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 111

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 111

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Humphrey L. Smith was born in Otsego county, New York, and his wife near Coopers- town, that state, and there were nine children in the family: Mrs. Sarah Rood. Albert T., Mrs. Ella Wulfert, Alonzo, Mrs. Mary Shew, George H., Mrs. Diana Rood, Jay D., and Clark A. The family belonged to the Baptist church. The father of George H. Smith was a wagonmaker by trade, and followed that vo- cation in early life in New York, as did he also to some extent in his later years, although af- ter moving to Wisconsin he was variously en- gaged - following farming, lumbering, and other vocations.

The district schools of the timber country of Sauk county furnished George H. Smith with the rudiments of an education, which he has since supplemented by observation, read- ing, and study, and his youth was passed in hard work, in which he learned the value of money and the wisdom of industry and thrift. An incident of his boyhood is readily recalled by him, for at a time when money was a de- cidedly scarce commodity the earning of one's first negotiable currency was an event of im- portance. He was working on his father's timber farm when a stranger visited the home- stead, buying sheep pelts. When he had com- pleted his transaction he secured the services of the boy George to guide him to the nearest road, paying him ten cents and apologizing for the fact that it was not more, his excuse being that the elder Smith had driven too close a bar- gain as to the pelts. To the youth, however, entirely unaccustomed to handling money of his own, it was a sum of magnitude. amply sufficient for the service rendered. It was the invariable custom of the time and commu- nity for the farmers' sons to remain under the parental roof at least until they were twenty- one years of age, but Mr. Smith made an agree- ment with his father to clear four acres of timber land and thus secure his release one year earlier. This was done, and when he was twenty years old he found himself a free agent. He began his independent career by working on farms during the summer months and cut- ting wood during the winter terms.

March 1, 1882, at Baraboo. Wisconsin. Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Mary L. Hazen, who was born at Waterloo, Wisconsin. a daughter of John and Emily (Barnum) Ha- zen. To this union there were born ten chil- dren : Maude, the wife of Ross Kitch, a well-

man of Wagner, Nebraska, with a son and daughter; Della, the wife of Homer Zingling, a carpenter of that place, with three sons and four daughters .; Earl R., who enlisted in Au- gust, 1918, as a sharpshooter of Company MI, Twentieth Infantry, and is in the United States service at Camp Funston at the time of this writing; James N., a "Kinkaider" of Logan county, Nebraska, who married Rose Draper and has one daughter; Nora E., the wife of Bud Jarmin, of Platteville, Colorado, a farmer, with two sons and a daughter ; Le- ora, the wife of Columbus Shields, a farmer of Arnold, Nebraska, with one son; Harley G. and Frederick M., who are single, residing at home, and assisting their father; Stella M., who resides at home and is an eighth-grade student in the public schools ; and William A., living at home, an overseer on his father's farmı.

George H. Smith came to Custer county April 1, 1887, and first located in Deer creek, near Georgetown. Subsequently, in 1891. he homesteaded seven miles southwest of Oconto. his present home, where he is the owner of a stock farm consisting of 480 acres. During the years that he has been a resident of this locality he has not only gained material success and established one of the valuable and pro- ductive properties of this section of Custer county, but at the same time has also built up a personal reputation for integrity in business, industry in the daily affairs of life, probity as to personal habits and character, and public spirit as a citizen of his community.

GEORGE ROBERTSON. - The sons of Scotia have always been men of thrift and in- dustry, wherever they have elected to make their homes, and are practically without ex- ception found to be an asset to any community ; their sturdy traits of racial character contrib- uting to their locality's development and com- mending them to the regard of their fellow men. One of the men of Scotch birth residing in Custer county, one who is well, known as the representative of a worthy family. and as a farmer and stockman who is deveolping large interests, is George Robertson, of the Redfern Table community. Mr. Robertson was born in Scotland, in November. 1875, and is a son of Walter and Martha ( Johnston ) Robertson, natives of that country. He is one of a family of five sons - John, Walter, Gavin, George, and William. John is carrying on operations on his father's former homestead farm in Cus- ter county, and William is deceased.

