History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time, Part 102

Author: Gaston, William Levi, 1865- [from old catalog]; Humphrey, Augustin R., 1859- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western publishing and engraving company
Number of Pages: 1180

USA > Nebraska > Custer County > History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time > Part 102

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tilda Deaver. Edward J., Eli, Mrs. Josephine Baker, George, Mrs. Bertha Schlistamier, Mrs. Ellen Mougey, and Lewis and Ezra, both of whom died in infancy.

Charles L. Mougey came to Custer county thirty-five years ago and located one mile south of Lodi. He developed a fine farm there and lived on the place until within re- cent years, when he moved to Kearney. He has since lived retired from business activity but still owns the homestead. He was mar- ried, at Mount Pleasant, Nebraska, Decem- ber 24, 1884, to Miss Flora Bird, on her twenty-first birthday. Her parents were Lewis and Emeline (Currant) Bird, and she has five sisters, namely: Rachel J. and Re- becca A., twins, their wedded names being Webster and Moffit, respectively ; Mrs. Olive M. Searles, Mrs. S. Margaret Mougey, and Mrs. Osta E. Eddy.

Mr. and Mrs. Mougey have had four child- ren : Raymond, Bird, Orpha, and Florence. Raymond, who now operates the old home- stead farm, married Margaret E. Nichols, and they have four children, Margaret, Maurice, Arthur, and Eleanor Jean. Raymond Mou- gey and his family belong to the Evangelical church. In politics he is a Democrat, like his father. The second son, Bird, is a cement contractor, engaged in business at Manhattan, Montana. He married Eloise Whitaker and they have two children, Lloyd E. and Flora- bird. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Orpha died at the age of three years. Florence, the youngest of the family, is a highly educated young lady, she being a graduate of the Kearney high school and the Kearney State Normal, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Mr. and Mrs. Mougey are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Wherever known, the fam- ily has high social standing.

AUSTIN A. NARRAGON, who is a well known citizen and successful farmer, has been a resident of Custer county for thirty years, and during this time has witnessed wonderful progress along every line. He was born near Anamosa, Jones county, Iowa, October 5, 1866, and is a son of Lyman J. and Mary E. (Willison) Narragon, the former of whom was born near Oswego, New York, and died" in Nebraska, in August, 1913, and the latter of whom was born in Ohio, seventy-six years ago: since the death of her husband she re- sides with her son, William Narragon, in Custer county. Of the ten children the fol- lowing survive : Austin A., William S., Elisha L., Charles C., Mrs. Rosa Miller, Mrs. Elva E.

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Read, and Mrs. Ula Toby. By trade the father was a millwright, and the building of mills called him to different sections.

In his early boyhood Austin A. Narragon went to school in his native county. In 1874, when he was eight years old, his parents moved to western lowa and two years later they went to Crystal Lake, Michigan. It was while living there that young Austin consummated what was probably his first business transac- tion, which consisted of picking blackberries. carrying them four miles and receiving three cents a quart for them thus delivered. It was over ten years later that the family came to Custer county, in 1888, and located on Elk creek, ten miles south of Mason City, where the father rented and operated land for one year. In 1890 Lyman J. Narragon and his sons Austin A. and William S. came to the neighborhood of Oconto and located three claims, five miles southwest of the village, all this land being valuable at the present time. Austin A. Narragon remained at home with his parents, looked after them in their declin- ing years and has never married. He is a Republican in his political principles, as was his father, and he was reared in the faith of the Evangelical church.

Nc GEORGE, who is one of the substan- tial and representative farmers of the South Loup country, is numbered among the well known and influential pioneer citizens of Cus- ter county, within whose borders he has main- tained his residence for more than forty years, so that his personal experience covered vir- tually the entire period marking the develop- ment and progress of this now favored section of Nebraska.

