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 113

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 113

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In 1897 Mr. Hall married Miss Birdie Harpster, who was born in Missouri, a daugh- ter of John Harpster. Mr. Harpster was for

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

a number of years a resident of Custer county, where he took up a homestead and farmed successfully during a long period. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of three children : Leone, John, and Elizabeth, all at home. The family belongs to the Christian church.

GEORGE WILLIAM BAILEY is a repre- sentative young farmer who belongs to a fam- ily widely known on the West Table, which is famous all over the middle west for its fine farms and practical, substantial farmers. Mr. Bailey hails from Kentucky and possesses the inborn characteristics of the native Kentuck- ian, who, in addition to accommodating gal- lantry, is very hospitably disposed. He was born in 1890, by which it is seen that he is a young man on the sunrise side of thirty years and just started upon his life career. He is a son of John Samuel and Susie ( Lane) Bailey, both of whom are Kentuckians, but they have been pioneer citizens in Custer county for several decades and now make their home in Arnold. The father was born in 1858 and the mother in 1862. They have two chil- dren, and aside from George William, Homer is the other member of the family. John Sam- uel Bailey located his homestead in the spring of 1884 and in those days ran the gamut of pioneer experiences. He and his wife had their share of trials and hardships. They had to haul water from the Loup river, ten miles away, and there they took the family washing, in order to save the hauling of the water. A big prairie fire once swept down upon them, and Mr. Bailey saved his corn from destruc- tion by the water he had hauled from the Loup. The hail destroyed his crops for three years in succession. He picked corn for two cents a bushel, and took his wages in corn, this work being done nineteen miles distant from his home. He hunted a full week on one occasion to find a fat hog that he could purchase to supply the family larder. He final- ly located the desired hog in what was then Plum Creek. now Lexington. After proving up on the claim here, he and his family moved to Kentucky, but after a short time they re- turned to Custer county and resumed their residence here. They know all concerning life in the early years. They lived in a sod house with a brush roof and used cedar stumps for chairs, so that they realize how many things there are in use to-day without which people can get along. Mr. and Mrs. John Samuel Bailey are now living in Arnold, where they are enjoying comfortable retirement.

George William Bailey, who is more famil-

iarly known by his second personal name, William, is living on his father's farm -the northeast quarter of section 31, township 18, range 24. February 28, 1912, recorded the marriage of Mr. Bailey to Miss La Verna Wilcher, who was born and reared in Custer county, a representative of a splendid family, and who is a gracious young wife and mother who is doing well her part in maintaining the attractive and hospitable home. The oppor- tunities that are afforded this popular young couple are being fully improved and appre- ciated by them, and the home is made the more attractive by the presence of their win- some little daughter, Luda Marie, who is six months old at the time of this writing.

The fine farm which is the stage of the operations of Mr. Bailey comprises 160 acres, as previously intimated, and virtually the en- tire acreage is under effective cultivation. He maintains a high grade of live stock, and he has made many excellent improvements on the place, including the erection of good buildings, the while he has provided the best of equip- ment and accessories for furthering his oper- ations in both departments of his farm enter- prise. In short, Mr. Bailey has stated that his equipment includes everything from a hammer to a farm truck. In politics he main- tains an independent attitude, gives his sup- port to men and measures meeting the approv- al of his judgment and is not amienable to mere partisan dictates.

JOHN C. HENDERSON, whose experi- ence in agricultural pursuits in Custer county covers a period of twelve years, and who is now the owner of a valuable and well im- proved farm of 320 acres, is another of the men who have been the architects of their own fortunes. He was born in Mercer county, Illi- nois, December 16, 1868, and is a son of John and Nancy ( Milligan) Henderson.

