USA > Nebraska > Buffalo County > Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 36
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added to his property until he now has an excellent farm of two hundred and forty acres equipped with all modern accessories and conveniences. His resi- dence is one of the fine farm homes of the county, supplied with an acetylene gas lighting plant and a well equipped lavatory, hot and cold water being piped throughout the house. In fact the home has all of the conveniences of the modern city residence and it has been Mr. Knerl's delight to supply his family with all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.
It was in 1884 that Mr. Knerl was married to Miss Lucinda Endrick, for- merly a resident of Bainbridge, Michigan. Almost immediately after their marriage they removed to Nebraska and here they have reared their family of nine children: Oscar, a machinist by trade, who is employed in the Union Pacific shops at Grand Island; Orrin, cashier of the Dixon County Bank, at Ponca, Nebraska; John, also a machinist in the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad Company at Grand Island; Calvin, who is actively engaged in the cultivation of the home farm; Mrs. E. N. Thomas, residing in Ravenna; Floyd, who is attending Buckley's Business College, at York, Nebraska; and Charles, Eddie and Alice, all at home. A contemporary writer has said: "The Knerl home is a hospitable social center, and is in many ways an ideal country home, where there is fine family unit and spirit, and from which there have gone into the world a number of bright and capable young men and women who are 'making good' in their various callings and walks of life, while Mr. and Mrs. Knerl, still in the prime of life, have reached a condition where they can take life a little easier and render thanks that they cast their lot in Nebraska and had the grit and determination to stay by it until they won success."
Mr. and Mrs. Knerl hold membership in the Evangelical church and frater- nally he is identified with Ravenna Lodge, No. 347, I. O. O. F., and with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics he is an earnest republican, giving stalwart support to the principles of the party, and for eight years he served as justice of the peace, his decisions in that connection being strictly fair and impartial. He has also been school director for many years, and the cause of education has found in him a warm champion. He ranks today as one of the foremost citizens of his county, wide awake, alert and enterprising, ready for any emergency that may come in business or in public affairs. His life has never been self-centered, for he has reached out in helpfulness to public interests and given active aid to many plans and measures for the general good.
CASPER H. SHRADER.
Casper H. Shrader is now living retired in Ravenna, having rented his farm, upon which he lived for many years and from which he derived a most gratify- ing annual income. He was born in Prussia, May 20, 1843, a son of Charles and Kate Shrader, who were natives of Prussia. The father was a farmer and continued to carry on agricultural pursuits in his native country until 1850, when he came to America and settled in Des Moines county, Iowa, where he rented land for four years. He then purchased eighty acres which he operated for many years but ultimately retired and made his home with his daughter at
CASPER H. SHRADER AND FAMILY
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Burlington, Iowa, throughout his remaining days, death calling him in 1895. For a long period he had survived his wife, who passed away in 1878.
Casper H. Shrader was but seven years of age when the family home was established in Des Moines county, where he was reared and educated. His school privileges were somewhat limited, for he put aside his textbooks in order to earn his living, being employed as a farm hand until eighteen years of age. He then responded to the country's call for troops to crush out the rebellion in the south, enlisting at Burlington, Iowa, in 1862 as a member of Company D, Twenty-fifth Iowa Infantry, with which he served until June, 1865, when he received an honorable discharge. He had participated in a number of hotly con- tested engagements and with a most creditable military record he returned to his home, having proven his loyalty and valor upon various southern battle- fields.
For three years Mr. Shrader remained at home and was then married, after which he began farming on his own account, renting land in Des Moines county which he operated for two years. He afterward removed to Wayne county, Iowa, and bought one hundred and twenty acres, which he continued to cultivate for six years, when he sold that property and removed to Kansas. He traded a team, wagon and harness for one hundred and sixty acres of land and con- tinued its cultivation for eight years, after which he sold out and purchased a restaurant, which he conducted for four months. He afterward engaged in railroading for two years and later went to Pratt county, Kansas, where he operated a rented farm for two years. In 1890 he arrived in Buffalo county, Nebraska, and became identified with its agricultural interests through renting one hundred and sixty acres upon which he lived for two years. He next went to Sherman county, Nebraska, where he followed farming for eight years, and on the expiration of that period he returned to Buffalo county, where he made investment in one hundred and sixty acres on section 24, Garfield township. At once he began the further development and improvement of that tract and to it added one hundred and sixty acres by a later purchase. Year by year he tilled the soil and cultivated his crops and added to the improvements upon the place until 1909, when he retired and rented the farm. He next removed to Ravenna and purchased a nice home. In fact he bought two houses in the town and has since resided here, making his home at the present time with a daughter.
