USA > Kansas > Nemaha County > History of Nemaha County, Kansas > Part 65
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George E. Keck was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, August 26, 1866, and is a son of George J. and Catharine (Hummel) Keck, who were the parents of seven children, of whom George E. is the youngest. George J. Keck, his father, was born in 1826, and was a tiller of the soil in Germany until his death in 1893; his mother was born in 1826, and died in 1891. In his younger days, George E. Keck learned the trade of butcher, which he followed until his migration to America in 1884. He came directly to Sabetha, Kans. and, for five years, worked out as farm hand on the farms of Nemaha county. He carefully saved his earnings and, in 1894, was enabled to buy 177 acres of land in section 22 of Berwick township. This land he improved, and things were moving along nicely with him until fire destroyed his home in February of 1913. Mr. Keck at once rebuilt and replaced the old home with one much bet- ter. He has made extensive and valuable improvements on his farm, and keeps high grade Shortborn cattle in common with many of his neighbors.
Mr. Keck has been twice married, his first marriage having occurred in 1891 with Sophia Allmandinger, who was born in Germany in July, 1869, came to Sabetha, Kans., in 1887, and departed this life in 1912, leaving five children, as follows: Marie, George E., Jr., Christie, Al- bert, and Dora S. Two years later, Mr. Keck made a trip to old home scenes in Germany, and married Pauline Muehlheisen, who was born in his old home neighborhood in 1867.
Mr. Keck is allied politically with the Democratic party. He and his family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church. Mr. Keck is serving as justice of the peace of Berwick township, and is an enter- prising and progressive citizen, who takes an active and abiding interest in all things American, and especially pertaining to the welfare of his home neighborhood. For a man who left Germany without a dollar, and his only belongings being an old trunk, besides being $100 in debt, he has done remarkably well-and this great country can use a great many more adopted citizens of his caliber.
Bert Hesseltine .- Nearly sixty years have elapsed since the Hes- seltine family made a settlement in Nemaha county. The first home of Bert Hesseltine's parents was a covered prairie schooner, which set out
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on the prairie, and was the sleeping place of the pioneers until the elder Hesseltine could build a house out of native cottonwood lumber. Bert Hesseltine, a prosperous farmer of Berwick township, was born in this pioneer home, December 5, 1870, and has grown up with Nemaha county. The Hesseltine farm is located in Berwick township or rather that portion of the township, which was formerly a part of old Rock Creek township. He is a son of Jonathan and Caroline (Waits) Hessel- tine, who reared a family of four sons and three daughters, as follows: Jesse, born in Marion county, Ohio, September 8, 1857, died in Ne- braska, August 10, 1900; Ruby, born September 9, 1859, in Nemaha county, died September 21, 1859; AliceA., was born November 10, 1860, and died September 30, 1862; Leroy, born October 29, 1862, and is living at Forest Grove, Ore .; Freeman, was born December 7, 1864, and de- parted this life July 30, 1866; Louis, born January 13, 1867, is living a retired life at Sabetha; Mrs. Mary Trees, born December 13, 1868, Sa- betha; Bert; Mrs. Caroline Bussard, born November 27, 1872, died December, 1903; Mrs. Minnie Mingle, born December 30, 1874. Jona- than Hesseltine was born in Clinton county, New York, December 22, 1830. When he attained young manhood, he was married in 1856 in Marion county, Ohio, and the following year, he and his bride came to Nemaha county. They settled on a homestead in old Rock Creek town- ship, four miles north and a half mile west of Sabetha. They drove to their new location from White Cloud, Kans., in a covered wagon, which served as a shelter until Mr. Hesseltine could erect a house of three rooms built of cottonwood. After getting his ground broken and things in shape on his homestead, Mr. Hesseltine went to western Kansas to assist in quelling an Indian uprising. When the Indian troubles were over, he returned to Nemaha county and proceeded to develop his farm. As the years passed, he became a very extensive farmer. He had faith in the eventual development of Kansas and Nemaha county, and in- vested heavily in farm land when it was cheap, and became owner of I,II2 acres of land, which was divided among his children. He died on the old Hesseltine home place, November 19, 1802. The mother of Bert Hesseltine was born in Marion county, Ohio, December 1I, 1833, and departed this life, September 24, 1898. They had the great distinction of being among the first pioneer settlers of this county.
