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 144

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 144

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).

ican and thus far practically all his life has been spent in Custer county.

John was born in Cincinnati, September 16, 1873, and belongs to the crop of Buckeyes that have made that state famous. His father, Gustave Gschwind, was a thrifty. frugal Ger- man. His mother, Frances M. (Kaser) Gschwind, was a native of Switzerland. In the family of the father and mother were five boys and four girls - Gustave A., Eustace, Henrietta (deceased), Hermena Branschi, John A. ( the prosperous Custer county farmer this sketch describes), Herman A., Flora T. (deceased), Frances Bass, and Carl F. The father's advent into the United States dates back as far as 1868. He first settled in Cin- cinnati, but afterward moved to a farm and followed farming for his occupation for the remainder of his days. He came to Custer county in 1882 and located on the South Loup river, six miles northwest of Callaway. Then began some of the pioneer experiences that are not hard to remember. Before their habitation was completed the family moved in with a pio- neer named Frederick Schreyer, who was one of the characters of an early date. He had a two-room house, half sod and half dugout, and in these two rooms, eighteen people man- aged to live until Mr. Gschwind could excavate and roof a dugout. The third day in the county they were treated to a gun play, for which no charge was made, but which seems to have been thrown in to make the entertainment and reception of newcomers of special interest. Some cowboys, who had been previously well liquored. drove a herd of ponies through Chris Nelson's corn. For this they had been reported to the boss. A day or two later the cowboys found Chris at the postoffice and everything was staged for a row. Gschwind and Schreyer were present and interfered in behalf of Chris. In the shuffle that ensued, Schreyer was shot in the side. The wound, however, was not fatal.

John A. Gschwind was nine years old when his Custer county career began. He had the opportunities of the early day and received his education in the first schools of the county. He inherited habits of thrift and frugality, and these, applied with his accustomed vigor, have made his farming operations a signal success.

December 21, 1909, Mr. Gschwind married Theresa J. Safranek, daughter of John Sa- franek and Amelia E. (Martin) Safranek, who were substantial people living near Merna. Mr. and Mrs. Gschwind have now a splendid home, the life of which is greatly augmented by four bright sons, who are typical young Americans

942

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

of the third generation. They are Carl F., Paul A., John A., Jr., and Herbert A. The Gschwind holdings consist of 468 acres, splen- didly improved with a good farm home and all necessary accessories and equipment.

Recalling early days, Mr. Gschwind says he carned his first money by herding sheep, on foot, for Chris Nelson, who still lives in Tri- umph township. Chris had an old dog which would not follow anyone except himself, but Arnold fastened a rope to the dog, and led him around for the moral effect of the dog upon the sheep. If the sheep got into a field of corn, that was all there was to it. The corn belonged to the sheep. The combination of boy, dog, and rope could not get them out. Those experiences are past and the former days are gone forever, but the passing years have used John well. The days of his retire- ment will be spent in comfort. All that he has, has been made in the county by farming and stock-raising. Mr. and Mrs. Gschwind are members of the Lutheran church.

EDWARD F. MORGAN-In relation to settlement and continuous residence, this title line introduces practically a new-comer - one whose residence in the county is of but eleven years' duration, and yet one who is one of the present-day factors and bids fair to hold his own and fulfill all that is expected of a Custer county food producer.

Edward F. Morgan was born in De Kalb county, Missouri, in 1879, and is a son of John M. and Alice A. (Arnold) Morgan, the former of whom was born in 1850 and the latter in 1860: in their family were three children, of whom Edward is the eldest; Byron M. lives on a farm near Merna; and Mina works in a bank at Unadilla, Nebraska. The father be- longed to the Republican party, was assessor, member of the school board, road overseer. and is now food administrator at Unadilla. He is also a Woodman and Mason. He started with but little capital and has been one of the world's productive workers.

Edward F. Morgan came to Custer county in 1907. Here he bought 800 acres of unim- proved land and he has put on good improve- ments since that time. On the place he runs eighty head of cattle, all of which are a good grade. He breeds Duro-Jersey hogs and his horses are of good Percheron blood. Follow- ing in the footsteps of his father in the matter of community service, he is a member of the school board and director of the Arnold and Anselmo Telephone Company.

