USA > Nebraska > A Biographical and genealogical history of southeastern Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 12
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the public welfare, and is held in high esteem for his manhood and worthy qualities.
I. S. GARDNER.
In the early days when this section of Nebraska was thrown open to settlement and men from various parts of the country secured claims in Jefferson county I. S. Gardner obtained a homestead and has since been identified with agricultural interests and has been a helpful factor in the upbuilding and substantial progress of this community. He ar- rived here on the 18th of April, 1868, and secured the northwest quar- ter of section 12 in Richland precinct. He was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, near Madison, in June, 1845. His paternal grand- father, Samuel Gardner, was a native of New York, whence he re- moved to Ohio and there spent his remaining days. His son, William Gardner, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, was reared in that state and there married Asenth Short, also a native of the Buckeye state and a daughter of Isaac Short, who died in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. William Gardner removed to Jefferson county, Indiana, and subsequently re- turned to Ohio, where they remained for a number of years. The father then came to Nebraska and secured a homestead in Richland precinct in 1868. Here he carried on agricultural pursuits until 1900, when he retired from farm life and returned to Clermont county, Ohio. There he died at the age of eighty-six years. He was a devoted mem- ber of the United Brethren church, as was his wife, who passed away at the age of eighty-three years. Their children are as follows: Elisha B., who was a veteran of the Civil war, serving for four years and died in Arkansas; William, who was a soldier of the Eighty-second Ohio
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Regiment during the war of the rebellion, for three years; Mrs. Sarah A. LaFever, of Ohio; Isaac S .; Mrs. J. Littrell, of Endicott, Nebraska ; Mrs. Mary Eberstine, of Kansas; and Perry, who is living in Ohio.
Mr. I. S. Gardner was reared to manhood on his father's farms in Ohio and Indiana and had the advantage of good home training, being taught to labor industriously and to follow honorable, straightforward methods. His education was acquired in the public schools of the states mentioned, and after reaching years of maturity he was married in 1867 in Jefferson county, Indiana, to Miss Viola Bacon, a native of
Jennings county, Indiana. Her parents were Hiram and Malvina (Davis) Bacon, and the former died in Indiana, while the latter passed away at Nebraska. The year following their marriage Mr. Gardner came to Nebraska and located on the northwest quarter of section 12 in Richland precinct .. He built a sod house eighteen by twenty-four feet, and with characteristic energy began the development of his farm. There he carried on agricultural pursuits for many years, and in 1896 lie sold his property and went to northwestern Missouri, where he lived for six years. On the expiration of that period he returned to this state and bought city property. He now has three good houses in Fairbury, and his own home is a modern and model residence, very comfortable and indicating in its pleasing appointments the refined tastes of the owner.
In the early days the Gardner home, which was one of the best pioneer homes of the township, was the scene of many revival meetings, and it was the headquarters for most of the religious services of tliose days. Mr. Gardner has long been a very active church worker, doing all in his power to promote the growth and extend the influence of his denomination. In 1898 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 26th of March, of that year, in Monroe county,
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Missouri, at the age of forty-eight years. She was a devoted Chris- tian woman and a faithful companion and helpmate to her husband. There were two children by that marriage. Mrs. Eva Pantier, who is now living in Canada; and Amos, at home. In 1899 Mr. Gardner was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary Bowers, a daugh- ter of Charles Bowers. Her father died in this county in 1892, leav- ing three children: Rev. Edward Bowers, who is a minister of the United Brethren church at Shelby, Nebraska; Mrs. Gardner ; and Mrs. Cora Bradshaw, of Fairbury. The mother now lives with Mrs. Gard- ner, and prior to her marriage was a successful and capable teacher and is a lady of superior education and refinement. In his business career Mr. Gardner has met with gratifying and creditable success, for he had limited capital when he started out in life on his own ac- count. He has made the most of his business opportunities, however, and his careful management and well directed efforts have resulted in making him one of the substantial residents of Jefferson county.
THADDEUS TRIMMER.
