USA > Nebraska > A Biographical and genealogical history of southeastern Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 29
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Mr. and Mrs. Percival are well and favorably known throughout the neighborhood, and they never refuse to extend hospitality to the unfortunate. Honest, enterprising and public-spirited, Mr. Percival, who has made Clay township his home since 1872, is one of the old settlers of the county, and one of its most representative men. They have a family of seven children: Nova Odell; Febura Odo; Judson Oredus; Stephen Denver; Louisa Leona Shaffer; Earl Leslie; and Ag- ness Pearl.
REUBEN S. PITTENGER.
Reuben S. Pittenger is a prosperous and enterprising farmer, re- siding about a mile from the town of Crab Orchard, Johnson county, and during his residence here has gained the esteem and respect of all his fellow citizens. He is an industrious and intelligent agricul- turist, able to bring about results in whatever he undertakes in that line, and in this his life work has made a satisfactory success. He is also a public-spirited citizen, and his patriotism was shown in the days of the Civil war when he fought in the Union ranks and went home with a good record.
Mr. Pittenger was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, August 17, 1841, a son of Absalom and Marie (Chapman) Pittenger, both natives of Pennsylvania. In 1845 the family moved west to Kane county, Illinois, and a few years later further west to Chickasaw county, lowa. Absalom Pittenger was a farmer by occupation, was a Repub- lican and a member of the Methodist church, and during his long life of seventy-six years gained the respect of all around him. His wife
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died in Iowa at the age of seventy-six years. They had thirteen chil- dren, and two of the sons were soldiers in the Civil war. Henry seeing service in an Illinois regiment and being now a resident of Hardin county, Iowa.
Mr. Pittenger was a boy of four years when the migration was made from Pennsylvania to Illinois, and his boyhood was spent in that state and in Chickasaw county, Iowa. The schools which he attended were very primitive, built of logs, with rough seats and desks, and the lessons learned were more practical than intellectual. He after- ward returned to Illinois, and on August 17, 1861, enlisted at Syca- more, Dekalb county, Illinois, in Company B, Eighth Illinois Cavalry, under Colonel John Farnsworth, one of the state's most prominent men and politicians. This was the best regiment of cavalry sent out of the state, and was composed of the flower of the youth of Illinois, the men all being of fine physiques. It was known as the Black Abolition Reg- iment. It did rough rider service, and perhaps no other regiment of the Union army saw more fighting and skirmishing and hard work than the Eighth Illinois. The regiment was in camp in St. Charles, Illi- nois, for a time, and was then sent to Washington, and from there to its great field of activity in Virginia. While there Mr. Pittenger was attacked by typhoid fever, was confined in the hospitals at Alexandria and Washington, and in May, 1862, was discharged on account of dis- ability. He returned to Illinois, and from there to Chickasaw county, Iowa, and after his marriage, in 1870, moved to Mitchell county, Kan- sas, where he took up a homestead, near Beloit. He remained here until 1882, was then in Floyd county, Iowa, two years, returned to Kansas and was in Graham county two years and a half, and in Atchison county, Missouri, near Tarkio, for a like period, after which he came to Johnson county and bought his farm of eighty acres one mile out of
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Crab Orchard. This is a beautiful farmstead, well improved, having a good barn, nice residence, and fruit orchard, and all things necessary for a model farm.
Mr. Pittenger was married in Chickasaw county, Iowa, in 1870, to Miss Ellen Simpson, who was born in Wabash county, Indiana, and was a successful school teacher before her marriage. Her father, George Simpson, was a native of Henry county, Indiana, his parents having come from Kentucky, and he was a soldier in the Civil war, in the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Iowa Infantry. He is now liv- ing in Graham county, Kansas, at the age of seventy-seven, and his wife, whose name was Caroline Johnson, a native of Illinois, is now seventy- one years old. He is a retired farmer, in politics is Republican and a member of the Baptist church. Mrs. Pittenger is one of thirteen chil- dren, four sons and nine daughters, all of whom grew up and were married.
Mr. and Mrs. Pittenger have seven children: Orlos, Cora M., Lee W., Clyde C., Dean Carl, Milton and Ruth. Mr. Pittenger is a strong Republican, and is a member of the L. Mason Post No. 69, G. A. R. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church.
JOSEPH WEST STARR.
