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 110

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 110

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

JAMES LINDLY

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ping place for travelers going from the Dismal river and beyond to Kearney and Grand Island.

As a reminder of those days of hardship a few reminiscences may not be out of place. A storm in November. 1884, almost cut the Lindly family off from their transit from their dugout to the corn crib, which served as sleep- ing quarters, the snow having been three or four feet deep. Mr. Lindly and three friends were caught away from home and weathered a severe blizzard, with the temperature close to forty degree below.

On January 12, 1888, Mr. Lindly was out in his yard and observed the windmill, against which a warm southwest wind was blowing, suddenly whirl in the opposite direction. He knew at once a storm was on, and looking to the north he saw the wall of frozen mist bear- ing down upon them. Taking a supply of wraps, he started for the schoolhouse, one and one-half miles away, to get the children. Find- ing them safely housed at the home of a neigh- bor, he followed .others until they reached home and then made his way to his own home, facing the suffocating blasts for more than a mile and a half. Few men were out so long during that storm and survived. During that winter the family burned corn for fuel.

In the dry year of 1894 Mr. Lindly planted five bushels of potatoes and gathered three pecks. But all obstacles were met and over- come. and James Lindly has become one of the well-to-do men of the county. The following is a record of the children of this pioneer family: Charles and Rosella May died in childhood : Albert is married and resides in Custer county; Grâce is the wife of G. E. Lewis, of Niagara Falls. New York ; Mabel is the wife of Fred Anderson, of Custer county ; Maud is the wife of E. E. Bell, of Custer county ; Fred G. and Leonard V. are married and are farming in Custer county. Mrs. Lindly has three children by a former marriage : Alice is the wife of Lewis Karnes, residing in California ; Luella married Harry G. Karnes, and they are residents of Seattle, Washington ; and John resides in Idaho.

For years Mr. Lindly believed in the prin- ciples of the Republican party, but he is now an advocate of those of the Non-Partisan League, believing the best interests of the farmer can be served by the doctrines of that party. Fraternally he is a Mason. and he and Mrs. Lindly are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Lindly has taken much in- terest in the development of the town of An- selmo and he there erected the building oc-

cupied by the Farmers' Mercantile Company, and also the drug-store building.

With good foresight and abounding faith in the increasing value of Custer county land, Mr. Lindly has made judicious investments and holds title to nearly 2,000 acres. He has made a success of farming and stock-raising and is not only one of the county's venerable pioneers but for many years has also been one of its substantial citizens.

Believing that the life record of such men as Mr. Lindly will serve as an inspiration to coming generations, the publishers of this volume take pleasure in according him the rec- ognition he justly deserves and richly merits.

LINDLEY M. PICKETT. - This is the name of a man who is a leader in his commu- nity, a man who takes a deep interest in all public affairs and who is a worthy descendant of a very early pioneer family. Lindley M. Pickett was born in 1867, and is a Hoosier by nativity. He is a son of Dr. C. Pickett, well and favorably known in the early days of Broken Bow. His mother. Ann ( Pember- ton) Pickett, is still living. at the ripe age of seventy-six years. Dr. Pickett died in 1908. and is survived by six children: Celesta Per- shall is living on a homestead in the state of Washington: Lindley M. is the second born ; Luther E. is operating an elevator at Genoa. Nebraska : Mary F. McMurphy lives at An- tioch, Nebraska; Edwin C. is professor in the Mullen school and was superintendent at Arnold for nine years : and Mrs. Ollie G. Mlc- Dermott lives on a Blaine county ranch. Dr. Pickett located a homestead in Blaine county but died before making final proof. The pat- ent on the land. was issued to his widow. Dr. Pickett brought his family to Custer county in 1888. He was a Republican voter and was an enterprising and progressive citizen of fine ability. He was for a time a member of the faculty of the medical college at Lincoln, and was a member of the pension board in Broken Bow for.several years. He was affiliated with the Masonie fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His widow lives with her son Edwin, at Mullen.

