USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 1
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
Gc 978.201 H18s v.2 1192532
L
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01066 5880
T
HISTORY
OF
Hamilton and Clay Counties
NEBRASKA
Supervising Editors GEORGE L. BURR, Hamilton County 0. O. BUCK, Clay County
VOL. II ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1921
HAMMONO PRESS W. B. CONKEY COMPANY CHICAGO
1192538
Roca 20 to $37.50 (QUAIS)
W. I. FARLEY
BIOGRAPHICAL
W. I. FARLEY
While W. I. Farley initiated his business career in Aurora by entering the real estate field in which he has long operated extensively and successfully he is now well known as one of the prominent financiers of Nebraska, connected with many of the substantial banking institutions of the state. He is a man strong of purpose, sagacious and far-sighted, industrious and enterprising and in the course of a long and active career has never stopped short of the successful accomplishment of his well defined plans.
Mr. Farley was born in a pioneer log cabin on the farm of his father in Clarke county, Iowa, April 27, 1855. The father was a native of Morgan county, Ohio, and in Monroe county, Indiana, wedded Ann J. Curry whose birth occurred in County Sligo, Ireland. They removed to Clarke county, Iowa, in the spring of 1851, Mr. Farley having previously purchased land warrants whereby he secured land at a dollar and a quarter per acre. His realty holdings became very extensive and he won a place among the foremost business men and successful citizens of Clarke county. Both he and his wife died on the old homestead after contributing in large measure to the substantial development, progress and improvement of their community. They reared a family of nine children of whom but three are living: Mrs. Mattie Headle, who is residing near Ontario, South Dakota; W. I., of this review ; and Jennie Lane, who owns and occupies the old homestead farm in lowa. The parents were members of the Protestant Methodist church and the father was always a republican in his political views, giving stanch support to the party. He served as the first justice of the peace in Clarke county and was ever keenly interested in matters pertaining to the general welfare.
W. I. Farley was reared to farm life, sharing with the family in the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of the frontier and bearing his part in all the work pertaining to the improvement of the fields. In his youth he attended the country schools for about three months each year and finally had the opportunity of pursuing a course in the high school at Osceola, lowa, through three six months' terms. This completed his educational training but in the school of experience he has learned many valuable and practical lessons. Taking up the profession of teaching he was identified with the schools of Iowa in that connection for two years and then in March, 1877, accepted a position as clerk and bookkeeper in a hard- ware establishment in which the succeeding two years were passed. In the spring of 1879 he came to Nebraska, settling at Aurora. He traveled to York, then the terminal of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad, and from that point proceeded hy stage to his destination where he arrived on the 22d of February, 1879. Here he
5
6
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
became engaged in the real estate business with H. V. Temple, who had formerly been his teacher in the schools of Iowa, and who accompanied him to Nebraska. This business association was continued until the spring of 1883, when Mr. Farley became one of the organizers and 'stockholders of the Farmers & Merchants Bank in which he was associated with W. H. Streeter and E. J. Hainer. Selected as the first cashier of the bank he continued to fill the position and also the office of president for five years and later participated in the organization of the Aurora Bank Company of which he became president, and as such directed the affairs of the company and shaped the policy of the institution for six years. It was then consolidated with the Hamilton County Bank, the new organization later purchasing the First National Bank of Aurora and Mr. Farley became the vice president and one of the directors. Since entering banking circles he has continually broadened his activities in this connection and is today one of the foremost financiers of the state. In the spring of 1888 he was associated with his brothers John J. and George H. Farley in acquiring an interest and taking part in the organization of Farley's Bank of Marquette, Nebraska, which has since become the First National Bank of Marquette, W. I. Farley being elected to the presidency. He is now president of the First National Bank of Aurora, the First National Bank of Marquette, the First State Bank of Hordville, the First State Bank of Whitman, the First State Bank of Murphy and the Citizens State Bank of Thedford. His judgment is sound, his sagacity notably keen and his enterprise and energy unfaltering. The banking institutions with which he is thus closely associated have become most important factors in the upbuilding of the various communities in which they are located and have done much to maintain commer- cial stability. Mr. Farley has also been extensively and actively interested in real estate, being associated for some time with F. A. Burt in realty and financial interests. He is a large investor in Hamilton county farm land, owning over a thousand acres, and he has given much time to the management of his properties which at all times are the expression of improved methods of farming and stock raising. He keeps abreast with agricultural progress in every particular and his example has been largely followed by others.