On the 7th of July, 1868, Mr. Shrader was united in marriage to Miss Anna Gereke, by whom he had nine children, as follows: William, who follows farm- ing in Garfield township, Buffalo county; Gust, also an agriculturist of this county ; Clara, the wife of John Grover, who is engaged in farming in Cherry Creek township; Fred, who is engaged in farming near Litchfield, Nebraska; Della, who passed away in 1895; Frank, who operates one of his father's farms; Felix, who also cultivates land belonging to his father; Wesley, whose demise occurred in 1887; and Rachel, who is the wife of Henry Unzicker and resides at Ravenna. The wife and mother passed away in July, 1891, and on the 7th of January, 1892, Mr. Shrader was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Kate Seckora, who had four children who were reared by Mr. Shrader. The second wife died on the 14th of December, 1911.
Mr. Shrader cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln and has since supported the candidates of the republican party, believing firmly in the
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principles of its platform as factors in good government. He is a member of the Grand Army post and also of the Methodist church and his life is actuated by high and honorable principles, being the expression of honest conviction and of devotion to all the duties which devolve upon him.
ALBERT V. HLAVA.
Albert V. Hlava, a hardware dealer of Ravenna, is one of the most promi- nent citizens and leading business men of the town. He was born in Bohemia on the 23d of April, 1857, and is a son of Joseph and Mary Hlava, also natives of that country, where the father engaged in the wholesale fruit business. About 1866 he emigrated with his family to America and located in Wisconsin, where he followed the shoemaker's trade, which he had learned in his native land. He passed away in Saline county, Nebraska, on the 15th of January, 1888, and his wife died on Christmas Day, 1878.
Albert V. Hlava was reared in Wisconsin and early had to begin providing for his own support. His educational advantages were limited, as he attended school for but nine months in all. As a boy he worked on a farm belonging to his sister and later learned the shoemaker's trade which he followed in several towns in Wisconsin and in Marquette, Michigan. At length he went to work in the copper mines, where he remained from the Ist of November, until the 15th of the following January. He then walked to Green Bay, Wisconsin, a distance of two hundred and eighty miles, and during much of the way found the snow four feet deep. No one but a man of much endurance and physical strength could have made the journey, but he arrived at his destination safely and for four months thereafter worked at shoemaking. On the 13th of July, 1874, he removed to Crete, Nebraska, and learned the carpenter's trade from his brother, for whom he worked for some time. He then assisted farmers with the threshing during the summer and subsequently began the operation of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Wilber which he and his brother owned. During this time he kept bachelor's hall and he devoted his spare hours to the study of music. In 1877 his parents joined him and in the following year he was married. He continued to farm in Saline county until 1879, in which year he removed to Wilber, and a year later he became a resident of Wymore, Nebraska. He fol- lowed the shoemaker's trade there until May, 1883, when he returned to Wilber and took charge of a hardware business there in which he had purchased an interest in 1880. For over four years he was actively engaged in the manage- ment of that enterprise, but in November, 1887, he sold out and came to Ravenna, arriving here on the IIth of the month. The town had been founded only a year previously and the hardware business which he established was the third in the town. In 1889 he sold out and in 1890 removed to Pleasanton, where he conducted a hardware store until the 14th of April, 1899. At that time he moved his stock to Ravenna, where he has since engaged in business. He owns the property in which his store is located and he carries an unusually large stock for a town of the size of Ravenna. He is also a tinner, having learned that trade in Wilber, and does considerable work along that line. He has built up
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a large trade in hardware and has not only gained a competence but has also contributed to the business expansion of his community.
