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 154

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 154

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).

1023

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Bohemia and one still lives there: one lives at Omaha, and Mrs. Klapal belongs to Cus- ter county.

Mrs. Klapal was fifteen years old when she came to the United States and joined her father at Omaha. In 1883 she was united in marriage with John Klapal, also of Bohemia, who died in 1900. They had the following children: John, who is a farmer living east of Sargent, Nebraska, married Leda Eret ; Mary, who is the wife of Frank Cernek, a farmer northwest of Sargent; Annie, who is the wife of Jacob Cernek, lives in Garfield county ; Joseph, who lives east of Sargent, married Mary Kluna; Frank, who was a United States soldier, died in the training .camp at Camp Funston, February 7, 1918; Fred and Edward, both of whom are at home with their mother; and Josie, who is the wife of Lewis Chalupa, a farmer east of Sargent. Mrs. Klapal has the satisfaction of having a number of her children settled near her and all the survivors are doing well.

Two years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Klapal came to make a home in Custer county, Nebraska. They homesteaded and secured tree claim and pre-emption and she yet owns these and through her thrift and business ability has been able to acquire ad- ditional land and now has in all 640 acres, well improved. She has given much attention to the cattle industry, her herds being ex- clusively White Face cattle. She has man- aged her affairs with remarkable judgment and her ability as a business woman is uni- versally acknowledged. While Mrs. Klapal is now in the enjoyment of all the comforts of life, she sometimes is willing to tell of the hardships of early days here. When she and her husband first landed on the homestead that was to be their future home, it was a desolate place. Prairie fires had burned fiercely and left the land bare of vegetation and, although spring had come in the calen- dar, it being the sixth of May, when they drove from Loup City it was through a snow storm that amounted to a blizzard. They were cold and hungry and Mrs. Klapal con- fesses that she was so discouraged that she cried through one day and night. This at- titude did not continue, however, for in every effort her husband later made, she was his ready helper, leading the oxen when he first broke up the tough sod, hauling water from the North Loup River, a distance of five miles, attending to domestic affairs and in the mean- while bearing and rearing a family of eight vigorous children All the medals for hero- ism do not, by right, belong to warriors.

BORTON F. RIGGLE. - Among the rep- resentative self-made men and large landhold- ers of Custer county, few have been the architects of their own fortunes to a greater degree than Borton F. Riggle, who resides on a fine landed estate near Callaway. Were he asked to define the secret of success, from his own standpoint and experience, his reply would be, no doubt, that it is hard work and the taking advantage of fair opportunities. Al- ways and everywhere he remembers that his business career has been a successful one, and that to himself and all Nebraska men of his caliber is peculiarly applicable the well-worn maxim that "nothing succeeds like success."

Mr. Riggle was born in Grant county, Indi- ana, January 15, 1855, a son of Andrew and Phoebe ( Borton) Riggle, natives of Guernsey county, Ohio. After residing for some years in Grant county, Indiana, Andrew Riggle, who was a farmer by vocation, moved, in 1860, to Iroquois county, Illinois, and five years later he took up his residence in Wayne county, Iowa, where he and his wife passed the re- mainder of their lives in agricultural pursuits. Wherever they lived they were respected peo- ple of their community. They were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Riggle was a member of the Masonic fraternity. They had five children : Borton F, Miss Elizabeth, Mrs. Melissa Babcock, Isaac (a retired farmer of Derby, Iowa), and Mrs. Mary Miskimins.

The early education of Borton F. Riggle was obtained in the district schools of Iroquois county, Illinois, and Wayne county, lowa, and his early training was along agricultural lines, but when he was twenty years of age he left the parental roof and went to Chariton, lowa, where he became a clerk in a general store. After a short experience in connection with mercantile pursuits, he returned to the soil, and for some years he was a renter of land. January 19, 1878, in Wayne county, Iowa, he married Miss Lucy Deulen, who had been a school-teacher in that county, and who is a daughter of Kelen and Sarah (Dawson) Deut- len. Mr. and Mrs. Riggle continued to reside in Iowa until 1886, in March of which year they came to Custer county, Nebraska, and located three and one-half miles north of the present site of Callaway. In order to reach his new home Mr. Riggle was compelled to haul his goods overland all the way from Plumb Creek, now Lexington.

