Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II, Part 1

Author: Sawyer, Andrew J., 1844- ed
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 854

USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II > Part 1

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LINCOLN

The Capital City

AND

LANCASTER COUNTY

NEBRASKA

ILLUSTRATED

VOLUME II

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1916

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HON. THOMAS P. KENNARD

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BIOGRAPHICAL

HON. THOMAS PERKINS KENNARD.

Hon. Thomas Perkins Kennard, whose residence in Lincoln exceeds in duration that of any other citizen now living here, arrived in this city in 1868 and it is said that he has had more to do with the city's history than any other individual. It was Mr. Kennard who was chiefly responsible for locating the state capital in Lincoln and with other events of equal importance his name is inseparably associated. He was born in Belmont county, Ohio, near the town of Flushing, December 13, 1826, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth ( Perkins ) Kennard. The father, a farmer by occupation, was born in Virginia and became an early settler of Belmont county, Ohio. There was something in the life of the frontier, however, that made an appeal to him and as Belmont county became more thickly settled he removed with his family to Henry county, Indiana, tak- ing up his abode there in 1833. He there purchased a partially improved farm and later bought a section of land from the government at a dollar and a quarter per acre, he and his wife spending their remaining days upon that place. Their family numbered eight sons, one of whom died in infancy, and a daughter. The other seven sons, Levi, John, Jacob, Jenkins, Thomas P., Joseph and Marshall, reached mature years and the only daughter, Rachel, became the wife of Joseph James. All have now passed away with the exception of Thomas P. Kennard.

Upon his father's farm in Henry county, Indiana, whither he removed when seven years of age, Thomas P. Kennard spent the greater part of his youth. He attended school but very little, about a year in all. In his youth he spent four years as an employe in a woolen mill of Henry county, there learning the busi- ness of spinning wool, while his elder brother, Jenkins, also served an appren- ticeship in the same establishment. Finally the two brothers purchased the mill and operated it for three years, at the end of which time Thomas P. Kennard sold his interest to his brother. A year or two before he had decided that such a life was not congenial and, moreover, it was his ambition to study law but up to that time he had had no opportunity to do so. He worked in the mill from early morning until eight o'clock in the evening and furthermore he had had no general education to serve as the foundation upon which to build the super- structure of professional learning. He had obtained only a meager knowledge of the rudiments of learning from the commonest textbooks, gained in a year's attendance at school and through private study. He had no law books and was unable to buy them, but so strong was his purpose that he went to Newcastle, the county seat of Henry county, and made arrangements with a law firm to borrow such textbooks as he would need and which he would study under the direction of that firm. to whom he was to report every Saturday afternoon the progress that he had made and receive from them further instruction as to how

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LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY

to proceed. Occasionally he would get another law book and this method of mastering the principles of jurisprudence was followed for a year. After work- ing all day in the woolen mill until eight o'clock in the evening he would then study until eleven or sometimes twelve o'clock at night. Upon selling his interest in the mill to his brother he removed to the little town of Greensboro, in Henry county, Indiana, secured a room to use as an office and hung out his shingle, inscribed "T. P. Kennard, Lawyer." He was then about twenty-five years of age and he had previously married. During the two years which he prac- ticed there he won a reputation as a successful and rising young lawyer and at the end of that time sought the broader field offered in the town of Anderson, the county seat of Madison county, Indiana. He remained in practice there for about three years. Having inherited from his father a love for the frontier, he then decided that he would come to Nebraska and just prior to the Civil war, accompanied by his oldest brother, Levi, who had decided to engage in merchan- dising in the west, he boarded a train at Indianapolis and proceeded to St. Louis. He there took a boat for Omaha as there was no railroad to bring him the remainder of the journey. The steamboat trip occupied about two weeks. The boat used wood for fuel and proceeded on its run only in the daytime, anchoring at some landing place at night. From Omaha the two brothers proceeded to Desoto, Washington county, Nebraska, where they took up their abode, Levi there engaging in mercantile pursuits, while Thomas P. Kennard entered upon the practice of law, in which he was soon well established. His ability soon drew to him wide attention and he became not only a leader at the bar but also in political circles.

