to the father and mother of our subject, namely: Edwin, Sarah L., Beal Harvey (our subject), Ezra and Henry.
   Mr. D. is a genial, whole-souled farmer, very sociable, a good conversationalist, quick to see the humorous side of life, and enjoying to the fullest extent listening to a good story, and in turn can relate one with equal relish and inimitable style. His wife is an excellent lady, good looking and hospitable, having a smile and a good word for all. She is certainly entitled to a first place among the many good wives and mothers of Nebraska. In politics Mr. D. is strongly Republican. He is highly esteemed by all the members of the community in which he lives. Up to this time he has filled no public office except that of Constable, the duties of which he discharged in a very highly creditable manner.

J. MARTIN. Among the many fine farms in Cass County, whose broad acres, yielding abundant harvests, affording evidence of skillful and careful cultivation, and with their commodious and substantial farm buildings and neat surroundings, forming a pleasant feature in the landscape, those of our subject, one in Plattsmouth Township, where he makes his home, and the other in Rock Bluff Township, are as valuable as any. Mr. Martin is numbered among the early pioneers of this county, and his fortunes have grown with its growth, as he has risen from poverty to affluence, by the exercise of a steady determination to succeed by thrifty and industrious habits.
   The birthplace of our subject was in the north of France, Dec. 12, 1832. His father, Charles Martin, who was born in the same locality, was reared to agricultural pursuits. At the age of twenty-one he joined the army, and served four years, was with his regiment in the war with Spain, and fought in some of the most important battles. In one of these he was severely wounded and was discharged from the service on account of disability. He returned to his native France, and followed farming there for several years, employing his time in the winter season in a woodwork establishment. In 1842, with his wife and six children, he set sail from Havre on an American-bound vessel, and landed at New York twenty-four days later. He located in Stark County, Ohio, buying a tract of partly improved land there, and engaged in farming there for two years. He then sold and moved to Indiana, going by the lake and in wagons, as there were no railways in that part of the country in that day. He bought land in Allen County, seven miles north of Ft. Wayne, then a small village. He built a hewed log house of the most primitive style, there being no sawed lumber or nails used in its construction, split puncheon was used for floor, door and window casings, and the roof was made of shakes, held in place by the weight of poles. In the years of hard labor that followed he performed the pioneer task of clearing a farm, which remained his home until his death in 1862. The maiden name of his wife was Frances Misgny, and she was also a native of France. She now lives on the old homestead, at the venerable age of eighty-six years. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom grew to maturity, as follows: August, C. J., Lizzie, Delphis, Jane, Mary, Christina. The two youngest were born in America.
   Our subject was ten years of age when he left the home of his birth in France, and accompanied his parents to this country. He had attended school in his native land in the winter season, and as soon as large enough he had been set to herding cattle in summer. After coming to America he assisted his father in clearing a farm, continuing to live with his parents until he was twenty-one. He had, however, commenced working out at fourteen years of age, being thus employed the greater part of the year, receiving from $8 to $10 a month in payment for his services. When he attained his majority he commenced to run an engine in a furniture factory, his wages amounting to $7 a week, out of which he had to pay his board. He ran the engine for three years, when the company suspended. He was then engaged as an engineer in a round house at Ft Wayne. In the fall of 1857 he started for the Territory of Nebraska, accompanied by his wife, coming by rail

