USA > Nebraska > A Biographical and genealogical history of southeastern Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 13
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To Mr. and Mrs. Karten have been born five children: Mrs. Mary Vowrecheha, who has seven children; Mrs. Anna Stadre, of Broken Bow, Nebraska, who has five children; Joseph, who is engaged in the practice of medicine in Oregon, and is married and has one daughter; Frank, who is engaged in farming in Greeley county, Ne- braska; and Emma, the wife of Charles Burrows, of the same county, by whom she has two sons. The mother of these children died in 1879. and Mr. Karten was afterward married to Mrs. Anna Huedeck, the widow of Joseph Huedeck. Both Mr. and Mrs Huedeck were natives of Bohemia. By her former marriage Mrs. Karten has one daughter, Mrs. Barbara Saponek, whose husband is a farmer of Saline county, and who has eight children.
Mr. Karten is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
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In politics he is a stanch Republican, and his worth and capability have been recognized by his fellow citizens, who have frequently called him to public office. In 1869 he was elected county commissioner, but would not qualify. In 1888, however, he was again chosen for that office and served for three years. He was the first tax-payer at Swanton, having been assessed there in 1877, and although he has never been an office- seeker he has always been deeply interested in the welfare and progress of his county. Mr. Karten owns several vacant lots in Crete, and his modest and pleasant home stands on an elevation commanding an ex- cellent view of the city, being just outside the eastern boundary. His life has been a busy and useful one, and his strong purpose and unfalter- 'ng energy have been the salient features in his success. He is now largely living a retired life, in the county which has so long been the ·cene of his labors, and in which he is classed with the worthy pioneer settlers.
HORACE M. WELLS.
Horace M. Wells is filling the position of postmaster of Crete and is editor of the Vidette. He stands as a high type of American manhood, alert, enterprising and progressive, successfully conducting his business affairs and at the same time having ready recognition of the possibilities of the county, its needs and requirements. As a citizen his efforts have been so directed as to lead to good results for the substantial upbuilding and improvement of the locality, and he has thus left his impress for good upon the history of Saline county, where he has made his home since May, 1873.
Mr. Wells came to Nebraska from Madison, Wisconsin. He was born in Waukesha county, that state, in the town of Summit on the
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3d of October, 1847 --- before the admission of the state into the Union. His paternal grandfather, Horace Wells, was in the battle of Platts- burg, New York, and was a man of nerve, being very fearless in pres- ence of danger. His maternal grandfather, Martin Meade, was a fifer in the naval battle of Lake Champlain, and was also one of General Stark's men. His father, Samuel M. Wells, was born in Hinesburg, Vermont, in February, 1815, and his death occurred in the summer of 1903 at York, Nebraska. In early manhood he married Miss Caro- line Meade, of Jericho, Vermont, who was born on the 16th of June, 1816, and was a daughter of Martin and Freewill (Love) Meade, who were also natives of the Green Mountain state. The maternal grand- parents of Mr. Wells were pioneers of Vermont, where they spent their entire lives and at length passed away. Their home was at Camels Hump mountain in what is one of the beautiful districts of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Wells were married in Vermont in 1837, and in 1840 they emigrated westward to the territory of Wisconsin, settling in Waukesha county. The father was a mason by trade and after his removal to Wisconsin conducted a tavern upon his farm, which com- prised one hundred and twenty acres of land. He was also an auc- tioneer of high repute. He had one brother, H. N. Wells, who was one of the early judges of Milwaukee county when it embraced the ter- ritory that is now comprised within several counties of that state. He was also president of the last territorial council. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Wells were three children: John N. Wells, the eldest, was a miner of Colorado and Montana. He was born in 1838 and died in Los Angeles, California, in 1875, leaving a wife and three children. Eusebia Wells is the wife of C. C. Cobb, of Summit. Wis- consin, where they were married in 1866. In 1870 they located in Butler county, Nebraska, and since 1874 Mr. Cobb has been one of
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the leading merchants of York. His first home was a sod house rather superior to that of most of the early settlers, it being papered and car- peted, and on one occasion Governor Butler was a guest there. He and his wife are now making a tour through Jerusalem. They have one daughter who is married and resides in San Francisco, California.