Lindley M. Pickett was married in 1892. to Anna M. Rusk, who was born in Illinois and who is a daughter of David and Catherine Rusk. Mr. and Mrs. Pickett have four chil- dren - Thirza J. Holmes, whose husband at the present time is serving in the marine corps of the government : Katie M., who is teaching school near Arnold: and Otis E. and Lloyd

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

E., who are at home. Mr. Pickett has lived on a Kinkaid homestead for the last thirteen years and has 100 acres under cultivation. He has the place well stocked with a good grade of cattle. The farm carries about fifty head of cattle the year around. He breeds the Duroc-Jersey hogs and has made them fairly profitable. He has fine horses and mules, and the improvements of the place speak well for his management. All that he has is the pro- duct of his own labor and the able assistance given by his good wife. The first money he ever made was by carrying bundles to the shock, for twenty-five cents a day. He is a Republican voter and has long been promment in local affairs. He has served as township clerk, census enumerator, road overseer, and school trustee, and in many other ways has contributed a valuable service to the commun- ity. The Picketts deserve well the good things their neighbors say of them -they are ac- commodating, courteous, and hospitable, and the community is better for their residence therein.

STEWARD B. MATHON is one of the successful farmers of his community and has been a resident of Custer county since pioneer days. He was born in Pennsylvania Novem- ber 26, 1849. His father, John B. Mathon, was a native of Pennsylvania, where he spent his entire life, and his mother, whose maiden name was Rebecca Carey, was a native of Pennsylvania, of German parentage. The pa- ternal grandfather, John Mathon, was a native of Ireland.

Steward B. Mathon was reared in his na- tive state and at the age of twenty-three years he started for the west. For four years he worked at farm labor in Indiana, receiving thirteen dollars per month. In that state he married Miss Fannie Shankland, a native of the Hoosier state, and soon after their mar- riage they came to Nebraska. He was en- gaged in farming in Hamilton county until 1883, when he came to Custer county. Here he secured a homestead, and after proving up on the same he sold it and pre-empted a tree c'aim. This claim he later homesteaded, and this has been his home ever since. He had the experience of living in a sod house. of hauling water for thirteen vears, and of en- countering all of the hardships incident to the early davs. But by diligence he has pros- pered. The sod house has been replaced by one made of cement blocks. to his original tract of land has been added another quarter-

section, and general farming is carried on with good success.

Mr. and Mrs. Mathon have had five chil- dren, two of whom are living: Lizzie is the wife of Delbert Lewis, of Custer county ; and John, a bachelor, is still at the parental home. The family are members of the Methodist church and in politics Mr. Mathon is a Dem- ocrat. He has seen pioneer conditions give way to those of the present day, and in the work of development he has contributed his full share.

CHARLES N. DRAPER, a progressive reprsentative of agricultural industry in Cus- ter county, has had a somewhat varied career, in which he has won his own way to success after several discouraging set-backs in his for- tunes. Two occupations, mining and farming. have been engaged in by him, but the latter has been the more successful, and to it he is devoting his time at present, being the owner of 160 acres of land near Ansley.

Mr. Draper was born in Illinois, near Saint Louis, Missouri, January 29, 1866, and is a son of Riley and Sarah E. (Hunt) Draper. His paternal grandfather, Albert Draper, was one of the earliest settlers of Huntington coun- ty, Indiana. where for years he was engaged in operating a saw mill, his death occurring in that state. Stephen Hunt, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Draper, was a Baptist minister who preached the Gospel in Indiana and other states, and whose career came to a close in Missouri. Riley Draper was born in 1839, the first white child born in Huntington county, Indiana, and the log cabin in which he came into this world was considered of suf- ficient historic interest to be exhibited at the great Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, where it attracted much attention. He received a common-school education, which he supplemented by self-instruction. including wide reading and much study, and he became a pioneer school teacher in Indiana. There he married Miss Sarah E. Hunt, who was born in that state, in 1843. In the '60s they removed to Illinois and settled not far from the Missouri state line. There Mr. Draper continued his educational labors, as did he also in Missouri, for a number of years, and he finally removed to Colorado, where likewise he gave effective service in instructing the voung. In his declining vears he retired, and his death occurred in 1911. at Greeley, that state. He was a Republican in politics and was a member of the Baptist church, as is also

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

his widow. They were the parents of thirteen children, of whom seven survive, but Charles N. is the only one living in Nebraska at this time.