The Henderson family is of Scotch origin and the American progenitor was a sturdy Scotsman who became an early settler in Ohio, where John Henderson was born, the paternal grandfather of John C. Henderson. He was a farmer by vocation and in his later years moved to Illinois, where his death occurred. The maternal grandfather, David Milligan was born in Pennsylvania, later became a resi- dent of Illinois, and rounded out a useful ca- reer in farming. John Henderson. father of John C., was born in Ohio, in 1835, and as a young man he moved to Pennsylvania, where he married a young woman who was a native of that state. Subsequently he went to Illi-

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

nois and located in Mercer county. After farming there for a number of years, he came with his family to Saunders county, Nebraska. in 1883, and there the rest of his life was passed in tilling the soil, his death occurring in 1897. Originally a Republican, in later years he transferred his allegiance to the Dem- ocratic party. He belonged to the United Presbyterian church, of which Mrs. Hender- son, who survives him and resides at Lincoln, is a member. They were the parents of four children - Nettie, the wife of F. A. Mason, of Greenwood, Nebraska, formerly a contrac- tor at Lincoln for twenty-five years; Ed, a traveling salesman for the Hebb Automobile Company, of Lincoln ; John C., of this review ; and Zena, the wife of C. M. Dodds, a farmer near Brule, Nebraska.

John C. Henderson was educated in the pub- lic schools of Illinois and eastern Nebraska, and was reared on his father's farm, where he developed a fondness for horses and expert skill in handling them. So proficient did he become in the latter direction that he was re- tained for some years by prominent horsemen as a jockey and piloted his mounts to victory in a number of important events. When he settled down to farming it was as a renter in Saunders county, and this continued to be his status for ten years, for success did not come easy, and during the poor years of 1894, 1895. and 1896, he was not able to make even enough from his land to pay his rent. However, he was persevering and determined and was final- ly rewarded with success. In 1906 he came to Custer county, where he bought a farm of 480 acres. This land was only partly improved at the time, its main building being a sod house, but each year Mr. Henderson has added to its equipment. and he now has a comfortable and attractive home and good buildings for all farm purposes, in addition to which his equipment is of the most modern character. Mr. Henderson is equally at home in each de- partment of agricultural work and has gained his knowledge at first hand, in the hard school of experience. His standing in the community is an excellent one, and he has served his town- ship as treasurer for four years. His political belief is generically that of the Democratic party. but he has independent inclinations, and his fraternal affiliation is with the Knights of Pythias.

In 1894 Mr. Henderson married Miss Lillie Stevens, who was born in Saunders county, Nebraska, a daughter of Cal Stevens, for many years well known as the village blacksmith at Weston. Seven children have been born to this union - Erciell, LeRoy. Lenore, Edgar,

John Cal, Orville, and Max. All of the chil- dren are at home except LeRoy, who died at the age of two years, and Erciell. the eldest son, who attained to his legal majority on the 4th of July, 1918, and who on the following day enlisted in a United States engineering corps, for service in France. Mrs. Henderson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and like her husband has many friends in the community of their home.

JOHN E. GRINT is one of the best known stock-raisers of his part of Custer county, as proprietor of the Prairie Home Stock Farms, and is also prominent in a business way, through his presidency of the Crownover Tel- ephone Company. of Sargent. During his thirty-five years of residence in this county he has proved a decidedly active and helpful citi- zen whose public spirit has been demonstrated in a number of ways, and at all times his own interests have been held subservient to those of the general welfare.

Mr. Grint was born in County Norfolk, England, in the hamlet of Mileham, April 27, 1857. his parents being John and Sarah ( Twite) Grint, who never left their native land, but spent their lives, until retirement, in farming. Both passed away in the faith of the Church of England. There were three children in the family: Elizabeth, of Hull, England, the widow of Job Miles : John E., of this review; and William, employed in the government dock-yards of England.

The early education of John E. Grint was ob- tained in a private grammar school of England. and he was still a young man when he em- barked in mercantile ventures on his own ac- count. He was married in his native land. in 1880, and about three years later he embarked for the United States. Upon his arrival he at once came to Custer county, Nebraska, where he settled on a homestead in close proximity to Sargent. From modest beginnings he has built up a large and important industry in the breeding and sale of Short-horn cattle and Poland-China hogs. Mr. Grint was compelled to teach himself the business of farming and stock-raising, for he had had no experience in these lines prior to coming to the United States, and his success is therefore all the more remarkable and commendable. He has also in- terested himself in business matters, having a mı.mber of important and valuable investments and connections, and is president of the Crownover Telephone Company, at Sargent. His reputation is a most enviable one in busi- ness circles, and he is known as one who honors

