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 184

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 184

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During the first few years here, the family suffered many losses and discouragements. Their nearest market was at Fremont, which was many miles, making it very hard to get their produce to market, or to bring home supplies. Then the grasshoppers took their crops for several years in succession. They persevered, however, despite the serious obstacles which confronted them, and now are reaping the benefits of their years of toil.

In 1893. Mr. Schultze was united in marriage to Miss lda Goetsch, also of Stanton county.

They are the parents of three children : Walter, Oscar and Reinhart, all of whom are. at home.

Mr. Schultze is a gentleman of intelligence and enterprise, and has acquired the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. For a period of twelve years, he has served as a director of the school district, and in other ways assisted in the affairs of his community.

WILLIAM H. OELSLIGLE.

William II. Oelsligle, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser in section one, township twenty- three, range five, Antelope county, Nebraska, is well known throughout this section of the state, having been one of the very first settlers of the county in which he resides, coming here over forty years ago.

Mr. Oelsligle's father was a native of Ger- many, in which country he was born in 1830. Here he grew to his young manhood, when, in 1850, he left his native land, and started out for the new world. After landing in New York, his father crossed the country to Illinois, remaining there until 1870, then came to Antelope county, Nebraska. Our subject's mother is also a native of Germany, and before her marriage her name was Miss Ludovika Brazda.

William H. Oelsligle was born in Chieago, Illinois, October 6, 1851. He came, in 1871, to Antelope county, Nebraska, to where his father had preceded him. In 1876, he took a homestead in Madison county, Nebraska, where he lived for seven years, and then came to Antelope eounty, and settled where he now lives.

In those first days of settlement in Antelope county, our subject and his parents underwent more hardships and disappointments than falls to the lot of the average farmer. Over forty years of progression have passed over this section of the country since the Oelsligle family settled here, and the well-to-do young farmer of today has little realization of the early experiences of those brave sons of the western frontier times. In 1872, 1873 and 1874, the family suffered great losses through the grasshopper raids of those years. In 1890 and 1894, the crops were a total failure in this section of the country, and in 1903, the hailstorm of that year killed the crops. Ante- lope and deer were plentiful in thoes days, and were frequently seen around the farm.

Mr. Oelsligle is a highly-respected and esteemed eitizen of his community, and, with his brothers, owns about two thousand acres of good land.

ELBERT H. GAINES.

Elbert H. Gaines, conspicuously mentioned as the republican candidate for the office of eounty treasurer of Custer county, in the election of November 7, 1911, is a native of Cambridge,

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Illinois, born January 10, 1852, the younger of the two children of Sylvester H. and Priscilla (Andrews) Gaines, whose only daughter died at the age of five years. Both parents died in Cam- bridge, the father April 1, 1870, and the mother July 18, 1865, both being natives of New York state. The father was a merchant in Cambridge, and an early settler in that part of the state.

After receiving an education in the common schools of his native place, Elbert H. Gaines entered mercantile life, and when in his twen- tieth year, engaged in the lumber business on his own account. November 14, 1886, he left Illinois, and came to Custer county, arriving there during the three days' blizzard, so that he had an early experience of Nebraska's storms. He located in Ansley, and, in company wiih Dan Hagan, there engaged in mercantile business under the firm name of Gaines & Hagan. In 1900, he purchased the interest of his partner, and since then the firm has been E. H. Gaines. He deals in grocer- ies, hardware and various kindred lines, being one of the leading merchants of the county. He had been engaged with Mr. Hagan in various business enterprises, and has always enjoyed the respect and esteem of his business associates, as well as the general public. He is one of the pioneer business men of his region, and is a pat- riotic supporter of the best interests of his county and state.

Mr. Gaines was married at Menlo, Iowa, October 4, 1876, to Fannie B. Paige, and they have three children: Elbert P., born in Cam- bridge, Illinois, February 21, 1886, married Clara Varney at Ansley, Nebraska, June 18, 1907, and they have one child; Fred B. of Chicago, and S. Loine, at home. Mr. Gaines and family are prom- inent in social and educational circles, and he has belonged to the Masonic order the past twenty years. Although he has never been particularly active in political affairs, he has been much inter- ested in the success of the republican party. He has refused various offices of honor at the hands of his party, but in earlier years served some time as a member of the town board and the board of education. He has always been progressive along all lines, and is considered a man of intelligence and excellent business ability, and is a man with many friends.