Horace M. Wells was educated in the district schools of Summit, Wisconsin, where he pursued his studies until sixteen years of age, when he put aside his text books and volunteered for service in the Thirty-fifth Wisconsin Infantry as a member of Company C. He joined the army in December, 1863, and served until April, 1866, when he was mustered out with his regiment at Madison, Wisconsin. He served in the Mississippi valley, taking part in engagements in Louis- iana, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas, and fortunately he escaped the missiles of death showered upon the Union troops by the rebels, nor was he ever in a rebel prison, nor confined in a hospital, but came out as an "orderly" and returned home with a creditable military record.
When the war was over Mr. Wells went again to Wisconsin, but in May, 1866, started for Colorado, where he was engaged in mining and freighting, having latterly purchased a span of mules. He was engaged in mining in Russell's Gulch near Black Hawk and Central City and met with fair success there. He reached Colorado with only fifteen cents in his pocket and six days later he had twenty-four dollars earned through mining. When he left that state in November, 1867, he had eight hundred dollars and an interest in a gold mine which brought him one hundred and fifty dollars. He then returned to Madi- son, Wisconsin, and entered the State University, wishing to acquire a more complete education. He was graduated from the scientific de- partment of that institution in 1872 and from the law school in 1873. He and James W. Bashford for three years owned and published the
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University Press, a college paper. Mr. Bashford is now a Methodist Bishop. In 1873 Mr. Wells came to Saline county and, turning his at- tention to journalistic interests, became the publisher of the Saline County Post, the first paper published in this county. He was a mem- ber of the firm of Hoyt & Wells until 1876, when Mr. Hoyt sold his interest to J. W. Allen, editor of the Saline County News. The two papers were then consolidated under the name of the Saline County Union, with which Mr. Wells was connected until 1881, when he was elected to the Nebraska senate. He then sold the paper to M. B. C. True, and the name was afterward changed to the Globe. The paper is now pub- lished under the name of the Vidette Herald, and its editors and proprietors constitute the firm of Goodwin & Wells. Mr. Wells was in the senate for one term and then returned to the publishing business. In 1891 he was appointed state bank examiner, serving four years or two terms, and in 1898 was appointed postmaster of Crete by President McKinley and re-appointed by President Roosevelt in 1902.
On the 9th of October, 1875, Mr. Wells was united in marriage to Harriet Code, of Crete, who was born in Canada and was a daughter of Henry Code, a prominent hotel man. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Sample, who like her daughter was a native of Canada. The Code family is of Scotch-English descent. Henry Code came to Nebraska in 1869, settling in Crete in 1871. His death occurred in California in 1902, when he was about eighty years of age, and his remains were interred in the cemetery at Crete. His wife had departed this life in 1898, leaving two daughters and one son. Mrs. Wells was called to her final rest in November, 1896, after traveling life's journey happily with her husband for twenty-one years. She left four children : Harlan Wells, whose health was impaired in the Spanish-American war, is now in Riverside, California, hoping to be benefited by his sojourn in
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that sunny land. He married Gertrude Crockett, a grandniece of David Crockett, the celebrated pioneer of the west. Mary Wells, a young lady of twenty-two years, is acting as her father's housekeeper. Gertrude is attending school and also assists in the postoffice. Conrad, a youth of fourteen, is likewise in the public schools. The home of Mr. Wells was formerly the old Code home, which was built by Mr. Code and was left him with an incumbrance. He also owns his first home, which he built in 1874 before his marriage. He has made all that he now possesses, and his strong purpose, capable management and determination have been the salient features in his success.
He is a Royal Arch Mason and is a past master of Crete Lodge No. 37, A. F. & A. M., and was made a Mason in Madison, Wisconsin, in the dodge of which Governor Fairchild was a prominent member. He is also connected through membership relations with the Knights and Ladies of Security and with Holland Post No. 75, G. A .R., of which he has been commander for two terms. In community affairs he takes a very active and helpful part, and has served as a member of the school board for six years and as a member of the council for two terms and mayor of the city for two terms. He is not only a popular man in Crete and Saline county, but is widely and favorably known throughout the state as a gentleman of ability and one who is most genial, entertaining and trustworthy.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN.
