USA > Nebraska > Sarpy County > Biographical record : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Saunders and Sarpy Counties, Nebraska > Part 14
USA > Nebraska > Saunders County > Biographical record : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Saunders and Sarpy Counties, Nebraska > Part 14
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the wing 14 by 24 feet and 9 feet high, with a summer kitchen 8 by 12 feet. The barn, which is one of the finest in the county, was built in 1890. Its dimensions are 30 by 50 feet, and it is most conveniently arranged and nicely painted. The old house is now utilized as a hog house. In 1884 he erected a good windmill and milkhouse, and he has a good well 80 feet deep. A great transition has taken place in the land since Mr. Hills located upon it, and what was then a wild and bleak prairie is now an ex- ceptionally well-improved farm. There were formerly many sloughs and springs, but they have been dry for the past ten years. The farm is devoted to grain and stock raising, and its owner has some fine grade Shorthorn cattle. He is a very prominent man in his section, and has been called upon to serve the public in vari- ous capacities. He was elected county commis- sioner in the winter of 1880 and served three years. He was also township assessor one year, and has been on the school board almost con- tinuously from the first organization. In poli- tics he is a stanch Republican.
Mr. Hills was united in marriage in 1867 with Hattie DeGroat, who was born in Illinois and is a daughter of Patrick and Lucy (Smith) DeGroat. They have one son, Frank J., who was born in Illinois in 1868. They adopted an infant, Edith Estelle White, when she was three months old, and she died at the age of two years. Frank J. Hills now owns a part of the home farm-the west half of the northeast quarter of section 2-making his home with his father. Frank J. married Adele Tawney, who was born in Pennsylvania and is a daughter of
-
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John E. Tawney. They have three children : Alta E., George S., and Ray H. Religiously the family are Methodists.
OHN LINDBLAD, of Oak Creek pre- cinct, Saunders county, Nebraska, in which he owns considerable land, is ex- tensively engaged in general farming and stock raising and in also buying and selling cattle and hogs to quite an extent.
He was born in the southern part of Sweden and is a son of Olof and Annie (Gibson) Lind- blad. His mother died in Sweden, and his father afterward came to this country, locating in Bradford, Stark county, Illinois. Olaf Lind- blad lived two years in Saunders county, Ne- braska, and then returned to Illinois, where he died in 1894. He was the father of five children, as follows : John, subject of this writing; Nels, who died in Sweden when young, being an ex- pert painter and having also attained honors as an athlete; Ella, who is an artist of recog- nized ability, with headquarters in Chicago, where she is manager of an institution for chil- dren; Andrew, who has a family of five chil- dren, and is in the windmill business in Illinois, and Olof, a farmer in Illinois, married to an American girl.
John Lindblad spent three years in Sweden in learning the tailor's trade. He was con- firmed in the Lutheran church at the age of fifteen years and then went to Denmark, where he spent three years as coachman for one of its
aristocratic families. He came to America in 1870 and located at Princeton, Bureau county, Illinois, where he worked by the month on farms for some years. He then started into farming on his own account and continued there for a period of four years. He was united in marriage with Christina Pearson, a daughter of Nels Pearson, an old settler in Illinois, who moved to Saunders county, Nebraska, with John Lindblad. He located in Saunders county in the spring of 1880, and purchased a quarter section of land in section 21 from the railroad company. He built a house, 16 by 24 feet, erect- ed a barn and made other improvements ; he re- sided there for one year, when he moved to section 27. He purchased the southwest quarter of section 27 from Charles Hoover, who is now in California, for $18 per acre, and, two years later, refused an offer of $40 per acre. He has made practically all the improvements on the place and still resides there, having one of the best improved farms in the county. In addi- tion to this he rents a quarter section from Fred Olson, of Swedesburg. He tore down the first house upon his place and built one 16 by 24 feet, to which he added 18 by 26 feet in the spring of 1892. He built a barn 40 by 46 feet in 1893, together with a corn-crib and oth- er necessary outbuildings. He set out a row of trees, making a lane leading in to the house from the east. He set out cottonwood trees and also an orchard with a large variety of fruit. Besides these there are a large number of nat- ural trees along Oak Creek, which drains the farm. He raises grain and stock, raising about 100 hogs per year, and buys and feeds botlı cat-
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tle and hogs. He has been a very industrious man and success has crowned his efforts.
Mr. and Mrs. Lindblad are parents of three children: Nannie, who attended Peru High School and has been a teacher for the past four years; Ella, who lives at home, and Mabel, aged fourteen years. In politics he is a Populist and has served on the school board a number of years. In religious views he is Lutheran. Fraternally he is a member of Valparaiso Lodge, No. 1,431, M. W. A.
