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 119

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 119

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a zealous member. He was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and was deeply apprecai- tive of its history and teachings.

The year 1871 recorded the marriage of Mr. Woodruff to Mrs. Louisa ( Montgomery) Woodruff, the widow of his brother Henry. Of the children of this union the following data are available: Harry, who is one of the representative farmers of Custer county, mar- ried Miss Frances Judge, and their home is on land formerly owned by the subject of this memoir, who gave a splendid farm to each of his children : Florence is the wife of Oscar Thompson, another of the substantial farmers of Custer county : Thomas married Miss Lena Wood and they reside at Hastings, Nebraska : and Frances is the wife of Lora E. Mohler, of Eddyville, Dawson county. In 1896 Mrs. Woodruff passed to the life eternal. and two years later Mr. Woodruff wedded Mrs. Lizzie J. (Barratt) McSherry, a daughter of Joseph and Susan (Squires) Barratt, who came to Nebraska from Tama City, Iowa. Diah and Lizzie J. Woodruff had no children. By her first marriage Mrs. Woodruff has two daugh- ters, both of whom reside in Nebraska, Fern being the wife of Earl Myers, of Eddyville. Dawson county, and Ruth being the wife of William Spurgin, of Custer county.

MARSHALL B. LINDER, who belongs to the progressive younger element of the agri- cultural fraternity of Custer county, has had experience both here and in Saunders county. and out of his labors he has worked the start of a successful career and the establishment of himself in a position where the outlook for his future is remarkably bright. His present property, consisting of 320 acres, in the Ber- wyn community, is under a high state of culti- vation and is devoted exclusively to general farming, although in the future he expects to make the raising of hogs and cattle a feature of his farm enterprise.

Mr. Linder was born in Page county, Iowa. April 24, 1883, and is a son of J. H. and Re- becca (Louden ) Linder. H. B. Linder. the paternal grandfather of Mr. Linder, was born in 1824, in Virginia, and as a young man went to Illinois, where he married Sarah Davis. He was engaged in agricultural pursuits there for a time and then followed his father to Clarke county, Iowa, where he successfully followed his vocation until 1884. He then removed to Wahoo, Nebraska, where his death occurred in 1890. His widow then moved to the home of her son Joseph H., with whom she still lives, at the age of eighty-three years (1918).

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

There were nine children in the family, of whom six are living, but Joseph H. is the only resident of Custer county. Mrs. Linder is a devout member of the Baptist church, to which her husband also belonged, and he was a Re- publican in politics.

Joseph H. Linder, father of Marshall B .. was born in Clarke county. Iowa. September 7. 1858, and there he grew to manhood and re- ceived his education in the public schools. About the time of his father's removal to Wa- hoo, Nebraska, he also took up his residence there and secured land, farming this until 1906, in which year he came to Custer county and bought 400 acres of land. This lies in the Berwyn community, and Mr. Linder still fol- low's successfully the pursuits of farming and stock-raising. Ile is one of his community's public-spirited men and for ten years has served as a member of the school board. He is a Republican in politics, and he is affiliated with the Indepedent Order of Odd Fellows. the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Daughters of Rebekah. He and his wife have for thirty years been identified with the Pres- byterian church.

In Iowa, in 1882, Joseph H. Linder wedded Miss Rebecca Louden, who was born in Penn- sylvania, a daughter of John Louden, an early settler and farmer of lowa. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Linder: Marshall B., who is the subject of this sketch : M. Mel . ville, who operates a rented farm in Custer county ; Genevieve, who is the wife of W. D. Pratt, a farmer of this county: W. G., who also is a farmer of Custer county : Harry, who operates a rented farm: and Anna Belle and Laura Belle, twins, residing with their parents.

Marshall B. Linder received his education in the public schools of Wahoo. Nebraska, and after he had passed through the ninth grade. he began his career as a follower of the same vocation as that of his forbears. When he came to Custer county. in 1907. he rented a farm, on which he resided for five years, and he then moved back to Wahoo, and for six years farmed in Saunders county. In the fall of 1917 he purchased 320 acres of land in Custer county, and in March. 1918. he returned to this county, where he has since success- fully engaged in general farming, although he intends in the near future to take un cattle and hog raising on an extensive scale. lle has a pleasant and commodious modern home and other up-to-date buildings, fully equipped. and through his progressive and energetic work he is attaining a creditable success. Mr. Linder is a Republican in his political views. and his fraternal connection is with the In-

dependent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has numerous warm friends in the local lodge.

