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 58

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 58

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In March, 1905, Mr. Waters married Miss Clara Daniel, who was born in Custer county, South Dakota, a daughter of J. M. and Belle (White) Daniel, the latter now deceased, and the former a retired resident of Riverton, Wyoming. Mr. and Mrs. Waters have six children - George, Mildred, Lena, Elvira, Mary, and Riley. The first four children are attending school.

Mr. Waters is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Wood- men of America, in the former of which he has passed the various official chairs. He is a Democrat in politics, in which he has always taken an active part, and his influence is

counted upon, and not in vain, during elections. He continues to cultivate his land near Broken Bow, but rather in an advisory than in an active way, his official duties having received his chief attention.

CLAY HARRY, manager of the Broken Bow branch of the Nebraska Telephone Con- pany, became identified with this line of busi- ness in 1917, after several years of journal- istic labor. During his college days he had shown a talent for matters pertaining to the newspaper field, and when he entered upon his career it was in this line of endeavor ; but business life in another direction claimed him eventually, and he is making a decided suc- cess of his present activities. Mr. Harry is a Nebraskan by nativity, having been born on a farm in Hayes county, February 28, 1888, a son of Thomas Milton and Flora ( Wright ) Harry.

Thomas Milton Harry was born in Illinois, a son of Thomas Smith Harry, who passed the larger part of his life in that state. As a young man Thomas M. Harry went to Shenandoah, Iowa, where he married Miss Wright, a native of Ohio and daughter of Thomas Wright of Fairbury, Illinois. In 1885 Mr. and Mrs: Harry came to Ne- braska and settled in Hayes county, Mr. Harry homesteading and eventually perfecting title to a claim near Palisade. He continued to be engaged in farming until 1893, in which year he was elected clerk of Hayes county, at office which he retained for four years, and after the expiration of his term he was en- gaged in the grain and elevator business for a number of years, in the meantime serving four years as assessor of Hitchcock county, Ne- braska. He next moved to Texas, but after a short stay in the Lone Star state he disposed of his interests there and purchased a small farm in the neighborhood of Springfield, Mis- souri, where he and Mrs. Harry now make their home. They are the parents of four children - Zelma, the wife of Harris Fuller, a farmer of near Springfield; Clay, subject of this sketch; Phebe, the wife of Jesse L. Barlow, a farmer and stockman near Red Cloud, Nebraska ; and Wayne R., residing with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Harry are mem- bers of the Christian Science church. He is a Republican in politics and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed the various official chairs.

'The early education of Clay Harry was ob- tained in the public schools of llayes Center and Palisade, and he was graduated from the high school with honors. Following this, he

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

entered Doane Academy, where he was graduated with the highest honors of the class of 1907. Becoming a student of Doane Col- lege, at Crete, Nebraska, he took a four years' course, his college career being a brilliant one, in which he gained numerous honors, being editor of the college paper for two terms and getting out the annual college publication in the year 1911. In his senior year he engaged in the newspaper business, as one of the own- ers of the l'idette-Herald, with which he was identified for two years. He then went to Central City. Nebraska, where he purchased the Central City Nonpareil. He was the owner and editor of this publication for twenty-one months, and he then returned to Crete, where he spent a short time in a job-printing office. Following this, he went to Holdrege, Ne- braska, where he took charge of the Holdrege Citisen and remained one year. In 1917 Mr. Harry deserted the newspaper business to en- ter the service of the Nebraska Telephone Company, and in December of that year he came to Broken Bow, where he was made manager. He has since devoted his undivided attention to the duties of this post, and has succeeded not only in giving the people of the community prompt and accurate service, but also in advancing the company's interests ma- terially.

April 9. 1915, Mr. Harry married Miss Esther Hollenbeck, who was born in Kearney county, Nebraska, daughter of John H. and lda M. (Eastwood) Hollenbeck, early settlers of that county. Mr. Hollenbeck, who is now a traveling salesman, is a son of a veteran of the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Harry there has come one daughter : Rosamond lda. They are members of the Congregational church at Crete, where Mr. Harry belongs to the Masonic blue lodge. At Broken Bow he is an active member of the Public Service Club, and his military record includes mem- bership from 1908 to 1911 in Company H, First Regiment, Nebraska National Guard. His political tendencies make him a Democrat.