Thaddeus Trimmer, one of the prosperous residents of Island Grove township, Gage county, Nebraska, and an honored veteran of the Civil war, has spent nearly all of his mature years in this state, and is known throughout his community for his integrity and personal worth.
He began his career as a soldier by his enlistment in Nebraska in 1862 in the Second Nebraska Cavalry, under Colonel Furnas and Cap- tain Lewis Hill. He became one of the Rough Riders of the northwest. This regiment made for itself a gallant record in fighting the hostile
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Indians of the northwest. For a time they were stationed at Omaha, later at North Platte and Sioux City, Iowa, and they participated in the engagement at Big White Stone Hills, Dakota, where eighteen hun- dred Indians were either killed or taken prisoners in battle. Mr. Trim- mer received his honorable discharge at Omaha, Nebraska, and returned home.
The birth of Mr. Trimmer occurred in Ohio, August 8, 1840. He is a son of Chester and Phoeba Trimmer, of New York, and a grand- son of Isaiah Trimmer, of German extraction. Mr. Trimmer's mother was a native of Vermont. His parents were married in Ohio, and in 1856 moved to Clayton county, Iowa.
Mr. Trimmer was reared in Clayton county, Iowa, and learned to work upon the farm. After attaining to mature years he moved in 1860 to Nebraska, and in 1880 took up his residence at Pleasant Hill and established the Park fruit farm. He now has one of the finest farm homes in Gage county, and raises all kinds of fruit and has made a great success of his enterprise.
In 1868 Mr. Trimmer was married to Louise Smith, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Alfred Smith, both her parents being now deceased. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Trimmer : Albrose, who married Ella Losy and now resides at Repub- lican City, Harlan county, Nebraska; Bessie, at home; and two who died at the ages of four and twelve years. Mr. Trimmer is a Repub- lican in politics, and has served as supervisor of the township for six- teen years and is a recognized factor in local matters. Both he and his estimable wife are very highly respected throughout the entire county, and the success which has come to them is well merited.
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WILLIAM JAMES JOHNSTON.
William James Johnston, the veteran mail carrier of Crete, who for thirty years has carried the mail daily from the postoffice to the Burlington & Missouri depot, has made his home in Nebraska for more than a quarter of a century, arriving in this state on the 12th of May, 1871. He was born in Stanbridge, Lower Canada, January 25, 1846. His father, Alexander T. Johnston, was born in Ireland in 1814, and went from his native country to the West Indies as a mis- sionary, he and his first wife spending five years there in Christian work. He was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife after their removal to Canada, and was afterward married again. A daughter of his first marriage, Sophia E. Johnston, was for twelve years a teacher in Crete, and is now living in Long Beach, California. Alexander T. Johnston was married in Canada to Miss Margaret Maria Arde, of Ireland, and they became the parents of six children: William James is the eldest. J. R. Johnston, who resided in Crete for twenty-five years, now makes his home in Riverside, California. He is married and has four children. A. T. Johnston, named for his father, resides in Toronto, Canada. He is married and has five children. Sarah J. Johnston is the widow of Charles D. Doll and has two children. An- drew G. Johnston died in Beatrice, Nebraska, at the age of forty-three years, leaving one son. Julia H. Johnston died in Crete at the age of twenty-eight years. The father died in Crete in 1885, and his widow, surviving until 1899, passed away at the advanced age of eighty-three years. The first member of the family to come to Nebraska was J. R. Johnston, who arrived in 1870, and was followed by the other members of the family in 1871. One son, A. T. Johnston, was in the Civil war for fourteen months and, being captured, was incarcerated in Ander-
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sonville prison for three months. He joined the army when but four- teen years of age.
William J. Johnston was reared under the parental roof, but owing to his eyes being injured in infancy he was not able to acquire any edu- cation. During all of his residence here he has been connected with the mail service. He has handled many thousands of tons of mail, taking on an average of eight hundred pounds per day on his hand wagon from the depot to the postoffice. He was also in the government employ for twenty-four years, and since the postoffice has been removed to the vicinity of the depot he has been in the employ of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad Company.
