Territory of Nebraska attracted him hither, and he came to Plattsmouth with his wife and children and opened an office here. He continued in his profession until 1875, becoming very popular, and placing himself among the lending doctors of Cass County. In that year he abandoned his practice to engage in the banking business, founding the Cass County bank of which he was president for some time. Later he sold his interest in that institution and established the Citizens' Bank, which under his able management assumed an important place in the financial interests of this county. Subsequently he was obliged to give up business on account of failing health and is now living in strict retirement, not being able to have any responsibilities. He is a man of refined tastes and all extensive and varied information, and his talent for business is of a high order, so that he has contributed materially to the upbuilding of Plattsmouth. He and his estimable wife have a family of six children, all of whom are married and settled in life, and the most of them making their homes in Plattsmouth; E. W., James N., Agnes, now Mrs. P. E. Ruffner; Oella, now Mrs. E. A. Kirkpatrick, of this county; Robert W. and Martha C., now Mrs. H. H. Hunt.
   Robert Black, of this sketch, was a boy of eight years when his parents brought him to Nebraska from the home of his birth in Missouri, and here he grew to manhood. He had a decided taste for agricultural pursuits, and adopted farming for his lifework. His success thus far has justified his choice of a calling, and he has shown marked skill in cultivating his land and getting the best results from the soil. He moved onto his present farm with another gentleman and boarded in his family until his own marriage, when he took possession of the house. The farm comprises 200 acres of very fertile land in the most productive regions of Cass County, and our subject is continually improving it. He has a fine orchard of sixty choice apple trees, the first ever planted on this farm.
   Mr. Black was married Jan. 20, 1883, to Miss Sarah F. Ferguson, of St. Louis. She is a daughter of Hezekiah and Louisa (Wood) Ferguson, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and New York. Mrs. Ferguson departed this life in Warwick, N. Y., April 29, 1868, aged forty-two years, leaving six children to mourn the loss of a devoted mother, namely: Anna, now Mrs. Charles Thompson; Addie, now Mrs. John Miller; Oscar W., Nicholas, Mrs. Black, Alva S. Mrs. Black is a native of New York. She is a valued member of the Presbyterian Church. Of her marriage with our subject one child has been born. John B.
   Mr. Black is a man of earnest, intelligent convictions, who uses his influence to promote the good of the community where the most of his life has been passed. He and his wife are important factors in the social life of the township, and the hospitality of their cozy home is well known. In politics he is a Democrat.

ILES W. MORGAN, a well-known citizen of Cass County, has been indentified (sic) with the interests of Plattsmouth,. and has been an important factor in its upbuilding. He has been connected with the city government at various times since he became a resident of the city, and at present holds the office of Street Commissioner.
   He is a Virginian by birth, and a lineal descendant of the ancient Welsh family of Morgan, whose history in this country dates far back in pre-Revolutionary times, when his great-grandfather, David Morgan, came from his native Wales to America to cast in his lot with the Colonists of Virginia. He was a man of strong and vigorous nature, whose iron nerve and high courage eminently fitted him to cope with the dangers and hardships of those troublous times. Indians were plenty and hostile in the Old Dominion, and the settlers were obliged to live in forts for protection. The forts were built of the trunks of large white oak trees, which were stood on one end in the ground. At one time Mr. Morgan had lain down to take an afternoon nap, and he dreamed that his son and daughter, young children, who had gone to the cornfield, were in danger from the Indians. He persuaded himself, however, that as it was only a dream, he had better lie down again, but he dreamed the same dream again, and so vividly did it impress