Mr. George claims the historic old Bay state as the place of his nativity. He was born in Danvers, Essex county, Massachusetts, on the 31st of May, 1852. and is a son of Lorenzo D. and Harriet ( Gilford) George, the former of whom was born in Carroll county, New Ilampshire, and the latter of whom was born and reared in Massachusetts. Mr. George is a scion of staunch Welsh ancestry, and it may consistently be said that he has inherited many of the predominating characteristics that have "always made the representatives of the Welsh stock leal and loyal, sturdy and upright, in all of the relations of life. Mr. George is the eldest in a family of five children, and con- cerning the others the following brief record may consistently be entered: Mrs. Ella Trew was the second in order of birth and she and her husband are residents of Custer county ;

Mrs. Ida Sleeth, the third child, is a resident of the state of Washington; Cora Jane, re- cently deceased, was the wife of Allie L. Mor- gan, who resides not far distant from the George homestead in Custer county : and Mrs. Flora Silvernail, who resides in Milltown, Washington, is the widow of Frederick Sil- vernail, who was engaged in lumbering op- erations in that state.

Nc George is indebted to the common schools of Massachusetts for his early educa- tional discipline, which included that of the high school, and as a youth he gained a due quota of experience in connection with farm enterprise in his native state. The year 1871 recorded the arrival of Mr. George in Nebras- ka, and he passed the first two years in the vicinity of Gibbon, Buffalo county. In 1873 he married, and about two years later. in 1875. he and his wife numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of Custer county. Here Mr. George filed entry on a homestead and forthwith began the development and im- provement of the pioneer farm, his operations being along both agricultural and live-stock lines. . As the years passed, his well directed industrial activities, in which he received the assistance of his wife and his sons, were marked by cumulative success, and thus was laid the foundation for the substantial material prosperity which is his at the present time. He and his wife endured their full share of of the discouragements and trials that marked the pioneer era in Custer county history, but the gracious rewards of later years have made these hardships and frontier experiences but matters of pleasing reminiscence. In the his- torical department of this publication mention is made of an interesting incident in the career of Mr. George, and the same may well be re- peated in this immediate connection. In the pioneer days he applied for appointment to the position of postmaster of a newly estab- lished postoffice in the vicinity of Georgetown. In his petition he signed his name Ne George. The postoffice authorities in Washington mis- took his first name for initials and wrote that he must supply his full name. He found it impossible 'to convince the postoffice depart- ment that he had no other personal or Chris- tian name save that indicated by the two con- sonant letters, and thus the appointment was (lenied him. It may further be stated that the town of Georgetown was named in honor of the subject of this review.

Mr. George has long been a progressive and successful exponent of agricultural and live- stock enterprise in Custer county and has been one of the influential and valued citizens of the

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Nc GEORGE AND FAMILY

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

community in which he has maintained his home for more than two score years. His po- litical allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is well fortified in his opinions concerning public policies. He has been called upon to serve as precinct assessor and for a number of years he held the office of town- ship clerk, though he has never been imbued with any ambition for political preferment and in his service has been animated only by civic loyalty. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and he and his wife are zealous members of and liberal contrib- utors to the First Eudell Baptist church, at Cumro. They were instrumental in effecting the organization of the Old Settlers' Associ- ation of the South Loup country and have been prominent and influential in its subse- quent maintenance and social activities. It is interesting to record that this association holds its annual picnics on the George homestead. Mrs. George is a woman of distinctive literary ability an dsome of her papers, read at the old settlers' picnics and at church meetings, have attracted much attention and favorable comment, the while they constitute a valuable contribution to the historic and general liter- ture of the county. It may well be said that Mr. George and his wife are known to virtual- ly all of the pioneer citizens of Custer county and that the circle of their friends is limited only by that of their acquaintances. They have been prominent in public and social affairs and have done well their part in furthering the civic and material prosperity of their home county and state.

In 1873 was solemnized the marriage of MFr. George to Miss Ruth Emogene Allen, a daughter of Josiah N. and Mary Allen, who were at that time residents of Gibbon, Ne- braska. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. George: Llewellyn D. is a prominent and highly estcemed citizen of Broken Bow ; Ethel is the wife of Walter B. Curtis, and they re- side in the vicinity of Anselmo, this county ; Ralph, who is conducting successful operations on a Custer county farm. married Mrs. Viola ( Barr) Lesh, and their pleasant home is a center of generous hospitality ; Eunice is the wife of Rev. W. F. McNiell, a clergyman of the Baptist church, and they reside in the city of Chicago: Clarence remains at the pa- rental home and is his father's coadjutor in the work and management of the farm: Ar- thur, who married Miss Ruby Nichols, at Grand Junction, Colorado, their home being now in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska, became associate editor of the Nebraska Ruralist and

