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 65

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 65

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

1861, when he returned to Cleveland. At this time they bought land in the "Black Swamp," near Millbury, a part of which they cultivated from 1861 to 1865. Returning to Davenport, he bought a team of horses and engaged in teaming, working fourteen years for the firm of Van Patten & Marks, wholesale grocers, and although not a large man, he could handle heavier freight than many men twice his size.

Mr. Barnes was first married in Cleveland, Ohio, April 7, 1859, to Miss Mary McCabe, a na- tive of Ireland, who died in 1883. She. was a daughter of Charles MeCabe, and at her death was deeply mourned by a large circle of friends and sorrowing relatives.

Mr. Barnes lived in Davenport until 1885, when he came to Nebraska, reaching Wayne coun- ty on the 27th of September. He bought a quar- ter section of land four and one-half miles north and one mile west of Wayne, where he lived for twenty years. In 1905, he rented his farm, and the same year moved to town, where he purchased thirty-four lots in College addition, and built a neat cottage home. He followed teaming for a year or two, but receiving an extra good offer for his fine team, he sold and gave over hard work for the rest of his life. On several of his lots he has a fine garden which brings him a good reve- nue; he has his cow and a horse to keep, enough to give him some employment, at the same time adding to his pleasure in life and reducing the cost of living.

Mr. Barnes was again married September 16, 1885, at Cambridge, Illinois, to Mary Ann Ragen, who was born in Cleveland; she is a daughter of Hughie Ragen, who came from Ireland. One daughter was born to them, Edyth Rose, who is now a successful teacher in the Wayne county schools.

Mr. and Mrs. Barnes just escaped being out in the blizzard of Jannary 12, 1888; he was hitching his team to drive over to his sister's, south of town, for a visit, when the storm enveloped them ; had they started a quarter of an hour earlier, they might have been forever lost.

Deer were not all gone from the country when Mr. Barnes came ; he saw two or three of them on the prairie after locating in Wayne county ; and of wolves he has seen none here except the com- mon coyote ; but the large grey wolves he has seen in Illinois, when he occasionally worked across on that side of the river.

Much of Mr. Barnes' prosperity is due to his care for his tools; he has an axe, the helve of which he made in 1862 ; a hay rake and cultivator he purchased in 1865 are still in a perfect state of preservation ; plows, harrows and other imple- ments have been preserved with equal care. It is the care and saving in little things that make fortunes where otherwise failure and loss accrne.

Mr. Barnes is a democrat in politics, and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows.

MR. AND MRS. JOHN M. MISCHKE.

299

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

JOHN M. MISCHKE.

The gentleman above mentioned is counted the oldest settler in Knox county, Nebraska, of which county and state he is a native-born son, his birth occurring in 1860. His brother, C. E. Mischke, was the first white child born in Knox county. He is a son of Charles F. and Amelia (Sucker) Mis- chke, who were marired in 1856, at LaPorte, In- diana. The father was born in 1823, in Germany and when quite a young man came to the United States of America on a sailboat which made slow progress, he being fifty days on the water. After landing in New York, he remained there some few months and worked at whatever his hands found to do, then came westward as far as Chicago, Il- linois, and from there on to LaPorte, Indiana, where he remained two years, during which time he was married. Our subject's mother was also a native of Germany, born in the southern part, close to Italy, and coming to America in the early fifties.

From LaPorte, our subject's parents went to Iowa City, Iowa, that being as far as the railroad was built at that time; there they bought an ox team and started for the west to make a fortune for themselves and bring up the family where they could get land cheap. Our subject's father's brother-in-law, Carl Nevenfeld, persuaded them to come to Knox county, Nebraska, where a town had been started, the only one at that time west of Sioux City, and which had been christened Frankfort, which consisted of four stores, one saloon, and twenty houses near completion. When the family arrived here, onr subject's father did not like the appearance of the town, so settled on some land about three-quarters of a mile east of the town. He built a log house, and having no furniture, he drove stakes in the ground and made a bed by placing poles across the stakes and covering them with straw. The nearest market place was at Sioux City, and it took a whole week to go to market with an ox team.

