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 35

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 35

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Misfortune attended their early years, in the way of prairie fires, plagues of grasshoppers, and heavy snows. Sioux City, many miles away, was their nearest market at this time, and often dur- ing those early days they burned weeds and corn- stalks to keep warm, as they had to go twenty- five miles for wood. Despite these discourage- ments, the family remained, and gained the high esteem and respect of their fellow settlers. The son now farms one hundred and sixty acres ad- jacent to the old homestead, which he has ac- quired since his marriage, and he has improved the land and built a comfortable modern home for himself and family.

In 1897, Mr. Specht was nnited in marriage to Miss Sarah Merrick, also a native of Iowa, and to them two children have been born, Henry F. and Edward J.

JOHN R. ORVIS, (Deceased.)

The late John R. Orvis was one of the most prominent citizens of Sargent, and was a very early settler of Custer county, passing through various stages of its history. He was well known as a business man of ability and enterprise, and enjoyed the esteem and confidence of all with whom he had dealings. He was a son of Victor M. and Lucretia (Tyler) Orvis, born in Cattaran- gus county, New York, November 27, 1835. He was the eldest of their seven children, only three of whom now survive: Henry C., of Burwell. Nebraska; one daughter in California, and an- other daughter in Iowa. The parents were born in the state of New York, and both died in Iowa.

In early childhood, Mr. Orvis was taken by his parents to Illinois, where he was reared on a farm, and received the usual educational advantages of a farmer's son in those times. Later he engaged in farming, and also conducted a blacksmith shop. He was married in Monroe county, Wisconsin, April 24, 1859, to Miss Chaney M. Sweet, who was of New York birth, daughter of George W. and Malvina (Camp) Sweet, na- tives of New York. The father served in the

civil war, took a homestead in Custer county in November, 1877, and died in North Loup in 1891. The mother died in Sargent, Nebraska, in April, 1910. Mrs. Orvis has a sister in Mich- igan and a brother in Illinois.

Mr. and Mrs. Orvis made their first home on the Illinois farm, where they lived until 1863, when they removed to Fayette county, Iowa, where he established a general mercantile busi- less. In the spring of 1877, they came overland with their six children to Custer county, Ne- braska. He secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land at West Union, and also a timber claim of eighty acres adjoining. This was the home place, and for fifteen years Mr. and Mrs. Orvis conducted a hotel in connection with farming.

In 1905, Mr. Orvis sold his farming interests to his youngest son, and retired from active life, locating in Sargent, where he erected a fine home. This was his home until his death, March 23, 1910. He left a widow and eleven children : Clara R. married Henry Groff, and they live in Sargent; Laura E., wife of Elias Whaley, lives in Colorado, and they have five children; Ida M. married Leonard Bisco, and died October 12, 1887, and is survived by her husband and three children ; Harris W., died October 1, 1867 ; Lillie B., is the wife of Joseph Simler, of Sargent, and they have four children; Cinda E., wife of God- lop Zeller, of Sargent, has five children; James A., of Custer county, is married, and has three children; Wilbur R. and Willis J., twins, the former of whom is married, lives in Sargent, and has five children, and the latter died August 25, 1875; George V., of Walworth, Nebraska, is mar- ried, and has two children; Burt L., married, and living in West Union, Nebraska, has three chil- dren. Mrs. Orvis lives in the pleasant home in Sargent, where she is surrounded by a large circle of friends, and where many of her children are near at hand.

Portraits of John R. Orvis, deceased, and Mrs. Chaney Orvis will be found on another page of this volume.

ANTON HUMMEL.

Perseverance and diligence are the stepping- stones to success. These characteristics, supple- mented by honesty and good citizenship, are among the many attributes possessed by the gen- tleman herein named.

Anton Hummel was born in Pennsylvania. January 6, 1838, and was youngest of five ehil- dren in the family of Anthony and Francisco Hummel, who had three sons and two daughters. Our subject was born and raised on a farm in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, and in Septem- ber, 1861, enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Fifty-first Pennsylvania Infantry, and par- ticipated in the battles of Gettysburg and Chan- cellorville, and received his discharge at Har-

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risburg, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1862, when he returned home.

In July, 1866, Mr. Hummel was married to Miss Ursula Jacobs, to which union four children have been born: John, married and living in Central City; Anna, residing at home; Magde- lina, also at home; and Chris, married and living on the home farm. Mrs. Hummel, the mother, died on the home farm, October, 1890.