BURRITT W. KIMBALL, a well known general farmer and stock-raiser near Broken Bow, has been a resident of Custer county for nineteen years and during this time has de- voted himself continuously to agricultural pur- suits, his industry, thorough methods and good judgment bringing about very substantial re- sults. Mr. Kimball was born in Benton county. Iowa, April 11, 1875. His parents, both now deceased, were Hollis S. and Mary (Dorsey) Kimball.

l he paternal grandfather. George Kimball,

who was born in Vermont, removed with his family to Iowa during the boyhood of his son Hollis S., and spent the remainder of his life in that state. The maternal grandfather was Beal Dorsey, who died in Iowa, in early manhood. Hollis S. Kimball accompanied his parents from Vermont to Iowa, but a number of years later he came to Knox county, Ne- braska, where he secured a homestead claim. He eventually proved up on this claim, and he continued to live on that homestead for twenty-five years. During the Civil war he served three years as a member of the Third lowa Cavalry. In later life he moved to California, and his death took place in the city of Los Angeles. In his early political life he was a Republican but later identified him- self with the Populist party. To his marriage with Mary Dorsey, who was born in Iowa, five children were born, and three of them sur- vive - Nina, who is the wife of Frank Deitz, a farmer in Knox county ; Burritt W., who is the subject of this sketch ; and Willis, who is a farmer near Sioux City, Iowa.

Burritt W. Kimball attended school in Knox county and completed his school course at Niobrara. He has always been interested along agricultural lines and was already an experienced farmer when he came to Custer county, his first purchase of land being 280 acres, since then increasing to 440 acres. He has improved his property and has commodious and substantial buildings. May 26, 1897, recorded the marriage of Mr. Kim- ball to Miss Florence B. Johnson, who was born at Fulton, Illinois, and is a daughter of Dwight Johnson, a manufacturer of stock and hog food, at Omaha. Mr. and Mrs. Kimball have four children : Delisle, Thelma, and Margaret and Ione (twins.) Mrs. Kimball is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as are also all of the children. In politics Mr. Kimball is a Republican and fra- ternally he is affiliated with the Modern Wood- men of America.

ALBERT R. CHRISMAN, a man of large estate and high personal standing in Custer county, retired from his farm to Broken Bow in 1915 but still carries on his farm industries and continues the raising of horses and mules on a large scale. Ile is one of the county's substantial business men.

Albert R. Chrisman was born in Lafayette county. Missouri, September 28, 1858, and is a son of Joseph M. and Lucy B. ( Richardson) Chrisman, the former of whom was born in Virginia, in 1833, and the latter in 1840. They were married in Virginia, lived many years

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

in Missouri, and both died in Nebraska, the mother in 1890 and the father in 1913.

The paternal grandfather, Joseph Chris- man, was a pioneer from Virginia to Missouri, making his prospecting trip on horseback, and about 1837 conveying his family across the country by wagon. He was a farmer and stockman and died in Missouri. His son, Joseph M., accompanied him to Missouri in 1837 but subsequently returned to Virginia. where he was married to Lucy B. Richardson, a daughter of Marcus Richardson, who spent his life on his Virginia plantation. To this marriage the following children were born: Lizzie, who is the wife of R. B. Sargent, of Custer county ; Albert R. ; M. J., a retired farmer of Broken Bow; Lucy, who is the wife of Geo. Sweeney, of Scheding, Nebraska ; H. E., of Broken Bow ; Hattie, who is the wife of Sam Tooley, of Broken Bow ; Samuel, who is deceased ; and Jennie Ruth, who is a trained nurse. In 1883 the family came to Nebraska and homesteaded in Custer county. The par- ents were members of the Presbyterian church.

Albert R. Chrisman had school privileges in Missouri. He gave his father assistance on the farm and when the family came to Ne- braska he helped to bring, with other stock, 150 head of cows, and for many years he con- tinued to be largely interested in stock. He owns large bodies of land in the state, includ- ing a section in Blaine county and 480 acres in Custer county, north of Broken Bow.