Mr. Hlava was married in July, 1878, to Miss Anna M. Rezabek, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Rezabek, both natives of Bohemia. They came to America many years ago and in the fall of 1866 located at St. Louis, whence in 1883 the family removed to Saline county, Nebraska, where the father farmed until his death in 1909. The mother had died many years previously, her demise occurring in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Hlava have become the parents of eight chil- dren, as follows: Emma, who is the wife of William Karel, of Ravenna, and is engaged in the millinery business; Judith, who married O. O. Matousek, a farmer of South Dakota; Elsie, who married A. A. Meek and now resides with her parents; Lombard J., who is associated with his father in the hardware busi- ness, the firm name being A. V. Hlava & Son; Benjamin H., at home; Adolph V., who is attending the State University at Lincoln; and Flora and Clara, both of whom are teaching school in South Dakota.
Albert V. Hlava supports the democratic party at the polls and has been called to office a number of times. He was a member of the city council of Ravenna for four years, was township treasurer for a similar period, was census enumerator in 1910, held the office of assessor of Garfield township for four years, is serving his fifth year as a member of the board of supervisors of Buffalo county and was postmaster at Pleasanton during the second Cleveland administration. He has also been prominent in fraternal circles. Since 1893 he has served as financier of the United Workmen lodge, he has been treasurer of the Masonic lodge, was for a year venerable consul of the Modern Wood- men of America and for a year and a half held the office of clerk of that organ- ization, and he has served for two years as president of the Bohemian Lodge at Ravenna, as a member of its board of directors for three years and as finan- cier for ten years. He has also been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and for a period of years belonged to the Knights of Pythias lodge, of which he was a charter member. He can be depended upon to further the moral interests of the community. Since boyhood he has worked hard and he has not only won a competence but has also gained valuable knowledge and practical wisdom from his various experiences. His business ability is generally recognized and his integrity has always been above question.
WILLIAM KLEIN.
Among the successful business men of Poole is William Klein, who is the owner of a well stocked general store and who has gained prosperity entirely through his own efforts. He has also been prominent in public affairs and is now serving as clerk of Beaver township. A native of Iowa, he was born in Jasper county in December, 1883, and is a son of Peter and Maggie (Cuparis) Klein, natives respectively of Marion county, Iowa, and of Holland. The father followed agricultural pursuits in Marion and Jasper counties, Iowa, for a num- ber of years but in 1886 came to Buffalo county, Nebraska, with his family and purchased a homestead right in Schneider township. He concentrated his ener-
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gies upon the development of that farm until 1907, when he sold out and pur- chased land in Beaver township, on which he resided until 1912. He then retired from active life and removed to Poole, building a comfortable residence, where he has since lived. His wife also survives. They are the parents of ten chil- dren, John, Letitia, Jacob, Nellie, Ella, William, Lizzie, Earl, Arthur, and one who died in infancy.
William Klein was but a child when brought by his parents to this county and here he grew to manhood. He received his education in the public schools and also gained valuable knowledge concerning agricultural methods through assisting his father. He remained at home until he was of age and then began his independent career, renting land for eight years. At the end of that time he decided that business pursuits would be more congenial than farming and . removed to Poole and bought a general merchandise business, which he has since conducted. He also owns the building in which his store is located and his good management, integrity and progressive policy have enabled him to build up a large and representative patronage.
Mr. Klein was married in February, 1909, to Miss Clara E. Huston, a daugh- ter of John and Martha Huston, pioneers of Buffalo county. To this union three children have been born: William, whose birth occurred on the 4th of May, 1910; Eileen, born March 30, 1915; and one who died in infancy.
Mr. Klein is independent in politics, studying the political situation carefully and voting according to the dictates of his judgment. He has been honored by election to office, having served as treasurer of Poole and being at present clerk of Beaver township and school moderator at Poole. In religious faith he is a United Presbyterian and his influence is always on the side of right and moral advancement. He is held in high esteem by all who know him and his many friends recognize his genuine worth.