Michael Sullivan, the well known and popular agriculturist resid- ing about a mile and a half north of Friend in Saline county, is a stanch and thrifty Irish-American citizen, one who has acquitted himself ex- ceedingly well in his life career. He has lived in this country since early
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manhood, is one of the veterans of the Civil war, and in the pursuits peace has made as creditable a record as he gained while a soldier in the service of his adopted country.
He was born in Ireland in 1846, nearly sixty years ago, being a so1. of Timothy Sullivan, who attained the advanced age of eighty-four years before he was summoned from earth. Both his parents were devout members of the Catholic church, and were honored and respected citi- zens. The son Michael was reared and received his education in his native land, but was still a boy in years whe he emigrated to America. From New York he went west to Lockport. Will county, Illinois, where he remained until he entered the services of the Union. In August, 1862, when Lincoln called for sixty thousand volunteers, he enlisted at Joliet. Illinois, in Company C of the One Hundredth Illinois Infantry, under Captain Bacon and Colonel Bartleson. The regiment was or- de, ed to Louisville, Kentucky, and then to Nashville, and was assigned to the command of General Rosecrans. At the battle of Murfeesboro Mr. Sullivan was severely wounded by a grapeshot which struck his right arm, and was taken first to the hospital at Louisville and then to Chicago. He later returned to the service, and did not receive his dis- charge until the winter of 1864, when he was stationed at Lookout Mountain. He returned home with a gallant record as a soldier. After ¡the war he lived for a time in Illinois, being located at the cities of Streator, Ottawa and Pontiac. In the latter place he was married to Miss Alice O. Hair, who throughout the remainder of her life in countless ways proved her devotion to her family and was a helpmate and wife such as not many men are fortunate enough to find. In 1884 Mr. Sullivan removed from Illinois to Nebraska, and for ten years success- fully followed farming in Fillmore county of this state. He then bought his present nice farmstead a mile and a half north of Friend, consisting
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of eighty acres of land, and well improved with a neat house, sur- rounded with fruit and shade trees, and with all the accompaniments and refinements of a modern country home. Mr. Sullivan is held in the highest esteem by his neighbors, and is one of the thrifty and worthy citizens of this community.
Mr. Sullivan has three children : William, who is married; Hattie, who makes her home with her father and is a successful teacher; and Nettie, who is a popular clerk in a mercantile establishment in Friend. These bright and energetic young people received good educations, and are worthy members of the society of Saline county. The greatest loss the family has had to sustain was in the death of the wife and mother, who was summoned above in 1894, when forty-two years of age. She had endeared herself to all by her goodness of heart and worthy deeds, and her place can never be filled in the family circle. She was a member of the Catholic church, and Mr. Sullivan and the daugh- ters are adherents of the church.
H. W. SHUFELDT.
H. W. Shufeldt is the owner of a fine farming estate near Friend in Saline county. He is one of the old settlers of this part of the state, for he cast in his lot with the primitive conditions of Saline county as long ago as 1870, and during the subsequent third of a century has been an efficient, honored and successful citizen in all departments of his activ- ity. He has had a broad experience with the world, was from the first blessed with industry and energy, and has not been found wanting when the varied responsibilities of life have come to him. Farming has been his life's work, and despite the many hardships and struggles through
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which the early Nebraska farmers had to pass he persevered to a success- ful culmination of his labors and is now one of the most prosperous and substantial men of Saline county.
He was born in Albany county, New York, March 10, 1849, of one of the good old families of the state. His father, Harmon Shufeldt, settled in Lake county, Illinois, in 1854. The Shufeldt family was repre- sented in the wars of the country from the time of the Revolution to the Civil war, and in the latter conflict there were thirty soldiers of the name. Harmon Shufeldt married Mary E. Jones, a native of Philadel- phia and of Welsh descent. Harmon Shufeldt died in Kansas, but his widow is still living, making her home at Barrington, Cook county, Illinois. There were nine children, six sons and three daughters, in their family, and the following three sons were soldiers in the Civil war : Henry, of the Fifteenth Illinois Cavalry; H. W., and Theodore, of the One Hundredth and Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, and who sleeps in a soldier's grave at Vicksburg, Mississippi. The father of the family was a strong Republican, and by occupation was a farmer, and his widow is a member of the Baptist church.
