USA > Nebraska > Buffalo County > Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 28
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Mr. Daul was married in 1880 in this county to Miss Addie E. Milbourn, who was born in McLean county, Illinois, but accompanied her parents to this county in 1872. Further mention of her father, Washington Milbourn, appears elsewhere in this work. Previous to her marriage she worked for others, receiv- ing a wage of one dollar per week. To Mr. and Mrs. Daul have been born two children. John O., who is a hardware merchant of Elm Creek, married Miss Olive Fitzgerald, a daughter of Daniel Fitzgerald, an early settler of Buffalo county. She passed away leaving a daughter, Mary Alice, now three years old, who is living with our subject and his wife. Fred, the younger son, is living with his parents. He has spent considerable time in the west and owns two
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hundred acres of land near Baker, Oregon, and one hundred and sixty acres in Colorado.
Mr. Daul is independent in politics, voting for the man rather than the party. At one time he served as township treasurer and proved a very capable and con- scientious official. Both he and his wife belong to the Catholic church, in the work of which they take a commendable interest. They are widely known throughout the county in which they have lived for many years, and their genuine worth is indicated in the fact that those who have been most intimately asso- ciated with them are their stanchest friends.
GADDIS P. HAGEMAN.
Gaddis P. Hageman, who is living retired in Ravenna, is entitled to honor as a veteran of the Civil war, having served in that conflict as a member of an Ohio regiment. He was born in Milford, Clermont county, Ohio, on the 17th of September, 1841, and his parents, Simon and Delilah (Wood) Hageman, were also born in that state, where they continued to reside until about 1863, when they removed with their family to Johnson, Nemalia county, Nebraska. The father followed the tailor's trade throughout his life and was very successful in that connection. He passed away when almost eighty-six years of age, on the 30th of September, 1903, and was survived by his wife until the 27th of Novem- ber, 1904, her demise occurring when she was past the age of eighty-one years.
Gaddis P. Hageman was reared in Shelby county, Ohio, and attended the common schools there in the acquirement of his education. On the 16th of September, 1861, the day before his twentieth birthday, he enlisted in Company F, Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he went to the front. On the 12th of May, 1863, he was wounded in the head at Raymond, Mississippi. On leaving the hospital on the 24th of May he was taken prisoner and was confined in Libby prison until the 7th of June. He subsequently rejoined his regiment and remained in military service until the 19th of July, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. He has never recovered from the effects of his wound as it impaired his hearing.
After his return from the army Mr. Hageman worked as a common laborer until 1880, when he removed to Gage county, Nebraska. For four years he operated rented land near Wymore but at the end of that time removed to the town and became connected with the coal and grain business. He was engaged in that field in Wymore until 1906, when he went to Edgemont, South Dakota, where he remained for three years, after which he came to Ravenna, Nebraska, and he has since lived in honorable retirement from the cares of business life. His well directed labors in former years were rewarded by a substantial finan- cial return and he has more than sufficient to provide him with the comforts of life.
Mr. Hageman was married on the 19th of November, 1867, to Miss Mary J. Hawkins, a daughter of Richard and Lydia (Davis) Hawkins, natives respec- tively of Kentucky and of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father engaged in
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farming in the Buckeye state until his demise, which occurred in 1869. He was survived for about six years by his wife, who passed away in 1875.
Mr. and Mrs. Hageman have become the parents of ten children. Martha A., born on the 23d of September, 1868, is now the wife of P. G. Calkins, of Woodruff, Kansas. Anna L., whose birth occurred on the Ist of February, 1870, married C. H. Rockey and they reside in Alliance, Nebraska. Charles O., born on the 2d of May, 1872, is now an engineer on the Burlington Railroad and resides in Ravenna. Arthur L., whose natal day was June 25, 1874, is now living at Brocksburg, this state. Albert E. was born December 23, 1876, and is now a resident of Fort Collins, Colorado. Simon R., whose birth occurred on the 7th of March, 1878, is a resident of Kansas City, Missouri. Harold G., born November 30, 1880, is a machinist and resides at Sheridan, Wyoming. Ennis L., born March 21, 1885, died on the 21st of August of that year. Rosie M. was born on the 8th of September, 1886, and married E. L. Routh, who is a fireman on the Burlington Railroad and resides in Ravenna. The other member of the family died in infancy.