In September, 1904. at Wahoo, Nebraska. Mr. Linder married Miss Elizabeth Peterson. a daughter of C. J. Peterson, a stone and brick mason of that city. They are the parents of two children, Wilmer and Ruth, both of whom are attending the Berwyn schools.

JAMES DINWIDDIE .- Originally a Cus- ter county settler and pioneer of the year 1880. James Dinwiddie returned to this community in 1915. after twenty years spent in another part of the country. Success had rewarded his efforts elsewhere, but the lure of his old homestead was still strong, and he is now set- tled permanently on the property to which he came thirty-eight years ago with the high hopes of youth.

Mr. Dinwiddie was born in Genesee county, New York. July 14, 1855, a son of Robert and Elizabeth ( Anderson ) Dinwiddie. His father. who was born at Penpont, Scotland, in 1812. as a young man immigrated to the United States and settled in New York, where he married Elizabeth Anderson, who was born at Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1817. Mr. Din- widdie was primarily a farmer by vocation. but for a number of years operated a tannery in Genesee county, and when he disposed of his property there it was to move to Michigan. where the death of Mrs. Dinwiddie occurred in 1879. He continued to make his home in that state for three years, but in 1882 he camre to Custer county, Nebraska, and settled on a homestead, which, however, he had the mis- fortune to lose. His death occurred here in 1892. Hle was a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were devout and uncompro- mising members of the Scotch Presbyterian church, it being Mr. Dinwiddie's custom for some years to walk twenty miles through the backwoods of Michigan in order to lead the choir.

James Dinwiddie was still a lad when his parents moved to Michigan, and his education was secured in the public schools of the town of llope. For his first occupation he took 11p farming for his father, and in 1879 he came to Custer county, where. in the following year. he secured a homestead. This at the time of his taking possession was an absolutely barren tract, with no improvements of any kind, but within the following fifteen years great changes took place - the land was put under cultivation, buildings were erected. and equip- ment and improvements made their appear- ance, so that the property became valuable and

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

one of the handsome and productive farms of the locality. In 1895 Mr. Dinwiddie re- turned to the east, and at Woodford, V'er-' mont, identified himself with the lumber busi- ness. He remained in New England for twenty years, but in 1915 he came back to Custer county and again settled on the old homestead, where he carries on general farm- ing and the raising of stock, on his 152 acres. He has continued to make improvements and to develop his property in a modern way, and his manner of doing business and managing his affairs has given him an established repu- tation as a man of general worth, reliability, and progressive ideas. Every dollar that he possesses to-day has been gained by hard work. lle helped to set up all the timber that is lo- cated in the vicinity of his home and in vari- ous other ways has assisted, in a public-spir- ited manner, in developing the community.

In 1883, at Loup City, Nebraska, Mr. Din- widdie was united in marriage with Miss Mary F. Gleason, who was born at Woodford, Ver- mont, and to this union there have been born six children : Robert A., who is deceased : Elizabeth, who is the wife of Arthur J. Dewey, of Bennington, Vermont ; Richard D., who is engaged in the cultivation of his father's farm ; E. H., who is employed in a hardwars estab- lishment at Bennington, Vermont; Ray, who is a member of Company F. Twentieth Infan- try, at Camp Douglas, Utah : and Edna, who is the wife of Marion Rogers, of Custer county. Mr. Dinwiddie is a member of the Union church of Woodford, Vermont.

LOUIS E. PERRIN. - The lumber trade in Custer county is well represented by a sound and substantial organization doing business as the Dierks Lumber Company, with yards lo- cated throughout this section, an organization that for years has demonstrated progressive- ness and sound knowledge of business condi- tions. To be a representative of this concern is to have proved one's self worthy of confi- dence and the possessor of marked capacity. and for this reason Louis E. Perrin's position as manager of the yards of this business at Arnold stamps him as a business man entitled to men- tion among the constructive citizens of his community.

