short time removed to Smartville, and engaged in grain and stock dealing, in which he continued until 1886, when he began farming, in which he was engaged until the fall of 1888, when he resumed his former business as agent, on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, near Bellwood, Neb. From the first he has been prosperous as a business man, and was no less so as an agriculturist.
   In 1884 our subject celebrated the Fourth of July by upon that day being wedded to Miss Mary Mock, the estimable daughter of David and Lucinda M. Mook, of Smartville. She was born near Rochester, N. Y., in 1865. Her parents attended to it that she received a good education, and she resided with them until her marriage. Of this union there have been born three children, whose names are as follows: Percy, Mabel and Carl D.
   For two years Mr. Ost served with every satisfaction as School Treasurer, and has held other offices. He was a member of the committee of the Republican party in the precinct, and an active worker in connection therewith. Both he and his wife are members of the Universalist Church at Tecumseh, and in it are held in much esteem. In society at large they occupy a prominent position, and at all times are well received. Both as a man of business and a citizen our subject is respected by his fellows, and enjoys a reputation that is irreproachable.

HARLES W. POOL. The firm of Pool & Cooper are well known as the enterprising publishers and proprietors of the Johnson County Journal, located at Tecumseh. Mr. Pool, besides being interested in city matters, has a fine tract of land in Western Precinct, embracing 160 acres, and which is devoted mainly to stock-raising. Besides the property above mentioned, Mr. Pool owns eighty acres in Center Precinct, and the Commercial Hotel at Crab Orchard. He and his wife are owners of city property in Tecumseh, aside from the interest of Mr. Pool in the business of the Journal.
   The father of the subject of this sketch was born in the city of Columbus, Ohio, and when a little lad four years of age went with his parents to Marshall County, Ill. They settled in the pioneer days near what afterward became the town of Henry, where the father operated as a tiller of the soil until about 1836. He then crossed the Mississippi into Grundy County, Iowa, and finally, in October, 1865, made his way to Nebraska, locating in Pawnee City, where his death took place in June, 1867. The mother, Mrs. Ann (Shinn) Pool, was a native of Virginia, and at the time of her marriage a resident of Fulton County, Ill. The household circle was completed by the birth of seven children, and, with the exception of one girl, who died at the age of sixteen years, all lived to maturity. The survivors are residents of Nebraska and Kansas. Mrs. Pool, fourteen years after the death of her first husband, became the wife of Mr. David Sheppard, and is now a resident of Kansas.
   The father of our subject was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in his later years a supporter of the Republican party. The paternal grandfather, Simeon Pool, was of New England ancestry, and during the later years of his life carried on merchandising in Henry, Ill., where he accumulated a competence, and spent his declining days in ease and retirement. His death took place in the fall of 1863, when he was a very old man.
   Charles W. Pool, our subject, was born Nov. 20, 1856, near Kewanee, Henry Co., Ill. He was seven years of age when his parents removed to Iowa. He came with them to this State, and completed his education in the schools of Pawnee City. He commenced his business career as clerk in a store of general merchandise, and began learning the printer's trade in the office of the Hennepin (Ill.) Record. He remained there three years, then located in Peotone, and established the Eagle. Six months later he returned to his old haunts in Hennepin, and the year following crossed the Mississippi.
   This was in the fall of 1878. Mr. Pool purchased the Sterling News, of Johnson County, but three months later changed the scene of his operations to Tecumseh, and in company with Mr. Barnhart, established the Johnson County Journal, with which he has since been successfully connected. He purchased the interest of his first partner in February, 1881, and conducted the paper alone until March,

1887, when he became associated with Mr. H. L. Cooper. Both are men of enterprise, and the Journal is having a decided influence in the county, as the leading Democratic paper.
   Mr. Pool's home is presided over by a very estimable lady, Mrs. Frank L. (Foster) Pool, to whom he was married in Tecumseh, April 25, 1883. Mrs. Pool was born in Greencastle, Putnam Co., Ind., April 1, 1857, and is the daughter of William L. Foster, a millwright by trade. From Indiana they came to this county, in June of 1880, and are now residents of Tecumseh. Mrs. Pool was Deputy County Clerk of Benton County, Ind., for a period of four years.
   Mrs. Pool received a good education, and taught a district school in Indiana, while at the same time giving instruction in music. She has distinguished herself as a very capable and enterprising lady, and after coming to Tecumseh established a millinery store, which she conducted until her marriage. The maiden name of her mother was Addle Chittenden, and the parents household included three daughters, who are all living.