Bert Hesseltine attended the district school of his neighborhood during his boyhood days, and when twenty-one years old, he began farming on his own account on eighty acres of rented land in section 22. He bought this tract in 1892, and lived upon it for one and a half years, after which he bought his present farm from his father's estate. He erected the barn and residence and improved the tract, and now owns 320 acres of excellent land. Mr. Hesseltine took part in many hardships when he was a boy, and recalls that he was called out at midnight to assist in fighting a prairie fire which threatened to destroy the family home. Indians were plentiful in the neighborhood, and he remembers
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that one Indian, a member of a band which was trekking westward, placed his hand on the boy's head and dubbed him a "whiteheaded papoose." While his hardships were many, there were times when life was really enjoyable to a growing boy, who had the whole countryside to wander over and use as a hunting ground.
Mr. Hesseltine was married February 24, 1897, to Cora Warwick, who has borne him four children, as follows: Helen, born April 4, 1900; Esther, born June 8, 1901; Eunice, born August 21, 1904; Kath- eryn, born May 20, 1913. Mrs. Bert Hesseltine was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1879, and is a daughter of Jacob and Ellen (Johnson) Warwick, who were the parents of twelve children. Jacob Warwick was born in Pennsylvania, and was an early pioneer set- tler in Nemaha county, Kansas, and who remained here a few years, and then returned to his old home in Pennsylvania. Later, however, he made a permanent settlement in Kansas in 1883. The Warwicks are living on a farm southwest of Bern. Mrs. Warwick is also a native of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Hesseltine is a Republican, who is well known over the county for his active and influential part in civic and political matters. He is the present township clerk of Berwick township, and also served as treasurer of the local school board.
Harry L. Guild .- The little city of. Bern, in Nemaha county, is a hustling and enterprising community, and as it is well known that a city is just as progressive and forward moving as its citizens, it is only natural to observe that Bern has many enterprising and self made men of affairs among whom is Harry L. Guild, cashier of the State Bank of Bern. Mr. Guild has shown his civic spirit by advocating and placing in effect public improvements during his term as mayor, and has also served his home town in various capacities, all of which have been those usually devolving upon a useful and energetic citizen who has the real welfare of his city and its people at heart.
Mr. Guild is of New England extraction, and it is a matter of inter- est to learn that the family of Guild was located on one farm in Vermont for two hundred years; it is easy to figure out that several generations of the family have lived in America. His father was Rufus B. Guild, born at West Halifax, Vt., in 1831, and who was educated to become a Congregational minister. Rev. Guild located in Illinois in 1860 and in 1878. came to Seneca. Kans., preaching at the Seneca church for two years, and returning to Illinois in 1881. Two years later he located at Sterling, Kans., where his demise occurred in 1888. Rev. Rufus B. Guild was a son of Calvin and Sallie (Kellogg) Guild, both of whom were na- tives of Vermont, and lived upon the old Guild homestead, which had been owned by different generations of Guilds for over 200 years in Windham county, Vermont. Seven children were born to Rev. Rufus B. Guild and wife, as follows: George, cashier of the Central National Bank of Topeka, and president of the Bern Bank; Harry L., subject of
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this review; Fannie, wife of Rev. L. M. Laybourn, Santa Cruz, Cal .; William R., president of the First National Bank, Hiawatha, Kans .; Susan, dean of the Women's College at Waukeska, Wis .; Jessie, a teacher in the art department of the public schools at Duluth, Minn .; Roy, secretary of the Federal Council of Churches at New York City, and who was formerly a minister of the Congregational church. Mrs. Susan (Bergen) Guild, mother of the foregoing children, was born at Ottawa, Ill., August 17, 1838, and died in 1908.
Harry L. Guild was born at Galva, Ill., August 19, 1865, and was educated at Knox College, Galesburg, Ill., and Washburn College, To- peka, Kans., following which collegiate course he clerked in a store at Sterling, Kans., until 1886, after which he farmed near Sterling until 1890. He then bought a half interest in a general merchandise store, which occupied him until 1901. Following his mercantile experience, he settled on a farm in section 26, Berwick township, Nemaha county, where he and his brother engaged in breeding Hereford cattle. They sold out their holdings five years later, and Mr. Guild became cashier of the State Bank of Bern.
Mr. Guild was married in 1889 to Miss Myrtle Jones, who has borne him four children, namely: Stacy R., a teacher of medicine in the med- ical department of the university at Ann Arbor, Mich., and a graduate of Washburn College; Edna, at home; William H., Topeka, Kans., grad- uate of Washburn College; Francis, at home. Mrs. Myrtle (Jones) Guild was born at Emporia, Kans., April 2, 1868, and graduated from the State Normal College located in her home city. She was a schoolmate of William Allen White of Emporia, and taught primary grades for five years previous to her marriage. Her parents were Harry and Emma (Packard) Jones, her father having been a soldier in the Civil war. He enlisted in the Eighth Kansas infantry at Emporia, in what was known as the John A. Martin regiment. He participated in several hard fought engagements, and was wounded in battle, but no wound proving very serious, he served until the end of the war. Mr. Jones is now living a retired life at Lawton, Okla., aged seventy-two years. The mother of Mrs. Guild died in 1904. There were five children in the Jones family, of whom Mrs. Guild is the second born.