Our subject's uncle, August Mischke, also came to Knox county at the same time Charles F. did; he built the first mill in St. James, and that is where they went to mill. August took a timber claim on the river, but left and went to Pike's Peak, Colorado, during the gold rush about 1860, driving through with an ox team. There was no town on the present site of Denver at that time, there being only a few tents on the ground, which was in later years to be one of the great hustling western eities. Mr. August Mischke waited one day while on his journey to Pike's Peak to let the great herds of buffalo pass so they could pro- ceed on their way. After his western trip, he re- turned to Knox county, Nebraska, where he still remains and lives with our subject.

Our subjeet's father bought three hundred and eighty aeres of land by raising potatoes, which he sold to the men on the boats up the riv-

er. They paid as high as one dollar per bushel, and as soon as our subject's father had saved fifty dollars, he would buy forty acres of land. By the time the homestead law was enacted he al- ready had the land he had accumulated and did not take advantage of the homestead act.

Game of all kinds was very plentiful at that time; and the government soldiers gave our sub- ject's father a gun, but he never made use of same for the destruction of game. The grass- hoppers first troubled the people in this section of the country in the sixties, 1865 or 1866 to 1874; during this time all of the people in the town of Frankfort left, with the exception of our subject's father, who was left alone with his fam- ily. In those early days, the family fought pra- irie fires many times to save their lives and homes.

On March 17, 1881, our subject and his family suffered a severe loss through the death of his mother, who was laid to rest in the almost un- broken western prairie, deeply mourned by her husband and family.

On March 30, of the same year, the memorable flood came, carrying the greatest havoc in its wake, the Mischke family losing all their stock. The flood came about two o'clock in the morning; a cake of ice about one acre in diameter struek the house with such terrific force as to strike ter- ror to the hearts of those within, who immediately jumped out onto the ice. Some men got logs and made a raft from slabs and came to the rescue of the imperiled family, who were taken off the ice one at a time, it being about ten o'clock next day when the last one was rescued. Our subject's father had bought a lot in Yankton, South Da- kota, and was building a large brick building when the flood came and carried away all the ma- terial, which made it very difficult to continue the erection of the building.

Our subject in those early days helped his father on the farm, and got what education he could. He now owns a part of his father's home place, which is well improved; he also owns twelve hundred acres of good land and is en- gaged in mixed farming. Mr. Misehke has one of the finest farms in this section of the country, on which is a fine artesian well which keeps the fam- ily in a good supply of water; and he has a beau- tiful orchard. He also owns five hundred and sixty acres of land in Gregory county, South Dakota.

Mr. Mischke was united in marriage in 1890 to Miss Sophia Doering, and Mr. and Mrs. Mischke are the parents of eight children, named as follows: Esther, Lydia, Elsie, Hilda, Silas, Harold, John and Melvin.

Mr. Mischke is a highly respected citizen in his community and has served his constituents as county commissioner for four years. In polities he is a republican, and he and his wife are mem- bers of the Evangelieal association to which he has belonged since 1881, and he has been super- intendent of the Sunday school for a number of

300

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

years. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Mischke will be found on another page of this volume.

WILLIAM FUHRMANN.

To its earlier settlers, almost without excep- tion, men of sturdy determination and enterpris- ing perseverance, Nebraska offered a field of wide opportunities. It is hard for the present genera- tion to realize the change that has taken place through the efforts of the pioneers, who have made possible the present prosperity and commer- cial activity in a region which forty or fifty years ago was so sparsely settled. Among the men who have helped in the development of Stan- ton county, is William Fuhrmann, who is one of the very early comers, and who has gained an en- viable reputation as a citizen and a successful farmer. He is a native of Pommeron, Germany, born in 1845, and grew to young manhood in his native country. He is a son of Charles and Fred- ericka Fuhrmann, who were of the same region in Germany.

In 1867, Mr. Fuhrmann left his home and set sail for America, spending six weeks on the ocean voyage and landing in New York. After spending about three years in the state of Wisconsin, Mr. Fuhrmann, in 1870, drove with a team.of oxen through to Stanton county, where he secured a homestead and erected a sod house, which was his home for several years, during which he had very primitive furniture and housekeeping uten- sils. For some time he was greatly handicapped by the damage caused by the grasshoppers, but he triumphed over all difficulties, and has prospered well, so that he now owns a very comfortable home and is surrounded by his relatives and friends. He has won this success through indus- try and good management, and has been constant- ly improving his estate, which is located on sec- tion five, township twenty-four, range one.

