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 135
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156 | Part 157 | Part 158 | Part 159 | Part 160 | Part 161 | Part 162 | Part 163 | Part 164 | Part 165 | Part 166 | Part 167 | Part 168 | Part 169 | Part 170 | Part 171
J. H. BRAND. - In this sterling citizen Custer county has a practical and zealous agri- culturist, and one who for nearly thirty-five years has done his share in promoting the best interests of the community. He still owns the claim which he secured in 1884, on first com- ing to the west, and during his long residence here his conduct in all matters, agricultural, business, social, and civic, has been such as to establish his reputation as a helpful citizen and a man of strict integrity and probity of char- acter.
Mr. Brand was born in Franklin county, New York, in 1849, a son of Luther and Lucy (Bateman) Brand. The Brand family orig- inated in Germany but was transplanted in America at a very early date in the history of this country, as shown in the fact that Robert Brand, the great-great-grandfather of J. H. Brand, was a resident of Rhode Island. The paternal grandfather, Nathan Brand, was a native of Vermont and fought as a soldier of the patriot army during the Revolutionary war, and the maternal grandfather was Datis
Bateman, an Englishman, who died in New York state. Luther Brand was born at Hines- burg, Chittenden county, Vermont, and as a young man went to Franklin county, New York, where he married Miss Lucy Bateman. a native of that county, born at Chateaugay. They became farming people of that vicinity and spent their entire lives there, Mr. Brand passing away at the age of fifty-seven years and his wife when a little older. They had a family of seven children, of whom five are living : J. H. ; W. W., a farmer in the vicinity of Grand Island, Nebraska; F. E., a retired dairyman of Grand Island; and Ida S. and Nellie M., maiden ladies, who live at Grand Island and keep house for their brother, F. F. The children were reared in the faith of the Baptist church, of which the parents were life- long members. The father was a Republican in politics, and at one time served as school trustee, although he was no politician and only took a good citizen's interest in public affairs.
J. H. Brand received his education in the public schools of Franklin county, New York, where he grew to manhood on his father's farm. He was an enterprising and industrious young man and desired to make a success of his life. Thus when he noted that his progress was not fast enough, he decided that the fault lay with the locality and that by changing his place of residence he could better himself. Ac- eordingly, he came to Custer county in 1884, still a bachelor, and took up the tree claim on which he has since carried on general farming, with constantly increasing success. In the meantime, the lady who was to become his wife had come here and homesteaded a claim, and they are now the owners of 320 acres, all under a high state of cultivation and with the best of modern improvements. The buildings on the property were all erected by Mr. Brand, as at the time of his arrival there were no structures here and no improvements of any other kind.
On June 27, 1918, Mr. and Mrs. Brand were the guests of honor at a surprise party, which commemorated the twenty-fifth anniver- sary of the marriage, June 27, 1893, of J. H. Brand and Mary A. (Miller) Hughes. Mrs. Brand's first husband was James A. Hughes, by whom she had two children: Fannie A., who is the wife of C. M. Kiplinger, living near the Brand home; and Sidney R., who is farm- ing his mother's property. Mrs. Brand was born in Harrison county, Indiana, April 7, 1862, and is a daughter of Oliver W. and Hester (Mcculloughm) Miller. She is a granddaughter of Valentine Miller and James McCulloughm, who were natives respectively
878
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
of Virginia and Kentucky, and both of whom died in Indiana. Oliver W. Miller passed his life as a farmer in the Hoosier state, where he was elected to the school board, on the Demo- cratic ticket, and where he also served in of- ficial positions in the old, radical United Breth- ren church. Following his demise his widow came to Nebraska, where she was living with her children at the time of her death. Of the five children, four are still living: Mrs. Brand ; Mrs. Ella Burley, of Sharps Mill, Indiana ; A. S., rural mail carrier out of Litchfield, Ne- braska : and D. F., on a homestead in Colora- do. Mr. and Mrs. Brand have had four chil- dren: Oliver F., who is engaged in operating his father's farm and also owns eighty acres of his own: Wilbur D., who also operates on his father's land; Hester L., who remains with her parents ; and Lucy, who died at the age of seven years. The children have always re- sided at home, but it seemed as though the happy family circle would be broken by the cruel demands of war, as both of the sons were subject to the call. Mr. and Mrs. Brand have been members of the Free Methodist church for nearly a quarter of a century, having joined twenty-three years ago. Mr. Brand is a Re- publican, but has not cared for the doubtful honors of political life. He has found plenty to do in supporting good movements for the civic betterment and the general welfare, and has been content to till his acres and to take the awards that come through a life of in- dustry and honorable conduct, as represented by the gaining of life's true compensations - the love of one's family and the respect and confidence of one's fellow citizens.