field man, but he entered the nation's mili- tary service in connection with the world war and at the time of the close of the great con- flict he was stationed at Camp Pike, Arkan- sas, and is now commissioned second lieuten- ant of reserves, and honorably discharged ; he has resumed his duties with the Nebraska Rut- ralist ; Bertha is the wife of Hervy Hinote, who is a carpenter by trade, and they reside on the George homestead; Vincent, who married Miss Marian Gillespie, of Polk county, is a teacher of mechanical engineering in the University of Wisconsin at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1918-19: and Mar- guerite, the youngest of the children, is attend- ing school in the city of Chicago, she being a young woman of talent and engaging per- sonality.

FELIX BERNERT, who is one of the most extensive and prosperous farmers in his part of Custer county, is not one who has had fortune and property thrust upon him by in- heritance and, perhaps, increased it by care- ful management. On the contrary, his large competency, his valuable properties and his high and substantial standing as a citizen. have been acquired by individual force of character, by industry, perseverance, and in- telligent effort, founded upon the strictest honor. Starting as a simple homesteader. about thirty-three years ago, he is now the owner and active operator of 1,120 acres of as fine land, on the whole, as can be found in Custer county.

Mr. Bernert was born in Moravia, Austria, March 19, 1857. a son of Joseph and Josepha ( Witche) Bernert. His father was a brick- burner in Austria, which country he never left, nor did his wife or the other ten children of the family. Felix Bernert, the youngest of his parents' children, was educated in the pub- lic schools of his native land, and was various- lv employed there until he reached his twenty- fifth year. At that time he immigrated to the United States, and February 26, 1882, he settled in Cook county, Illinois, where for two years he was employed by the day as a farm laborer. Thus he was able to secure a start and to save a small amount of capital, with which he came to Nebraska in 1884. locating in Thayer county, where he worked on a farm for another year. In 1885 he came to Custer county and filed on a homestead, which proved the nucleus for his present large property, and which he still owns and holds for his home property. At the time of his arrival he erect- ed a sod house of the same type as those used by other early settlers, but, along with other

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misfortunes, he lost this place of habitation, in a cyclone. He built a more pretentious abode to replace the one destroyed in 1890, and this was his residence until 1909, when he erected the modern house in which he now has all the comforts and conveniences of civi- lization. Mr. Bernert has added to his im- provements, his buildings and his general equipment as the years have passed, and the prosperity of the present day compensates him for all the hardships that he passed through before he was able to get his start. He fol- lows general farming, in which he has met with remarkable success, probably because of his skilled management and his knowledge of his vocation, together with his unceasing in- dustry and an intelligent use of modern meth- ods and appliances. He has been successful also in raising live stock, and at this time he has ninety-nine head of cattle, at the head of his herd being a thoroughbred Hereford indi- vidual. He also has 119 head of hogs of a good grade, and is accounted a good judge of live stock.

Mr. Bernert is a Democrat in politics, but while he is a loyal and progressive citizen he has never sought public office. He is a friend of education and constructive civic move- ments, and has given his support to worthy enterprises tending to advance the general welfare. Reared in the faith of the Catholic church, he has remained true to its teachings, and his wife and their children likewise ad- here to the faith of this great mother church of Christendom.

In 1887 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bernert to Miss Clara Drechsler, who was born in Moravia, Austria. She is a daughter of Edward Drechsler, who came to Custer county, Nebraska, July 20, 1890, and who here passed the rest of his life in farming. To Mr. and Mrs. Bernert there have been born nine children, of whom six are living: Frank re- sides at home and assists his father in the work and management of the farm opera- tions ; Mary is the wife of H. Langer, of Cus- ter county ; Joseph, who was twenty-six years of age, enlisted October 5, 1917, in the United States service, and was killed on the 6th of October, 1918, while a member of a regiment with the American Expeditionary Forces in France: Felix, Jr., is the owner of a farm near that of his father; and Carl and John reside with their parents.

EUGENE M. WEBB was born in Buffalo county, Wisconsin, on the 18th of December, 1859, and is a son of Alfred P. and Ellen J. (Olds) Webb, the former a native of the state

of New York and and the latter of Connecti- cut. The two children born to the parents are Eugene M. and Bertina M. Pardoe. Alfred P. Webb was a gallant defender of the Union in the Civil war, in which he served on the flag ship of Admiral Farragut.

