Compendium of history, reminiscence, and biography of Nebraska : containing a history of the state of Nebraska also a compendium of reminiscence and biography containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of Nebraska, Part 157

Author: Alden Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : Alden Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1402

USA > Nebraska > Compendium of history, reminiscence, and biography of Nebraska : containing a history of the state of Nebraska also a compendium of reminiscence and biography containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of Nebraska > Part 157

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Mŕ. Manke was married at Bazile Mills, May 6, 1867, to Miss Emilie Filter, who was born in Germany, a daughter of William and Johanna (Drager) Filter, who emigrated to America and settled in Knox county. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Manke, namely : Agnes, Albert, Hilda, Martha, Adaline, Elmer and Edwin.

Mr. Manke is a liberal republican, voting on all but national tickets for the man, and not for the party nominee. With the family, he is a member of the German Lutheran church.

During the blizzard of January 12, 1888, Mr. Manke was at Bazile Mills and weathered the storm at that place. During the flood of March, 1881, when the deep snow of the previous winter went off, the elder Manke came near losing his life by drowning, in Bazile creek. They lived in a dugout, as many of the early settlers did, and when fuel was scarce and the price of corn low they burned many bushels of that product. One humorous incident of the early days was the false alarm of an Indian uprising. An old bache- lor started the fright, taking alarm at some cha- rivari celebrants. Mr. Manke's family was one of the first to take alarm and seek a place of safety.

Mr. Manke is a self-made man, having earned nearly every dollar he owns, and is recognized as one of the most substantial and reliable busi- ness men in the town.

LORENZO P. DUFOE.

Lorenzo P. Dufoe, retired farmer, son of Oliver and Lucinda (Dyer) Dufoe, was born in Rockford, Illinois, October 18, 1847. He was fifth in a family of thirteen children, and has one brother and a sister residing in Iowa, one brother in Minnesota, one brother and one sister in

Boone county, and the others are deceased. The parents are deceased, the father having died in 1905, in lowa, at the advanced age of eighty- seven years; and the mother died about 1859.

In 1858 the family went to Iowa, engaging in farming, etc., and on September 25, 1870, our subject was joined in holy wedlock to Miss Lovina Rearden, of Iowa, and in the spring of 1873 came with his wife and son overland to Boone county, Nebraska. They were five weeks making the trip, as it rained most of the time and the Elkhorn river was too high to ford. Here he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in the southeast quarter of section fourteen, township eighteen, range seven, which remained the home place until August, 1904, when Mr. Dufoe retired from farm life and moved to Cedar Rapids, where he built a good home which is their present residence. He has been prosperons and successful, and owned at one time nearly a see- tion of land aside from good town property. He has divided his farm with his children.

Mr. and Mrs. Dufoe have had four children born to them, three of whom are living, whose names are as follows: Arthur E., who is married, has one child and lives in Cedar Rapids; Evelyn, is married to John Darling, has four children, and also lives in Cedar Rapids; Earnest L., who lives four miles southeast of Cedar Rapids, is also married; and Deloran T., who died in 1897, aged nineteen years.

Mrs. Dufoe's father, John Reardon, died in the army, and her mother died December 14, 1900, in the state of Iowa. One brother lives in Seattle, Washington, one in Iowa, and one, John Franklin Reardon, resides four miles southeast of Cedar Rapids, Boone county, Nebraska.

Mr. and Mrs. Dufoe are among the earliest settlers of Boone county, and have passed through all the experiences and hardships of pioneer life, and are widely and favorably known.

CHESTER FIELD.

To the men of perseverance and firm determi- nation who came to Nebraska when it was yet undeveloped as an agricultural and commercial region, the present prosperity enjoyed there is due. Among the early settlers of Antelope county who have been intimately identified with its development and has gained an enviable rep- utation as a citizen may be mentioned Chester Field, a retired farmer living in the village of Royal.

Mr. Field is a native of Jefferson county, New York state, born February 2, 1832, and came to DeKalb county, Illinois, when he was fourteen years of age, and lived there a number of years as a young man, then went to Clayton county, Iowa, remaining there ten years, coming to Nor- folk, Nebraska, in 1873, and remained there until 1880.

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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

Mr. Field's father, Bennett Field, was a drum major in the civil war. C. Field's grandfather, E. Fields, came to America with his family from England and fought in the revolutionary war. Our subject's mother, Fanny Waite, was born in New England. Our subject, Mr. Chester Field, enlisted in the civil war under Captain Terry in the One Hundred and Fifth Illinois Volun- teers, being assigned to guard duty, and as fifer in his company, but because of an accident to his son, which was serious, he did not go with his company.