George Robertson was but five years of age

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JAMES M. LOWRY

MRS. JAMES M. LOWRY

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY. NEBRASKA

when his parents immigrated to the United States, the family settling in the coal-mining community of Clark City, Illinois, the father having followed the vocation of mining in his native land. Here the youth grew up and re- ceived his education in the public schools, and here also it was that he earned his first money, by hauling oat-straw for the miners to fill their bed ticks with, at a standard price of twenty- five cents per tick. In the spring of 1887, when George was eleven years old, the family came to Custer county, Nebraska, the first location being on Cottonwood creek, north of Redfern Table. That continued to be the family home and scene of operations until 1898, when the father bought 160 acres of land on Redfern Table. There the mother died in January. 1914, at which time the eldest son, John, took over the homestead, the father removing to Al- berta, Canada, where he took up 320 acres of land, on which he still makes his home.

George Robertson completed his education in the public schools of Custer county, and when not engaged at his studies he assisted his father and brothers in preparing the home fields for the plow. He was reared to all man- ner of agricultural pursuits and thoroughly trained therein, and farming and stock-raising have constituted the vocation to which he has given his interest and energies. He has siic- ceeded in the accumulation of 720 acres of good land, lying west of the property now op- erated by his brother John. Here Mr. Robert- son has a fine set of buildings, good equipment of all kinds, and a high grade of stock. He is making a decided success of his work, so that he is coming to be looked upon as a well-to-do and substantial citizen. Mr. Robertson is a Democrat in politics, but is not a politician, taking merely a public-spirited part in civic affairs. MIrs. Robertson and her children be- long to the Lutheran church.

Mr. Robertson was married. February 12. 1898, at Broken Bow, Nebraska, to Miss Car- oline Lang, who was born in Denmark, daugh- ter of Theodore and Anna Lang, natives of that country. To this union there have been born three sons and two daughters: Walter, an eighth-grade student (1918), resides at home and assists his father on the farm : Marie also is an eighth-grade student: Gavin and William are attending school: and Eva, aged five years, is recognized as queen of the family circle.

JAMES M. LOWRY. - A representative of one of the first generations to settle in Custer county, many of whom are passing to

their reward, was the late James Monroe Lowry, who was widely known throughout the eastern section of the county as a splendid and valuable citizen. He was a son of Melvin and Malinda ( Batington) Lowry, who were natives of Illinois and who came to. Custer county in the early days of 1878. Here they homesteaded, and here they made their home until their death. They were the par- ents of six children, only two of whom are living at the present writing - Mrs. Anna Nave, a widow living in Oklahoma, and Le- ander, also a resident of that state. At the death of James Monroe Lowry, which occurred December 30. 1912, a Broken Bow paper pub- lished the following comprehensive and ap- preciative sketch of his life:

"James Monroe Lowry was born near Springfield, Illinois. October 10, 1848. At the age of eight years he moved with his parents to Rochester, Minnesota. Here he re- ceived his education in the common schools and in the university at Red Wing. As a very young man he took up the profession of an educator, which he followed about twelve years, during which period he taught in five different states, varying from cold Minnesota to sunny Texas. March 17, 1877, he came to Custer county and located on a homestead in Clear Creek valley, where he continued to maintain his home until his death. October 11, 1879, he was united in marriage with Hattie A. Thompson, at Kearney, Nebraska. To this union seven children were born, four of whom survive.

"At the time of his death Mr. Lowry was Clear Creek's oldest settler, having been a con- tinuous resident for more than thirty-five years. He witnessed the passing of the oxen and the dugout ; he saw the antelope, the deer. and the elk fade away before the flow of im- migration ; he saw the rolling prairies slowly transformed into waving fields of grain; he saw the coming of the railroads, and the build- ing of towns and substantial farm dwellings. Yes, he more than saw - he was a factor, at least in his community. in developing this new country. At an early date he established a nursery, from which scores of settlers of Cus- ter and adjoining counties procured trees for their timber claims. Of his own homestead he made a veritable arbor of forest and fruit trees.

"As a rather extensive farmer and stock- raiser he faced the brightest and darkest days that came to the county, overcame opposing conditions and reverses, and accumulated a a comfortable competence. Mr. Lowry was an admirer of intellect rather than brawn, a stu-

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dent of the world's greatest minds, and an ardent lover of nature. His views were ever progressive, and often in advance of the times. He believed in the religion of humanity. Hon- est and consistent, his life was above reproach.