Mr. Perrin is a native son of Custer county, and was born at Sargent. July 16. 1889. a son of Similien L. and Sophia ( Tobias) Perrin. His father, a native of New Orleans, Louisi- ana, came to Custer county in young manhood. settled on a homestead, and through industry

and perseverance succeeded in the develop- ment of a good property and the accumula- tion of a competence. In 1899 he moved to Sargent, to take charge of the Beatrice cream station, which he conducted nine years, subse- quently going into the postoffice, where he administered affairs as postmaster for seven years and established a good reputation as a publie official. He is now living in retirement at Sargent, where he is one of his community's reliable and greatly respected citizens. Mr. Perrin married Miss Sophia Tobias, daughter of Isaac C. Tobias, and they became the par- ents of three children : Harold I., Louis E., and Watt W. Harold I. Perrin, who is suc- cessfully engaged in the jewelry business at Sargent, is a member of the Masonic frater- nity, a Republican,, and he and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. He mar- ried Miss Allona Wood, and they have two children. He was assigned to class 4-A in the draft for the national army. as was also his brother Louis E. Watt W. Perrin, who is en- gaged in farming near Sargent, married Gla- dys Ruse. He is a member of the Odd Fel- lows and is a Republican in politics.

Louis E. Perrin was educated in the public schools and was ten years of age when taken by his parents to Sargent. where he was a stu- dent for several years. While living at that place he entered the employ of the Dierks Lum- ber Company, as "second man" in the yard, and he continued in that capacity until he was given the promotion, in June, 1912, to the po- sition of manager of the yard at Mason City. Mr. Perrin continued to demonstrate his fidel- ity and business ability, and June 4, 1916, he was made manager of the Arnold yard. a much more important post. where he still directs the policies of the business and has charge of its working force. During the eleven years Mr. Perrin has been identified with this com- pany he has made his career one of steady ad- vancement. not alone in position but also in the confidence and esteem of his employer- and in the friendship and respect of the people with whom he has had business dealings. He is a young man of pronounced ability. and. judging by what he has accomplished thus far, he is destined to make further advancement in winning success and prestige. He is a Demo- erat in politics, but has been too busy to take part in public matters, save as good citizens do. He is promiently affiliated with the Ma- sonic fraternity, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and is a member of the Mystic Shrine.

September 21, 1915, at Mason City, Ne- braska, Mr. Perrin was united in marriage to

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Miss Lorene Rusmisell, daughter of William C. and Victoria (Reissner) Rusmisell, and they are parents of one daughter: Pauline L. Mrs. Perrin is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and the Daughters of Rebekah, her membership being in the organizations at Arnold, this county.

CHARLES B. MATHAUSER, who is one of the successful general farmers of the Comstock region of Custer county, and who makes a specialty of raising O. I. C. hogs and short-horn cattle, is one of the agriculturists of the younger generation who are native Nebraskans and who are recording creditable achievement in the state of their birth. He has been a resident of Custer county since 1898, and during the intervening years he has witnessed a number of changes, all making toward progress and advancement in his voca- tion.

Mr. Mathauser was born in the city of Omaha, February 6, 1885, and is a son of Charles and Maggie ( Hvezda ) Mathauser, natives of Bohemia. The parents immigrated to the United States and at once took up their residence at Omaha, where resided a colony of their country-people, the father securing em- ployment as the fireman of a furnace in a smel- ter. He held that position many years, but was energetic, ambitious, and industrious, care- fully saved his money, and in 1898 came to Custer county and settled on a farm. He con- tintied to be engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his energetic and use- ful career. and achieved a modest competence to reward him for his years of hard labor. He was a staunch Democrat in his political alle- giance but never cared for office or took an active part in campaigns, being satisfied to ex- ercise his right of franchise in behalf of the men he deemed best fitted for office. lle was a faithful member of the Catholic church, as was also his wife, who died in that faith in December. 1917. There were eight children in the family : Charles B. is the subject of this sketch ; John is a resident of Omaha ; James, who married Sadie Klat, is a farmer in Valley county ; William, who married Emma Rousek, is a farmer in the same county; Emil, who married Annie Rousek, is engaged in farming in Custer county, near Comstock; Edward. who is a bachelor, resides at Comstock ; and Misses Annic and Mary reside at home.