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

JOHN E. GRINT

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

and respects the highest business ethics and principles in his dealings with his fellow men. Mr. Grint was married January 15, 1880. · in England, to Miss Alice Hutchins, who was born in that country, and they became the parents of eight children, of whom six are living : Ada, born in England, makes her home with her parents; Jessie is the wife of Harry Bentley, living cast of Sargent; Howard J., who married Inez Sturm, was conducting a dairy farm near Chicago at the time of his death, which occurred December 16, 1918; Mabel is the wife of Charles Roe, a farmer northwest of Sargent ; Harold A. is at the time of this writing a sergeant in the American national army in France : Sidney and Ernest are at home and are assisting their father in his farming operations.

Mr. Grint joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows when he was but eighteen years of age. in England, and before he had reached the age of twenty-one years had held all the chairs and become noble grand of the order. He still belongs to that fraternity and takes a great deal of interest in the local lodge at Sargent. He is independent in his political views and has been active in civic affairs. He has been a member of the township board for fourteen years and for four years was a mem- ber of the county board of supervisors. Mrs. Grint also has been before the public in an official capacity for a number of years, having been, as at present, a member of the school board for twelve years, and, prior to its can- cellation by the government, having been for more than fourteen years postmistress of the postoffice at Phillipsburg.

NICHOLAS M. MORGAN. - The year 1880 saw the arrival in Custer county of Nich- olas M. Morgan, a man who was in the prime of life and who had already made good prog- ress along the road to success, as he had de- veloped self-confidence through participating in many of the battles of war and peace. In Custer county Mr. Morgan found the oppor- tunities with which to round out a successful and prosperous career, and at the present time he is living in honorable retirement at Callaway, where he enjoys the material con- forts won through a life of industry, with the objective respect and confidence that mark due popular appreciation of his sterling integ- rity in all of the relations of life.

Mr. Morgan was born at Kalmar. Sweden. August 28. 1836, a son of Samuel and Stena ( Keyse) Morgan, and a grandson of Nels Keiyse. Ilis father, who was a farmer in the

old country, was an industrious and able man, but was in moderate circumstances. There were five sons and four daughters in the fam- ily, and of the number three survive : Nicholas M .: Swan, a resident of Olds, Iowa: and Clara, the wife of John Carlson, of Olds, Iowa.

Nicholas M. Morgan attended the public schools of his native community, grew up in an agricultural atmosphere, and earned his first money by hauling wood on a sled for his father, with whom he remained until he was eighteen years of age. He was an ambitious youth, and saved his money carefully, so that in 1854 he had accumulated a sufficient amount to bring him to the United States. When he arrived in New York city his total financial reinforcement was represented in the sum of two dollars, after his passage had been paid, but he was fortunate in meeting a minister, Rev. Mr. Wallstrom, who managed to secure him a position with a friend. He recommended the young immigrant to the countryman, who gave the youth a position on his farm, at a wage of six dollars a month. When the year's contract had expired, Mr. Morgan had all ex- cept about ten dollars of his wages, his habits of thrift having not forsaken him, and a part of this money was spent in traveling to Chi- cago, and later to Minnesota City. In the latter community he secured employment on a farm, and there he remained about three years, having had several employers in the meantime. In 1859 Mr. Morgan enlisted in Company L. Second Regular United States Artillery, and he was stationed at Fort Ridge- ley, Minnesota, his command being engaged in keeping the Sioux Indians in check and order. In the following spring he was ordered to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, to attend a school of practice, and when the Civil war came on, in 1861, his command went to Washington, D. C. In 1862 his company formed a part of a contingent sent to the stage of conflict in Vir- ginia, and during the time that he was in ser- vice he took part in twenty-one distinct battles, aside from numerous skirmishes, forages, etc. Among his engagements may be mentioned : Chickahominy, June 27, 1862: Malvern Hill, July 1-5; Fairfax Court House, September 3; South Mountain, September 13: Antietam, September 17: Shepherdson, September 20: Ilalltown, October 3: Warrenton. November 5: Chancellorsville. May 2-3, 1863; Beverly Ford, June 9; Frankstown, July 6; Falling Waters, July 14; Chester Gap, July 22: Bran- dy Station. August 1-4: Morton's Ford, Oc- tober 12: Culpeper, October 15; and Oak Shades, October 25.