"During the month of February, 1912, he contracted a severe cold, which grew rapidly worse. resulting in a complication of lung, heart, and dropsical trouble, from which he died, at the Clarkson Memorial hospital, in Omaha, at seven p. M., December 30, 1912, aged sixty-four years, two months, and twenty days. Funeral services were conducted from his home, at Huxley, Thursday, January 2d, and interment was made at the Lone Elm cem- etery. Judge Sullivan, of this city, delivered the obituary address. He is survived by a wife, three sons, and one daughter - Victor and Maurice, of Purdum, Nebraska ; and Ir- ma and Lawrence of Huxley. He is survived also by one brother, Leander J. Lowry, of Blanchard, Oklahoma, and by two sisters, Mrs. Anna A. Nave, of Perry, Oklahoma, and Mrs. Ellen Welch, of New Plymouth, Ohio."

Continuing the family history, it is to he recorded that Mrs. Lowry is a daughter of P. H. and Sarah (Lewis) Thompson, both of whom were born in England, where their mar- riage was solemnized and whence they came to the United States, where, in the state of Wisconsin, Mrs. Thompson died in 1875. Three years later Mr. Thompson came to Cus- ter county and settled on a homestead near Westerville. There he passed the remainder of his life. His daughter, Mrs. Lowry, owned the old homestead until 1911, when she sold the property.

In the Thompson home were seven children, four of whom are still living: Mrs. Lowry, who is the widow of the honored subject of this memoir: John, who is living somewhere in the west: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Emerson Stafford, their home being in Wis- consin ; and Caroline, who is the wife of D. A. Coguel, of Cody, Wyoming. Mrs. Thompson, the mother of Mrs. Lowry, was a devoted member of the Baptist church.

Mrs. Lowry received her early education in the public schools of Wisconsin and later took a course in the Wisconsin State Normal School at Waukesha. In 1876 she began teaching in Wisconsin, where she taught several years. After coming to Custer county. Nebraska, she taught the first school in the Westerville dis- trict. The schoolhouse and furniture were both somewhat primitive. There was no floor, one kitchen chair was provided for the teacher. but the seats were the cheapest kind of hewed benches. Mrs. Lowry and her husband, as

noted in the foregoing obituary statement, be- came the parents of four children: Victor E. and Maurice T. are now ranching in Cherry county; Irma V. married Glenn Smith and they live with her mother, Mr. Smith having charge of Mrs. Lowry's farm; Lawrence E. was a volunteer in the service of the United States Navy, in which he enlisted in January, 1917, and at the time of this writing he is on transport duty, as signal officer.

Mrs. Lowry still operates the farm, doing a general farming and stock-raising business. She has also been a stock-feeder to a consider- able extent, and has furnished and is furnish- ing much beef and pork for the market. The stock is high grade and shows the cultivated strain of long lineage. The splendid farm home is the germane descendant of the regu- lation sod house which was so common in the pioneer days and in which Mr. and Mrs. Lowry began their domestic life.

In 1879 the postoffice of Huxley was located by Mr. Lowry in his farm home, and for three months he himself carried the mail on horse- back from Myrtle postoffice, which is now dis- continued. The Huxley office at the present time is located in a building near Mrs. Lowry's home and receives mail daily from the Ansley postoffice.

PHILIP W. LYNCH, who has long been one of Custer county's substantial men and de- pendable citizens, conducts large farming op- erations and has heavy live-stock interests. Forty years ago Mr. Lynch first came to Custer county and he has not only had much to do with the agricultural development of this sec- tion, but also, as a man of good judgment, has frequently been called upon when public-spir- ited movements were being furthered and gen- eral improvements initiated. Mr. Lynch was horn October 12. 1858, in Oswego county, New York. the fourth of a family of seven children born to Patrick and Margaret (McDermott) Lynch. The parents were natives of Ireland, whence they immigrated to the United States prior to their mariage. They finally settled in Oswego county, New York, where the father became a farmer. They had the following children : Catherine, Mary E., Joseph P., Phil- ip W., Thomas L., John A., and Margaret. When Patrick Lynch first came to the United States he worked at his trade, that of black- smith, in the government navy yard at Brook- lyn, and after his marriage and location on a farm, he continued work at his trade.