Joseph West Starr came to Nebraska and settled on the farm, W 1/2 of sec. 4-1-4, of Jefferson county, where he still resides, in August, 1880, from Richmond, Indiana, where he was born April 4, 1838. His father was Charles West Starr, a native of Philadelphia, who came to Indiana in 1824, and bought a farm now covered by that part of the city lying between Fourth and Sixteenth and Main and North "F"
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streets. C. W. Starr was a house carpenter by trade, and having great faith in the outcome of the town he made proof of it by building num- erous houses, including a hotel building corner Eighth and Main. His building propensity running ahead of the needs of the town he labored under a load of debt from the hard times in the early 40's till the renew- ed growth of the city, consequent upon the incoming of railroads, put him in good shape in the 50's, by sale of improved and unimproved real estate. He was an active and enterprising citizen, treasurer of the branch of the Whitewater canal built from Brookville to Richmond (washed out by flood as soon as finished) and, according to his means, a liberal subscriber to the stock of the railroads as they came.
C. W. Starr's father was John Starr, druggist, of Philadelphia ; and his grandfather was James Starr, cordwainer, on whose old books the names of George Washington, Green, Benedict Arnold, and other "rebel" officers are in evidence both for the quality and style of his "top boots."
In 1819 C. W. Starr married Elizabeth Wilson, daughter of John and Catherine (Milner) Wilson, of Hockessen, Delaware. Captain Starr is of pure Quaker blood from way back. His mother sat for years at the "head of the meeting," but his father, though often invited to the gallery by the overseers of the meeting, preferred to sit in the "body" of the meeting. C. W. Starr was "disowned" by the society for allow- ing Elias Hicks to preach in his big barn after the meeting-house had been closed to him; and his wife, though the visiting committee "found no fault in her," was advised "to go with her husband," and was accord- ingly disowned also. So it happened that the captain's "birthright" was with what were called "Hicksite Quakers." He is glad of it and only wishes he was a better sample of the body, now known as the "Religious Society of Friends." C. W. Starr died May 1, 1855, aged
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sixty-two years; his widow surviving until July 10, 1884, reaching the age of eighty-six years.
Captain Starr was educated in Quaker schools and college. He went into the jobbing grocery business with his brother James M. Starr, in Richmond, Indiana, 1859, and was member of firm of Beard, Starr & Company, plow manufacturers, Richmond and Indianapolis, 1860-1. He and his brother "Ben" were sworn into the United States service August 21, 1861, in what was to be an "independent" cavalry company. At final organization J. W. Starr was elected first lieutenant (James Conner, captain) and as such was mustered-in by Major Thomas Wood, September 13, 1861, and became captain of the company May 17, 1862, Conner being major. The "independent" company became Company C, Second Indiana Cavalry, with which good regiment it served in the Second Brigade, First Division of Cavalry, command of the "Army of the Cumberland" till October 4, 1864. The last year and a half of service he was on continuous duty as judge advocate of successive divi- sion court-martial. He was surrendered twice by commanding officers at Gallatin and Hartsville, Tennessee. The first time he led two com- panies off the field to Nashville. The second time he received special parole from General Morgan partly by request of a rebel friend. He was captured by the enemy May 9, 1864, but escaped, running the fire of a rebel regiment at short range.
After the war he was real estate agent, and with the gas company at Richmond, 1864 to 1875: in humber business '75 to '80, and then moved to Nebraska, "to put an Indiana farm on a Nebraska prairie." Looking out from his house upon the bluegrass pastures, and upon the orchards and the catalpa and hard maple groves that shut out the world, you could not tell but what you were in "old Wayne county" where he was born.
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Captain J. W. Starr was married January 24, 1865, to Eliza Mor- gan Burr, daughter of William P. and Lydia (Moorhead) Burr, of Hamilton county, Ohio. Mrs. Starr's grandparents were Samuel and Phoebe (Dodge) Burr, who came to Ohio from New York in 1817, and Matthew and Esther (Campbell) Moorhead, of Oxford, Ohio. Three of Mrs. Starr's great-grandparents fought in the battle of Long Island, and two out of three brothers were in the Union armies in 1861-5. Captain Starr's brothers were William C. Starr, Lieutenant-colonel Ninth West Virginia Infantry (loyal) ; James M. Starr, owner for many years of Richmond gas and electric system, and of the Starr Piano company ; Nathan H. Starr, farmer, near Middletown, Indiana; and Benjamin Starr, who served a year in Second Indiana Cavalry till discharged for disability, then farmer, store dealer, superintendent gas works, and finally manager of Star Piano Company, whose successful career is the re- sult of his labors. "Ben" was commander of the Indiana department, G. A. R., at his death. The captain has but one sister, Mrs. H. A. Leeds, widow of Noah S. Leeds, and mother of W. B. Leeds of tin plate fame. Mrs. Leeds, now of New York, and J. W. Starr are the only survivors.
