USA > Nebraska > Adams County > Past and present of Adams County, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 1
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Gc 978.201 Adlbu v.2 1585318
FET WOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01065 1500
Gen
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PAST AND PRESENT OF
ADAMS COUNTY
NEBRASKA
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1916
1585318
WILLIAM R. BURTON
BIOGRAPHICAL
WILLIAM R. BURTON.
Macaulay has said that "the history of a country is best told in the lives of its people," and if we would preserve the history of any section, the facts must be preserved while those who have been par- ticipants in important events still remain to tell the tale of their activities. There is no one better qualified to speak of Adams county and its annals than Hon. William R. Burton, so closely has he been associated with events that figure prominently in its records. He is a product of the frontier of Southwestern Missouri, where he was born June 30, 1843, the eldest of five children born to the marriage of Garrett Burton and Catherine Ware. He was a student in the Northwestern Christian University at Indianapolis, Indiana, at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war and, laying aside his textbooks, he enlisted July, 1861, in response to the country's call for aid, be- coming a member of Company E, Twenty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until wounded in one of the engage- ments of the Vicksburg campaign. After recovering from his in- juries he served in the quartermaster's department of the Army of the Cumberland under General Thomas until honorably discharged at the close of the war in 1865.
For a time Mr. Burton engaged in the practice of law in Union county, Indiana, but temporarily abandoned that profession to become a member of the editorial staff of the Indianapolis Journal. In 1883 he removed to Adams county, Nebraska, and for a time engaged in teaching school, but the recognition of his ability as a lawyer, his public spirit and his trustworthiness as a citizen led to his election to the office of judge of the city court of Hastings in 1887, every ballot except one being cast in his favor. In 1889 he was elected county judge and served upon the bench in that capacity until January, 1894, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial, so that he "won golden opinions from all sorts of people." Since then he has devoted his attention to the practice of law.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
Judge Burton was married in 1873 to Miss Anna J. Langtree, of Madison, Indiana, and they have one son. For almost the third of a century the family have resided in this state and throughout the entire period Mr. Burton has not only been an interested witness of the events which have occurred in shaping the history of his county, but has been a most active participant in many and on more than one occasion has been the leader and molder of public thought and action.
JAMES P. A. BLACK.
James P. A. Black, of Hastings, is a typical western man, plain and unassuming in manner, strong and upright in purpose, readily adapting himself to changing conditions or the needs of any situation and at all times alert, enterprising, progressive and honorable. He is largely a self-educated as well as a self-made man and is one of tlie stalwart characters that the west produces, his powers having grown through the exercise of effort. The feeling entertained for him throughout the community in which he lives is indicated in the fact that he is known as "Jim" to all of his friends and yet high honors have come to him at the hands of his fellow townsmen and success in large measure has rewarded his efforts. He is today president of the German National Bank of Hastings and at the same time he is widely known as a successful lawyer and real estate dealer.
Mr. Black was born in Prospect, Butler county, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1854, a son of Isaac and Jane Black, natives of Ohio and of Pennsylvania respectively. The father was a teacher during much of his life and in 1860 went to the Omaha Indian Mission, being sent there as a teacher by the Presbyterian Board of Missions. He con- tinued in that work until 1867, when he established his home upon a farm in Nemaha county, Nebraska. About 1871, however, he re- turned to the Omaha Reservation, where he remained as a teacher in the employ of the government until the spring of 1879, when he removed to Bloomington, Franklin county, Nebraska, and there lived retired. In 1905 he came to Hastings, where he passed away at the advanced age of eighty-four years. In early life he had been superin- tendent of schools in Butler county, Pennsylvania. His entire career was characterized by useful service for the benefit of others and his influence was of no restricted order. His wife was a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, where she was reared and educated, and she too has passed away. They were long consistent members of the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
Presbyterian church and their Christian lives constituted a potent influence and example for good wherever they were known. They had three children: W. Stewart, who died in 1873; James P. A .; and one who died in infancy while the family were making the trip to the west.