him that he immediately awoke and started for the field with his rifle. Sure enough, on arriving there, he saw three Indians entering the field from the other side, and stealthily approaching his children, who were unconscious of their danger. He called to the children to come to him and waited to cover their retreat. When the Indians came near enough he fired and killed one of them. The others dodged from tree to tree, getting nearer and nearer all the time. He watched his opportunity and shot another Indian. and as soon as his gun was discharged the remaining Indian jumped from behind the tree and threw his tomahawk, which severed two of Mr. Morgan's fingers. They then grappled, and the Indian was thrown in the struggle, but managed to turn Mr. Morgan, and then reached for his dirk. An apron which he had stolen and tied about his waist, covered his weapon so that he could not get it readily, and his white foe succeeded in getting it and drove it into his side. Mr. Morgan then returned to the fort, and the men went out and found the savage, who had crawled away from the scene of the encounter and taken shelter in the top of a fallen tree, and they soon dispatched him to the happy hunting grounds. They then flayed his body, and the skin was tanned, and a member of the Morgan family now has a shot pouch made from a piece of the epidermis of the untutored denizen of the forest who had come so near terminating the existence of their hardy progenitor. That gentleman cleared a farm from the wilds of Monongahela County, Virginia, and there he spent the remainder of his life engaged in agriculture. His son, Morgan Morgan, the grandfather of subject, who was born in Wales, inherited the old homestead, and there passed the remainder of his life.
   His son David P., father of our subject, was there born and reared, and after his marriage he bought a tract of land eight miles distant from his early home, and resided thereon until 1839. In 1830 he built a steamboat at Morgantown, Va., on the Monongahela River, designed for a passenger steamer to ply on that river and the Ohio. The boat was named the Osage, and he ran it on those rivers in 1831, and in 1832 went with it up the Mississippi to carry the wounded soldiers, who had taken part in the Black Hawk War, to St. Louis. In 1833 he sold his boat, and followed the river, flat boating the ensuing seven years. He made many trips down the river, and at one time walked from New Orleans to Morgantown, Va., a distance of 1,000 miles. In 1839 Mr. Morgan moved with his family to Ohio, and lived amidst the pioneer scenes of that State for four years. He then returned to Virginia and settled in that part of Wood County now included in Wirt County, where he bought a farm. In 1850 he sold his property in his native State, and with his family, consisting of his wife, eleven children, and two sons-in-law, embarked on a flat-boat for a voyage to the West, purposing to make their future home in Iowa. They floated down the Kanawha and Ohio rivers to Cincinnati, and there embarked on the ill fated steamer Belle of the West. They started for Cincinnati at dark, and before midnight the boat was discovered to be on fire, Mrs. Morgan, the mother of our subject, being the first to see the flames and raise the alarm. The steamer was burned to the water's edge, and sixty of the three hundred passengers were lost. The Morgan family all escaped and camped on the river-bank at Florence until another boat came along, and they got on board and proceeded to Keokuk, Iowa. From that town they went with teams to Warren County, Iowa, one hundred and sixty miles distant, there being no railways at that time west of the Mississippi. They found the country in an exceedingly wild condition, sparsely settled, and deer, wild turkeys and other game abundant, so that the larder of the pioneers was kept well supplied. Mr. Morgan lived in Warren County four years, and then became a pioneer of Clarke County, where he bought a farm, Two years later he sold that place and moved to Madison County, where he died in the home of his son in 1868, at the venerable age of eighty-four years. The maiden name of his of his wife was Drucilla McLellan. She died in Madison County, Iowa, in 1859, having rounded out a useful life of sixty-five years. This worthy couple were the parents of thirteen children.
   Their son, of whom we write, was seventeen years old when he went to Iowa with his parents. In 1857 he started out in life for himself as a merchant, opening a general store in Osceola. He con-

tinued in the mercantile business until 1860, when he abandoned that and started with an ox team for Pike's Peak, making the journey in forty-five days. He engaged in mining there for six weeks, and then having had enough of the rough life in that region he retraced his steps to a more civilized part of the country, and once more became a resident of Osceola, Iowa. In 1864 he came to Plattsmouth, and in company with his brother bought eight yokes of oxen and two wagons, purposing to go into the freighting business across the plains to Denver, which was then very profitable employment. They carried flour and corn, receiving six cents a pound for teaming. Our subject continued freighing for one year, and then with characteristic shrewdness and foresight invested the capital thus acquired in city lots in Plattsmouth, and built houses, which he afterward sold at a considerable advance. In 1868 he was elected to the responsible office of City Marshal, and the duties thus devolving upon him he discharged with vigor and ability. In 1869 he saw a fine chance for speculation in Lincoln, and he repaired to that city, and purchased city lots, upon which he built houses, which he subsequently sold at a great profit on the original investment. He then returned to this city, and was actively engaged in building for a year. But his fellow-citizens once more called him from private life to the office of City Marshal, bearing in mind, no doubt, his former able administration of the affairs of that position, and he served in that capacity for three years. At the expiration of that time he bought the ferry across the Platte River, and managed that very successfully for seven years. He was then for a third time elected City Marshal of Plattsmouth, and held the position the ensuing year. After that he continued to operate the ferry for a year, and then sold it and bought an interest in the steam ferry across the Missouri River, disposing of his share two years later. In 1885 he was elected Street Commissioner, and is now serving his fourth year in that capacity our subject and his family occupy a high social position in this community, and he is identified with the A. F. & A. M., belonging to Plattsmouth Lodge, No. 6.
   To the estimable wife who presides over his pleasant home Mr. Morgan was united in marriage Jan. 16, 1858. She was formerly Miss Sarah C. Keeves, and was born in Berkeley County, Va., July 22, 1835. Her father, Anthony Keeves, was a native of the same county, and was there reared and married Miss Mary, a daughter of John and Catherine (Lewis) Brown, and a native of Virginia, becoming his wife. In 1836 they removed to Ohio with their children, and located on a farm in Fairfield County. A few years later they removed to Licking County and lived there until 1855, when they went to Iowa, the removal being made with teams, cooking and camping on the wayside during the journey. They settled in Clarke County, and after a few years Mr. Keeves bought a farm six miles west of Osceola. He died in that town in 1859. His wife preceded him in death, dying in 1854 in Licking County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have four children, namely: Frank, David C., Fred G., and Nettie. In politics he is a stanch Democrat.