JAMES G. BASS, who is a prosperous merchant at Mason City, where he has been established since 1916, came first to this state when nine years old, accompanying his par- ents, who located in Hamilton county. in 1883. Although circumstances led to his residing in other sections during a busy interval, when he felt prepared to settle down permanently, Mr. Bass' choice of a home was in Nebraska. He is a self-made man, having had but meager advantages in early youth, but his honest ef- forts along many industrial lines have met with just rewards.
James G. Bass was born July 26, 1874, in Pike county, Indiana. He attended the dis- trict schools and after the family came to Hamilton county, Nebraska, he remained on the farm until he was seventeen years of age. As his tastes were not in this direction, he then sought other employment, and for a
time he was a clerk in a hotel and also worked for the B. & M. Railroad. While living in Omaha he was in the barber business and he then pushed on to San Francisco, in the mean- while filling the position of traveling sales- man for several years. Finally he engaged in the mercantile business in San Francisco, and there he was comfortably situated when his business, like thousands of others, was destroyed by the earthquake and fire calamity. Mr. Bass then went back on the road and continued as a commercial representative until 1916, when he came to Mason City and en- gaged in the hardware and agricultural-imple- ment business, under the firm name of C. E. Bass & Company. A very complete stock is carried and the firm has built up an enviable reputation for business integrity.
In 1903 Mr. Bass married Miss Maude E. Smith, who was born at Healdsburg, Sonoma county, California, and they have four chil- dren : Gifford E., Naoma, Irma, and James Darrell. Mrs. Bass is a member of the Chris- tian church, while Mr. Bass is a Christian Scientist. He has always been a staunch sup- porter of the principles of the Republican party, but at no time has he been willing to accept public office. He is an earnest citi- zen, however, and his fellow citizens find him ready to co-operate with them in furthering all movements for the public good. He be- longs to the Masonic fraternity, including the Mystic Shrine.
CASPER VOGLER. - In the early 'SOs, when settlers and home-seekers were begin- ning to come into Custer county, the fame of this section spread all over the country, and many a young man saw here an opportunity to secure a farm and establish a home such as was not offered in the locality in which he had been reared. These ambitious young men came from other states and from other coun- tries, and by 1885-86, choice homestead claims in the neighborhood of Oconto promised a greatly increased population. One of these homesteads was secured by the late Casper Vogler, who, for almost a quarter of a cen- tury, was one of the county's highly esteemed citizens.
Casper Vogler was born in Massbach, Ger- many, December 7, 1858, the third in a family of four children born to John S. and Margaret (Dittmar) Vogler, the others being Michael, Nicholas, and Maggie. Casper Vogler at- tended the established school in his native vil- lage and before he left Germany, in 1882, had complied with the military law of the land. He was twenty-four years old when he came
879
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
to the United States, and because many of his countrymen had settled in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, he made this his objective point. On reaching that county he easily obtained re- munerative work on farms. Two years later Miss Carolina Schüller came from Germany to America, and in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, she met Casper Vogler. Their friendship culminated in their marriage, on the 10th of May, 1885. Mr. Vogler then came to Ne- braska and filed his homestead claim, south- west of Oconto, in Custer county, and in 1886, he and his wife moved on to this pio- neer homestead, which thereafter continued to be the family home. Mr. Vogler was an ex- cellent farmer and good business man, a kind husband and father and an accommodating neighbor. He died on his farm. November 7, 1909, leaving a fine property to his widow, who now owns 320 acres, adjoining the 160- acre farm of her only son, John G. Vogler.