Mr. Black was about five and a half years of age when the family left Pennsylvania and started for the west. His youth being largely passed amid the Indian tribe of the Omaha Reservation, he picked up the language of the red men with a readiness with which a child always masters a foreign tongue, and he used the Indian language so largely that for some time after leaving the reservation he did not speak real plain, pure English. He went to school with the Indians until thir- teen years of age, at which time the family removed to Nemaha county, after which the father instructed Mr. Black and his brother on the farm. In the spring of 1870 he removed to Peru, Nebraska, where Mr. Black entered the State Normal School, there remaining until his graduation with the class of 1876. His course, however, was not continuous, for during that period he taught in the district schools for three years and with the money thus earned paid his own way through normal. Determining upon the practice of law as a life work, he began studying with the firm of Cobb, Marquette & Moore, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and in the spring of 1877 was admitted to the bar, after which he went to Bloomington, where he entered upon active practice, there remaining until the fall of 1904. He also extended his efforts into other fields, for in 1882 he established the Franklin County Bank at Bloomington, a private banking institution, which he con- ducted in connection with a partner. About 1889 this was converted into a state bank with Mr. Black as president and thus he continued until 1904, when he sold his interest and removed to Hastings. Here he purchased stock in the German National Bank, was at once elected its president and has since continued in that capacity. He has also been attorney for the bank throughout the entire period but otherwise does no active professional work at the present time.
In 1883 Mr. Black was married to Miss Kittie Ross, a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, where she was reared and educated. They became the parents of a daughter, Edna, who is now the widow of M. O. Bishop. Mrs. Black passed away in 1885 in the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which she was a consistent member. In De- cember, 1891, Mr. Black wedded Mrs. Candace W. Tussey, a native of Ohio, but an old resident of Adams county.
In his political views Mr. Black is a stalwart republican and under appointment served as county treasurer of Franklin county, Nebraska,
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
while for two years he was county attorney. His opinions have long carried weight in party councils and he has contributed in substantial measure to republican successes. He studies thoroughly the questions and issues of the day so that he is always ready to support his position by intelligent argument. Mr. Black was made a Mason in Joppa Lodge, No. 76, A. F. & A. M., of Bloomington, and belongs to Hast- ings Chapter, R. A. M. He has been very prominent in the order, having served as grand orator, grand marshal, grand deacon, grand senior warden and in 1893 as grand master of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska. He has also taken all of the degrees of the Scottish Rite and has been a very prominent worker and representative of the craft. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church and they occupy a very enviable social position. Aside from his other interests Mr. Black has dealt largely in real estate and is now the owner of much valuable property, including both town and farm lands. When Judge Guslin, one of the early noted jurists of Nebraska, passed away it was his request that Jim Black take charge of the services of the funeral, which he did. This is but one evidence of his standing among his fellow citizens. He is always approachable, courteous and kindly and his cordiality is unfeigned, for he has a deep interest in his fellow- men and is thoroughly alive to all conditions of the present and its opportunities. He stands today strong in his honor and his good name, strong in his ability to plan and to perform.
THOMAS KENNEDY.
Adams county owes the greater part of its prosperity to the labors of its energetic and progressive agriculturists, among whom Thomas Kennedy was numbered. He acquired title to valuable farm land on sections 4 and 5, Highland township, and for many years devoted his time and energies to its cultivation and improvement and in the course of time acquired financial independence. His demise, which occurred on the 10th of October, 1914, was sincerely mourned and his memory is still honored by those who knew him. His birth occurred in County Sligo, Ireland, on the 27th of August, 1843, and his parents were James and Bridget (Gilligan) Kennedy. The family was originally Scotch but later settled in the north and west of Ireland. The father, who was a weaver by trade, preceded his family to this country and prepared a home for them, after which they joined him. For some time they lived in Waterloo, New York, whence they removed to
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
Chicago, where they spent ten years. The next removal was to a farm in the vicinity of Fall River, Wisconsin, and there the father and mother passed away. To them were born nine children, Bridget, Thomas, James, Michael, William, John, Catherine, Mary and Mar- garet, the three eldest of whom were natives of Ireland, while the others were born in America. All of the daughters are now married and Michael owns the homestead.
