USA > Nebraska > Buffalo County > Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 32
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When his military experience was over Dr. Jones became a fireman on an engine of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, running out of McCook, Nebraska, for three years but became imbued with the desire to enter upon a professional career and, deciding upon dentistry, he entered the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, from which he was graduated with the class of 1905. He then practiced for a year at Holdredge and for two years at Kenesaw, Nebraska, and in January, 1909, he located at Kearney, where he has since continued, having now a well appointed office equipped with the latest appliances of dental surgery. He is doing excellent work, for he keeps in touch with the advanced methods of the profession and possesses that mechanical skill which is an indis- pensable requisite of the dentist.
On the 19th of June, 1907, Dr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Rowell, a native of Mount Ayr. Iowa, who was reared and educated in McCook, Nebraska, and they have one son, Glenn Rowell, who was born October 10, 1914. Dr. Jones gives his political allegiance to the republican party and fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Episcopal church and they are well known socially in Kearney, where they have gained a wide acquaintance and won many friends, their own home being a most hos- . pitable one.
CHARLES W. SHAHAN.
Charles W. Shahan, who has been identified with the commercial development of Kearney during the past quarter of a century, is now manager and treasurer of the Kearney Hardware Company, which controls one of the leading mercan- tile establishments of the county. He is a man of resolute purpose and unfalter- ing determination who carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. A native of West Virginia, he was born at Kingwood on the 2d of November, 1870, a son of John W. and Diana E. (Parsons) Shahan.
CHARLES W. SHAHAN
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Charles W. Shahan was but eight years of age when he accompanied his parents to Buffalo county and was a youth of fifteen when the family home was established in Kearney .. He completed his education in the Kearney schools and entered upon his business career as a clerk in the hardware store of Hubbell Brothers, while later he secured a similar position with the W. E. Jackway Hard- ware Company. In 1905 he formed a corporation that bought out the last named concern and merged it into the Kearney Hardware Company, which has developed into one of the leading mercantile enterprises of the city. They carry a large and well selected stock of shelf and heavy hardware and their trade has constantly grown as the result of commercial methods which will bear the closest investiga- tion and scrutiny.
On the 22d of November, 1893, Mr. Shahan was married to Miss Mabel H. Rice and he and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, while in the social circles of the city they occupy a prominent and enviable position. Fra- ternally Mr. Shahan is connected with the Modern Woodmen, with the Odd Fel- lows and with the Highlanders. In politics he is a republican but aside from exer- cising his right of franchise and manifesting a keen interest in the welfare of the country he has taken no active part in politics nor in any sense has he been an office seeker. His whole time and attention are devoted to his business affairs, and to the general material progress and development of city and county. He is remiss in none of the duties of citizenship and supports all plans and measures for the public good. His private business affairs are an element in Kearney's commercial activity and she is proud to number him among her representative merchants. He has con- ducted his interests along well defined lines of labor and the intelligent direc- tion of his activities has brought him well merited prosperity.
ALMON G. BOWER.
Almon G. Bower, who is engaged in the undertaking business at Kearney, is a representative of an old family of Indiana and was born at Wolcottville, Lagrange county, that state, April 13, 1851. His father, Philip Bower, was a native of Ohio and became a cabinetmaker by trade, but in later life turned his attention to farming. He was married in Ohio to Miss Mary Yager and in pioneer times removed to Indiana, settling in the midst of the forests of Lagrange county, where he had to cut down the timber and make a clearing in order to develop a farm. It was in that frontier home that all of his children were born, with the exception of the eldest. He continued to engage in general agricultural pursuits and also to some extent worked at his trade. In the early days he cut the live timber, sawed it and converted it into coffins for the dead or used it in the construction of household furniture.
It was upon the homestead farm that Almon G. Bower was reared to man- hood, and in the district schools of the neighborhood he acquired his education. After attaining his majority he taught in the district schools for two terms, and the entire period of his youth was one of earnest and unremitting toil, during which he shared with the family in all of the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life. When nineteen years of age he went to Montana and
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for two years was employed in a mill at Helena before the railroad had reached that place. He afterward returned to Indiana, where he engaged in farming for three years, and while there residing he was married.