Mr. Farley was united in marriage in 1888 to Miss Anna L. Oyler who was born near LaFayette, Indiana, and they have become parents of four children : Willian J., who is connected with his father in business; Alice L., the wife of Donnell Gilliam, an attorney of Tarboro, North Carolina; Annie L., the wife of Stanley Boykin, of Wilson, North Carolina, where he is engaged in the real estate business ; and Margaret, at home, now a student in the Martha Washington Seminary at Washington, D. C.
The family attends the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Farley is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a past chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias and at all times has been loyal to the teachings and high purposes of these organizations. In politics he has ever been a republican since casting his first presidential vote for R. B. Hayes in 1876 and in 1907 he was made the republican candidate for the state legislature and elected to the general assembly. He discharged his official duties with the same thoroughness and capability that have characterized his business career and his labors were attended by beneficial
7
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
results. He is a forceful and resourceful man, to whom opportunity has ever been the call to action and through the period of his connection with Nebraska the state has numbered him among her representative and valued citizens.
ROBERT G. BROWN
Robert G. Brown, an attorney of Sutton and one of the pioneer settlers of Clay county, was born in Clark county, Illinois, October 4, 1847, a son of Samuel R. and Mary R. (Howell) Brown, natives of Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. They were married in Illinois when but nineteen and fifteen years of age and there the father passed away about 1858, when between forty and fifty years of age. He had become the owner of a small farm in Clark county, Illinois. The mother afterward went to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to visit a daughter and there passed away in 1897. The parents were members of the Baptist church and Mr. Brown cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont. To him and his wife were born six sons and two daughters and three of the family are living: George W., a retired farmer and president of the Farmers' State Bank at Sargent, Nebraska; Robert G .; and Mary E., who is the wife of William L. Weed, a railroad claim agent at Denver, Colorado. Three of the sons-Charles W., Francis M. and John H .- served as Union soldiers in the Civil war.
Robert G. Brown obtained a country school education in Illinois and afterward attended Marshall College at Marshall, that state. He then began reading law in the office of Scofield & Wilkin of Marshall, Illinois, both of his preceptors dying while serving on the supreme bench of the state. Mr. Brown began practice in his native state, but advancement at the bar is proverbially slow and because he met with such difficulty in gaining a professional start he removed to the west, reaching Sutton in the spring of 1871. He became the first lawyer of Clay county and has remained here continuously since. He and his three brothers also homesteaded and became identified with the early development of this section of the state. Robert G. Brown proposed that the county should be organized and was the man who acted as leader in bringing this about. The work was accomplished October 14, 1871, at the home of Alexander Campbell, thirteen miles west of Sutton. His brother, F. M. Brown, was the first county clerk and Robert G. Brown became the first county treasurer. He bought a lot in Sutton for five dollars and this was the first deed filed in the county, being recorded on Book 1, Page 1, of the county record. He bought this lot in order to be a freeholder, so he could sign the bonds for county officers. He also served as a director of the first school district and was the first legal adviser of the county. He likewise filled the office of mayor in Sutton as the second incumbent in that position and in 1887 served as state senator. In 1892 he removed to Beatrice, Nebraska, where he lived for two years and a half, practicing law. On the expiration of that period he located in Denver, Colorado, where he continued in practice for another two and a half years and then again came to Sutton, where he practiced until his retirement from active life. In the meantime he had acquired land in Clay county and is also the owner of town property. He has ever done all in his power for the benefit and upbuilding
8
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
of Sutton and Clay county, laying out the town of Clay Center. He was also responsible for the purchase of the town site, this occurring at the time Harvard was making its fight for the courthouse. Believing that Harvard would get it away from Sutton, he chose Clay Center as the lesser evil and was instrumental in securing the establishment of the county seat there.
