Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II, Part 5

Author: Bassett, Samuel Clay, 1844-
Publication date: 1916
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 470


USA > Nebraska > Buffalo County > Buffalo County, Nebraska, and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 5


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39


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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY


Charles L., at home; and Bernice M., who is a student in the Gibbon high school.


Mr. Bayley supports the men and measures of the republican party at the polls and for twenty years or more has been a member of the school board of district No. 22, which has one of the finest country school buildings in the state. The teachers are well prepared for their work and the course of study includes the tenth and eleventh grades, which is very unusual for a country school. The people of the district are justly proud of their school and it is a source of satis- faction to Mr. Bayley that he has had much to do with bringing it to its present high degree of efficiency. He belongs to Granite Lodge, No. 189, A. F. & A. M .; to Anchor Lodge, No. 14, A. O. U. W .; and is also a member of the Gibbon Commercial Club, which indicates his active interest in the development of that town. He possesses unusual business ability and enterprise, and these qualities have not only enabled him to gain financial independence but have also made him a factor in the upbuilding of the material interests of his township. He has also contributed to its advancement along moral, educational and civic lines and is recognized as one of its foremost citizens. Both he and his wife are hospitable and generous and cordially welcome their friends to their home. There are no more highly esteemed people in the township than Mr. and Mrs. Bayley and the respect in which they are held is well deserved.


WALTER H. GUNN.


Walter H. Gunn, a landowner and stockman residing in Kearney, was born in Freeport, Illinois, on the 24th of March, 1857. In his childhood the fam- ily removed to St. Lawrence county, New York, but after living there a few years returned to Illinois, locating at Rockford. There he received the greater part of his education, completing a public school course and graduating from the high school, after which he attended a business college for some time.


On beginning his independent career Mr. Gunn secured a position as traveling man for a machinery company, first as collector and later as salesman. While with that firm he covered the greater part of Illinois, but after remaining with them for a few years he was married and took charge of his father's farm near Rockford. Later he purchased land in that locality and became quite heavily interested in the stock business, while at the same time he operated a store in Fairdale, engaging in merchandising for about five years. In 1907 he sold his property in Illinois and came to Kearney, partly on account of his health and partly because of the excellent schools here. He found the change beneficial and as his health has improved he has invested in lands in this state. He is associated with George E. Dick, of Sycamore, Illinois, and F. L. Robinson in the cattle business.


Mr. Gunn was married on the 27th of February, 1878, at Sycamore, Illinois, to Miss Mary Nichols, a native of that place, where she was reared and educated. To them have been born six children, namely: Herbert H., a resident of Esmond, Illinois; Orrin R., a real estate dealer of Kansas City, Missouri; Ella B., who graduated from the University of Nebraska and taught in the high school


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at Kearney for two years but who is now the wife of Noel A. Negley, a resident of Wisconsin; Clarence, who is associated with his brother Orrin in the real estate business in Kansas City ; Bessie, a student in the State Normal School; and Russell, who is attending school.


Mr. Gunn supports the republican party at the polls but has never desired to hold office. His wife and family belong to the Methodist church. The extent of his financial interests ranks him with the leading business men of Kearney, and he is also highly esteemed as a citizen and as a man.


CAPTAIN JOSEPH BLACK.


In the history of Kearney it is imperative that mention be made of Capt. Joseph Black, because he ranked with her foremost citizens, because he was prominently identified with Buffalo county's business interests and because, as a member of the legislature, he largely promoted her welfare and upbuilding, his name thus becoming ineffaceably traced upon the annals of the county. He was born in Greenbrier county, Virginia, now West Virginia, on the 23d of April. 1834, and was in the seventy-eighth year of his age when death called him on the 29th of February, 1912. His parents were William and Rebecca (Benson) Black, also natives of Greenbrier county, where their ancestors were pioneer settlers. William Black, with his wife and son Joseph, their eldest child, removed to Knox county, Illinois, in 1835, and five years afterward became residents of Henry county, Iowa, where the father died in 1862, at the age of fifty-five years. His wife survived him until 1867 and passed away at the age of fifty-three years. They had a large family, including: Joseph; John B., who died November 28, 1891; Samuel R., who died in Nebraska, December I, 19II, having become a pioneer settler of Buffalo county and later of Thomas county, this state ; William P .; Asbury; Charles, a pioneer resident of Buffalo county, who died in Kearney; and Emma, the wife of W. C. Wilson, of Henry county, Iowa. The two sons, John and William P., served as members of an Iowa regiment in the Civil war.


