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 179

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 179

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On September 23, 1886, Mr. Smith married Miss Sarah A. Pierpont, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Wells) Pierpont, a native of West Vir- ginia, whence her parents came to Custer county in 1878, and were original homesteaders. Mrs. Smith is the tenth of the eleven children born to her parents and has one brother and two sisters living in Nebraska: Orlando, of Minatare, Scotts- bluff county, Nebraska; Jane, now Mrs. C. D.

Smith, of Merna; Emma, now Mrs. R. R. Robinson of Custer county. Mr. Smith and his wife are both much interested in the welfare and upbuilding of their county, in which they have been active, and both are among the pioneer settlers there. Mr. Smith has held various township offices in years past. They have had four children, namely : Ansley, at home; Opal, wife of Roy Stanford, liv- ing one mile north of Merna; Ethel, wife of John D. Bowley, living one mile south of New Helena, has two children, Loretta and Florence; Mabel Rita, at home. All were born on the home farm.

The family experienced all the deprivations of the early days of development. During the dry year, 1894, they raised nothing in the fields but had a fine garden, owing to irrigation. The drouth of that year caused them another hard- ship; one after another three children were taken down with typhoid and finally the mother suc- cumbed after nursing her little ones. During the latter part of their infliction Mr. Smith sat up to attend them until four o'clock after teaching school all day. This vocation, although the salary was small as compared to the present day, tided them over the year of drouth. In girlhood and during married life, Mrs. Smith has lived for thirty years in sod houses. In 1912 they built a fine modern dwelling on a farm adjoining the one on which they had lived many years and which was sold in 1911. When her father first settled in the west Mrs. Smith saw deer and antelope in herds like sheep. Buffalo bones and deer's horns lay thick on the prairies while buffalo wallows were thick in the valleys.

WILLIAM FLINT.

William Flint, a prosperous agriculturist and business man of Cotesfield, Howard county, is a well-known pioneer of that region. His pleasant home is located on section nineteen, township six- teen, range eleven, comprising eighty acres of well- tilled land with good buildings and improvements of all kinds.

Mr. Flint is a native of Sheffield, England, born October 4, 1873. There were ten children in his father's family, he being the third in order of birth. He is a son of Edward R. and Mary Flint. who are old settlers in Nebraska, and now live at North Loup, in Greeley county, while a brother an'l five sisters are living in different sections of the country. Our subject came to America with his parents when he was one year old, the father filing on a homestead near Cotesfield, Nebraska, and the family was one of the first to settle in that section of Howard county. After experiencing some hardships during two years, they went to Michigan, where they remained up to 1885, then came back to Cotesfield. The parents made that their home for about twenty years, then moving into Greeley county, while William has made this

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region his home continuously for the past twenty- six years.

His home farm is fully equipped for stock and grain raising, and he is among the prominent and successful men of his locality.

Mr. Flint was married in Cotesfield, October 20, 1897, to Miss Fidelia Parker, who was the youngest child in the family of John M. and Elizabeth Parker, old settlers in Howard county. Mr. and Mrs. Flint have two children, Alta Eliza- beth and Elsie Blanch, who are bright and charm- ing young misses.

For several years prior to her marriage, Mrs. Flint was a teacher in the Howard county schools, and has a host of friends, both herself and hus- band being prominent socially.

JONAS S. ROTH.

Jonas S. Roth is a pioneer homesteader of Cus- ter county and one who has been largely success- ful as a farmer and stockman. He has a fine farm, well equipped for stock and small grain, with a large, comfortable home and good outbuild- ings, surrounded by a fine grove of trees which he set out himself. He also has a fine growth of nat- ural timber which grew along Dry or Wagner creek.

Mr. Roth was born near Circleville, Pickaway county, Ohio, September 23, 1850, eighth in or- der of birth of the children of Thomas and Esther (Griest) Roth, who had nine sons and four daugh- ters. He has six brothers and three sisters now surviving, none of whom, however, live in Ne- hraska. The father was a farmer and removed with his family to Edgar county, Illinois, in 1857. He first rented a farm there and later purchased land of his own.