Charles N. Draper received instruction un- der his father and attended the schools of Clark county, Missouri, completing his educa- tion by three weeks' attendance in the Ansley schools. As a young man he accompanied his parents to Colorado, where he became a miner, a vocation which he followed ten years. but in 1890 he came to Nebraska and engaged for a time in farming. He next returned to Colorado, but in 1898 he came back to Custer county and began farming again. this time as a renter. He worked industriously and intel- ligently, and saved his earnings, and in 1910 he was able to purchase his present property, a tract of 160 acres, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. Mr. Draper is en- gaged in mixed farming and has made a suc- cess of his ventures, showing himself to be possessed of agricultural knowledge and skill. He has always maintained a high reputation for integrity in business dealings, and per- sonally his circle of friends is virtually coinci- (lent with that of his acquaintances.

In 1892 Mr. Draper married Miss Effie Clay, who was born in Lawrence county, Ohio. a daughter of W. H. and Mary ( Rucker ) Clay, and a direct descendant of Henry Clay. Her father was born in Kentucky and during the Civil war became a member of the Fifth Virginia Volunteer Infantry, with which he served four years. He was severely wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and was carried off the battlefieldl by his father. John Clay, but he re- covered and rejoined his regiment, with which he fought until peace was declared. After the war he went to Ohio, where he was en- gaged in milling and where he married. In 1871 he removed to Missouri, where he con- tinned in the same line of business. In 1888 he came to Custer county and homesteaded the property now occupied by his son-in-law. Mr. Draper. Here he continued to farm until his death. in 1899, his widow still surviving and making her home on the same property. Mr. and Mrs. Draper have two children : Al- den was on the homestead in Colorado, and finally he entered the United States service in connection with the workl war; and Rosil. who was in training in the camp at New Lon- don, Connecticut, was later assigned to duty on a submarine chaser. Mr. and Mrs. Draper are rearing Frank Willis, a son of Mrs. Drap- er's sister. The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally Mr. Draper is identified with the Independent Order of

Odd Fellows, in which he has passed the offi- cial chairs, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He maintains an independent stand upon political questions and reserves the right to give his vote and support to the candidate whom he deems best qualified for office.

MARIUS C. JENSEN. - Among the names of the early pioneers of Custer county will be found that of the subject of this re- view, and there are few more worthy of recog- nition in this history than Marius Charles Jensen.

Mr. Jensen was born in Denmark, June 2. 1862, and is a son of Carl and Anna Jensen. who spent their entire lives in their native land. Marius C. Jensen came to America when a youth of eighteen years, and after a short time spent in Story and Shelby counties, Iowa, he came to Nebraska, where he found work as a farm hand. in Kearney county. In 1884 he came to Custer county and secured a homestead in section 17. township 17. range 23. He was among the early settlers of West Table and had the usual experiences of those times. His first home was a sod house, and when this was worn out it was replaced with another one, which is still in use. Water had to be hauled for a considerable distance. until a well could be dug on the place, but with characteristic energy Mr. Jensen overcame ob- stacles, and as the years passed he met with success. He is to-day the owner of three quar- ter-sections of land, and he recently sold a quarter-section to his son.

Mr. Jensen married Miss Elsie Clausen. a native of Denmark, who came to America when a young woman and who pre-empted 160 acres in Custer county, where she located in 1884. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Jensen has been blessed with seven children : Christ. Claus, Stella, and Lena are still at home : Dewey had become a member of our national army at the time this article was written : Anna is the wife of Thomas Christensen, of Custer county ; and Serene is the wife of John J. Christensen, of this county.

Mr. and Mrs. Jensen are members of the Lutheran church and maintain a home at Min- den. Kearney county, where they spend most of their time, the sons conducting the farm.

AUGUST JAEGER. - The Jaeger geneal- ogy runs far back in Germany, but the family Ine touched America at last, and it has con- tributed wealth and energy to Custer county in the vicinity of Callaway, where the practical

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farmer and stock-raiser of whom we are writ- ing has his residence and maintains his interests.