Mr. Brown was married in Illinois to Ella B. Constable, a daughter of Charles H. Constable, who was a judge of the circuit court in Illinois, and Abraham Lin- coln practiced in his conrt. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have become parents of three children : Alice M., the wife of Dr. E. E. Yocum, a dentist of Belgrade, Nebraska ; Jessie Belinda, at home; and Mabel R., the wife of A. W. Burge, assistant manager with the Oakland Motor Company at Buffalo, New York.
Mrs. Brown is a member of the Episcopal church. Fraternally Mr. Brown is a Mason, belonging to the Knight Templar commandery and the Mystic Shrine at Lincoln, Nebraska. He is a past master of his lodge and past high priest of the chapter. In politics he is now a democrat but gave his political allegiance to the republican party until 1896. He was a delegate to the national convention at Cincinnati in 1876 and has been quite active in political connections, filling the various offices already indicated and at all times making a capable record by his devotion to the principles which he espouses.
NELS BENGTSON
To the pioneers who had the persistence and courage that caused them to hold to their course, regardless of adverse conditions and numerous hardships in the earlier days, the soil of Hamilton county has been made to give generous tribute, with the resultant prosperity that attends many of those who thus endured and labored when the civic and industrial history of this section of the state was in the making. Nels Bengtson had little of fortifying resources save energy, ambition, good health and determined purpose when he and his wife cast in their lot with other pioneers of Hamilton county in the year 1877, and in the full enjoyment of peace and plenty in later years, he had the deepest appreciation of and loyalty to the county and state in which he had found the medium through which to gain this independ- ence. In the earlier period of their residence on their isolated prairie farm Mr. Bengtson and his devoted wife frequently saw times when they did not have in their possession sufficient cash to pay postage on a letter, but they made the best of conditions, worked and planned without losing faith, practiced frugality when their circumstances became less straitened, and held true to their purposes in fair weather and foul, with the result that eventually they were not denied a generous reward for all that they had endured and labored. Thus it was that at the time of his death, on the 24th of June, 1907, Mr. Bengtson was the owner of three hun- dred and twenty acres of valuable land in Hamilton county and was known and honored as a worthy and substantial pioneer citizen of this section of the state. A short time before his death he and his wife removed from their farm to the village of Hordville and in the attractive home which he there provided his widow still resides, surrounded by friends who are tried and true, and sustained and com-
9
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
forted by the gracious memories of earlier years, when she and her husband were working side by side.
Nels Bengtson was born in Sweden in the year 1847, was there reared and educated, and was twenty-one years of age when he came to the United States and established his residence at Wilcox, Pennsylvania, where he found employment in a tannery. In that state in the year 1876 he was united in marriage to Miss Emma Magneson, who was also born in Sweden and who was sixteen years of age when she came to the United States. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bengtson con- tinned their residence in the old Keystone state until 1877, when they came to Nebraska, impressed with the belief that in this new and progressive common- wealth they could find opportunity for winning independence and stable prosperity through their own ability and efforts. Soon after his arrival Mr. Bengtson pur- chased eighty acres of unbroken prairie land in Bluffs township, but during the first summer he and his wife occupied a sod house on a rented farm. In the following year he erected a little frame house, twelve by sixteen feet, on his own land and when the accommodations later became too limited he constructed a sod ad- dition to the diminutive building. He utilized an ox team in breaking his land and the yoke with which these patient animals were equipped to do this work is retained on the old farm today, as a souvenir of the pioneer period. Season followed season, some giving generous tribute and others recording losses of crops through drought, hailstorms, grasshoppers and other adverse conditions, but the end was prosperity and Mr. Bengtson never wavered in faith nor self-reliance. He made good im- provements on his farm property and was known as one of the progressive agri- culturists and stock raisers of his adopted county.