Mrs. Vogler was one of a family of eleven children, of whom there are five survivors - Mrs. Caroline Vogler, Casper Schüller, Mrs. Margaret Knies, Mrs. Louisa K. Heim, and Otto Schüller. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Vogler: Lena is the wife of Henry Miller, a farmer on Redfern Table, and they have two sons and two daugh- ters : they attend the Lutheran church ; Casper. who is a carpenter and contractor, remains at home; John G., who was born in Custer county, November 8, 1890, farms his own land and also his mother's 320 acres, and is well known all over the county as a young man of sterling character; and Martha J. is the wife of James McNamara, who is a farmer in Pleasant Valley, their one child be- ing a daughter. The Vogler family belongs to the Lutheran church. When Casper Vog- ler first came to this county and secured his homestead, his nearest neighbors were James Johnson and Michael McNamara. The first school, called the Johnson school, was estab- lished in 1890.
ALFRED O'BRIEN, who originally came to Custer county in 1882, as homesteader, but who for a number of years has been connected with mercantile pursuits, as the proprietor of a thriving and successful grocery and hard- ware store, is another of the men who have found awaiting them in the virile west splen- did opportunity for advancement. He was born at Churubusco, Clinton county. New York, February 11, 1855, a son of Thomas and Anna (Corcoran) O'Brien, and a grand- son of Kennedy O'Brien, a native of Ireland, who died on a Vermont farm.
Thomas O'Brien was born in Ireland, and was a young man when he came to the United States, the family settling in Vermont, where he met and married Anna Corcoran, who was born at Portland, Maine. Subsequently he went to Clinton county, New York, and set- tled on a farm near Churubusco, a small rural community, and he was living there at the time of the Civil war. In the last year of the struggle he enlisted in Company I. First New York Engineering Corps, with which he fought until peace was declared, and he then returned to his homestead, where he con- tinded to be engaged in farming until the time of his death. He became a substantial and highly respected citizen, was successful in his business affairs, and served his community capably as justice of the peace. He was a Democrat, and was a faithful member of the Catholic church. He and his wife were the parents of seven children: Alfred, whose name initiates this sketch; Margaret, who is deceased; George, who is a telegraphist, liv- ing at Concord, New Hampshire; Arthur, who also is a telegraph operator, and is liv- ing at Cambridge, Massachusetts ; Miss Anna, who resides at Churubusco, New York ; Agnes, who is the wife of Horace Martin, of Montreal, Canada ; and Thomas, who lives on the old home farm.
Alfred O'Brien received his education in the country schools of New York, and, like many farmers' sons of his day and locality, was attracted by the romance of railroading, which he took up as a vocation, in the west. From 1874 to 1882 he had a. run from Grand Island to North Platte, but in the latter year he gave up railroading for farming, securing a homestead and a timber claim in Custer county. He had practically no capital to start with, as represented in a monetary way, but he was full of ambition and energy and was able to overcome the hardships and obstacles that discouraged and defeated many who were not so sturdy or courageous in spirit. He has since sold his homestead, but continues to hold his timber claim, and has other land, which totals 800 acres. His career has been one of self-made success that has all the elements of creditable achievement. In 1894 Mr. O'Brien came to Mason City and estab- lished himself in business as the proprietor of a grocery and hardware store He has built up a large trade and is accounted one of the successful business men of the city.
In 1861, Mr. O'Brien married Miss Ellen McAllister, who was born at Council Bluffs, Iowa, a daughter of William McAllister, an early settler of Hall county, who had come up to Council Bluffs on a flat-boat, in 1848. The
880
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
town at that time was known as Canesville. Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien are the parents of two children: Evelyn, who is the wife of C. M. Anderson, of Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, a sales- man for the Standard Oil Company; and Frank M., who went to the east, where he was given a course of instruction in the celebrated Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after which, in connection with the nation's partici- pation in the world war, he was sent to Mill- ington, Tennessee, as a member of the United States Aviation Corps in which he received commission as second lieutenant.
Alfred O'Brien is a Scottish Rite Mason and has served as master of his lodge of An- cient Free & Accepted Masons. In political matters he supports the Democratic party.
JOHN A. DAILY .- Some of the most profitably conducted and highly developed farming properties to be found in Custer county are those which were taken by their present owners as homesteads more than thirty years ago and which have continued through all this period to receive the personal attention of these owners. A case in point is the farm of John A. Daily, which is located two miles from Ansley, and a part of which was secured by Mr. Daily in 1884 For thirty- four years he has applied himself to its culti- vation and development, and the property is now one of the valuable and attractive estates of this section of the county.