Mr. Hageman has been a republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and takes pride in the fact that the first man for whom he voted for president was Abraham Lincoln. His religious faith is that of the Metho- dist church, and his only fraternal associations are with the Grand Army of the Republic. He greatly enjoys meeting his old comrades and never tires of re- living the days when he marched with Sherman to the sea and aided in the defense of the Union. Since removing to Ravenna he has gained the full con- fidence and the sincere respect of his fellow citizens, who recognize in him a man of sterling character.
CHRIS WEDEMEYER.
Chris Wedemeyer is now living practically retired on a well improved place of twenty acres at the edge of Ravenna but still holds title to valuable farms in Schneider and Garfield townships. A native of Germany, his birth occurred in September, 1861, and he is a son of Conrad and Margaret (Todter) Wedemeyer, also natives of Germany. The father devoted his entire active life to farming and passed away in his native land in 1888. He was survived for twelve years by his wife, who died in 1900.
Chris Wedemeyer received his education in the fatherland and remained at home until he was fourteen years of age but in 1876 he decided to take advantage of the opportunities offered in America and on emigrating to this country went to Casey, Iowa, where he had relatives. He worked as a farm hand until he was twenty-one years of age and then rented land in Montgomery county, Iowa, which he cultivated for a year. At the end of that time he came to Buffalo county, Nebraska, and purchased land in Schneider township, on which he re- sided until 1911, when he retired and renting the farm, removed to his present home on twenty acres of land on the outskirts of Ravenna. He built a fine mod- ern residence and has otherwise improved his place, and his farm in Schneider township is also in a high state of development. In addition to the four hundred
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acres which he owns in that township he holds title to a half section in Garfield township and his income from his land is sufficient to provide him with the com- forts and some of the luxuries of life. In addition to his real estate holdings he owns stock in the Ravenna Electric Light plant and the Ravenna Telephone Company.
Mr. Wedemeyer was married in January, 1910, to Mrs. Minnie (Evers) Wedemeyer, widow of his brother Henry. She is a daughter of Peter H. and Marie (Mueller) Evers, natives of Germany, who in 1882 located in Denison, Iowa. They are still living there and both have reached the age of eighty-one years. By her marriage to Henry Wedemeyer, who died in 1900, Mrs. Wede- meyer has three sons, namely, Fred, Henry and Bernhard, all of whom are farming in Schneider township.
Mr. Wedemeyer is independent in politics as he believes that the qualifications of a candidate are of more importance than his party allegiance. In religious faith he is a Lutheran, and fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. In 1914 he and his wife made a trip to Germany and were there at the time of the outbreak of the European war. He began his career as a boy in his teens without capital other than his energy and sound judgment but through persistent and well directed labor has gained financial independence. His sterling qualities of character have also won him the sincere respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
ISAAC K. HENNINGER.
Isaac K. Ilenninger, a resident farmer of Sharon township, makes his home on section 22 and holds title to nine hundred and forty acres of land. He was born in Ohio, October 20, 1868, a son of Captain Solomon F. and Barbara (Kauf- man) Henninger, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Erie county, Pennsylvania. The father was reared in his native state and at the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861 he enlisted as a member of Company H, Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for four years, or until the close of the war, being promoted to the captaincy of his company. After the cessation of hostilities he returned to his home in Trumbull county, Ohio, purchased a farm and settled down to the pursuits of peace. In the spring of 1872 he came with his family to Nebraska, settling in Buffalo county, and upon his arrival home- steaded a quarter section of land which is now owned by his son Isaac. The father afterward purchased other lands, owning at one time five hundred and sixty acres, so that he was numbered among the extensive landowners of the county. He remained upon the old homestead until 1892, when he retired and removed to Shelton, where his death occurred February 17, 1908. He was one of the well known pioneers of Buffalo county, a man of sterling character, highly esteemed wherever known and most highly honored where best known. His wife was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, July 31, 1833, and during her girlhood removed with her parents to Trumbull county, Ohio, where, on the 29th of March, 1855, she was united in marriage to Solomon F. Henninger. She was a member of the Presbyterian church and was widely known as a consistent
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Christian woman and a devoted and loving wife and mother. She passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Eugene Freeman, of Beatrice, Nebraska, on the 24th of November, 1914, after which her remains were brought back to Shelton for interment by the side of her husband in the Shelton cemetery.