It was without consultation or even with his consent, that Germany became the birthplace of August Jaeger, who was born December 6. 1859. He inherited from staunch German par- ents the splendid thrift and energy that show forth everywhere upon his ranch to-day. If Germany was the land of his birth. America was the land of his choice, and here most of his life has been spent thus far. while here the tribute of his labors has been rendered. Hle is one of the six children of Adolph and Eufron- sia ( Weber) Jaeger - Fredericka T., Litterst. Anna (a nurse), August, Leo, Anna (de- ceased ), and Sigmund.

The early years of August Jaeger were spent in Germany, where he attended school until he was fourteen years of age. Then he was called upon to render manual service, and at seventeen, according to the custom. was placed as an apprentice, to learn the wagon- maker's trade. He worked eighteen months for the first man, to whom his father paid sixty dollars. besides the labors contributed by the boy. He started in as a journeyman workman and worked for different masters, having to carry a book of recommendations from one employer to another, and this book was de- posited in the court house, with the clerk, where it was held until he had finished his job; then the employer added his testimonials to the book, as to efficiency, good moral character, etc .. and thus it was to be carried on to the next prospective employer.

The New World called Mr. Jaeger. and in 1882 he crossed the Atlantic and settled at Atlantic, Jowa, where he had his first intro- duction to ways and customs of this country. He commenced working at his trade. After his first two weeks' work his employer became bankrupt, and he lost half of his wages. He stayed in Atlantic eighteen months and then, in the spring of 1884, he come to Custer county, and located on the farm where he now resides and maintains his pleasant home.

The domestic life of Mr. Jaeger began June 18, 1886, when, at North Platte, Nebraska, he led to the marriage altar Miss Magdalena Bieser, a daughter of Haver and Helen ( Hut- ber ) Bieser. Mrs. Jaeger had but one brother and he is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger became the parents of four children, but only one of the number has been spared to them until the present time. She is Ida. the wife of Rudolph Thanel, a farmer living near Stapleton.

The Jaeger farm consists of 1,020 acres, and

is one of the best improved places in Triumph township. When he landed in Custer county Mr. Jaeger had but $200. All that you see on the Jaeger premises has been the accumulation of the years since that time. He raises cattle. hogs, corn, and other crops, tends strictly to his business, and few men in the county de- serve more credit for the showing made than the subject of this review. It is to be remen- bered, too, that the years have not all been prosperous. Mr. Jaeger remembers that he once hauled wheat forty miles and sold it for thirty-five cents a bushel. that he sold hogs for two and one-half cents a pound, and corn for ten cents a bushel. He is a Mason in good standing. is a Democrat in politics. and the family belong to the Catholic church.

LINN S. DOWNING. - One of the sub- stantial farmers and live-wire community pro- moters of the Arnold district is the man whose name forms the caption above. He came to Custer county subsequently to pioneer days, and his present activities entitle him to rank among the real producers of the day and age in which he lives, the while he is thus consti- tuted a most desirable citizen.

Mr. Downing is one of the really young farmers. He did not make his advent into this world until July 29, 1882, at which time he selected Abilene, Kansas, as his native city. He is a son of Joseph R. and Rebecca ( Ham- mond) Downing, who were born in Blair county, Pennsylvania, and who became the par- ents of six children. Of the children three are living - Edward, Linn S., and Wilkie J. Linn S. Downing arrived in Custer county in 1903. One year prior to this time he led to the mar- riage altar Miss Lucinda E. English. Not- withstanding the marriage was solemnized in Versailles, Illinois, Mrs. Downing was born in Custer county, Nebraska, a daughter of Rev. Nathan and Emma ( Mills) English - very excellent people, highly esteemed by all who knew them.

The Downings established an ideal home and since that time four children have brought sunshine into the home - W. Nelson, Ken- neth L., Margaret, and Herchel. Three of the children are in school at the present time, while the youngest is winsomely serving in the capa- city of home dictator.