Captain Black was reared upon the old homestead farm, attended the public schools, and Howe Academy at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and in early manhood he embarked in merchandising in Abingdon, Illinois, but at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war all business and personal considerations were put aside and when Rev. Milton L. Haney recruited Company K of the Fifty- fifth Illinois Infantry at Abingdon on the 17th of October, 1861, the first man to enlist was Joseph Black. By the 22d of the month one hundred and two names had been enrolled and the company was duly organized by the election of Mr. Black as captain. Two days later it marched into Camp Douglas, every man in his place. The men so diligently improved their time in the camp of instruction that when the time came for the regiment to enter the field it was as proficient in drill and discipline as the companies which had been under instruction much longer. The excellent morale of the company was largely due to Captain Black's efforts, for he soon proved himself a fine executive officer, firm and impartial. The majority of the regiment was made up in


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Chicago and it became one of the historic regiments of the war by reason of its deeds of valor under Grant and Sherman. At Pittsburg Landing it lost two hundred and seventy-four out of five hundred and twelve men engaged, which was the heaviest loss by far in any one battle in the entire conflict. Out of a total enrollment of men of ten hundred and fifty-six it lost five hundred and seventy-seven. There were ninety-one pairs of brothers enlisted. forty- three of whom were killed in battle. The regiment marched thirty-two hun- dred and forty miles on foot and proceeded eight thousand seven hundred and twenty-five miles by transport. Captain Black participated in many of the hotly contested battles of the first two years of the war, including the engage- ments at Shiloh, Corinth, Memphis, Holly Springs, Yazoo and Arkansas Post. While the company was on picket duty near Shelley Depot, Tennessee, during the night of October 22, 1862, they were fired upon by guerrillas and Captain Black and Sergeant W. D. Lomax were slightly wounded. From November 26, 1862, until February 1, 1863, Captain Black alternated with two other senior captains in acting as major of the regiment and at the latter date he resigned.


Captain Black left the army because of the death of his father and returned to Henry county to care for his mother and sisters. For a time he devoted his attention to general farming and later established a mercantile business in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he also became captain of a local militia company, commissioned by Governor Stone of that state. On the Ist of June, 1865, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Updegraff, a daughter of Abram and Nellie Eleanor (Currigan) Updegraff. She was born May 28, 1842, in Henry county, Iowa, where her parents settled in early days, having removed from Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. Captain Black and his wife continued their residence in Iowa until 1875 and then came to Buffalo county, where he devoted his attention to farming and to the live stock business and merchan- dising. He owned and operated a large ranch on the South Loup and another just south of the town on an island on the Platte river. From 1885 until 1888 he carried on mercantile pursuits in Kearney and was recognized as one of the representative citizens of that place.


As the years passed several children were added to the family and Captain Black is survived by his widow, four daughters and a son, namely: Nellie, the wife of A. C. Miller, freight agent for the Union Pacific Railroad Company at South Omaha; Alice, the wife of Ellsworth Turney, of Fairfield, Iowa, connected with the Charter Oak Wagon Works; Kathrine, the wife of Herbert Schars, of' Webb City, Missouri; Nancy, living with her mother in Kearney ; and Frank, also of Kearney. The family circle was broken by the hand of death when on the 29th of February, 1912, Captain Black passed away. He had figured prominently in public affairs. In 1880 he became treasurer of Buffalo county and served in that and the ensuing year. On the 14th of April, 1884, he became mayor of the city and occupied that position for one year, giving to the city a progressive and businesslike administration. For eight years he was a member of the city school board and during the last three years of that time acted as its president. He served for twenty years on the city library board and he also filled the position of county commissioner. In 1895 he was chosen to represent his district in the state senate, of which he remained a member


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until 1898. His interest in public affairs was that of a citizen always loyal to the best interests of the community and he gave thoughtful and earnest consid- eration to all questions which came up for settlement. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and he belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic. He became a charter member of Sedgwick Post, No. I, at Kearney, served as its commander and always took a helpful interest in its affairs. He was appointed by the board of county commissioners and superintended the erec- tion of the Buffalo county courthouse, thus securing to the county a durable building. His was a well spent life, characterized by many admirable traits. He always stood for those things which are of the greatest benefit to the individual and the community and sought to further public progress by his cooperation and indefatigable energy. His efforts were at all times guided by sound judgment and those who knew him always recognized the integrity of his acts and his loyalty to his honest convictions.


