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 162

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 162

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On June 17, 1912, Mr. Johnson and his wife were on their way to visit his sister, when, at Mt. Vernon, Iowa, while changing trains, they were struck by a fast train and instantly killed. Their passing was a severe blow to their family and their many friends, as they were devoted parents and loyal friends. They were the parents of eight children : Jacob, of Broken Bow; Annie, wife of F. S. Ackerman; Sarah, deceased wife of John Varnek : David, a resident of Ohio : Martin, who owns and op- erates the old farm; May, who married Sam McGinnis and resides in Thomas county, Ne- braska ; Eva. wife of A. C. Anderson, of Lin-

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

M. LUDWIG JACKSON AND FAMILY

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coln, Nebraska; and Minnie, wife of Charles Higgins, of Lincoln.

Philip Johnson and wife were members of the United Brethren church and in politics he was a Republican.

In recording the lives of those brave men and women who established homes in Custer county when the work .of development was only initiated and who devoted years of sacri- fice and labor to make better the conditions of living for those who follow after them, we present to the readers of this volume a brief sketch of a worthy pioneer couple who did their full share and who are entitled to a memorial tribute in this history of Custer county.

M. LUDWIG JACKSON, whose standing as a substantial farmer and public-spirited citi- zen rests upon thirty years of connection with the agricultural and civic interests of Custer county, has won honorable success and repu- tation through his own efforts. He started his career as a landholder in 1888 and during the time that has elapsed has proved himself pre- pared for every emergency and worthy of ev- ery trust. Like many others whose homes are in Custer county, Mr. Jackson was born in Sweden, his birth date being January 31, 1858, and his parents Jacob and Maria (Nel- son) Jackson.

Mr. Jackson was reared in an agricultural family, his father and forebears having fol- lowed the pursuits of the soil for many years in Sweden. His parents never left that country, nor did any other children in the family with the exception of John C. The youngest of the family, M. Ludwig Jackson, received ordi- nary educational advantages in the schools of his native land, where he was brought up un- der a rigid training as to the virtue of honesty and industry. He was dissatisfied with such opportunities as he found for advancement in Sweden, and shortly after attaining his ma- jority he left that country and immigrated to the United States. He soon found that in order to gain a start he must work hard and faithfully, and that opportunities were offered only to the worthy and ambitious. For several years after reaching Grand Island, Nebraska, he followed railroading, and also for a like period was variously engaged in other em- ployments, but when he reached Grand Island he had only seventy dollars. However, he finally started out on another line. determined to gain success in the pursuit in which he had been reared, that of agriculture, to which he applied himself as a renter of land. He con-

tinued in the same capacity for three seasons and succeeded in saving enough money with which to purchase a team, and in 1888 came to Custer county and bought one quarter-sec- tion of land. He paid his indebtedness on this land, and then purchased eighty acres more, and since then he has made other additions, besides making improvements of all kinds, including the erection of substantial buildings. He has a pleasant and comfortable modern home, equipped with all conveniences, and his farm is a model of neatness and order. As a general farmer he has succeeded through the use of modern methods and processes, com- bined with hard and constant work, and in the line of stock-raising he has also met with pros- perity, having a good grade of cattle and be- ing considered a well informed man in that direction. Mr. Jackson has not been prominent in public life, but has been a public-spirited supporter of worth-while movements and one who by his influence, precept, and example, has tried to secure good legislation for his community. In political affairs he takes an in- dependent stand, depending upon his own judgment in his selection of candidates and principles, rather than that of the parties. With his family, he belongs to the Baptist church.

In 1891 Mr. Jackson married Miss Sadie Bray, daughter of William N. and Frances (Ogburn) Bray, natives respectively of Ohio and West Virginia. Mr. Bray is a retired farmer of Custer county, now living at Mason City. He came to this county in 1885 and spent thirty years in farming and stock-rais- ing. A full sketch of his career will be found elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson became the parents of seven children : George L., who, at the time of this writing, is in training for service in the United States army, in camp at Cambridge, Massachusetts; Carl F., who is with the American Expeditionary Forces, in France: Edward W., who is now in service in the United States army; and Clara M., Cressie, Kermit J., and Archie C., who are at home with their parents.

