Presbyterian Church some years ago, and are numbered among its most active contributing members.
   Mr. Salzman, politically, is a solid Republican, and although never ambitious for office, has served on the School Board of his precinct a number of years, and also discharged two terms the duties of Justice of the Peace. Liberal and public-spirited, he is among the first to encourage the enterprises calculated for the advancement of his adopted county, and is numbered among her most disinterested citizens, having in mind the best interests of her people.

[The SALZMAN article above was typed for NEGenWeb Project by Amy Wilson <awilson@utech.net>. Her homepage can be found at: http://www.geocities.com/heartland/prairie/3908/ (8 Dec 2013 - Links no longer work) Thank you, Amy!

ILLIAM GRIMES. This gentleman is now serving his second term of office as Sheriff of Johnson County, being first elected on the Republican ticket in 1885, and re-elected two years subsequently. He is one of the most able and active officers in the State, and has been unanimously chosen Secretary of the Sheriff's Association of Nebraska, which held its annual meeting at Omaha on the 11th of August, 1888. He is deeply interested in all that pertains thereto, and is much esteemed among his colleagues as he is in society at large. He is the owner of considerable real estate and residence property in Sterling, and some laud in Kansas, in addition to his well-established business, which is that of dealer in farming implements and groceries.
   Perry County, Ohio, is the native place of our subject, where he was born on the 6th of November, 1857. In the usual institution he received his education, filling the days of childhood and youth after the manner of his school companions. As he is a thorough man, he was then a thorough boy, and although frequently both teachers and parents realized that this was true, perhaps to an undesirable degree, they might well be proud of him from the time he was old enough to put away childish things. After school days were over he continued upon his father's farm until he was twenty years of age, and then he decided to push out into the world for himself.
   Upon leaving home Mr. Grimes went to Hastings, Neb., and was engaged upon the Hastings Gazette, now the Gazette Journal. He took the place of a compositor, and was thus engaged for two years. Then he went to Ohio, and while there married Mary Cleaver, the amiable daughter of William and Martha Cleaver, of Harveysburg, Ohio. Their nuptials were celebrated on Christmas Day of the year 1878. There have been born to them three children, two of whom are still living, whose names are recorded as Flo and Thayer. Not long after their marriage the young couple removed to Clay County, this State, where they made their home for about eleven months, then came to Johnson County. They settled in the city of Sterling, where they have since continuously resided.
   Upon making their home in Sterling our subject engaged in the grocery business, to which he added the agricultural implement department, and saw much financial prosperity therein until 1885. His business was quite large and constantly growing, but in 1885, being elected Sheriff and filling the office, he was compelled to make other arrangements. He gave his best attention to the various duties of his office, and sought to be thoroughly efficient therein. That he was successful in pleasing those who sent him there is evidenced by his reelection in 1887, with a very largely increased majority over that which had been given him at previous elections. Although at the time of his election he was the youngest Sheriff in the State he has since proved himself to be by no means the least able. As an officer he is popular, and yet at the same time is perfectly honorable in every detail of his office. In the fraternities he is quite well and favorably known, being a member of the Masonic, I. O. O. F. and Sons of Veteran societies, and holding the position of Adjutant General of the Nebraska division of the latter.
   Mrs. Mary (Cleaver) Grimes was born in the Buckeye State, at Harveysburg, in Warren County, on the 3d of March 1857, and is the daughter of William and Martha (Reason) Cleaver. Until her marriage she continued at home with her parents. Her father is one of the respected and much valued citizens of Warren County, Ohio, and has frequently been called upon by his fellow citizens to the acceptance of some public trust. He is still living, in the enjoyment of comparatively good health considering his advanced age. His