Mr. Daily is a Pennsylvanian by nativity, born in Franklin county, June 3, 1858, and he is a son of John and Emily ( Penwell ) Daily. His parents were likewise born in the Key- stone state, the father in 1822 and the mother in 1830, and there they married. They later removed to Indiana, where they spent several years, and finally they established their home in Illinois. They were family people of the best type, industrious and God-fearing, and had the full respect and esteem of their neigh- bors in whatever community their home was made. Both passed away at Plano, Illinois, the mother in 1895, aged sixty-five years, and the father in 1907. when eighty-five years of age. He was a Democrat in politics and Mrs. Daily was a faithful member of the Presbyter- ian church. They were the parents of nine children, of whom six are living: Emily, the widow of W. T. S. Jamison, formerly a mer- chant of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania ; Sarah. the wife of George Bailey, a farmer of the vicinity of Plano, Illinois; John A .. of this notice: W. H., who formerly conducted a store at Overton, Nebraska. for two years, but who is now a merchant of Knoxville, Illinois ;
J. A., who is connected with a drug firm in California : and Martha, a resident of Cali- fornia, the widow of Frank Bailey.
John A. Daily was educated in the public schools of Pennsylvania, and at the age of eighteen years left home and went to Illinois. where for four years he worked on a farm. In August, 1884, he came to Custer county and took a homestead two miles from Ansley, on which he still resides, although he has in- creased his acreage to one-half section of good land. Every acre of his land has been ac- cumulated through the medium of his own ef- forts, and his pleasant residence and his com- modious barns and substantial outbuildings were all erected by him. He has kept pace with modern agricultural methods and inven- tions. his general farming operations being carried on along up-to-date lines and with highly improved farm power-machinery. In addition, he is a raiser of all kinds of live stock and has made a success in this direction also.
In 1894 Mr. Daily married Miss Agnes M. Elison, daughter of Major Elison, and of the three children of this union two survive : Charles P., who was graduated in the Ansley high school, in May, 1914, died in the follow- ing August ; and Florence and Lurene remam with their parents.
Mrs. Daily is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and while Mr. Daily is not identified with any religious body he is a sup- porter of good movements. Politically a Re- publican, he has been somewhat active in the ranks of his party for some time past, being a former member of the county board, while at the present time he has served six years as a member of the board of school directors, and his term continues for three years more. His official record is a good one, and as a business man he has won general confidence through his unqualified integrity.
FRANK N. MOSSMAN, who is one of the substantial men of Custer county, is prom- inent in both business circles and in public affairs at Mason City. Thirty-four years ago he accompanied his parents to Custer county and although he has not been a continuous resident. he has never lost interest in this sec- tion and in later years has been closely identi- fied with the county's substantial development.
Frank N. Mossman was born August 19. 1868, in Benton county, lowa. His parents were T. J. and Florentine ( Amsberry) Moss- man, the latter of whom was born in Mason county, West Virginia, January 29, 1848, and now resides in Butler county, Kansas. T. J.
881
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
Mossman, father of Frank M., was born in Pennsylvania, in 1841, and died in Butler county Kansas, in 1906. He married in Mar- ion county, Iowa, and lived in that state until he came with his family to Custer county, March 12, 1884. He took up a pre-emption claim and a tree claim and is worthy of spec- ial note that in 1868 he homesteaded on the site of thé present beautiful city of Lincoln, but never proved up. In 1884 he settled on a timber claim he had secured in 1882, but he sold this claim in 1891 and moved to Butler county, Kansas, where he spent the rest of his life. He was a good business man, an evi- dence being the fact that he came to Nebraska without appreciable capital and before he left the state owned 360 acres. Mr. Mossman was a man of enterprise also and was the first settler in school district No. 101 who made a move in the direction of building a school- house, his son Frank M., with the assistance of Samuel Evans, putting up the walls of the structure after the former had hauled the lumber from Kearney, without charge. In politics he was a Republican and fraternally was a Mason and an Odd Fellow, as well as an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he was actively identified with the post at Ansley, Custer county. As a valiant soldier in the Civil war he served as a member of Company D, Eighth Iowa Volun- teers. With his family he belonged to the Baptist church. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mossman, of whom the follow- ing survive: Frank M., whose name intro- duces this review ; Edward and Darius, both of whom are farmers in Kansas; Sophronia. who is the wife of L. L. Hinnen of Butler county, Kansas; Nola, who is the wife of Isaac Hammond, a farmer in Butler county : and Stella, who is the wife of George Manor, also of Butler county.