In 1903, at Syracuse, Nebraska, was solemn-

ized the marriage of Mr. Morgan to Miss Hil- ma Johnson, who was born in 1880, in Sweden, and who is a woman of intelligence and gra- cious personality. Mrs. Morgan has been at all times a true helpmeet to her husband, and has given him effective co-operation in his earnest endeavors. She holds membership in the Presbyterian church. Mr. and Mrs. Mor- gan have four very promising young children. who lend happiness to the family home, and whose names are here entered in respective order of birth : Vera, Lyle, Harold, and Verle.

Mr. Morgan says his first money was made in raising hogs down in Otoe county, this state, and prior to the time that he commenced farming operations for himself he worked out at almost anything that came to his hand. His accumulations are the result of his own labor. and since he is young in years it requires no prophet to foresee that the start already ob- tained will ensure a competency for the years of his retirement.

WATT WILLIAMS, farmer, stockman, and real-estate dealer at Oconto, is one of the rep- resentative men of Custer county, is largely self-made, and now has ample fortune. He has spent practically his entire life in Nebras- ka and cherishes a real son's pride in and af- fection for the state. Mr. Williams was born in Will county, Illinois, July 6, 1880. His parents were Richard and Anna Williams, the former of whom was a native of Wales. They had eight children, namely: Mrs. Stella Wat- kins, Mrs. Ida Wheeler, Georgia (deceased), John, Watt, Mrs. Anna Patterson, Mrs. Blanche Ramsey, and Mrs. Gertrude Hussey.

Watt Williams was five years old when his parents came to Nebraska as pioneer settlers. His father located on Redfern Table, eight miles west of Oconto. In those days a lack of water, when the natural springs went dry. caused a great amount of inconvenience and some actual suffering, and Mr. Williams de- scribes with vividness the different measures used and the economies practiced in relation to securing and keeping a necessary amount of the life-sustaining fluid. Nine miles was a long distance to haul water by the barrel, but the settlers in many sections could procure none in any other way in the arid regions. Mr. Williams remembers when a neighbor liv- ing four miles away, put down a well. not reaching water until a depth of 450 feet, and he recalls how rejoicing prevailed because there would be five miles less of hauling to do. Lack of water was not the only drawback of the prairie country during his boyhood, for he

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

943

WATT WILLIAMS

944

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

can remember when rattlesnakes could be found almost anywhere, and it is reasonable to suppose that not very welcome was the appear- ance of such a reptile before a little bare-footed boy herding cattle a long way from home. However, he grew so accustomed to the snakes that he became an adept in killing them, and he believes that the first money he ever had was a dime paid him by a "tenderfoot," for a fine set of rattles. When fourteen years old Mr. Williams went to work on the Watson ranch at Kearney, at a salary of seven dollars a month, a wage considered fair at the time, and he kept on, in spite of a physical disability that incapacitated him for eight months. He developed a frugal habit that resulted in his gradual accummulation of capital, and this he invested in the horse business, at first in a small way but later on a larger scale. In the course of time he became generally interested in stock. He now owns 700 acres of fine land and has additionally two handsome residences in the town of Oconto, as well as his business office. Whenever his farm duties do not claim him he may be found at Oconto, where he has built up a very satisfactory real-estate business. In common parlance, Mr. Williams has "made good," although when ten years old, he was suddenly afflicted with blindness, and for an entire year his sister Anna had to guide his steps. He feels indebted to the skill of Dr. Michaels, of Callaway, for the restoration of his sight, but a recurrence of the trouble in 1895. made him again almost helpless for a period of eight months. A naturally cheerful disposition and an ambitious and sturdy spirit, helped him through those dark days.

Mr. Williams was married May 22, 1899, at Lexington, Nebraska, to Miss Zula Van Cleave, who is a daughter of Henry and Jane ( Shel- ley) Van Cleave, and they have a family of four children: Irvin L., who was graduated from the Oconto high school in the class of 1918 : and llarold A., Merle, and Wilma O., all of whom are attending school at Oconto. In politics Mr. Williams is a steadfast Republi- can. He belongs to the Oconto lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

HENRY O. PIERCE. - Two generations of the Pierce family have resided on the farm in section 31, township 19, and the present occupant, Henry O. Pierce, is in every way maintaining the reputation of his pioneer fa- ther, the late James Pierce, who came to this community of the west in 1880. The family have always manifested a spirit of public enter- prise and progress and its contributions to the

development of the locality have been such as to entitle them to mention as benefactors of their community.