T. NELSON, a gentleman who is most successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising in Rock Creek precinct, Saunders county, Nebraska, was born in a district two or three miles north of Christianstad, Sweden, in 1853.
Mr. Nelson is a son of Nels and Sisa (John- son) Nelson, who came to America one year before their son. They had four children: Hannah (Anderson) of Michigan City, Indi- ana; Nels, who married and lives in Boone county, Iowa; P. T., and Belle (Deal), of Kansas.
P. T. Nelson has worked at farming from boyhood, and although he did not receive more than three months' schooling he has acquired a good practical education. He came to Amer- ica June 1, 1869, and, having borrowed $14 from a fellow passenger with which to pay his fare, went to Princeton, Illinois. He has since roughed it, sometimes successful, and often otherwise, but today he takes rank among the
most prosperous men of Rock Creek precinct. He was engaged in farming in Illinois until 1874, and then went to Boone county, Iowa, where he was married. There he continued until 1880, when he went west to Kansas, and proved up on 160 acres in Jewell county. In 1886 he went to Saunders county, Nebraska, buying 80 acres in section 32, township 14, range 6. He shortly afterward traded this for a livery barn in Weston, Nebraska, and, later still, traded the business to David W. Bowers for his present farm of 80 acres,-the west half of the northwest quarter of section 5, town- ship 13, range 6, valued at $2,500. He has made practically all of the fine improvements the place contains. To the original house, 14 by 22 feet, he built in 1890 an addition, 14 by 20 feet, and in 1889 built his present barn, 24 by 32 feet. He set out trees and has a fine two-acre orchard with fruit of various kinds. The farm is well fenced, hog-tight, and the property is nicely divided into lots. Mr. Nelson is engaged in general farming and stock raising, and has been particularly successful in hog raising. He took the first prize on a load of hogs at a stock- men's exhibit in Omaha-winning a $75 Con- cord road-wagon. Besides the property he owns, he rents 160 acres of Hon. Thomas B. Reed and has 100 acres of it under cultivation. Mr. Nelson is a splendid example of thrift and enterprise. Overcoming his lack of educa- tional advantages, he has risen from the bottom to a place among the intelligent and well-to-do citizens of the district.
The subject of this sketch was united in mar- riage with Anna Lind, a daugliter of Eric Lind,
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who located in Saunders county, Nebraska, in 1886, and owns an improved farm near Mr. Nelson's property. Mr. Lind is now well ad- vanced in years and rents his property. Four children blessed this union : Fred, who secured a diploma from the Fremont Normal School in the spring of 1900; Nettie, Edwin, and Ma- bel. Politically Mr. Nelson is independent and has served on the school board several years. He has been a director three years and was re- cently re-elected. He is a member of St. George Lodge, No. 95, K. of P., of Weston. In religious attachments, the family is Lutheran.
H. NELSON, one of the representa- tive farmers of Saunders county, Ne- braska, is extensively engaged in farming and stock raising in Rock Creek pre- cinct, where he owns about 480 acres of land. He has a beautiful home, located imposingly on a large knoll and commanding a fine view of the surrounding country.
Mr. Nelson was born in southern Sweden, in 1847, and is a son of Nels and Hannah (Han- son) Pierson. His parents came to America in 1864 and located at Moline, Illinois. Both of them are deceased. They were parents of six children, as follows: P. H., the father of six children, is living a retired life in Illinois; El- len married a Mr. Nelson, a farmer in the southeast quarter of section 8, township 13, range 6; N. H., the subject hereof ; Anna (Lin- gren), of Princeton, Illinois ; Andrew W., who lives at Marshalltown, Iowa, and has two chil-
dren; and Henry, overseer of shops at Pull- man, Illinois, who has a family of three chil- dren.