The public schools of Omaha furnished Charles B. Mathauser with his early education- al training, and when he came to Custer county with the family, in 1898, he began working on

the farm for his father, continuing to be thus employed until he embarked upon proceedings on his own account. He was twenty-two years old when he took this step, and at the present time he is the owner of 160 acres of finely cul- tivated land, on which he carries on general farming, and also makes a specialty of breed- ing O. I. C. hogs, of which he always keeps a large supply on hand, and short-horn cattle, of which he now has a herd of about twenty-five head. He has the reputation of being a skilled and progressive member of both of his voca- tions, while in business circles his rating is that of a man of honorable principles and up- right dealing. He is a Democrat in politics, but has found no time to seek office, being too busily engaged with his own affairs to take other than a good citizen's interest in public affairs.

Mr. Mathauser was married September 22. 1909, to Miss Hazel L. Fees, daughter of Louis and Lydia (Cain) Fees, who came to Custer county in 1902, but are now residents of Holt county. To this union there have come three children: 'Margaret, born June 18, 1910: Clara E., born February 8, 1912: and Charles E., born AAugust 3, 1914.

CHARLES ZACHRY was one of the early settlers of West Table and from a humble be- ginning has become one of the well-to-do men of Custer county. A native of St. Clair county. Illinois, he was born July 14, 1859. His fa- ther, Henry Zachry, was a native of Germany and when a young man came to the United States, locating in St. Clair county, Illinois. In 1908 he came to Custer county, Nebraska, and here he passed away at his home in Merna, May 15, 1918. The mother of our subject was Martha ( Robinson) Zachry, a native of Illi- nois, and she passed away when her son Charles was a lad six years old. Henry Zach- ry contracted a second marriage, with Sarah Siter, who resides at Merna.

Charles Zachry was the eldest of four chil- dren, three of whom are living, the other two being Mrs. Frank Sharp, of Custer county, and Mrs. Joseph Mills, of Illinois.

When a boy of sixteen years Charles Zachry was thrown upon his own resources and be- gan working on a form as a hired man, at the munificent wages of eight dollars a month. October 25, 1879, he left Illinois and came to Saunders county. Nebraska, where he found employment feeding cattle for a stockman at Ashland. In the spring of 1884 he came with his wife and their infant child to Custer county. his possessions consisting of a team of horses,

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

a wagon and two dozen chickens. He possessed also an ambition and determination to have a home, and he secured as a homestead the southwest quarter of section 6, township 17. range 22. Not an improvement had been made, and a sod house served as the home of the family for twelve years. They shared in all the trials and hardships that fell to the lot of the early settlers of Custer county, obstacles were met and overcome, and by persistent ef- fort and a display of good judgment the goal of success has been attained.

January 1. 1884, was solemnized the mar- riage of Charles Zachry and Miss Lillie Bach- elor. a daughter of Kelander and Adeline Bachelor. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Zachry has been blessed with seven children: Lulu is the wife of A. C. McGuire, of Arnold, Ne- braska : William is married and operating one of his father's farms; Edward is married and engaged in farming: Nido is married and is. farming in Custer county ; Lewis is at home ; Bertha is the wife of C. R. Woods, of Custer county ; and Myrtle is at home.

Aside from general farming Mr. Zachry has engaged in raising thoroughbred short-horn cattle and registered Percheron and Shire horses, of which he owns some very fine speci- mens. He helped to organize the school dis- trict and has been interested in all those en- terprises that have aided in making Custer county a better place in which to live.

Mr. Zachry can truthfully be called a self- made man, as all that he has accomplished has been through his and his family's untiring ef- forts, and they are held in high esteem wherever known.

JAMES A. HOWELL. - A careful reader of the biographies of this volume will not the fact that Roten Table is the home of an in- usual number of substantial, prosperous farm- ers, and it is to this class and to this locality that Mr. Howell belongs.

Mr. Howell hails from the southern part of the country. He was born in Ashe county. North Carolina, in April, 1861, and is a son of Calvin and Rachel ( Roten ) Howell, a splen- did couple whose children were John, Henry. James. Amanda, Patrick, Barbara Riddle, and Martricia Owens. The father's occupation was farming. which operations were conducted in North Carolina, while James A. was a grow- ing lad. He worked at home on the North Carolina farm and received an education in the schools of the vicinity. Here his first work was performed, and here he learned soil culture and the fundamental principles of

farming under vastly different conditions than exist in the middle west. It was in this south country that he performed his first work, and there he hoed corn for twenty-five cents a day, which was the first money he earned.

