward toward the young State of Nebraska. In this venture he was accompanied by his brothers George and Andrew J., and for a number of years thereafter he farmed on rented land. In 1870 he returned on a visit to Virginia, remaining there about four months, and then resumed operations on this side of the Mississippi. He made his first purchase of land in 1882, where he settled soon afterward and began the construction of a homestead. His diligence and industry were amply rewarded, and in due time he added eighty acres to his first purchase, having now a fine estate of 240 acres, with good buildings, livestock and machinery. Although in the main he has been prosperous he has met with some losses, especially in 1874, when about $700 worth of property was destroyed by fire, including a valuable span of mares, and other things which he replaced.
   The 2d of February, 1871, witnessed the marriage of our subject with Miss Rachel Murray, who was born April 10, 1853, in Jackson County. Mo., and is the daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth Murray, the former deceased, and the latter now living in Smith County, Kan. The family left Missouri about 1854, taking up their residence in Mills County, Iowa. After a two years' sojourn in that region they came to this county and settled in Rock Bluff Precinct at a time when it was thinly settled, and Indians still roamed over this part of the country. The parental household numbered thirteen children, of whom the following survive, namely: Alvers, of Smith County, Kan.; Joshua, of this county; Mary (Mrs. Thomas Sullivan), of Rock Bluff Precinct; Adeline, the wife of Andrew Taylor, of Plattsmouth Precinct; William, also living there; Maggie (Mrs. Leonidas Quinn), of Smith County, Kan.; Leonard, a resident of Eight Mile Grove Precinct; Nancy, the wife of William Barnes, of Smith County, Kan., and Mrs. Shrader. The deceased are James P., Lovina, Mitchell and Sarah.
   To our subject and his estimable wife there were born the following children: Olio, Edith, Jonathan (deceased), Capitola, William R., Robert M., Josephine and Grace. Mr. Shrader has been a uniform supporter of Democratic doctrines. Although by no means an office-seeker, he has held various positions of trust and responsibility, serving as Judge of Elections and on the School Board. He, with his wife and their two eldest children, are members in good standing of the United Brethren Church. To this Mr. Shrader has given his cordial support, and officiates as a Trustee. A man decided in his views, and fearless in upholding what he believes to be the right, he is one of those who form the bone and sinew of all well-regulated society, one whose career has been praiseworthy in the extreme.

RS. AMELIA BEIN, a very estimable lady, lives at her farm on section 29, in Plattsmouth Precinct. She was born in Germany, Aug. 6, 1843, and is the daughter of Frederick and Amelia (Wehrbein) Bein, who were also of German birth and parentage, and emigrated to the United States in 1855.
   The subject of this sketch was a girl of twelve years when she crossed the Atlantic with her parents, and remembers many of the incidents of her childhood in the Fatherland. She attended the common schools, and was taught habits of industry at home, and before reaching her nineteenth year was united in marriage with Mr. August Bein, who was also a native of Germany, and emigrated to the United States with his brother Henry in 1860, locating at once in Jefferson County, Wis., where they were married.
   Mr. and Mrs. Bein remained residents of the Badger State about six years after their marriage, coming to this county in 1868. Mr. B. purchased 140 acres of land, embracing a portion of sections 29 and 32, in Plattsmouth Precinct, from which he

improved a good farm, and where his family still live. At the time of taking possession there was a small house, but little attempt had been made at other improvement, Mr. Bein having put up the present residence. This is a neat and substantial structure, and adjacent is a good barn and all other necessary out-buildings, together with a flourishing orchard and the smaller fruit trees.
   August Bein departed this life at the homestead in Plattsmouth Precinct, March 11, 1881, when in the prime of life, being forty-four years old. He was the son of Henry and Kate (Sprute) Bein, who were also natives of Germany, born and reared not far from the early home of the Wehrbein family. They spent their entire lives in Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Bein identified themselves with the Presbyterian Church many years ago, and of this Mr. B. was a consistent member until his death. Mrs. Bein and her children still adhere to this faith. Of these latter there are eight living, namely: August, Ida (Mrs. William Hull), Anna, Minnie, Henry, Mollie, Frederick and Edward.
   The Wehrbein family in coming to this country made the voyage on a sailing-vessel, landing at New Orleans after having been on the ocean seven weeks. Thence they went up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Mo., and from there by rail to Watertown, Wis.

