USA > Nebraska > A Biographical and genealogical history of southeastern Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
559
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
Indiana to Nodaway county, Missouri, near Maryville, where the former died. He affiliated with the Masonic order, and was a member of the Bap- tist church for forty years. His wife is still living in the old home in Nodaway county. They had three children: James A. is on the old farm in Missouri: J. S .; and G. O., who is in the drug business in Steele City.
Dr. Taylor was reared on a farm, where he developed ample strength for his present arduous profession. He was educated in the public schools and in the high school at Maryville. He was a student for some time under Dr. Hockendon at Maryville, who is now a well known physician of Gallia, Ohio, and he attended the College of Medi- cine at Louisville, Kentucky, where he was graduated in the class of 1888, standing high among the one hundred and two graduates. Since coming to Steele City he has been faithfully attentive to his duties and has gained a creditable reputation for skill and sympathetic counsel.
In 1889 Dr. Taylor was married at Maryville, Missouri, to Miss Rosa Alexander, who was born, reared and educated in that city, a daughter of John Alexander and Lucinda (Poole) Alexander, the former of whom died in 1900. Dr. and Mrs. Taylor have one son, Lloyd S., eleven years old. Dr. Taylor has a fine home in Steele City, with a beautiful lawn and shade trees, and is surrounded with many comforts. He is a lover of fine horses, and his horse Aldentier No. 35285 is a fine specimen of roadster, and he owns others of standard breed. Dr. Taylor is a member of the State Medical Society, and stands high in Masonic circles in this vicinity.
560
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
WILLIAM HENRY CRANE.
William Henry Crane, of Steele City, Nebraska, has a wide ac- quaintance in Jefferson county and receives the favorable regard of his fellow townsmen. His has been an active and useful business ca- reer, in which he has found time to faithfully perform the duties of citizenship, and at the time of the Civil war he manifested his loyalty to the government by enlisting for service in defense of the Union cause. He was born upon one of the pioneer dairy farms of Illinois in McHenry county on the 9th of November, 1848. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to England and to Scotland, and its identification with America dates from 1637. The Cranes are de- scended from Lord Arrundel, who was a lineal descendant of Charle- magne and of Hugh Capet. In the early wars of England the Cranes won distinction, one of the name served as an officer and was afterward given a banner and coat of arms, on which were the words, "God feeds the Cranes." Sir Francis Crane received a grant of land from the English crown of seventy-five thousand acres in Vermont.
The first of the name in America was Jasper Crane, who came from England to the new world in 1637. His wife, Alice Crane, and they had a son, Jasper, Jr., who was a very prominent and influential citizen of New Haven, Connecticut, belonging to the council of safety in Revolutionary times. Another member of the family, Abenezer Crane, was a gallant officer of the Revolutionary war, and Benjamin Crane was also a distinguished citizen of the Bay state. Sir Francis Crane. the great-grandfather of our subject, married a Miss Teople, repre -- sentative of a prominent Holland family and a granddaughter of Ad- miral Teople, of Antwerp, who won his title in connection with service in the Holland navy. She died in Canada. Captain Francis Crane, the grandfather of our subject, was born at Berkshire. Massachusetts,
561
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
and removed to Canada, where occurred the birth of his son, George Crane, the father of our subject.
George Crane was born at St. Thomas, Canada, and there spent the days of his boyhood and youth. In 1832 he came to the United States and was one of the early settlers of Rockford, Illinois. He after- ward removed to Belvidere, Illinois, living there at the period of the Black Hawk war. He was married at Algonquin, Illinois, to Mrs. VanOrsdol, a widow, and a lady of much intelligence and culutre, who proved to him a devoted wife and excellent helpmate in those pioneer days. She was born in Erie county, New York, and was a grand- daughter of John C. Seymour, a prominent citizen of that county and a representative of an old English family. He served as quartermaster in General Washington's army in the Revolutionary war.
In the year 1854 George Crane and his wife removed to Jackson county, Iowa, becoming pioneer settlers there, where they made their home for nine years. He enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of Company B, Ninth Iowa Infantry, and was wounded at the battle of Lookout Mountain. Because of his injuries he was granted an honorable discharge and returned to his home in McHenry county, Illinois. He afterward operated a meat market and sutler store for some time, and later he went to Santa Monica, California, where he died at the age of sixty-one years. His wife, surviving him, passed away in Buchanan county, Iowa, at the age of seventy years. Both were honored and respected people, and they reared their large family of children as a credit to their name. By her first marriage Mrs. Crane had four children, James, Wright S .. Alexander and Sarah V. Van Orsdol. The daughter is now Mrs. Waggoner. of Omaha, Nebras- ka. The son Alexander was a soldier of the Ninth Iowa Infantry in the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs George Crane were born four chil-
562
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
dren, William H., George Francis, Mrs. Alice Vargason, of Hazelton, Iowa, and Mrs. Amanda Vargason, of Hazelton.