November 20, 1889, recorded the marriage of Mr. Chrisman to Emma D. Tooley, a daugh- ter of William W. and Lucy A. Tooley, who came to Nebraska in 1884, from Indiana, and who reside at Broken Bow. Mr. and Mrs. Chrisman have five children - Ray, who re- sides on the home farm ; Chester A., who is. at the time of this writing, a soldier in the national army; and Lucy, Mary and Joseph. Mrs. Chrisman belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Chrisman is a member of the Woodmen and is independent in poli- tics.

ROBERT R. DUNCAN, president of the Bank of Merna, is one of the leading business men and financiers of Custer county.

Mr. Duncan is a native of the Empire state, born at Buffalo, New York, February 17, 1857. His parents, James and Christine (Ross) Dun- can, were natives of Scotland, coming to Amer- ica when young people. and were married in New York, where they made their home until 1857, when they became residents of Iroquois county, Illinois, where James Duncan became a successful farmer. The remainder of their

lives was spent in Iroquois county, where the mother died in 1885 and the father in 1908. 'They were the parents of six sons and six daughters, and they lived to see their children all grow to maturity and become useful mem- bers of society.

Robert R. Duncan was the youngest of the boys of the family and the last to leave the parental roof. He was reared on a farm and attended the public schools in the acquirement of his early education, later attending the In- diana Normal School at Valparaiso. For five years he taught school in Iroquois county, Illinois, and in 1888 he came to Custer county, Nebraska, where he engaged in the hardware business with R. J. Kelly and T. F. Kelly, at Merna. This was eighteen months after the railroad had come, and he was one of the pioneer merchants of the town, continuing in the hardware business successfully until 1903. In 1905 he helped organize the Home Bank of Merna and became cashier of the institution, remaining in that position until 1916, when the Home Bank and the Bank of Merna consoli- dated and Mr. Duncan became president, thus having been the active chief executive of the institution for the past thirteen years. This is one of the strong financial institutions of Custer county, its stockholders and directors being numbered among the substantial men of Nebraska.

At Ashkum, Illinois, on May 5, 1890, was celebrated the marriage of Robert R. Duncan and Miss Agnes McDonald, a native of Chi- cago, Illinois, and a daughter of Alex and Catherine McDonald, natives of Scotland, who became early settlers of Iroquois county, Illi- nois, where both passed away.

Mr. and Mrs. Duncan are members of the United Brethren church. Mr. Duncan is a member of Merna Lodge No. 171, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons and has received the thirty-second degree in Scottish Rite Masonry. besides being affiliated with Tangier Temple. Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Omaha. He also holds membership in the Merna organiza- tions of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Royal Highlanders.

Mr. Duncan has been a resident and business man of Merna for more than thirty vears, ar- riving here when it was a village of 200 popu- lation, and he has taken a commendable inter- est in those things which have had to do with the growth and upbuilding of the community. Having faith in the future of Custer county as an agricultural district, he has invested in and is the owner of 1,120 acres of Custer county land. While making a success of his own enterprises, he has not been remiss in

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY. NEBRASKA

duties of citizenship and is held in high esteem and respect by all who know him.

ROBERT J. KELLY, a pioneer settler of Custer county, was born in La Salle county, Illinois, October 29, 1856. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kelly, had emigrated from Ireland and had likewise made a pioneer home in the Prairie state when Illinois was in that stage of its history.

Mr. Kelly's boyhood days were spent on a farm in Iroquois county, Illinois. He married Elizabeth Carey, also of Iroquois county. In 1885 Mr. and Mrs. Kelly came to Custer county and took a homestead in Dale valley. For several years Mr. Kelly was engaged in the mercantile business and later managed a grain business in Merna. Since 1900 he has been engaged in the real-estate business at Merna, and in the years of his residence in the county he has taken commendable interest in those projects which have had to do with the development and progress of the county. He is the owner of a ranch of 800 acres and he has been successful in his business ventures.

Mr. and Mrs. Kelly are the parents of five children - three sons and two daughters - and all have grown to maturity in Custer county.

ALBERT J. VAN ANTWERP. - During the past ten years the office of surveyor of Custer county has been occupied by Albert Jason Van Antwerp, whose services have been of such efficiency as to preclude any idea of a successor being named in his stead. He is also a well known farmer and stock-raiser of his native county. He was born on his father's homestead in Custer county. July 4. 1882, and is a son of Francis Edward and Esther Alice ( Lathrop) Van Antwerp.