In 1870 Eugene M. Webb came to Ne- braska in company with his widowed mother, and here he attended school for a year, after which his mother located on a homestead in Butler county. There she taught school for several years-until her son had completed his education and attained to his legal ma- jority. Mr. Webb earned his first money by dropping corn by hand for a German farmer, but he did not manifest much predilection for farm life in those days. Being of studious disposition, he became imbued with a desire to enter the field of journalism, and at the age of twenty-one years he became an apprentice in the office of the Butler County Press, where he learned the printer's trade under the in- struction of Hon. C. D. Casper, one of the oldest and best known newspaper writers in Nebraska.

After being graduated from Mr. Casper's office, Mr. Webb became editor of the Brain- ard Enterprise, and in 1886 he established the Ulysses Herald, which he conducted until the fall of 1888. He then located in Broken Bow and launched the Nebraska Citizen, a pioneer reform sheet which preached the old Green- back gospel and was a potent factor in blazing the way for the Farmers Alliance and the first Populist victory in Custer county. Mr. Webb claims the distinction of having written the first editorial ever written by a Nebraska editor in favor of independent political ac- tion. He attended the first Populist conven- tion and was a strong supporter of Kem in his first race for congress, being at that time a partner of Hon. C. W. Beal in the publica- tion of the Custer County Beacon. Two years later he established the Custer County Inde- pendent, at Callaway, and for six years this was recognized as one of the most aggressive Populist newspapers in Nebraska. Within that period, in 1896, Mr. Webb was elected a member of the state legislature, as representa- tive of Custer and Logan counties. After concluding his term as a legislator, he re- turned to Callaway and resumed the editorial management of the Independent. He vigor- ously opposed the fusion policy which had been forced upon the Populist party bv its leaders, and warned the rank and file of the party against the political machinations of the politicians who had bartered principles for office, at the party's expense. The politicians and office-holders retaliated by a withdrawal

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of patronage from the Independent, in an ef- fort to force the paper out of business, but the paper waxed hotter as the patronage grew less.

In the spring of 1898 Mr. Webb entered a homestead eight miles southwest of Callaway. but he continued the Independent and his fight against fusion, setting the type for the editorial pages in "the little old sod shanty" at night, after a hard day's work in the field, and on publication day making the trip to Callaway with the type, which was placed in the forms and "shot into the enemy" on much the same plan that Mark Twain's poetry was shot into the Indians. And thus the Inde- pendent eked out its existence until the fall of 1898, when Mr. Webb retired from news- paper work. He has since devoted his ener- gies to the development of his farm and the raising of live stock.

In 1912 Mr. Webb was elected overseer of the Nebraska State Grange, and he is serving his sixth year in that capacity. He has al- ways been an active worker for the advance- ment of the agricultural interests of the county and state.

At Bellwood, Butler county, Nebraska, on the 3d of August, 1884, Mr. Webb was united in marriage to Miss Lily May Freiday, a daughter of John G. and Pauline (Postman) Freiday. Mr. and Mrs. Webb have three children, concerning whom the following brief data are entered in conclusion of this review : Eugene M., Jr., who is a farmer by vocation, married Miss Grace Province and they have two sons and three daughters : Alfred Vernon Webb, who likewise follows the basic indus- tries of farming and stock-raising. married Miss Gertrude Ashley ; and Thomas M. Webb, the youngest son, also is to be found arrayed with the sturdy yeomen who are actively identified with farm enterprise.

JAMES V. DEVINE. - The financial in- terests of any live and growing community are among the most important, because upon these rest the possibility for progress or the probability of retrogression. Therefore those communities that are possessed of sound financial institutions are those best fortified for constructive growth and substantial de- velopment, and for this reason conservative banking houses are among the most valuable assets of any city or town. The thriving com- munity of Oconto is fortunate in the posses- sion of such a reliable financial institution as the Farmers Bank of Oconto, which is now in its fourteenth vear, and the growth of which has been steady and consistent, in just pro-

portion with the confidence in which it has been held by the people of the community. Since the time of its organization this bank has had the service of sound and well in- formed officials, among whom has been since its inception its present and only cashier, James V. Devine.