Mr. Morgan was given his honorable dis-

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

charge from service at the expiration of his term of enlistment, in 1864, and he then went to Iowa, where he again found employment in farming. In that state, on the Beverly farm, near Mount Pleasant, he was married Decem- ber 2, 1869, to Miss Lucinda A, Bailey, daugh- ter of Silas Bailey, and to this union there were born three daughters and a son: Jose- phine A. is deceased; Elsie A., who is the wife of L. Phillip, a farmer fifteen miles south of Callaway, has one child, and is a member of the Evangelical church; Hattie C. is de- ceased ; and Harry W., who is still a bache- lor, is a resident of Louisiana, where he owns a great acreage of land. Five years after their marriage Mr. Morgan's first wife died, and on the 9th of June, 1876, at Burlington, Iowa, he wedded Miss Anna C. Johnson, daughter of John and Hannah Johnson. Five children were born to this union - Laura; Alvin S .; Otto D .: Lillian (the wife of Fred Payton) ; and Charles. Charles Morgan, the youngest son, is a bachelor and is now employed by the United States government, at Washington, D. C.

Nicholas M. Morgan came to Custer county, Nebraska, in 1880, and settled on the north side of Callaway, where he owns a beautiful home and 767 acres of land adjoining the townsite. During a long and active career he has gained prosperity and many friends, and he is now enjoying the comforts of life, after having borne the heat and burden of the day and proved himself one of the world's productive workers.

JENS P. NELSON. - One of the time- honored business interests is that which has had to do with the sale of harness, which has occupied the energies of able men since the earliest times. This business is capably and honorably represented at Mason City by Jens P. Nelson, who has successfully conducted his present establishment for more than a quarter of a century. He is a native of Denmark, and was born November 15, 1848, a son of Nels and Celia ( Petersen) Jensen.

Nels Jensen, a native of Denmark, and a shoemaker by trade, immigrated to the United States with his family in 1874 and first settled at Chicago, or near that city, and for a time followed his trade. While living there he lost his wife and three of his children by death, and. becoming discouraged he returned to his native land, where he remained six years. However, he had become attracted to this country and eventually, in 1880, he re- turned, and homesteaded a tract of land in

Custer county, where he engaged in farming and continued to follow that vocation until his death. He and his wife were people who always merited the high regard in which they were held by their neighbors, and were faitli- ful members of the Lutheran church. They had twelve children, of whom five survive, but Jens P. is the only one now living in the county of Custer.

Jens P. Nelson received his early education in the public schools of his native land, and as a youth adopted the trade of his father, that of shoemaker, which he mastered under the instruction of the elder man. He was industrious, skilled and willing, and found ready employment, although he also, at times, worked as a coachman and gardener for prominent families, and likewise served in the army school in Denmark for seven months. He was married there, in 1868, to Miss Anna Mary Nelson, who was born in Denmark, and they became the parents of the following chil- dren: William. of Fairfield, Nebraska, is en- gaged in the shoe business; Celia is the wife of Pete Hanson, a section foreman on a rail- road at Clarks, Nebraska ; Hannah is the wife of S. M. Chase, who is engaged in the general store business in Mason City: Mary is the wife of Leonard Cady, living on a farm north of Mason City; Christina is the wife of Art Mortenton, a traveling salesman of Lincoln ; Christ is associated in business with his fa- ther ; and Edna is the wife of C. K. Duke, a railroad brakeman of Alliance, Nebraska.

Jens P. Nelson remained in the United States when his father returned to Denmark, and for some years was variously employed. principally at his trade, in which he made money and saved it. Finally he saw an op- portunity to become the proprietor of a busi- ness of his own, and in 1893 he came to Mason City and founded his present store, which has been a distinct success from the start. He carries a full line of all kinds of harness, whips. etc .. and has attracted and held a good custom at Mason City and in the surrounding community. His business repu- tation is an excellent one, and as a citizen he is held in high esteem. Mr. Nelson is a Democrat, and on several occasions he has been called upon to fill school and township offices, in which he has acquitted himself ad- mirably. With his family, he belongs to the Danish Lutheran church.