Mr. and Mrs. Bengtson became the parents of eight children, the eldest, Wil- helm, resides at Central City, Merrick county, where he is a city engineer ; Morris is a prosperous farmer near Hordville, Hamilton county; Oscar A. died at the age of twenty-three years; Thelma is the wife of Aaron Blumquist, a manager of the Hordville Lumber Company ; John A. is a successful farmer in this county ; Emily is the wife of John Veburg, an enterprising exponent of farm industry in this county ; Ivan M. is engaged as cashier of the bank, at Murphy, Nebraska; and Gilbert is at the time of this writing, in 1921, a student in the Omaha University of Medicine.
Mr. Bengtson's political support was given to the republican party and he was an earnest communicant of the Swedish Lutheran church, as is also his widow, who is now venerable in years but who bears those years lightly, as she is vigorous in mind and physical powers.
WILLIAM ASHBY
William Ashby, mayor of Fairfield, Nebraska, where he is engaged in the hard- ware business, was born in Champaign, Illinois, in 1867, a son of Martinus and Mary (Patton) Ashby, the former a native of New York and the latter of Ohio. Their marriage occurred in Ohio and in 1858 they removed to Illinois. There the father bought land on which he made his home until 1884 when he removed his family to Nebraska and located in Clay county. The death of Mrs. Ashby occurred
10
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
on the homestead and his demise occurred in Fairfield. Four children were born to that union, two of whom are living: William, whose name initiates this review ; and Ernest, a farmer of Guide Rock. Throughout his life Mr. Ashby was a stanch republican and the religious faith of the family was that of the Congre- gational church. On the paternal side William Ashby was a descendant of English ancestors and on the maternal side of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
William Ashby received his education in the public schools of Champaign and in due time entered the University of Illinois, which he attended two years. He then started farming, teaching school in the winters and for several years after removing to Nebraska also followed that occupation. In 1907, however, he moved into Fairfield and established a hardware and plumbing business, in the conduct of which he is still active and achieving a great amount of success.
In 1908 Mr. Ashby was united in marriage to Mrs. Carrie Aikman, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of J. P. Adams. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ashby are members of the Methodist church and he is fraternally identified with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Ashby has always been a stanch supporter of the republican party and in 1894 was elected to the state legislature. In 1920 he was elected to the mayoralty and one of the important features of his administration will be the street improvements, which work is now under way. In the line of his hardware business Mr. Ashby has built up a large and lucrative trade and he is a firm believer in the statement that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement. He is held in high esteem for his genuine worth and he is a man who at all times can be relied upon and who is faithful to every trust committed to his care.
ELI B. BARTON
For thirty years E. B. Barton resided on a farm in Hamilton county and then removed to Aurora where his remaining days were spent in the enjoyment of a rest which he had truly earned and richly deserved. He was born in Stark county, Ohio, August 13, 1843, and his life covered the intervening years to the 28th of July, 1910, when he was called to his final rest. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Barton, were both natives of Ohio who passed away in that state where the father had followed the occupation of farming. The son was educated in the schools of Malvern, Ohio, and was well educated for his day. He began teaching when but seventeen years of age and proved most capable in imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge he had acquired. At the time of the Civil war, however, he put aside all business and personal considerations and joined the army, enlisting on the 13th of August, 1862, as a member of Company I, Ninety-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After the war was over and the country no longer needed his military aid he removed to Illinois in 1865 and there taught school for two years. In 1867 he became a resident of Henry county, Iowa, which was another step in the journey that was eventually to bring him to Nebraska. Three years were spent in Iowa and in the early spring of 1871 Mr. Barton came to Hamilton county where his remaining days were passed. Here he built a small frame house
---
ELI B. BARTON
13
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
on the homestead which is still owned by his widow, one hundred and sixty acres on section 18, range 10. The lumber for this house he brought from Henry county, Iowa, and he and his family resided on the farm for about thirty-nine years. The property now comprises a tract of three hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land. In the year 1879 Mr. Barton was called to the office of county superintendent of schools and occupied that responsible position for ten years, contributing to the development and substantial improvement of the schools through that period.