GEORGE BUOL, M. D.
Dr. George Buol has been engaged in the practice of medicine in Ravenna since 1911 and has gained a patronage that would be a credit to a man of much longer professional experience. He was born on the 10th of March, 1886, in Randolph, Cedar county, Nebraska, of the marriage of Martin and Anna (Rich- ard) Buol, natives of Switzerland and of Iowa respectively. The father settled in Cedar county, Nebraska, when it was still a frontier region and is engaged in banking and in the real estate business in Randolph. His wife passed away in May, 191I.
George Buol was reared in his native town and after completing the high school course there entered the medical college of the State University of Ne- braska, from which he was graduated in 1910. He devoted a year to hospital work and in September, 1911, began the independent practice of his profession at Ravenna, where he has since remained. In a comparatively short time he demon- strated his ability and has a high standing in his profession.
Dr. Buol was married in August, 1913, to Miss Urilla Rudy, by whom he has a daughter, Betty A., born on the 23d of June, 1914.
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Dr. Buol is independent in politics and keeps well informed on all questions . and issues of the day. His religious belief is that of the Presbyterian church, and fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Masons. Through his membership in the Buffalo County and Nebraska State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association he keeps in touch with other progressive physicians and he also does much reading on professional subjects. He is not only held in high esteem as a physician but he is also popular personally.
HON. CARL F. BODINSON.
Hon. Carl F. Bodinson, who was one of the successful pioneer merchants of Kearney and was also prominently identified with political activity here, left the impress of his individuality for good upon the history of Buffalo county. A native of Sweden, he was born at Söderhamn on the 29th of June, 1846, and spent his early life in his parents' home. After acquiring a common school edu- cation he engaged in clerking for a time in a hardware store. The opportunities of the new world, however, attracted him and in 1865, when nineteen years of age, he came to the United States, making his way at once into the interior of the country. He located first at Galva, Illinois, where he worked in a general store until 1870. He carefully saved his earnings during that period until his economical expenditure and his industry had brought him capital sufficient to enable him to engage in business on his own account. He then purchased a stock of groceries and conducted his store at Galva until 1878, when he disposed of his interests there and came to Kearney. Here he opened a grocery store, which he managed successfully for about eleven years, when he sold out and for a year engaged in no business. During that period he made a trip back to his old home in Sweden, where he found great pleasure in renewing the acquaintances of his youth and visiting again the scenes amid which his boyhood days were passed. At the end of that time he came once more to Kearney and purchased the Har- rington hardware store. Concentrating his energies upon the trade, he built up a good business, ever recognizing the fact that satisfied customers are the best advertisement. The integrity of his busness methods was never called into ques- tion and his enterprise and industry were potent factors in his growing success.
On December 28, 1870, Mr. Bodinson was united in marriage to Miss Louise W. Dahlgren, who was born at Victoria, Knox county, Illinois, April 9, 1852, and was there reared and educated. She came to Kearney with her husband when this was a straggling frontier village and gave little evidence of becoming the attractive city it is today. To Mr. and Mrs. Bodinson were born three sons: Fred P., who is now president of the Citizens National Bank of Baker, Oregon ; Frank, who is a traveling salesman with the Faeth Iron Company of Kansas City, Missouri; and Roy, who now operates the Bodinson hardware store at Kearney. For some years he was associated in this undertaking with his father, the connection being maintained until the latter's death on the 24th of December, 1913.
Mr. Bodinson was a consistent and exemplary member of the Masonic fra- ternity and politically he was a prominent democrat, his opinions carrying weight
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in the local organizations of his party. In 1899 he was elected county treasurer on the democratic ticket and made so excellent a record in the office that he was reelected in 1901, serving for two terms. In 1908 he was elected to the state senate and was reelected in 1910, so that he remained a member of the upper house of the general assembly for four years, during which time he gave careful consideration to the vital questions which came up for settlement and supported the measures which he deemed beneficial to the state, while just as strongly he opposed those which he regarded as inimical to the best interests of the common- wealth. He was a man of marked personal worth, who held to high ideals and never deviated from a course which he believed to be right between himself and his fellowmen. He was self-made, his prosperity being attributable to his own efforts, but he always believed, as Abraham Lincoln expressed it, that "There is something better than making a living-making a life."