CHRISTOPHER TATGE.

Christopher Tatge, a retired agriculturist of prominence in Allen precinct, Pierce county, Ne- braska, resides on the farm he has extensively im- proved in section nine, township twenty-seven, range one, and is one of those substantial citizens whose integrity and industry, thrift and economy have added so much to the material wealth and growth of Nebraska. Agriculture forms the basis of the wealth of the world. It is, therefore, of great importance that the class of people who in-

habit the great farming regions of the country should represent those elements of sterling wortlı so prominently displayed by the majority of the early settlers and their descendants.

Mr. Tatge was born, March 1, 1830, in Reppin, a village of the electorate of Hesse-Cassel, Ger- many. He was reared in his native land, and in 1849, becoming dissatisfied with the limited field that surrounded him, he started for the new world, sailing from Bremen in the "Wieland," a sailship, commanded by Captain Henkle. He landed in New York, after a voyage of twenty- eight days. Coming west to Chicago, where he remained three weeks, he secured work on the farm of Mr. Menkler, a noted horticulturist, in Kendall county, where he was employed six years, learning thoroughly the science and art of horticulture. He removed to Benton county, Iowa, in 1855, practicing his profession until the spring of 1887, when, owing to the opportunities offered in central Nebraska, he came to Pierce county, and still lives on the original homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. To this he added until, before dividing with his children, he acquired one thousand two hundred and eighty acres of the best Nebraska land.

Phillip Tatge, the father of our subject, was a native of Germany, and participated in the his- torical events that took place early in the nine- teenth century. He was a descendant of one of the French Huganot families, driven from France by religious persecution, after the revocation of the edict of 1685. The family escaped from France under cover of darkness, and many were the hardships and privations they underwent during those trying times. With such ancestors and amid such surroundings, Phillip Tatge was born and reared, and it is but natural he should prove to be a brave soldier. He served under Napoleon, the greatest general the world has ever known, from 1804 to 1816, participating in the retreat from Moscow, swimming an icy river in making his escape. He was wounded in the elbow by a ball at Leipsig, and later was engaged in the historic battle of Waterloo against Lord Welling- ton. The incidents connected with his career as a soldier would fill a volume. He was one of a band of twenty-seven tried and true men selec- ted by Napoleon as a special guard while in Russia. Of the twenty-seven, only seven returned, Phillip Tatge being one of these. Tremendous hardships were endured by this faithful band, and at one time they were so closely pressed that they were compelled to swim the river Bernesine. After his return home at the close of these years of terrible war, he was appointed highway over- seer, which position he held for many years, prov- ing himself to be efficient in peace, as well as in war. Phillip Tatge died when Christopher was but seven years old. His mother, Charlotte (Mun) Tatge, died seven years later, leaving the boy to make his way alone.

RESIDENCE OF CHRISTOPHER TATGE.

RESIDENCE OF DANIEL E. MATHER.

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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

Christopher Tatge was married in Oswego, Kendall county, Illinois, in 1853, to Sophia Cole- man, and they are the parents of eight children, as follows: Charles; John, who married Miss Lydia Budy, who died May 4, 1911, leaving six children ; Martha, now the wife of C. E. Manzer, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume; Edward, married to Jessie Norton; Lizzie, married to William Peterson; William, who married Louise Totten, they having two children; Anna, now the wife of Fred Wendle, and the mother of four children; and George, who married Miss Teena Manzer, eight children have blessed this union. In all, there are thirty- nine grandchildren and eleven great grandehil- dren.

Our subject has made a special study of agri- culture and horticulture, and is one of the most experienced fruit men in Nebraska. He has forty acres of fruit and other trees on his farm, and it is known far and wide as the Pierce County Fruit Farm. In his orchard are apple trees, the seed of which Mr. Tatge imported from Arabia. He also has an especially fine variety, a winter snow-apple tree, possibly the only one in central Nebraska. In his researches, Mr. Tatge discovered the secret of preventing insects from destroying fruit trees, and also a process of preventing insects from destroying fruits two of the greatest obstacles fruit growers, in all climes, have to contend with. He has secured a patent on the process, which he intends to give to the govern- ment for the public good. Secretary Wil- son, of the president's cabinet, a friend of Mr. Tatge, is to have the process investigated, and extend the knowledge to the rest of the country, that all may benefit by the discovery. Mr. Tatge originated the Randolph and the Tatge plum, the latter one of the greatest orchard trees on the Pacific coast. He has originated some fifty varieties of apples as well, all of them dis- tinct, and of excellent quality.