HARLES M. WILSON, Postmaster of Tecumseh, was appointed to this office by President Cleveland in April, 1886. Since that time he has served satisfactorily, conducting the office with good judgment and economy, and by his courteous treatment of all who have dealings with him, has gained in a marked degree their friendship and esteem. The post-office at this point is ranked in the third class, and accordingly commands a salary. It is the largest post-office in the county, the gross receipts being upward of $4,000 annually, and having domestic and foreign money order departments.
   The subject of this biography was born in Delaware County, N. Y., Dec. 7, 1850. After emerging from the common schools be became a student of the Delaware Literary Institute at Franklin, N. Y., and subsequently occupied himself as a teacher. Upon leaving his native State he located in Jersey County, Ill., where he taught from the fall of 1876 until the spring of 1879, then, crossing the Mississippi, took up his residence in Tecumseh, and was given the management of the business of the Chicago Lumber Company, with which he was connected until his appointment to his present position.
   It is hardly necessary to say that Mr. Wilson is a member of the Democratic party. He has been prominent in local affairs during nearly the whole time of his residence in this county, officiating as a member and President of the School Board, and as an Alderman in the City Council. Before Tecumseh was transformed from a village into a city Mr. Wilson officiated as Town Clerk.
   The wedded life of our subject began on the 14th of February, 1883, when he was married to Miss Dora Hunsberger. Mrs. Wilson was born in the city of Washington, D. C., Dec. 29, 1857. Her father dying when she was an infant of six weeks, the mother removed to Ogle County, Ill., and passed away when her daughter was a little girl of seven years. She was then taken into the home of her maternal grandmother, where she remained until her marriage. In the meantime she had been given a good education, especially in music, completing her studies in connection with this art at Highland Park Institute, from which site was graduated in 1877, She was afterward a teacher of music until her marriage. This she prosecuted with fine success, and enjoyed in enviable reputation as a performer on the piano and a singer. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson there have been born three children: Margaret L., Helen H. and Mary P., all of whom are living.
   The home of the Wilsons is situated in the northern part of the city, and in its surroundings indicates culture and ample means. Our subject, socially, belongs to the Knights of Pythias, of which he is a prominent member, and has represented his lodge in the sessions of the Grand Lodge many different times. He is also Past Chancellor.
   Robert F. Wilson, the father of our subject, was born in Delaware County, N. Y., where he carried on farming, and dealt largely in live stock for many years. He finally retired from active labor, and took up his residence in Cohoes, where his death occurred July 5, 1883. tit the age of sixty-five years.
   The mother was in her girlhood Miss Polly A.

Powell, a native of the same county as her husband, and they became the parents of six children, all of whom lived to mature years. She died while comparatively a young woman, in October, 1866, aged about forty-three years. Both parents were members of the Baptist Church. John Powell, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was born in 1800, carried on farming the greater part of his life in Delaware County, and is still living, being hale and hearty, and now eighty-eight years old. His aged partner passed away three or four years since. John Wilson, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was of Scotch ancestry, and born in the North of Ireland. He crossed the Atlantic when a young man, engaged in farming during the greater part of his life, and in his declining years took up his residence with his son in Akron, Ohio, where he passed away about 1858, at the advanced age of ninety.