wife, however, died when Mrs. Grimes was but six days old. About eight years later he remarried, the name of his wife being Mary Sears.
   The father of our subject, George W. Grimes, was born in Perry County, Ohio, on the 19th of October, 1824, and lived in that county, following the occupation of farming, until 1881, when he migrated to Sterling. Since then he has lived a retired life, enjoying the fruits of his previous years of toil. He has throughout his life been a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has sustained a deep interest in religious matters. He has been enthusiastic as a Mason and as a member of the G. A. R. He enlisted in 1862, and served for one year and a half, seeing considerable service, taking part in many of the larger and more important battles during that period, and was finally discharged, owing to disability for further service. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah A. Smoot, born in Virginia. They became the parents of four sons and two daughters; one of the latter died shortly after reaching her fourth birthday; Mary V. Mason, nee Grimes, died in May, 1881; the remainder are still living. Mrs. Sarah (Smoot) Grimes was born near the Blue Ridge, Va., in 1829, and when quite a young lady went to Ohio to fill an engagement as school teacher, in which she continued employed until her marriage. Her father, Lofton Smoot, was a blacksmith by trade, and he also after a time migrated to the same State. Her parents afterward went still further west to Illinois, where they made their home until their death.
   The State of Virginia is that wherein John Grimes, the grandfather of our subject, was born. He was one of the early pioneers, and went some 700 or 800 miles into the woods of Ohio, and there cleared a farm for himself and family, and at the time of his death was operating about 2,000 acres of good Ohio land, in addition to which each of his twelve children had 160 acres of land, which he had prepared for them and given them. He was quite a prominent citizen in the district where he settled, and had quite a reputation in connection with the gallant manner in which he had handled his men while holding the commission of a Captain in the War of 1812. The sword used by him at that time is in the possession of the subject of our sketch. He died in 1876, having passed his ninetieth birthday. The great-grandfather of our subject was born in Ireland. When a young man he came to Virginia, where he became the owner of a fine plantation, continuing there until his death. This became the homestead of the family, to which reference has been made above. Our subject, remembering the history of his family in the past, and the honorable positions they have always occupied, has brought no blot upon the family escutcheon.

RS. ELIZABETH SAMPSON, for many years a much esteemed member of the community of Lincoln Precinct, this county, and residing on section 13, township 5 north, range 11 east, is a native of Carroll County, Ohio, and was born on the 31st of May, 1835. Her parents, John and Susan (Castleman) Cook, were natives respectively of Virginia and Pennsylvania. Her father is deceased, her mother is living now in Oxford, Iowa. Until she was sixteen years of age she lived with her parents in her native State, attended school there, and passed successfully through the various classes of the usual institutions of learning. Then, in the fall of 1851, she went with her parents to Johnson County, Iowa, where they were among the early pioneer settlers. It was here that her father died in the year 1873. Of a large family of children born to Mr. and Mrs. Cook, the subjoined alone survive: Barbara was married to Samuel Chrisinger, deceased, of Ft. Dodge, Iowa; Rebecca, who became the wife of the late Elias Lewis, of Carroll County, Ohio; Henry resides in Millersburg, Iowa; Elizabeth; Michael, of Oxford, and Susan, who was married to J. W. Renley, of Lansing, Colo.
   Our subject was married at Oxford, Iowa, on the 21st of February, 1858, to Mr. Ezekiel Sampson, a native of Erie County, Ohio, where he was born on the 21st of June, 1835. He was a son of Ezekiel and Margaret Sampson who were respectively natives of New York State and Kentucky. His father died when he was but two years of age, and he was brought up by his mother, and remained with and

assisted her in the care of their farm, from the time he was able to do so until his marriage, from which time he provided for her in his own family until her death, on the 17th of February, 1872.
   Owing to the circumstances above mentioned, Mr. Sampson received but a limited education, and that in the pioneer schools of Ohio. When he was seventeen years of age, with his mother and the other members of the family, he removed to Iowa County, Iowa, which became their home for a number of years, and it was during that time that the acquaintanceship which finally resulted in his marriage was formed and consummated. To Mr. and Mrs. Sampson were born eight children, of whom the following survive: Susan, the wife of LaFayette A. Sharett, of Lincoln Precinct; Clinton E., George W., Elmer, Eugene and Minnie, all of whom are at home. The two deceased children were named John and Anna B.
   Mr. Sampson served for forty-two months in the late war under the stars and stripes. He was at the siege and battle of Vicksburg, and through the Red River campaign. He was with Sheridan when that illustrious General drove the Confederate forces out of the Shenandoah Valley. He was a true and brave soldier, and did good service for his country. The result, however, to him, from the hardships and privations endured, was to break down his constitution, which was never the same after his service as it had previously been.
   Accompanied by his family, Mr. Sampson in the year 1866 removed to this county, and took up a homestead claim of 160 acres in the northern part of Vesta Precinct, and continued farming there for about nine years, after which he settled on the farm that is now managed by the subject of this sketch. They were among the first settlers in that district, and at that time found all the usual hardships and difficulties incident to pioneer life. He was a self-made man in every sense of the word, and was such a one that he enjoyed the confidence and true regard of all acquainted with him. He was a man of sterling integrity and deep piety, a member and supporter of the Baptist Church, and an advocate of all such institutions and organizations as would benefit the community. He was a true friend and a most exemplary citizen, faithful to a degree, and affectionate as a husband and father. He was sincerely mourned when he departed this life on the 17th of March, 1879. In his relation to the political welfare of the State, Mr. Sampson was a Republican. For many years he was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was interred by his brethren according to the rites of the order. His widow, the subject of this sketch, is an active member of society, greatly respected by all, true to every relation of life. She is a devout member of the Baptist Church, and spends her life in the endeavor to bring by uniform unselfish kindness, brightness and happiness into the lives of others.