On June 25, 1857, Mr. Field was united in marriage to Miss Maria Temple, whose father . came from England. Mr. and Mrs. Field are the parents of five children : James, Bennett, Jen- nie, and William, deceased, and Edmons. In 1873, our subject, with his family, in a covered wagon, started to Nebraska from Clayton county, Iowa, and after reaching there rented land near Nor- folk, where they lived seven years; here they did not have very good success, as they lost their entire crops two successive years by the grasshopper raids, and also lost crops by the hot winds and drouth. In 1880 Mr. Field went to Antelope county, Nebraska, to start anew, as he had a fam- ily and must make a living for them. He took up a homestead in section twenty-six, township twenty-eight, range seven, and also a timber claim in section twenty-three, township twenty- eight, range seven; he lived in a wagon on the homestead until he built a sod house in which they lived twelve years, then put up a good frame house and otherwise improved the place. Deer and antelope were plentiful in the early days, and our subject and family experienced many hardships here; also they fought prairie fires, nearly losing their home and all their possessions. In 1893 and 1894 our subject lost all his crops by the hot winds, but he has stuck to farming and has made a good competency for himself and family, and is now retired. He has resided in the village of Royal the last few years, where he holds the respect and esteem of all who know him.

HARLOW H. FREEMAN.

Harlow H. Freeman, of Custer county, a pro- gressive farmer and prominent citizen of central Nebraska, is a member of a family that has been very influential in developing that section of the state. He was born in Kalamazoo county, Michi- gan, July 16, 1858, son of Parish Moses and Mary A. (Davis) Freeman. The parents and other members of the family are given fuller mention in connection with the sketch of the father, which appears in this work. He is still living in Val- ley county, where he located in 1878.

Harlow H. Freeman came with his parents to Lancaster county, Nebraska, in the spring of 1878 and in August of that year removed to Val- ley county, where he secured a homestead. He

was married December 23, 1882, to Fannie A. Hall, their union taking place at Grand Island, Nebraska. Her parents, William and Almira (Raner) Hall, natives of New York, came from Kalamazoo county, Michigan, to Nebraska, and took a homestead on section fourteen, township seventeen, range sixteen, where they located in September, 1878. They were natives of New York and were married at Oswego, that state, in 1850. They had two sons and two daughters, and two of their children are now living: Julia A., wife of Charlie Freeman, and . Mrs. Harlow Freeman. Mr. Hall died on the homestead farm December 26, 1907, aged eighty-two years, and his widow died January 30, 1910, aged eighty- one years. They were among the earliest pioneers of Custer county and were well known through- out the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Freeman have three children : Roy R., who married Etta L. Young, March 29, 1906, and lives in Johnson county, Wyoming, has two children; Walter N., unmarried, and living in Wyoming, and Nellie B., wife of Richard R. Lea, of Wyoming. Two children are deceased, and all five were born on the home farm in Cus- ter county.

In 1894, Mr. Freeman and his wife left their farm in Valley county, Nebraska, and took up land in Johnson county, Wyoming, so far from railroads that their nearest trading point was Buffalo, the county seat, seventy-five miles dis- tant. In October, 1907, they returned to Ne- braska and located on the old Hall homestead. They improved the farm by new buildings and in other ways, and in March, 1909, again went to Wyoming, and disposing of most of their inter- ests there, made a trip through the southern states for pleasure, and at the same time looking for a more desirable location than they had in Nebraska, but not finding anything to their lik- ing, they returned to Custer county, which seemed more desirable than ever after their wan- derings. They now reside on the old Hall home- stead, half of which lies in Valley county, now a well improved and equipped grain and stock farm. Mr. Freeman is a successful farmer and is interested in all that pertains to the general wel- fare. In national politics he is a democrat, but in local affairs votes for the man regardless of party lines.

Mr. Freeman was on the road from Grand Island at the time of the blizzard of October 15 to 17, 1880, and nearly froze. There were three wagons in the train which had to be left and re- turned for later. They broke camp one morning at three o'clock, and reached the house of a Mr. Brown, where they remained until the storm abated. The dry year, 1894, found them with little produce; forty bushels of wheat and ten or twelve bushels of potatoes were their entire crops that year. Hail had destroyed their crops the year before, which made a period of great hard- ship. Mrs. Freeman was born in a dugout and

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"HILLSIDE FARM," RESIDENCE OF THE EASTMAN FAMILY."

"ALTA VISTA STOCK FARM," RESIDENCE OF A. W. CORNELL.