The marriage of Mr. Howell occurred De- cember 8, 1887, at Lexington, Nebraska, when Sarah J. Benckeser became his wife. Mrs. Howell is a native of Illinois, and is a daughter of John and Mary E. (Chard) Benckeser. The father of Mrs. Howell was a native of Germany, but her mother belonged to the Hoosier state. In the family of Mrs. Howell's father and mother were eleven children, of whom Sarah J. ( Mrs. Howell), was the first born. The others are Olive E., Nora Rowens. Laura Copas, Gertrude Barnes, Minnie, May Gage, Daisy Copas, Charles E., Henry, and William. The family are all members of the Lutheran church.

The Howell home. presided over by Mr. and Mrs. James A. Howell, has afforded dom- icile and shelter to nine children: Bertha M. married Robert Bryant. Her husband is in the national military service, and at the time of this writing is "somewhere in France." They have five children, who are living with their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Howell. John II., who is a bachelor, owns 160 acres ad- joining his father's place, in Roten valley. He was in the draft, under Class 2. Olive is the wife of Bryan E. Paxton, an employe of the Standard Oil Company, located at Cozad, and they have three children. Walter E. is farm- ing with his brother Henry H., in Roten val- ley. The draft placed him in Class 1. Division .A. Wily E., Orpha M., Rachel M., Calvin H., and Violet I. are all at home under the parental roof, the older ones pursuing their studies either in the district school at home or the high school at Cozad.

Mr. Howell's arrival in Custer county oc- curred in 1884, and here he worked by the month, helped build sod houses for pioneer settlers, and became an expert sod layer - one whose services were in great demand among the early settlers. He complains that when he came to the country he had to drink water from the lagoons where the cattle and wild horses watered. The settlers had to let the water settle and then strain it before us- ing it.

Mr. Howell bought the old William Ashley claim in 1892. Ashley will be remembered as the man killed by Hauenstein. To his orig- inal purchase Mr. Howell has added an ad- joining 160 acres. His son Henry owns the Hiram Roten place, Mr. Roten having been the other settler killed by Hauenstein.

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ROBERT M. SERVERS AND FAMILY

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Mr. Howell and his good wife are well and favorably known in Roten valley. They have made their money farming and stock-raising. They have a host of friends who rate them among the first citizens of the community. Anent the early experiences of former days, Mr. Howell says that he worked for Harve Andrews, who sent him into Cedar canyon to

split cedar posts. Harve watched him for awhile and then said, "Where are you from?" Howell replied that he was from North Car- olina. Andrews replied that he himself was from Virginia, saying, "I see now that I need not watch you nor tell you how to use an axe." Harve went back to his dugout and left young James alone with his cedars.

ROBERT M. SEEVERS. - Thirty-five years have come and gone since the subject of this record cast in his lot with the early set- tlers of Custer county, and during all those years he has been closely identified with the development and progress of this part of the state.

Robert Milton Seevers was born in Mahaska county, Iowa, July 18, 1862. His father, Ben- jamin F. Seevers, was born in Virginia, De- cember 1. 1802, and when a young man was united in marriage to Elizabeth Forney, on the historic bridge at Harper's Ferry, she also hav- ing been a native of Virginia, where she was born July 10, 1827. In the early '50s they came west and settled in Mahaska county, Iowa, where they engaged in farming. It was here the father passed away, at the age of eighty-four years and the mother's death oc- curred in Custer county, Nebraska, at the age of sixty-five years. They were the parents of eight children, of whom Robert M. and Mrs. J. D. Ream are the only ones residing in Custer county.

Robert M. Seevers was reared on a farm in his native county and acquired his education in the public schools. When a young man he was employed for a time as a civil engineer, and also engaged in farming. In May, 1883. he came to Custer county, Nebraska, and se- cured a homestead in section 26, township 18, range 23. He also took a tree claim adjoin- ing. His first home was the usual sod house and he shared in all the hardships and trials incident to those pioneer days. As the years passed and his prosperity increased, he added to his holdings, and to-day he is the owner of 800 acres, with as fine a set of improvements as can be found in Custer county. The beauti- ful frame house was erected in 1907 and is equipped with steam heat, electric lights, and

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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 119

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