In 1885 Mr. Bower came to Nebraska and for a number of years resided at Ulysses, Butler county, where he engaged in the undertaking business. In 1898 he came to Kearney and has here since made his home. For a time he was engaged in the furniture and undertaking business but for a number of years has devoted his attention exclusively to the latter and for some time his son, Verne R., has been associated with him. The son was probably the youngest licensed embalmer in the state when he was graduated from the H. S. Eckles Embalming School of Philadelphia in the year 1906. A. G. Bower is also a licensed embalmer, having completed the prescribed course at Lincoln, being one of the first in the state to receive a diploma.
Mr. Bower was united in marriage to Miss Mary I. Meeker and they became the parents of two children : One who died in childhood; and Carrie, the wife of Artie Dickinson, of Indiana. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Bower mar- ried Clara L. Hibbard, and the children born to this union are as follows : Verne R., who is in partnership in the undertaking business in Kearney with his father and wedded Miss Mabel A. Wallace, by whom he has a daughter, Ardis; Clyde H., who resides on a ranch in Douglas, Wyoming, and married Miss Hazel Tracy, by whom he has two children; and Clara, at home, attending the State Normal School at Kearney. The wife and mother passed away in 1906 and Mr. Bower subsequently wedded Miss Mabel Flint, who was a teacher in the public schools of Kearney. Mrs. Mary Bower and Mrs. Clara Bower had also taught school prior to marriage. Almon G. and Mabel (Flint) Bower are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are well known in the city in which they reside. They have gained a wide acquaintance and have an exten- sive circle of warm friends who appreciate their many sterling traits of character and entertain for them the highest regard.
J. H. RODGERS.
J. H. Rodgers, of Gibbon township, who is meeting with gratifying success as a farmer, was born in Greene county, Ohio, on the 10th of November, 1869, of the marriage of William A. and Mary E. Rodgers, both natives of Fayette county. that state. In 1882 they migrated with their family to Buffalo county, Nebraska, and settled in the town of Gibbon. The father, however, pur- chased seven hundred and twenty acres of land in Valley township, and there began breeding full blooded cattle, having brought some pure blooded Short- horns and Jerseys from Ohio. After living in Gibbon for four years he removed to his farm a half mile west of that town and there resided until his death, which occurred in 1911. His wife survives and makes her home with her children. He was a stanch republican in politics and was for ten years postmaster of Gibbon and for three terms has served on the board of county supervisors. He was at one time the republican nominee for the legislature but as that year
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was marked by a populist landslide he was defeated. He held membership in the Masonic order and was buried with Masonic honors.
J. H. Rodgers received a good education and remained at home until he attained his majority. He then accepted a position with the Gibbon Milling Company, with which he remained for about five years, at the end of which time he decided to devote his life to farming and took charge of the operation of the home farm. He raises both grain and high grade stock and derives a good income from both branches of his business. He is thoroughly practical and at the same time progressive, and the prosperity which he has gained is well deserved.
Mr. Rodgers was married in 1897 to Miss Jennie M. Robb, of Gibbon, by whom he has two children, Myrl G. and Mary A. Mr. Rodgers supports the republican party at the polls and discharges to the full all of the duties of a good citizen. He has spent the greater part of his life in this county and has thor- oughly identified his interests with those of his community, cooperating in move- ments seeking the general welfare.
WILLIAM FOWLER.
William Fowler, who is living retired in Ravenna after many years of suc- cessful farming, was born in Indiana on the 3d of December, 1846. His parents, John and Nancy (Culver) Fowler, were both natives of Kentucky but removed to Indiana in the early '40s. The father rented land there, to the cultivation of which he devoted the remainder of his life. He passed away in 1884 and the mother died in August, 1882.