Thomas Kennedy was ten years of age when he came to this coun- try and continued his education in the public schools here. About 1877 or 1878 he came to Nebraska with Thomas Kernan and while on the way to Hastings met Mr. Fisher, who was also intending to locate in this locality. Mr. Fisher established a bakery at Hastings and met with gratifying success in his undertaking and Mr. Kennedy settled on three hundred and twenty acres of land on section 5, High- land township. Subsequently he bought eighty acres on section 4, which made the total of his holdings four hundred acres, and his well directed labors enabled him to secure a handsome financial return from his land. He raised hogs and cattle and also grew considerable grain. At first he raised corn and oats but later substituted wheat for oats. After his first home was burned he erected the present resi- dence, which is a comfortable and well designed structure, and he also built good barns and outbuildings.
On the 19th of February, 1889, Mr. Kennedy was united in mar- riage to Miss Margaret Conroy, a daughter of Stephen and Catherine (Wright) Conroy, both natives of Ireland. Mrs. Kennedy was born in County Galway on the 19th of August, 1864, and was one of a family of seven children to emigrate to this country, the others being John, Mark, James, Mary, Annie and Katherine. To Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy were born six children, one of whom died in infancy. The others are Mary, James, Thomas, Katherine and William, all of whom are residing on the homestead.
Mr. Kennedy was one of the founders of St. Patrick's Catholic church in Highland township and helped to defray the expense of erecting the house of worship. His wife is also a communicant of that church and takes a commendable interest in the advancement of its work. He gave his political allegiance to the democratic party and could be depended upon to fulfill his duties as a citizen although he never took a prominent part in politics. His time was taken up with the work of developing his farm and the care and labor which he bestowed upon it were well rewarded. His land was kept in a high state of cultivation and he seldom failed to harvest good crops, while his stock raising interests also proved profitable. When he removed
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
to his place it was still wild prairie and he broke the sod with oxen- a tedious and arduous task. The success which he gained was well deserved, for it was the direct reward of his enterprise, industry and good judgment, and he was justly accounted one of the leading resi- dents of his township.
W. T. CARSON, M. D.
Dr. W. T. Carson, who follows the most improved scientific methods in the practice of medicine and surgery, is one of the more recent arrivals in Hastings, having taken up his abode here in October, 1915, but he is not unknown in the county, for he had previously practiced with success at Holstein. He was born in Moline, Illinois, July 24, 1867, a son of Peter N. and Ida (Gurius) Carson, both of whom were natives of Germany but in early life came to the United States. They were married in Moline, Illinois, and removed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where W. T. Carson attended the public schools until twelve years of age. The family then went to Denver, Colo- rado, where they lived for one year. They removed to Hastings, Nebraska, in 1881, and the first set of abstract books for Adams county was made by Mr. Carson. For some time he was deputy county clerk and was very able in the discharge of his duties. W. T. Carson remained in Denver until 1885, when he came to Hastings and spent one year as a student in Hastings College. He afterward attended the State University of Iowa, there pursuing his medical course, which he completed by graduation with the class of 1889. He then located for practice in Holstein, where he remained for twenty-six years, or until October, 1915, when he returned to Hast- ings and opened an office. He is widely recognized as an able physician and his ability has brought to him a liberal and growing practice.