The early years of Mr. Riggle's stay in Cus- ter county were ones that taxed to the full the perseverance and determination of both him-

1024

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

self and his worthy wife, for hardships were numerous, unforeseen obstacles were continual- ly appearing, and disappointments were so frequent as to become almost expected. Yet he forged steadily along and finally had his reward in seeing the progress he was making. Once on the up-hill journey, he made good headway, and he has since become one of the most successful men of his locality, being the owner of 560 acres of some of the finest land in Custer county - all accumulated legitimate- ly and honorably through industry and the proper utilization of every-day opportunities. Mr. Riggle is justly proud of his beautiful residence, and his other buildings are propor- tionately substantial and attractive. He is a stockholder and director of the Farmers State Bank of Callaway. Mr. Riggle has commanded respect because of the manner in which he has worked his way to success, and has secured esteem because of his straightforward way of living and of doing business. Mr. Riggle is a Republican, but is no politician. He and Mrs. Riggle belong to the Evangelical church, and they are always ready to give their sup- port to movements making for better citizen- ship, higher morals, and more, extended edu- cational advantages.

Mr. and Mrs. Riggle have three children. Ethel, the eldest, married James E. Addie, a well known attorney of Hastings, Nebraska, and they have one son. Mr. Addie has been recently elevated to a position on the bench of the federal court. He is a Republican and an Odd Fellow, and he and Mrs. Addie are mem- bers of the Congregational church. Ida, the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Riggle, is the wife of Oscar Kolbo, who is a farmer and stockman near Lodi. Mr. Kolbo is a Repub- lican, and he and his wife belong to the Evan- gelical church. Frank Riggle, Mr. Riggle's only son, is the owner and operator of a farm north of that of his father, and four and one- half miles north of Callaway. He is an Odd Fellow and a Republican, and he and his wife belong to the Evangelical church. The maiden name of Mrs. Frank Riggle was Bertha Steel, and she is a daughter of George Steel, one of the very old settlers of New Helena, Custer county. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Riggle have a winsome little daughter.

THOMAS NEDBALEK, who is a sub- stantial farmer and stock-raiser in Custer county, lives on the old family homestead, situated on section 25, township 20, to which his parents came thirty-four years ago. Mr.

Nedbalek three years later, January 6 1887. in Custer county, was born to John and Mary ( Rejda) Nedbalek, the youngest of their fam- ily of six children. The other five, with one exception, live in Nebraska. John, the eld- est, lives in Garfield county and married Theresa Sebesta. Joseph is a traveling sales- man and lives in Central City and married Anna Schmidt. Frank is a farmer near Horse Creek, Canada. Anna is the wife of Daniel Capek and they live in Loup county. Frances is the wife of Joseph Bartu and they live near Arcadia.

The parents of Thomas Nedbalek were born in Austria. While they were honest, worthy people, industrious and religious, they were not able in 1884 to make much headway in . Austria in the way of securing a home or making any provision for old age. There- fore when five children had been added to the family, they determined to seek better indus- trial conditions and rewards in another coun- try, and thus it came about that they came to the United States, where they now live re- tired from work and in the enjoyment of many comforts. They came to Custer county, Nebraska, and secured a homestead. In those early days the privations and hardships were undeniably present, but no more so, perhaps, than in other sections of undeveloped country, and they had experienced hard times in their own land and did not expect to live lives of ease at first. The mother remained on the homestead and with care, frugality and hard work, kept the home going, while the father worked for others and thus obtained money with which he later could improve his own land and buy stock. It is an honorable record to look back upon and Thomas Ned- balek fully appreciates the sacrifices of his parents.

Thomas Nedbalek obtained his education in the public schools of Custer county and helped his parents to prove up on the home- stead where he now lives. He has 520 acres of fine land, which he devotes to general farm- ing and stock-raising, being one of the big stockmen of the county. He carries on his farm industries along modern lines and has a recognized position in the same, and has long been identified with movements intended to advance high standards here.

Mr. Nedbalek was married at Burwell, Ne- braska, April 14. 1909, to Miss Frances Stupka, whose father is an American citizen and lives in Valley county. Mr. and Mrs. Nedbalek have two sons: Joseph, who was born March 19, 1914: and Rudolph who was born February 12. 1916.