About that time the people of the state decided to hold a convention with a view to perfecting a constitution for statehood. Washington county chose Mr. Kennard as its representative in this convention and he accepted the position only on condition that he should be allowed to write the platform. He did so and its two principal planks were: first, female suffrage, or the right of women to vote; and second, that capital punishment should be prohibited in the new state. It was left to the people of Nebraska to vote for or against the statehood proposition and it was voted down. Soon afterward that element of the voters which favored statehood induced the Nebraska delegate in congress to introduce a bill for the organization of the state of Nebraska. The bill was enacted, was submitted to the people and on this occasion carried by about one hundred majority. Accordingly the two leading political parties met in convention at differ- ent places and nominated their candidates for state officers. The republicans, who favored state organization, met at Plattsmouth and nominated Thomas P. Kennard for secretary of state. The democrats, who opposed state organization, met at Ne- braska City. The republican convention before it adjourned chose General Thayer and Thomas P. Kennard to make a complete canvass of the territory of Nebraska in favor of the idea of state organization. General Thayer was then a candidate for United States senator from the new state as soon as it should come into being. At the ensuing election the republicans and those who favored statehood carried the day and the ticket for all state officials won. Mr. Kennard thus became the first secretary of state of Nebraska and by re-election served two terms. While in that office he was mainly instrumental in selecting Lincoln for the state capital V MICLO He led the fight in

as against Omaha, which had been the territorial capital.

LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY

the state legislature and not only that but he also fathered the movement which led to the appointment of a commission of three men who should have the power to locate not only the state capital but also important state institutions. This commission, which was composed of Governor Butler, State Auditor Gillespie and Mr. Kennard, selected Lincoln as the capital and also as the site for the State University, the state insane asylum, the penitentiary and other institu- tions. Governor Butler left practically all this to Mr. Kennard, who was his devoted friend, and therefore Mr. Kennard had more to do with selecting Lin- coln than anyone else, for he voted not only his sentiments but also those of Governor Butler. He had absolute control of the legislation which made Lin- coln the capital, the matter being left to this commission, in which he was the dominating spirit, owing to Governor Butler's deference to his ideas. The bill which passed the legislature, however, had restricted the commission to Saun- ders, Butler, Seward, Saline and Lancaster counties. The commission visited all of these counties and Mr. Gillespie favored Ashland, while Governor Butler and Mr. Kennard favored Lancaster county.

On the expiration of his second term as secretary of state Mr. Kennard re- sumed his law practice but soon abandoned it for other business pursuits, first engaging in private banking and afterward in merchandising. He was again called to public office by appointment of Governor Robert W. Furnas, who made him state agent to prosecute certain claims against the federal government grow- ing out of conditions arising under the enabling act. In 1875 he was elected to the state senate and before the expiration of his term was appointed by General Grant as a member of the board to appraise about seven million acres of land in the Indian territory as the basis of the sale of the land to the various Indian tribes which the government was settling in that territory. Mr. Kennard was elected president of the board. After a few months he resigned and returned to Lincoln to become local attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad, in which capacity he continued for a number of years. He organized the Western Glass & Paint Company in 1890. becoming its president, and has since continued in that office. In 1896 he was delegate at large from Nebraska to the republican national convention at St. Louis when Mckinley was nominated and served as vice president of that body. In 1898 he was appointed by President Mckinley receiver of public moneys at the United States land office at Lincoln and special disbursing agent for the government. In recent years because of his advancing age he has retired from all active pursuits. The state will ever- owe to him a debt of gratitude for his public-spirited devotion to its interests and especially is Lincoln indebted to him for the wisdom and foresight which he displayed in making this city the capital.