RLO PAINE. This well and favorably known citizen of Helena Precinct, resident on section 33, township 6 north, range 11 east, is a descendant of a good Connecticut family that has been identified with that section of the country for several generations. The paternal grandfather settled in Connecticut in the latter half of the last century. At the time of the War for Independence his family was represented in the ranks of the Colonists, who were the founders of the Republic. The maternal grandfather also served in that war, holding the position of Drum Major.
   Our subject was born in Litchfield County, Conn., on the 12th of January, 1834, and is the son of John and Abigail (Hendricks) Paine. They were the parents of nine children, and the submentioned members of the family still survive: George, who resides in Cayuga County, N. Y., as does also his brother William; James in Litchfield County, Conn.; Edwin in Tecumseh; Hulda, the wife of H. O. Ward, of Litchfield County, Conn.; and Martha, now Mrs. E. C. Ferris, of the same county. Three members of the family are deceased, viz.: John, Sarah and Frances. The father of our subject died on the 7th of March, 1858, and the mother July 3, 1840, and were at the time of their demise aged seventy-one and forty-six years respectively.
   In his native State our subject made his home until he attained to manhood. As a boy he was carefully nurtured, and in the common schools re-

ceived a fair practical education. Upon leaving school he devoted himself to the carpenter and joiner's trade. In the spring of 1856 he left his Eastern home and removed to Illinois, where he engaged at the same trade. On the 20th of February, 1862, at Farm Ridge, LaSalle Co., Ill., he was united in marriage with Julia A. Wiswall, who was born in LaSalle County, on the 11th of November, 1841, to Jason P. and Julia E. (Diminick) Wiswall. To our subject and wife there have been born three children, viz.: Walter L., on the 10th of August 1863; Herbert, Dec. 8, 1867; and Stella, Amy. 26, 1875.
   The parents of Mrs. Paine were natives of Pennsylvania. Their family circle included eight children, who are mentioned as follows; Adeline, the wife of Jacob Cadwell, of Sonoma County, Cal., where resides also Hannah, the wife of Alfred Symonds; Caroline, now Mrs. McMillan, of Guthrie County, Iowa; Julia, wife of our subject; Edwin, who resides in Ottawa, Ill.; Harriet, who is married to Alexander Cadwell, and resides in Sonoma County, Cal.; Jerusha, wife of James Garrison, residing in Southern California, and Eliza; the latter was the first-born child, and is the only one who has been removed by death, which came to her at Deer Park in infancy.
   Leaving their native State in 1833 Mr. and Mrs. Wiswall migrated to LaSalle County, Ill., and made their home among the pioneer settlers of the county. He was born on the 23d of April, 1810, and is of English extraction; Mrs. W. on the 21st of January, 1811. Her parents removed from Wayne County, Pa., to the State of Connecticut when she was three years of age, and she was there brought up. Prior to the death of Mr. Wiswall, which occurred on the 16th of July, 1886, they removed to Sonoma County, Cal., where the widow still resides,, surrounded by her relatives and friends. She has reached the advanced age of eighty years, but is still in the enjoyment of fairly good health and strength.
   In the spring of 1878 the subject of our sketch left LaSalle County, Ill., and, accompanied by his family, came to this county, making their home as at present, locating upon the farm he had purchased in the year 1870, which at that time cost him at the rate of $6.25 per acre. He bought eighty acres, but the success that has attended him has been such that he has now 160 acres, well improved, highly cultivated, and under all ordinary circumstances yielding him a large return. His buildings are good and complete, and his home such as might well be envied him by many apparently better circumstanced. The chief attraction, however, and to our subject the chief beauty, is the wife and family, to whom he is devoted, and who on their part are equally devoted to him, so that it, is a true home in the most complete meaning of the word.
   When a resident of Ford County, Ill., our subject served as Clerk of Peach Orchard Township for a year, and he is at present the Treasurer of the School Board of Helena Precinct, and has served upon the board for a number of years. Politically, he is a Democrat, and as such is at all times ready to do his best for the party which he believes to be governed by correct principles. The greater part of his life he has followed the trade of a joiner, in connection with his farming, and has been quite well prospered. He is among the well-to-do citizens of the district, and by reason of his high character is most favorably received by all who know him, as is also every member of his family.