F. A. BIESEMEIER is classed among the well-to-do, enterprising farmers of Johnson County, who have taken a prominent part in developing its agricultural interests, and are among the most active in sustaining them. He has met with more than ordinary success in his chosen calling, as is attested by his large, well-improved farm in Sterling Precinct. He also has a further claim to distinction as a fine representative of the brave citizen-soldier, who, before attempting the pioneer task of evolving a farm from the wild Western prairies of the country, helped to put down the Rebellion that threatened her institutions.
   The subject of this sketch was born in Germany, April 11, 1842, and in 1849 he came to the United States with his parents, F. A. and Elizabeth (Winter) Biesemeier. They located in Warren County, Mo., where the father died of cholera in 1851. The mother died in LaFayette County, Mo., in 1881. He of whom we write was the third of the seven children born to his parents, and he grew to manhood in Missouri, where we find him living at the breaking out of the war. In October, 1861, when but nineteen years of age, he enlisted in Company D, 5th Iowa Cavalry, and with all the ardor and patriotism of a native-born citizen, went forth to fight the battles of his adopted country. He served faithfully and efficiently until the close of the war, and took an active part in many heavy engagements. He was at Pulaski Gap, where his brother Christian fell mortally wounded by a shot through the liver, and died twenty-four days later. The company in which was our subject, followed the rebel General, Hood, to the Tennessee River, and then returned to Howard's Station, where they were badly whipped in the forenoon, but in the afternoon the tables were turned, and our subject and his comrades had the satisfaction of repaying the enemy in full coin. During that battle Mr. Biesemeier was fighting in a trench or washout, and was so absorbed in his occupation that he did not notice that his company, heavily pressed by the enemy, had suddenly been forced to retreat. When he discovered their absence he saw that his only safety lay in a hasty flight, and he promptly took to his heels, but finding that he was closely pursued by the enemy, he betook himself to a swamp of canebrakes, and hid until they had passed, when he crawled under a culvert and lay there until the rebels were again repulsed. He then rejoined the boys in blue on their return to the field, and helped to capture some prisoners. That battle lasted all day, and the Union soldiers pursued the Confederates for some days afterward. Our subject and his regiment were then ordered back to Murfreesboro, where they were recruited and despatched with Sherman on his march to the sea as far as Huntsville, Ala. From there they returned to the Cumberland River, and on the way they met a part of Hood's army at the Tallapoosa River, where their brigade was surrounded by the enemy, and at night cut its way out, and fell back to Franklin. From there our subject and his comrades were sent to take part in the second battle of Nashville. As they marched onto the battlefield, the Second Lieutenant of Company L, which was just ahead of our subjects company, was cut in two by a cannon ball, leaving the lower part of his body in the saddle. This ghastly sight checked the movement for a moment, but the men soon made a heavy charge on the enemy, but without much effect. This was the 22d of December, 1863, and darkness coming on, the soldiers lay in a ditch through the night. On

the afternoon of the next day they charged the rebel works and took them. On the eve of the 23d, after Hood had been badly whipped, the Union boys were crossing a field where they had been fighting, and in the darkness our subject and some of his comrades fell into a ditch onto an abandoned cannon of the enemy, causing a chill which they will never forget. At Pulaski, Tenn., Mr. Biesenicier's company took a prominent part in the heavy fight waged there, and took many prisoners, coming off victorious, although they had been hard pushed by the rebels in the forenoon. Thence they proceeded up the Tennessee River, but they subsequently marched back to Pulaski, and in March, 1864, our subject reenlisted, taking a furlough of thirty-five days before reporting for service at Clinton, Iowa, His regiment was then actively engaged in a number of raids on Savannah, Ga., where they anticipated a fight, which, however, did not come off. They staid there until peace was declared, and our subject was honorably discharged, and returned to his old home in Missouri. While in the South he met with many hairbreadth escapes, and of one of these he relates that when encamped at Grand Springs, Miss., he was detailed to unload a boat of hay on the Tennessee River, and while in charge of those thus detailed, he attempted to get off a steamboat onto a flatboat, made a misstep and plunged into the water, it being very dark, and he came very near being drowned. He had been benumbed by the cold before he fell into the water, and the boys dragged him out more dead than alive, and had to work vigorously to resuscitate him, rolling him on a board to get the water out of his stomach. His clothes were frozen stiff, and the fall had redered him unconscious.
   Soon after returning home Mr. Biesemeier was united in marriage, Oct. 15, 1865, to Miss Justine Kufusz. The happy bride and bridegroom immediately left Missouri and came to Johnson County, Neb., where they had resolved to build up a home, and they commenced their wedded life on their present farm. It was then a wild tract of prairie land, comprising 160 acres on sections 5 and 8, Sterling Precinct, which Mr. Biesemeier took up under the provisions of the Homestead Act. There was then no house between here and the city, and our subject and his wife have witnessed the greater part of the development of Johnson County, besides being important factors in promoting its growth. When they came here they had but $725 in money, but by their united exertions, wise economy, and shrewd management, have increased this many fold, and they now own one of the most valuable farms in the precinct. The farm now comprises 440 acres, which includes, besides the homestead (which is finely improved), 160 acres on the southeast quarter of section 31, township 6, range 9, and 120 acres on section 17, township 5, range 9. The farm is all fenced, is well watered, and stocked with cattle of good grades.
   In the attractive home that they have thus built up eight children have been born to our subject and his wife, six of whom are living. The family are highly respected in this neighborhood, and they are much valued of the German Lutheran Church. Mr. Biesemeier is well dowered with firmness, activity and enterprise, and his genuine kindness of heart has given him a warm place in the hearts of those who know him. In every department of life, as a husband, fattier, neighbor and citizen, he is the same upright, honest man, in whom all who know him place unlimited trust. He is an intelligent thinker, and has decided views on all subjects that conic under his notice, particularly in regard to politics, he being an earnest Republican.