Mr. Tatge is a member of the Christian Union church, and is known and respected as one of the men who have done much to transform Nebraska from a pioneer country into one of the greatest states in the union. A view of Mr. Tatge's old homestead residence, with its large barn and other buildings, besides a part of his extensive orchard, are to be seen on another page of this volume.

DANIEL E. MATHER.

Daniel Mather, who has for many years been identified with the advancement and prosperity of central Nebraska, now has a fine grain and stock farm of two hundred and forty acres of well-improved and valuable land in Valley county. Mr. Mather was born in Newton, Jasper county, Iowa, December 25, 1862, a son of Daniel and Mary (Bennett) Mather, who had three sons and two daghters, Daniel being their fourth child. 28

He is descended from Reverend Richard Mather through his son, Timothy, a brother of Cotton Mather, who is famous in colonial history, the family coming to the new world in 1635. Our subject was reared on a farm in his native state, educated in the public schools, including the high school at Monroe, Iowa, and lived there until he reached the age of twenty-four years. He has two half-brothers living in Nebraska, Harvey and Benjamin Mather, the former in Chase county and the latter in Omaha. The mother of Mr. Mather died in Jasper county, December 23, 1867, after which Daniel and his brothers were reared in the family of an uncle, Daniel Mather. The father re-married, and reared a second family of four children. He brought the second family to Saline county, Nebraska, in 1880, having secured a homestead there two years before, and remained on the original homestead there until the fall of 1906, when he removed to Colorado, where he died in Denver, December 13, 1908.

On February 16, 1887, Daniel E. Mather mar- ried Augusta R. McGregor, their union taking place in Jasper county. She is a daughter of David and Jane (Fish) McGregor, the former of whom lives in Belleville, Kansas, and the latter died in Stillwater, Oklahoma, March 22, 1909. Ten of the McGregor children now survive, Mrs. Mather being the only one now a resident of Ne- braska. Her brother, Everett, came to Nebraska, the same year as her husband, but moved away in the spring of 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Mather now have two sons, Clarence Ray, who enlisted for a four years' term in the navy in February, 1911, and Alvesta Claude, who is still with his father on the farm. They have an adopted daughter, named May.

March 6, 1887, Mr. Mather and wife came to Valley county, making the trip by rail to their new home. He had come the fall of the preceding year, and purchased a farm near Arcadia, which he occupied two years, then sold, and rented in Sherman and Valley counties until moving to his present home in 1902. When he moved to this land, not a sod had been turned. Mr. Mather has put every dollar's worth of improvement on the place-the house, the barn, granary, sheds and other buildings, completing his equipment with a double silo in the summer of 1911. There is run- ning water in the house and barn, with good pressure for the cistern high up on the hill. Or- chard, vineyard and garden add to the comforts of the home. We have the pleasure of presenting a view of this fine country home in our illustrated pages. Mr. Mather has brought his farm to a high state of cultivation, and is a progressive farmer, having advanced ideas, and taking an active interest in public affairs. He is prominent in social, educational and political circles. For the past ten or twelve years he has been a member of the town board, and the school board most of the time.

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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

In the fall of 1910, Mr. Mather was the nom- inee of the republican party for the office of rep- resentative to the state legislature, but, owing to the fact that a three-cornered fight was pend- ing, he withdrew his name, and gave his support to his republican opponent to insure the election of a man favorable to the temperance cause, as the campaign at that time in Nebraska was practically between the "wets" and "drys." He is a man of high principle, with very pronounced ideas of right and wrong, and determined in his support of any cause he espouses. In politics he now works with the people's independent party. He is a member of the Congregational church, and affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Mr. Mather was born in a log house, and attended school in a school house of that prim- itive construction. On coming to the west, he had the pioneer privilege of living eight years in a "soddy," an experience no early settler should miss. For a time he used corn for fuel, when that cereal was selling for nine cents a bushel. The dry year, 1894, he raised but ninety- six bushels of wheat and one hundred and four bushels of corn on his entire farm. The oft-men- tioned blizzard of January 12, 1888, found Mr. Mather in town, and, although the storm was suffocating, he made his way home.