The Downing farm is located three and three-fourths miles northwest of Arnold. The initial tract was 160 acres, and upon this, by intensive cultivation and good management, Mr. Downing succeeded in raising the hogs, cattle. and corn with the returns from which he

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bought adjoining land, and then still more ad- joining land, until to-day he owns in fee simple 1.600 good acres, well improved, with all nec- essary outbuildings and machinery equipment. He has demonstrated his ability both as a farmer and money-maker. He relates that when a boy, he saw a goat which a man wanted to sell for fifty cents and that he "rustled" rags and old iron until he had accumulated the necessary fifty cents, which he invested in the goat. Later he sold the goat for $2.50 and this constituted the capital on which the young lad began his life operations. The transac- tion of the goat has been repeated in other kinds of stock a good many times since that day and the results are told by the accumula- tion to be found on the Downing premises. Re- cently Mr. Downing has rented his ranch and he and his brother, forming a business part- nership, have bought the Long & Stockham hardware stock and business in Arnold, where, in connection with hardware and farm machin- ery and implements, they handle furniture and conduct an undertaking business.

The family are prominent in the community and are counted as active promoters of every progressive enterprise. Mr. Downing is affili- ated with the Masonic fraternity and he and his wife hold the faith of the Methodist church, in which denomination they are counted as very substantial constituents. Arnold boast of no better family, and all prophesy well de- served success for the Arnold brothers in their business enterprise.

HENRY SCHMID, who is at present a re- tired citizen of Ansley, has been one of the industrious men of Custer county, linking his name with all that is admirable in farming, and wise and progressive in individual life, and bearing the distinction of being thoroughly and completely self-made. He is a native of Swit- zerland, and was born February 18, 1864, a son of John and Barbara ( Merc) Schmid, who passed their entire lives in Switzerland, where the father was connected with a manufacturing plant. They were faithful members of the Reformed church. Of their seven children six survive : Mary is the wife of John Ward, an Illinois farmer : Ida is the widow of a Swiss farmer and resides in her native land : Henry, of this sketch, was next in order of birth ; Mrs. Elsie Hamer is the wife of a retired farmer of Apple River, Illinois: Barbara is unmarried and is a resident of Switzerland; and Jacob resides in the United States.

Ilenry Schmid received his education in Switzerland, and was but seventeen years of

age when he immigrated to the United States, courageously seeking his fortune in a strange land, though he was penniless, and ignorant of the customs and language of his new home. When he arrived in Jo Daviess county, Illi- nois, he not only was possessed of no funds. but also owed the money for his passage to this country, but as he was willing, strong, and ambitious, he had no trouble in securing em- ployment as a farm hand, with the result that he soon had his debt liquidated and began to make headway. After seven years spent in Illi- nois, Mr. Schmid had accumulated a little capital, which he brought to Custer county in 1888 and invested in a relinquishment. His start, necessarily, was a modest one, but as time passed and he was able to realize money from his labors, he added to his equipment, made improvements, and enlarged the scope of his operations, and then began adding to his acreage. The result is that to-day he is the owner of 480 acres of land in the county, in addition to owning town property, and has numerous business connections, including d directorship in the Security State Bank of An -- ley. His farm, which he still owns, is a hand- some property, with substantial buildings and. other improvements, and lies on Muddy creek, three and one-half miles northwest of Ansley. In 1917 Mr. Schmid retired from the farm and moved to Ansley, where he has since lived quietly, in the enjoyment of the many comforts that his industry has brought him. Mr. Schmid is a Republican, but has never been interested in politics to the extent of seeking public of- fice. He is a member of the Ansley lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and at the time of this writing is noble grand of the same.

In 1890 Mr. Schmid was united in marriage. in Nebraska, to Miss Amy Billeter, who was born in Switzerland, and to this union there have been born five children: Henry, who is carrying on operations in his father's farm : Lottie, who is the wife of Herman Baller, a farmer of York county, Nebraska ; Jacob, who also is operating on his father's big farm; Emma, who is the wife of L. Tennent, a farni- er near Berwyn; and Clara, who is at home. Mrs. Schmid is a member of the Baptist church and is actively interested in its work.

GEORGE H. SMITH, who is the owner and operator of a 480-acre stock farm situated seven miles southwest of Oconto, has been a resident of Custer county since 1887, and has been a witness of and participant in the great development that has changed the face of the

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

country during this period. Mr. Smith, like numerous other Custer county residents, is a native of Wisconsin, and was born in Sauk county, July 24, 1859, a son of Humphrey L. and Diana (Clark) Smith.

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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 110

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