USA > Nebraska > A Biographical and genealogical history of southeastern Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 11
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Caleb M. Bacon was reared on the old home farm and attended the public schools. After the death of his mother he went to live with relatives, and when nineteen years of age he went to sea, going to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he joined the crew of a whaling vessel, and upon such voyages he sailed for thirteen years. He visited many parts of the globe in this way; went to the Indian ocean, rounded Cape Horn, cruised in the waters of the Pacific and visited the Sandwich Islands. He also visited the island of St. Helena, on which Napoleon spent his last days, and he sailed in the Polar seas. He was gone upon one voyage for twenty-nine months. By visiting various ports he gained a broad knowledge of different countries and their people. The life of a man engaged in whaling is fraught with many dangers, and Mr. Bacon had many escapes while at- tempting to capture the leviathan of the deep, and on other occasions lie
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was in severe storms in which it seemed that the vessel would never again reach harbor.
Mr. Bacon saved the money he earned on these different whaling voyages, and when he had acquired sufficient capital he made in- vestments in land, purchasing property in Lee county, Illinois, in 1851, 1852, and later in 1858. He took up his abode upon a farm in that county in 1858 and carried on agricultural pursuits there with good success until 1883, when he sold out and spent the succeeding year in Cherokee county, Iowa. In the fall of 1883 he arrived in Jefferson county, Nebraska, and purchased the homestead farm of Samuel P. Kelley, on which he has since resided, and which he has developed until it is one of the finest country properties of this part of the state.
Mr. Bacon was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Brittain, who was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, in 1833, a daughter of William Brittain, whose birth occurred in the Keystone state and who was a son of William Brittain, Sr., who was born of English parentage. The mother of Mrs. Bacon bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Oman and was also born in, Pennsylvania. Mr. Brittain followed farming as a life work and died in Illinois, where his wife also passed away. He voted for the men and measures of the Republican party, and gave his religious support to the Methodist church, of which he was long a faithful member. In the family were three sons and seven daughters, and one of the sons, John Brittain, who was a soldier of the Civil war, is now living in Morris county, Kansas.
To Mr. and Mrs. Bacon have been born five children, of whom but two are living. Rhoda M. is the wife of John Edwards, who re- sides near Alexander, Nebraska, and they had six children, one of whom died in infancy, while the others are Lulu, Caleb Dudley, Sarah Ann, Ada and Vadna. Homer O. Bacon, who was born in Lee county,
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Illinois, and is now upon the homestead farm, married Anna Smith, of Jefferson county, and they have a daughter, Mary E. Bacon. The three children of the Bacon family who have passed away are : Daniel, the first born, who died in Nebraska at the age of eighteen years; Elizabeth, who died in Illinois, at the age of two years; and Mary, who died at the age of fifteen.
Mr. Bacon is a ruling elder of the Presbyterian church, and he gives his support to all measures that tend to uplift humanity, includ- ing the causes of education, temperance and religion. He has now reached the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey, and his has been an honorable and upright career in which he has won creditable financial success and also gained an excellent reputation for high and manly principles.
DANIEL AXTELL.
Daniel Axtell is a man of excellent business ability now engaged in general farming and stock-raising in Jefferson county. His landed pos- sessions aggregate eleven hundred and twenty acres, all of which has been acquired through his capable efforts, careful management and strong determination. He has been a resident of Nebraska since 1870, having in November of that year taken up his abode on a homestead claim in Fillmore county. He was then in limited financial circumstances, but he has steadily advanced in the path of prosperity and is now one of the substantial residents of his portion of the state.