Mr. Roth lived on the home farm in Edgar county with his parents until his marrige, being the last son to leave home. On December 1, 1874, he married Virginia Eubank, whose family is de- scribed in connection with the sketch of E. D. Eubank, which appears in this work. The young couple located on a farm in Edgar county, where they lived until the fall of 1879. They then left with their three sons for Custer county, making the trip via the prairie schooner route and reaching their destination in November. They moved into the Jim Oxford cedar log house which stood on the west bank of the middle Loup river, near the present Comstock bridge, where they spent the winter. Mrs. Roth's brother, Richard Eubank, came with his wife at the same time, the two fami- lies coming with covered wagons. In May of the next year Mr. Roth entered his homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land on section twelve, township eighteen, range eighteen, erecting his house on the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter, and also took a tree claim in section twelve of that town. He still owns and occupies the original homestead and tree claim and has three 2 7 1/2

hundred and sixty acres of land in the home place, having acquired forty acres of the section by pur- chase. He had had continuous residence on the farm except for five years, from 1891 to 1896, which he spent in Saline county, Missouri. He has been connected with the passing events of the neighborhood, and although of a quiet disposition, has always done his part along educational and other progressive lines.

Mr. and Mrs. Roth have eight children: Clif- ford, married and living in Comstock, has two chil- dren; Edgar, married and living on a farm two miles east of the home place, has three children ; William, married and living four miles north of Comstock, has two children; Dora, wife of Pearl Walton, of Graham county, Kansas, has two chil- dren ; Mary, wife of Charles Mattox, lives on a farm adjoining the home place and has two chil- dren; Nellie, wife of Earl Anderson, lives on the home farm; Halley, wife of Lloyd Bennett, of Dry Valley, has one child; and Fred, at home.

HERMAN GROELING.

Herman Groeling, a prominent farmer and stockman living on section twenty-five, township thirty, range eight, is well known throughout Knox county as a progressive and successful agri- culturist, highly esteemed by all with whom he has to do. Mr. Groeling owns the Walnut Merchan- dise store, and is also postmaster at that place, having held the office for twenty-seven years.

Mr. Groeling is a native of Germany, having been born in Pommerania Province in 1848, and is the son of Christ and Juliana (Schmidt) Groel- ing. His father was a school teacher, as were his ancestors as far back as our subject knows. In 1853 Mr. Groeling, with his parents, left Germany for America, embarking on a sailboat at Hamburg for New York, they having heard the glowing ac- counts of the opportunities afforded in the New World to get land for almost nothing, and a bet- ter chance to make a start in life. After landing in the United States, they proceeded to the state of Wisconsin where they settled and remained four years; and from thence going to Burlington, Iowa, living there eleven years. They moved then to Page county, Iowa, residing there four years. Our sub- ject drove to Nebraska in 1871 where he took up one hundred and sixty acres of land a pre-emp- tion claim, close to Winnetoon, and there built a log house.

In 1873 his future wife came from Iowa to Nebraska and they were married at Yankton, South Dakota. Mrs. Groeling's maiden name was Mary Louise Bosse. In 1873, they took up a home- stead in section twenty-four, township thirty, range eight, Knox county, north of their present location. In the early days, misfortune in almost every form visited this portion of Nebraska; dur- ing the years of 1874-75-76, the grasshoppers made their memorable raids, destroying all the crops; and

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the destructive blizzard of 1888 did its share in creating havoc in that section, Mr. Groeling losing some cattle; and in 1894 the crops were again a failure. Deer and antelope were plentiful when our subject first came to Nebraska, and could fre- quently be seen grazing on the prairies.

Mr. Groeling now owns twenty-two hundred acres of good land, situated on the Verdigris creek, which affords a good supply of water. The ranch is well improved with good buildings and a fine residence, and Mr. Groeling has a fine orchard and grove.

Mr. Groeling is of the opinion that the average man' here is much better off financially than in Iowa, as the land here is cheaper and crops grow just as well with less attention, one man taking care of one hundred acres here as easily as he could fifty acres in Iowa.

Mr. and Mrs. Groeling are the parents of eight children, namely : Anna, now the wife of Mr. J. F. "Butterfield; Myrtle, wife of L. D. Forney ; Lydia, Gusta, now Mrs. Tikalsky , Hilda; Lewis; Bethold, who is married to Miss Josephine Mott; and Her- man.' Mr. and Mrs. Groeling and family are. one of the most respected and highly esteemed families of their community, and enjoy the friendship of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

JAMES P. PORTER.