ASPER W. CONN, who is an extensive stock-dealer of Plattsmouth, was, as is well known, a pioneer of Cass County, and for many years he was closely associated with its agricultural interests. Coming here in the first decade of the settlement of Nebraska, he has witnessed and aided its rapid development from a sparsely settled Territory, rich only in its natural advantages of an exceedingly fertile soil, genial, healthful climate and beautiful scenery, to a populous and wealthy State, with vast agricultural, commercial and monetary interests, occupying a proud position in the Union of which she is an integral part. Our subject has seen the wild prairies, once the haunt of the Indian, and where the buffaloes, deer, and other wild animals used to roam, converted into fine farms where unnumbered cattle and horses, owned by intelligent and prosperous farmers, graze. He has seen the humble log cabin or dugout of the hardy pioneer give place to more substantial and commodious, and in some instances even to magnifleent dwellings; and he has witnessed the growth of prosperous and thriving cities where he found only a few insignificant hamlets when he first came here; and other municipalities of great importance

and wealth have sprung up, where at the time and for some years later there were no traces of a habitation.
   Jasper W. Conn was born in Indiana, Feb. 17, 1831. His father, John Conn, was, it is thought, a native of Steubenville, Ohio. He there grew to manhood, and learned the trade of millwright. He moved to Indiana when a young man, and followed his trade in that State until 1840. In that year he removed to the Territory of Iowa, and as a pioneer of North Bend, Johnson County, took his part in developing its interests, entering from the Government about the first land that was entered in that township. He had to travel to Dubuque on horseback to make the entry int he land-office there. There were no railways in that part of the country at that time, and Muscatine was the nearest market for grain and stock. He improved a farm at North Bend, and then sold it and bought land two miles west of Iowa City, which he also developed into a fine farm, continuing to reside on it until his death in 1848. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Champer. She was a native of Baltimore, Md., and spent her last years in Johnson County, and died there in 1873. She was the mother of ten children, eight of whom grew to maturity, namely: Elizabeth, Frank, Ellen, Jasper, Emily, Mary, Helen and John. Mrs. Conn's grandfather, great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Germany, who emigrated to this country in Colonial times, and during the Revolutionary War he cast in his fortune with the Continental Army, and did good service at his trade of blacksmith. He was paid in Continental scrip, and the subject now has one of the bills of the denomination of $60. The wife of the old gentleman was a native of England.
   Our subject was in his ninth year when his parents moved to Iowa, and there he was reared to the life of a farmer. After his father's death he had charge of the home farm until he was twenty years of age. He then started in life for himself, and engaged in whatsoever his hand found to do, handling stock, breaking horses, threshing grain, breaking prairie land, etc. In 1852 he started with five yokes of oxen and drove to Kanesville, now Council Bluffs, then a small village occupied by Mormons. He sold the cattle and returned home on horseback, and each year thereafter until 1854 he made a trip to Council Bluffs to sell cattle, and the rest of the year he engaged in threshing and farming. In 1853 he went to Page County, Iowa, and selected a tract of Government land one mile from where Clarinda now stands. and entered it at the landoffice. In 1854 he elected the second or third house ever built in Clarinda, and became a pioneer merchant there. He resided there until 1857, and in that year came to the Territory of Nebraska, and settled in Cass County, entering a tract of Government land in Rock Bluff Precinct. He built a frame house on his claim. He resided in Rock Bluff Village the three ensuing years, having built a residence there, but in the spring of 1860 he removed to his land, which he continued to occupy and improve for five years. At the expiration of that time he bought two other farms near by in the same precinct, and lived on one of them for a year, and there the wife of his early manhood, who had for his sake cheerfully submitted to the unavoidable hardships of life in a pioneer country that she might assist him in building up a home, departed this life in 1865. She was a native of Indiana. Her maiden name was Mary E. Hutton, and she was a daughter of Baxter Hutton. She left four children to mourn the loss of a devoted mother, namely: Alpha, Ida, Frank and, Maggie.
   Mr. Conn was married to his present estimable wife May 18, 1876, and four children have been born to them -- Harry, Willie, George and Johnnie. Mrs. Conn was formerly Miss Ellen Donnelly, and Ireland was her place of birth. Her parents were Dimmick and Jane (McDougal) Donnelly. The father was born in Ireland, of Scotch ancestry, and the mother in Scotland. They came to this country when Mrs. Conn was very young, so that she was reared in America, and has known no other home.
   After the death of his first wife Mr. Conn returned to Iowa with his children, and found them a home with kind friends, and then returned to Rock Bluff, where he continued to reside until 1873. He then established himself in Plattsmouth, where he has most of the time been an active dealer in stock, buying and shipping to Chicago and Omaha markets. His experience in handling stock, his unerr-

