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 149

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 149

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In conclusion is entered brief record con- cerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Devine: Charles is a resident of the state of Illinois ; Frank, who has the management of the old home farm, is individually mentioned on other pages of this volume, as is also James V., who is cashier of the Farmers Bank of Oconto, this county ; Joseph remains at the old home farm and is associated in its work and man- agement ; John, the youngest son, is a dentist by profession and is engaged in practice in the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming; Martha, the widow of Joseph P. Berry, maintains her resi- dence at Oconto. Custer county ; Anna is the wife of James Noon, of Joliet, Illinois ; and Mary, who is now with her mother on the old homestead, has been a successful and pop- ular teacher in the public schools.

ALEY SHAFER, who is one of the enter- prising and industrious young farmers and stock-raisers of Custer county, is well known and well established in the above industries, while in a more personal way he is regarded

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

MRS. ANTON DOBESH

ANTON K. DOBESH

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

with sentiments of highest esteem in the com- munity in which he lives: Not every young man would have proved so unselfish and re- sourceful as was he - in the face of a domes- tic calamity - the death of his beloved mother - and his younger brothers and sisters, who have been craefully reared and are a credit to the community, entertain for him justifiable gratitude and affection.

Aley Shafer was born February 12, 1887, four miles north of Comstock, Custer county, Nebraska. He is the third in a family of twelve children born to his parents, Ghile and Dolly (Arnold) Shafer. The father was born in Ohio, where he grew up on a farm and in 1883 he came to Custer county, where he home-steaded and also took a tree claim. For many years he carried on farming and stock- raising with success. In 1915 he retired, and since then he has lived at Comstock. He is a Democrat in his political views. To his mar- riage with Dolly Arnold, who died in Feb- ruary, 1909, the following children were born : Nora B. is the wife of F. M. Tykward, a rail- road man of Whitefish, Montana; Eliza J. is the wife of C. H. Tucker, a farmer near Ord, Nebraska; Aley is the subject of this sketch ; Ralph O., who is a farmer near Comstock, married May Hammond ; Hilda is the wife of Henry Edler, a farmer near Bennett, Iowa; Grover C., who is a farmer near Comstock, married Alta Day ; Alfred K., who conducts a draying business at Comstock, married Geor- gia Andrews; Everett lives at Comstock ; Dolly fills a position as bookkeeper at White- fish, Montana : Robert W. and Addie make their home with the subject of this record ; and Arnold lives at Comstock.

Aley Shafer obtained his early education in the public schools at Comstock. He has always been interested in agricultural pursuits and at the present time is farming 220 acres in Custer county. His stock interests are im- portant and he makes a specialty of Duroc hogs. He owns valuable realty in the city of Comstock.

Mr. Shafer has never married. Circum- stances were such when his mother was taken away, that he was called upon for care and devotion in behalf of the small children left motherless, and it was then that the "big brother," Aley, took charge and with the help of his sister-in-law, Mrs. May (Ham- mond) Shafer and R. O. Shafer, a home at .. mosphere was created that compensated the children in part for the loss they had sus- tained in the death of their natural protec- tor. At this time the father was busy with his railway contracts, being in business with his brother, who had a contract with the B. &

M. Railroad, on the Lane cut-off. This brother was later accidentally killed, by the discharge of a revolver that fell on the rails.

Mr. Shafer is a Democrat in politics and fraternally is prominent in the order of Mod- ern Woodmen of America, is which he has been chief forester for the past eight years.

ANTON K. DOBESH. - Down in the Ansley section where this particular member of the Dobesh family resides, it goes without saying that if his name is Dobesh hic is a sub- stantial citizen, worthy of all credit and confi- dence. There are few names more potent in farm and business circles than that old-country name of Dobesh. which has been honored by other men as well as the subject of this sketch.

Anton K. Dobesh was born in a dugout on the old Dobesh homestead in Custer county, Nebraska, in 1883, and comes of rich old- country blood, as is shown in the sketch of his father, Anton P. Dobesh, on another page of this volume.