V. F. HOFMANN.

\. F. Hofmann, who figures prominently in financial circles in Havelock, was born in Bohemia, March 31, 1850. his parents being Frank and Anna Marie Ilofmann, who spent their entire lises in the old Mount soff BHofmann came to the United States when a young man of twenty-six years and made his first

LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY

location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he accepted any employment that would yield him an honest living. He afterward traveled over South Dakota, making the journey on foot across the Indian reservations, and passed through Vermillion. In time, however, he decided to go to California, but at Council Bluffs and at Omaha he met some of his own countrymen and obtained employment in connec- tion with the construction of the Union Pacific railroad bridge at Omaha. Later he became an engineer for the same company and while one day leaning out of the cab window. when crossing the Missouri river, he was hit on the head by a falling sledge and fell into the water. He was taken out some distance below the bridge and was conveyed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he recovered from his injuries. During the railroad strike he found employment in the Burlington shops at Plattsmouth and when the shops were removed to Havelock he was one of the first workmen sent to this place. For twenty years he was a mechanic in the Burlington shops at Havelock. In April, 1907, he became cashier of the Farmers & Mechanics Bank, which position he still fills, and he now concentrates his energies upon his duties in that connection, proving a popular bank official.

At Plattsmouth. Nebraska, Mr. Hofmann was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Anna Matous, a native of Cedar Rapids, lowa. In everything relating to his city's welfare and advancement Mr. Hofmann is deeply and helpfully interested and has done much to promote Havelock's growth. He has been a member of the city council for two terms and served as mayor for two terms, giving to the city a public-spirited and businesslike administration. He belongs to George Washington Lodge, No. 250. F. & A. M., to the Ancient Order of United Work- men and the Modern Woodmen of America. When he arrived in Havelock on the ist of May, 1892, but few houses had been built. He has lived to see many changes as the town has grown and developed and in the work of improvement he has borne his part. He is, moreover, a self-made man, having steadily worked his way upward since starting out in life empty handed after coming to the new world. Such a record should serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what may be accomplished when there is a will to dare and to do.

HON. BENJAMIN F. GOOD.

Hon. Benjamin F. Good, lawyer and author, who for twelve years was judge of the fifth judicial district of Nebraska and then declined to again become a candidate for the office, is now actively engaged in the practice of law in Lincoln and is recognized as one of the most distinguished representatives of the bar of this state.

Ile was born in Bloomfield, Iowa, April 2, 1860, and is a son of John and Frances ( Bothamer) Good, both of whom were natives of County Cork, Ireland, but on both sides he comes of English descent. His ancestors were originally residents of Somersetshire, England, and were of the Protestant faith. In 1620, however, branches of both the Good and Bothamer families were planted in County Cork, Ireland, and the direct ancestors of Judge Good were therefore residents of County Cork from 1620 until f819, when his parents came to the

LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY

United States. While the population of County Cork was largely Catholic the Good and Bothamer families held to their Protestant faith and their descendants have always been of that belief. Immediately after their marriage in 1849, the parents of the Judge crossed the Atlantic and became residents of Dayton, Ohio, while later they made their home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In 1858, however, they removed to Iowa, establishing their home upon a farm near Bloomfield, where they spent their remaining days, the father passing away in 1878, while the mother died in 1900. They were the parents of eight children, of whom six are yet living, namely: Mrs. Mary Slack, of Holyoke, Colorado ; Jolin R., of Bloomfield, Iowa; Benjamin F. ; Mrs. Miriam Russell, of Sewal, Iowa : and George W. and William H., both residents of Bloomfield, Iowa.

Judge Good was reared on the old homestead farm near Bloomfield, Iowa, with the usual experiences of the farm bred boy. He attended the common schools for about three months each. winter and during the remainder of the year was employed in the work of the fields, his time being thus passed until he had attained his majority. He was ambitious, however, to enjoy better educational opportunities and at that time became a pupil in a normal school at Bloomfield, where he devoted two years to study. Ile afterward took special work in history and languages in the Iowa State University and during the winter of 1883-4 taught a four months' term of school near Pulaski, Iowa, while at the same time he devoted every available moment to reading law. In the fall of 1884 he matriculated in the law department of the University of Iowa, and by reason of his previous study and his close application while a student there, he was graduated with the class of June, 1885.

