Tekamah and Vicinity, Noteworthy Men of

master for several years, and followed the mercantile business. He was united in marriage June 6th, 1859, to Miss Mary Long, in Burt county, but they made their home in Washington county until 1872. At Tekamah, Mr. Tucker was a leading merchant for many years. He passed from this life at his home in this city Nov. 6th, 1898.

LORENZO D. WOODRUFF was born in Mayesville, DeKalb county, Missouri, in 1854. About a year afterward his parents moved to a little town in the northern tier of counties, called Fairview. The name of the town was afterwards changed to Denver, and is now known by that name. At the age of two years his mother died, and for some years a temporary home was found with a good old family named Ogle, who had no small children of their own and thought as much of this baby as if he belonged to them. When the time came, he was placed in a common country school, which he attended with the usual interest displayed by boys of that age until he was fourteen years old. His father was acquainted with a newspaper man, who lived and published a weekly paper at the county seat of an adjoining county. The editor had written several letters soliciting the apprenticeship of one of his boys, and the younger one, the subject of this sketch, made such a plea that his father consented to let him go. On the 20th day of March, 1868, he walked sixteen miles and reported for duty at the office of the Gentry County News, at Albany, where he served his apprenticeship as a printer. Afterwards he made a tour, or a tramp, of a year through the states of Missouri, Kansas and Illinois. On his return a letter was received urging him to come to Tekamah and take charge of the mechanical department of the Burtonian, which was then being established. In the month of August, weary and footsore, he arrived in Tekamah, having walked from Little Sioux, Iowa, through the tall bluestems of the Arizona bottoms.

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The lack of funds and a vague idea of the geography of the country made the trip long and tiresome. About a month after his arrival in Tekamah the first issue of the Burtonian was printed. Within the next year he purchased a half interest in the paper, which he held for several years. In the fall of 1875 he received an appointment in the government printing office at Washington, which he held for about a year. Shortly after returning to Tekamah, he imbibed the railroad enthusiasm that prevailed at that time in Decatur, and enough machinery and material was taken from the Burtonian office to start the Decatur Vindicator. This paper survived but little over a year, but the enthusiasm which it attempted to foster still lives. During the year and a half residence in Decatur two or three important events occurred in Mr. Woodruff's life. He was appointed postmaster, joined the Masonic order, and got married. He was united in marriage, September 27th, 1877, to Miss Rose Walbridge, of Tekamah. In the summer of 1878 Mr. Woodruff returned to Tekamah and for a time engaged in the publication of the Burt County Advocate. In 1879 he moved to Omaha where he resided for five years, working at his trade as a printer. In 1884 he moved to York, and for three years published the York Democrat. In 1887. he went to Lincoln and engaged in the job printing business where he resides at present, and is conducting quite an extensive establishment known as the Woodruff-Collins Printing Co.

ELISHA McGUIRE was born July 18th, 1833, at Carrolton, Carrol county, Ohio. In the spring of 1850 he removed from the place of his birth to Iowa and in December, 1857, came still farther westward and settled in Nebraska. Upon coming to this state he look up the hardy calling of stage driver and during 1857 and 1858 drove the stage between Decatur and Henry Fontenell's place on the reservation. In the later year he was transferred and during 1859 and 1860 drove be-

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