William Henry Crane spent the days of his early boyhood and youth in his parents' home, but when a lad of only fifteen years he responded to his country's call for aid and enlisted in 1863 in the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, serving until April, 1866. With the blood of his Revolutionary forefathers flowing in his veins his patri- otic spirit was aroused and he gave earnest support to the Union cause upon the field of battle. He was on thirty-six different occasions en- gaged with the enemy in skirmishes or pitched battles, and served for a time as orderly on General Pleasanton's staff. At the close of the war he received a commission as second lieutenant in recognition of his gallantry and meritorious conduct on the field of action. In 1867 he accompanied his father to Virginia City, Montana, being sixty days on a boat between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Fort Benton. Five thou- sand Indians were on the warpath in that locality at that time. Mr. Crane joined a company of Galitan scouts which he commanded to fight the Indians and saw some severe service in the attempt to sub- due the red men on the western frontier. Later he was associated with his father in the operation of a meat market and sutler's store. He had a varied and remarkable experience in the northwest in pioneer times. He became a pack trader and operated pack trains over the mountains from Helena, Montana, to Kootenai, British Columbia, and other points. His experiences if written in detail would fill a volume with more thrilling incidents than fiction ever recorded. He was one of the first interested in the Anaconda mine at Butte, Montana, and he became familiar with all of the varied pioneer experiences in- cident to the settlement and development of that section of the country.
In 1869 Mr. Crane came to Jefferson county, Nebraska, where
563
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
he secured a homestead claim, upon which he resided for two years. He then went west to Colorado, and at Rosita engaged in the dairy busi- ness for one year. He afterward returned to Nebraska and during the greater part of the time in the years which have since come and gone he has made his home in this state. As a companion and helpmate for life's jorney he chose Miss Hester Pickering, their marriage being celebrated in Washington county, Kansas, October 1, 1871. She was born in Fulton county, Illinois, was reared and educated in that state and is a daughter of John Pickering, who was of a prominent old English family. Her grandfather, Daniel Pickering, resided at Ports- mouth, New Hampshire, and was a soldier of the war of 1812, being wounded in an engagement. He established his home in West Vir- ginia, and it was there that John Pickering was born. The latter mar- ried Miss Sophia Turner, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Samnel Turner, one of the first settlers of Fulton county, Illinois, and a prominent and influential resident of that locality. Mrs. Pickering's mother bore the maiden name of Carver and belonged to an old and distinguished family of New England. John Pickering becoming a strong abolitionist was known as one of the conductors on the famous underground railroad and assisted many a slave on his way to free- dom in the north. In 1875 he and his wife came to the west and spent their remaining days in this portion of the country. The father died on a farm in Washington county, Kansas, at the age of seventy-one years and the mother's death also occurred when she had reached the age of seventy-one. His political allegiance was given to the Repub- lican party and his religious faith was that of the Methodist church. He was a man greatly beloved for his many excellent qualities, for his generous hospitality, his honor in business and his faithfulness in friendship. In the family were eight children, namely: Mrs. Sarah
564
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
Miller, Mrs. Hester Crane, Charles Newton, Elizabeth, Laura, John, Mrs. Martha Dean, of Omaha, Nebraska, and Ben E., who is a weli known and popular traveling man of Omaha, connected with the Stand- ard Oil Company.
Captain C. N. Pickering, a cousin of Mrs. Crane, was commander of the Kearsarge, and was relieved only a short time before the battle with the Alabama.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Crane has been blessed with four children : Olive, who is the wife of Theodore Reiber, of Steele City, Nebraska: Howard J., at home: Horace H., who is married and lives in Steele City ; and Agnes M., the wife of W. L. Wright, of St. Joseph, Missouri. The sons are members of the National Guard of Nebraska. and one is six feet and one inch in height, while the other is six feet and two inches. They are both fine specimens of stalwart manhood and are popular with their many friends in this portion of the state. There are also three grandchildren, Mrs. Reiber having two children, Alexander Lauren Crane and Doretta, while Horace has one child, Lyndall Crane.