1025

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

PATRICK KILFOIL, familiarly known as "Paddy" was the first settler of Dale val- ley. He lived in this section of the state dur- ing the pioneer days - times when mutual hardships and privations drew men together in strong ties of friendship and led to the adoption of such names as that by which Mr. Kilfoil is known to all the early settlers.

Patrick Kilfoil was born in the city of Gal- way, Ireland and is a son of Michael Kil- foil. As he was a very small child when his mother died he has no recollection of her and never knew her name. Patrick was the youngest of three children. In 1842 the father came to America and found employ- ment at one dollar a day, out of which he saved enough with which to send for the children. Mr. Kilfoil was a lad of four years at the time he came to America and his younger years were spent in Virginia and Kentucky, and upon reaching young manhood he found employment on railroads, an occupa- tion which he followed for many years. When the Civil war broke he enlisted, in 1861, for service in the Union Army and faithfully served for three years in preserving the Union. He was once wounded but owing to the severe fighting at the time he knew nothing of it till his comrades called his attention to it. Mr. Kilfoil's only brother was killed at the battle of Bull Run, at the very beginning of the war. His only sister passed away in Cali- fornia. The little bronze button on the lapel of his coat signifies membership in the Grand Army of the Republic and he belongs to the post at Merna.

After his service in the army Mr. Kilfoil traveled in many parts of the country, working and taking in the sights. Among the places he found employment was a stone quarry, taking out the stone used in building the state capitol at Des Moines, Iowa.

Mr. Kilfoil came to Custer county in the early pioneer days and became the first settler of Dale valley. No one had yet located on West Table or in the vicinity of where Merna now stands. He took a homestead and tree claim and owing to the fact that he had given three years to the service of Uncle Sam he was able to prove up in two years. In recog- nition of his being the first settler of the neighborhood the township was named Kil- foil in his honor. He witnessed the hard- ships and privations of the early days and though never actively engaged in farming he has owned land and always been interested in agriculture, until recently, when he disposed of his farm. The church at Dale was the first Catholic church to be erected in Custer

county, and it was made possible largely through the benevolence of Mr. Kilfoil, who was the principal contributor. He has shown his loyalty and patriotism during the great world war and is the largest holder of liberty bonds in Custer county. He is also an im- portant stockholder in the Farmers Bank of Merna. Mr. Kilfoil has lived to see vast changes take place in the county where he was one of its earliest settlers and to the develop- ment and upbuilding of which he has been a liberal contributor.

Mr. Kilfoil is a Democrat in politics but has never sought or held public office. He has never married. preferring to live in single blessedness. He is well and favorably known not only in Custer county but over the state of Nebraska as well.

FRANK KRIZ, whose fine farm is situated in section 25, township 1, near Sargent, Ne- braska, has been a resident of Custer county for the past ten years and of the state three times or more that long. He has been a resi- dent of three different counties of Nebraska, and has taken part, to some degree, in the development of each.

Frank Kriz was born October 20, 1858, in Moravia. His parents were Joseph and Mary (Bartu) Kriz, both of whom were natives of Moravia, from which country they immigrated to the United States in 1884. The father de- sired to acquire land for a permanent home and this led to their coming to Nebraska. They settled in Saline county at first but later came to Custer county and here the father died in 1912. The mother lived until 1914. They were good people, honest and industri- ous, and had many friends in the neighbor- hood in which they lived. They had three children, namely: Frank; Fannie, who is the wife of Frank Visek, a farmer in Woods Park; Mary, who is the wife of Joseph Zurek, a farmer in Wisconsin; and there is a half brother, Joseph Bartu, who is a farmer south of Comstock, who married Frances Ned- balek.

Frank Kriz obtained a common school edu- cation in his native land, and was taught to be frugal and industrious in his home. He grew up there and was variously employed before he came to the United States, in 1886. He located first in Saline county, Nebraska, and lived there two years and then moved to Valley county, in 1888, and homesteaded there. He remained in that part of the state, en- gaged in developing his land and carrying on farm industries as he found them profitable up to 1908, in which year he was married for

1026

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

the second time. After that he came to Cus- ter county and here has become one of the substantial and highly respected citizens.