Mr. H. W. Shufeldt was reared on the Illinois farm, where he was taught the value of work, and his schooling was received in the country schools. In November, 1863, he enlisted at Marengo, Illinois, in the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, under Captain Chapley and Colonel Hines. He was at Benton Barracks in St. Louis for a time, and was then all over southern Missouri, Arkansas, among the Iron mountains engaged in fighting Price's, Marmaduke's and Joe Shelby's Confederate troopers, and this was among the most perilous and trying service of the entire war. From Fort Leavenworth he was ordered to Fort Dodge, Kansas, and then was on duty which took him within sight of Pike's Peak, re- maining in the west until December, 1865. He received his honorable
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discharge at Springfield, Illinois. After his soldier life was ended he spent some time in northern Wisconsin, and in 1870 came out to south- eastern Nebraska. He took up a homestead in Saline county, and his first home here was built of lumber brought from Lincoln. Among the trials which he had to endure before reaching his present prosperity were the grasshoppers, hot winds; winter blizzards, drouths, and many others, but he never gave in to discouragement, and the victory has been on his side, as anyone can witness who passes by his fine estate of three hundred and twenty acres, situated a mile and a half from Friend. Here he has a nice modern residence, a commodious barn, a windmill to sup- ply water for all purposes, a grove and orchard which form a beautiful background for his home, and everything in the best possible condition and evidencing the highest degree of progressiveness and thrift.
Mr. Shufeldt was married in Saline county, February 20, 1872, to Miss Margaret E. Love, who has been a devoted and inspiring help- mate to him for more than thirty-two years. She was born in Pennsyl- vania, being a daughter of Alexander U. and Lyda (Sherman) Love, who were early settlers of this part of Nebraska, and who are now both deceased, having been the parents of four sons and one daughter. Two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Shufeldt are deceased. and they have three sons living: Harmon and Alexander W., who are both residents of Saline county ; and H. W., Jr., at home. Mr. Shufeldt is a Repub- lican in politics, and is affiliated with the W. T. Sherman Post No. 130, G. A. R., at Friend, and has held office in the post. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
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SAMUEL TIGARD.
Samuel Tigard, who is well known throughout Saline county as Sam Tigard, the prosperous and progressive farmer and veteran soldier of the Civil war, is one of the oldest citizens of Pleasant Hill precinct. He came to this state as long ago as 1868, and has ever since filled a useful place in the affairs of his community besides providing well for his own and his family's material welfare.
He was born in the famous Shenandoah valley, near Winchester, Virginia, on December 15, 1841, the same year in which King Edward was born. He was a son of Jesse and Sarah (Michael) Tigard, the lat- ter of whom was born in Ireland of Protestant family. Both parents died in Nebraska, the father at the age of sixty-four, and the mother at seventy-eight. His father was a farmer, a Republican in politics, and both father and mother were members of the Methodist church. There were ten children, four sons and six daughters, and Simeon, who was a soldier in the Tenth Virginia Infantry, is also a resident of Saline countý, Nebraska.
Mr. Samuel Tigard was reared and educated in Virginia. His youth was spent on the battleground of the coming Civil war, and he was just arrived at young manhood when the war clouds broke upon the country. His sympathies and training were all with the Union cause, and in November following the beginning of the conflict he enlisted in Lewis county, West Virginia, in Company C, of the Tenth West Virginia Infantry, under Captain Hall and Colonel Harris. The regi- ment saw much active service all through the Virginia country, fight- ing guerillas, repelling rebel cavalry and especially Mosby's troopers. They were at Harper's Ferry under General Milroy, were in the Shen- andoah valley campaign, at Opequan creek, where Mr. Tigard received a bullet in the forearm, the wound keeping him in the hospital for some
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time. He did not receive his honorable discharge from service until November 22, 1866, and he went home with the consciousness of hav- ing well performed his duty as a soldier and with a gallant record.
Mr. Tigard married Miss Ellen McCarty, who has been a most excellent wife and mother and a useful member of the community. They have seven children, William, Grace, George, Jessie, Frank, Ralph, deceased, and Jonathan B. Mr. Tigard has a beautiful little farm of eighty acres in Pleasant Hill precinct, where a cosy residence furnishes the home of the family, there is a good barn, and orchard and grove af- ford coolness in summer and warmth in winter, and everything bears evidence of thrift and enterprise. Mr. and Mrs. Tigard are members of the Methodist church, and they have reared their children under good influences and given them good advantages. Mr. Tigard is a member of Coats Post, G. A. R., of Dorchester.