N. H. Nelson was but seventeen years of age when his parents came to this country and lo- cated at Moline, Illinois, where he worked in the fan-mill shops. He moved to Cordova and then to Princeton, Illinois, where he was mar- ried. He engaged in farming there to some extent, and conducted a livery stable and bus line with unqualified success, being associated in business with Claus Anderson, to whom he sold his interest. On February 20, 1880, hav- ing about $1, 100 in money, he went to Saunders county, Nebraska, and first bought a quarter section of railroad land, described as the north- west quarter of section II, township 13, range 6, for which he paid the B. & M. R. R. R. Co. $6.50 per acre. He procured lumber from Mr. Heaton, in Weston, and built his first house on the site of the present one, it being 16 by 24 feet and one story and a half. In 1885 he bought the southeast quarter of section II for $2,000, rent- ing it for a period of three years. In 1896 he bought the southwest quarter of section 12 from Mr. Larson, who had secured it from J. Raber. He built his present large and commodious house in 1893, the west part of it being 16 by 24 feet and the L 20 by 16 feet, and one and a half stories high. In 1890 lie built a barn 28 by 34 feet, with all other necessary outbuildings and a windmill. In 1897 he erected a double corn- crib with a 12-foot driveway, having 9 feet on each side and being 40 feet long. In 1880, his first year upon the property, he set out some fruit trees, but they died. In 1883 he set out
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BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
105 trees with far better success, and also a catalpa grove of 1,500 trees. The latter were set four feet apart and cultivated like corn, and when he thinned them out he sold $75 worth- most of them going to Wahoo. He ships about a carload of fat cattle of his own raising each year, and also buys, feeds and sells extensively, shipping from Swedeburg and Weston. He has 480 acres of land and is engaged mainly in stock raising. He is a very prominent man in the county and numbers his friends almost by his acquaintances.
Mr. Nelson was united in marriage with Matilda Swedenburg, a daughter of Magnus Swedenburg, and they are the parents of nine children : Hattie, Henry, Hannah, Walter (de- ceased), Irwin, Edna, Oliver, Rosella (de- ceased), and one who died in infancy. All of those living are still at home.
F. RUTTMAN, a gentleman who has met with unusual success in the pursu- ance of that independent calling, farming, is a highly respected citizen of New- man precinct, Saunders county, Nebraska.
Mr. Ruttman was born in Ottawa, La Salle county, Illinois, in 1855, and is a son of George and Mary (Retz) Ruttman. He is the young- est of six children, as follows : Mary, Barbara, John, Michael, Lena, and C. F. Mary is the wife of Mr. Howe, of Des Moines, Iowa, where he follows the trade of a blacksmith. He re- sided at Atlantic, Iowa, for some years, and has six children : George, Charles, Frank, William,
Walter, and Lena. Barbara is Mrs. Langley, whose husband is a lumberman of Streator, Illinois. Her children are: Mary (deceased), Ella (Cline), Belle (Harrison), Florence (Redman), William, and Minnie. John is a farmer and stockman of Oklahoma. His chil- dren are: George, Pauline, Clara (deceased), and John. Michael and Lena are deceased.
C. F. Ruttman spent his early life in Illinois upon a farm. After his marriage he farmed two years, and then followed the trade of a car- penter two years in Streator, Illinois. He went to Saunders county, Nebraska, in 1886-taking two cows and three horses with him. He pur- chased the northwest quarter of section 33, township 14, range 5, from William Worley, who had homesteaded it-its only improvement being a house 16 by 24 feet. Mr. Ruttman as- sumed an indebtedness of $1,800, with interest at 12 per cent, and this he has paid up in full, which is greatly to his credit and indicates his general business ability. He built an addition to the house and in 1894 erected a barn 28 by 38 feet, with a shed along one side, 38 by 18 feet, for stabling cows. In 1888 he set out many trees, including mulberry trees, around the north and west sides of the house, which now bear profusely. He set out an orchard of ap- ples, cherries, peaches, etc., and it is in excellent condition. He has a large pasture of 65 acres on the east tract of 80 acres, through the entire length of which a living stream of water runs. He is engaged in raising grain and stock on a large scale, and buys and feeds some. He has been exceedingly fortunate in raising hogs, as they have suffered but twice from cholera in
HON. JOHN Q. GOSS.
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fourteen years, which is due mainly to the cleanly way in which he cares for them.
Mr. Ruttman was united in marriage with Julia Schoenleber, a daughter of Jacob Schoen- leber, who has visited, but never lived in, Saun- ders county. Seven children were born of this union, namely : Frank, William, Cora E., Nel- lie M., Etta (deceased), Carl E., and Hazel Marie. In religious views the family is Luth- eran, but Mr. Ruttman was raised as a "Friend." He is a member of Lodge No. 151, F. & A. M., of Valparaiso, Nebraska, and Lodge No. 1,413, M. W. A., of Valparaiso. He and his wife belong to Eastern Star Lodge, of Valparaiso.