Isaac K. Henninger acquired a public school education and assisted his father in the early development and improvement of the home farm. In 1892 he took charge of the home place of three hundred and twenty acres and has since cultivated that land. Upon his father's death he acquired title to the homestead property of one hundred and sixty acres. He is accounted one of the pro- gressive and enterprising agriculturists of his district and his place presents a neat and attractive appearance, embodying all progressive methods of farming. He has added to his holdings and now owns nine hundred and forty acres. He is a stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Shelton and he is one of the extensive live stock dealers of the county, feeding three carloads of sheep annually.
On the 6th of December, 1893, Mr. Henninger was married to Miss Elizabeth E. Slattery, a daughter of Martin Slattery, one of the earliest of the Buffalo county pioneers. He was born in Ireland August 31, 1831, and his parents died when he was but fourteen years of age. He afterward came to the United States to make his home with a married sister in Ohio and in 1863 he removed to Pennsylvania, where in 1866 he was united in marriage to Mrs. Margaret Carmichael. The same year he came west to make a home for him- self and his bride, choosing Shelton, Nebraska, as his location. There he was employed for some years by the Union Pacific Railroad Company, but resigned his position to engage in farming, in which vocation he won substantial success, acquiring eight hundred acres of valuable land in Buffalo county. He pos- sessed many sterling characteristics that endeared him to all and made his death, which occurred on the 27th of May, 1896, a matter of wide regret. Mr. and Mrs. Henninger have become the parents of two children: Franklin S., who is attending the State University ; and George Stewart, a pupil in the Shelton high school.
Mr. Henninger is a member of Shelton Lodge, No. 99, A. F. & A. M .; Shelton Lodge, No. 92, K. P .; and of the Loyal Mystic Legion; while his wife holds membership in the Presbyterian church. In politics he is a democrat and for many years has served as a member of the town board and cooperates heartily and earnestly in all measures and movements that look to the betterment and benefit of the community. His life has been one of diligence and untiring in- dustry and he ranks with the leading agriculturists of his part of the state.
C. L. EWER.
The spirit of progress and advancement actuates C. L. Ewer at every point in his career. The consensus of public opinion names him as one of the most alert, enterprising and progressive business men of Pleasanton, who has worked untiringly for the interests of the town as well as to promote his individual ad- vancement along business lines. He is now manager of the lumberyards of
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the Farmers Grain Company at Pleasanton, and is one of the citizens whom Buffalo county is proud to number among her native sons. His birth occurred in Cedar township, on the 2d of February, 1885, his parents being Abraham Lincoln and Elizabeth (Tollefsen) Ewer. The father, who is still living on the old home farm in Cedar township, is one of the old settlers of Buffalo county, having made liis home within its borders from early pioneer times.
C. L. Ewer was reared on the old homestead and the district schools afforded him his educational privileges, while in the school of experience he has also learned many valuable lessons, particularly concerning business management. On reaching his majority in 1906 he identified himself with the lumber business, accepting a position in the office of the F. H. Gilcrest Lumber Company of Pleasanton. He remained in charge of the yards of this company up to the time they were absorbed by the Farmers Grain Company in July, 1915, at which time he was made manager of the business and in that capacity is still serving. He is determined and progressive, readily discriminating between the essential and the non-essential and watchful at all times for those opportunities which lead to general advancement.
Mr. Ewer was married in November, 1911, to Miss Ella Smith, of Elmwood, Nebraska, and to them have been born two children, Frederick C. and Bruce M. Mr. Ewer is a member of Lotus Lodge, F. & A. M. of Ravenna, and also has membership with the Royal Highlanders. In politics he is independent with republican tendencies, and he is serving as present clerk in his township. He ranks with the representative business men of his community. He is never afraid to venture where favoring opportunity leads the way and he is fortunate in that he possesses character and ability which inspire confidence in others, the simple weight of his character and ability carrying him into important business and public relations.