It should be a matter of special record in this article than on the 27th of November, 1918, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson had the privilege of celebrating their golden-wedding anniver- sary, the occasion being marked by appropri-

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ate observation of social order, and the ven- erable couple received congratulations and greetings from their many friends in the home community. In their half-century of devoted companionship Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have encountered their share of both clouds and sunshine, but the latter has predominated and they rejoice in the many blessings that have attended them during the fleeting years.

GEORGE J. PELKEY. - Among the farmers of Custer county the results of whose operations render a good account of husban- dry, is George J. Pelkey, who came here in 1891. He was born in Iowa, January 27, 1868, and is a son of Joseph and Mary (Ar- thur) Pelkey.

The parents of Mr. Pelkey were born and reared in Canada, where their marriage was solemnized, and shortly afterward they re- removed to Iowa, where for several years Mr. Pelkey was engaged in farm enterprise. as was he later in Polk county, Nebraska. Hc finally came with his family to Custer county and settled on a homestead. He passed the remainder of his life in this county and his death occurred in Broken Bow. his wife hav- ing passed the closing period of her life in the home of her daughter Addie, the wife of Melvin A. Gibbs, of this county. Joseph and Mary (Arthur) Pelkey were faithful com- municants of the Catholic church. Of their nine children five are living - Addie, who is the wife of Melvin A. Gibbs. a proseprous farmer of Custer county; Ranie, who works for her brother George J .; Bert, who is a farmer of Wessington Springs, South Dakota ; George J., who is the subject of this review ; and Martin, who is a farmer in Colorado. Joseph Pelkey was a Democrat in politics, but had no desire for political activity or public office, being content to confine himself to his productive service in connection with farm industry.

George J. Pelkey was a child at the time when his parents came to Polk county, Ne- braska. and there he obtained his early edu- cational training in the public schools. He adopted farming as his life work when he came of age, and was but twenty-three years old when he located in Custer county, here securing a tree claim. Later he also took up a homestead, and he still owns these two properties, to which he has added until he has 480 acres of productive and valuable land. on which he carries on mixed farming and stock-raising. Beginning at the bottom, with- out assistance, he has worked his way to a

recognized position of substantiality, and has well earned the respect and esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens. The primi- tive buildings which were his only improve- ments during the early days, have given way to better structures, his buildings now in- cluding a large concrete house, and the other farm buildings being proportionately commo- dious and substantial.

In 1890 Mr. Pelkey married Miss Althea Rusk, who was born in Knox county, Illinois, a daughter of David and Catherine ( McDer- mott) Rusk, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of New York. The marriage of the parents occurred in Illinois, where Mr. Rusk followed the trade of miller until his death, in 1884, following which Mrs. Rusk came to Nebraska and settled on the home- stead upon which she directed farming op- erations until her retirement to Broken Bow. There were six children in the Rusk family. of whom three are living - Ed, who is en- gaged in the restaurant business at Arnold, Nebraska: Anna, who is the wife of L. M. Pickett, a farmer of Custer county ; and Althea, who is the wife of George J. Pelkey, of this review. Mr. and Mrs. Pelkey have one son : Elwood, who married Ione Russom, daughter of G. R. Russom, a pioneer of Cus- ter county.

Mr. Pelkey is a Democrat in his political affiliations and both he and his wife are active members of the Grange, in which Mrs. Pelkey is master of the local organization.

FRANK LILES. - A settler of Custer county in the year 1886, Frank Liles finds him- self, after the passage of thirty-six years, the possessor of a handsome home and a com- fortable income, of the respect and confidence of the people in whose midst he has lived so long, and of a position in the community that argues well for his integrity as a business man and his probity and public spirit as a citizen. He is now living in semi-retirement at Callaway, but is still accounted an active factor in the life of the locality, where he has done much to advance the general welfare.

Mr. Liles was born at Rock Island, Illinois. December 15. 1871, and is a son of James W. and Marguerite ( Smith) Liles. In the Prairie state, his father followed farming throughout the greater part of his life. and was known as an industrious and reliable citizen. he and his wife having been devout members of the Evangelical church. Frank was the fourth in order of birth of their children. his four sisters being: Ella, the wife of Carl Jepson;

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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 113

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