Mr. Guild is a stanch Republican who has taken a more or less active part in county politics to the end that good men be elected to administer the civic affairs of his county. He served the people of Bern as mayor, and was instrumental in having cement sidewalks and various other improvements installed during his term of office. He has also served as a member of the school board. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In his younger days, Mr. Guild had a taste of hardships, and learned what hard work on a Kansas farm really was, inasmuch as he worked out as farm hand on farms near Seneca and herded cattle on the plains for a few seasons.
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William W. Driggs, postmaster and editor of the "Gazette," Bern, Kans., was born at Pierceville, Pa., March 25. 1856, and is a son of Sher- man and Romena (Myers) Driggs, who were the parents of six children, two of whom are deceased. Sherman Driggs, the father, was born near Nicholson, Pa., December 2, 1833, was reared to young manhood on a farm, and learned the trade of shoe maker, which he followed until the outbreak of the Civil war. He then joined a crew of construction men, and was in the employ of the United States Government during the four years of warfare between the North and South. After the war he en- gaged in saw mill work near New Milford, Pa., From here he went to New Jersey, thence to Wisconsin, and finally located in Missouri. He was engaged in railroad construction work in both New Jersey, Wiscon- sin and Missouri. His demise occurred at Frankfort, Mo., in 1903. The mother of William W. was born in Pennsylvania, August 30, 1834, and died in January, 1908.
When William W. Driggs was fifteen years old, he began railroad- ing at Lehigh Summit, Pa., on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company as a telegraph operator. For several years he was engaged in railroad work in various capacities in eastern cities until 1881, when he moved to Wisconsin, thence to Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas, coming to Bern as agent for the Rock Island railroad in 1905. He resigned his position with this road in 1908, and was ap- pointed postmaster of Bern. He also established a printing office at the same time, and has a well edited and well patronized local news- paper, the Bern "Gazette," which has a circulation of over 400 subscribers in the surrounding territory and Bern.
Mr. Driggs was married, in 1876, to Martha Plotts, who was born August 11, 1855, at Washington, N. J., and is a daughter of Philip and Sarah (Schaffer) Plotts, natives of Pennsylvania and New Jersey re- spectively. Five children have been born to this union, as follows: Mrs. Mildred Bickford, Phillipsburg, Kans .; Maud, wife of Rev. Schlie- mann, chaplain of the Twentieth Kansas regiment during the Spanish- American war, and minister of the Baptist church ; Mabel, at home with her parents; Mrs. Miriam Baker, St. Joseph, Mo .; William W., Jr., assistant postmaster and publisher.
Mr. and Mrs. Driggs are members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Driggs is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His career as a railroad man was a varied and interesting one, and Mr. Driggs was employed in various general offices of different railroad offices for several years. While in Wisconsin he was in charge of railroad traffic in both freight and passenger departments in the em- ploy of the Green Bay, Winona & St. Paul railroad. Two years prior to his employment by this road, he was master of transportation at Newton, N. J., on the Sussex railroad of New Jersey. In 1884, he went to Hannibal, Mo., and became general freight and ticket agent for the St. Louis and Hannibal Railroad Company, and left the employ of this
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road in 1893. He went from Hannibal to Omaha, Neb., and was in the employ of an investment company until his removal to Bern in 1905.
Jacob Frederick Weiss .- Many American citizens of German birth are numbered among the really successful men of Nemaha county. Most of these citizens came to this country and settled in Nemaha county when they were very poor, and were forced to work their way upward from poverty to their present state of comfortable affluence. The Weiss brothers, Fred and Adolph, of Sabetha, Kans., are notable examples of what can be accomplished by industry, close application to business and careful economy, and each is now a well-to-do and highly respected citizen of the city which they chose as their place of abode.