James P. Porter is widely known as a pioneer of Nebraska and one of the few original home- steaders in his neighborhood. He has passed through the years of hardship and privation, drouth and grasshoppers, and the trials of life on the frontier, having won a good reputation and standing in his part of the county and reached a period of prosperity and success. Mr. Porter was born in Effingham county, Illinois, October 18, 1847, the seventh born child of the six sons and four daughters of James and Mary (Parkhurst) Porter. One son, George Porter, came to Custer county in 1899 and lives near Mullen. The parents are deceased and the only members of the family who now survive are four sons.

Mr. Porter was educated in his native county, reared to farm work, and lived in Effingham county until the fall of 1882. He was there mar- ried March 8, 1865, to Mary A. Parkhurst. In September, 1882, Mr. Porter brought a team and covered wagon to Custer county, being accompa- nied by two children. His wife and one child came by train to Grand Island and thence the family came together to the homestead on the northeast quarter of section thirty, township eighteen, range nineteen, making the trip with a wagon. This homestead has since been the home place and has been developed to a fine state of productiveness. Mrs. Porter's mother, two brothers and two sisters, were residents of Ne- braska prior to 1882, and one brother, David, and a sister, Phoebe, now live in Omaha.

Mr. and Mrs. Porter have seven children who survive: William F., married and living near Ar- nold, has five children; Laura, wife of C. W. Gal- pin, of Broken Bow, has two children; Calvin O., married and living near Berwyn, has two chil- dren; Samuel A., born in Custer county, is mar- ried and lives at Lincoln; Charles W., the young- est child, horn in Custer county, is at home; Alma and Elna, twins, born in Custer county. Alma is the wife of Percy Carland, living near Berwyn, and they have one child; Elma is the wife of Jule Smets and they live near her parents. The family have always stood for the best interests of their county and state and have shown themselves the friends of progress in various forms. They have a wide circle of friends and are prominent in many circles.

A. E. DERRY.

A. E. Derry, a prominent farmer and old set- tler of Antelope county, Nebraska, resides on his fine farm in section eleven, township twenty-three, range six. He is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of good land, which he has accumu- lated by dint of his honest industry and persistent lahor, supplemented by good management and integrity.

Mr. Derry is a native born Nebraskan, his birth occurring April 28, 1859. His father, George Derry, is a typical pioneer of Nebraska, his settlement in the state dating from 1857, set- tling in Dodge county. He came here from Eng- land, of which country he is a native, having been born in London, (Lanchestershire) in 1823. He grew to manhood in his native land and followed the occupation of bridle maker. He is now living in Decatur county, Iowa, where he is well-known and highly esteemed and respected. Our subject's mother, Louisa (Weldon) Derry, was also born in England, her birth occurring in the year of. 1821. Mr. George Derry, our subject's father, in 1857, left his native land and came to America where he could get land cheaper and where there were more opportunities for a man to support his family; he settled in Dodge county, Nebraska, where he took up a pre-emption and homestead claim, and built a log house, the roof being made of cornstalks. Here the family went through about every hardship and danger it was possible to encounter, suffering losses through every con- ceivable cause ; this is not to be wondered at, as at. that time this section of the country was almost unknown as a habitation for a white man; they had many scares from the red skins which then in- habited the western country; grasshoppers made their visit to Nebraska in 1873-74-75; the blizzards of 1869 and 1873 did a great deal of damage to those early settlers in that part of the state.

In 1873 our subject came to Antelope countv. Nebraska, and lived here with his mother until 1885 when he bought where he now lives. In

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1886 Mr. Derry was married to Miss Melvina Black, and Mr. and Mrs. Derry are the parents of four children, named as the following: Zaida E., George W., Sanford M., and Melvin A.

Mr. 'Derry during his long residence in this section has become well-known as a man of in- tegrity, and has always done his full share for the betterment of conditions in his locality; he was elected by his constituents to the office of county commissioner, which office le satisfactorily filled for three years, taking oath in the year of 1900. At the present time he is town clerk and has always taken a commendable interest in public affairs.

JAMES H. KERR.