Mr. Axtell was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, near Mer- cer, on the 29th of May, 1846. The family is of English lineage and was founded in America in colonial days. The great-grandfather of
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our subject was a patriot of the Revolutionary war, and Amzi Axtell was a soldier of the war of 1812. Strete Axtell, the father of Daniel, was born in Pennsylvania and there spent the days of his boyhood and youth. He was married in Mercer county, that state, to Miss Mary A. Boyd, who was born in Ireland and was a member of a Protestant family of that country. Her father, James Boyd, also a native of the Emerald Isle, brought his family to America in her girlhood days and she was, therefore, reared and educated in Pennsylvania. After his marriage Mr. Axtell removed with his bride to Trumbull county, Ohio, settling near Warren; afterwards moved to Athens county, Ohio, in 1860, where Mrs. Axtell died in 1865 at the age of fifty-two years. She was his second wife. He was afterward married in Ohio, and by that union there were five sons, and the later years of his life were spent in Jefferson county, Nebraska, and throughout his business ca- reer he followed farming, engaging in that pursuit in Pennsylvania and Ohio and in this state. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party and he was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. By his second marriage he had seven children, namely : Mar- tha, James A., Robert, Daniel, Jane, Joseph and William. Of the five sons born of his third marriage. one of these, George Axtell, is now living in Fairbury, Nebraska.
Daniel Axtell was a youth of eleven years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Trumbull county, Ohio. He was reared to farm life, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors incident to the development of the fields. During the period of the Civil war, when but fifteen years of age, he went to Athens county, Ohio, and there enlisted in the Ohio National Guard, becoming a member of Company C, Thirty-sixth Ohio Infantry, under Captain Thomas Angel. He was in the service for about two years and was in active
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duty at the time of Morgan's raid through Ohio. On the expiration of the war he was honorably discharged.
On the 11th of February, 1869, in Athens county, Ohio, Mr. Ax- tell was united in marriage to Miss Hester D. Howard, who was born in Meigs county, Ohio, and spent her girlhood days in Athens county, her education being acquired in the public schools. She is a grand- daughter of Zadock Howard, also a native of Ohio, and a daughter of - Lieutenant A. J. Howard, who was an officer of the Civil war. He was born in Morgan county of the Buckeye state and at the time of the hostilities between the north and the south he offered his services in defense of the old flag and became a member of Company D, Sixty- third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He now resides in Ohio at the age of seventy-six years. Throughout his business career he has carried on farming. Politically he is a Republican, socially is connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and religiously with the United Brethren church. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Clark, was born in Virginia, was a daughter of John Clark, also a native of that state, and died in Ohio in 1880 at the age of fifty-two years. By her marriage she was the mother of ten children: Sarah J .: Hester D., now Mrs. Axtell; Mary E .; Charles P .; Alcinda E. ; Philip A .; Mary A .; Alma; Ida; and Edith.
After his marriage Mr. Axtell continued to make his home in Ohio until 1870, when he came with his family to Fillmore county, Nebraska. There he homsteaded one hundred and sixty acres of gov- ernment land, and that he has had faith in the future of this state, its development and progress, is shown by the fact that he has since made investment in realty to the extent of twelve hundred and twenty acres. His home is now in Richland precinct, Jefferson county, and his farm is a very valuable and productive estate. Upon it he has erected
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a good house and has erected good barns and other necessary outbuild- ings. He has feed lots, rich pasture lands and highly cultivated fields. There is considerable timber on the place in the shape of a good grove, and he has a fine bearing orchard. A windmill pumps the water for the stock, and the latest improved machinery facilitates the farm work, and, in fact, in all modern accessories and improvements the farm is well supplied. In addition to his property here Mr. Axtell owns a good ranch in Holt county, upon which he has a large number of cattle. He also owns two fine residences in Fairbury, and he has lived to see many changes in the county. When he came here it was necessary for him to go fifty miles to mill. The homes of the settlers were widely scattered and few of the improvements known to the older east could be enjoyed here upon the frontier, but all pioneer conditions have passed away and Nebraska furnishes splendid opportunities to its agricultur- ists. As a business man he is enterprising and progressive, and he carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. He has become widely known as a farmer and stock-raiser, and his enter- prise and industry have enabled him to gradually work his way up- ward until splendid success has rewarded his labors.