It was in 1868 that Mr. Barton was united in marriage to Miss Teresa E. Nugen who was born in West Virginia and when quite young removed to New London, Iowa. She was educated in the high school at New London and spent her girlhood days at the home of her parents, Silas R. and Martha J. (Kennett) Nugen, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of West Virginia. Mr. Nugen devoted his life to farming and ultimately moved to South Dakota where his remaining days were passed. To him and his wife were born twelve children, of whom ten are living, Mrs. Barton being the second in order of birth. To Mr. and Mrs. Barton the following children were born: Lena, the deceased wife of Rufus Buckley ; Silas R., who died in 1916 on election day. He was running for congress and had served a previous term ; Charles, a farmer and carpenter residing in Aurora; George, who is engaged in the life insurance business in Omaha, Nebraska; Guy, who has recently organized the Policy Holders Life Insurance Company at Sioux Falls, South Dakota ; John, who is traveling for the Iron Works at Lincoln, Nebraska ; and Maude, the wife of D. L. Moses, who resides in Aurora.
Mr. Barton held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, with which Mrs. Barton is still identified. In politics he was a republican and fraternally he was connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and at all times manifested the same loyalty in matters of citizenship as he displayed when he followed the nation's banner on the battle fields of the south. In his later life, or in June, 1910, he removed with his family to Aurora and erected a nice residence at No. 1311 Thirteenth street, which is now occupied by Mrs. Barton and her daughter. Mr. Barton enjoyed the high respect, confidence and goodwill of all who knew him. He was a man of liberal education with whom association meant friendship and elevation. He stood at all times for progress and improvement, was never content to use the second best, and his entire life was marked by steady advancement along those lines which contributed to the material, intellectual and moral progress of the community in which he made his home.
G. W. BENNETT
For about eleven years G. W. Bennett had made his home in Hampton, Hamilton county, where he engaged in the milling business and upon his death on February 13, 1896, a deep feeling of bereavement swept the community in which he had made so many friends. He was a native of the state of New York, having been born in Cortland county on the 23d of December, 1835.
He received his education in the schools of his native state and just before
14
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
the outbreak of the Civil war removed to Illinois. He went into service from that state, becoming a member of the Seventy-second Illinois Infantry, with which he served for three years. After the war Mr. Bennett made his home in Wisconsin for some time, his marriage taking place during his residence there, and subse- quently removed to Iowa, where he engaged in milling at Storm Lake for a number of years. He then decided to come further west and as a result came to Nebraska, his first residence in this state being at Marquette. He remained there less than a year, however, when he removed to Bradshaw and subsequently located at Hampton, where he continued to reside until his death. He never engaged in farming but throughout his entire life followed the milling business, in which line of work he achieved a substantial amount of success.
On the 26th of August, 1873, in Cadiz, Wisconsin, occurred the marriage of Mr. Bennett and Miss Hariett Parmer, a native of Green county, that state, in which her birth occurred in the year 1852. To them two sons were born : Charles Henry, residing in Chappell; and Burt, who was born October 26, 1879, and passed away March 15, 1903.
During his lifetime Mr. Bennett was a stanch supporter of the republican party but never sought nor desired office, preferring rather to devote his entire time to his milling interests. Fraternally he was a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and was also a member of the Marquette Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He was one of the few old soldiers of the community and was looked upon as an ideal and representative citizen. His death has left a place in the community which will be hard to fill. The widow of Mr. Bennett is still residing in Hampton, where she has a fine home and is financially independent. She is prominent in religious and lodge circles, being a consistent member of the Methodist church in which she is a worker in the Ladies Aid, and she is prominent in the Highland Lodge, Degree of Honor and the Royal Neighbors, all of which belong to the Aurora lodge.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.