FINIS MORRISON BARNEY.
Finis Morrison Barney, who is engaged in the jewelry business in Elm Creek, was born at Roanoke, Woodford county, Illinois, on the 11th of August, 1864, and is the third son of Calvin E. and Eliza A. (Morrison) Barney, the for- mer of whom was born in Windham, Vermont, March 10, 1837, and the latter in Lancashire, England, June 5, 1840. Four children were born to them, two of whom are still living. Our subject is a descendent in the ninth generation of Jacob Barney, who with a brother emigrated from England in 1634 and set- tled at Salem, Massachusetts, since which time the family has resided in Amer- ica. The great-grandfather of our subject was closely identified with the War of the Revolution, sacrificing his fortune in behalf of the cause of independence. Hiram Barney, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Chester, Vermont, on the Ioth of March, 1809, and on the 31st of December, 1831, was united in marriage to Miss Clarissa Marshall. To them ten children were born, nine of whom grew to manhood and womanhood and five are still living. In 1840 Hiram Barney removed to Richland county, Illinois, but in 1854 took up his residence in Woodford county, that state where he made his home for twenty-
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six years. In 1880 he became a resident of Kearney, Nebraska, but subse- quently removed to Minden, this state, where his death occurred at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Lewis A. Kent, on the 5th of February, 1902, at the age of ninety-three years. His wife died in Kearney on the 7th of January, 1892. At the age of nine years he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and from that time until his death sought to conform his life to its teachings. He was active in its work and was a prominent member of the various congre- gations with which he was identified. He was also prominently connected with the Kearney National Bank.
One of his sons, R. E. Barney, was closely identified with the early history of Kearney and Buffalo county. He came to Nebraska in 1868 and first located at Lowell, fifteen miles southeast of Kearney, but in 1870 removed to the latter city at the time when so many of the residents of Lowell settled in Kearney. At that time he moved his livery barn to the new town and was engaged in business there along that line until 1882, when he became one of the original stockholders of the Kearney Canal Company. About the same time he located upon a ranch nine miles west of Kearney, at the edge of the Platte valley, and his property afterward became known as the Empire ranch. For ten years he devoted his attention practically to the raising of horses on an extensive scale but at the end of that time sold out and removed with his family to Everett, Washington. His present home, however, is at Riverside, California. From 1877 to 1880 he, together with his father and brother, Calvin E. Barney, shipped many carloads of horses into Kearney, where they were sold to the early settlers of the sur- rounding country. At one time he was quite well-to-do and his ranch sold for over one hundred thousand dollars, but during the financial depression between the years 1890 and 1900 he lost heavily as at that time the bicycle industry had a depressing effect on the horse business and he lost nearly everything he pos- sessed. He is a Mason of high degree and during the Civil war served in the same regiment as his brother, Calvin E.
On the 21st of June, 1859, at Olney, Illinois, Calvin E. Barney was united in marriage to Miss Eliza A. Morrison, and for a time they made their home at Metamora, Illinois, where Mr. Barney studied law. It was there that he met and became personally acquainted with Abraham Lincoln when the latter was engaged in the practice of law at the county seat of Woodford county. In 1861 Mr. Barney became a resident of El Paso, Illinois, where he practiced law and took an active part in politics. The country having become engaged in civil war, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which regiment he was largely instrumental in raising, and he served as a member of the hospital corps until the close of hostilities. Disabilities and disease con- tracted during the war interfered with his resumption of the practice of law and after his return from the front he became connected with the railway mail ser- vice. In 1872 he removed to Pekin, Illinois, where he made his home until 1877 and for the following three years was a resident of Roanoke, that state. It was in the fall of 1880 that he came to Buffalo county, Nebraska, and located in Kearney but subsequently lived on a ranch in Custer county from 1881 to 1888. In the latter year he succeeded a son at Elm Creek and was engaged in mer- cantile business there until 1890, when he returned to Kearney and lived retired. Since the death of his wife, which occurred at Ashland, Oregon, on the 10th
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of October, 1913, he has spent the winters in California and Redondo might be called his present home.