To Mr. and Mrs. Axtell have been born eight children : James A., a successful and popular teacher of Jefferson county for fifteen years, who is now superintendent of the Jansen schools; Ida Jane, deceased; William B., who passed away at the age of thirty years; Charles O .; Linga E., who is engaged in conducting a stock ranch in Holt county, Nebraska; Frank D .; Joseph E .; and Idella M. The children have all been provided with good educational privileges, thus preparing them for life's practical and responsible duties. Mr. Axtell keeps well in- formed on the questions and issues of the day, gives his allegiance to the Republican party, has frequently served as delegate to its conven-
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tions and has filled the office of justice of the peace. His wife is a mem- ber of the United Brethren church, and they are both widely and fav- orably known throughout the community. He has found in the oppor- tunities of the great and growing west the advantages which he sought for business success, and has worked on persistently and energetically until he is now the possessor of very valuable realty holdings and is num- bered among the heavy tax-payers of Jefferson county.
IV. H. AVERY.
On the list of pioneer settlers of southeastern Nebraska appears the name of W. H. Avery, who took up his abode in Jefferson county in 1866. He had but recently been discharged from the army after serving his country as a soldier of the Civil war. He then came west to fight the battles of the frontiersman, who finds an enemy in the pio- neer conditions with their incidental hardships and trials. During the years which have since passed away he has come off conqueror in the strife, and is to-day one of the representatives and well-to-do citizens of Jefferson county.
Mr. Avery was born in Summit county, Ohio, on the 4th of April, 1837. His father, James Christopher Avery, was born in New York and was a son of James Avery, Sr., whose birth occurred in Massa- chusetts. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to Nathaniel Avery, who resided in Groton, Massachusetts, at a very early period in the development of this country. James Christopher Avery was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Coleman, who was born in Connecti- cut, and was a daughter of Joseph and Saralı (Bishop) Coleman, who were likewise natives of that state. Mr. James C. Avery was a Whig
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in his political views in early life and afterward endorsed the principles upon which the Republican party is founded. He died in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the early age of thirty-five years, and his wife is still living aged eight-seven years. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and her Christianity forms a part of her everyday life. To this worthy couple were born six children, of whom four reached mature years: Edward, who has lived in Sabetha, Kansas, since 1858; W. H., of this review; Sawyer, of Woodson, Kansas; and Myron, who died while serving as a soldier of the Civil war as a member of the Seventy-first Indiana Infantry.
William H. Avery spent the days of his early boyhood in Sum- mit county, Ohio, and when ten years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Wayne county, that state, where he pursued his edu- cation. In 1855 he went to Vermilion county, Illinois, settling upon a farm, and in course of time his labors resulted in the development of an excellent property. In 1859 he was united in marriage in Dan- ville, Illinois, to Miss Clarissa Waggaman, and they have traveled life's journey happily together for forty-five years, their mutual love and confidence increasing as time has passed by. Mrs. Avery is a native of Illinois who spent the days of her girlhood in that state, acquiring her education in its public schools. Her parents were Andrew and Tabitha (Lyons) Waggaman, and the latter was a daughter of Jotham Lyons. Both Mr. and Mrs. Waggaman remained residents of Illinois until called to their final rest, and the father devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits, while his political allegiance was given to the Democracy and his religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his wife also belonged. He died at the age of seventy- three years and his wife when about fifty-nine years of age. In their family were seven children, one of whom, Samuel, was a soldier
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of the seventy-ninth Illinois Infantry and died in Barton county, Kan- sas, in 1903. The others are Harriet, now deceased; Isabella; Frank, who was a soldier of an Illinois regiment and was reported missing after an engagement, so that it is supposed he was killed as he has never been heard from since; Hannah, who is living in Oklahoma; Rose Ann, deceased; and Mrs. Avery.
After his marriage Mr. Avery began farming in Illinois and was identified with agricultural pursuits there until the 23d of July, 1863, when he enlisted in Vermilion county, Illinois, for service in the Union army, becoming a member of Company E, One Hundred and Fifteenth Indiana Infantry, under Captain Edward Swanders and Colonel Mahon. The regiment was ordered south and was attached to the Army of the Cumberland under General Burnside. Mr. Avery was in active serv- ice against the troops under General Joseph Wheeler. He was sta- tioned at Bull's Gap for six weeks, and took part in an engagement with the troops under General Longstreet. He was afterward in the battles of Knoxville, Tennessee, of Cumberland Gap and Strawberry Plains. For a time he lay ill in a hospital at Nicholsville, Tennessee, and was detailed for a time as hospital steward at Camp Nelson near Nashville. In January, 1864, he was ordered back to Indiana and was honorably discharged in February.