James Pierce was born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and as a youth went to sea, being for twelve years a sailor in the danger- ous business of whaling and for two years em- ployed on a passenger vessel. In his native locality he married Jane Hunt, who was born at Somerford, England, and about the year 1857 they removed to Minnesota and settled on a farm in Mower county. Mr. Pierce was a hard-working and capable man, but in Minne- sota he did not make the success which he de- sired, and, looking for a new community in which to locate, he chose Custer county, Ne- braska. He came here in August, 1880, and secured a homestead and a tree claim at Somerford postoffice, but not until the fol- lowing year did he bring his family to locate permanently. Mr. Pierce became one of the substantial and influential men of his locality. and was appointed postmaster, a position which he retained twenty-seven years. During the first year it was neces- sary to carry the mail from Westerville free of charge, this being a requirement of the government in order to obtain a postoffice, and this work was principally done by William Gundy. On account of the severity of the win- ter of 1880-8I the pioneers suffered extremely, not only from the cold but also because of the shortage of flour, which was not to be obtained at any price. The flour mill at the Loup had been closed down on account of ice freezing the water in the mill wheels, and the nearest mill in operation was at Grand Island, 110 miles away. This could not be reached, be- cause of the heavy snow. However, like the other sturdy pioneers, they managed to pass through these hardships and others, and event- ually were able to obtain all the necessities and some of the comforts of life. In their later years the parents were surrounded by all the conveniences, and the evening of their lives was filled with contentment and pleasure. Mr. Pierce died, on the homestead place. March 11. 1910. He was highly esteemed in the com- munity, because of his many sterling traits of character. Of his eight children, seven are living: Frances, deceased, was the wife of Orvel B. Storey: George G., who is single, is a resident of Somerford postoffice : Thomas L .. who is single, resides with John D. Knight. on Boggs Table. Custer county : . Alfred W .. who married Minnie Knight, is a farmer at Somer- ford : William A., who married Etta Stevens, is a farmer north of Sargent ; Henry O. is the immediate subject of this sketch; Elizabeth J. is the wife of John D. Knight, of Boggs Table :

945

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

and Jesse, who married Margaret Knight, is a farmer at Somerford.

Henry O. Pierce was born in Mower county, Minnesota, November 7, 1871, and attended the public schools in his native community until he was ten years of age, at which time he was brought to Custer county. After he had completed his studies in the country schools, he took up farming as his life's work, and at the time of his fa- ther's death he secured the old homestead, in section 31, township 19, which he has since improved until it is modern in every feature and highly improved. He has engaged im- partially in farming and stock-raising, but re- cently has made somewhat of a feature and specialty of raising and breeding Polled Dur- hanı cattle, a field in which he has won marked success. He is considered one of the most progressive of the agriculturists of this local- ity, and is a man of the highest personal and business integrity. Interested in civic affairs and possessed of profound public spirit, he has frequently been called upon to serve in the capacities of public importance, having been school treasurer for one term, member of the school board and moderator, and at present he is a member of the town board and is town- ship treasurer. His political faith makes him a staunch Republican.

CHARLES SWANSON. - You might ride all day and pass a hundred farms, and not find one better improved or showing more signs of thrift and prosperity than the Swanson farm near Walworth.

Charles Swanson was born in Sweden, De- cember 13, 1861, and is a son of Sam and Stava (Kant) Swanson. The surname of the wife was taken from her father's soldier name. Each soldier has to adopt a name to designate him from another regiment, a peculiarity of Swed- ish custom that is strange to us in America. Both the father and mother were of Swedish lineage for many generations. They never came to the United States. He was a laborer but provided well for his family, in which were five children, four of whom are living. Charles and two of his brothers are the only ones that immigrated to America. One of these brothers is living in Indiana, and the other in Nebraska, near Kearney.

Charles Swanson came to the United States when twenty-one years of age, which was in December of 1882. His first stopping place was in Indiana, where he worked to get money to pay for his fare to this country, he having horrowed the requisite sum to pay his passage.