Philip W. Lynch attended school in Oswego county until he was about sixteen years of

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age, when he was entrusted with the driving of one of his father's teams that hauled hem- lock bark, hides, and leather for a tannery, and this was his work for four winters, while his summers were given up to farm industry. In 1878 he came to Custer county, Nebraska, and during the first winter he worked for Joseph Murray, at Lee's Park. In 1879 he took a tim- ber claim in that section, but thereafter he went to Leadville, Colorado, where he was em- ployed in silver-mining, besides which he was for two years employed as a mason for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. It was a hard and adventurous life in that region at that time. and Mr. Lynch gave it up and returned to Custer county. Here he settled on his timber claim and began to clear his land. He utilized his two yoke of steers in preparing for farm- ing. His nearest neighbors were Joseph Mur- ray, to the southwest of him, and Nelson Potter, to the west. He continued farming and retained his Lee's Park holdings until 1902, when he sold the property. He then bought railroad land on Buffalo creek, in the same year. In all his investments Mr. Lynch has evidenced excellent business judgment, and he now owns section 17, township 13, range 22. He has 225 acres under cultivation and raises Shorthorn cattle and Poland-China hogs, all registered. He has comfortable and attractive home surroundings, with a hand- some, modern farm residence.

Mr. Lynch was married January 12, 1884, in Loup City, Nebraska, to Miss Catherine V. McDowell, who was born in Lincolnshire, England, a daughter of Bernard and Mary (Hughes) McDowell, her father a native of Ireland, and her mother of New Orleans, Lou- isiana. Mr. and Mrs. Lynch have six chil- dren : Philip L. is a farmer five miles southwest of Oconto. He is a member of the Catholic church, and is affiliated with the Royal High- landers and the Knights of Columbus. He married Florence Powers, and they have two sons and one daughter. Patrick F. C., who has been farming his father's land, was ready to answer his country's call and to serve as a member of the United States army in the world war. Bernard is deceased. Ignatius M. is farming for his father. Katherine V., who re- sides at home, is a school-teacher, and in 1917 she was graduated from the Catholic academy at Hastings. James J. is attending school.

Mr. Lynch and his older sons are indepen- dent voters, and while he has never been will- ing to accept public office, his practical and mature judgment as at all times been accepted by his fellow citizens. As far back as 1879. he was one of the petitioners for a postoffice

at Lee's Park, and he was one of the leading early settlers that signed the first petition in reference to the line, between Custer and Val- ley counties, that split Lee's Park in the center. He and his family are all members of the Ro- man Catholic church and he is identified with the Knights of Columbus and the Royal High- landers.

JOHN W. GRIFFIN. - One of the native sons of Custer county, John W. Griffin belongs to the younger element of agriculturists upon whom the county depends in the future to de- velop its interests and maintain the high stan- iards set by those who settled the county and established precedents. He was born on his father's homestead place, five and one-quarter miles southwest of Callaway, September 28, 1888. and is a son of John and Lydia ( Roderick) Griffin.

John Griffin was born in Canada, and was left an orphan by the death of his parents when he was ten years of age. He was adopted by an Illinois farmer and taken to the latter's home, in the vicinity of Springfield, where he was educated and grew to manhood. He re- mained in the Prairie state after he had at- tained his majority, and was there married to Lydia Roderick, a native of Illinois. Several years after his marriage he decided to make a new start, in the west, and accordingly, in 1885. he came to Custer county, where he located on a homestead situated five and one-quarter miles southwest of Callaway, a property which is still owned by his heirs. He was a man of indus- try, and, aided by his faithful and energetic wife, he succeeded in the accumulation of a handsome and well cultivated property, the while he reared his large family of children to lives of honor and usefulness. He had the unqualified respect and esteem of his fellow citizens, and was a citizen who assisted in good movements. He and his wife were the par- ents of ten children. of whom nine are living. as follows : Frank G., William E., Oliver S., and Charles V., all of whom are engaged in agricultural pursuits in Custer county ; John WV., who is the subject of this review ; Goldie, who is deceased ; Mrs. Dolly Hunnell : Mrs. Sadie Bryner ; Jennie, who is single, and lives with her brother Charles V .; and Pearl, who still attends school and lives with her brother Charles V.