After his return from the army Mr. Avery continued to engage in farming in Illinois until 1865, when he went to Kansas, and came to Jef- ferson county, Nebraska, in the spring of 1866, securing a homestead claim on which he built a log cabin, fifteen by fifteen feet. For seven years he continued his farming operations here, and then in 1873 returned to Wayne county, Ohio, where he remained for eighteen months. He then again came to Nebraska, and was once more identified with agri- cultural pursuits here until 1897, when he took up his abode in Lin-
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coln, in order that he might provide his children with better educational privileges. There he resided for four years, and then took up his abode in Fairbury, where he has a fine modern residence. He still owns the old homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, and in addition has a quarter section near Reynolds, so that he owns altogether three hun- dred and twenty acres of valuable land, which is well improved and re- turns to him an excellent income.
To Mr. and Mrs. Avery have been born five children, Edward W., who is a traveling salesman living in Chicago, Illinois; Frank, of Glen Rock, Wyoming, and a railroad employe; F. Roy, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Mrs. Florence Dunham, of Summerfield, Kansas; and May. Miss May is an accomplished musician, and was educated in the musi- cal department of Lincoln University. She is also a member of Uni- vera Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The three eldest children have all been successful and popular school teachers.
Mr. Avery is a Republican in his political views, strong and in- flexible in his advocacy of the party principles. He has served as county commissioner and has been a delegate to the conventions of his party. He belongs to Russell Post, G. A. R., and he and his family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as class leader. He is very active in the work of the temperance cause and has frequently been a delegate to temperance conventions held in Lincoln. He and his wife are hospitable people, whose home is always open for the reception of their many friends. The circle of their friends is extensive, and they are well known in the county which has been so long their place of residence. An analyzation of the life record of Mr. Avery shows that there are many elements in it which are worthy of the highest commendation, for he has ever been honorable in busi-
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ness, patriotic in military service, loyal in citizenship and faithful in obligations of home and of friendship.
HENRY T. BOWER.
Henry T. Bower, who has only recently retired from the personal conduct of one of the best farming and nursery enterprises in southeast- ern Nebraska, is a man, who, though not yet to be considered old in either years or vigor, has had a long career of prosperous activity. He has been successful mainly because he has recognized and embraced the opportunities that have come in his way. He has displayed much en- terprise in the management and development of his business, and through his diligence and constant application has gained a degree of material prosperity of which he may well be proud. He has like- wise been a good citizen wherever his life has been cast, and especially honored as a veteran of the Civil war.
Mr. Bower was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, June 3, 1845, being the eldest of the seven children born to Paul and Hannah (Bow- man) Bower, both natives of Germany. His father, who was born in 1820, emigrated to America and located in Ohio in 1833. He was married in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and he and his wife resided in Ohio till their deaths, which occurred in the respective years of 1889 and 1857.
Mr. Bower was reared in Ohio and received his education in the common schools. At the age of seventeen, in 1862, he enlisted in the Fourteenth Ohio Battery, was sent south to the western armies, and under Sherman participated in several of the famous battles of the war and was on the famous marches through Georgia until after Atlanta,
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and at the engagement at Kingston, Georgia, was wounded and com- pelled to remain on crutches over five months, but was with his com- mand all this time. He was a gunner, and was called the best of the Sixteenth Army Corps. He was discharged in August 1865. In 1869 he removed from Ohio to Nebraska and took up a claim in Jefferson coun- ty, near where the village of Bower now stands, this place having been named after the family. After much hard work he was possessed of a fine farm and a thriving nursery, and the latter department of his busi- ness has since become one of the finest and most reliable in the state. He gave his personal attention to this enterprise until 1899, and then moved into the city of Fairbury, leaving the farm and nursery to the control of his son Perry, who has ably carried it on since that time. They have a large trade throughout the surrounding counties and even into the adjacent states, and the reputation of their products is first class and above disparagement.