URDY PLATT. The farming Community of Helena Precinct is well represented by the subject of this sketch, who resides on section 21, township 6 north range 11 east, where he owns 360 acres of good farming land. He was born on the 3d of August, 1843, to Peter and Susan (Milliken) Platt, of Dearborn County, Ind. His paternal grandfather, Gilbert Platt, was a native of New York State, and was one of the first to settle in Dearborn County, Ind., where the father of our subject was brought up, and is now residing in Tecumseh, in the declining years of his life. While resident in Indiana that gentleman had served in various county and other offices, rendering good and efficient service.
   The subject of our sketch was reared to manhood in his native State, and in the schools thereof

received a good, practical mental training. Subsequently he taught school for seven winters in Indiana, and also two in this State. On the 9th of August, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, 16th Indiana Infantry. This regiment was attached to the 15th Army Corps, and served first in Kentucky. They took part in the battle of Richmond, after which they were sent down the Mississippi River and next fought at Arkansas Post. He was also in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, and later in the battle of Mansfield, La., where he was wounded by a gunshot in the knee, and was in the hospital for some time, and upon leaving that institution received an honorable discharge, in October, 1864. He had entered the army as a private, but was early promoted, and continued to serve as a Corporal.
   Leaving the army, our subject returned home to Dearborn County, where, on the 24th of October, 1866, he was united in marriage with Mary Alexander, a native of the same county. She was born on the 31st of January, 1851, and is the daughter of Luther (deceased) and Phyllis (Gill) Alexander. Her father was born in Indiana, her mother in England, but she had come to this State when about three years of age with her parents, who migrated hither. The Alexander family originally looked to Kentucky as its native State. Three children were born to her parents, of whom only Mrs. Platt and her sister Lulu, wife of Alfred Platt, also of Helena Precinct, are living. To Mr. and Mrs. Platt have been born four children: Alma L., March 28, 1873; Owen D., March 18, 1875; Roy C., Nov. 1, 1879, and Ralph R., Oct. 23, 1887.
   In the year 1872 our subject and his wife migrated to this county, making their home as at present. At that time fifteen acres of land were broken, but there were no improvements made upon the property of any description whatever. Now it is more like a modern model farm, splendidly cultivated and fully supplied with all things necessary thereto. He has had his full share of difficulties as a pioneer, and has shown himself a thoroughly capable and loyal citizen, as well as a practical and successful farmer. His home is one of the best among the farm dwellings of the county.
   The parents of our subject numbered in their family circle eight children, whose names we mention as follows: Purdy, our subject; Sarah, the wife of Clark Wicks, of Nemaha County; Alfred, of Helena Precinct; Daniel, who is residing in Dearborn County, Ind.; Victoria, who is married to Enos Lester, of this county; John, who is in Kansas; Emma, now Mrs. Ora Lester, of this county, and Ennis, also living in this county.
   Our subject assisted in the organization of the School District No. 64, and was the first to teach the school there. He is, with his wife, a member of the Universalist Church, and our subject is one of the Trustees of the church; both are active members of local society, and are everywhere highly esteemed. He is serving as Treasurer of his school district, and for a number of years has been on the School Board. In the Tecumseh Post of the G. A. R., of which he is a member, he is very highly esteemed as a brave comrade, patriot, true man and citizen.

[The PLATT article above was typed for NEGenWeb Project by Carol Haagensen <Eiklor1@aol.com>. Thank you, Carol.]