Mr. Crane is the owner of forty acres of land in Newton precinct. where he has a good home celebrated for its generous hospitality. His place is splendidly improved, and he has a peach orchard comprising fourteen acres. In his business he is energetic and progressive, and all that he possesses has been acquired through his own well directed ef- forts. He votes with the Republican party, has frequently been a delegate to the county and state conventions and has served as justice of the peace. His many excellent traits of character have gained him high regard, and he certainly deserves mention among the representa- tive men of Jefferson county.
565
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
DAN L. LITTRELL.
Dan L. Littrell, a prominent and highly esteemed citizen of Endi- cott. is one of the oldest settlers of Jefferson county, having settled here thirty-five years ago. He is one of the few remaining veterans of the Civil war, having shown the utmost degree of loyalty to his country before he had reached his majority, and nearly all the years of his life since then have been spent in honorable activity in Nebraska. He is a man of enterprise and business ability, popular among friends and associates, and public-spirited in his relations to the general wel- fare of town and county.
Mr. Littrell was born in Clermont county, Ohio, March 9, 1845, a grandson of George Littrell, who was a native of Switzerland. His father, William Littrell, was born in Virginia, and married Miss Marie Jackson, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. These parents are both deceased, having passed away in Jefferson county, Indiana, the mother at the age of thirty-eight and the father at seventy-two. The latter was a farmer, a Democrat in politics, and was a much respected man in his community. They had nine children, eight sons and one daughter, and the following sons were soldiers in the Union army : George, in the Sixth Indiana Infantry : Liness, in the Thir- teenth Indiana : Sam, also in the Thirteenth ; Dan L., in the Second Indi- ana Cavalry ; and Luther, in the Second Indiana Cavalry. The parents were both members of the Baptist church.
Dan L. Littrell was reared in Ohio, and after full attendance at the public schools taught for awhile. In September, 1862, when seventeen years old, he enlisted at Indianapolis, Indiana, on Lincoln's call for sixty thousand troops, in Company D. Second Indiana Cavalry, Captain Barn- ett and Colonel Robert Stewart. He was in General Mitchell's command at the battle of Murfreesboro; he was with General Wilson's splendid
566
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
cavalrymen in his most famous raid of the Civil war through the south, when that general captured Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, besides other fortified towns. He was also at the battles of Resaca, Rome, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, Franklin, and the battle at Nashville, which is considered the hottest of the war considering the number en- gaged. He received a flesh wound in the right ankle, and was also con- fined for a time in Louisville with the typhoid fever. He received his honorable discharge at the close of service, and went home conscious of having rendered gallant service to his country. In 1868 he came to Ne- braska and homesteaded a place eight miles north of Fairbury, Jefferson county, where he farmed successfully for some years, and came to Endi- cott twenty-one years ago.
Mr. Littrell was married in Jefferson county, Indiana, in 1867, to Miss Nancy J. Gardner, who has been his noble and devoted helpmate for thirty-seven years. She was born and reared in Indiana, a daughter of William and Asenath (Shorte) Gardner; the former was born in Meigs county, Ohio, February 14, 1817, and died in the same state at the age of seventy-eight, and the latter was born in Ohio and died aged seventy-five. Two of their sons were soldiers, Ben H. Gardner in the Fifty-sixth Indiana, now deceased, and William Gardner in the Eighty- second Indiana, now lives in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Littrell have had nine children, and all are living : Hattie, Carrie, Denmer, Maud, Mattie, Liness, Pearl, Addie and Nellie. Mr. Littrell is a stanch advocate of Republican principles, and is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public.
567
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
JOHN W. CARMONY.
John W. Carmony, who has been a dealer in grain and a popular and well known business man of Endicott, Jefferson county, Nebraska, for a number of years, has made an honorable record as a man, citizen and soldier. His sixty odd years of life have been busy ones, and he has been constantly engaged in some honorable activity, in the prosecution of his private enterprises, in discharging the duties of public office or fol- lowing the flag of the Union on the battlefields of the south.