AMOS B. LEWIS. - Another intelligent, progressive farmer and stockman who belongs to one of the widely known pioneer families of the county is the one whose life sketch here follows.

Amos B. Lewis was born in 1877 and has been a resident of the county ever since he was two years of age. Here he received his education, lived through the days of childhood and boyhood, and he finds himself to-day in the prime and vigor of middle life, surrounded

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HERMAN H. E. HUENEFELD AND FAMILY

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by an interesting family and engaged in a profitable occupation. He is the son of Moses and Martha E. (Howe) Lewis, both very ex- cellent people. The father was a native of New York and the mother of Illinois. The father, who was a Civil war veteran, was possessed of a mechanical genius and was the inventor of some very helpful farm tools, not- ably ledger blades for a mowing machine, and a cultivator of exceptional utility. He came to the state in 1879 and homesteaded one mile east and north of Broken Bow. Both the father and mother were charter members of the First Baptist church of Broken Bow. The father is deceased. The mother has since re- married and is living in Grand Island. They were the parents of five children, all of whom have done exceptionally well out in the world of useful activity. John, the first born, is a prominent citizen of Wayne, where he is a member of the faculty of the Wayne State Normal. Amos, whose name appears above, is the second born. George M. is in Seattle, where he is engaged in electrical ralroading. Garland E. is at Niagara Falls, where he is professor of chemistry in a noted institution of learning. Leland J. is an instructor in the Columbia University. Both John and Gar- land were among the superintendents of pub- lic instruction of Custer county, each serving with credit to himself and profit to the school system.

Amos B. Lewis homesteaded in 1905 and to this has added other acres until to-day he has a holding of 2,450 acres, upon which he usual- ly runs about three hundred head of cattle the year around. The cattle are fine-grade Polled Durhams. His fancy in hogs runs to the Duroc Jerseys and in the breeding of this type he has made a splendid showing. Since nearly all his life has been spent in this county he has known its progress and development and has had much to do himself with some of the early events.

He claims the distinction of being on the first railroad engine that ran into Broken Bow. He was joined in holy wedlock to Leota C. Russom, a daughter in one of the first families of the county. Mrs. Lewis is an estimable lady of culture and refinement and has been an able assistant to her husband in all his agri- cultural enterprises and community service. Into their home the years have brought five children, all interesting and of much promise. They are Loma E .; Eula V .; Theodore V .; Rowena M .; and John R. All are at home and in full pursuit of their education. The family belongs to the Baptist church, and is rated as a leading family in the community.

Amos is a Republican, a township officer and a general contributor and supporter of all local enterprises.

HERMAN H. E. HUENEFELD. - Along with other substantial farmers of the Roten valley must be placed Mr. Huenefeld, whose life story follows.

Herman H. E. Huenefeld was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, July 3, 1864, and he is a son of Carl and Louisa (Hasse) Huenefeld, both natives of Germany. The parents were splendid people, and they had five children - Carl, Fred, Louise Klein, Simon, and Herman H. E. The father was a farmer, and he came from Germany to Freeport. Illinois, when Carl, the first-born son of the family, was but one year old. The family stopped in Free- port for a short time, and from there moved to Grant county, Wisconsin, where the sub- ject of this sketch was born and reared. Con- cerning his early days spent on a farm, Her- man H. E. Huenefeld remembers that he had to carry a light cradle in cradling a field of grain full of stumps. It was his job to locate the stumps and have his cousin stop and cradle around them. For this service he received the first fifteen-cent piece in script that he ever saw. When he was thirteen years of age his mother died, and one year later his father passed away, leaving the children doubly or- phaned. They remained on the farm, how- ever, the sister keeping them together and tending to the household duties. When the brother Fred married, his wife took charge of the home, and the brothers worked the land together until the farm was sold and the family came to Custer county. This was in the spring of 1886. The three brothers. Fred, Simon and Herman, located about sixteen miles south- west of Callaway, in Roten valley. Each bought a half-section of railroad land, for two dollars and fifty cents an acre. At the present time this land is worth at least fifty dollars an acre.