In March, 1880, Mr. and Mrs. Hummel and four children came to Merrick county, Nebraska, where they purchased land and made a home, selling the same in 1883, returning to Pennsyl- vania for a four months' stay, then returned to Merrick county, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section fourteen, township fourteen, range seven, which has remained the home farm until this date, where Mr. Hummel now owns three hundred and twenty acres in the farm and forty acres of hay land.

Mr. Hummel and family are well known, and have the respect and esteem of many friends, and are prosperous and successful.

CHRISTIAN G. BENNER, SR.

One of the very last of the earliest settlers in the old town of Niobrara was the venerable Christian G. Benner, who remained after most of the buildings had been moved away. For over fifty years he was a resident of the town. His death occurred September 3, 1910.

Mr. Benner was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, on December 2, 1827. When about seven years of age, the family moved to Noble county, Indi- ana, which place was then on the frontier of civilization, and made that their home up to 1844, when they again migrated west, settling in Lee county, Iowa, near the banks of the Des Moines river. As a young man, Christian followed rafting and freighting on that stream, also on the Mississippi river, floating logs as far down as St. Louis. In 1848, he went to Appanoose county, remaining for about five years, then removed to Glenwood. In the fall of 1855, he moved to Sioux City, and there, in company with a brother, William Benner, opened the first hotel in the town, the building being a double log structure, and fitted up in a very orderly man- ner indeed, in marked contrast to the fine hos- telries to be found there at the present time. They ran the place for three years, at which time our subject came to Nebraska, landing in Nio- brara on the first day of June, 1858. He at first engaged in farming, and during his early resi- dence in the section, freighted across the prairie to Sioux City, and sometimes went as far as Omaha with Mr. Westermann, who was an Indian trader. At one time, Mr. Benner took a six weeks' hunting trip up the Niobrara river, when deer, elk and antelope were to be seen on every side. Buffaloes were still quite plentiful, and their hides were a staple article of commerce.

During the flood of 1881, Mr. Benner took his wife to the Draper House in order to be out of the way of the worst of the waters, and then turned his attention to the work of rescue, with others, helping save a number of settlers whose homes were submerged.

Mr. Benner told the writer that he remem- bered when the Santee tribe were removed to the reservation east of town, after the massacre at New Ulm, Minnesota.

Mr. Benner was married in Centerville, Iowa, on December 21, 1849, to Lorania Fuller, who died in Niobrara, June 9, 1883. Of their ten children, eight survive, only one of whom, William C., is now living in Knox county, and he farms a fertile tract of land lying on the old site of Niobrara.

HUGO VOGEL.

Hugo Vogel, who is now a resident of Fuller- ton, Nebraska, was formerly a resident of section twenty-six, Loup Ferry township. He is a strik- ing and impressive. representative of Nebraska brawn and muscle, having spent almost his entire career on a farm in the great western country. He has passed through all the varied experiences, gaining an enviable reputation as a progressive agriculturist, and is highly esteemed in the local- ity in which his honorable and useful career is being run.

Mr. Vogel is a native of Germany, born Janu- ary 10, 1845, and is the fifth in a family of eight children, the parents being John and Waldburga Vogel. When Hugo was nine years of age, the entire family, with the exception of one daugh- ter, who died in infancy, came to the United States, landing in New York City on July 4, 1853. They went immediately to North Glosen- bury, Connecticut, remaining there for four years, the father engaged in making of fine cut- lery. At that time, which was in the spring of 1857, Mr. Vogel, Hugo and one daughter moved into Iroquois county, Illinois, where they pur- chased a small farm and began mixed farming, being joined by the balance of the family later on in the same year. The father died there in 1860, and the mother followed him in 1876, and there are now living two girls and three boys- our subject and one brother, Julius, in Gage county, Nebraska, another brother, Carl, in Iro- quois county, Illinois, while the sisters, Mrs. Mary Rosenbaum and Mrs. Augusta Lutz, are now liv- ing in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Hugo Vogel settled in Fullerton in March, 1880, making his home in the town for two years. He then purchased two hundred and forty acres on section twenty-six, township sixteen, range seven, moving his family on the farm in the spring of 1882, where they continued to reside until April, 1910, when they moved to their home in Fullerton, which they intend making their permanent residence. Mr. Vogel was one of the

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first settlers in this portion of Nance county, and passed through all the early Nebraska times. He was elected county commissioner in the same year of settling on his farm, serving for three years, and was also supervisor of his district, which was one and the same office, the system having changed during later years. He has al- ways been interested in the development of the region along educational lines, and was director of school district number eleven for a number of years.