James H. Kerr and his estimable wife are prominent in social, educational and religious cir- cles in Custer county, and are highly regarded as being identified with the best interests of the region where both have spent so large a part of their lives. Mr. Kerr is a native of Winnebago county, Illinois, born September, 18, 1855, the ninth of the twelve children of Charles and Anna (Larkin) Kerr, and one of four sons. The father was a native of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and the mother of Somersetshire, England, and they were married in Canada, coming to the United States about 1834. They came across the lakes on the boat "Erie" on her last trip, just prior to her burning on the return trip to Canada. They were pioneers of Illinois and all their children were born in the United States. The father died in Roscoe, Illinois, in 1872, the mother having passed away some time prior.

Mr. Kerr lived in Winnebago county until his eighteenth year, and received his education in the public schools. He then moved to Cook county, in the same state, which was then the home of his guardian, and when he attained his majority started ont in life on his own account. Ile was married at Blue Island, Illinois, March 13, 1879, to Miss Alice Ursula Lewis, daughter of Thomas and Margaret E. (Jones) Lewis, pioneers of Illi- nois. Thomas Lewis was a native of Swansea, Wales, and came to America with his father and family in 1839, and married Margaret Jones in 1850. Both Mr. Kerr and his wife are the only members of their respective families who are liv- ing in Nebraska.

Mr. and Mrs. Kerr began housekeeping on a farm in Cook county, Mr. Kerr having been reared to farm work, and this place, which was near the city of Chicago, was largely devoted to raising hay.

In April, 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr removed to O'Brien county. Iowa, and lived on a ranch there until December. 1885, when they came to Custer county. They took a pre-emption on the north- east quarter of section twenty-one, township thir- teen, range eighteen, and lived there about a year,

then took up a homestead comprising the north- west quarter of section seventeen, township four- teen, range eighteen, where they lived until lo- cating in Ansley in August, 1893, and since that time have lived in Ansley. In that year they made a trip to the World's Fair in Chicago. Mr. Kerr is engaged in the grocery and hardware business in Ansley, and they have a modern home in the town. He is one of the most successful and popular merchants in the county and has done his full share in promoting the development and pro- gress of the central part of the state. Besides his property in Ansley, Mr. Kerr still owns a farm near the town. During the trans-Mississippi ex- . position, Mrs. Kerr was a member of the board of the bureau of education, from the sixth congres- sional district. Mrs. Kerr was one of the earlier educators of Custer county and taught in the public schools of Ansley, Mason and other towns of the county. She is a woman of rare attain- ments and culture and is always ready to give her time and attention to all causes calculated to advance the higher development and uplifting of her town, county and state, along all lines of progress. She and her husband have a taste for good literature and have one of the finest private libraries in their part of the state. Mr. Kerr is a member of the Masonic order, which he joined several years ago.

Mr. and Mrs. Kerr have had four children, three of whom are now living: Howard, born in Cook county, now living in Twin Falls, Idaho, has one child; Margaret, wife of William A. Wol- ford, born in O'Brien county, Iowa, living in Ans- ley ; Alice Ursula, horn in ()'Brien county, Iowa, married Oscar M. Carter, lives in Cashmere, Washington, and has two children: Grace May, horn in Custer county, died March 26, 1902.

DR. ROBERT C. TALBOT.

One of the best known men of Custer county is Dr. Robert C. Talbot, who was the first physi- cian to locate in that part of the state. Ile has long been closely identified with the progress and upbuilding of the community and is a large land- owner. He was born in Kentucky March 16, 1848, third of the ten children of Willis and Nancy (McGoun) Talbot, both natives of the same state. He has one brother in Sherman county. Nebraska, Dr. Nicholas Talbot, who resides in Austin. "The father died in Indiana in the early eighties and the mother died there about 1899. Willis Talbot brought his family to Indiana and there Robert C. Talbot grew from infancy to young manhood. He was reared on a farm and received his education in the country schools. Later he attended college in Danville, Indiana. and then took a course in Miami Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1869, after which he entered upon the practice of his profession at Sylvania, Indiana.