Anton K. Dobesh married Miss Clara E. Bristol, who was born in Iowa, in 1882, and they are the parents of five bright children, all of whom are at home, their names and respec- tive ages, in 1918, being here noted : Rupert, eleven years ; Clara M., eight years; Veronika Virginia, six years ; Portia L., three years ; and Anton K., Jr., one and one-half years. The first three children are now attending the pub- lic schools and the two younger children may be said to be arbiters of the household affairs in the Dobesh home.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dobesh began life in a sod house, but are to-day the owners of one section, or 640 acres, of good land, which is in a high state of cultivation and equipped with good improvements. The sulendid outfit of modern farm implements is well housed in machine sheds, and every pos- sible convenience of modern farming is in evi- dence. Good grades of live stock, including Poland-China hogs and Red Durham cattle, are well featured and made prominent in the live-stock operations, conducted in connection with diversified agriculture.

This family, like other families of the same name, bears a splendid reputation, and Mr. and Mrs. Dobesh are counted as very valuable citi- zens and neighbors. Mrs. Dobesh is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Dobesh affiliates with no political party and announces that he is an independent voter and considers well the man to whom he gives the favors of his fran- chise. He is living on land which he bought from his father.

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Patriotic appeals of the war drive have been met with generous response in liberal contri- butions on the part of Mr. and Mrs. Dobesh. Two near relatives of the family are in the war service at the time of this writing - Law- rence Bristol, brother of Mrs. Dobesh, is at Camp Ward, and Arthur Dobesh, a cousin of Anton K., is in the aviation corps and is in France. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Dobeslı was a successful and popular teacher in the Custer county schools, and she thus continued her work in the pedagogic profession for six years.

HUDSON J. FRASER. - One of the sub- stantial men of affairs living in the eastern portion of Custer county is the subject whose name appears above. Although unencum- bered with domestic affairs, Hudson Jay Fra- ser rendered to his parents a commendable service and has helped to develop the local resources of his community. Mr. Fraser hails from the Empire state. He was boru March 9, 1869. He is a son of Charles and Lorinda (Hays) Fraser, both of whom were natives of New York. The father's lifelong occupation was that of farming, although at times he worked in the timber of northern Michigan, where he also did some trapping. In the father's family were six children, three of whom ar e now living. These, aside from the subject of these lines, are Clara, who lives with her brother on the farm, and Nellie, the wife of R. P. Moore. In the common schools of New York Mr. Fraser received his early education and later he attended school at Grand Island, Nebraska. He never married but has chosen to follow all these years the path of single blessedness.

Hudson Jay Fraser came with his parents to Custer county at the age of twelve years. The father located the homestead which is still the family home and upon which Hudson Jay Fraser made his home until 1897, when he bought land near Westerville, where he lived until the 1st of March, 1914. Then he returned to the old homestead to render much needed assistance to his mother. The mother died that same year, her death occurring June 6, 1914. The father had died in August the year before. Charles Fraser had always been active and prominent in local affairs, serving on the school board for a number of years. He was a Democrat in politics and he and his wife were members of the Methodist church. They experienced the common lot of pioneers. Lumber for their house had to be hauled fron! Grand Island and all the provisions had to be

freighted from the same place. With a horse team it required five days to make the round trip. During the first winter they hauled wood for fuel, from the canyons near Wes- cott, about ten miles away. Their first habi- tations were made of sod and in these they passed their pioneer days.

In his youth Hudson J. Fraser herded cat- tle, for which he earned seven dollars a month, but in spite of privations, droughts and small wages, the family succeeded in making a homc in the new country, and to-day their improved and developed farm is a valued Custer county asset.

HENRY B. GLOVER. - One of the widely known and representative men of Custer county who is first and foremost in farming, stock-raising, and promotion of public affairs, is the substantial citizen introduced by the title line. Deserving of more extended mention than these paragraphs can afford, we regret our inability adequately to present the subject and his farm surroundings to the reader who many not know him.

Mr. Glover was born in Livingston county, Illinois, September 24, 1861, and is a son ci Samuel L. and Martha J. (Dunn) Glover. Samuel L. Glover is a native of the Empire state, and his wife was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania. Samuel L. Glover removed to Illinois in 1857 and established himself in farming. Prior to that time he had been running a grocery store in Erie, Pennsylvania. He lived in Illinois for thirty years, and then came to Custer county. Nebraska, where he bought the ranch upon which he made his home until his recent death, July 6, 1918. His widow still resides on the ranch and enjoys life at the advanced age of eighty-four years. These parents brought into the world six chil- dren, all of whom have done great credit to their home and parentage: Deett is the wife of J. W. McRae, a Colorado farmer living near La Veta : Mary E. is the widow of Elva T. Potter and lives on the old home placc; Grace is the widow of Eugene V. Sparks and she, too, lives on the home place ; the fourth in the family is Henry B., who is the subject of these lines; Percy D. married Augusta Lower and is farming in the vicinity of Wes- terville ; Sidney 1 .. married Mrs. Lena Pete :- son, nec Christensen, and they also are living near Westerville.