REDERICK KOHN, of Western Precinct, conducts his agricultural operations intelligently on a good farm of 160 acres, occupying eighty acres on section 18, and also eighty on section 19. Of Bohemian nativity, he was born on the other side of the Atlantic, Aug. 13, 1855, and is the son of Joseph and Barbara (Smith) Kohn, who were also of German birth and parentage, and whose family consisted of seven children. The parents spent their entire lives upon their native soil, and passed away some years since. The surviving members of the family are residents of Nebraska and Germany.
   Young Kohn received a very good education in his native tongue, and after leaving school employed himself at the cooper trade until a youth of nineteen years. In the spring of 1874, resolving to seek his fortune in the New World, he embarked on a steamer at the port of Bremen, and after a voyage of two weeks landed upon American soil, in the city of New York. After a very brief sojourn there he proceeded westward across the Mississippi, and for three and one-half years thereafter was employed on a farm in Pawnee County, this State. In the meantime, in order to gain a better knowledge of the English language, he at-

tended school winters, working for his board in the evenings, mornings and Saturdays.
   Our subject, with true German thrift and prudence, had managed to save something from his earnings, and in the summer of 1878 began to make arrangements for the establishment of a home of his own. One of the most important of these was his marriage, which occurred on the 2d of July, with Miss Josephine Heinovsky. This lady was born Feb. 13, 1858, in Bohemia, and is the daughter of Martin Heinovsky, a native of Bohemia, and who now lives at the home of our subject. Of this union there have been born four children--Emma, Edward, Ambrose and Lorenz.
   Mr. and Mrs. Kohn came with their little family to this county in the spring of 1885, settling on the farm which they now own and occupy. Although not elegant, their home is extremely comfortable, the buildings and fences being in good repair, the machinery adapted to modern agriculture, and the live stock in keeping with the general air of thrift and prosperity. Mr. Kohn has been quite prominent in local affairs in the communities where he has lived. While a resident of Pawnee County he served as Justice of the Peace, Road Overseer and Moderator of the School Board. In Western Precinct he is a School Director and Treasurer, and religiously, is a member in good standing of the Catholic Church. He is a man who reads understandingly, and takes an interest in everything calculated to advance the intelligence and prosperity of the people around him. He keeps himself well posted upon current events, and uniformly votes the Democratic ticket.

AMES WEBB. The name of this gentleman is associated with the early history of this county, to which he came in the fall of 1866 and settled on a tract of uncultivated prairie land, from which he has eliminated one of the most beautiful farms within its limits. Not the least among its attractive features is an imposing frame residence, which would be an ornament to any town, and which was finished in the summer of 1883. This forms only one of the features of a most attractive home, whose inmates are surrounded by all of the comforts of life and many of its luxuries. The hand of thrift and industry is apparent on all sides about the premises, together with the exercise of refined and cultivated tastes. The proprietor is a man held in high regard by his community, and one whose upright life furnishes a fine example to the rising generation.
   The childhood home of our subject was on the other side of the Atlantic, in Bedfordshire, England, where his birth took place under the modest roof of his parents, July 6, 1831. He lived in his native land until the spring of 1850, being then a youth of nineteen years, when, not satisfied with his condition or his prospects, he determined to seek his fortunes on another continent.
   Our subject upon reaching America made his way directly to Waukesha County, Wis., where he worked it his trade of carpenter until the summer of 1862. The Civil War being then in progress he enlisted in behalf of the Union, on the 21st of August, in Company F, 28th Wisconsin Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the West, and which began operations in Arkansas. Mr. Webb first saw the smoke of battle at Helena, and subsequently participated, July 4, 1864, in the battle at Helena. Later he was at Little Rock, Mobile and Spanish Fort, besides meeting the enemy in minor engagements and skirmishes, from all of which he came out without a scratch. he, however, endured all the hardships and privations incident to army life, and performed his duty faithfully and bravely, and at the close received his honorable discharge, Aug. 21, 1865, at Brownsville, Tex.
   Returning now to his old home in Wisconsin our subject continued to reside there a year, then came to Nebraska. Here he battled with the difficulties of life in a new settlement, but allowed nothing to turn him from his purpose of establishing a homestead west of the Mississippi. His labors in due time met with their legitimate reward. In addition to the thorough cultivation of his land he has set out about seven acres of forest trees, planted an apple orchard and the smaller fruit trees, and gathered around him all the appliances of the ideal, modern homestead. Besides the dwelling there is a large, fine barn, and sheds for cattle, besides pens