On the first of March, 1899, Mr. Johnston was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Vance, who was born in Seward county, Nebraska, in 1871, a daughter of Alexander and Lucy (Wright) Vance, the former a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, while the latter was born in Hocking county, Ohio. Their marriage was celebrated in the Keystone state and they became the parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters. They removed from Pennsylvania to Nebraska in 1869, and the father is still engaged in farming in Seward county, this state, but the mother died January 18, 1904, at the age of fifty-nine years. They came to the west with some means. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston started upon their married life with only a modest little home. In 1903. however, he built his present residence in Crete, and in addition he owns five vacant lots in the city. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Johnston has been blessed with two little sons, Ralph Alexander, born March 28, 1900, and Dean, born December 13, 1902, bright and interesting little boys.
In his political views Mr. Johnston is a Republican and is interested in the success and growth of the party, but has never been an office-
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JOSEPH L. MUFF
MRS. CATHARINE MUFF
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seeker. He belongs to the Bankers' Union, an insurance organization, and he is a member of the Episcopal church, in the faith of which he was reared, his parents being active and earnest workers of that denom- ination, his father serving as senior warden of his church for many years both in Canada and Crete. A residence of a third of a century in Crete has made Mr. Johnston familiar with its history, and he has a wide acquaintance among its older settlers as well as the more recent arrivals, and he deserves classification with the honored pioneers.
MRS. CATHARINE MUFF.
Mrs. Catharine Muff occupies one of the finest residences in Crete, and has been a witness of the development and progress of Saline county for many years. Her first home here was a primitive pioneer cabin, but as the years passed her husband prospered in business, leaving her in comfortable financial circumstances, and since his death her own excellent business management and enterprise have enabled her to in- crease her possessions and business interests.
Her husband, Joseph L. Muff, died in Crete, May 11, 1891, at the age of forty-five years, nine months and nine days. He was born in Canton Luzerne, Switzerland. His father was a carpenter by trade and a master mechanic. He was a man of large and fine physique, and he narrowly escaped death on the field of battle, being run over by a cannon carriage, but he recovered and enjoyed many years of useful- ness and business activity. He died in Switzerland in middle life. His two sons, Joseph and Frank Muff, afterward came to America, cross- ing the Atlantic about 1865, and they arrived in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with a capital of only about twenty-five dollars. Although they saw
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some hard times they were never without money, owing to the careful husbanding of their resources and their strict economy in early years. Joseph was a house painter by trade, while Frank was a carpenter. They were willing, however, to engage in any employment that would yield them an honest living until they could gain a start, and both be- came coal miners in Pennsylvania. They saved their money, and after- ward removing to Tennessee they there invested their capital in eighty acres of timber land and engaged in furnishing wood and ties to the railroad company, employing choppers to cut the timber. They kept bachelor's hall in that state for a year and a half, and thus working on earnestly and untiringly laid the foundation for future successes. The parents had been in comfortable circumstances in Switzerland, but had met with financial losses there. The father died when Joseph Muff was but seven years of age, leaving his widow and her three sons and one daughter in straightened financial circumstances, and the young lad then began the battle of life for himself. Later he followed the emi- gration to America, the voyage lasting for five months, and during that time their food supply became largely exhausted and they were on limited rations for many days. Their residence in Tennessee and Kentucky covered three years, and they then came to Nebraska, where they arrived with a capital of three hundred dollars, which was their profit after selling their eighty acres of land in Tennessee. Joseph Muff then came to this state, and six months later was again joined by his brother. They soon secured homestead claims of eighty acres each, paying for this with the three hundred dollars' capital which they had brought from the south. Frank Muff was married first, and Joseph then boarded with him, the brothers working and living together in per- fect harmony for about two years. Joseph was employed in the grading
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for public buildings and Frank worked as a carpenter on the same, being employed in the capacity of a boss carpenter.