William Fowler was reared in his native state and received his education in its common schools. In August, 1862, when not yet fifteen years of age, he enlisted in Company G, Sixty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front with that command. He was taken prisoner in the first engagement in which he participated-the battle of Richmond, Kentucky-and after being held for three days was paroled. At the close of the war he returned home and resided with his parents until 1867, when, at the age of twenty-one years, he removed to the northeastern part of Missouri and began farming on his own account. He operated rented land there until 1877, in which year he came to Nebraska and settled in Sherman county, just across the line from Buffalo county. He took up a quarter section as a homestead and as soon as possible brought his land under cultivation. From time to time he made improvements upon his place and in his work used the latest machinery, thus increasing his efficiency. In 1908, believing that he had accumulated sufficient capital, he retired from active life and, selling his farm, removed to Ravenna, where he built a fine residence four blocks north of the schoolhouse. His home is thoroughly modern and he lacks none of the comforts of life. He also erected another good residence which he rents.
On the 3d of November, 1868, Mr. Fowler was united in marriage to Ellen Pickett, a daughter of James and Mary (Evett) Pickett, natives of Indiana. Her father devoted his life to farming and at the time of his demise was living in Crawford county, Indiana. He and his four sons were all members of Company
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H, Twenty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served during three years of the Civil war. He passed away on the 8th of February, 1900, and his wife died on the 26th of December, 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler have become the parents of six children, namely : Lina, who was born on the 17th of March, 1870, and is now the wife of John Jungle, of Ravenna; Sima, who was born on the IIth of September, 1872, and died on the 8th of February, 1874; Minnie, whose birth occurred on the 17th of July, 1873, and who is now the widow of Oscar J. Binden, and resides in Montana; Ursula, who was born October II, 1875, and is the wife of Edwin Callaway, a farmer of Sherman county; Susie, who was born January 20, 1881, and gave her hand in marriage to Harry Branton, of Great Falls, Montana ; and William, Jr., whose birth occurred July 14, 1884, and who was killed in a railroad accident in California on the 19th of October, 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler also have an adopted daughter, Katheryn O'Neill Fowler, who was born on the 26th of August, 1889, and whom they have reared since she was a week old.
Mr. Fowler supports the democratic party at the polls and in times of peace has manifested the same willingness to subordinate personal interests to the general good that prompted him to enlist in the Union army at the time of the Civil war. He is a loyal member of the Grand Army of the Republic, thus keep- ing in touch with his comrades, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. The leisure which he now enjoys is the direct result of his industry and good management in former years and all of his friends rejoice in his prosperity.
ORAN H. CRUMLEY.
Oran H. Crumley, of Shelton, has met with marked success as a stock feeder and dealer and is also a large landowner in the county. He was born in Greene county, Iowa, on the 13th of March, 1871, a son of Jacob and Sarah Crumley, natives respectively of Virginia and Ohio. In 1856 they became residents of Iowa and twelve years later they removed to Otoe county, Nebraska, whence they subsequently came to Buffalo county, where both are still living. They had twelve children but seven have passed away.
Oran H. Crumley was given good educational advantages, completing a high school course. On beginning his independent career he turned his attention to dealing in hogs and cattle but subsequently engaged in merchandising in Shelton for ten years. In 1907 he sold his store and reentered the live stock business. He buys and sells stock of all kinds and his good business judgment, combined with his thorough knowledge of stock, enables him to secure a good profit from his transactions. He is also one of the heaviest stock feeders in the county and he and his wife together own sixteen hundred acres of finely improved land. Through his enterprise and good management he has gained financial inde- pendence and he has also been a factor in promoting stock raising interests throughout the county.
Mr. Crumley was married in 1898 to Miss Nora Meisner, a native of Buffalo county and a daughter of George and Rachel Meisner, both deceased. Her
ORAN H. CRUMLEY
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father was one of the wealthy men of this county and was widely and favorably known. Mr. and Mrs. Crumley have become the parents of six children : Rachel, who is attending high school; Leon L .; Lawrence and Loyal, twins; one who died in infancy ; and Oran.
Mr. Crumley is a stanch adherent of the republican party but his extensive business interests have left him no time to take an active part in politics. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Elks, and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. He not only has the respect of all who have been asso- ciated with him in any relation of life but has also gained the warm friendship of many.