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On December 25, 1869, Mr. Talbot was united in marriage with Miss Hattie Warrick, a native of Indiana, their union taking place at Pittsboro. Her father, Edward H. Warriek, was born in Delaware and died in Indiana in 1864, and her mother, whose maiden name was Ruth Whiteman, was born in West Virginia and died in Burt county, Nebraska, in 1907. Mrs. Talbot has one brother in Indiana; one brother and two sisters in Burt county, Nebraska; one brother in Wash- ington county, Nebraska; a sister in Boise, Idaho. and a sister in Trinidad, Colorado. In the fall of 1879 Dr. Talbot brought his wife and two sons to Custer county and homesteaded on one hun- dred and sixty acres of land, also secured a tim- ber elaim adjoining, of the same size, and pre- empted one hundred and sixty acres, making alto- gether a fine grain and stock farm, which is well stocked and equipped. A few years after his ar- rival he was elected county treasurer and he was instrumental in organizing the school district, the first three terms of school being held in his home, pending the erection of a sod school house. About 1885 the family came to Broken Bow, where they have a pleasant home and five acres of land in the Rainer addition, and this has since been their home. Three children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Talbot, as follows: Dr. Willis E., who is in the practice of his profession in Broken Bow, is married and has two children: Victor Claris, mar- ried and living on the family homestead, has four children: Nannie, wife of Horace F. Ken- nedy, of Broken Bow, has two children.

Dr. Talbot has nine hundred and sixty acres of land in Custer county, as well as large in- terests in other Nebraska counties, and is promi- nent in public affairs. He and his wife have many friends and they are well-known in social circles.

All the male members of the Talbot family have military records: Dr. Talbot is a civil war veteran. He enlisted in Company H, of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Indiana Volunteers, and was retired toward the end of hostilities on account of broken health.

Dr. Willis E. Talbot served in the Spanish American war, in the hospital corps of the First Nebraska Infantry, in serviee in the Philippine Is- lands. He was promoted from hospital steward to second assistant, then to first assistant surgeon of the regiment and later appointed Major and surgeon of the First Regiment, Nebraska National Guard, under Colonel Talbot.

Colonel V. C. Talbot served in the Spanish- American war as First Lieutenant of Company "M;" he was later advanced by promotion to Captain of Company G, and on his return from the Philippine Islands campaign, was made Colo- nel of the First Regiment of the Nebraska Na- tional Guard.

On one of the illustrated pages will be found portraits of Major W. C. Talbot, Col. V. C. Tal- bot and Dr. R. C. Talbot.

WILLIAM ALEXANDER.

William Alexander, one of the pioneers of Pierce county, Nebraska, is a native of Scotland, born near Ayr, the chief town of Ayrshire, Sep- tember 15, 1828. His parents, Robert and Mar- garet (Cowan) Alexander, natives of the same shire, died after a few years in Wisconsin, where they had joined their son in June, 1863.

Mr. Alexander learned the carpenter's trade in his native country, where he was employed at that work until his emigration to America in the fall of 1851. Securing passage at Glasgow, he took ship at Greenoch in an old sailing vessel, and after a voyage of six weeks landed in New York; going to Philadelphia he found work at his trade and some six months later moved on to Cincinnati, Ohio, and remained there about two years. From here he migrated to Marquette county, Wisconsin, and engaged in his vocation, buying the meanwhile a tract of one hundred and twenty acres which he farmed with hired help, being employed in build- ing most of the time.

In 1873 he determined to follow the stream of settlers to the west and, selling his farm, started May 9 for Nebraska with a yoke of oxen and drove through Iowa as far as Waterloo. Here the roads became impassable, their progress being only three quarters of a mile the last day. Se- curing a car at the first station west of Waterloo, Mr. Alexander with his family came by rail to Sioux City, whence the roads to the west were smooth and dry.

Reaching Plainview the middle of June, Mr. Alexander took a pre-emption claim one mile south of Plainview and began the life of a farmer in the west, working at his trade when there was building to be done. After a two years' struggle against grasshopper pests, losing all his crops dur- ing that time, Mr. Alexander packed his family in wagons and started back to Wisconsin. On reaching La Mars, Iowa, they sojourned for a few weeks to welcome an addition to the family, Mr. Alexander securing work at his trade the while, and then proceeded on their way to the old home in the Badger state. Here they resided about four years until conditions had improved in the west, and a longing for the prairies came over them, as they had been homesick for the older state on their first advent to Nebraska.

In the spring of 1879 their possessions were again loaded into the ox wagons and for the third time they took the trail between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, reaching Plainview in June. Mr. Alexander filed on a timber claim four miles south of Plainview, where they prospered and ac- emulated land to the extent of eight hundred acres. This Mr. Alexander sold in 1894, bought

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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 179

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