In 1873, Mr. Fuhrmann married Miss Bertha Clue, and they are the parents of eight children : Alvena, Gusta, William, Martha, John, Minnie, Herman, and Otto.

FRANK KELLER.

To the men of perseverance and stalwart de- termination who went to Nebraska when it was yet undeveloped as an agricultural and commer- cial region, the present prosperity enjoyed there is due, and among the most prominent of these early settlers in Antelope county, who has been intimately identified with its every movement for betterment and gained an enviable reputation as a citizen, may be mentioned Frank Keller, a pros- perous and successful farmer of Frenchtown town- ship.

Mr. Keller was born in Green county, Wiscon- sin, November 27, 1868. When a small boy the family moved to near Freeport, Illinois, where the father died in 1873. The mother remarried, and

made that state her home with her husband, Peter Womeldorf, for some years, our subject remain- ing with them and attending the local schools. In 1882 they all came to Nebraska. His stepfatlı- er took a homestead near Royal, Antelope county, and Frank helped carry on the farm, during the first few years finding it a hard task to even make a living on account of the obstacles which con- fronted them in the shape of dronths, etc. They were oftentimes without even the necessaries of life, making use of every sort of substitute for food, and suffering hardship in every form. Prairie fires swept the country and they fought to save their home and property from destruction. Their fuel often consisted for weeks of cornstalks and hay, as there was no wood of any kind available.

About 1898, Mr. Keller purchased his present farm. one hundred and sixty acres, and this is now a valuable piece of property, improved with good buildings of all kinds, and considerable cul- tivated land on which he raises good crops of grain and hay. He has planted many trees, and has a fine orchard, besides one of the most beau- tiful groves of shade trees in this section.

Mr. Keller was married October 16, 1891, to Miss Bertha Ingerham, and to them have been born nine children, named as follows: Clyde, Helen, Hazel, Alda, Ada and Leta, living; and Neta and Greta, twins, and Arlia, deceased.

GEORGE NELSON.

George Nelson, a retired farmer, residing in Plainview, Nebraska, is one of the many sons of Denmark that have made a worthy name for themselves in the new world. He is a son of Nels and Marie Peterson, and by the custom of the Scandinavian countries at that time, takes his surname from the father's first name.

Mr. Nelson's birth occurred in the rural vil- lage of Kundby, province of Sjeland, Denmark, January 11, 1846, and here he lived until his emi- gration to America in 1868. Embarking at Co- penhagen, Denmark, March 28, in a small vessel, he sailed around Jutland and down the North Sea to Hamburg where a transfer was made to a steamer which landed its passengers at Hull, Eng- land. Going thence by rail to Liverpool, Mr. Nel- son embarked in the "Minnesota" and stepped on shore of the new world at New York, nineteen days from the date of leaving his native land. One of a party of young compatriots had been in the states and had worked near Winona, Minne- sota, and here onr young traveler worked some eight months. He had left a sweetheart in the old country, for whom he intended to send as soon as his savings amounted to enough for that pur- pose ; but not waiting for this she had followed some six weeks later. An emigration agent, who ehanced to have Mr. Nelson's address, would not give it to her unless she paid him twenty dollars, which she had not agreed to pay and for which no service had been rendered; furthermore he

301

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

took mail for her from the office, which he kept. Because of this she failed to learn Mr. Nelson's address and it took eight months' correspondence for the two young folks to learn each other's whereabouts. As soon as learned, Mr. Nelson came on to Cedar Falls, Iowa, married, and the next spring moved to Marshalltown, where he learned to run a stationary engine, and for twelve years held a position with a large elevator com- pany there.

In 1881 he moved to Antelope county, Ne- braska, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres three and one-half miles west of Plainview, and here he worked and thrived until 1901, when he retired from active farming and moved to Plainview.