Finis M. Barney accompanied his parents on their various removals during his boyhood and is indebted to the public schools of El Paso, Pekin and Roanoke, Illinois, and Kearney, Nebraska, for the early educational privileges he enjoyed. He continued to attend school from the age of five years until 1881 and thus received a good practical education. He was sixteen at the time he accompanied his parents on their removal to Nebraska and for several years remained on the ranch in Pleasant Valley in the southeast corner of Custer county. Leaving the parental roof at the age of twenty years, he worked for a short time at the car- penter's trade and later clerked in Kearney and Shelton. In 1886 he removed to Elm Creek, where he clerked for his brother and father for about three years. In 1889 he homesteaded in Custer county under the preemption act but resumed work at the carpenter's trade in Kearney in 1891, for one year. It was in 1892 that he decided to make the jewelry business his life work and entered into part- nership with Louis Hoefer, and the following year, dissolving partnership, he moved the stock from Kearney to Elm Creek. In 1901 Mr. Barney graduated in optometry and is now doing an excellent business as a jeweler and optician. He is an ardent student of the sciences, particularly electrical, keeping fully posted along such lines, and is a skilled mechanician, having taken out several patents on machinery, as he is of an ingenious turn of mind. He has written a number of scientific papers. He is also a lover of nature and has taken up the art of photography as a means of recreation and has become very proficient in the same. He has an especially fine collection of views of Buffalo county and the views of Elm Creek which appear in this history were taken by him.
Mr. Barney is a republican in his political allegiance and discharges to the full all duties of citizenship but has never sought office. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church. During the thirty years that he has resided in Buffalo county he has gained many warm friends who esteem him highly for his many admirable qualities.
CHARLES MINER.
Charles Miner, who is now engaged in the real estate business in Ravenna, was for eighteen years postmaster and is probably known to more people in the county than any other man in his community. He was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, on the 15th of August, 1848, a son of John W. and Rebecca (Dudgeon) Miner, natives of Ohio. The father, who was a farmer, cultivated land which he owned in Jefferson county, Ohio, for many years, but at length went to Wis- consin, where he resided until 1867. In that year he removed to Butler county, Iowa, locating upon a farm near Shellrock, where he lived during his remaining days. He passed away in April, 1879, and was survived for many years by his wife, who died in May, 1908.
Charles Miner was reared at home and received his education in Wisconsin. as he was but six years of age when the family removed to that state. He accompanied his parents to Iowa and on beginning his independent career turned
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CHARLES MINER
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his attention to teaching, which profession he followed for eighteen terms in Butler county. He taught both winter and summer schools and was ranked among the ablest teachers of that part of Iowa. In the spring of 1884 he came to Nebraska and after living for about five months in Kearney, during which time he investigated the advantages of various parts of this district, he decided to locate permanently in Garfield township and homesteaded the southwest quarter of section 20, near the present location of the town of South Ravenna. After living upon that place for two years he entered the employ of F. G. Hamer, now one of the judges of the Nebraska supreme court, as manager of the Hamer ranch, which was located one mile south of Ravenna. At that time as many as three hundred head of cattle and horses were kept upon the ranch and its
management required a man of energy and business acumen. Mr. Miner was very successful in that connection and remained upon the ranch until 1896, when he purchased four hundred and eighty acres of land two miles southwest of Ravenna, where he made his home until 1897, when he was appointed post- master of Ravenna by President McKinley and removed to town to assume the duties of his office. He served in that capacity for eighteen consecutive years, his long retention in the position proving beyond doubt his efficiency and con- scientiousness as an official. He not only performed his work systematically and accurately but was also courteous in all of his dealings with the public, and held the goodwill of the community. Since his retirement from the office he has engaged in the real estate and insurance business and has met with a gratify- ing measure of success in that field. He also has other business interests, as he is a stockholder in the State Bank of Ravenna and is president of the Ravenna Telephone Company.
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