On the 20th of July, 1871, Joseph Muff was married in Seward, Nebraska, to Miss Catharine Hier, who was born in Prussia, Germany. Her father, Bernard Hier, was a stage driver, and acquired some prop- erty there through his wife. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Ann Heisling. When they sailed for America in 1864 Mr. and Mrs. Hier had ample means. Landing in Chicago Mr. Hier then started for the interior of the state with several thousand dollars, after paying one hundred and ten dollars each for passage for ten persons. Mrs. Hier went to Peoria and remained with her brother there while her brother and father prospected for a desirable property in or near Chicago. Had Mr. Hier invested in that land he would have been 'a very wealthy man to-day, for he was offered land at forty-five dollars per acre that is now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. He purchased eighty acres of land near Peoria in the spring of 1865 and for this paid fifty dollars per acre. There he carried on general farming until 1870, and in the late fall of that year came to Nebraska, making the journey with teams in emigrant style. The company numbered nine people and they were six weeks upon the way, passing through Iowa to Nebraska City, where the family remained, while the father went to Beatrice and en- tered one hundred and sixty acres of land in Franklin county. That district was then considered the far west. In the spring of 1870 the family took up their abode upon the place which was. seventy-five miles from Grand Island, the nearest trading point. Because of fear of hos- tile Indians, who were upon the war path, they returned to Lincoln in the fall of 1871, but while on their way were terrified upon seeing several hundred red men, but the old chief assured them they were "good Indians" much to the relief of the party. On their journey to
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Franklin county they saw but two white men, and but three settlers were in their dugouts. They became the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom Mrs. Catharine Muff is the eldest. Benjamin, the second child, is on a farm near Crete, Nebras- ka, and has six children. Henry, who is an engineer in the gold mines at Varia, Colorado, has a wife and one child. Herman is a farmer of Crete and is married and has one daughter. Elizabeth is the wife of John Ackerman, and they have three sons and three daughters, their home being on a farm near Birch, Nebraska, which is operated by Mrs. Ackerman and her sons, while Mr. Ackerman follows the carpenter's trade. William Hier, who is married and follows farming in Franklin county, Nebraska, upon the old family homestead, has five children. Fred is living with his parents in Crete and is a justice of the peace. Mrs. Mary Ann McCowan has two daughters.
To Mr. and Mrs. Muff were born eight children: Mary F., born in Crete, February 23, 1873, became the wife of John G. Hengen, and died at the age of twenty-five years when a bride of ten months. Anna Mary, born September 24, 1874, died in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of twenty-three years. Both daughters displayed considerable skill as pianists, and Anna was a member of a choir in Crete and in St. Louis. She was also a teacher and a sister in the covnent of St. Agnes of the Precious Blood. Joseph Muff, the third of the family, is living with his brother William and they are engaged in farming to- gether. Morris, born February 29th, died on the 20th of July, of the same year. Benjamin (who was named Bernard Joseph) spent two years as a soldier in the Philippines, going there when eighteen years of age. He is now a commercial traveler, residing in Denver, Colorado, and is married. William is married and resides upon a farm. Clara Frances, a young lady of eighteen years, is quite proficient in both
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vocal and instrumental music, and she won the gold medal and two other prizes on graduating from the St. Elizabeth Institute in St. Louis. John Garret Muff, a youth of fifteen years, is attending school and expects to make a specialty of the study of electricity, and he also pos- sesses considerable talent in drawing.
Mr. and Mrs. Muff began their domestic life in a humble way in Lincoln, living in a three-room house. Mr. Muff took the contract to raise the hay for the first state fair, and he did that work for several years after putting in his crops. In the fall of 1872 they removed to Crete, having then a cash capital of nine hundred and fifty dollars, which Mr. Muff invested in the ice business, which he carried on for more than twenty years. He also dealt in real estate during a part of that time. Houses were few in Crete at the time of their arrival, and they rented rooms with another family, until Mr. Muff built his ice house. He then erected a small lean-to of two rooms. Their second home was a little frame cottage of three rooms, and they afterward had a small frame house of four rooms. Their fourth home, however, was more pretentious, containing eleven rooms. It was situated on the north side of the town and is still in possession of Mrs. Muff. Her present residence is one of the finest in this part of Nebraska, being a very extensive and palatial residence, built of brick and stone. It is situated in one of the most desirable residence portions of the city, and contains eighteen rooms, supplied with every modern convenience. It occupies a fine building site, commanding a splendid view of the town and the farming districts to the northwest and south of the city. The house is surrounded by beautiful and well kept lawns, shaded with ornamental trees, while upon the place is an orchard of five acres. The grounds cover, altogether, fifteen acres, and most effective effort has been put forth to benefit the home which in its furnishings indicates the
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cultured and refined taste of the inmates. Mrs. Muff purchased this home in 1892 of R. J. Johnson, the banker, and it cost twenty thousand dollars.