Henry B. Glover was educated in the com- mon schools of Illinois and attended the high school at Dwight. that state.

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

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HENRY B. GLOVER

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

April 6, 1907, at Lincoln, Nebraska, Mr. Glover led to the marriage altar Miss Corda Johnson, a lady of unusual culture, she being the esteemed daughter of Reuben and Celina (Sisson) Johnson, who were Custer county pioneers, having come to the county in 1894. Here Mr. Johnson purchased part of a school section and leased the rest of it. The section was number 36, township 17, range 18. Mr. Johnson served for several years on the board of supervisors, and his death occurred in 1903. In the Johnson family circle were seven chi !- dren, five of whom are living. All of the surviving children have their homes in Custer county with the exception of Charles, who resides in Atlanta, Georgia. Charles Johnson was prominent in the organization of a bank at Callaway and also one at Gering, this state.

Mr. and Mrs. Glover maintain an elegant home on one of the best improved farms in the county -a farm whose improvements would compare well with those of the farms in any state, in any locality. Here are big farm houses, one of which was occupied by Mr. Glover himself and the other by his fa- ther during his life time and now by his mother and sisters. Here are big barns, ex- tensive sheds and hog houses, the strongest kind of fences, water systems, and every mod- ern convenience, so that the place may well be termed a model farm. The landed holdings amount to 1,080 acres. The stock consists of Poland-China hogs of the large and bony type, fashionable black Angus cattle, and draft Percherons. Some of the cattle and horses are registered in herd and stallion books as aristocratic types.

No children of their own have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Glover, but their be- nevolent disposition has contributed to the comfort and life equipment of two children whom they have taken into their home - Clarence J. Forte, who came to the Glover home at eleven years of age, is now twenty- one years old and is at the time of this writ- ing, at Camp Funston, in the service of the country ; a bright girl, Gertrude Johnson, is now an inmate of the home' where she en- joys all the privileges of a favored daughter.

Aside from being a leading and extensive farmer, Henry B. Glover has always been prominent in politics, as a Republican leader. In 1907 he was elected to the state senate. in which he represented Blaine, Loup, Valley, and Custer counties. He made a splendid record in the senate and has always been counted as an honest, dependable, progressive citizen who could be safely charged with the promotion of all public enterprises.

WILLIS G. WILLIAMS is a Kentuckian by birth, but he has lived in Custer county thirty years and has here made a signal suc- cess of his farming operations. He lives in the north part of the county, where he is widely and favorably known.

Mr. Williams was born March 17, 1856, and is a son of William and Mary (Hale) Williams. His father was a farmer who in the early days of the '60s entered the service of his country and served throughout the duration of the Civil war. Little of the father's operations during the war are remem- bered by the son, but the honorable discharge attested a valuable service rendered. The mother died in Kentucky March 8, 1897. In the parental home were five children, three of whom are still living - Willis G. is the subject whose name is in the title line ; George L. is now living at Morrill, Nebraska, where he conducts a farm, the maiden name of his wife having been Linnie Tarleton; and Polly is the wife of John Faulkner, residing in Kentucky.

The early life of Willis G. Williams was passed in Kentucky, where he received a lib- eral education, and where also his farming activities commenced. He arrived in Custer county, October 19, 1887.

March 14, 1889, Mr. Williams married Mary C. Pfrehm, a daughter of John A. and Mary (Swigart-Miller) Pfrehm, who came to this county in 1879. Mrs. Williams' father homesteaded in section 32, and this property now belongs to his daughter Emma. He also filed on a tree claim at the same time. He was a Democrat politically, and was rated as a splendid citizen. The mother was a mem- ber of the German Lutheran church. The parents died in this county, the father in 1885, and the mother in 1899.

Twenty-seven years ago Mr. and Mrs. Willis G. Williams bought the land on which they now have their farm home and do a general farming and stock-raising business. This farm, however, has recently been sold, and they are undecided where they will effect their future location.