From the time that he earned his first money by planting potatoes for John Stillman, in the Roten valley, John W. Griffin has been identi- fied with some branch of agriculture. He re- ceived his education in the district schools of

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the vicinity of his home, and when old enough to make a decision he chose farming as his vo- cation, an occupation which he has steadfastly followed to the present time. He is now an owner of part of the estate left by his father. a rich and valuable tract, but his present ac- tivities are devoted to the cultivation of the Charles Martin farm, a tract of 320 acres, ly- ing in the Roten valley. Mr. Griffin carries on both general farming and stock-raising, and is making rapid progress in both departments, being considered one of the progressive and energetic young agriculturists of this locality.

On July 2, 1914, Mr. Griffin was united in marriage with Miss Effie M. Bartlett, who was born in Polk county, Nebraska, daughter of Kellogg C. and Mary S (Smith) Bartlett, the former a native of Elgin, Illinois, and the lat- ter of Pennsylvania. There were eleven chil- dren in the Bartlett family, namely: Mrs. Esther I. Luft : Earl B., who, at the time of this writing, is in training for the national army, at Camp Cody, Deming, New Mexico; Mrs. Abbie B. McKellip; Mrs. Effie M. Griffin, Dolly M., who is single and resides with her parents at Primrose, Nebraska : Roscoe E .; Anna M., Fannie F., and Edith E., who reside at home; and Vernon C. and Fay J., who are attending school. To. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin two children have been born : Rosa A., in 1915; and Walter A., in 1917.

WILLIAM A. RUNYAN, who is becom- ing well and favorably known in banking cir- cles of Custer county by reason of his connec- tion, as assistant cashier, with the Farmers State Bank of Mason City, is also identified with agricultural matters here and has various other interests. He belongs to a family which has been located in central Nebraska for many years, and he was born on the family home- stead, three miles northeast of Mason City, Custer county, April 25, 1889. His parents were George and Medora H. (Amsberry ) Runyan, the latter a sister of D. M. Amsberry, who was elected secretary of state of Ne- braska in the fall of 1918, and a sketch of whose career appears elsewhere in this work.

William A. Runyan was educated in the dis- trict schools of his native community and for two months was a student in the Baptist Col- lege at Grand Island. When he left that insti- tution he engaged in farming on the home place. continuing to be thus occupied until taking a position with the Farmers State Bank of Mason City, in 1914. He has since won promotion through a display of ability and fidelity and the excercise of the banking talents

which he undoubtedly possesses. While the main part of his attention is devoted to his duties at the bank, he also has interests of an agricultural character, being the owner of a fine farm property of 640 acres, in Custer county. He stands high in the estimation and confidence of his associates and of the people among whom his life has largely been spent.

January 1, 1913, Mr. Runyan married Miss Lowa F. Wood, a daughter of John T. Wood. She was well educated in the public schools of Broken Bow, subsequently became the assistant of her father, who was serving as register of deeds of Custer county, and con- tinued with him for fifteen months. Just be- fore her marriage she was employed in the abstract office of J. G. Leonard, for four months. Like her husband. she at present is acting as an assistant cashier of the Farmers State Bank. Mr. and Mrs. Runyan are the parents of one son : Roger, born June 6, 1917. Mrs. Runyan is a member of the Christian church and Mr. Runyan is a Baptist. His political faith is that of the Democratic party, which he' supports energetically.

ALBERT MILLER, a solid, steadfast citi- zen of Custer county and a farmer of many years experience, is a member of that pioneer- ing band that came here in 1886 and, notwith- standing hardships and discouragements in the early days, never lost faith in the ultimate value of their lands and are to-day people of independent fortune. Mr. Miller was born in Adams county, Indiana, one of the four chil- dren of William and Clarissa ( Bristol) Miller. the former born in Germany and the latter in New York. Albert Miller has one brother. Reuben Miller, who lives in Indiana. William Miller was twenty years old when he, with many other young men, embarked on a sailing vessel for America, all desiring to escape serv- ice in the German army. They had a stormy passage, at one time adverse winds driving their vessel back almost to the point of sailing. but finally, after six weeks at sea, the pas- sengers were safely landed in the harbor of New York city and on this following day Will- iam Miller obtained work on a farm. Later he moved to Indiana, where he followed farm- ing. He had been married nine years when he enlisted for service as a soldier in the Civil war. becoming a member of the Fifty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and a year and three months later he died in service, in a hos- pital at Louisville, Kentucky. His death oc- curred just three weeks after President Lin- coln was assassinated.

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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 111

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