Mrs. Muff has seen periods of adversity as well as prosperity dur- ing her residence in Nebraska. She can remember when the entire country around about was devastated by a grasshopper scourge in 1874, 1875 and 1876. Many settlers became discouraged because their crops were entirely destroyed, and they returned to old homes, but Mr. and Mrs. Muff remained in Nebraska, having firm faith in its future, and they prospered as the years went by. He built up an extensive busi- ness as an ice dealer, developing a wholesale as well as retail trade and employing many men. He also operated on a large scale in real estate, and the county benefited by his business enterprises, while his own finan- cial resources were greatly increased. Since her husband's death Mrs. Muff has carried on important business interests in addition to the settlement of her husband's estate. She has purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in York county, Nebraska, one hundred and sixty acres in Lancaster county, and sixteen lots in South Lincoln. She has also built a brick store in Crete and an iron-clad frame store. She owns the railroad hotel, a restaurant and bakery, a meat market, several tenement houses and twenty-three vacant lots. In the control of her property interests she displays superior business and executive abili- ties, and at the same time has those attractive womanly qualities which win esteem at all times, and in social circles of Crete she is a recognized leader.
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FRANK KARTEN.
Frank Karten, who is following farming near Crete, is one of the pioneer settlers of Saline county, coming to Nebraska from Milwau- kee, Wisconsin. He arrived on the 15th of May, 1865, having traveled by rail to St. Joseph, Missouri, and thence up the river to Nebraska City, and on by ox-team to his destination. Since that time he has been one of the enterprising citizens and active business men of Saline county, and the success which he has achieved is the just reward of his labors.
Mr. Karten was born in Bohemia, May 29, 1836. His father, Thomas Karten, was born in the same land on the 29th of December, 1778, was a farmer and freeholder, and died in his native country at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, leaving five children, two sons. and three daughters. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Michowsky, died in 1856, at the age of sixty-five years.
The first of the family to come to America was Mr. Frank Karten, who crossed the Atlantic in 1857 upon a sailing vessel, being sixty- three days in making the voyage from Bremen to Baltimore. He landed in the latter city with one hundred and sixty dollars in his pocket. He had enjoyed good educational privileges, and at the age of twelve years he began to learn the blacksmith's trade. In 1851, when fifteen years of age, he went to Germany, and worked for three and a half years in Dresden and other places, following which he came to America, believing that he would have better business opportunities in the new world. He started here with little cash capital, and all that he has acquired has come to him as the reward of earnest purpose and untir- ing labor.
In 1857, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Mr. Karten was married to Miss Rosa Bruza, who was born in the same neighborhood in which
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her husband's birth occurred. She came to America at the same time he did, and they were married by a justice of the peace, Wence Schune- macher, who had been Mr. Karten's teacher in Bohemia. After his marriage Mr. Karten worked as a journeyman blacksmith in Milwau- kee, Wisconsin, and later he engaged in selling dry-goods and notions from a wagon drawn by two horses. He thus conducted a mercantile business in Wisconsin, where he was fairly successful, and when he came to Nebraska he had a capital of six hundred dollars. He secured a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres three miles from Crete, improving it and continued to engage in general farming from 1865 until 1892. About twelve years ago he purchased fifteen acres near Crete, for which he paid thirty-seven hundred dollars. In 1901 he sold his farm of two hundred and fifty-six acres to his son-in-law, Stephen Kowrick, not wishing to be burdened with the care of so ex- tensive a property. He is, however, cultivating his small farm near Crete, and it is a fine property, well improved.
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