Mr. Kriz was married first to Mary Vy- beral, who died June 13, 1904, the mother of eight children, as follows: Frank, who lives in David City, Nebraska : Joseph, who lives east of Sargent, Nebraska ; Carrie, who is the wife of Joseph Troyan, lives in Valley county ; Emil, who is a soldier with the United States force in France: Mary, who is deceased ; Louise, who is the wife of Rudolph Stefka, a farmer south of Comstock; Annie, who is the wife of James Cedek, lives in Valley county ; and James, who is unmarried, also lives in Valley county.

Mr. Kriz was married, second, in July, 1908, to Mrs. Mary (Jambor) Reyda, who was a widow and the mother of six children, as follows : Joseph, who lives south of Com- stock; Frank, who is deceased ; and Matilda, Lewis, James, and Edward, all of whom live at home. Mention is here made of the other three children - Annie, is who the wife of Joseph Zedina, lives in Valley county; Mary, who is the wife of Joseph Pipal, of Garfield county ; and Emma, who is the wife of Frank Mason living in Valley county. Mr. and Mrs. Kriz have one daugh- ter, Irma, who was born April 24, 1909.

ANDREW J. ROATH. - Among the sturdy pioneers who came to northeastern Custer county during the late '70s was one who participated in the development of the county from the days of horse thieves and claim-jumpers, of hardships and of primitive conditions, to the present prosperity, security, and law-abiding civilization, is Andrew Jack- son Roath. for many years a farmer in the Cheesebro Canyon community, but for the past five years the proprietor of an automobile garage at Sargent.

Mr. Roath was born at Hardscrabble ( now Streator), Illinois, December 4. 1857. and is a son of David and Mary ( Swift) Roath, the former a native of New York, and the latter of Wayne county, that state. The parents of Mr. Roath were early settlers of Illinois, and his father. a farmer by vocation and a mason by trade, built the first brick house at Ottawa. He was a Republican, was a man of much industry, and during a long and active life achieved a moderate share of success. There were six children in the family: Elsie, of Ot- sego, Michigan : Lucien, of Jersey City, New Jersey ; Andrew J., of this review : Walter. of Los Angeles, California ; Orange Judd, of Chi-

cago, Illinois ; and Ernest D., of Los Angeles, California.

Andrew J. Roath was educated in the pub- lic schools of Illinois, and remained at home until after he attained his majority, his youth- ful training being along agricultural lines. In March, 1879, he left the parental roof and struck out for Nebraska, eventually arriving at his destination in Custer county, where he homesteaded the northeast quarter of section 6, township 20, range 18. Those were the days when might frequently made right. when rugged men from the four corners of the country came to secure homesteads, and when the lawless element to some extent was attract- ed by the possibility of big and quick gains. Mr. Roath had numerous interesting experi- ences during the early days, his proximity to Cheesebro's Canyon bringing him into connec- tion with one exciting series of incidents. The canyon was so named by the reason of one Cheesebro seeing its possibilities, as it was heavily timbered with pine and cedar, the only timber to be secured for any purpose for miles around. This Cheesebro filed on the canyon claim as a homestead and built a dugout there- on, but failed to live there, having made his. home with his people a mile or so away. For some time he sold cedar posts at fifty cents each to his neighbors and to those who came from as far as twenty and thirty miles away, but a boastful remark caused his undoing. "I can eat sugar cookies." he is reported to have remarked to one of the less fortunate settlers, "while most have to be thankful if they get corn bread." By this remark he meant that he could haul his cedar posts to Grand Island or Kearney and find a ready sale at all times. The remark was widely reported and caused much hard feeling among the settlers. in the vicinity, who began to take notice that Cheesebro did not make his home on his home- stead. Further investigation disclosed the fact that he had already earned a home in Minne- sota by homestead rights, which made him ineligible for one in Nebraska, and when these. circumstances came to light, the neighbors. rightly felt that they were entitled to the cedar posts as much as their claimant. Therefore a crowd of eighteen of them joined together. entered the canyon and began to gather what posts and timbers they needed for home con- sumption. On the second day Cheesebro ap- peared and endeavored to stop them, and, fail -- ing in this, tried to bluff the matter through by asserting that his wife had filed on the claim. This still being ineffective to hold the homesteaders, he appealed to the United States marshal, who made his appearance but who,.