FREDERICK H. REDINGTON.


Frederick H. Redington, who is managing seventeen hundred and twenty acres of land and is residing on section 36, Sharon township, Buffalo county, was born in Amherst, Lorain county, Ohio, on the 23d of January, 1856. His parents, Alexander H. and Jane E. (Bryant) Redington, were natives respectively of Massachusetts and of Gloucestershire, England. The mother accompanied her parents to the United States when but a child and grew to womanhood in Amherst, Ohio, where her marriage occurred. Her husband and his father drove the mail stage from Cleveland to Birmingham for many years and Alexander H. Redington also kept a roadhouse and served as postmaster of Amherst. In addi- tion to his other activities he engaged in farming to some extent and was suc- cessful in all his enterprises.


Frederick H. Redington was reared at home and received his general educa- tion in the public schools. He was also a student at the Bryant & Stratton Busi- ness College of Chicago, which was owned by two of his uncles, Mr. Bryant being a brother of his mother and Mr. Stratton having married a sister of Mrs. Redington. After completing his business course he went to Wyoming in the spring of 1881 and for ten years he was identified with the cattle business in that state. In 1891 he went to Omaha and became connected with Clay, Robinson & Company, the well known livestock commission dealers, with whom he remained for eleven years. Later he was with Rosenbaum Brothers & Company for six years and divided his time between his work at the yards and traveling on the road looking after loans. On the 2d of July, 1910, he came to Buffalo county, Nebraska, where he still resides, and has concentrated his attention upon the management of his wife's extensive landholdings, which comprise seventeen hundred and twenty acres, and in that connection he has manifested business acumen and foresight.


Mr. Redington was married on the 21st of July, 1910, to Mrs. George Meis- ner, who was in her maidenhood Miss Nellie Forsythe. He supports the repub- lican party at the polls but has never had time to take an active part in politics.


Alt Reclington


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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY


Fraternally he belongs to Shelton Lodge, No. 99, A. F. & A. M .; Shelton Lodge, No. 92, K. P .; and Kearney Lodge, No. 984, B. P. O. E. Although he has resided in this county for a comparatively short period, his ability has already gained him recognition as one of its representative business men and citizens. His attractive personal qualities have also gained him the friendship of many.


W. M. ROSS.


W. M. Ross, a well known sheep and cattle feeder making his home on sec- tion 13, Gibbon township, represents a business which is of the utmost value to western Nebraska, it being one of the most important sources of Buffalo county's wealth and upbuilding. In all that he undertakes Mr. Ross displays enterprise and determination and carries forward to successful completion any business in which he becomes engaged. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the 14th of November, 1873, a son of William B. and Sarah S. (McClain) Ross. The father is a native of Ripley county, Indiana, and the mother of Pennsylvania, whence she removed with her parents to Illinois in her early girlhood, her father, John McClain, being one of the pioneer settlers of Kane county, where he secured a government claim. It was in Aurora, Illinois, that Sarah S. McClain gave her hand in marriage to William B. Ross, who thereafter followed farming in Kane county until 1884, when he removed with his family to Buffalo county, Nebraska, and purchased a farm in Center township. He resided thereon until about 1900, when he removed to La Cygne, Kansas, where he is still carrying on general agri- cultural pursuits.