UNCAN LIVINGSTON. Spring Creek Precinct numbers among its citizens numerous able and successful agriculturists, and among them, and by no means the least worthy of mention, is the subject of this notice, whose property, comprising 2,500 acres, is situated in Johnson, Otoe and Saunders Counties, Neb. That in Spring Creek is located on section 12, township 6 north, range 11 east. He was born in Argyleshire, Scotland, on the 14th of March, 1825, and is the son of Duncan and Barbara (McAllister) Livingston. He is the fourth son of the family, and the eldest now living. His education, received in his native country, is of the usual Scot-

tish careful, thorough nature, and enables him to hold a front place among the intelligent citizens.
   Leaving his native country our subject emigrated to America in December, 1849, taking passage at Glasgow in the good ship "Warren," which landed him in January, 1850, at New York. The thought in his mind at the time was simply to make a more or less extended visit to these shores, but as it happened the visit was extended until it was decided to make it his home. In Scotland, when about seventeen years of age, he had begun to learn the trade of a blacksmith, and this he continued to follow here. From New York City he went to Norristown, Pa., and found work. After some time he went to Louisville, Ky., thence to New Albany, Ind., and was employed in the railroad shops. This continued until 1852, when, while in the employ of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad Company, he was promoted to be foreman of the forging department which position he held until 1862.
   At the end of that period our subject went to Nashville, to take charge of the forging department of the shops of the Nashville & Chattanooga Rallroad, which he held a little over two years; at that time the road was under the control of the United States Government. During that time he always had from 200 to 225 men at work under him, employed in the construction of locomotives, which were made especially for the Government. In such work he was considered in expert, and turned out from the works some of the best engines ever used by the Government.
   The marriage of Mr. Livingston and Mary Butterfield was celebrated at New Albany, Ind., in April, 1854. His wife is a native of Yorkshire, England, and was born in September, 1835. She is the daughter of Henry and Susanna Butterfield, a well-known and much respected Yorkshire family. When she was about twelve years of age she accompanied her parents to the United States, they settling in New Albany, Ind. Her father operated a carding-mill for a number of years, after which he located on a farm in Washington County, that State. This was their home for the remainder of life. To our subject have been born eight children; the following are yet living: Sarah Ann, the wife of Abijah Hubbard, of Otoe County, Neb.; Henry, living in Helena Precinct, of this county; Marion and Martha are at home. The deceased are as follows: Neil, Barbara, Susanna and Daniel.
   While Superintendent at Nashville, and on the 22d of September, 1865, Mr. Livingston was presented by his men with a handsome gold watch and chain, suitably inscribed, a souvenir of the esteem in which he was held by them. This is still in the possession of the subject of this sketch, and is of course very greatly prized by him. April 7, 1866, while at Louisville, Ky., he was presented by the men in his employ with a very handsome silver medal, a token of their confidence and regard. This is not without its significance in these days of labor troubles and difficulties between man and master. He has been in the employ of several companies for twenty-five years. and never was in a strike during that time, and never asked for a raise of wages, but was advanced from fifty cents to $5 per day
   In leaving the railroad shops in 1865 our subject went to Louisville, Ky., and started a new shop for his company for the manufacture of iron railroad bridges, then went to New Albany and engaged in mercantile business for two years. After having made a trip to Nebraska, looking over the country, he finally purchased a large quantity of land in this county, to which he brought his family in 1867. After living a short time in Otoe County, early in 1868 they took up their residence on their present farm, and have continued on the same continuously from that time.
   Mr, Livingston owns 2,500 acres of land, 1,800 of which are in this county, the remainder in Otoe and Saunders Counties. It will be understood that the above-mentioned purchase included only wild land. He immediately set about the cultivation of the home farm, and has some 2,000 acres in a very high state of productiveness. In connection with his grain and general farming he is quite a successful raiser of cattle, and is now the owner of a number of very fine animals, and he believes that he has the largest steer in the United States; the animal is named Livingston's Nebraska Baby.
   Mr. and Mrs. Livingston are active members and able supporters of the Presbyterian Church, and take a deep interest in things pertaining thereto. They