Frank M. Mossman attended the district schools in Iowa and one term in Custer county, in the schoolhouse he had helped to build. He lived on the farm until he was twenty- three years old and then went to Kansas, where he was foreman on a ranch for the next ten years. In 1901 he moved back to Custer county and here he purchased a half-section of land and engaged in a general-store busi- ness at Mason City. In 1905 he sold his store and went into the hardware business, but he sold out one year afterward and then became interested in concrete work. While in this line he did such work on a number of the most important buildings erected in Mason City. In 1916 Mr. Mossman turned his attention to insurance and realty dealing and he is now
one of the foremost business men in these lines in this part of the county.
Mr. Mossman was married in 1891, to Miss Louie Amsberry, who was born in West Vir- ginia, and they had four children, the sur- vivors being: Jesse B., who is a soldier in the national army, a member of Company D, Three Hundred and Thirty-ninth Machine Gun Battalion, serving in France at the time of this writing ; and Helen and Lillian Frances, both of whom are at home. The eldest daugh- ter, Nellie, died May 17, 1916, when but twenty years of age.
In politics Mr. Mossman is a Republican. He has been a man of influence and promi- nence at Mason City, serving for twelve years as mayor and for six years he has been a member of the school board, of which he is now president. He owns a considerable amount of valuable property here, including his handsome private residence and also the hotel building. Fraternally he is a Modern Woodman and an Odd Fellow and he has passed all the chairs in the latter organization. With his family he belongs to the Baptist church.
HIRAM T. COFFMAN .- One of the pioneers of Custer county who came early, and later qualified in every way as a good man and valuable citizen, was the late Hiram T. Coff- man, a veteran of the Civil war. His prop- erty still remains in the possession of his fam- ily and his memory is revered because of his sterling traits of character.
Mr. Coffman was born in Indiana, in 1844, and died on his old homestead in Custer county, Nebraska, in 1910. His parents moved to Iowa during his childhood and there he had some meager educational advantages, but the larger part of his education was self - gained, in the hard school of experience. He was reared on a farm and it was from a farm that he responded to the first call of President Lincoln for soldiers to preserve the Union. He served for five months in an Iowa regi- ment and then re-enlisted, in an Illinois regi- ment, and he continued in his country's ser- vice until the close of the war. His war rec- ord was one that he could refer to with jus- tifiable pride in later years when he gathered with old army comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic, in which organization he was interested as long as he lived. After the war closed he returned to Iowa and resumed agri- cultural pursuits, and there he remained until 1874, when he moved to Nebraska and settled in Howard county, where he homesteaded and
882
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
RESIDENCE OF ALBERT BRASS
883
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
.
remained until he had proved up. He sold his land in Howard county and in the spring of 1881 he came to Custer county and took a pre-emption. On this claim he continued to reside until his death, in 1910. During his active years he developed and improved the farm, and this work is being capably continued by his son Harry, who resides on the old homestead.
In Iowa, in the year 1871, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Coffman to Miss Mary J. B. Amsberry, who is a sister of Darius M. Amsberry, a representative citizen of Custer county and now incumbent of the office of secretary of state for Nebraska, a review of his career being given on other pages of this work and the same giving adequate data con- cerning the Amsberry family. Mr. and Mrs. Coffman became the parents of seven children, of whom five attained to years of maturity : Mary is the wife of James Kelly, a prosperous farmer in Colorado; Harriet became the wife of Charles Kelly and both were residents of the state of Wyoming at the time of their death; Kittie is deceased; Harry, as above noted, has the active management of the old homestead farm; and Paul was one of the gallant young men of Custer county who went forth in the service of his country when the nation became involved in the great world war: he went with the American Expedition- ary Forces to France and was one of the noble young patriots who sacrificed their lives in defense of a righteous cause, a memorial tribute to him being given in Chapter XV of this publication.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.