ON. JOHN Q. GOSS, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, is one of the prominent pioneers who have been identified with the town of Bellevue and the state of Nebraska since the infancy of both, and not only in Sarpy county, but throughout this section of the state, he is known to possess those noble traits of character, strict integrity, manly honor, and generosity of soul, which render him a universal favorite. He is now the oldest member of the Sarpy county bar, and his wide learning and good judgment make him the leading man and lawyer of his profes- sion in Bellevue. He is a native of Somerset- shire, England, his birth having occurred March 8, 1827. He is a son of Charles Goss.
John Q. Goss attended the schools of his
native town until he was seventeen years of age, when he left his native country for the United States. Upon his arrival in New York City, he immediately went to Geneva, New York, where he spent the first two months on a farm. He then went to Trumbull county, Ohio, where he again attended school ; afterward, he spent much time in teaching. It was while he was engaged in teaching that he determined to take up law, and going to Mansfield, Rich- mond county, Ohio, he began studying with the law firm of Bartley & Burns. His training in that line was completed, however, in the office of Isaac Goss, and he was admitted to the bar in 1857. His brother, Rev. Charles C. Goss, was a Methodist missionary, engaged in estab- lishing Sunday schools in Nebraska at that time, having located in Bellevue, as early as 1856, and having continued there until 1859. After Mr. Goss had practiced his chosen pro- fession, for two years, in Ohio, he joined his brother in Bellevue, and, in 1859, as the town then gave promise of a good future, he decided to make it his headquarters, and has continued to live there ever since. At that early date three other attorneys were located there,- Charles T. Holloway, the first to settle; L. L. Bowen, and Silas A. Strickland, all of whom are now deceased. When Mr. Goss decided to hang out his shingle at Bellevue, he pur- chased his present residence from a Mr. Sny- der, who was a tinner there, and he has lived on the same premises ever since. He is now the owner of block 125, and has considerable other property throughout the village. Mr. Goss has labored constantly and arduously for
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the upbuilding and advancement of his adopted town and state, for which he has won the re- spect and confidence of all who know him.
Mr. Goss has been twice joined in marriage. His first union was with Mary Taylor, a daugh- ter of Samuel Taylor, who was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, in 1829. She died in 1872, having had a family of six children, of whom the following three are still living : Mrs. Emma S. Thompson, who is the mother of one child, Lora; Charles C .; and John Q., who is general agent for the Cebo Coal Company, of Montana. Mr. Goss' second union was with Rebecca J. Reed, a daughter of James Reed, of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. Politically, the subject of this sketch is a stanch Democrat, and his fellow citizens have honored him on more than one occasion. He was a member of the legislature in 1860, 1861 and 1862, when Nebraska was a territory; he served one term as county attorney of Sarpy county; he was county clerk in 1867-1868; county school su- perintendent, one term; and county examiner five terms. Although he had established a lu- crative practice, he nevertheless gave it up to join the Union army, in 1862, becoming a member of Company D, 2nd Regiment Neb. Vol. Cav., which served against the Indians in Dakota. He enlisted as a private, but came out as first lieutenant. He belongs to Dahl- gren Post, G. A. R. No. 56; is a member and past master of the Omaha Lodge No. I, F. & A. M. ; past grand chancellor and supreme rep- resentative of the K. of P .; and past grand of the I. O. O. F. He belongs to the Episcopal church.
ILS THOMPSON is one of the progres- sive farmers of Mariposa precinct, Saun- ders county, Nebraska. He is a na- tive of Sweden, where he was born in 1849 and received his early schooling. His father died when Nils was very small, and he was raised by another family, being given the name of Thompson.
Mr. Thompson early in life came to America, having borrowed sufficient money to make the voyage, and on July 4, 1866, he arrived in New York City. Having a brother-in-law at Gales- burg, Illinois, he immediately made his way to that place. During the following seven years he worked steadily in a furniture factory for W. H. Rankin, at Monmouth, Illinois. He then took a trip through Kansas and the Indian Territory, but he was not pleased with the coun- try and did not locate there. Having laid by a snug sum of money from his earnings, he moved to Saunders county, Nebraska, in 1876, and purchased for $600, from Mr. Truitson, who homesteaded it, 80 acres of land-the east half of the northwest quarter of section 6, town- ship 15, range 6. There was a small dug-out on the place, and in this he lived with his wife for three years, when he built a new house, 12 by 20 feet, and also a new barn. Two years later he sold the property for $1,100 and imme- diately thereafter bought the northwest quarter of section 28, township 12, range 6, his present farm, for $2,300. There was a little old house, 16 feet square, upon the property, in which he lived for three years, and it now serves the pur- pose of a chicken house. The little barn, with- out a roof, is still standing. In 1889 he built
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a large story and a half house, L-shaped-the dimensions being 16 by 36 feet, and 16 by 28 feet. He built his new corn-crib in 1894 and a new barn in 1896, having now a complete set of farm buildings, all conveniently arranged and of a character suitable for successfully carrying on his business. He has a fine grove and an or- chard of two acres, which he set out in 1886, also an acre of walnut, box elder and oak trees. using wood therefrom for fuel. A fine stream, supplied by springs, runs through the farm, and in 1891 he built a windmill and a milk-house. He has a tubular well, 112 feet deep, with a good vein of water. In 1894 he bought 40 acres -the southeast quarter of the northwest quar- ter of section 21, township 15, range 6-paying $30 per acre therefor. He has made many and great improvements upon the property and it is considered one of the most valuable farms in the vicinity, the soil being well adapted to grain raising.