JOHN A. HOLMES.

A leading old-timer of Pierce county, Nebras- ka, is found in the gentleman above mentioned, he having come to this portion of the state about 1881, when the region was just beginning to be settled by those who had come to this country to build up homes and fortunes through industry and perseverance, and who, by dint of good man- agement and oftentimes much privation, have accumulated a competence to last them through their later years. Mr. Holmes resides on the southwest quarter of section five, township twenty-six, range three, where he has a comforta- ble home, and is held in high esteem by a host of warm friends and good neighbors. He also has a forty-acre tract a few miles northwest of the home place.

Mr. Holmes was born in Tama county, Iowa, Angust 7, 1865, and is the son of George W., senior, and Mary (Moats) Holmes. Our subject's father was born in Illinois in 1835, and died De- cember 19, 1908, aged seventy-three years. The mother died in August, 1905, at the age of sixty- nine years. In the sixties, Mr. Holmes moved to Tama county, Iowa, and later, with his family, drove to Dickinson county, where they took up a homestead in 1870, and resided until 1880. In that year they came to Pierce county, Nebraska, and here the father took up a tree claim in section five, township twenty-six, range three, on which our subject now lives, and on which were planted

twelve acres of trees. Later he secured one hun- dred and sixty acres under the pre-emption law, and on this tract the family lived in a sod house for two years in true pioneer style.

Like other pioneers in the days of earliest settlement, the family hurned twisted hay for several years before coal could be secured at prices people could afford to pay. Deer and antelope were plentiful in those days, and furnished the settlers a supply of wholesome meat at a time when food was scarce.

Mr. Holmes was united in marriage to Miss Lorena Bigger, April 20, 1895. Mrs. Holmes is a native of Ohio, a daughter of David Bigger. Of this union have been born three children: Isa. Willard and Esther. Mr. Holmes is a member of the Modern Woodmen and Odd Fellows lodges, and votes the democratic ticket. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes and family are highly respected and esteemed by all who know them.

DELLMOND A. GEIL.

Dellmond A. Geil, a young man of much promise, was for a number of years one of the public-spirited citizens and popular business men of St. Paul, Nebraska. He was born in Hocking county, Ohio, September 14, 1872, living there until in his eighth year, then, with his parents, went to Iowa, settling in Norwalk, where they lived for three years. From there they moved to Hayes county, Nebraska, the father following ranching for several years.

Mr. Geil received his early education in the common schools of Nebraska, later spending three years at York College, and also went to the Western Normal College at Shenandoah, Iowa, for one year. He had a distinct leaning toward the church, and in the spring of 1897, began preaching, coming to Howard county, where he was given the pastorate of the First United Brethren church at Elba, and carried on this work for five years, during part of the time later was a teacher in the schools of Howard county.

In 1900, Mr. Geil purchased the leading St. Paul newspaper, which is now known as "The Phonograph Press," and edited this paper for one year. While located in St. Paul, Mr. Geil devoted much of his time to public affairs, taking an active part in local and county politics, and in 1902 was appointed deputy county treasurer, which office he held during the following four years, and in the fall of 1905, was elected treas- urer of Howard county, taking charge of the office in January, 1906, and filled the position successfully, proving a very popular and capable man for the place. He was also a member of the demorcatic state executive committee. In January, 1910 he went to Roswell, New Mexico, and four months later settled in Wichita, Kansas, his present home. He is interested in the Kansas

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Magazine, being the secretary and treasurer of the company.