On February 15, 1876, Mr. Vogel was mar- ried at Paxton, Illinois, to Miss Mary Elizabeth Cunningham, who is a daughter of Philander and Julia Cunningham, and a native of Pennsylvan- ia, her parents coming into Illinois about 1855 from that state. After his marriage, Mr. Vogel started farming for himself on a rented place. One son was born in Illinois, Frederick, he dying in Nance county in 1885, while Harry A. and Helen Louise are both living at home now.

Mr. Vogel and his family are well known throughout their section of the country, and are held in the highest esteem. They have a pleas- ant home in Fullerton, and a valuable estate, the farm place being supplied with substantial farm buildings, and producing good crops of small grain. He also engages in stock raising, and takes especial pride in keeping his farm in the finest shape, having planted many trees, and also has a very fine orchard.

Mr. Vogel is a prominent Knight of Pythias.

DELL AKIN.

Although versatility is a striking character- istic of many western men, few have won signal success in as many lines as Dell Akin, editor and postmaster, living at Atkinson, Holt county, Ne- braska. At one time or another he has followed the various vocations of merchant, Indian trader, clerk, farmer and ranchman, editor and post- master, in all of which he has acquitted himself in a creditable manner, showing him to be essen- tially a son of the west. He first saw the light at Osage, Mitchell county, Iowa, September 23, 1860, a son of Ben F. and Elizabeth (Butler) Akin, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and New York. In 1882 the family came to Holt county, and the father filed claim to a homestead on Red Bird creek.

As a boy, Dell Akin attended the common schools, and the high school at Osage, Iowa, then one of the best institutions of its kind in that part of Iowa, and in 1877 he came to Holt county, Nebraska, where he opened a small store, trad- ing with the Indians some years at the mouth of Red Bird creek, they crossing the Niobrara from their reservation in what is now Boyd county. At that time Paddock was the county seat, al- though little business was transacted there. In the spring of 1879, Mr. Akin disposed of his store, and spent two years in Niobrara, where he was

employed as clerk by various merchants. He was living there at the time of the memorable flood of 1881, and helped efficiently at the work of rescuing those who were marooned. He was awakened by the sound of water, sprang from bed to find himself ankle deep in icy water, and by the time he had taken his soaked trousers from the floor, he was knee deep in the water. As he reached the sidewalk, he was thrown aside by a piece of ice which struck him. He and a Mr. Moore procured a boat, and did noble work in caring for those in distress. One amusing incident was connected with a woman. who, with a child and dog, was sitting on top of a table above the water, and when Mr. Akin reached her, she would not go first, leaving the child and dog, and did not wish to have either of them taken first without her, so he had to take all three on his back, and carry them to the boat at the door. Upon reaching it, he slipped, dump- ing his load into the boat with such force as nearly to capsize it. The woman's husband had fled at the first sign of danger, making his escape to higher ground, and leaving his family to their fate. One man, too tipsy to care for himself, was found perched on the shelving of the Bone- steel store, and taken away by boat, being too much overcome from the effects of drink to help himself.

Soon after the incidents just related, Mr. Akin moved to O'Neill. He had filed claim on a homestead and timber claim, five miles east of the town, in 1879, and lived there from 1881 until 1885, perfecting his title. He then traded his land for a ranch, southwest of Atkinson, lying in Holt and Rock counties, which he owned until 1902, and sold it to invest in land nearer the town.

In 1890, Mr. Akin moved into Atkinson, but still operated his ranch, and raised cattle and horses for the market. In 1900, he purchased the Atkinson "Graphic" from Lee Henry, and has since ably conducted this sheet as a staunch advocate of republican principles. Since assum- ing charge, he has greatly increased the circula- tion, and has one of the progressive papers of his part of the state. He has an editorial page that keeps its readers in touch with the leading issues and questions of the day, and the news depart- ment is kept up to a high standard.

In 1902, Mr. Akin was appointed to the office of postmaster of Atkinson, taking office in No- vember of that year. He takes an active interest in the campaigns of the republican party, and makes his influence felt at all times, especially when a campaign is in full swing. He is now the precinct central committeeman, and has the confidence of his fellow workers in the cause.