to St. Louis, and thence by steamer to Plattsmouth. This was then but a little hamlet, with a few habitations, four stores, and a saw and grist mill. The land around here was held by the claimants, who asked exorbitant sums for their claims, and as our subject's means were limited he could not afford to buy a claim and enter it at the land-office, as the men were all banded together to defend their property. As he could not get land he sought employment in a sawmill one winter, and then bought a pair of oxen and engaged at teaming. In 1859 he prepared to go to Pike's Peak, but before he started emigrants returning from there told such discouraging stories of their ill-luck that he concluded not to venture. He rented a farm three miles south of the city, and three years later he had been so prosperous since coming to the Territory that he was enabled to buy it. He continued to reside on that place until June, 1885. During that time he had been more than ordinarily successful in his work, had made money, and invested it in land, and had become the owner of 363 acres in Plattsmouth, all in one body. Besides he has thirty acres of valuable timber land in this township, and a fine farm of eighty acres in Rock Bluff Township. On his Plattsmouth farm he has erected a commodious, conveniently arranged brick house, and a stone barn, besides a good set of frame buildings.
   Mr. Martin was married, March 3, 1857, to Miss Lucy Pangnard, and they have four children living; Charles L., May N., Lillie Rose and Effie Belle. Mrs. Martin was born in the village of Moutier, the Canton of Berne, Switzerland. Her father, Luther Pangnard, was born in Renau, in the same canton, and his father, David Pangnard, was also a native of Moutier, his wife's name Augustine, born in Jocot Guillarnod, where he spent his entire life, working at his trade of watchmaker. Mrs. Martin's father, Luther Pangnard, was reared on a farm, and in early manhood married Jane Susan Frances Achpacker, also a native of the Canton of Bern. Her father, Jean Pierre Achpacker, was born in the same canton, of German parentage. In the spring of 1850 Mr. Pangnard set sail from Havre, with is family on board an American-bound vessel "Metoka," and in the month of May, twenty-six days later, landed at New York with his wife and four children. He located in Newville, thirty miles south of Ft. Wayne, and renting land there, began to carry on farming. But his health soon failed and in August, 1851, he passed away from the scenes of earth. Mrs. Martin's mother died at the home of a daughter, Adelia Zemmermann, in St. Joseph, Mo. She had been twice married. By her first marriage she had four children, namely: Lucy, Adelia, Elizabeth and Luther. Lucy was born Jan. 12, 1839, and was eleven years old when she emigrated to America. By her first husband's death the mother had been left in poverty with four children, and as she had not the means to support them properly, she yielded them to the care of strangers, and Mrs. Martin went to Ft. Wayne, and there found good homes with strangers, and earned her own living, residing there until her marriage. She is a most estimable lady, an excellent housewife, who looks carefully after her household and the comfort of its inmates, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Martin is a valuable and useful member of this community, standing high as a man and, a citizen. In his home he is all that a good husband and a kind father can be, and in his relations with his neighbors he is uniformly obliging and courteous.

EORGE S. CONKLIN is an energetic farmer and stockman, living on a farm of 160 acres of finely located land on section 19, Salt Creek Precinct. He was born in Jasper County, Ind., forty miles north of Indianapolis, Sept. 7, 1853. In the fall of 1854 his parents removed with their entire family to Henry County, Iowa; from here the Conklins went to Des Moines County, the same State, taking our subject with them, where he lived with his parents until he was fourteen years old, when it was necessary for him to support himself, so he began working out by the month. The greater portion of the education which he obtained was, prior to this time, in the public schools near their home.
   At the age of twenty-three our subject was married to Miss Ada E. Van Trump, the daughter of Isaiah and Jemima Van Trump. The lady's father