February 26, 1889, in Grant county, Wis- consin, was recorded the marriage of Herman H. E. Huenefeld to Miss Emma Casper, a daughter of Joseph and Mary ( Herberlein) Casper, who were natives of Germany, and who had ten children. eight of whom are living at the present time - Jacob, Carl, Henry, Emil. Albert, William, Joseph, and Emma.

Mr. and Mrs. Huenefeld started their home in a very modest way, and they maintained it over the extreme difficulties of the first years. Like their neighbors, they hauled water from five to nine miles. and then had to pay five

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cents a barrel for it besides the hauling. Some- times the wagon sent for water had to wait all night for the wind to come up and start the pump. In connection with those early days Mr. Huenefeld says that it was an interesting proposition to figure out how they could get the three per cent. a month to pay for money they had to borrow at the bank to tide them over the hard times. Yet the family survived all these difficulties and have come now to the crest of the hill, where life is easier and labor not so strenuous. The landed holdings con- sist of 480 acres, well improved and in high cultivation. Farming and stock-raising have paid for everything, supported the family, and are responsible for the present accumulation. Following is brief record concerning the chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Huenefeld : Clara is the wife of Leslie Dickerson, a farmer living about three and one-half miles south of Cozad, and they have two children : Lena is a teacher who received training at the business college at Broken Bow, and she makes her home with the parents ; Rosa is deceased ; Erma and Nora have finished the eighth grade in the public schools and both are at the parental home.

The family belong to the Evangelical church, in which they are faithful, consistent members. Mr. IInenefeld declares allegiance to no po- litical party, rating himself as an independent. In exercising the franchise he makes his own selection of candidates.

ALONZO B. ASH. - The Ash family came to Custer county, Nebraska, with the first settlers, and for almost forty years the name has stood for good citizenship, enter- prising spirit and sound, practical business methods. The family has always been an agricultural one, farming and stock-raising claiming the attention of father and sons, and in these industries they have been very suc- cessful. A representative member of this old Custer county family is found in Alonzo B. Ash, whose fine farm is located on section 31, township 21, with postoffice at Broken Bow, Nebraska.

Alonzo B. Ash was born September 26, 1871, at Marshalltown, Marshall county, Iowa, His parents were Jesse M. and In- diana Ash. both of whom were born at Shel- byville, Indiana. There were ten children in the family, namely: Elva, Alonzo B., Ward, Blanche, Harry, Herbert. Boyd, Vennie, George, and Corbett. all of whom are living with the exception of George. With prudent preparation for the future of his growing family, Jesse M. Ash for some time consid-

cred the relative advantages presented by dif- ferent western states before he decided on coming to Nebraska, led thereto by the state's even temperature, fertile soil and, at that time, an extensive farm area for homestead- ing. Alonzo B. was eight years old when, in April, 1879, settlement was made in Custer county, and here he has continued to live con- tentedly ever since. He was educated in the public schools and was trained to efficiency in his vocation, through the routine of farm work. Mr. Ash now finds himself a man of the utmost value to his country in her time of need, and as a loyal and patriotic citizen he is making every effort to add to the already bounteous yield of his acres. He has long been deemed one of the county's most pro- gressive stock-raisers, his farm showing standard stock only. He raises pure-bred Shire horses and makes a specialty of Poland China hogs.

Mr. Ash was married at Broken Bow, Ne- braska, November 4, 1906, to Miss Etta Doty, who is a daughter of Josephus and Martha Doty, and they have the following children : Blanche, Fern, Boyd, Chris, and Ernest. Mr. Ash has never been very active in politics but votes with the Democratic party.

JOHN O. JACKSON. - In naming the pioneers of Custer county the late John O. Jackson will be recalled, for he was one of the dependable men here in early days and sub- sequently prospered with the county. He was a fine man in every way - courageous and re- sourceful, keen in business and industrious in habit -and in all he did he was honorable and upright, and just to his fellow men.