September 23, 1882, Mr. Akin was married in O'Neill to Miss Fannie Scott, a native of Missouri. Three children have been born to this union : Bertha, wife of James Russell, of Portland, Ore-

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gon ; Jesse, of Atkinson, and Frank, now in Port- land.

Mr. Akin married (second) in Atkinson, March, 1902, Miss Luella Boehme, a native of Sangamon county, Illinois, whose father, Conrad Boehme, was one of the earliest railroad men in Holt county. Mr. Boehme is mentioned at con- siderable length elsewhere in this work. By his second marriage, Mr. Akin became the father of two children, Erma and Dell, junior.

Mr. Akin was living on his ranch at the time of the notable blizzard of January 12, 1888. Seeing it coming, he got the cattle to their sheds before the storm broke, but spent most of the day shoveling snow, which drifted into the sheds so fast that the cattle were lifted on the drifted, trampled snow until their backs touched the poles of the roof.

For a time after moving on his ranch in Holt and Rock counties, Mr. Akin lived in a sod house. The family used hay and big hay-burners (still in use in the sand hills), though they never used it twisted as it had to be prepared before the in- troduction of the hay-burners into the state. Deer, antelope and elk were to be found when Mr. Akin first came to Nebraska, and there are still buffalo on the Yankton agency, Mr. Akin at one time seeing a buffalo cow that had strayed from the herd and passed through Holt county. In an early day, Mr. Akin was caught in the river in a hail storm so severe that the bark was torn from many trees, and they were killed.

Mr. Akin relates humorous sides of the Indian scare of 1881. Soldiers from Fort Randall were shooting off condemned ammunition, and when a mail carrier jokingly asked them the cause, they soberly remarked to him that "Hell's broke loose." Without waiting to hear more, the ques- tioner hastened to spread the alarm through the country side, with the result that part of the country was almost depopulated, and some of the fugitives never returned to their homes. Mr. Akin and a Mr. Parker rode toward the reserva- tion to investigate the cause of the rumor, not- withstanding Mrs. Parker's tears because she thought her husband was going into dire danger. Upon reaching the river, the two picketed their horses, and swam across to Mr. Lamoraux's (a squaw-man living on the north side of the stream), and found there was no foundation for the scare.

Mr. Akin knew "Doc" Middleton, "Kid" Wade and others of their gang, and spent freely of his time and money in the effort to help bring to justice the murderers of County Treasurer Scott. In spite of threats, he kept at work on the case as long as he saw a hope of carrying out a successful prosecution. Mr. Akin is one of the best known men in the county, and, during his active life, has been identified with its measures of progress and advancement. He is well liked and popular, and has numerous friends.

THOMAS A. BUNKER.

This gentleman has resided in Boone county, Nebraska, for over twenty years, becoming fa- miliar to all there, and he occupies a foremost position among them as an energetic agriculturist and public-spirited citizen. He is a representa- tive farmer, owns a fine estate, and makes his home in Ashland precinct.

Thomas A. Bunker was the eldest of two sons born to Obadiah and Parmelia Bunker, he first seeing light on July 13, 1842. His birthplace was in Caledonia county, Vermont. The Bunker fam- ily trace their ancestors back to the coming of the Mayflower, and our subject is the only member of his family now living, his mother departing this life in 1859, and his father in 1888. About 1862, the family removed to New Hampshire, but shortly afterwards Thomas returned to his old home in Vermont, where he received his educa- tion, later going to Wisconsin, where he worked in the pine woods for some years.

While there he was married in 1869 to Miss Emma Hoyt, and they settled in Iowa, and en- gaged in farming and stock raising. About 1871, they went to Howard county, Iowa, remaining up to 1889, at which time they migrated to Boone county, purchasing land in section twenty-six, township twenty-one, range seven, which has been their home farm up to the present time.

Mr. Bunker has made a success of farming, and is now owner of one of the finest farms in Boone county. He has a very pleasant home. They had one daughter, who died in 1876.

In reviewing the history of the Bunker fam- ily, going back to the Pilgrim days, three broth- ers came over on the Mayflower, landing at Pil- grim Rock. One went to sea, and was lost. One entered the revolutionary war, and after return- ing from war, disappeared, and all trace of him was forever lost. The remaining brother located in Massachusetts, and the grandfather of our subject settled in Vermont. He was a captain in the militia of Vermont in his day, and noted as the strongest man in Caledonia county, living to the ripe old age of ninety-eight years.