was born in Virginia, and the mother was a native of Ohio. They removed to Eastern Iowa, where they were among the first settlers of that State. Seven children were born to her father by his first union, four sons and three daughters. His first wife died in Illinois, while on their way to Iowa. In course of time he returned to Ohio and married his second wife, to whom there were born eight children: William Harrison, Hiram E., Minerva J., Ada E., the wife of our subject, Frances M., Olive, Andrew Jackson and Charles E. The early home of the lady was in Henry County, Iowa, where she attended the common schools of her neighborhood.
   She applied herself diligently to her studies, showing a marked precocity and an unusual ability, distinguishing herself among her classmates by the rapid progress she made. At the age of fourteen she entered the Academy at New London, which she attended for four years. She then engaged in teaching. She entered upon a course in the Wesleyan University at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, but the most of her time until the date of her marriage was spent in teaching. She devoted herself so assiduously to preparing herself to enter her chosen profession of teaching, for fourteen months out of sixteen, that she became the proud holder of a first grade certificate, to procure which she passed an unexcelled examination.
   Two years after marriage our subject came with his wife to Nebraska. In 1880 he purchased eighty acres of land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railway Company. In 1885 he purchased another forty acres, and in 1888 he purchased his last forty acres. Previous to his removal to Iowa our subject suffered heavy losses among his cattle from disease and exposure. He regards his coming to Nebraska as the most important and providential act of his life; and he has, through his industry and ingenuity, assisted by the natural adaptability of the State for the successful prosecution of his favorite pursuit raising cattle -- became the owner of a large and valuable stock farm. It is supplied with water by the ever ready windmill, and has a commodious new frame barn, comfortable cattle sheds, convenient and roomy corncribs, with other buildings designed to shelter and protect his new and latest improved farming implements. He has set out a young orchard of the choicest varieties of fruits, and groves for shelter and ornament. His dwelling house is new, one and one-half stories high, and is fitted with many of the conveniences adapted to make the home life happy and pleasant.
   Three children have been born to our subject and his good wife; they are named: Ira Haskell, James Burton and Estella J. The two first are attending school. Mr. Conklin's father, James Conklin, was born in Pennsylvania. His mother, Lucinda, was born in North Carolina. She was a widow, Mrs. Scott, at the time of her marriage with our subject's father, and had a family of three children by her first union. A family of four children was born to her as the result of her second alliance, of whom George S., our subject, is the eldest; James L., Marcus, who died at the age of one year, and Herman. The two surviving brothers are residents of Greeley County, Neb. The father of our subject was married four times. His first marriage was to Frances Clemmens, by whom he had seven children, six boys and one girl. His second marriage was to Lina Stevens, to whom was born two children, both girls. The third marriage was with Miss Lucina Scott, the mother of our subject, who bore him four children, named above. The fourth marriage was to Mrs. (Rumsey) Fairchild, by whom he had five children.
   In the person of the subject of this sketch we have a man of more than ordinary enterprise and ability. He, by hard work and close attention to his business, has caused for a verity the desert to blossom as the rose, and now we see fields of waving grain and herds of high grade cattle, and a cheerful, happy home, where a few short years ago was a profitless waste, which would have so continued had he not touched the virgin soil with the magic wand of his genius, resulting in abounding peace and plenty. It is a matter of congratulation to our subject that he can trace his ancestry back to the early years of our Nation; every name on the roll stands for purity and honor, no stigma of wrong or shadow of suspicion resting on any, but every one deserving and receiving the love and esteem of all with whom they came in contact.
   The noble-hearted wife of our subject merits especial mention for the manner in which she has

supported and seconded the efforts of her husband. Highly educated and refined, she had no hesitancy in leaving her home and friends, and sharing with him the many burdens, which are inevitable to the pioneers who seek to develop a new country. She is handsome and good natured, generous to a fault, while her intelligence and education place her among the leading ladies and most devoted wives and mothers of the great State of Nebraska. The home life is a perfect picture of happiness, where the father's strong right arm and the mother's tender, loving heart, and the gentle prattle of children's voices all unite to make it a perfectly happy American home. The children are particularly lovable, and their education and culture is the one subject that lies nearest the hearts of their parents, which will not be satisfied until each and every member has had every available advantage for fitting themselves to occupy with honor and credit the highest positions in the land.
   Mr. Conklin is at present serving his fourth term as a member of the School Board, is an active member of the Knights of Pythias; his political allegiance is with the Democratic party.

ILLIAM B. REYNOLDS is an intelligent and thoroughly practical farmer, who is actively and prosperously prosecuting his vocation on one of the finest farms in Southern Nebraska; 120 acres of his land, that on which he makes his home, lies on sections 34 and 35, Liberty Precinct, and the remaining 120 acres in Otoe County, adjoining his homestead.
   The subject of this sketch was born in Clay County, Mo., May 11, 1826. He is of Scotch origin, although his immediate ancestry were of Irish birth. The first of the family to make his appearance on American soil was Joseph Reynolds, great-grandfather of our subject, who was a native of the North of Ireland, and a descendant of the Scotch Presbyterians who had settled in that part of Ireland. He came directly from that country to Virginia when he was a young man, and spent the remainder of his life in the Old Dominion, dying there at a ripe old age. William Reynolds, his son, grandfather of our subject, was born in Virginia, and was reared to the occupation of farmer. He married Elizabeth Fugett, also a native of Virginia, and of German parentage. Soon after marriage they moved from Virginia to Kentucky, and became early pioneers of Garrard County, where most of their children were born. In 1810 Mr. Reynolds and his wife, with quite a large family, made another move toward the distant frontier in Missouri, and finally settled in Howard County on a piece of land now the town site of Fayette, it being a wild, unbroken country around there then. After he became quite an old man William Reynolds again took up his pilgrimage, accompanied by all of his family except some of the children who had died during their sojourn in Howard County, and in 1840 went into Andrew County, then a part of Buchanan County, Mo., and there he and his wife abode until their death. He dying in 1850, at the venerable age of eighty-four years, and his wife, who survived him until 1857, dying at the same age. They were stanch Methodists, and led blameless Christian lives. They had ten children, and their son Reuben R., the father of our subject, was their eldest child. He was born in Garrard County, Ky., in 1799, and was a boy of eleven years when his parents emigrated to Missouri. He attained his majority in Howard County, that State, and was there married to Fannie Monroe. She was born in Garrard County, Ky., in 1801, and was a daughter of William and Agnes (West) Monroe, natives of Virginia. Her father was a cousin of President Monroe. He was a farmer, and had gone to Garrard County in its pioneer days when a young man, and was there married. After their marriage and the birth of some of their children, they migrated to Missouri, and were there all through the troublous times with the Osage and Comanche Indians. They finally moved about 1820 to Clay County, in the same State, and were pioneers there, settling on wild, unbroken land. About 1840 William Monroe made another move with his family, and we next hear of him in Savannah, Andrew Co., Mo., and there he and his wife closed lengthy and useful lives. Mr. Monroe had been very successful in life and had accumulated a large fortune. He was a man of many peculiar habits,