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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

lived many years in a "soddy." While living in Wyoming their dwelling was a log house. In this state Mr. Freeman found big game plentiful. With a brother and brother-in-law he killed eleven deer, their first hunting trip.

WILLIAM GALE EASTMAN. (Deceased.)

The late William Gale Eastman was one of the early settlers of Nebraska, spending many years before his death in Custer county. He was born at Aurora, Illinois, January 4, 1858, the only child of Daniel and Jane (Gale) Eastman, both of whom died in Illinois. The father, a na- tive of Canada, was of French parentage, and died in Aurora, February 19, 1862, and the mother, a native of Long Island, died in 1883. The father settled in Illinois in an early day, as a physician in a French-Canadian colony, but died when his son was a small child. After re- ceiving an education in the schools of his native state, Mr. Eatsman took up farming as an occu- pation, and at the age of sixteen years removed to York county, Nebraska, where he found em- ployment working for farmers and eventually took up farming on his own account. On Septem- ber 19, 1877, he married Rachel J. Hickenbottom, who was born in Appanoose county, Iowa, and came to York, Nebraska, in 1874. She was a teacher in York county schools before her mar- riage. Her father, Stephen Hickenbottom, was a native of Kentucky; he was one of his parents' two children, who rode with their mother on horseback, the father leading in front, all the way through the wild timber country from Kentucky to central Illinois. He died in Iowa in 1889. The mother, Mary C. Taylor, was born in the Shenan- doah Valley of Virginia. She died in Broken Bow, January 11. 1911.

In 1892, Mr. Eastman sold his farming inter- ests in York county, removed to Custer county, remained there one year, then returned to York county, and about eight years later decided to make his permanent home in Custer county, which he did, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land on section eleven, township six- teen, range seventeen, where he remained until his death, January 15, 1906. He was survived by his widow and five children, namely : George, died in 1907, leaving a widow and two children; ('allie B., is the wife of F. M. Johnson, of Wau- netta, Kansas, they have three children ; Zella L., married Jesse Gates of Custer county, and have one child : Orpha J., wife of Francis Marsh, of Custer county, has one child; William G., is at home.

Mr. Eastman served two terms in the Ne- braska legislature, and was most highly esteemed for his intelligence and ability in all his under- takings. He served two terms as connty super- visor in Custer county and was for twenty years a local minister for the United Brethren and

Methodist churches. He was an earnest christian and a successful farmer, winning many friends by his high character and upright life. He was mourned in many circles, where his presence and influence were sorely missed. He owned six hundred and forty acres of land, which he had developed into a stock and grain farm, well equipped and provided with substantial build- ings. His widow still lives on the home place and has a large circle of friends in the commu- nity. Mrs. Eastman has three brothers and two sisters in Nebraska : William T., at Broken Bow; James W., in Custer county, and Rolla E., at Callaway; Mrs. Chris Jensen, in Custer county, and Mrs. Frank Moore at Callaway.

Mr. and Mrs. Eastman lived in a dugout for a short time in Kansas, later occupying a log house. On coming to their farm in Custer county, they built a "soddy," which was their home until 1905, when their present neat cottage was constructed. A concrete barn is one of the most substantial buildings on the place. We are pleased to give a view of the home and surround- ings on another page.

Mr. Eastman was originally a republican in politics, but being a man of temperate habits, later worked with the prohibitionists; of late years he supported the candidates of the populist party. Fraternally he was a member of the Mod- ern Woodmen of America and the Modern Broth- erhood of America.

ALBERT W. CORNELL.

Among the prominent settlers of eastern Ne- braska, we mention the name of Albert W. Cor- nell as being one of the best known, from the fact that he has spent the past thirty years of his career in this region, and during that time has devoted his best efforts to aiding in the develop- ment of the natural resources of Valley county, and helped to build up the community in which he chose his home. He resides on section seven, township eighteen, range fourteen, where he and his family are surrounded by a host of good friends.

Albert W. Cornell, farmer, son of Albert and Augusta (Burrows) Cornell, was born in McHenry county, Illinois, January 23, 1867, and is the eldest of three sons: John C., who re- sides in Ord, and Charles D., also of Ord. The father died Jannary 21, 1871, in Richmond, Illi- nois, and the mother is still living in Ord. Our subject received his education mostly in the home schools, and at the age of fifteen years came to Nebraska with his mother and attended school one year in Ord. North Loup at that time was the terminus of the railroad. The guardian of the Cornell boys had some years before pur- chased one hundred and sixty aeres of land in the northeast quarter of section seven, township eighteen, range fourteen, and Albert, with his mother and two brothers, came on this farm in

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the spring of 1883. In 1899 Mr. Cornell made finał purchase of the farm, having bought ont his brothers' interests, and now owns four hun- dred acres of fine farm and stock land, and also owns one hundred acres of good land in Okla- homa. He keeps on hand abont ninety head of cattle and horses, and some two hundred and fifty head of hogs. The house and all stock buildings are supplied with running water, and there are over three miles of hog tight fence enclosing the farm and fields. A view of the home place, one of the finest situations in the county, overlooking Mira valley, is the subject of one of our illustrations on another page.