The father and mother of Mrs. Bunker are deceased. She has one brother and one sister, the Hoyt family also tracing their descent from the Pilgrim days.

HON. JOHN T. BRESSLER.

One of the oldest citizens in point of residence in Wayne county, Nebraska, is John T. Bressler, mayor of the city of Wayne. He first came to the county in April, 1870, and filed on a home- stead in the southeast corner of the county. a few miles from the old county seat, La Porte. He lived on the land six or seven years, and then moved to La Porte, having been elected county treasurer, in which office he served four years. During this time, he organized the Logan

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Valley Bank, the first financial institution in the county. He was interested in real estate during the same period, and was instrumental in getting many of the early settlers located in the county.

In 1881, he moved to Wayne, with the change of the county seat, and bought the Bank of Wayne County, which was consolidated with the Logan Valley Bank. This was later reorganized into the First National Bank, and of this Mr. Bressler owned a controlling interest, and served as president until 1889. Selling part of his hold- ings at this time, he became vice president, and has held that office since. He holds large areas of real estate in Wayne county, and deals in real estate and farm loans within a wide radius of Wayne. He is the local representative of many non-resident owners of lands in the west, attend- ing to their interests as assiduously as he would his own.

Mr. Bressler was born in Huntington county, Pennsylvania, January 14, 1849, attending only the country schools. His parents, Daniel and Mary Ann (Tannyhill) Bressler, spent their en- tire lives in the Keystone state. A brother, An- derson Bressler, came to Wayne in 1898, and is engaged in the insurance business.

Mr. Bressler was married in Dakota county, Nebraska, July 21, 1880, to Miss Julia Fair, a daughter of Mark and Jane Fair. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bressler. They are: Maude, George (who died at the age of two and a half years), Ruth, Kate, John T. and Doro- thy.

Mr. Bressler was living in Nebraska during the time of the grasshopper raids. He lost crops several years, and his crops were entirely de- stroyed in 1874. He passed through three of the most notable blizzards of the last forty years- those of April 12 to 14, 1873; October 15 to 17, 1880, and that of January 12, 1888, in which he was for a few minutes bewildered and lost in getting his children home from school. Mr. Bressler reached the country before the Indians were entirely subdued, and when a neighbor, named Munson, living but two miles distant, was killed and scalped by them, he realized the dan- ger was great, and sought safety for a few weeks.

Mr. Bressler is a leading republican, high in the councils of his party. He was a delegate to the convention at St. Louis that nominated Me- Kinley in 1896, and was Nebraska's member of the notification committee that officially carried the news to Canton. He was appointed one of the five government directors who represented the United States on the board of the Union Pa- cific railroad when the government withdrew from the management. He served one term in the State Senate, being elected in 1894, and was elected Mayor of Wayne in the spring of 1909.

Mr. Bressler is a member of the Odd Fellows' and Masonic lodges of Wayne, and the Chapter, Council and Commandary of Norfolk.

JOHN W. BUSCH.

John W. Busch, retired farmer and an old settler of Colfax county, Nebraska, is a promin- ent and substantial citizen of Schuyler, where he and his family now reside. Mr. Busch has lived in Colfax county for the past forty-two years or more, and has been persistent and faithful in his duty to his home state and county, and well de- serves the prosperity and comfort he now enjoys.

Mr. Busch is a sturdy son of Germany, his birth occurring in that country, January 1, 1848. He is a son of Christ and Dora (Mueller) Busch, and was eldest in a family of seven children. He has one brother residing in Howells, Nebraska. One brother died in Germany. He has three sis- ters in Colfax county and one in Germany. The parents are deceased, their deaths occurring in their native land of Germany.

In the fall of 1867, Mr. Busch came to Amer- ica, locating in Wisconsin, where he followed the occupation of farming. In the spring of 1869, he came to Colfax county, and bought eighty acres of good land in the east half of the northwest quarter of section four, township seventeen, range three, which remained his home place for thirty- four years. On January 14, 1873, Mr. Busch was married to Miss Mary Brum, who was also a na- tive of Germany. Mrs. Busch died in January, 1884, survived by her husband and five children : George, who is married and living in Schuyler; Minnie, wife of William Schuldt, has two children, and resides in Schuyler ; Frank, also married, has one child, and lives in South Dakota ; and Johnnie and Clara, both of whom died in infancy.

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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 35

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