John O. Jackson was born December 11, 1849, in Sweden, and died in Nebraska, Jan- uary 2, 1914. He remained in his native land until he was eighteen years old and then start- ed out alone to make his way in the world. He crossed the Atlantic ocean to the United States and landed on hospitable shores, for he easily found employment wherever he went and before reaching Nebraska had traveled through many of the states of the Union. He located at first in Pennsylvania. then went to Minnesota and then to Arkansas, and he vis- ited other sections prior to 1878, when he came to Merrick county. Nebraska. In the meanwhile he worked on farms, saved his money, and became acquainted with the lan- guage and customs. When he reached Custer county, about 1879, he had matured plans and settled convictions. Ile homesteaded in a de- sirable part of the county and took up a tree

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JOHN O. JACKSON

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claim. He kept on adding to his possessions until. at the time of his death, he owned a whole section of land. His homestead was well developed and well stocked and continues to be a source of large revenue to his family.

Mr. Jackson was married August 10, 1878, to Miss Florence Beaman, a daughter of A. and Esther ( Lamb) Beaman, who were na- tives of Franklin county, New York, and who came to Nebraska at an early day. Mr. Bea- man owned a large estate in Merrick county and both he and his wife died there. Of their family of nine children Mrs. Jackson was the first born. To Mr. and Mrs. Jackson five chil- dren were born, the survivors being: Maude is the wife of Thomas Bahr, a farmer near Mon- tevista, Colorado, and they have four children - John, Grace, Margaret, and Robert J .; Grace. second daughter of the subject of this memoir, is the wife of Ralph Keplinger, who not only farms his own quarter-section but also a quarter-section belonging to Mrs. Jackson, he and his wife having two children - Maude and Lyle ; Belle, who resides with her mother at Grand Island, has completed a course in the Nebraska Normal School at Kearney, and is now in the pedagogic profession.

Mr. Jackson always took an interest in poli- tics and had sound opinions on the leading is- sues of the day. In his early political life he was a Republican but later he found himself more in sympathy with the Democratic party. He belonged to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and attended the Mason City lodge of the same. For many years he was a faith- ful member of the Baptist church, and in various ways he contributed to other agencies for good in the county. He was a marked ex- ample of the self-made man, and what he accomplished was the result of his own unas- sisted efforts.

E. P. WALTER is now entering his thir- tieth year of service with the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad and is without doubt one of the best known railroad men in Nebraska, having entered upon his career in 1889. Mr. Walter, who started his service with the Burlington route as a roustabout and who is now general agent for that great com- pany at Broken Bow, was born in Corning, Iowa, December 14, 1871, and is a son of Jacob and Emily (Weaver) Walter.

Jacob Walter was born in Bavaria, in 1833, and was five years of age when brought to the United tates by his parents, who settled in Ohio. There he was bound out to learn the harnessmaker's trade, which he mastered

and followed as a journeyman in Ohio prior to his migration to Missouri, when he was still a young man. In the latter state he was mar- ried to Emily Weaver, who was born at Canal Dover, Ohio, in 1836, and they soon moved to Quincy, Iowa, where they established their home prior to the advent of the railroads. which necessitated their freighting their household goods from Saint Joseph. For a number of years Mr. Walter was engaged in business at Corning and later at Creston, but he eventually retired and in his declining years moved to Colorado, his death occurring in 1898 at Denver, while Mrs. Walter passed away in 1892, at Colorado Springs. They were the parents of two sons and two daugh- ters : Cora, the wife of T. H. Campbell, audi- tor of the Colorado National Bank of Denver. with which institution he has been identified for thirty years ; Sarah, of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, widow of Will Foreman, who for twenty-eight years was traveling auditor for the Burlington ; Charles S., engaged in the piano business at San Francisco; and E. P. Mr. and Mrs. Walter were consistent members of the Congregational church and were actively interested in church affairs. He was a Republican.

E. P. Walter completed his education in the high schools of Omaha and Denver, from the latter of which he graduated in 1889, and in that same year he joined the service of the com- pany with which he is yet connected. Rail- road work appealed to his nature as a youth, but as he was untrained he was forced to start in a humble capacity and began his labors as a common roustabout. However, his indus- try and energy soon won him promotion ; he became in turn telegrapher, operator and agent, and at various times was transferred, as his usefulness grew, to larger and more im- portant posts. Until 1907 he was on what is known as the McCook Division, but in the year mentioned he came to the Alliance Divi- sion, and after being at Crawford for three years came to Broken Bow. in 1912. as general agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, having complete charge of everything pertaining to the road's interests and posses- sions at this point. Coming into daily contact with thousands of people, as he has and does, it is but natural that Mr. Walter should have a wide acquaintance and that he should be un- equivocally popular. He is recognized as a skilled, thorough and well informed railroad man, in whose hands the company's interests are safe.