In early manhood Dr. Carson was united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Larsen, a daughter of C. P. Larsen. They have two children, Leona and William, both of whom are attending school. Fraternally Dr. Carson is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and filled nearly all of the offices in the camp at Holstein, of which he was a charter member. He is identified with the Eagles at Hastings and the Sons of Herman. He belongs to the Lutheran church and in his political views is a republican, being recognized as one of the active leaders in the local ranks of the party. He served
DR. W. T. CARSON
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
as chairman of the town board when in Holstein and as mayor of the city and was a member of the school board there and also treasurer of the school district. His attention, however, has chiefly been con- centrated along the line of his profession. He is not only a graduate physician but also a registered pharmacist and likewise a graduate of the Jacksonian Optical College. These add to his efficiency in the treatment of patients and at all times he keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought and progress. He belongs to the Adams County, Nebraska State, and American Medical Associations, is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has taken several post-graduate courses and also attended clinics in Germany, specializing in the diseases of women and chil- dren. He reads broadly, thinks deeply and the result of his investi- gations is manifest in his growing ability in his practice.
TRUMAN S. PHILLIPS.
Truman S. Phillips was an efficient and up-to-date farmer and his well directed labors yielded him a gratifying financial return. He was also recognized as a public-spirited citizen and in his early man- hood gave indisputable proof of his patriotism by enlisting for service in the Union army in the Civil war. A native of the state of New York, his birth occurred on the 3d of June, 1838, and his parents were Asa and Sarah Ann Phillips. They removed to the vicinity of St. Catharines, Canada, when our subject was but a child and there the mother passed away in 1843. The father continued to reside there until 1858, when he returned to the United States. His last days were spent in California, where his demise occurred in 1894.
Truman S. Phillips received a public school education and during his boyhood and youth also became familiar with the best methods of agricultural work. In 1858 he removed to Grundy county, Illinois, and engaged in farming rented land there until September, 1862. when he joined Company D, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Illi- nois Volunteer Infantry. He remained at the front with his com- mand until 1865, and took part in over one hundred battles and marched over three thousand miles. His regiment was one of four mentioned in general orders for marching and good discipline. The greater part of Mr. Phillips' service was in the south and he par- ticipated in the Tallahatchie campaign and the Vicksburg Expedition under General Sherman, in the battle of Chickasaw Bayou and the
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
battle of Arkansas Post, in which his regiment was the first to break through the enemy's lines and plant their colors, in the Grand Gulf campaign, the battle of Champion's Hill, in a number of engagements around Vicksburg, in the battles of Jackson and Chattanooga, in the Atlanta and the Savannah campaigns and the battles of Fayetteville and Bentonville. On the 3d of August, 1864, Mr. Phillips was wounded in the leg by a minie ball and his widow still has the bullet in her possession. She also has a sword which he captured from a rebel and many other relics of his military experience. After par- ticipating in the Grand Review and receiving his honorable discharge from the army Mr. Phillips went to Gardner, Illinois, where he en- gaged in farming and blacksmithing until 1897. In that year he came to Kenesaw township, Adams county, and purchased two hundred and forty acres, on which he made his home until his demise on the 9th of July, 1903. He was a man of great energy and spared no pains in bringing his farm to a high state of development and in keeping everything about the place in the best possible condition. He did general farming and received a gratifying income from his land.
On the 13th of October, 1868, occurred the marriage of Mr. Phil- lips and Miss Jane E. Harpham, of Gardner, Illinois, who was born in Spaulding, England, on the 13th of December, 1850. Her parents, Samuel and Sarah Harpham, were both natives of England and her father served for seven years in the English army. In 1850 he re- moved with his family to the United States and located in Michigan, where he resided for nineteen years, after which he took up his resi- dence in the vicinity of Gardner, Illinois. In 1861 he went to the defense of his adopted country, enlisting in Company B, Fifty-third Illinois Infantry. He took part in the engagements at Savannah, Shiloh, Corinth, Jackson and Vicksburg and in the Yoena Expedition. Following the expiration of their first term of enlistment his entire regiment reenlisted and fought in the Atlanta campaign and in the Carolina campaign in the pursuit of General Hood. They took part in the Grand Review at Washington and were mustered out on the 22d of July, 1865, at Chicago. Mr. Harpham made a record of which he had every right to be proud, never faltering in the perform- ance of any duty no matter how arduous or dangerous. He not only took part in many engagements but also made an unusual number of long marches, covering in all seven thousand twenty-three miles. After the period of hostilities he returned to the pursuits of civil life and for some time farmed in the vicinity of Gardner, Illinois, where he later conducted a butcher shop. He passed away in 1901 and his wife died in 1895.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
Mr. and Mrs. Phillips became the parents of eight children: Edward L., a resident of Forest City, Iowa; Anna, the wife of S. Allison, of Lincoln, Nebraska; Asa, who is living in Kenesaw; Nor- man, deceased; Betsy, the wife of C. Erickson, who resides near Prosser; Cornelia, deceased; Ella, who married M. Rogers, of Los Angeles, California; and Daniel, at home.