MAURICE A. HOOVER, M. D.
Dr. Maurice A. Hoover, who by the consensus of public opinion on the part of his fellowmen and his fellow practitioners, is accorded a prominent position among the physicians of Buffalo county, has practiced continuously in Kearney since April, 1883, or for almost a third of a century. He was born in Marion county, Indiana, near the city of Indianapolis, April 6, 1858, and is a son of Perry C. and Catherine M. (Bender) Hoover. The father was also a native of Marion county, born in Wayne township, in 1832, and the mother was a native of Pennsylvania and of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. During his active life time Perry C. Hoover followed merchandising and farming. He was one of a family of thirteen children and he and his twin were the youngest of the household. The Hoovers were descended from Andrew Hoeffer, of German nativity, who lived and died in the fatherland. Through generations, however, this branch of the family has been represented in America and for the most part its members have been connected with the Quaker faith. Five of the brothers of Perry C. Hoover, the son of Andrew Hoover, served the Union cause during the Civil war and three of them laid down their lives upon the altar of their country. In so doing they set aside the Quaker prejudice against war, feeling that their first duty was to preserve the Union. Perry C. Hoover died in February, 1912, and his widow survived him only until September, 1914.
Dr. Maurice A. Hoover was reared in his native state and acquired his primary education in the public schools, after which he spent four years as a student in Wabash College at Crawfordsville, Indiana. During his college days he devoted the summer months to reading medicine under the direction of Drs. P. H. and H. Jameson, of Indianapolis, and in 1879 he matriculated in the Indiana Medical College, a department of Butler University, from which he was graduated on the 2d of March, 1881. He had put his theoretical knowledge to the practical test by serving as interne in the Marion County Hospital during the summer months of the last year of his medical collegiate term, and after securing his degree he located for practice in Indianapolis, where he remained until the spring of 1883. In April of that year he came to Kearney, Nebraska, where he
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has since made his home and throughout the entire period has engaged in the general practice of medicine and surgery. His first call was sixty miles from Kearney and he frequently answered calls in early days that required three days driving day and night. At the time of the Spanish-American war he was major surgeon of the Second Nebraska Volunteer Infantry and was stationed at Chicka- mauga Park until mustered out on the 20th of October, 1898, his term of enlistment covering the period from April of that year.
On the 6th of November, 1883, Dr. Hoover was united in marriage to Miss Eva Cox, of Crawfordsville, Indiana. She died leaving one daughter, Bessie, now the wife of Jay Sinclair, of Des Moines, Iowa. For his second wife Dr. Hoover chose Agnes Pearson, but she, too, has departed this life, and for his third wife the Doctor wedded Stella E. Tucker, their marriage being celebrated in May, 1901. To this union have been born four children: Ione I., Amber A., Thelma T. and Maurine A.
Dr. and Mrs. Hoover belong to the First Christian church of Kearney and are interested in all that pertains to the moral upbuilding of the community, nor is the Doctor neglectful of his duties of citizenship. His cooperation can be counted upon to further any measure looking to public betterment. He served for two terms as coroner of Buffalo county but refused further office holding. For sixteen years he has served as a member of the Kearney school board, his present term expiring in 1917. He was acting pension examiner before the board was appointed and although he has not served continuously he is now secretary of the local board. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and of various fraternal insurance organizations. He belongs also to the Kearney Commercial Club and is a member of the old volunteer fire department. Notwithstanding his varied interests he has largely concentrated his energies upon his professional duties and from 1887 until 1900 was surgeon for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies and the Black Hills branch line. In his practice he is most careful and consci- entious in diagnosing cases and his ability is manifest in the successful outcome of his treatment. He has kept in touch with the advanced thought of the pro- fession, reading broadly and thinking deeply, and his work has been attended with excellent results, placing him among the foremost physicians of his part of the state.
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