Judge Good immediately afterward located at Wahoo, Nebraska, where he entered upon active practice in the month of September as the senior member of the firm of Good & Good, his partner being Hon. Edward E. Good who, though of the same name, was not a relative. This relationship continued until 1900, when Benjamin F. Good was elected judge of the fifth Nebraska judicial district court and went upon the bench, where he made so excellent a record that he was twice reelected for terms of four years each, so that his incumbency covered altogether twelve years. He would undoubtedly have been again elected to office had he not declined to accept the incumbency in 1912, in which year he removed to Lincoln, where he has since engaged in the private practice of law with notable success, a large and distinctively representative clientage being accorded him. It is characteristic of him that he ever thoroughly prepares his cases, and while upon the bench his decisions were marked by a notable grasp of every problem presented for solution and embodied the spirit of absolute justice and fairness. He has become widely known as the joint author, with Hon. George Corcoran, of a volume entitled Nebraska Instructions to Juries and Law Digest, which was published in 1901 and is in general use among the representatives of the Nebraska bar.

On the rith of June. 1890, Judge Good was married to Miss Jennie Jessen, of Nebraska City, who died April 2, 1916. She was a daughter of Mrs. Margaret (Martin) Jessen, who ere her marriage was the first teacher of white children in this state. To Judge and Mrs. Good were born two children, Anabel and Paul F. The former is a graduate of the State University and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa. The son completed a course in Amherst College of Massa-

LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY

chusetts at the age of twenty years and is now attending Oxford University of England, having been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship for Nebraska.

Judge Good is a Mason and also a member of the Knights of Pythias. He belongs to the Nebraska State Bar Association and was honored with its presi- dency in 1911. He is likewise a member of the Lancaster County Bar Associa- tion. llis political allegiance is given to the democratic party, and he was its candidate for congress in 1910. While undoubtedly he is not without that honor- able ambition which is so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs he regards the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. His is a notable character-one that subordinates personal ambition to public good and seeks rather the welfare of others than the aggrandizement of self. Well versed in the learning of his profession and with a deep knowledge of human nature and the springs of human conduct, possessing also sagacity and extraordinary tact, he is in the courts an advocate of great power and influence.

HON. THOMAS R. BURLING.

Hon. Thomas R. Burling, deceased, a successful merchant, farmer and banker who was the owner of about seven hundred acres of valuable land in Lancaster county, was born in England, March 15, 1846, a son of John and Mary (Harry ) Burling, the former a native of Cambridge, England, and the latter of Wales. The father followed farming about five miles south of Cam- bridge until 1854, when he brought his family to the United States, landing after a voyage of twenty-eight days. For eighteen months they remained resi- dents of New York city, after which Mr. Burling removed to Bureau county, Illinois, and purchased a farm near Buda. There his wife passed away in 1862. lle continued to carry on farming in that locality throughout his remaining days, his death occurring in 1876.

Thomas R. Burling began his education in the schools of England, being a lad of eight years when the family crossed the ocean. He further studied in New York city and in Illinois. His older brother enlisted for service in the Civil war and he and a younger brother had to remain at home to care for the farm. He resided on the old homestead until he attained his majority and in 1868 made his way to Lincoln, after which he pre-empted eighty acres of land in section 24, Buda precinct. He at once set about improving the place and con- tinued its cultivation until 1887, when he removed to Firth, Lancaster county, where he conducted a mercantile establishment for five years, at the end of which time his store was destroyed by fire. He next removed to Cortland, Ne- braska, where he engaged in the banking business throughout his remaining days. He was a very successful farmer, banker and merchant and his property possessions in Lancaster county comprised seven hundred acres of rich and valuable land.