JOSEPH TEALE.
Joseph Teale is a well known and highly esteemed resident of Dorchester, Saline county, and has made his home in this part of south- eastern Nebraska since 1882. He is a man of much capability and worth, has been very successful in his efforts, and as a man and citizen com- mands the high regard of all with whom he comes in contact.
He was born in Hampshire, England, August 21, 1840, being a son of Frederick and Charlotte (Holmes) Teale, both natives of Eng- land. His father died in England when the children were small, and in 1843 the widow brought her family to America. From New York state they went and made settlement near Waukesha, Wisconsin, then to Bedford, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and in 1855 took up their abode
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near Warren, in Jo Daviess county, Illinois. There were in all seven children : Fred, who was a soldier in the Fourth Iowa Infantry, and is now a resident of Los Angeles, California ; James, a former member of the Thirteenth Illinois Cavalry, who died at Davis City, Iowa, in 1900; Joseph; Hon. Thomas Teale, of the Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, now at Leon, Iowa; George, who was a soldier of the Ninety-sixth Illinois, now a resident of Lamoni, Iowa; Eugene, of the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, also at Lamoni; and Albert, of Kellerton, Iowa. Four of these brave and patriotic sons of a single family were wounded during the course of the war, and two of them received two wounds. The mother of this fine family died in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, at the age of sixty-two. She and the children were communicants of the Episcopal church, or Church of England.
Mr. Joseph Teale spent most of his youth in Bedford, Ohio, where he received his education in the public schools. He was nearly of age when the Civil war broke out, and on May 4, 1861, only a few days after Sumter was fired upon, he enlisted at Warren in Company E of the Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, under command of Captain Raney and Colonel Turner. He was mustered in at Freeport, Illinois, and was in camp at Alton. His first battle was Shiloh, in which his regiment lost one hundred and ninety-two men in killed and wounded. He then par- ticipated at Holly Springs, and was at the siege of Vicksburg for forty- seven days, during which he was shot through the body and was in the hospital some time. He received his honorable discharge on June 14, :364, having served for three years and twenty-one days, and coming out of the war with a gallant record and with his courage and stead- fastness tested and found true for all his future career.
After the war he engaged in farming in Illinois, and in 1867 was married to Miss Mary Pryor, whose strength of character and devotion
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to family and home have been a contined inspiration to her husband for now more than thirty-five years. She is a native of England, a daugh- ter of William and Sarah (Peach) Pryor, the former of Lancashire and the latter of Derbyshire, England. They came to America in 1857 and made settlement in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, where her father was a farmer and nurseryman, in politics an adherent of the Republican principles, and where he passed away at the age of sixty-eight. Her mother is still living in Warren, being eighty-four years of age and bearing her years with health and comparative vigor. Mrs. Teale is the oldest living of ten children, two of whom, Rosa and Ayres, died at the respective ages of nine and two years, and the others are Sarah, Byron, Howard, Ira, Willard, Inez, and John. Mr. and Mrs. Teale have one son, Albert H., who is a resident of Kenesaw, Adams county, Nebraska, and who by his wife, formerly Miss Edith Jones, has a little daughter, Doris N. Teale. The greatest bereavement that has come to Mr. and Mrs. Teale was the death of their daughter Lettie, in 1892, from scarlet fever. She was born in 1874, had received a good public school education and also in Doane College, was a member of the Christian church, and her sunny disposition, fondness for the good things of life, and her loveable character made her taking off a lament- able event in the community of which she was so bright a part, and the chair thus vacated in the family circle can never be filled.
After his marriage, Mr. Teale lived two years in Fayette county, Wisconsin, was then engaged in farming in Victoria county, Texas, for three years, after which he returned to Warren, Illinois; he was in Decatur county, Iowa, two years, later moved to Dixon, Illinois, and in 1882 came out to Saline county, Nebraska, and began farming south of Dorchester. He still owns his nice estate of one hundred and sixty acres, on which he has a nice house and all the modern improvements. He
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