Jacob Frederick Weiss, or "Fred" Weiss, as he is better known in Sabetha, was born in Wurtemberg,, Germany, August 30, 1853, and is a son of Jacob Frederick and Kathrine (Keller) Weiss, who were the parents of five children, as follows: Adolph, Sabetha ; Jacob Frederick, subject of this review; George, a resident of. Sabetha; Mrs. Kathrine Lamparter, on a farm in Rock Creek township. one child died in infancy. The elder Weiss was a soldier in the armies of his native land, and was employed in a paper making factory until he became a tiller of the soil in Germany. He was born in December, 1822, and died in 1904. He was twice married, his first wife being the mother of Fred Weiss and the foregoing children, and who died in 1875, at the age of fifty years. Fred Weiss learned the baker's trade in Germany, and made his home in the mountains of his native land until 1872, when he decided that his fortune was to be made in America. Accordingly, he immigrated to this country in 1872, and joined his brother, Adolph, in Sabetha. He worked out for $13 per month and his board, during the growing and harvest seasons, and attended school in Rock Creek township during the win- ters. He did farm work for about four years, and then came to Sabetha, and learned the butcher's trade. In 1877, he became associated with his brother, Adolph, in the butcher and retail meat business, and the broth- ers operated a meat shop for fifteen years. In 1891, they engaged in the dairying and ice business, from which Fred Weise retired in 1906. He owns considerable property in Sabetha, and is well-to-do.
Mr. Weiss was married in New York, in October, 1880, to Mary M. Allmandinger, who was born November 24, 1848, in Germany, and immigrated to America in 1880. The following children have been born of this marriage: Frieda, born August 2, 1887; Elise, born April II, 1889.
Mr. Weiss and family are members of the German Lutheran church. He is affiliated with the Republican party, and has served on the city council of Sabetha, and filled the office of mayor of the city during his residence here. In his younger days, he was a member of the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows. One of Mr. Weiss' hobbies is the keeping of bees, of which he has twenty-five hives. He has made a study of bee culture and has successfully handled them for a number of years.
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Andrew H. Nusbaum, merchant of Bern, Kans., was born in Wells county, Indiana, February 16, 1870, and is a son of Abraham and Susan (Reisen) Nusbaum, both of whom were of German descent. Abraham Nusbaum, his father, was born in Ohio, March 2, 1845. He was reared in his native State, and was a pioneer settler of Kansas, coming to this State from his'former home in Wells county, Indiana, whither he had removed after his marriage. Ile made one of the first settlements in Washington township, Nemaha county, and developed a fine farm west of Bern. After some years he returned to Ohio, but again returned to Kansas, and is making his home at Salina. He was twice married, his first wife being Susan Reisen, a native of Switzerland, born in 1846, and who died in April, 1902. The children of Abraham and Susan Nusbaum are as follows: Mrs. Josephine Ramsey, Bern, Kans .; Eli Nusbaum, Wichita, Kans .; Mrs. Kate Miller, Salina, Kans .; George Nusbaum, Bern; Andrew H., subject of this review; Noah, living in Bern ; Alex- ander, Bern; Jerry, Ramona, Okla .; Mrs. Emma Ford, Salina, Kans .; Mrs. Fallena Kaufman, Horton, Kans .; Florien, Horton, Kans.
Andrew H. Nusbaum was educated in the district and the Bern public schools, which he attended for two years after completing the course of study in his home district. At twenty-one years of age, he clerked in a drug store at Bern. Following this employment, he clerked in a hardware store. In 1891, he entered the employ of I. G. Hamman, and remained in Hamman's employ until 1899, at which time he and A. H. Miller started a general merchandise store. This partnership con- tinned until 1912, when it was dissolved by mutual consent, and Mr. Nusbaum became sole proprietor of the business. He has a large store building, 25x116 feet in dimensions, well stocked with standard goods which are kept replenished in stock to supply the demands of an ever increasing and substantial patronage. Mr. Nusbaum has prospered in his business venture, and is one of the substantial and enterprising cit- izens of Bern, where his business acumen and go-ahead proclivities are admired. He has a nice residence property and two business lots in Bern, in addition to his large business.
Mr. Nusbaum was married, October 5, 1893, to Miss Minnie May Custard, who has borne him one child, namely: Lela Marie, born Au- gust 1, 1897. Mrs. Nusbaum was born in Monroe county, Pennsylvania, October 26, 1871, and is a daughter of Amos and Sarah Jane (Houck) Custard, natives of Pennsylvania. Amos Custard was born in Hamilton township, Monroe county, Pennsylvania, October 28, 1833, and died at Wymore, Neb., May 30, 1908. He was married to Sarah Jane Houck in Pennsylvania, and the following children were born to this union: Mrs. Lilly Ida Lasher, Wymore, Neb .; Wesley Custard, Hinsdale, Mont .; Howard, Medford. Okla .; Mrs. Minnie May (Nusbaum) ; Jesse, living at Marysville, Kans. The mother of the foregoing children was born in North Hampton county, Pennsylvania, July 10, 1839.