Mr. Carmony was born near Shelbyville, Shelby county, Indiana, June 29, 1841. His grandfather, John Carmony, was a native of Penn- sylvania. His father, Peter Carmony, was born in Ohio, and his wife was Anna Myers, a daughter of William and Mrs. (Mckenzie) Myers, the latter the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. Peter and Anna Car- mony were parents of the following children : John W .; Dan, a soldier in the Twenty-sixth Illinois during the Civil war; James, a soldier in the Eighth Illinois Infantry; Eva: Mollie: Isaiah; Rebecca; Cynthia; and Lulu. Peter Carmony removed to LaSalle county, Illinois, in 1849, and died in Hollenburg, Kansas, at the age of sixty-five. He followed the occupation of farming, and was a good and respected citizen wherever he lived. He was a Republican in politics, and as a stanchi abolitionist helped free the slaves and was a friend of the abolition martyr Lovejoy. His wife died at the age of sixty-three.
9
John W. Carmony was reared in Illinois, where he received a com- mon school education. In August, 1862, he responded to the president's call for sixty-thousand men and enlisted at Ottawa, Illinois, in Company D, One Hundred and Fourth Illinois Infantry, Captain Collins command- ing the company and Colonel A. B. Moore the regiment. He was or- dered to Jeffersonville, Indiana, and thence went to Kentucky, where he was with General Bragg at ,Shelbyville, and in the engagement at Harts-
508
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
ville, Tennessee, was wounded in the shoulder and neck by a ball, and also had three ribs broken. He was sent to the field hospital, and then to the hospital at Gallatin, Tennessee, whence he was removed to the hos- pital in Chicago, where he remained three months. In August, 1863, he received his honorable discharge on account of disability, and then returned home. In 1869 Mr. Carmony went to Hamilton, Iowa, where he remained for eighteen months, and for the following five years was in Allerton, Wayne county, Iowa. He then went to Russell county, Kansas, and took up some school land. He lived there for four years, and was kept in some public office all the time, being county trustee, bridge in- spector, etc. He came to Endicott. Jefferson county, Nebraska, in 1890, and from that date to the present has been successfully engaged in the grain business, buying and shipping in large quantities.
Mr. Carmony was married in Morris, Grundy county, Illinois, in 1864, to Miss Mary J. Batten, who. was born in Pennsylvania and was reared and educated in Illinois, and was a daughter of Thomas A. and Alice (Atkins) Batten, both deceased. Mrs. Carmony has a brother in Endicott. Joseph P. Batten. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carmony: Sherman, of Shawnee. Oklahoma; Thomas A., a railroad man of Oklahoma; Frank, who has been county superintendent of schools of Jefferson county for three terms, elected by a handsome majority; and Lou, the wife of O. E. Biggle, of Jefferson county. Mr. Carmony is independent in political affiliations, and has voted the Pop- ulist ticket. He is a member of the Methodist church, and of the Grand Army of the Republic.
569
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
LUTHER S. BAKER.
Luther S. Baker, the well known insurance and real estate man of Endicott, Nebraska, is counted among the old settlers of this part of Southeastern Nebraska, since a third of a century nearly measures the time that this state has been the seat of civilization. He has been a citizen of prominence and public spirit since coming here, and while work- ing for his own material prosperity has given a due share of his time and thought to the demands of society in general. He is esteemed not only in these connections, but also for the part he played as a gallant soldier in the Civil war, in which he was at the front in many a battle, and still bears on his body many scars of grim and desolating war.
Mr. Baker was born in Allegany county, New York, March 22, 1839, a son of Daniel and Abigail (Strong) Baker, the former of whom died in 1856, aged fifty-three, and the latter at the age of fifty-three in Penn- sylvania. They were parents of fifteen children : five of the sons were Union soldiers, Alanson, who was wounded at Cedar Mountain, Hiram, David, who was killed at Cedar Mountain, Luther, and Amandon, who was in the war, but not at Cedar Mountain battle.
Luther S. Baker lived at home in New York until 1856, and then went with his parents to Virginia. In May, 1861, he enlisted at Roulette, Potter county, Pennsylvania, for three months' service, but did not leave the state of Pennsylvania. September 28, 1861. he enlisted in Company H. Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Infantry, Captain Alexander W. Selfridge and Colonel Joseph F. Knight, his term of enlistment being for three years, and he received his honorable discharge at Alexandria, Virginia, July 16, 1865. He was in the battle at Ball's Bluff. where Colonel Baker was killed; at Winchester, May 25, 1862; at Chancellorsville and Antie- tam; and at Cedar Mountain, August 9, was taken prisoner, and held at Belle Isle until the following November, when he made his escape and
570
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
joined his regiment ; he suffered from the scurvy while in prison. He was once, wounded by a fragment of shell in the right foot, and at the great battle of Gettysburg was wounded in the left leg. He was with General Hooker at Lookout Mountain, and in all the battles of that cam- paign, during which he was wounded in the right leg, and still carries the bullet. He was at Peach Tree Creek, at Rome, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, tlience to Savannah, north to Bentonville, on to Richmond, and participated in the grand review down Pennsylvania avenue, Wash- ington, at the termination of most praiseworthy and noble service for his country. He returned home to Potter county, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1870, when he came to the state of Nebraska and took a homestead in Jefferson county. He has since been engaged in farming and other lines of activity, and now has a large business in insurance and real estate, which nets him a prosperity of which he is well worthy.