Into the family circle of this estimable couple have come eight children : Effie P. is living at home ; Minnie A., the wife of Archie Brooks, lives on a farm near Morrill, Ne- braska; Claude C., who married Hattie Bar- ger, lives on a form north of Walworth: Charles R. and Arthur G., and the twins, Earl O. and Essie M., are all at home.

Mr. Willims affiliates with the Democratic party, and in local circles has been very ac- tive in everything that will tend to the up- building of the community. He has served

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

as moderator and clerk of school district No. 40 for many years. The family are connected with the Methodist church. Mr. Williams is a member of the Loyal Mystic Legion of America.

In the family story of Mrs. Williams is an incident illustrating some of the difficulties encountered by pioneers. In the early period of their homesteading, the father of Mrs. Williams farmed in Lancaster county in the summer of 1880, while the children remained with the mother at home in Custer county, in order to complete the homestead rights. On one occasion, while the father was away, the mother was herding the cattle by means of ropes, when the cattle became unruly and ran away, tangling the ropes around the feet of Mrs. Pfrehm, which threw her to the ground and broke her hip. This caused her to faint from the pain, and she lay on the ground in the hot sun from ten o'clock in the forenoon until five in the afternoon, when one of the neighbors, who became alarmed at her ab- sence, went out and found her. She never recovered from this injury.

G. W. PENSE. - Here follows in outline the story of seventy-nine years, and brings to the front one of the veterans of the Civil war, a man who has seen the first years of the frontier life and a man who has well earned the reputation and comfort he enjoys at the present time.

G. W. Pense was born in Perry county, Ohio, June 12, 1840. He is a son of John and Nancy (Gammon) Pense. His father before him was a farmer, yet, like most of the men of his generation, he had some trade, and in this instance the father had served as apprentice and learned the cooper's trade, be- sides which he had occasionally worked at shoe cobbling and was enough of a shoemaker to be able to make shoes for his own family. John Pense moved from Ohio to Wisconsin in 1845, and from there to Illinois, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1857. In his family were ten children seven of whom are living at the present time, but G. WV. Pense is the only one living in Custer county. He has a brother, A. L. Pense, who is now located at Scottsbluff. but who for- merly lived at Westerville, Custer county, where he conducted a furniture store when that town was "on the map."

G. W. Pense was educated in the public schools of Illinois but did not have oppor- tunity to pursue his studies as long as de- sired. Nine months made up the real school privileges that he enjoyed. He made the best

of these, however, and, being of an intelligent, keen mind, he augmented the fundamental principles received in the schools until his education qualified him for all the transac- tions incident to common life.

September 8, 1861, Mr. Pense married Ara- minta Black, at Pleasant Green, Illinois. A year later he enlisted in the army, and he served until July 1, 1865, rendering a hard, yet in some ways remarkable, service. He was never wounded or taken prisoner. He was in successive engagements from Perry- ville, Kentucky, onward, and finally got back to Nashville, Tennessee. During a period of three months there were only five days in which he was not in some battle or skirmish. During his early years he learned the black- smith trade at which he worked at different times, but he gave it up in Warren county, Illinois and commenced farming.

In 1874 Mr. Pense came from Illinois to Clay county, Nebraska, where he resumed blacksmithing. From Clay . county he came to Custer county in 1881. He took a timber claim and lived here until he went to that part of Cherry county which is now Blaine county, where he owned land which is now known as the Rankin ranch. This he sold, and there- after he bought and sold different properties until he retired from active work. He now lives on the farm of his son-in-law, Monroe Freeman.

During his early residence in Custer county, and also during a few years residence in Sherman county, Mr. Pense became ac- quainted with the Olivers, Mitchells, and Ketchums, and he is familiar with many of the details connected with the Oliver, Mitchell and Ketchum tragedy. He gives lucid ac- count of the transactions in that connection, which in substance agrees with the Mitchell, Ketchum, and Oliver story recorded else- where in this volume.

Mr. and Mrs. Pense became parents of ten children, nine of whom are living at the pres- ent time: Mrs. Monroe Freeman and Harry Monroe Pense are the only ones living in this county.