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WALTER L. STICKEL.
Walter L. Stickel is a well known lumberman of Kearney and in various other ways has been identified with the business development of the city through the past decade and a half. He is a western man in birth, in spirit and in training and the enterprise which has dominated the upbuilding of this section of the country finds exemplification in his life. He was born in Kansas on the 3d of December, 1872, a son of Fletcher A. and Nancy (Scott) Stickel. His father was a lumberman and. it was in his employ that Walter L. Stickel learned the business in all of its details and ramifications. His youthful days were passed in attendance at the public schools and in rendering assistance to his father at the lumberyard, and he completed his scholastic training in Baker University at Baldwin, Kansas, and at Cornell (Ia.) College. His initial inde- pendent effort in business was made in 1894, when he purchased a lumberyard in Council Grove, Kansas, which he conducted for seven years and then sold. In 1901 he came to Kearney and purchased the lumber business of George H. Downing & Son. Since that time he has purchased other yards and has opened branch establishments at various points. He has also extended the scope of his business to include the retailing of coal and he is today regarded as one of the most prominent lumbermen of Nebraska, his operations in that field being very extensive. In various other ways his energy and business ability have contributed to the upbuilding of Kearney and of Buffalo county. His diligence is at all times a tangible asset in his success and in commercial affairs his judg- ment is sound and his sagacity keen. His company owns the "1733 Ranch," so named because it lies seventeen hundred and thirty-three miles from each of the cities of Boston and San Francisco. It lies wholly within the borders of Buffalo county, near Kearney, and is one of the old historic places of this part of the state, comprising over five thousand acres of rich and productive land. It is a credit to the county and to its owner. In addition to his other interests Mr. Stickel is a director of the Central National Bank. In business affairs he dis- plays sound judgment and keen sagacity, recognizing and utilizing opportunities which others pass heedlessly by. His interests have extended in scope and importance year by year and placed him in a most prominent and enviable posi- tion among the business men in the western part of the state.
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In June, 1894, Mr. Stickel was united in marriage to Miss Anna May Wells, by whom he has three children, namely: Edna A., Daphne and Walter L., Jr. Mr. Stickel belongs to the Kearney Commercial Club and cooperates in all of its plans for the development of the city along business lines and for the advance- ment of municipal interests. In politics he is a republican and is a supporter of all those measures which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine and also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. To him belongs the honor of completing the first seedling mile of the Lincoln Highway in the state of Nebraska and thus he is taking active part in improving public highways. In a word he is a most public-spirited citizen, never neglecting his duties or his obligations in relation to the general welfare, and his cooperation has proved a valuable asset in furthering plans and projects for the public good. At the same time he is a most forceful and resourceful business man whose executive ability and excellent management have brought to the concerns with which he is connected a large degree of success.
JAMES B. MINER.
James B. Miner, a well known farmer residing in Ravenna, was born in Ohio on the 15th of October, 1854, and is a son of John and Rebecca (Dudgeon) Miner, an account of whose lives appears in the sketch of Charles Miner. Our subject was reared and educated in Shellrock, Butler county, Iowa, and remained with his parents until he became of age. He then began working for others although he continued to reside at home for several years, but at length he rented land, from the cultivation of which he gained a fair income. He carefully saved his money and when twenty-eight years of age he purchased forty acres and two years later bought eighty acres more. The operation of his farm occupied his time and attention.
In January, 1887, Mr. Miner sold that place and came to Ravenna, Buffalo county, Nebraska, as he had heard that there were good opportunities for the agriculturist in this section. He bought a quarter section one and a half miles south of the town and at once set about improving the place, which he soon brought to a high state of development. He invested his capital in more land from time to time and at one time held title to eight hundred acres. He has since sold one hundred and sixty acres but still owns an entire section, which lies on sections 20, 21 and 8, Garfield township, the buildings being on section 21. He is still operating that place but since 1910 has lived in Ravenna. He goes back and forth to the farm and gives his personal attention to the cultivation of crops and the care of stock. He receives a handsome return from his land and is financially independent. He raises a considerable number of cattle annually and has nothing but high grade stock. In addition to his farming interests he has other investments, owning stock in the Ravenna Electric Light & Power Company.