Mr. and Mrs. Starr have five surviving children : Elizabeth, wife of E. A. Wheatley, of New York; Lydia B., wife of Jacob Stucker, of Diller, Nebraska; John Vernon, Diller; William B., married to Elsie Jeffreys, of Arvado, Colorado: and Robert F., married to Lilly Brandt, of Diller, Nebraska.
The captain enjoys his books and friends. He has a large circle of acquaintances, to whom, and to the world, his word is "come and see me."
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JOHN VOLLBEHR.
John Vollbehr, deceased, made his home in Gage county, Nebraska, for over twenty years and was numbered among its honored and highly esteemed citizens. Although born on the other side of the Atlantic he was a thorough American in thought and feeling, and that he was patri- otic and sincere in his love for the stars and stripes was manifested by his service in the war of the rebellion.
A native of Germany, he was born in Schleswig-Holstein, on the 2Ist of June, 1829, and belonged to a good old German family noted for honesty and courage. He received a good education in his native tongue and served for five years in the German army; which well fitted him for the part lie bore in our Civil war. It was in 1854 that he emigrated to the United States, and for some years he made his home in Clinton county, Iowa.
It was while residing there that Mr. Vollbehr enlisted, on the 20th of August, 1862, at President Lincoln's call for volunteers, becoming a member of Company E. Twenty-sixth Iowa Infantry. He participated in a number of important engagements, including the battle of Arkansas Post, the siege of Vicksburg, the battles of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, New Hope Church, the siege of Atlanta, and the battle at Ezra Church. He was with Sherman on the memorable march to the sea and up through the Carolinas, taking part in the battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. He then marched on to Richmond and Washington, D. C., and participated in the grand review in the latter city. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged June 9, 1865, with the rank of second lieutenant, having been commissioned by Governor Wil- liam Story of Iowa. Two brothers, Frederick and August Vollbehr,
JOHN VOLLBEHR
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were also in the service and were members of Iowa regiments. The latter is now deceased, but the former is still living in Iowa.
In 1866 John Vollbehr married Miss Louisa Bussing, who was to him a faithful companion and helpmate as long as he lived. She was born, reared and educated in New York city, where her parents, Fred- erick and Sophia (Walchian) Bussing, had located on coming to this country from Germany-their native land. Three children blessed the union of Mr. Vollbehr and his wife, namely : Ella, now the wife of G. Heltman, of Cresco, Nebraska; Etta A., who lives with her mother in Gage county, and is one of the popular and successful teachers of the locality ; and Mattie, wife of E. P. Andrews, of Filley, Gage county.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Vollbehr made their home in Sabula, Jackson county, Iowa, until 1878, when they came to Gage county, Nebraska, and settled on the farm where Mrs. Vollbehr and her daughter Etta still live, consisting of eighty acres of well improved and valuable land. Here the husband and father died May 20, 1899, at the age of seventy years, honored and respected by all who knew him. He used his right of franchise in support of the Republican party, was a Lutheran in religious belief, and was a member of Liberty Post, Grand Army of the Republic. His wife is a member of the Baptist church and is a most estimable lady, whose circle of friends and acquaintances is extensive throughout Gage county.
JAMES K. PERRY.
James K. Perry is well known in business, political and social cir- cles in Thayer county, Nebraska. He is numbered among the defenders of the Union cause, and when the tocsin of war sounded became an
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advocate of the central government and its rights to hold all of the property included within the boundaries of the United States. For three years he faithfully aided in defending the old flag and the cause it repre- sented. and is now numbered among the honored veterans of the Civil war, to whom the country owes a debt of gratitude that can never be fully repaid.