OZZEL MORROW, of Rock Bluff Precinct, was born in Jackson County, Ohio, April 9, 1847, and is the son of Andrew and Sarah (Dill) Morrow, also natives of that State. The paternal grandfather, James Morrow, was born in County Down, Ireland, whence he emigrated to the United States when a young man, and was married, it is believed, in Virginia, of which his wife, Jane Ludinton, was a native, probably of Greenbrier County.
   To the parents of our subject there were born fifteen children, of whom Rozzel was the seventh in order of birth. Nine of these are still living, located mostly in Iowa and Nebraska. The parents left Ohio in 1857, turning their faces toward the Far West, and located in Page County, Iowa, where they lived until 1860. Thence they removed to Mills County, that State, and from there came to Nebraska, settling in this county in the spring of 1868, where they lived until the spring of 1873. Then, returning to Iowa, they took up their abode in Harrison County, where they still live. The father has been a lifelong farmer, but in 1883 retired from active labor, and is now engaged as a land speculator and in the loaning of money.
   Our subject came to Nebraska with his parents, locating with them in Rock Bluff Precinct, of which he has since been a resident. He was married, March 25, 1874, to Miss Adela, daughter of Alexander and Anna (McNurlin) Frizzell. The father of Mrs. Morrow was a native of Vermont, and the mother of Pennsylvania. The maternal grandfather, James McNurlin, was born in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Frizzell are now living in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Morrow commenced their wedded life in this county, taking possession of their present farm in the spring of 1876. This comprises 227 acres of well-improved land on section 6, where Mr. M. has erected substantial buildings, planted fruit and shade trees, and gathered around him all the comforts of life. He has been prominent in local affairs, and is well posted upon current events. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1879, which position he still holds, and, politically, votes the straight Republican ticket. Mrs. Morrow is a member in good standing of the United Brethren Church. They are the parents of seven interesting children, namely: Viola, Edmund, Hallie, Catherine A., Rozzel, who died in January, 1888, aged eight years; Wrenn and Lilly.
   Mr. Morrow and six of his brothers enlisted as Union soldiers during the late Civil War. Mr. M. was first a member of the Iowa State Militia, in the fall of 1862: later he enlisted in Company I, 15th Iowa Infantry, served with his regiment until May, 1864, and was then transferred to the United States Patrol Guards, with whom he operated until the close of the war. His brother George was in Company G, 15th Iowa Infantry, as a fifer, serving thus three years, and afterward shouldering a musket, served in the ranks until the close. His brother Allen was in the same company and regiment as Rozzel. His twin brothers, John and Thomas, were members of Company A, 29th Ohio Infantry; John

died near Shell Mound, Miss., in 1863; Thomas returned home in safety, and is now dead; Amos was in the 4th Iowa Battery, serving two and a half years, and is also now dead.
   Mr. Morrow is a member of the G. A. R., belonging to McConnahie Post No. 45, of Plattsmouth, being the fifer, and was also connected with the Good Templars' Lodge at Mt. Pleasant during its existence. He is one of the solid men of his precinct, prompt in his business transactions and a thorough and skillful farmer, and had some experience as a pioneer in early days, when the scalp lifters were plentiful.

OSEPH V. WECKBACH. Cass County numbers among her citizens many men of great executive ability and business talent, by whose force and enterprise her commercial interests have become very extensive, and her various resources have been developed to a wonderful degree. One of these gentlemen (he whose name stands at the head of this sketch) is one of the leading citizens of Plattsmouth, of which he has been a resident many years, coming here in 1865, when the city was but a small village, and with the exception of two years elsewhere, has lived here ever since. He is a prominent figure in business circles, being one of the most prosperous merchants in the city, and an active member of the Board of Trade, and he has also added another to the various industries of this city in the establishment of the Plattsmouth Brickyard, where he is extensively engaged in the manufacture of a fine quality of brick, thus giving work to a number of men. He has also been prominently identified with the civic life of this city, and has held the most important offices connected with the management of its affairs. He was Mayor of the city one term, and has been a member of the City Council over twelve years.
   Our subject was born in the village of Wauldhausen, a few miles from Buchen, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, June 5, 1844. His, father, Michael Weckbach, was a native of the same place, and there he worked at his trade of blacksmith until 1866. His wife, the mother of the subject of our sketch, was Elizabeth Wiedemann. She was also born near Wauldhausen, in a neighboring village. She now makes her home with her children, mostly in Omaha. In 1866 Michael Weckbach came to America and located in Plattsmouth, and from there went to Omaha and spent his declining years. He had a family of five children who grew to maturity -- Joseph, William, Henry, Gustave and Isadore, all of whom came to America. William and Gustave live in Omaha, and Henry in Plattsmouth. Isadore died in this city.
   Joseph V., of whom we write, acquired a good education in the Fatherland, attending school quite regularly until he was fourteen years old. He then went into the shop with his father and gained a practical knowledge of the blacksmith's trade, and he continued to work at that trade in his native land until 1865. He was then a wide-awake, energetic young man of twenty-one years, and he desired to see something more of life than was possible in the village where his days thus far had been spent, and he was also ambitious to become a rich and prosperous man. Thinking that the United States of America held out more inducements than any other country, he emigrated to these shores with his parents, landing in New York, and came directly to Plattsmouth. His only capital was good health and willing hands, but a youth of his capabilities was not long finding employment, and he worked in a blacksmith shop for a time. He then set up a smithy and did business on his own account until 1870. He then sold out and interested himself in agriculture, buying a farm in Eight Mile Grove Precinct. He carried it on successfully for two years, and then traded his farm for a stock of groceries, and since that time has conducted mercantile business in Plattsmouth. Two years after his first establishment in the business he added dry-goods to his stock. Oct, 1, 1887, he sold his grocery department to his brother Henry.
   Mr. Weckbach and Miss Mary Katarina Guthman were united in marriage July 9, 1865, and of their wedded life eleven children have been born, namely; Anna E., Charles W., Mary R., Lydia J., Edward, Eugene H., Lewis G., Matilda L., Katie F., Joseph V. and Agnes. Mr. Weckbach erected