Mr. Miner was married in October, 1879, to Miss Minnie Rowley, who was born in New York on the 3d of November, 1862, and who is a daughter of David
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and Arlatia (Woodruff) Rowley, natives of the Empire state. The father was a farmer by occupation and in 1870 removed with his family to Butler county, Iowa, where he purchased land which he operated for many years. At length, feeling that he had accumulated a competence, he retired from active life and removed to Shellrock, where he died in March, 1909. His wife passed away in August, 1900.
Mr. and Mrs. Miner have become the parents of eleven children, namely : Guy D., who was born July 4, 1881, and died in April, 1901; Edith, who was born on the 4th of August, 1882, and who is now the wife of James Runyon, of Minatare, Nebraska; Bertha, born January 22, 1884, now the wife of Lewis Case, who is farming land belonging to our subject; Floyd, who was born March 6, 1886, and is road overseer of Garfield township; Lee, who was born January 30, 1889, and is farming in this county; Walter, born December 23, 1890, who married Nellie E. Duncan and is a dentist at Norfolk, Nebraska; Arlatia, who was born April 2, 1893, and is now the wife of Clifton Turner, a resident of Minatare, Nebraska; and Elizabeth, born January 12, 1896, Fay, born April 18, 1897, Raymond, April 17, 1899, and Ethel, March 23, 1901, all of whom are at home.
Mr. Miner gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has served for six years as constable, proving efficient and energetic in the discharge of his duties. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and is also identi- fied with the Modern Brotherhood of America. He is not only energetic and practical in carrying on his farm werk but he is also progressive, adopting new methods that promise to be of values Since removing to Ravenna in order to give his children the advantages of the public schools here he has interested himself in the progress of the community along various lines and is recognized as a public-spirited citizen.
F. A. MUELLER.
F. A. Mueller, cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Pleasanton, was one of the dominant factors in the organization of this institution and is now a member of its board of directors, taking active part in shaping its policy and directing its growth. In business affairs his plans are always well defined and his enter- prise has led him steadily forward to the goal of success. He was born in Germany, fourteen miles south of Berlin, on the 14th of June, 18SI, a son of Ludwig and Ida (Kupferschmidt) Mueller, who came to the United States in 1882, locating in Hamilton county, near the town of Hampton, Nebraska, taking up their abode upon a rented farm. Carefully saving his earnings, his industry and his economical expenditure enabled Mr. Mueller in 1889 to purchase a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Rusco township, Buffalo county, Nebraska, to which place he removed his family in the spring of 1890. He continued upon the farm for almost two decades, or until 1909, when he retired and removed to Pleasanton. He had carefully, persistently and successfully cultivated his place, transforming his land into very productive fields and making the farm a most profitable one. On the organization of the Farmers State Bank of Pleasan-
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ton he became a stockholder and in January, 1915, was elected vice president of the bank, in which capacity he is now serving. For ten years he was postmaster of the Pcake postoffice located on his farm. He also served as justice of the peace and has long been regarded as one of the influential men of his township, his aid being always given on the side of right, progress and improvement.
F. A. Mueller, an only child, was educated in the public schools near his father's home and from his early youth worked in cooperation with his father in the further development and management of the home farm, being thus actively engaged until 1909, when he became associated with John R. Bonson in the organization of the Farmers State Bank of Pleasanton, which opened its doors for business on the 11th of June, of that year, Mr. Bonson being made cashier of the institution, while Mr. Mueller became assistant cashier. On the 12th of December, 1911, the latter purchased the former's interest in the bank and at the same time was made cashier, in which capacity he has since continued. He is one of the well known representatives of financial interests in Buffalo county, strong and resourceful in business management, yet conservative to the point of most carefully safeguarding the interests of depositors and stockholders.
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