Mr. Perry was born at Belle Plaine, Marshall county, Illinois, on the 4th of March, 1845, a representative of one of the old pioneer families of that county, his parents, Pierce and Charity (Lucas) Perry, having settled there in 1832, when that district was largely wild and unimproved, the work of development having scarcely been begun. Both were natives of Kentucky and representatives of old families of that state. The father was a farmer by occupation, thus providing for the support of his wife and children. He gave his political allegiance to Jacksonian Democratic principles, and he belonged to the Baptist church. His death occurred when he was fifty-three years of age. He had been twice married, and by the first union had four sons, while the children of the second marriage were ten in number, four sons and six daughters. Of these Daniel S. was a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting in the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Illinois Infantry. He died at Belle Plaine, Illinois, in 1882.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for James K. Perry in his youth. He was reared in his par- ents' home and at an early age began working in the fields, aiding in the early spring planting and in harvesting. In the public schools he acquired his education, attending the district schools and also studying for a time in Minonk, Illinois. In addition to farm work he engaged in milling to some extent in his early life. He enlisted at Minonk, Wood- ford county, Illinois, in August, 1862, in response to President Lincoln's
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call for three hundred thousand volunteers, and was assigned to Com- pany B, Eleventh Illinois Infantry,under command of Captain Shaw. He afterward served under Captain H. C. Vore and Captain I. D. Vore. He continued with his command until the close of hostilities. In a short time after his enlistment the regiment was ordered south to Paducah, Kentucky, and he was first under fire at Chatahoochie. He partici- pated in the battle of Champion Hills, the battle of Black River Bridge and the siege of Vicksburg, the city surrendering on the 4th of July, 1863. His regiment was a part of the command of General Ransom and later of General John A. Logan. From Vicksburg the regiment was ordered to Natchez and afterward participated in engagements at Port Hudson and Yazoo City. At that time the Eleventh Illinois was com- manded by Colonel J. H. Coates, a brave man and most gallant officer. From Yazoo the troops returned to Vicksburg for garrison duty and later were ordered out to participate in the battle at Fort Gaines, Fort Morgan, Spanish Fort and Port Blakeley, the Eleventh Illinois being chosen to charge the breastworks of the fort and which it did with severe loss. Later Mr. Perry participated in the siege of Mobile, Alabama, and was engaged in garrison duty there for a time. Subsequently he did garrison duty at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and then returned north to Springfield, and the war having closed he was honorably discharged. His health had become greatly impaired during his long and arduous military service, and he has never fully recovered. Although the sacrifice of his life was not required he has never fully regained his old strength, and thus his service in behalf of his country was one of great sacrifice.
Following the close of the war Mr. Perry remained in Illinois for some time, and was married in Marshall county, that state, in 1867 to Miss Olive A. Taylor, an estimable lady, who was born in Morgan county, Illinois, and spent the days of her girlhood there. Her father, John A.
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Taylor, belonged to an old Kentucky family. Mr. and Mrs. Perry be- gan their domestic life in Illinois, where they resided continuously until 1883, when they came west to Nebraska, settling first in Jefferson county near Reynolds. There they lived for five years, at the end of which time Mr. Perry sold his farming interests in that locality and took up his abode in Thayer county. He afterward lived for three years in Sheridan county, Kansas, and in 1890 he traded his property there and again came to Nebraska, purchasing a farm of eighty acres of valuable land. Upon his place he has a good house and substantial barn, together with richly cultivated fields, rich pasture lands and a good grove. The place is well watered, and everything is kept in excellent condition in harmony with the progressive and modern ideas of agriculture.
To Mr. and Mrs. Perry was born one child, Fred, a farmer, residing near Adams, Nebraska. They have an adopted daughter, Ida, a young lady at home. In 1902 Mr. Perry was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 16th of June, that year, at the age of fifty- five years. She had been a devoted companion, a tender and loving wife and mother and a faithful friend, and her many good traits of heart and mind endeared hier to all who knew her. She belonged to the Baptist church, was active and zealous in its work, and her death was the occa- sion of a great loss to her family, her church and to society.
Mr. Perry is a Republican in his political affiliations, unfaltering in his allegiance to the party and its principles. While living in Sheridan county, Kansas, he served as assessor of his township. He is now the county assessor of Thayer county, and is a very popular official, dis- charging his duties with promptness and fidelity. He has been :1 Mason since 1867, and is now identified with the lodge at Reynolds. He belongs to the Baptist church, of which he is a deacon, and his life is at all times actuated by honorable, manly principles. Mr. Perry is
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five feet and ten inches in height and has a soldierly appearance. He is the champion of all the educational, material, social and moral develop- ment of his community, and receives from his fellow townsmen the respect and good will which is ever accorded to genuine worth through- out the entire land.