Mr. Nusbaum is a Democrat in politics, but has little time to de-
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vote to political affairs. Mrs. Nusbaum and daughter, Lela Marie, are members of the Presbyterian church.
Jacob S. Wittwer, assistant cashier of the Bern Bank, was born on a farm in Richardson county, Nebraska, November 29, 1875, and is a son of Jacob and Rosa (Stauffer) Wittwer, the former of whom was born in Switzerland, and after immigrating to America, settled in Richardson county, Nebraska, where he became owner of a fine farm of 320 acres, there married, and died in 1879. There were six children in the Witt- wer family, five of whom are living. The senior Wittwer was fortunate or lucky in his selection of a homestead inasmuch as a vein of coal was discovered upon the Wittwer property, and mining operations were car- ried on for some years, the royalty from the coal production netting the family no inconsiderable sum. Mrs. Rosa Wittwer, mother of Jacob S., was born in Switzerland, in 1856, and immigrated to this country with her parents when but a child. She resides in Bern, and is well-to-do.
Jacob S. Wittwer attended the normal school of Fremont, Ne- braska, and began teaching in 1894. He taught for one year, and then farmed the home place in Richardson county, Nebraska, for a year, after which he pursued a commercial course at Campbell University, Holton, Kans. He then farmed the home place again until 1899, after which he lo- cated in Bern, and became assistant cashier of the Bern Bank, of which thriving institution he is also a stockholder and director. Mr. Wittwer is associated with H. L. Guild in the real estate, loan and insurance busi- ness.
Mr. Wittwer was married in 1903 to Theodosia Lehmann, born in Washington township, Nemaha county, July 1, 1881, a daughter of John U. and Magdalena (Funkhauser) Lehmann. (See biography of John U. Lehmann in this volume). Mrs. Wittwer studied much at Campbell University, and taught music in Bern and vicinity previous to her mar- riage. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wittwer, as fol- lows: Velma, born May 31, 1904; Paul A., born June 25, 1908; John B., born May 23, 1913. The Wittwers have a handsome modern cottage residence nicely located on two acres of ground in Bern. .
Mr. Wittwer is allied with the Republican party and served as clerk of Washington township, and also filled the post of city treasurer until 1915. He is now a member of the city council of Bern. He and Mrs. Wittwer 'are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church, and. Mr. Wittwer is treasurer of the church organization. He is affiliated frater- nally with the Knights of Pythias, and is the present master of finance of the local lodge of Pythians.
John Roth .- The late John Roth of Bern, Kans., was born at Bush- elbasin, N. Y., April 4, 1860, and was a son of Leonard Roth, who was a German by birth, who lost his life by the accidental discharge of a gun lie was cleaning. John Roth came to Washington township and Nemaha county, in 1870, in company with his mother and stepfather. His mother was Elizabeth Amreihn before her marriage with John
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Roth, the elder, and after Mr. Roth's death, she married a Mr. Stauffer. John Roth, subject of this review, remained at home until he became of age, and then went to Nebraska, where he farmed for eighteen years. Upon his return to Nemaha county in 1898, he bought land in section 15, Washington township, and made extensive improvements thereon. At the time of'his demise May 27, 1912, he owned 237 acres. His un- timely death was caused by a colt running away and which became frightened at an approaching auto, and dragged Mr. Roth for over a mile. Mr. Roth died from the severe injuries which he received as a re- sult of the accident.
John Roth was married in 1896 to Mary E. Gugelman. The fol- lowing children were born of this marriage, namely : Mae, born July 19, 1897, a student at the Emporia Normal School, Emporia, Kans .; Leon- ard, born July 14, 1907. The Roth family left the frm in 1909, and moved to a comfortable home in Bern. Mrs. Roth owns the home farm as well as eight lots and three acres of ground in Bern. She was born June 2, 1874, on a farm two miles north of Bern and is a daughter of Samuel and Susannah (Frogg) Gugelman, natives of Switzerland. Sam- uel Gugelman, her father, was born March 19, 1829, and emigrated from his native land to America in 1866. His first work was in a stone quarry in his native country, but after coming to this country, he worked as farm hand near Rulo, Neb., for four years. He then bought a farm in section 3, Washington township. He developed his farm and reared a family of four children, and died in 1899. The children of the Gugel- man family are as follows: Emeline, died in infancy; Charles, Para- dise, Kans .; Otto, a farmer, Bern, Kans .; Sarah, wife of L. A. Branson, Hollyroot, Kans. The Roth family are members of the Evangelical church.
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