but of few words. He was indirectly related to Daniel Boone and Stephen Cooper, the famous pioneers and Indian warriors of Kentucky and Missouri. Reuben Reynolds and wife were married in Howard County, but began their wedded lives in Clay County, where Mr. Reynolds entered land from the Government and engaged in farming. Reuben Reynolds was appointed Colonel of Militia by Gov. John B. Clark, during the trouble with the Mormons in 1837 in Missouri. He took his regiment to the scene of trouble at "Far West," Caldwell County, Mo., where the Mormons were fortified. He ever after was known as Col. Reynolds. He was a man who in his time was prominent in all enterprises of a public nature. He made a number of improvements, and then moved with his family to within six miles of Savannah, in Andrew County; there he carried on farming and he and his wife passed their remaining days there, he dying in December, 1859, and she in August, 1875. They were both members of the Old-school Baptist Church, and adhered quite strictly to their religious views. He was a large, strong man, with good mental as well as physical endowments. To him and his wife were born ten children, three sons and seven daughters.
   He of whom we write was the first son and fourth child of the family, eight of whom lived to maturity, six of whom married, and three of whom are still living. He was reared by good parents, and grew to a noble manhood, of great strength, flue physical proportions, and a well-balanced intellect. He early selected the occupation to which he had been reared, that of farmer, for his life calling, and on his father's homestead was initiated into the mysteries of agriculture. He was married near Savannah, Andrew County, to Susan Kelly, a native of Pulaski County, Ky, her birth occurring there in 1826. She lost her father in Kentucky, and came to Missouri with her mother, who died in Andrew County. Mrs. Reynolds departed this life in 1854, leaving four children: Henry C., a farmer in California; Joseph, a farmer in Holt County, Mo., who married Miss Nannie Parish; Fanny, wife of G. S. Upton, of whom see biography; Reuben R., who is in the West. Mr. Reynolds was also married to his present wife in Andrew County. Her maiden name was Amanda A. Florence, and she was born in Richland County, Ohio, Feb. 14, 1835. Her parents, James and Emily (Fish) Florence, were natives of Virginia, and there they were both reared and married, and Mr. Florence began his life work as a farmer in that State. He was left an orphan in his babyhood, and nothing definite could be learned of his parentage by his daughter, Mrs. Reynolds. He and his wife, with a small family, ultimately moved from Virginia to Richland County, Ohio, about 1833, and were pioneers there. In 1843 they made another move still further westward, and crossing the Father of Waters settled on a farm in Andrew County, Mo., and there the father died in 1865, at the age of sixty-five, and the mother in 1846, in the prime of life. Mrs. Reynolds was the second child of the three daughters and one son born to her parents. Her brother Robert H. is now dead, as is also her sister Ora. Her sister Mary is the wife of William Thrailkill, of Andrew County, Mo. Mrs. Reynolds made her home with her father after her mother's death until her marriage. She is the mother of four children, one of whom is dead, William H., a promising young man, of good education, who died of typhoid fever at the age of twenty-three years. The living children are: James T., who married Laura Mason, is engaged as postal clerk on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, and has his residence at Lincoln; Elizabeth, the wife of Dr. C. W. Davis, a practicing physician of Bernard, Nodaway Co., Mo.; and Barnett L., at home with his parents.
   In 1865 Mr. Reynolds and his family left their old Missouri home and came to Nebraska to reside. For nearly six years they lived in the vicinity of Nebraska City. In the fall of 1871 Mr. Reynolds purchased 160 acres of land in this vicinity, eighty acres of which are still included in his farm. He afterward had a good chance to dispose of eighty acres of his land at a great advance on the original price, and he hastened to do so. Since that he has bought 160 acres more land, and now has 240 acres of exceedingly arable and productive land, all under good improvements, with an excellent set of buildings, which he erected himself.
   Mr. Reynolds is a man of sterling worth, whose