Mr. Nelson was married in Cedar Falls, Iowa, June 28, 1869, to Miss Anna Kathrina Jepsen, daughter of Jeppa and Johanna (Jurgenhausen) Hansen, who remained in the old country. She came to America by the same route Mr. Nelson had taken, coming with a party of friends to Cedar Falls, Iowa, as before stated. Immediately after the wedding, Mr. Nelson paid the emigra- tion agents his demands, not wishing any shadow of debt to rest on his bride, and refraining from prosecuting him for withholding letters addressed to the girl who there became his wife.

To Mr. and Mrs. Nelson seven children were born: The two eldest, both named Ebba, were deceased in infancy; George Andy is a railway mail clerk, with headquarters at Norfolk; Louis is a traveling salesman for an Omaha firm; Harry died in 1901 in a hospital in Sioux City, Iowa; Alice married L. E. Fisher, a farmer, residing two miles north of Plainview; and Mary is the wife of LeRoy Amm, a merchant of Plainview.

In faith Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are Seventh Day Adventists, and in politics he is a democrat.

Living in Iowa during the grasshopper raids, they escaped that discouragement of the earliest settlers, but during the blizzard of 1888, Mr. Nelson came near having a serious time. He had proceeded but a half mile from home, when the storm overtook him. Turning about, he faced the pelting, icy mist, and finally reached his habi- tation. His wife did not know him. The fur coat he wore was so filled with the ice dust that it was like a robe of ermine, it was so white, and the fine snow was driven through his clothing almost to his body. He had a fortunate escape.

Mr. Nelson owns a comfortable home, and to keep in touch with the business world, deals in platform scales and gasoline engines for farm use. He is a typical business man, and is highly respected hy all. His farm he disposed of in 1910.

HON. J. FRANK FREDERICK.

One of the oldest settlers of Howard county, Nebraska, and for many years classed among the leading citizens of St. Paul, is the gentleman

named above, now a resident of Chappell, Ne- braska. He is possessed of unusual perseverance and thrift, and he has been a potent factor in the development of the agricultural and commer- cial interests of that region. He is considered one of the wealthy residents of his locality, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellow- men.

J. Frank Frederick was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 26, 1850. He was the third mem- ber in a family of five children. His early educa- tion was received in the common schools, and as a young man taught school in his home vicinity, later spending two years on the plains driving cattle from Texas into Kansas, and followed a frontierman's life during that time. On December 24, 1872, he married Elizabeth Stuart, at the home of her parents,

Des Moines, and near the following March the young couple came to Howard county, where our subject homesteaded on section twenty-two, township fourteen, range eleven, also took a timber claim, and proved up on the land. He later purchased eighty acres of school land, and developed a good farm, consisting in all of four hundred acres, having two hundred of this under cultivation.

During the earlier years Mr. Frederick passed through all the pioneer experiences, meeting failures and discouragements bravely, and in spite of hardships persevered in his determination to win for himself a competence and comfortable home, in all of which he has succeeded beyond his expectations. For a number of years he lived in St. Paul, where he had one of the most beauti- ful residences in the city, and was prominently known as a worthy and successful business man. On March 1, 1910, he removed to Chappell, Ne- braska, where he now resides. He is a republican and has served for two terms as a member of the Nebraska state legislature, his term of service extending from 1879 to 1882 inclusive. During his first term the famous Slocumb High License Bill was passed, which measure proved both pop- ular and effective. Also, the first appropriation was allowed for the new capitol building at Lin- coln, and to his efforts is due not a little of the credit of securing the appropriation. He has always been active in county and state politics, in the early days serving as precinct assessor, and for ten years has been a member of the St. Paul school board.

Mrs. Frederick was born and reared in Polk county, Iowa, and was the seventh in a family of ten children. She was a teacher in the county schools there for a number of years prior to her marriage to our subject, and was popular with all. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick have had four chil- dren. One daughter, Allie Maud, died in infancy, and the others are named as follows: Corwin, who with his family lives in St. Paul; Roy, pro- prietor of a fine farm about a mile and a half east of St. Paul, and Wanita, who is a graduate of the

302

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

Nebraska state normal and is now teaching in the public schools of Elba, Nebraska. They form a very interesting family, and are held in the highest esteem by all as worthy and popular mem- bers of society.

WILLIAM D. NEGLEY.