On the 22d of October, 1868, Mr. Burling was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Streetor, a daughter of Alson J. and Deborah ( Boone) Streetor, who were natives of Pennsylvania and New York respectively. Removing to Illinois,

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LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY

the father engaged in farming in Mercer county throughout the remainder of his life save for a brief period which he spent on the Pacific coast. Following the discovery of gold he spent six months in crossing the plains to California, ac- companied by Hiram Boone, his brother-in-law, who worked in the gold mines for four years and now makes his home with Mrs. Burling. He served for four years during the Civil war as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, although he at first enlisted as a veterinary surgeon with the Second Illinois Infantry. At the present writing he is eighty- six years of age. The city of Streator, Illinois, was named in honor of the family of which Mrs. Burling is a representative. Her father was at one time a candidate for president of the United States on the union labor ticket soon after the Civil war. He died in January, 1903, and his widow survived for only a brief period, passing away in February of the same year.

To Mr. and Mrs. Burling were born seven children: Harry H., who was born December 5, 1869, and passed away in January, 1896; Fanny E., who was born November 9. 1871, and is the wife of George H. Dietz, of Lincoln; Frank A., who was born October 14, 1874, and is living in Lincoln; G. Worthington, who was born August 5, 1880, and died December 7, 1888; Perry R., who was born November 6, 1881, and is a farmer living near Cortland, Nebraska ; Blanche E., who was born February 27. 1884, and is the wife of L. L. Kurtz, of Lincoln ; and Earl Reece, who was born in June, 1886, and died March 8, 1887.

Mr. Burling was quite prominent in political circles and in 1878 was elected to the state legislature, in which he served for one term, during which period he was largely instrumental in securing the passage of some wise and beneficial laws. His life was one of intense activity and usefulness and when he died after an operation on the 11th of May, 1808, at the age of fifty-two years, his demise was the occasion of deep and widespread regret. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, to which he always loyally ahered. In 1909 Mrs. Burling removed to Lincoln and purchased a pleasant home at No. 2039 South Twenty- third street, where she has since resided. She is well known in the county and has the high esteem of all with whom she has been brought in contact.

RALPH E. HARRINGTON.

Ralph E. Harrington, who with his brother. Harry W., is engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Lincoln under the style of the Harrington Realty Company, resides at University Place. He was born in Clinton county, Iowa, on the 6th of February, 1881, of the marriage of Ashel and Alice (Walrod ) Harrington, the former a native of New York and the latter of Towa. In 1888 the family removed to Nebraska from Clinton County, Iowa, where the father had been engaged in the implement business for several years. On coming to this state he located near Beatrice and gave his attention to farming for a con- siderable period. Subsequently he was for four years on the police force of the city of Beatrice, after which he engaged in merchandising in Crab Orchard, Nebraska, in partnership with our subject and another son. This business was

LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY

maintained for twelve years, after which removal was made to Pawnee City, where he remained for three years. He then retired from active life and took up his residence in University Place, where he passed away on the 4th of January, 1916. His wife, who survives, still makes her home at University Plaec.

Ralph E. Harrington was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the schools of Beatrice. He was engaged in business with his father until the removal of the family to University Place, but in 1911 he and his brother, Harry W., formed the Harrington Realty Company and established offices in Lincoln. They not only deal in real estate and insurance but are also brokers, selling mercantile stocks, and they have built up a good patronage in all branches of their business. Harry W. Harrington resides at Florence, a suburb of Omaha, and conducts a store there, but he also owns a home in University Place. The firm has the state agency for the American Hail Insurance Company of Newark, New Jersey, and has the control of the various local agents of that concern in Nebraska. The Harrington Realty Company makes a specialty of handling eastern Nebraska farm lands and has negotiated the sale of much valuable property in that section. Ralph E. Harrington is a stockholder, director and the assistant secretary of the Home Savings & Loan Association, a local concern which has grown rapidly since its organization.

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Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II, Part 1

Author: Sawyer, Andrew J., 1844- ed Publication date: 1916 Publisher: Chicago, Ill., The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 854

Author: Sawyer, Andrew J., 1844- ed
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 854