He lived and worked in Indiana until the spring of 1887, when he came to Custer county and homesteaded in sections 2 and 3, township 20, range 19, which homestead he still owns. Altogether he is the proprietor of 960 broad acres, on which are splendid improvements. It is a beautiful place, unusually well supplied with buildings for all requirements of stock farming. This place is known as "Cedar Slope," and in addition to his agricultural en- terprise, Mr. Swanson buys and sells cattle . and hogs, from which he has been constantly accumulating. At one time he made a specialty of horses and mules, and was once the owner of over 200 head which he raised and which he sold in Grand Island. He recalls that the first mule that he ever shipped to Grand Island sold for $400, which advertises the fact that it must have been a pretty good mule. His ability to buy and sell at the right time, as coupled with his keen judgment of stock, has served him well and enabled him to make the business profitable.

August 28, 1895, Mr. Swanson was united in marriage to Maggie Abbott, at Abbott's ranch in Loup county. She is a daughter of John and Jane (Warner) Abbott. Her parents were very prominent Kansas stock- growers, and withal very estimable people. They now reside in Taylor, Nebraska. To Mr. and Mrs. Swanson five children have been born, and of the number three are living : June is the wife of Thomas Rittenhouse, on the Swanson ranch, and Esther and Irma remain at the parental home.

Look around these premises and see the buildings, note the field and see the stock, and then recall that when Mr. Swanson landed in the county his cash capital consisted of $3.35. The first summer he worked for sixteen dollars a month and hired eight acres of land broken on his claim. He built his sod house alone, went in debt for a yoke of oxen, and used pond water for his stock and himself for three years. He lived alone and kept bachelor's quarters for seven years. After he had secured enough money to buy a drilling outfit for putting down wells, he followed that business for a time and drilled most of the wells put down in the early days in this vicinity. His success in putting down wells gained for him the sobriquet of "The Groundhog."

Politically Mr. Swanson affiliates with no party, as he is independent in his thinking and in his voting. He is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church, in which he has been a di- rector for eight years past. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. is an Oddfellow and also is affiliated with the Modern Wood-

946

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

JOSEPH HARFELE AND FAMILY

947

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

men of America. He is known throughout the north region of the county as a splendid man, successful in business and the father of a con- tented and happy family of children.

JOSEPH HAEFELE. - Down on what is known as the Ryno Table, where is located in his own home the Mckinley postoffice, live Jo- seph Haefele and his industrious, hard-work- ing family.

Joseph Haefele was born November 20, 1863, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and he is a son of John F. Haefele, a native of Würten- berg, Germany. His mother, Justina ( Ruth) Haefele, was born in Strassburg, Alsace-Lor- raine, and was a daughter of Peter Ruth, a man of strong character and one well known in Strassburg. Of the children of John F. and Justina ( Ruth) Haefele ten are living at the time of this writing, namely: Jacob, John F., Frederick J., George, Rudolph M., Wil- helm, August, Mary, Mrs. Catherine Davis, and Joseph.

John F. Haefele came to America when eighteen years of age. He was a blacksmith by trade and located in Lancaster. Pennsyl- vania. Those were the days of the Buchanan presidential administration, and money was something often talked about but seldom seen. Mr. Hlaefele worked for some of the farmers, and on one occasion he worked for one man long enough to earn a cow, which he accepted in lieu of money due him for wages.

Joseph Haefele, who is familiarly called Joe, earned his first money when he was but eight years of age, by picking pieces of slate out of the coal-breaker at the Sugar Notch anthracite mines in Pennsylvania. He continued to work in the mines until he was twenty-one years of age. Within this period he worked in all departments of coal-mining and learned every phase of the operation by which coal is taken from the bowels of the earth and placed in the bins of the retailer for city marketing.

Joseph Haefele was married April 24, 1889, at Broken Bow, Nebraska, to Cora B. Booth. who was born in Michigan, is a daughter of Charles W. and Nancy Booth, her father hav- ing removed to Michigan from the state of New York. Mrs. Haefele is a member of a family of nine children - Mrs. Electa Barrett, Edwin C., Alfred J., Mrs. Cora B. Haefele, Charles W., Ernest R., Mrs. Grace M. Coulter, Mrs. Elizabeth Shup, and George M.