ing judgment and shrewd dealings have won for him a prominent position among the men of his business in Nebraska, and have secured him a competence. In the same year that he took up his residence in Plattsmouth he went to Saline County, and took a homestead claim, and spent a part of the year there, In 1884 he and his son Frank penetrated the wilds of Wyoming Territory, and his son took a claim 140 miles from Cheyenne, the nearest railway point, that section of the country then being wild and unsettled, and frequented by deer, antelopes, panthers and wildcats. Mr. Conn took up some valuable mining claims in that vicinity, and spent a part of two years there looking after his interests. He owes his success in life not more to his naturally energetic and enterprising disposition than to the fact that he pays strict attention to his business down to the most minute detail. He is a man of solid merit, and stands well with his fellow-citizens.

NUD HANSON, a well-to-do farmer of Stove Creek Precinct, is a Norwegian by birth and left his native country for America in 1866. He has been a resident of Nebraska most of the time since 1867. He occupies himself in general farming and stock-raising, the latter comprising graded Short-horn and Durham cattle, and he owns a valuable Morgan stallion familiarly known as Billy. His land lies on section 5, occupying its southeast quarter, 160 acres.
   The father of our subject was Hans Knudson and the mother before her marriage was Annie Dorothy Larson, both born in Norway, the former in 1801, and the latter in 1809. They spent their entire lives on their native soil, where the father carried on farming and died in 1878. The mother survived her husband until 1886. Both were members of the Lutheran Church. Their six children were named respectively: Knud, Lena, Theodore, Jensine, Ole J. and Laurits. The five elder were born in Norway and the youngest child in France.
   Our subject was born near the city of Christiana, Nov. 12, 1832, attended the public school, and was confirmed in the church at the age of fourteen. On account of ill health he did not become a thorough scholar. Upon coming to America he landed at Quebec, Canada, thence proceeded by steamer to Chicago, and from there went to Jefferson, Iowa. He employed himself for a time on the Northwestern Railroad, and later went into Storey County. In 1867 he migrated to Omaha, Neb., and from there to Cass County, where he worked in various places. In the meantime he also traveled considerably through Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado.
   In 1870 Mr. Hanson returned to Cass County and pre-empted 160 acres of land in Elmwood Precinct. He hauled timber for his buildings, secured a clear title to the property, and remained upon it several years. He traded it for his present farm, May 1, 1872. This was raw prairie when he carried on its improvement, while also working around at different places to obtain money. He moved upon it in 1878, and has since set out groves, orchards and trees of the smaller fruits. He erected a house and barn, fenced his fields with hedge and wire, and then commenced the raising and feeding of cattle, swine and horses.
   Mr. Hanson was married in Stove Creek Precinct May 14, 1887, to Miss Anna, daughter of Samuel and Ann Bredon, who were natives of England. Mrs. H. was born in Aurora, Canada, Jan. 19, 1866. The other three children of her parents were John H., Mary and Clara. Of her union with our subject there is one child, a son Carl. Mr. and Mrs. H. are members of the Lutheran Church, and our subject, politically, is a sound Republican.