his present residence, one of the finest in the city, in 1884, and in their beautiful home he and his estimable wife dispense a charming hospitality to numerous friends, our subject is a fine specimen of the "self-made man," as he has acquired his fortune with no other capital than a sound mind in a sound body, and his example should stimulate others in like circumstances. He has ever been active in promoting the best interests of his adopted home, and has been among the foremost in securing the establishment of institutions for the furtherance of its material prosperity, such as the Board of Trade for example, of which he was a charter member. He is also a stockholder and director in the counting factory. He is one of the leaders of the Democratic party, and enthusiastically supports its measures. Mr. and Mrs. Weckbach and family are members of the Catholic Church.

AMES O'NEILL, deceased. This name will be held in reverence as long as Plattsmouth shall stand, as that of one of the gentlemen to whom belonged the honor of having been its founders. And perhaps we may justly assign to his wife the honor of suggesting this attractive spot as a fine place to locate a town.
   While Nebraska, then considered a part of the "Great American Desert," was still the home of the Indian, shared by the buffalo, the deer, the antelope and other wild animals, with scarcely a white settlement within its borders, there came the cry, heard around the world, of the discovery of gold in California (that event which was, perhaps, one of the means of bringing about a change here, "the old order yielding place to the new,") and soon the sound of the tramp of thousands echoed across these vast, lonely prairies, as they hurried on, eager to reach the goal of wealth. While thus passing through the country they could not fail to note what a goodly heritage lay in this fair land, with its sunny skies, genial clime, and fertile, well-watered soil, although they little dreamed that the wealth they were seeking was obtainable here. Taking advantage of the rush of emigration across the border, James O'Neill, a pioneer of Mills County, Iowa, where he owned a large tract of land, moved to the east bank of the Missouri River to a point called Platteville, for the purpose of establishing a ferry to convey the emigrants across the stream; he had three flatboats, and made that his principal business. One day, while looking across the river to the opposite bank, Mrs. O'Neill remarked to her husband that it would be a good place for a town. He replied that as soon as the Indian treaties were ratified and the land thrown on the market, he would cross the stream and lay out a town. Early in the spring of 1853 he put his plan into execution, he and his friend Mr. Martin, with whom he carried on a mercantile business in Platteville, crossing the Missouri on the ice and making a claim to the land on which Plattsmouth now stands. They built a log house on the hill, southeast from the present site of the depot, the house being a rude structure, with an earth and stick chimney at one end on the outside. That spring Mr. O'Neill's family came over and occupied the house, and immediately planned a village, and commenced to sell lots, and during the summer there were probably a dozen houses erected here. Thus originated the thriving city of Plattsmouth. But while it is flourishing, and every day extending its interests and increasing its wealth and prosperity, the brave old pioneer of whom we write is numbered among the dead. Long may his memory be cherished, and his name be handed down from generation to generation for his share in laying the foundation of this city.
   Mr. O'Neill was born in Hocking County, Ohio, Sept. 24, 1815. His father, James O'Neill, was a native of Ireland, who came to America when a young man, and settled in Ohio, being an early pioneer of Hocking County. He became the proprietor of quite a large tract of land there, and there was extensively engaged in farming the remainder of his life. His wife was born in Scotland. She came to Nebraska with her son, and died at his home in Plattsmouth. She was the mother of ten children, nine of whom grew to maturity. The father was reared in the Presbyterian Church, and was ever a faithful member.
   The subject of this sketch passed his early life in his native county. He was reared to the life of a