On August 11, 1872, Mr. Baker was married in Nebraska to Miss Amanda MI. Wells, who came here in 1867, a daughter of one of the old settlers, James A. W'ells, who was a soldier in the Twentieth Iowa In- fantry and now lives at Lamar, Missouri. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Baker, as follows: Alvin, Adella, Andrew, Florence, William, James, Maud, Rosetta, David, and Wanda, who is deceased. Mr. Baker is a strong Republican, and is a Grand Army man, having been commander of his post. He is frank and genial with all, and loved in his domestic circle and popular with all his associates.
571
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
EDWARD ROBINSON.
Edward Robinson is a well known stockman of Fairbury, Nebraska, and his business interests carefully conducted have resulted in making him one of the prosperous citizens of his community. He is numbered among the old settlers of Jefferson county, coming to this portion of the state at a time when much of the land was still in possession of the government. He arrived in March, 1868, and secured a homestead, and since that time he has been active in agricultural interests.
Mr. Robinson was born'in Middlesex county, Canada, on the 9th of April, 1847. His father, William Robinson, was a native of county Ar- magh, Ireland, belonging to an okl family of the Protestant faith, He was reared in the Church of England and remained a resident of the green isle of Erin until twenty-one years of age, when he crossed the Atlantic to Canada, settling in Middlesex county, where he engaged in general farming. He was married there to Mrs. Sarah ( Foute) Shoebot- ham a widow, who by her former marriage had two children, namely : Henry Shoebotham, who is now living in Fairbury, Nebraska; and Eliza, who makes her home in Canada. Mrs. Robinson was born in county Armagh, Ireland, and died at the age of forty-seven years, while William Robinson departed this life at the age of sixty-three years. Both were of the Episcopalian faith and their many excellent traits of heart and mind won them the respect and good will of those with whom they were associated. They became the parents of six chil- dred : William, a prominent stockman of Richland precinct; Edward, a twin brother of William; James, who is living at McCook, Nebraska ; Mrs. Mary Jenkins, of Fairbury; John A., a prominent farmer of Rich- land precinct ; and Mrs. Sarah Ball, also of McCook, Nebraska.
Edward Robinson was reared upon the old home farm and instructed in practical methods of farm work, while in the district schools of the
572
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
neighborhood he acquired his literary education. The habits of indus- try, economy and honesty, which he formed in his youth, proved potent elements in his later success. In March, 1868, he came to Nebraska, hoping that he might find better business opportunities in this then largely unsettled district. He located a homestead claim in Richland pre- cinct and lived alone until the 7th of May, 1870, when he won a com- panion and helpmate for life's journey, being married on that date to Miss Elsie Conger, an intelligent lady of good family, who has been to him a faithful and devoted companion on the journey of life. She was born in LaSalle county, Illinois, a daughter of William Conger, who was a native of Wayne county, New York, and a cousin of Hon. E. H. Conger, minister to China. Her mother bore the maiden name of Mahala Cooper, and was also born in Wayne county, New York. In 1847 her parents removed to LaSalle county, Illinois, and the father died in that state, when thirty-five years of age. He had devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits, thus providing for the wants of his family. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party, and his religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he held membership. At his death he left a widow and two children, Allen and Elsie. Mrs. Conger later became the wife of Henry Ward and had seven children by that marriage, of whom two are now living : Thomas Ward, who makes his home near Gladstone, Nebraska; and Frank, who is living in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mrs. Ward came to Jefferson county in 1874 and was thus early identified with the pioneer interests and development of this portion of the state. Her daughter, Mrs. Robinson, acquired her education near Ottawa, LaSalle county, Illi- nois. She came with her mother to this county and here gave her hand in marriage to Edward Robinson. Four children have been born of this union : Mary Edna, who is now the wife of Charles McCoy, of Richland
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.