W. M. Ross was reared under the parental roof, his boyhood days bringing to him the usual experiences that fall to the farm lad. He supplemented a dis- trict school education by study in the Gibbon Normal School and also by study at Kearney Hall. Following the completion of his course he taught school for three years, at the end of which time he resumed the occupation to which he had been reared, purchasing in 1897 a tract of land of eighty acres on section 3, Gibbon township. He located thereon and continued to engage in farming until 1912, when he removed to Ravenna, where for eight months he occupied a posi- tion in the Citizens State Bank. He then purchased the Commercial State Bank at Amherst, of which he is still the president. In company with I. A. Kirk and IV. C. Ogilvie he bought the Hershey ranch of four hundred acres adjoining Gibbon. This he is now operating and is one of the heavy stock feeders of Buffalo county, feeding both cattle and sheep. His business has assumed exten- sive proportions and is most wisely, carefully and successfully directed.


On the 20th of September, 1900, Mr. Ross was married to Miss Mable Reedy, a daughter of John and Charlotte Reedy, who came to Nebraska from Tama county, Iowa, in 1878. To them have been born three children: John W., Richard R. and Elton S.


In politics Mr. Ross is a republican. He has served as a member of the school board and as a member of the board of trustees of the cemetery. He conforms his life to the teachings of the Masonic fraternity, holding membership in Granite Lodge, No. 189, F. & A. M., and he is also a member of Gibbon Lodge, No. 37,


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I. O. O. F. Both he and his wife are consistent and faithful members and generous supporters of the First Baptist church of Gibbon. Theirs is one of the finest country homes in Buffalo county, finished throughout in hardwood, heated by steam and, in fact, it is strictly modern in all its equipment. Moreover, an air of hospitality is ever supreme and its doors are quickly opened for the reception of their many friends.


MELCHOR N. TROUPE.


Melchor N. Troupe, treasurer of Buffalo county and resident of Kearney, is of Maryland 'nativity, his birth having occurred in Washington county, that state, on the 21st of June, 1854. His parents, Henry and Catherine (Schnebly) Troupe, were also natives of Maryland and were of German and Swiss ancestry. Melchor N. Troupe is of the fourth generation on the paternal side and the fifth on the maternal side of his people who have lived in America and is one of a family of ten children, seven of whom are yet living. He was reared upon his father's farm and during his youthful days attended the district schools. With his parents he removed to Pennsylvania in his boyhood and there pursued his studies in a select school. He continued to assist in the work of the home farm until the spring of 1878, when he came to Nebraska and for a time was em- ployed at Lincoln. Later, however, he went to Iowa and for about six years was engaged in farming in Pottawattamie county.


In 1884 Mr. Troupe removed to Buffalo county, Nebraska, and settled in Sartoria township, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres. For about twenty years he resided thereon, devoting his attention to farming and stock raising, particularly in the breeding of shorthorn Durham cattle. His farming interests were carefully and wisely conducted, and success attended his labors, while his industry was manifest in the excellent improvements which he added to his place. In 1903 he became the nominee of his party for treasurer of Buffalo county, to which office he was duly elected. Removing to Kearney he served as treasurer for a term of two years, was reelected and thus served for four consecutive years. Upon the expiration of his second term he engaged in the monument business in Kearney, continuing in that line until 1911, when he was again elected to the office of county treasurer, and the biennial election law enacted in 1913 continued his term of office to three years. In 1914 he was once more chosen by popular suffrage to fill the office and upon the expiration of his present term he will have served Buffalo county nine years as treasurer, his incumbency covering a longer period than any one who has ever held the office.


On the 21st of March, 1882, in Iowa, Mr. Troupe was married to Miss Elizabeth Taylor, who was a native of Jennings county, Indiana, and a daughter of Allen C. and Eliza Taylor. Mrs. Troupe is a graduate of the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, and at the time of her marriage was engaged in teaching in Iowa. Harry, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Troupe, was born in Iowa, and during their residence in Buffalo county four other children have been added to the household, these being Louis, Kathrine, Marie and John. The two eldest are married. Harry wedded Pearl Miller and resides in Kear-


.


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HISTORY OF BUFFALO COUNTY


ney, where he is engaged in the abstract and insurance business. Louis wedded Miss Margaret Smith, and is engaged in the telephone business. Kathrine fol- lowed teaching for four years in Buffalo county and for two years in Valley county and is now a student at the State Normal School at Kearney. Marie is now engaged in teaching for the second year at Albion; Boone county, Nebraska. John is a high school student at Kearney.