Mr. Devine has been a resident of Custer county for nearly thirty years, during which time he has become. in several capacities, well known to the people here. In 1889 the De- vine family located not far from Broken Bow, settling on a homestead farm, and the boy- hood and youth of Mr. Devine were passed amid agricultural surroundings, his training being one in which were impressed upon him the dignity of labor, the value of industry and the necessity of honesty and integrity. He received good educational advantages in his youth, as he attended the public graded schools and the high school, and eventually was graduated from the Fremont Normal school. On the completion of his studies he turned his attention to business and financial matters, and when he entered the Farmers Bank of Oconto, at the organization of that institution, in 1905, he had considerable ex- perience of a valuable character behind him to assist him in familiarizing himself with his new and important duties. He has remained as cashier of this banking house to the present time, and much of its success may be justi- fiably accredited to his judgment, foresight. financial acumen and general popularity and affability. He has numerous important con- nections in big business interests, and is ac- counted one of the substantial business men and public-spirited citizens of his community.

Concerning John A. and Bridget A. De- vine, the parents of James V., individual men - tion is made on other pages of this work.

BENJAMIN L. NICHOLAS, a practical and enterprising farmer and stock-raiser of the Mason City community of Custer county, owns and operates 880 acres of land, consti- tuting one of the valuable and highly improved farms of the locality. These possessions have been acquired through the medium of the efforts of Mr. Nicholas and the members of bis family and as the result of his consecti- tive endeavor he has won a place among the substantial citizens of his adopted county.

Mr. Nicholas was born on Holoway farm, near Nasberth. Wales, March 10. 1856. He is a son of Thomas and Martha (Lewis) Nicholas, and a grandson of Edward Nicho- las and Evan Lewis, all of whom passed their entire lives in Wales. Thomas Nicholas was

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a successful farmer, a well known and highly esteemed citizen, a Liberal in politics, and he and his wife were faithful members of the Calvanistic Methodist church. Of their eight- een children, six are living, and Benjamin L. was the only one to come to the United States.

Benjamin L. Nicholas was given a liberal education in his youth, including attendance at the high school, and was a bright scholar with a quick and retentive mind, samples of his penmanship at the age of thirteen years, as preserved in a beautiful book kept by himself, giving evidence that he was greatly advanced at that time. He was reared on his father's farm, and on February 28, 1881, he wedded Miss Margaret Beynon, who was born at Merthyr Tydvil, South Wales, August 28, 1857, a daughter of Rev. John and Ann ( Will- iams) Beynon, the father having been a min- ister of the Congregational church. Rev. John and Ann (Williams) Beynon became the parents of four children - Edward, who is deceased; Mary, who died in infancy ; David John, who is a clergyman of the Congrega- tional church and who is at the time of this writing a resident of Southampton, England ; and Margaret, who is the wife of Benjamin L. Nicholas, the subject of this review. Al- most immediately after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas sailed for the United States, and within the year 1881 they arrived in Kansas, where they homesteaded a tract of eighty acres. This they subsequently relin- quished, to come to Custer county, Nebraska, where, in 1884, they pre-empted a quarter- section of land. At the time of their arrival they had but two cows, and their first resi- dence was a sod house, but Mr. Nicholas' ability, industry, and perseverance, with the assistance of his worthy wife, succeeded in overcoming all obtsacles, and he kept adding to his land until he now has 880 acres. The sod house was abandoned for a more commo- dious and comfortable dwelling, and the build- ings are now all modern in character, while the other improvements are of the latest type. Around the residence are numerous shade- trees, which greatly add to the attractiveness of this country estate, and which were planted by Mr. Nicholas himself. He carries on gen- eral farming in the main, and also raises all kinds of live stock, and he has been very suc- cessful in both departments of farm enter- prise. As a citizen he has taken an active part in the life and government of the com- munity, having been justice of the peace for 1 time and a member of the board of county commissioners for six years, in addition to which he has rendered valuable service to the community as a member of the school board.

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History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time, Part 102

Author: Gaston, William Levi, 1865- [from old catalog]; Humphrey, Augustin R., 1859- [from old catalog] Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western publishing and engraving company Number of Pages: 1180

Author: Gaston, William Levi, 1865- [from old catalog]; Humphrey, Augustin R., 1859- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western publishing and engraving company
Number of Pages: 1180