good qualities render him one of the best citizens. He and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and all schemes for the advancement of the religious interests of the community and in them cordial and hearty support. Mr. Reynolds is identified with the Democratic party, his political views being well expressed in the party platform.

R. WILLIAM WINTERSTEEN, a capitalist of Plattsmouth, where he owns an extensive and valuable property, has for more than twenty-four years been a resident of this city. When he came here in 1865 he found this place a straggling village, with little or no indications of ever being the metropolis of a rich and prosperous county. That it has become so is due to the sagacity and far-seeing enterprise of such men as our subject, who, when he cast in his lot with the pioneers and men of business who were developing the resources of Cass County and extending her commerce, having strong faith in the future of his new home, invested his money in city property, and by careful and shrewd management has increased his original outlay many fold, and is now numbered among the wealthy and substantial citizens of this community.
   Doctor Wintersteen was born in Lexington, Richland Co., Ohio, Jan. 31, 1824. His father, William Wintersteen, was, it is thought, a native of New Jersey, and his grandfather is believed to have been born in Germany. He was a resident of New Jersey for many years, and there closed his life. The father of our subject when a young man went to Pennsylvania, and was there married to Miss Lucy Everitt, a native of New Jersey. In 1821 they moved to Ohio, and became pioneers of Richland County. Mr. Wintersteen bought land in Lexington, of which ten acres were cleared and the remainder heavily timbered. There was a log cabin on the place in which the family lived for a time, and in that humble abode our subject first awoke to life. There were no nails used in the construction of the cabin; the roof was covered with clapboards, which were held in place by the weight of poles; the floor was of puncheon, and the rude door, with its wooden hinges, was supplied with a large wooden latch, lifted by a string which was always on the outside, in token of hospitality. The country around was sparsely settled, and where the city of Mansfield now stands there were but three or four log houses standing in small clearings, the rest of the town site being heavily timbered. The nearest market was for some years at Sandusky, seventy-five miles away, and seven to ten days were required to make the the trip over the rough roads cut through the depths of the primeval forest, the most of which was still standing. So far from the centres of civilization the luxuries of life were well nigh unattainable, and the pioneers were obliged to live in the most primitive manner, Thus it was that the mother of our subject had no stove for many years, and did all her cooking before the fire in the rude fireplace, and very delicious was the food prepared in that way to those who partook of it, whose appetites had been sharpened by the hard labor of felling trees and preparing the land for cultivation. The busy mother used to spin and weave all the cloth that the family wore. Mr. Wintersteen cleared a farm and bought additional land, and it the time of his death in 1843 had quite a valuable estate. He was a man of good parts, who led a useful and upright life, and was an honored and valued citizen of the community where he lived. His wife, who was held in equal estimation, survived him many years, her death on the old homestead not occurring until 1872. There were ten children born to them, as follows; Nancy, Fanny, Henry, Axeann, Mary, Jackson, Eliza, William, Hannah and Almira.
   Our subject received his early education in the pioneer schools of Ohio, the first one that he attended being taught in a log house, in which there were no windows, the dim light penetrating the interior through greased paper, which covered an aperture where a log had been sawed out. Our subject subsequently attended a Seminary in Lexington, where he pursued a good course of studies that amply fitted him for the profession of teacher, which he adopted at the age of twenty-one, receiving as salary $10 a month. He taught several winter terms in his native State, and then went to Ala-