Mr. Thompson was united in marriage in 1874 with Josephine Olson, a native of Sweden, who had two sisters who also came to this coun- try, namely: Mrs. Swan Johnson, who lives in Phillips county, Nebraska, with her two chil- dren-Ebdul and Mary; and Mary, who died in 1897. Eleven children were born to the sub- ject hereof and his wife, as follows: Elvin, aged twenty-four years, who lives at home; Joseph A., who died in 1899; Minnie, Jennie, Fred, Ernest, Ella, Hattie, Edna, Bernice, and Jennie Louise, who died young. He has two sisters older than himself who live at Gales- burg, Ill. : Mrs. Sissa Stark, who is seventy-five years old, and Christine, who is unmarried.
He was formerly a Republican in politics, but is now a strong supporter of the Farmers Alli- ance. He attends Mission church, one and a half miles north of Malmo, Nebraska.
R B. VAN DRIEL, a Hollander by birth, is an influential farmer of Mariposa pre- cinct, Saunders county, Nebraska, where he is a large land-owner. He is a man held in the highest esteem by his fellow citizens, and always takes an earnest interest in every- thing pertaining to the welfare of his commu- nity.
Mr. Van Driel was born in the province of Gelderland, Holland, in 1838, and is a son of Alexander and Eva (Sterk) Van Driel. His father had eight children by his first wife, and three sons resulted from his union with Miss Sterk, as follows: Henry Van Driel, who died in Holland ; R. B. Van Driel, the subject of this sketch, and G. Van Driel, who died unmarried in Saunders county in 1895, leaving a large property.
R. B. Van Driel was reared and schooled in Holland, and was engaged in the construction of railroads as a boss or contractor for many years. After his father and mother died he came to America in 1868, and after landing in New York City immediately went to Mus- catine, Iowa. He engaged in farming there for three years and in 1871 was married. His fath- er-in-law, Mr. Brugman, owned land in Saun- ders county, Nebraska, and so Mr. Van Driel moved there and rented his farm for a year or
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BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
two. Afterward he bought the northwest quar- ter of section 15, township 15, range 6, which was railroad land, for which he paid $5 per acre with long-time payments. He had borrowed $200 to enable him to come from Iowa, and so was much indebted when he started. He broke 70 acres of the raw prairie during the first year, and his father-in-law, according to his promise, built his first house, which was one story and a half high, the dimensions being 28 by 24 feet. He also constructed a rude board stable with a straw roof, with which they got along for the first few years. Other sheds and a granary and corn-crib were built in 1876. He erected a large barn, 36 by 56 feet, in 1889, which holds 40 tons of hay, with ample room for horses and cattle. The lumber for his first house was hauled from Fremont, and as there were no bridges and the roads were bad, it was a very difficult trip to make. In 1891 his present residence was built, the main part being 24 by 28 feet, 18 feet high, with a wing 22 by 16 feet in dimensions, and 12 feet high. He planted an osage hedge, which was killed by the grasshoppers, and, in 1877, he replanted with willows, which he obtained in Iowa. He set out a large number of cotton- wood trees, obtaining slips from the island near Fremont, and planted a large walnut grove about his house. In thinning out along the lines, he has cut over 25 cords of wood, which he used for poles, fire-wood, etc. He has two good wells, 70 feet deep, from which the water is pumped by windmill. His holdings include the following property : three 40-acre tracts in the northwest quarter of section 12,
the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 1; 40 acres of school land in the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 16; the east half of the southeast quarter of section 9, and the south half of the northwest quarter, and the north half of the southwest quarter, of section 10. He rents all but the 160 acres upon which his fine home is located.
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