On August 12, 1894, Mr. Cornell was united in marriage to Miss Irene Clift, who was born in Fremont county, Iowa, a daughter of John and Mary (Dameron) Clift, who came to Nebraska City . some time after the war and lived a few years in Nebraska City before locating in Fre- mont county. Mrs. Cornell's father was a Ken- tuckian by birth, and died February 11, 1900; her mother died April 25, 1900, surviving her husband only a little over two months; they both passed away in Fremont county, Iowa. Mrs. Cornell has three sisters residing in Iowa, one in the state of Washington, one brother in Iowa, and another in Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Cornell have had three children, namely: John Cass, Charles Willard and Robert Eugene, all residing under the parental roof.

Mr. Cornell is a prosperous and successful man of affairs, and has served as moderator of school district number twenty-three for six years, being still in office. He is one of the younger men among the pioneers of Valley county, and is widely and favorably known.

ALBERT AHLMANN.

Albert Ahlmann, a highly respected citizen and old settler of northeastern Nebraska, is among the prominent farmers of Pierce county. where he owns a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres of good land, in the southwest quarter of section twenty-five, township twenty- six, range two.

Mr. Ahlmann was born September 16, 1851, in the village of Braunsberg, province of Pom- mon, Germany, and is the son of Adam and Mina (Manske) Ahlmann. He received his education in his native country, and was raised on a farm owned by his father, where he grew to manhood and in November, 1873, was married to Miss Bertha Ahlmann, daughter of Johan and Fred- rika (Schmidt) Ahlmann.

After he had been married twenty years, our subject came to America to seek his fortune and build up a home for his family. In 1893 he sailed from Hamburg, Germany, and landed in New York City, and from thence came to Pierce county and took up a homestead, his present loca- tion. He began at once making improvements

and getting the place in readiness to shelter his family. He built a frame house and made other progressive changes, and one year later went back to Germany after his wife and family, which he brought to America, they sailing from Bremen, Germany, and landing in New York, from whence they came to the home he had pre- pared.

Mr. and Mrs. Ahlmann have had ten children born to them, who are named as follows: Anna, Ida, Minnie, Emil, Herman, Maria, Frederich, William, Albert and Hedwig.

Mr. Ahlmann lends his influence to the build- ing up of his home community and gives his whole energy to the work of carrying on his farm and home. He is a member of the German Lutheran church, and is a citizen of whom Pierce county, Nebraska, is proud.

ADOLPH MOGENSEN.

Adolph Mogensen, residing on section twenty. of Danneborg precinct, is one of Howard county's oldest settlers and classed among the leading citizens of his locality. He is a gentleman of unusual thrift, energy and perseverance, and has been a potent factor in the development and pro- gress of his county and state.

Mr. Mogensen is a native of Sweden, born December 15, 1850. He is the second child in John and Annie Mogensen's family of six chil- dren, and lived with his parents until he was twenty years of age, then struck out for himself, taking passage in an emigrant ship for America, landing here in April, 1871.

His first location was in Illinois, where he spent two and one-half years. He then came di- rect to Howard county, Nebraska, in 1873, taking up a homestead on section twenty, township thirteen, range eleven, which he has occpuied continuously since that time as his home farm. This land is situated on the middle Loup river bottom, and is improved in the finest possible shape, having substantial farm buildings of all kinds, plenty of shade and fruit trees, including a splendid young orchard, etc. He is engaged in grain and stock raising, and derives a comfort- able income from his various enterprises.

A brother of our subject, Carl Mogensen, came into Howard county in the same year that Adolph located here. He purchased a tract of railroad land, improved it, and farmed here up to 1882, at that time going into Pierce county, where he has since resided. The father and mother of Mr. Mogensen both died in their native land, and two of the children still live there, the balance of the family having all settled in America.

On July 5, 1887, Mr. Mogensen was married to Miss Ellen Sunnerdale, at St. Paul, Nebraska, he having made a trip to Sweden in the winter of 1886, and arranged to have his sweetheart follow him here in the following year to be married.