OHN ROBBINS is a contractor and builder of much repute, who for some years has been an important factor in the upbuilding of the city of Plattsmouth and other places in Cass County. He was born at Mt. Arthur, in that part of Athens County now included in Vinton County, Ohio, Sept. 10, 1838. His father, James Robbins, was a native of the State of New York, as was also his father. (sic) The latter was a farmer, and moving from New York to Ohio he became an early settler of Athens County, where he bought a tract of timbered land and founded the village of Hamden.

He cleared the land in the midst of the primeval forest, and gave the village the name of Charlestown, by which name it was known for some years, before it was changed to Hamden. He remained an honored resident of the place until his death.
   The father of our subject was reared there on the old homestead, and there married Miss Minerva Wyman, likewise a native of New York. He learned to make millstones, and worked at that some years. He then bought a farm a mile east of Mt. Arthur, and ever after that devoted his time to its management. He lived thereon until his death in August, 1869. He was well known in that locality, and by whomsoever known was thoroughly respected and trusted. His wife, who shared with him the esteem of their neighbors, is still living on the old homestead in Ohio. She is the mother of five children, namely: Phineta, Harvey, John, Leander and Elihu.
   The subject of this sketch was the second son born to his parents. He lived on the home farm, which had been his birth-place, until he was sixteen, and he then went out to see something of the world, first becoming quite familiar with his own State, traversing that and Indiana for about a year. After that he took up his abode in Vermillion County, Ill, in the town of Higginsville, where he learned the trade of carpenter. He worked at that very industriously summers, and in winters attended school, and he was very ambitious to secure a good education. He was so engaged three years, and he then returned to his old home in Ohio, arriving there on the day that John Brown was hanged. He attended school the following winter, and then was employed in building bridges on the Marietta and Cincinnati Railway.
   He had watched with intense interest the course of public affairs until they culminated in war, and in August, 1861, he enlisted to assist in fighting his country's battles, becoming a member of the 11th Ohio Battery Light Artillery. He took part in several important battles, among which were those of New Madrid and the Island No. 10 campaign. He afterwards joined Halleck's army and took part in the siege of Corinth, and later in Iuka, where all of the officers of the battery were disabled and fifty-six men were killed or wounded. Twenty days after that his regiment engaged in the second battle of Corinth, and the soldiers of his company were in all the battles and marches, including the siege and capture of Vicksburg, in which the division of the army of which they formed a part were engaged. After the surrender of Vicksburg his company was seat to Helena, Ark., and from there to Little Rock, where they helped to take the city, it being captured Sept. 10, 1863, the anniversary of the birth of our subject. The battery was assigned to garrison duty for six months after that event, and were then ordered to Pine Bluff, Ark., where Mr. Robbins was engaged with his comrades in garrison duty until the expiration of his term in November, 1864, when he was honorably discharged from the service, having won golden opinions from his superiors for his bravery and efficiency, and he returned home in season to vote for Abraham Lincoln.
   Mr. Robbins resumed his trade in Vinton County, and soon established a home, of his own with the assistance of Miss Phebe E. Shriner, to whom he was united in marriage Jan. 20, 1865. She was born in Vinton County, Ohio, a daughter of Peter Shriner, who was born in Greene Township, Ross Co., Ohio, April 18, 1807. His parents were natives of Pennsylvania and pioneers of Ross County. The father of Mrs. Robbins was there reared, and was married in Swan Township, Hocking County, the same State, Feb. 18, 1827, Leah Dunkle becoming his wife. She was born in the latter county April 3, 1810. Mr. Shriner was a tanner, and followed that trade in Hocking, Ross and Vinton Counties until about 1854. He then located on a farm near Hamden, Vinton County, and resided thereon until 1880. He then sold his property there and moved to Jackson County, where he died in June, 1882. Mrs. Shriner, the mother of our subject, died in 1854. Her father was twice married, and had four children by each marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Robbins have six children living, as follows: Bushrod W., Katie A., Fletcher A., John D., Euphemia A. and Emma W. Jessie and Bessie, twins, died in infancy.
   Mr. Robbins was employed at his trade in Vinton County until 1878, when he came to Plattsmouth with with (sic) his family, and has ever since been identified with the building interests of the city as contractor and builder, except for the first three