move in the elite circles of local society, and are greatly esteemed in the community. In civic and political affairs our subject is in strict accord with the principles of the Republican party, and usually votes its ticket. The aim of their lives seems to have been to leave the world better than they found it, and to follow strictly the excellent teaching of the chief commandment.

AMES A. LAWRENCE. The subject of this sketch occupies a prominent position among the pioneer element of Johnson County, to which he came when a large portion of its territory lay untouched by the plowshare. He has watched the growth and development of one of the most prosperous States in the Union with that keen interest felt by every true-hearted citizen concerning a section of country which has become his adopted home. A native of the Empire State, Mr. Lawrence was born in Westport, Essex County, Nov. 29, 1842, and although his experiences have been many and varied, he is still far from being an aged man, and has yet many years before him to complete the sum of his usefulness as one of the most valued citizens of the county.
   Our subject is of New England ancestry, his fattier, Wait Lawrence, having been born in Torrington, Conn., in 1798. The latter continued in his native State until a lad of fourteen years, then with his parents removed to Salisbury, Vt.. and soon afterward enlisted as a drummer boy during the War of 1812. After this conflict had ended, he took up his residence in Essex County, N. Y., where his death took place in 1878, after he had reached his fourscore years. He was a farmer by occupation, accumulated some property, and was a leading member in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
   The mother of our subject, Mrs. Anna (Andrus) Lawrence, was born in Hancock, Vt., near the foot of the Green Mountains, and by her marriage with Wait Lawrence became the mother of nine children, three sons and six daughters, all of whom lived to mature years. Her father, William Andrus, was a farmer and shoemaker by occupation, and spent his last years in the Green Mountain State.
   Mrs. Lawrence survived her husband until 1884, remaining a widow and passing her last days in the city of Troy, N. Y., at the home of her daughter.
   The subject of this sketch received a good education considering the circumstances by which he was surrounded, and his limited attendance at school. At an early age he became acquainted with the various details of farm life, and was mostly occupied as a tiller of the soil until after the outbreak of the Civil War. On the 16th of September, 1861, he enlisted as a Union soldier in Company A, 77th New York Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He participated in twenty-three engagements with the enemy, and in the battle of Petersburg, Va., June 21, 1864, suffered the loss of one of his limbs above the knee. He was conveyed to Stanton Hospital at the city of Washington, D. C., where he was confined until November 24 following, when he was mustered out with his regiment, at the expiration of their time of enlistment, the 13th of December, 1864. Our subject, maimed for life, now returned to his old home in Essex County, N. Y., and thence removed in April of the following year to Washington County, Ohio. From 1865 to 1870 he was employed in a woolen factory at Lowell, Ohio. After a residence of nine years in the Buckeye State, he crossed the Mississippi, and homesteaded a tract of unimproved land in Dawson County, this State. Here he put out trees, battled with grasshoppers and drouth, and came off victorious, and in the spring of 1877 sold a finely improved farm for a snug sum of money. The latter he invested in land near the city of Tecumseh, this county. He is now the owner of one of the finest estates in Nemaha Precinct, including besides his farm property a handsome home on Clay street, besides lots and houses elsewhere in the city.
   Mr. Lawrence has been prominent in local affairs, representing his ward in the City Council, serving on the Board of Education. and as Assessor of Nemaha Precinct for the last four years. As an ex-soldier he is a member in good standing and ex Commander of Post No. 270, in the G. A. R., of Tecumseh. Socially, he belongs to the I. O. O. F., and religiously, is a member and Trustee of the Presbyterian Church. His business talents and his