MILTON HILEMAN.
Milton Hileman, present superintendent of the Gage county poor farm, in Midland township, has lived in this county since 1871, so that he is one of the oldest residents, and his ability as a business agriculturist and manager is indicated by his incumbency of his present responsible office. The management of public eleemosynary institutions is always one of the most important duties assigned to a citizen, and is a position of great delicacy as well as responsibility. Mr. Hileman has proved the wisdom of his choice by the county board, for everything about the farm is in first-class shape, no charges of neglect or abuse have ever been registered, and at the same time the institution is conducted as nearly on a paying basis as is possible. The farm consists of one hundred and sixty acres, one hundred and twenty acres of which are devoted to agricultural purposes. There is a large house of fifteen rooms, besides cottages and lodges for the inmates and various necessary buildings for an establishment of the kind. There is a good barn, a garden where the vegetable supply is raised for the entire year, and there are plenty of horses, cattle and hogs. The entire premises will compare favorably with those of any similar institution in the state.
Mr. Hileman was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1849, a son of Edward and Elizabeth (Glass) Hileman, both natives of Penn- sylvania. When Milton was a child the family came west and settled
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in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and in 1871 the parents came to Gage county, Nebraska, and both died in Beatrice, the father at the age of ninety-two, being one of the oldest men in Gage county, and the mother at the age of eighty-eight. Edward Hileman followed the occupation of farming, and was a Republican in politics and a member of the Methodist church. There were nine children in the family: George, who was a soldier from Illinois and now lives in Iowa; Mary; Eliza- beth; Ellen; Milton; Amanda; Jessie; and two, Timothy and Michael, who died in childhood.
Mr. Hileman was reared in Jo Daviess county, and after coming to Nebraska in 1871 followed farming until he was appointed to his present position. On April 28, 1872, he was married to Miss Della Hudson, who was born near Attica, Fountain county, Indiana, and has been a most capable helpmate to her husband in all his endeavors and has been espe- cially efficient in assisting with the conduct of the county farm. She is a daughter of Elijah Hudson, who was born in Ohio and died in McLean county, Illinois, at the age of fifty-six. He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, who died in Illinois at the age of forty-eight, was the mother of the following children : Sarah, William, Esther, deceased; Jane, deceased; Christine, Catherine, Mrs. Della Hileman and Mary Ann; of these children Wil- liam was a soldier in the Civil war, and now lives in Hamburg, Iowa.
Mr. and Mrs. Hileman have become the parents of the following children : Wilbert, who was a gallant soldier in the Spanish-American war, seeing service in the Philippines, and now lives near Colby, Thomas county, Kansas; Grace, who is the wife of D. Hoyle, of Gage county ; Florence, the wife of George Gifford, of Illinois; Paul; and Percy Dayton. Mr. Hileman is a strong Republican, and affiliates with the
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Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Hileman is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
S. J. COWPERTHWAIT.
S. J. Cowperthwait, one of the prominent residents of Clay town- ship, Pawnee county, Nebraska, was born in Canada, July 31, 1850. He is a son of R. G. Cowperthwait, one of the early settlers of south- eastern Nebraska, who came from Novia Scotia and was born of Scotch ancestors. This family traces back to the Highlands of Scotland, and its representatives were hardy and thrifty. The father of our subject was reared in the schools of Nova Scotia, and when a young man located in Toronto, where he married Amelia Elizabeth Brian. She is a daugh- ter of Dr. James Brian, of French extraction. In 1854 Mr. and Mrs. R. G. Cowperthwait came to the United States, and after a year they settled in Missouri, but later removed to Pawnee county, Nebraska. The father died in Abilene, Kansas, at the age of seventy-two years. He was a Republican. The mother died at the same place when sixty-three years of age, and she was a member of the Methodist church. The family born to these parents was as follows: Seth T., of Jefferson county, Kan- sas; S. J., our subject ; G. W .; H. R .; Albert; Charles; Sarah; Clara ; Ida; Dora and Anna.
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