1027

, HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ANDREW J. ROATH

1028

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

after learning the circumstances, did not in- terfere. The matter was then dropped by Cheesebro and the homestead has since been proven up by others.

Mr. Roath drove through to Custer county in true pioneer style, with a covered wagon, and brought with him a few household goods, several other articles, and some horses and a few head of live stock. He possessed no capi- tal and was forced to depend entirely upon his own resources to get a start, so that every dollar counted. His first home was a log house, and in one load he hanled from Grand Island the lumber for his first frame house. When he had been here about three years, he had the misfortune to lose his three horses, which were stolen by one Kid Wade, a notorious character of the day and locality. After the theft the people advertised without avail, and finally a committee of vigilantes took matters into their own hands, and Mr. Roath recovered two of his horses, just five months to the day after they were stolen, but he never again saw the third horse. At the same time of this theft the race horse belonging to Or- lando Pulliam was taken, and this was re- covered at the same time. Kid Wade was caught at Lemars, Iowa, by the vigilantes, af- ter a long chase, and was brought back to Carns Bridge, Brown county, Nebraska, where he was confined about three weeks. At the end of that time, the populace having become impatient at the delay, a crowd collected, took the prisoner from the officer in charge, and hanged him to a whistling post on the rail- road, at Bassett. Brown county.

Mr. Roath continued to live on his home- stead and to thrive and prosper in wealth and in the estcem of the community, accumulating a satisfying fortune and developing one of the best farms of his neighborhood. In 1910 he retired from farming, and engaged in the garage business, although he retained posses- sion of his farm, which he still owns. His first garage having been destroyed by fire, he re- built on the same site, and he now has a mod- ern structure, in which he is doing an excellent business. Mr. Roath is a Republican but is not active in public life. He is the father of two children : Roland A., born March 3. 1902 : and Mary F., born Angust 30, 1907.

FRANK CODAY. - The story of a live. energetic young farmer living in the vicinity of Sargent, is here consistently recorded.

Frank Coday is a contribution credited to Iowa. Yet lowa has had a small part in the formation of this Custer county citizen, since

only the first three years of his life were lived with the Hawkeyes. He was born in Wapello county, lowa, April 26, 1882, and is a son of Thomas and Emma (Sheppard) Coday, both natives of Ohio. The father was a farmer by life occupation. He brought his family to Custer county in 1885 and pre- empted a quarter-section of land. He lived here until 1915 when he moved to . Brown county, this state, where he still resides and where he enjoys ranch life as it exists in that cattle county. There were seven children in the father's family, five of whom are still liv- ing. Frank and his two sisters are living in this county. One brother, Earl G. Coday, lives on a farm two and one-half miles south- west of Mason City; and the other brother, Charles R. Coday, lives in Brown county, on his father's ranch. Amy Troxel lives on the Ranklin ranch in Blaine county, and Nellie VanCleve is living in Callaway. Thomas Coday was once supervisor of this county and served as road overseer for several years.

Frank Coday attended the district school in this county and here received his early training for his life occupation. It was here that he learned the rudiments of agriculture and the care of live stock, the qualities which formed the foundation of his present day achievements.

He was married February 12, 1894, to Eva Owens, at Taylor, Nebraska. His wife is the daughter of Leonard and Mary (Klingler ) Owen, pioneers of the county, since the days of 1890. They still make their home in the county.

Into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Coday two children, with life and energy, have come to bring the blessings of a happy home. Max and Pearl are very bright and promising children and, with the opportunity that will be theirs, will make a name and mark in the world.

Mr. Coday is independent in politics, is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and an active leader in the Modern Woodmen of America, in which lodge he has passed through all the chairs. His member- ship is at Sargent. The Codays are splendid people and rated in the community as kind and obliging neighbors.

JOHN STEWART, who is now residing on a small farm in the old town of Wescott, first came to Custer county in 1882, and from that time to the present he has been one of his com- munity's sound and practical citizens. For about a quarter of a century he was busily en- gaged in the development of his locality's re- sources, as an agriculturist, and at all times.

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 154

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