high character as a member of the community have secured for him the good-will and friendship of his fellow-citizens, who speak of him in the highest terms.
   One of the most important events in the life of our subject was his marriage with Miss Mary Marshall, which occurred April 1, 1866, in Lowell, Ohio. Of this union there were born three children, all of whom are living. Frank is engaged in mercantile pursuits at Falls City, this State; William is a printer by trade, and located in David City, and James is at home with his father. These boys have been given a good education, and are wide-awake and promising young men. Mrs. Mary (Marshall) Lawrence died while still a young woman, at her home in Dawson, Neb., in 1875.
   Mr. Lawrence, on the 28th of October, 1876, contracted a second matrimonial alliance, with Miss Sarah Otis, at that time a resident of Lowell, Ohio. This lady was born in Marietta, that State, March 7, 1840, and is the daughter of Stephen and Sarah (Dyar) Otis, who have long since passed away. The father died about 1868, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, in Ohio; the mother died in this State. Of this union there has been born one child, a son, Harry G., Feb. 28, 1878.

ENJAMIN F. DRAKE, who is one of the prosperous farmers of to-day, and also one of the early settlers and pioneers of the county, is the owner of 215 acres of well improved and highly cultivated land on section 11 of Todd Creek Precinct. Our subject was born in Warren County, Ohio, on the 30th of December, 1836, and there made his home until 1859. In the schools of the district he received a practical English education, such as would be eminently useful in matters of everyday concern in life, although perhaps not so all-embracing as that of others, who, having time and opportunity, have sat in academic or collegiate halls.
   Leaving school, Mr. Drake started to learn the trade of a cooper, and followed the same from the time he was sixteen until he was twenty-six years of age, then enlisted in the defense of the Union.
   This was in September, 1863, and he joined the 16th Indiana Battalion of Light Artillery. He served in the Army of the Potomac, and was at the defense of Washington. After a service of nine months he was mustered out, in July, 1865, under a general order that dissolved the entire military organization.
   Returning to his wife and family, who during the period of his service had been at LaFayette, Ind., Mr. Drake went to Louisville, Ky., and thence came to this State, and took up his farm. He now has six acres of fruit planted, and twenty-five acres of natural forest trees, that he has since purchased, and has his whole farm enclosed with hedge and wire fence. His home, which he built in 1880, is one of the pleasant farm dwellings in the county. His barns, cattle sheds, stables, etc., are also suitable in construction and adapted to his requirements. He owns large numbers of cattle, hogs and horses.
   The subject of our sketch was married to Miss Lizzie Poyner, of Greenville, Darke Co., Ohio, on the 1st of April, 1863, and there have been born of the union three children, of whom one only is now living, Erol, who is now eighteen years of age. The wife of our subject was born in Middletown, Butler Co., Ohio, on the 25th of June, 1843, to Silas and Mary (Wade) Poyner. She continued to live with her parents, and was educated in the schools of her native place. Her father was born in North Carolina, but left the State on account of its slavery, with which he had no sympathy, and which was entirely opposed to his principles. His family numbered twelve children, whom it was his privilege to see making their way toward honorable and useful careers. He died in Ohio, in 1857, and was survived by his wife until 1867.
   Abner Drake, the father of our subject, was born in New Jersey, in December, 1803, but when two years of age was taken to Kentucky by his parents, who shortly afterward went to Cincinnati, and later to Warren County, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood, and subsequently married Miss Densie Ingersoll, who presented him with two children, their daughter Emma and the subject of our sketch. By occupation Mr. Drake was a cooper, and continued working at his trade wherever he found the most profitable employment, which ac-