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They have had three children, two of whom are now living, Annie and Lillie, both of whom are at home and are accomplished and charming young women. The family are well known in their vicinity and enjoy many friends. Mr. Mo- gensen has been closely identified with loeal affairs during his residence in the region. He was director of district number thirty-one for a number of years, and at the present time is aet- ing in that capacity.

CHARLES PEARSON ROOD.

Charles P'. Rood, son of Burrell and Mary Rood, was born in Swanton, Vermont, May 31, 1823, and at an early age began to shift for him- self, his early life being that of a poor boy mak- ing his way in life as best he could.

On July 13, 1844, Mr. Rood married Miss Marianne Thorngate, at Persia, New York. Mrs. Rood was born in Brownsville, New York, on January 23, 1823.

Mr. Rood and his family moved from New York state to Rock Prairie, Wisconsin, in June, 1847, and during the following winter moved to Waushara county, taking up land on the Mecan river near Dakota, two and one-half miles west of Richford township.

Nine children were born to Charles and Marianne Rood, named as follows: Hosea W., George B., William Herman, Charles J., Mary Matilda (Mrs. Mansel Davis), Eugenia (Mrs. A. L. Crandall), Emma Jeanetta (Mrs. S. C. Terry), Esther Amy (Mrs. C. E. Crandall), and Walter G. It is a remarkable fact that among these nine children and their families, compris- ing thirty-one grandehildren, only one death has occurred, that of Minnie May Rood (daughter of Hosea Rood) who departed this life on Septem- ber 10, 1869.

Mr. Rood and his son, William Herman, en- listed in November, 1864, in Company G, Thirty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry at Dakota and were discharged July 27, 1865, at the close of the war. The two older sons, Hosea and George B., had previously enlisted and the father and three sons held an enviable war record, hav- ing served from date of their enlistment to the close of the war.

In the spring of 1871, many of the families surrounding Dakota, became interested in the idea of leaving Wiseonsin and locating as a col- ony in some of the more western states, either by homesteading government land, or purchasing railroad land. An organization was accordingly formed and a locating committee named, consist- ing of Charles P. Rood, Nathan B. Prentice, Amos Travis and Charles Wellman.

In the latter part of May, 1871, the committee left Wanshara county, Wisconsin, going over- land through Iowa into Nebraska, and July 3, found them at Davis ereek. While the other members of the committee were out hunting one

day, Mr. Rood climbed to a high point known to subsequent history as "Sugar Loaf Hill" or "Happy Jaek's Peak" and from this vantage point saw that portion of the beautiful North Loup river valley that lies above the chalk hills. He then and there decided that this beautiful valley should be his future home. He was, how- ever, the only one of the committee so favorably impressed and upon their return his pleadings alone did not sufficiently impress the people in favor of the colony plan, which was therefore abandoned.

In September of the same year, however, Mr. Rood, his son, Herman, and son-in-law, Mansell Davis, and a friend named John Sheldon, young men of sturdy stoek and splendid character, started west, going directly to the Loup river valley. They liked the country and here John Sheldon and Mansell Davis took homestead claims. They returned to Wisconsin in Decem- ber, having a very severe trip. Mr. Rood's glow- ing accounts of the possibilities of this new coun- try had so impressed the people that by April 1, 1872, the first emigrant train left for their future Nebraska home. Among the train were Mr. Rood's companions of the former trip, John Sheldon and Mansell Davis; George and Charles Rood and C. H. Wellman started two days later, all reaching the Loup river valley on May 12, 1872. Elder Osear Babcook went hy railroad to- Grand Island, and joined the Rood boys there, journey- ing with them for the remainder of the trip.

On March 30, 1874, Mr. Rood, the principal subject of this sketch, with his daughter, Engenia, and Elder True, started from Dakota, Wisconsin, making the seven hundred mile trip to North Loup in a month. Mr. Rood took up land in Mira Creek valley four miles west of North Loup, being joined later by his son, Her- man, and daughter, Emma. Having prepared his dugout home, Mr. Rood returned to Wiscon- sin by rail in December and on May 18, the fol- lowing year, again started west, bringing with him Mrs. Rood and the remaining children, reach- ing the Nebraska home on July 4. This was his fourth overland trip and it was made with a yoke of three-year-old steers. In the fall of 1877 Mr. Rood made one more trip to Wisconsin by rail, bringing back with him the aged father and mother of Mrs. Rood, settling them in a home prepared for them by loving hands.

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Compendium of history, reminiscence, and biography of Nebraska : containing a history of the state of Nebraska also a compendium of reminiscence and biography containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of Nebraska, Part 157

Author: Alden Publishing Company Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago : Alden Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1402

Author: Alden Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : Alden Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1402