Mr. Pense is the owner of a mining claim in the west and he is confident that this will some day be very valuable. While proving up on his claim he turned his hand to taxi- dermy, in which handicraft he made a remark- able showing. Some of his work makes splen- did exhibition to-day in some of the eastern museums. At the time he lived in Sherman county he employed spare time and winter evenings in different musical entertainments, and he was often called upon to play for dances in Westerville, West Union, and in

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

PERCY D. GLOVER

MRS. PERCY D. GLOVER

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

different places in the county. On these trips his daughter, now Mrs. Freeman, accompanied him, and played the cello as an accompani- ment to his violin. She was then so small that she had to stand on a chair to reach the instrument. The veteran and the pioneer has performed his service, has reared his family and deserves the rest that he enjoys in the years of his retirement.

PERCY D. GLOVER, who is a substantial citizen of Custer county, Nebraska, a pros- perous farmer and stock-raiser at a time when these industries are, perhaps, of more impor- tance than ever before in the history of this country, has lived continuously in Custer county for the past thirty-three years. He came here in 1885, in early manhood, accom- panying his father, who came here with capi- tal and invested in land, purchasing the old Payne ranch, which is one of the well known places of the county.

Percy D. Glover was born April 27, 1863, in Livingston county, Illinois. His parents: were Samuel and Martha J. (Dunn) Glover, the father having been born near Utica, New York, and the mother in Erie county, Penn- sylvania. They had six children, as follows : Deett is the wife of Joseph W. McRae, a farmer, and they live near La Veta, in Huer- fano county, Colorado; Mary E. is the widow of Elva Potter; Grace is the widow of Eu- gene Sparks, who died in 1913; Henry B., who is a farmer and lives on Glover's ranch, married Corda A. Johnson ; Percy D., of this sketch, was next in order of birth; and Sidney L., who is a farmer near Westerville, this county, married Lena Christensen Peterson.

In the public schools of Livingston county, Illinois, Percy D. Glover obtained excellent educational training and there he worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-two years of age. He then came to Custer county. on the Payne ranch, which his father bought. Mr. Glover himself bought a homestead right in the same vicinity and on this he lived until 1904, when he moved on his present fine farmi, which he has been operating ever since, its location being in section 12. township 17. He has always been a hard-working man and his honest and upright course in all neighbor- hood affairs has gained him the confidence and esteem of all who know him. He carries on his agricultural operations according to mod- ern methods and has introduced improvements that add to the efficiency of all his farm ac- tivities.

In January. 1887, Mr. Glover was united in

marriage to Miss Augusta S. Lower, who was a daughter of Abraham and Catherine (Mil- ler) Lower, who had twelve children. Of these children the following named survive and all are well known and respected in their re- spective communities : Margaret is the wife of Walter Morrison, who is manager of the Country Club at Kansas City, Missouri ; Al- bert M., who is in the real-estate business at Dwight, Illinois, married Mary Lorigan; Le Roy, who is a farmer in Livingston county, Illinois, and owns a garage at Campus, mar- ried Hannah Morris; Frank, who is a farmer near Dwight, Illinois, married Mary Weller; Marietta is the wife of Cyrus Hiddleson. of Cabery, Ford county, Illinois; Lillian is the wife of Thomas Maguire, a farmer near Cam- pus; Grace is the wife of Ben C. Morris, a farmer near Ames, Iowa ; and Gertrude is the wife of John Parsons, who is manager of a lumber yard at Piper City, Illinois. Mrs. Glover died in May, 1914, having become the mother of sixteen children, fifteen of whom survive her, namely : Earl, who was born May 19, 1888, and is a farmer on Glover's ranch, married. Nellie Johnson; Fay, who was born November 19, 1889, and who is a farmer north of Ansley, Custer county, married Irma Mattley; Guy, who was born March 1, 1891; is a farmer on the family ranch; Ruth, who was born May 12, 1892, remains with her father; Lloyd, who was born December 28, : 1893, and who is a farmer on Glover's ranch, married. Lena Fountain ; Glen, who was born May 14, 1895, is, at the time of this writing, with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, attached to the medical department ; and the names and respective dates of birth of the other children are here noted - Rex, October 16, 1896; Frank, February 5, 1901; Ray, March 8, 1902; Seth, July 11, 1903 ; Ted, December 5, 1904: Max, December 29, 1905; Grace, February 23, 1907: Ralph, July 18, 1908; and Clyde, July 15, 1909. A daughter, born March 23, 1899, died September 20, 1899. Mr. Glover may well be proud of this fine family and he has given his children every advantage in his power. He has always been a Republican in politics, like his father, and at present is serving as treasurer of school district No. 98.

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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 149

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