February 3, 1870, Mr. Bower was married, in Michigan, to Miss Mary A. Norman, a native of Ohio and a daughter of English parents, who came to America in 1840. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bowers : Perry L., mentioned above; Lavina, who died February 23, 1899; and Rena, at home, and a proficient devotee of the arts of music and painting, drawing and decorating, being a most charming young lady. Mr. Bower resides on K street, between Seventh and Eighth, in a beautifully situated home, surrounded with shrubbery and ornamental trees, and there he is spending his quiet and happy days with his wife and daughter. He affiliates with the Grand Army of the Republic and with Fairbury Lodge No. 35, F. & A. M.
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EDWIN J. BILL.
Edwin J. Bill, a retired farmer and ex-soldier of the Civil war, has lived in Jefferson county, Nebraska, for the past fifteen years. He has passed the seventy-fifth milestone on his life's journey, and has devoted his best efforts and greater part of his years to useful work, so that he deservedly enjoys the esteem and high regard of his many friends throughout the country.
Mr. Bill was born in that part of Genesee county afterward known as Wyoming county, New York, on May 30, 1828, of a family whose strong traits were honest individuality and moral character. His grandfather gave seven years' service in the Revolutionary war, so that the present descendants might have membership in the Sons and Daugh- ters of the American Revolution. Joseph Bill, the father of Edwin J. Bill, was a blacksmith in New York, and a strong Whig and Republi- can in politics. He married Esther Tracy, who was born in Mohawk Flats, New York, of an old family of that state. He lived to be eighty-four years old, and his only child was Edwin J. Bill.
Mr. Bill was reared on a farmi near Jamestown, Chautauqua county, New York, and in 1855 went to Grant county, Wisconsin, near Boscobel, where he lived until the war came on. In July, 1861, at Lincoln's call for thirty thousand troops, he enlisted at that place in Company H, Seventh Wisconsin Infantry, under Captain Mark Fina- cam. He was sent to Virginia, and took part in many of the most important battles of the war. He was in the second battle of Bull Run, at Antietam, was wounded in the breast and leg at Gaines Mills, carrying a bullet in his breast for six weeks. He belonged to General McDowell's corps. He received his honorable discharge in February, 1863, and after a furlough veteranized and enlisted in Company C, Ninth New York Cavalry, under Captain Cheney. He belonged to
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General Sheridan's gallant troopers, and was with that famous leader in the Shenandoah valley, at Winchester, when Sheridan made his famous ride, at Fisher's Hill, at Stone River, and many other engage- ments of the war. He received his honorable discharge in Virginia in 1865, and returned home after a most creditable army record. He was regimental orderly most of the time he was with the Ninth New York, and had many hairbreadth escapes.
After the war he returned to Wisconsin, was in Minnesota for a year, was in Sauk county, Wisconsin, for six years, and in 1872 went to Ottawa county, Kansas, locating near Minneapolis, where he was successfully engaged in farming until 1888. He took up his residence in Jefferson county, Nebraska, in 1888, and has lived on one farm since that time.
Mr. Bill was married in Randolph, New York, while he was home on his veteran's furlough in 1863, to Miss Amanda Emery, who has been his faithful and constant companion for forty years, and they share equally in the honor of their accomplishments in life. She was born in Chautauqua county, New York, a daughter of Noah and Irene (Mor- gan) Emery, who lived and died in New York state, having been the parents of thirteen children, three sons and ten daughters; one of the sons was major in the Ninth New York Cavalry, and was killed at Meadow Brook, before Richmond. Mr. and Mrs. Bill have no chil- 'dren, but have adopted a daughter, Elma Phillips, whom they reared and educated as their own, and she now lives at Aurora, Brookings county, South Dakota. Mr. Bill is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, and in politics as well as in moral questions has strong convictions as to the right and wrong. He is a member of the Congregational church. He is a well informed citizen, taking much interest in matters affecting
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