Mr. Walter was married at Brighton, Iowa, in 1895, to Miss Jessie Wilkins, who was

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born at Lexington, Iowa, and four children have been born to them: Ben, attending Creighton University as a medical student ; Joe, who graduated from the Broken Bow high school in 1918; Paul, a freshman in that school, at present spending his time with his uncle in Colorado: and Edna, a public school student. Mr. and Mrs. Walter and their children belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a Royal Arch Mason, has served as master of his blue lodge, and is a Republican with independent inclinations. He has taken a deep interest in civic affairs, and was practically the founder of the Public Ser- vice Club, of which he is at this time secretary.

ORLANDO M. WOLF, now one of the prosperous farmers and stockmen of the Sar- gent community in Custer county, belongs to that class of men who have attained their present positions of prominence and leader- ship solely through the medium of their own

efforts. When he first came to this region, more than thirty years ago, his capital in re- gard to finances was represented by the sum of five dollars, and in the several years that followed he experienced all the hardships imaginable connected with life in an unde- veloped locality. However, he has persevered and labored, and to-day is the owner of 960 acres of land, highly cultivated, and made more valuable by improvements of a modern character.

Mr. Wolf was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, April 2, 1865, a son of Peter and Caroline (Woodmansee) Wolf, natives of Pennsylvania, who passed their lives in their native state and were devotees of the peaceful pursuits of the soil in a highly civil- _ized community. They were devout church members, highly respected by their neighbors, and Mr. Wolf was a staunch supporter of Democratic principles. They had seven children, of whom six are living: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Joseph Bailey, a miner of New Cumberland, West Virginia : John, a farmer near Sargent, who married Alice Lundy; Sarah M., a resident of Oakdale, Pennsylvania, who is the widow of William Chapman : Orlando M., of this notice ; Will- iam H., a steel mill operator of Tylerdale, Pennsylvania, who married Laura Blair ; and Charles, whose present whereabouts are un- known.

Orlando M. Wolf received his education in the common schools of Pennsylvania, where he was reared on the home farm, and was variously employed until after he was eigh- teen years old, when he severed home ties and

struck out to make his own way in the world. He arrived at Grand Island, Nebraska, with but five dollars, and in November, 1883, started to work in Custer county. The time did not seem auspicious for his permanent settlement, however, and in March, 1885, he went west and for eleven years was employed in various ways. During this time he ex- perienced discouragements and disappoint- ments that would have broken the spirit of a less persistent and sturdy man, for he lost his crops by hail, had them burned up by drought, and suffered various other misfor- tunes, and one winter he and his wife were both compelled to go out and work, at $13 per month, in order that they might live through the winter months and have some- thing with which to start the following spring. However, their perseverance and courage were rewarded, for when Mr. Wolf returned to Custer county he had sufficient means with which to purchase a farm, and also to home- stead 120 acres, and this latter tract, in sec- tion 30, township 17, still forms a part of his 960 acres. Of this land, 800 acres is all in one body, and the whole property is in an ex- cellent state of cultivation. Mr. Wolf has engaged to some extent in farming, but has made more of a feature of stock-raising, and in this has been very successful. He has his property improved with a fine home, substan- tial barns and good outbuildings, and the en- tire place evidences Mr. Wolf's energetic and progressive spirit and his modern ideas of agriculture. He has not entered actively into public affairs, but supports good move- ments and is known as a public-spirited citi- zen.

Mr. Wolf was married December 25, 1888, to Miss Clara Ferris, a daughter of William and Evaline (Huntley) Ferris, of Round Val- ley, and to this union there have been born tive children, as follows: Sylvia, who is the wife of Howard Cooper, engaged in farming near Sargent; Charles, who married Edith Woods, and is engaged in agriculture in this community ; Mary E., the wife of Elmer Ellingson, of Round Valley ; and Ernest and Leonard, who are single, and are their father's assistants in the work of the home farm and ranch.

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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 162

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