Mr. Phillips was a stalwart adherent of the republican party which upheld the Union in the darkest days of its history. His re- ligious faith was that of the Presbyterian church and he held mem- bership in the Grand Army of the Republic while living in Illinois. His life was a busy and useful one and in carrying on his agricultural operations he contributed to the development of his locality as well as gained financial independence for himself. His personality was such that he gained the warm regard of those with whom he was brought in close contact and his friends still honor his memory.
E. WEEKS.
E. Weeks is one of the prominent agriculturists of Adams county. He lives in the vicinity of Juniata, where he owns an entire section of land, upon which he has four sets of buildings and other substantial improvements. He likewise has other farm property in the county and elsewhere in the state and his possessions are the visible evidence of an active and well spent life, his course ever being marked by inde- fatigable energy intelligently directed. He was born in Stafford- shire, England, February 8, 1854, a son of Thomas and Rebecca Weeks, who in the year 1861 came to the United States, settling at Kewanee, Illinois. There the mother passed away, after which the father removed to Fountain Green, Utah, where his death occurred in the year 1905. His entire life was devoted to coal mining. To his first marriage there were born seven children: Hannah and Thomas, both deceased; E., of this review; Mrs. Rachel Whitehouse, of Hall county, Nebraska; H. W., living in Kewanee, Illinois; Israel, de- ceased; and Martha, whose home is in Chicago, Illinois. After losing his first wife the father married Betty Bates, a native of England. and their children are Mrs. Tillie Collard, a resident of Fountain Green, Utah; and Mrs. Mary A. Ostler.
E. Weeks was a little lad of but seven years when brought by his parents to the new world. He is a self-made man in the truest and best sense of the term. He attended the common schools but his edu-
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PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY
cational privileges were extremely limited, for when but nine years of age he began working in the mines and was thus employed at dig- ging coal until he reached the age of twenty-six years. He then removed to Union county, Iowa, and for eight years engaged in farm- ing a mile north of Creston, after which he came to Nebraska, settling in Verona township near the Bigelow schoolhouse. He took up his abode there in 1888 and continued to engage in farming upon that tract of land until 1891, when he removed to his present place near Juniata. To his farm he has added all modern improvements, making it one of the valuable properties of the county. It is equipped with all the accessories and conveniences of the model farm of the twentieth century and is a most attractive and well kept place. On this tract are four sets of buildings, and he also has eighty acres on section 18 in Denver township. He holds title to six hundred and forty acres in Adams county, a half section in Perkins county, Nebraska, and land at Lakeview, Oregon.
In 1880, at Kewanee, Illinois, Mr. Weeks was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Coats, by whom he has four children, namely: Ina, the wife of Charles Cooper, who lives near the home of his father-in- law; Elbert, a resident of Verona township, this county; Vada, who is the wife of Miller Kindig and resides near Juniata; and John L., living on the home place.
Mr. Weeks formerly gave his political allegiance to the republican party but is now supporting President Wilson. He holds to progres- sive ideas on political questions and stands for all that is best in citizenship. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church and is a member of the Modern Woodmen camp at Juniata, in which he has held all of the offices. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers Elevator Company of Juniata and is a most progressive citizen, wide- awake, alert and enterprising, carefully directing his business efforts and winning success through persistent energy, determination and honorable dealing.
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