Mr. Geil was married in November, 1899, to Carrie J. Baliman, at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. W H. Baliman, who lived just west of St. Paul. They have a family of two children, Lela D. and Marion A., both now attending school. Mrs. Geil died on September 14, 1904, as a result of an accidental explosion, and her death was deeply mourned by her de- voted family and a large circle of friends. It was made especially pathetic because of the un- fortunate accident. Mr. Geil was married again in 1905, to Miss Zetta S. Springer, of Leon, Iowa, the ceremony taking place at Kansas City, Mo., and to this union two children have been born. Dellmond A. Jr., and Mildred L. Mr. Geil and his wife occupy a high position in the social life of the community in which they reside, and the former is regarded by his fellow men as a young man of high capabilities who has a brilliant future before him,

CASH M. ROUTH.

Cash M. Routh has for the past quarter of a century been influential in the development of Nebraska in various lines, and he and his wife now have a very comfortable home in Valley county, where he has developed an excellent farm. Mr. Routh was born in Warren county, Illinois, Sep- tember 9, 1861, sixth child of David and Eliza (Collins) Routh, who were parents of seven sons and four daughters. Both parents were natives of Indiana, the father born in Floyd county, in 1827. He was a pioneer settler of Illinois and Missouri and died in the latter state October 16, 1910. The mother died in the same state, January 21, 1892. The family located in Nodaway county, Missouri, in the spring of 1882. Of their eleven children the following seven now survive: Elza is married and living in Norfolk, Nebraska; Cash W. of this sketch, the only other member of the family in Nebraska; three daughters, Mrs. Harvey Church- ill, Mrs. Charles Umphrey and Mrs. Ed MeIntire, all of Missouri; John, of Oklahoma; Edward, of Marshalltown, Iowa.

Mr. Routh was reared on a farm, accompanied his parents to Missouri in boyhood, and lived at home until he attained his majority. Ile was mar- ried in Nodaway county, September 11, 1882, to Miss Minnie Weddel, daughter of Joseph M. and Julia (Bugby) Weddel, and one of their three chil- dren. Both parents are deceased. Their son Alfred E. lives in Valley county and their daugh- ter Cora B., (Mrs. Dade M. Quigley), lives in Hayes county. In September, 1885, Mr. Routh and wife came to Jefferson county, Nebraska where they rented a farm for a time and later bought land. In September, 1895, Mr. Routh became connected with the Omaha Van and Storage Company and lived for about ten years at Omaha. In 1905 he

purchased the northwest quarter of section four- teen, township seventeen, range sixteen, Valley county, to which place he moved in March, 1907, intending it as a permanent residence. He devoted his place to grain cultivation and stock raising and is recognized as an upright, desirable citizen. He and his wife have won many friends in their new home.

Mr. Routh well remembers the blizzard of Jan- uary 12, 1888, when he tried in vain to get his cat- tle into shelter; however they drifted in a plum thicket in a canyon and none were lost.

Mr. Routh is republican in politics and a men- . ber of the Modern Woodmen of America.

JOHN F. NEIDIG.

John F. Neidig, whose biography forms an in- teresting page in the history of the early settle- ment of Nebraska, is a resident of township twen- ty-two, range one, where he lives on section twen- ty-nine, Madison county, and is widely known and highly esteemed. He has developed a fine farm and home there, and is one of the energetic and pro- gressive farmers, well meriting his success and en- viable reputation. Mr. Neidig has lived in his pres- ent home ever since his arrival in Madison county, which was in 1876.

Mr. Neidig is a native of Saxony province, Ger- many, in which country he was born June 2, 1843, a son of Barbara and Nicholas Neidig. The father served in the war under Napoleon against Well- ington. in 1815, and could relate many interesting reminiscences of that eventful time. Our subject's grandfather is a native of sunny Spain, but later became a resident of the German Empire, where he was employed in an organ manufactory.

John F. Neidig, subject of this writing, came with his parents to America in 1844, sailing from Hamburg, Germany, to New York on the sailboat "Isaac Newton," and the family were on the sea eighteen weeks. They remained in New York ten years, and then moved to Kankakee, Illinois, where they lived for twenty-two years.

In 1876, our subject started for the west to make his fortune, making final settlement in Madi- son county, where he bought land.

Mr. Neidig improved his land he had purchased from the railroad, putting up good buildings, etc., and now has a beautiful home. In the early days of settlement here, Mr. Neidig suffered many hard- ships and losses through the different causes inci- dental to those times, and as late as 1894 lost all his crops by the hot winds that prevailed during the drouth of that season.

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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 184

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