Mr. Haefele arrived in Custer county, Ne- braska, in 1885 and immediately appropriated 320 acres of Uncle Sam's domain, by filing on a homestead and entering a tree claim at the

same time. For four years Joe kept bachelor's hall, and lie then threw up his hands and said that he had "had enough." The result of this surrender was the marriage recorded above. Mr. and Mrs. Haefele have eight children : Elizabeth G. is the wife of Jacob Koch, a farm- er living near Merna, and they have three sons and one daughter. Mr. Koch is prominent in the local ranks of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is independent in politics. Ruth M., the next younger daughter, is the wife of Everett Fuller, a farmer living near Berwyn, and they have one child. Mr. Fuller is an Odd Fellow and is independent in politics. Charles W. Haefele, a private in Battery C, Three Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment, Eighty-eighth Division of Field Artillery. is "somewhere in France" at the time this sketch is being prepared. Ralphı MI. Haefele is a pop- ular young bachelor. Joseph W. Haefele is a student in the public schools and lives at home. Esther O. also is in school and remains at the parental home. Herbert H. and Lottie L. are likewise under the parental roof and are pur- suing their studies in the splendid school of the neighborhood.

Mr. Haefele has long been very actively identified with public affairs in his county. He is a live promoter and supporter of every enterprise that contributes to the upbuilding of the community. He has been a school offi- cer for twenty-five years, being one of the or- ganizers of the old Custer Canyon district No. 237. For the last nine years he has been post- master of the MeKinley postoffice, which is located at his home. He is the precinct com- mitteeman of the Council of Defense, and is a member of the local organization of the An- cient Order of United Workmen at Callaway.

Mr. Haefele has a beautiful farm home in Custer canyon, where he settled in 1885. He is the owner of 880 acres of good land and has accumulated this valuable property through farming and live-stock operations in Custer county. His children are industrious and have given valuable assistance on the farm. At present the Haefeles are milking thirty-five cows, and Mr. Haefele says that this is the business that brings the money in Custer county.

JOSEPH BARTU. - The prominent citi- zen named above is foreign born and is one who in America has made good. He was born June 18, 1874, in Moravia, and is a son of Joseph and Mary ( Kriz) Bartu, both natives of Moravia. The father was a tailor by occu- pation until he came to the United States, in

948

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

1885. The family settled first in Fillmore county, Nebraska, where they worked on a farm for relatives, to pay the amount of their passage to this country. In 1886 Joseph Bartu, Sr., returned to the tailor's trade, and he worked two years at his old-country occupa- tion. In 1888 he moved to Valley county and homesteaded a forty-acre tract bordering on Custer county, just east of Comstock. Here the family lived until 1899, when they moved over into Custer county, on to the land where the subject of this sketch lives at the present time. The parents lived here until their death, the father's death having occurred July 22, 1912, and that of the mother on August 13, 1913. Of their three children Joseph is the youngest. The others are Frances, wife of Frank Visek, who lives near Comstock, and Mary, wife of Joe Zurek, who lives in Wiscon- sin. Mr. Bartu is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Z. C. B. J., a Bohemian lodge.

Joseph Bartu, the subject of this sketch, was married January 15, 1890. to Frances Ned- balek, at Burwell, Nebraska. Mrs. Bartu is a daughter of John and Mary ( Rajda) Ned- balek, who were early settlers in Custer county but who are now living at Burwell, this state. In the home formed as a result of this union are seven children - Emma, who is employed in a hospital at Hastings, Nebraska ; and Jo- seph. August, Agnes, Adolph, Jerry, and Henry, all of whom are at home. The early years of the Bartu family were fraught with difficulties and drawbacks, and losses were en- countered. In speaking of these losses, Mr. Bartu recalls that in 1898 he suffered the loss of nine stacks of grain by fire, which perhaps was the worst loss ever encountered in any one year. Another time he lost many cattle, and on several occasions the crops have failed, yet to-day the showings on his home place, which consists of 520 acres, well improved and well stocked, indicate that he has succeeded in spite of drawbacks. He still feels that Custer county is a great county and a place where any man can succeed if he is made of the right kind of stuff. Both Joseph Bartu and his wife are highly regarded by their neighbors.

ACHILLES D. JOHNSON. - In accord- ing recognition to the early settlers of Custer county, mention should be made of Achilles D. Johnson, who has been a resident of the county for thirty-eight years and who has not only been an eye-witness of the vast changes that have taken place but has also been an important factor in the development of his community.

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.

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 144

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