William D. Negley, who resides in section thirty-five, township eighteen, range thirteen, Valley county, Nebraska, was born in Tama coun- ty, Iowa, June 14, 1859, and was the only son of Daniel and Elizabeth Negley; one daughter, Molissie, was born in September, 1861. She died at the age of nineteen, two years after her mar- riage, and her infant lived but a short time after the mother's death. Mr. Negley, senior, died in Towa in 1861. About 1866 the mother was mar- ried to James Lamb, and the family moved to Nebraska in July of 1872, coming overland by team and wagon, bringing one cow and their household goods. They crossed the Missouri river at Omaha by ferry July 4, 1872, remaining in Omaha about four months.

In the spring of 1878 William Negley, then in his nineteenth year, went to Schuyler, Colfax county, Nebraska, remaining there until the fall of the same year, at which time he came to Scotia, Greeley county, with his brother-in-law, Isaac Moody, and about six weeks later was joined by his stepfather, James Moody, and his mother, Mrs. James Moody. Mr. Moody took up a tree claim in 1880; and as soon as becoming of age William Negley took up a homestead six miles northeast of Scotia. At the time Mr. Negley first came to Scotia it was a village of but three houses.

Mr. Negley, since ten years of age, has been connected with farm work and is a self-made man. He is acquainted with the pioneer days of Nebraska, and has by economy and successful farming accumulated fine farm and stock inter- ests ; he now owns forty acres of choice land just joining the town of North Loup to the south, on which he has a fine new modern home; he also owned a farm of one hundred and twenty acres on Davis creek, in Sherman county, which he sold in the fall of 1910. Mr. Negley is a man well known for his sterling qualities.

Mr. Negley was united in marriage April 29, 1883, at Scotia, Nebraska, to Miss Martha E. Williams. Miss Williams came to Nebraska from Iowa, her native state, in 1882; her parents, A. J. and Ellen (Barnes) Williams, were both natives of Connecticut. The father died in Iowa, October 11, 1866, and the mother November 11, 1879, they having lived in the state since 1855. One brother, Erastus Williams, lives near Cedar Rap- ids, Boone county, Nebraska, and another brother, J. B. Williams, lives in Greeley county ; other members of the Williams family reside in different states.

Mr. and Mrs. Negley have nine children living,

namely : William E., lives in Utah; Charles A., is married and living in Greeley county; Venus, who is married to Nelson Thrasher, has two chil- dren, and resides in Utah; Archie, resides under the parental roof; Dolly, wife of Burrel Rich, has one child, and lives in Greeley county ; Herman, Laura, Loyal, Merlin, all of whom reside at home ; and Paul, deceased. They are a charming family, and in their pleasant home are surrounded by a host of friends and acquaintances.

JAMES H. SMITH.

James H. Smith, who was among the earliest settlers in Madison county, Nebraska, success- fully carried on an extensive farm for many years in Madison township, and became known as one of the most progressive and wealthy residents of that vicinity. Several years ago he retired from active work, and until his death, occupied a pleasant home in the thriving city of Madison, surrounded by a large circle of warm friends, esteemed by all who knew him.

Our subject was a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, born March 1, 1832. He was the second in a family of nine children, and his early life was spent in his native state. A brother, Thomas, is a well known resident of Madison, Nebraska, and one sister lives in Allen- town, Pennsylvania, all the other members of his family being deceased.

Mr. Smith learned the carpenters' trade as a boy. He was married in August, 1855, to Cather- ine Kistler, also a native of Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1876, he came with his family to Mad- ison county for permanent settlement, locating about four miles north of where the city of Mad- ison now is. He at once filed on homestead rights and also took up a timber claim, and while prov- ing up on the land, worked at his trade in the vil- lage of Madison.

About 1887 he returned to Pennsylvania, but after a year there, came back to Nebraska and es- tablished a dry goods house, being one of the pio- neer merchants here. He also put in a stock of general merchandise at Murdock, and carried on both stores for many years, retiring from active work in 1906, at which time he purchased a hand- some residence property and spent the remain- ing years of life here.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had seven children, five living, named as follows: Monroe, Albert, Clinton, Charles and Elmer, all of whom are mar- ried, and all living in Nebraska.

Mr. Smith was an old soldier, having served for a short time in the civil war, and his grand- father was in the war of 1812.

Both our subject and his wife have been active members of the Evangelical church of Madison.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 65

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