Mr. and Mrs. Troupe are members of the Presbyterian church, and fra- ternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics he is a republican. There is no resident of the county who has wider personal acquaintance than Mr. Troupe, and his popularity is indicated in the fact that he has again and again been chosen for the position which he now fills and on each occasion has been accorded a very substantial and gratifying ma- jority. His political as well as his personal integrity is above question, and his entire official career has been marked by honor.


S. N. FREEMAN.


S. N. Freeman, living in Center township, is a man of sterling character, his personal worth gaining for him the confidence, goodwill and high regard of all with whom he comes in contact. He is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres upon which is a fine home beautifully situated on an elevation overlooking the valley. Mr. Freeman was born in Sweden on the Ist of December, 1846, and is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Nels Nelson, both of whom died in Sweden. He was reared under the parental roof and the public schools of the neighborhood afforded him his educational privileges. At eighteen years of age he enlisted in the regular army and served for six years. In 1870 he completed his arrangements to come to the new world and after bidding adieu to friends and native country sailed for the United States. He spent the first winter after his arrival near Burlington in Des Moines county. Iowa, and in the following summer was employed on government work along the Mississippi river. In 1872 he settled in Moline, Illinois, where for eleven years he was in the employ of a lumber company. In 1885 he came to Nebraska and located on his present home farm, which he had purchased five years prior to his removal to that place. He has diligently and persistently directed the work of the farm since that time, has brought his fields to a high state of cul- tivation and has added to the value of his place by the improvements which he has put upon it.


In Moline, Illinois, Mr. Freeman was united in marriage to Miss Lottie Holberg, a native of Sweden, by whom he has three children, namely: Esther, at home; Bernett, who is engaged in farming in Center township, this county ; and Rose, the wife of Melvin Jones, of Chicago, Illinois. The wife and mother died July 9, 1891, and was laid to rest in the Kearney cemetery.


Politically Mr. Freeman is a republican who keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, although he has never been an office seeker. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church and throughout his


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entire life his course has conformed to high Christian principles. He has never sought to take advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen in any business transaction but has put forth his effort in accordance with the rules that gov- ern industry and strict and unswerving integrity.


JOHN N. NUTTER.


John N. Nutter, a well-to-do retired farmer living on section 16, Shelton township, has resided upon his present farm for thirty-two years. He was born in Gloucester, New Jersey, on the 6th of March, 1856, of the marriage of Wil- liam and Dinah (Ingham) Nutter, both of whom were natives of Lancashire, England, where they grew to manhood and womanhood. They were married there and continued to live there for several years, but in the early '50s came to the United States with their two children and after remaining for a short time in Gloucester, New Jersey, located in Philadelphia. The father, who was a cot- ton mill operative, worked in the mills in Philadelphia for several years and made his way upward to the position of superintendent of the mills. He was a member of the Mormon church and in 1860 went to Salt Lake City with a Mormon colony, but he only remained there for a short time, as he became dissatisfied with the way in which affairs were managed and consequently severed his con- nection with the colony. He came eastward as far as Nebraska and located in Hall county near Shelton. During the Civil war the Indians were so hostile that he was forced to leave his farm and return to England, but after six or eight months he again came to the United States and accepted the position of superin- tendent of cotton mills in Gloucester, New Jersey. In 1869 he returned to Nebraska and preempted the northeast quarter of section 8, Shelton township, Buffalo county. He resided upon that place until his demise, which occurred in 1908. His wife is still living and makes her home with her son M. D., who is operating the homestead.


John N. Nutter remained at home during the period of his minority and received his education in the public schools. When twenty-one years of age he began farming on his own account and in 1878 he leased a tract of school land, which he subsequently purchased and on which he now resides. In the same year he took up a homestead in Platte township, on which he lived for five years, but in 1883, having proved up on his claim, he removed to the first mentioned farm, on which he has now lived continuously for thirty-two years. He owns seven hundred and twenty acres of excellent land and his enterprise and effi- ciency have enabled him to gain financial independence. In 1915 he retired from the active work of the farm, although he is still residing in Shelton township. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator at Gibbon.




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