The Van Antwerp family is of Holland Dutch origin, and for several generations lived in New York state. Francis Edward Van Antwerp was born at St. Charles, Illinois, the third one of five brothers. There he grew to manhood, and there his marriage occurred. his wife being a native of Roscoe, that state. In 1880, with their first-born son, L. J. Van Antwerp, they journeyed to Nebraska in pio- neer style, with a covered wagon, and took up a homestead in Custer county. Upon the pio- neer farm the father passed the remainder of his life, and he was successful in the accumu- lation and cultivation of a tract of 320 acres. He died January 29, 1917. Mr. Van Antwerp was one of the well known men of his com- munity, and for a number of years, off and

on, forward from 1884, he occupied the of- fice of county surveyor, or deputy, in addition to which. in 1890 and 1900, he took the census of Wood River township. He was a Repub- lican in his political views, and fraternally was affiliated with the Odd Fellows, the Camp of the Modern Woodmen, and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. and Mrs. Van Antwerp were the parents of five sons - Louis J., who is operating a farm in the vicinity of Lodi, Ne- braska: Albert J., who is the subject of this sketch; Charles Edward Arthur, who re- sides with his mother on the old homestead : Major Ernest .A., who farms near Lodi ; and Merle S., who is identified with milling in- terests in Calloway.

After attending the public schools of Cus- ter county. Albert J. Van Antwerp adopted the profession of educator, and for two terms he was engaged in instructing the young in the country distriets. He then entered the normal school at Fremont, from which he was graduated in 1904, and in that same year he became a student at the University of Ne- braska, which he attended through 1904 and 1905. When his education was completed, he came to Broken Bow and became deputy county surveyor under his father, a position which he retained about five years. In 1909 he succeeded his father in office, and cach two years since that time he has been re-elected. Ilis record in office is an exceptionally good one, a statement which is hardly necessary, in view of the fact of his repeated elections. . 1 Republican in politics he is accounted one of the strong and influential members of his party in the county. While the duties of of- fice have absorbed a large share of his atten- tion, Mr. Van Antwerp has still found time to devote to business matters, in which he has achieved somewhat more than ordinary suc- cess. The owner of a splendid ranch of 400 acres, he is extensively engaged in raising live stock, and has recently started to concentrate his energies in this direction in breeding full- blooded Hereford eattle.

In 1905 Mr. Van Antwerp married Miss Marie Eneboe, who was born at Canton. South Dakota, a daughter of Paul J. Eneboe. Mr. Eneboe, who was one of the early homestead- ers of South Dakota, experienced many of the hardships of frontier life. and during his carlier years was compelled to transport his grain seventy miles in order to find a market. at Sioux City, lowa, his means of conveyance being an ox-team. Mr. and Mrs. Van Ant- werp are the parents of two daughters - Iris Olivet and Avis, both attending public school. The family belongs to the Presbyterian church. and Mr. Van Antwerp is affiliated fraternally

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

with the Masons and Odd Fellows, in the lat- ter of which he has passed all the official chairs of the local lodge.

CHARLES PENN. - The experiences of Charles Penn, now a member of the retired colony of Broken Bow, have ranged through the pursuits of war and peace, and have in- cluded mining in Colorado and Mexico, black- sinithing and machinist work in Nebraska, and large sheep operations in which he occupied a leading and prominent place among the ranch- ers of his section. His career has been a long. useful, and eminently successful one, and, in his declining years, he may look back with a measure of pardonable pride over his accom- plishments.

Mr. Penn was born in Morgan county, Ohio, November 22, 1846, a son of Caleb P. and Margaret (Newhouse) Penn, natives of Pennsylvania. Caleb P. Penn was a son of Reason Penn, who took his family to Morgan county, Ohio, at an early day, and there the father of Charles Penn was educated, grew to manhood, and was married. In 1850 Caleb Penn removed to Linn county, Iowa, where he settled down to agricultural pursuits, but in the evening of life he retired from active af- fairs and took up his residence at Broken Bow, with his son, at whose home both he and Mrs. Penn passed away. They were the parents of four children, of whom two survive - Charles and George, the latter a traveling salesman, with headquarters at Kansas City. Mr. Penn was reared a Quaker, while his wife was a member of the Christian church. He was a Whig originally in his political views, but with the birth of the Republican party he became an adherent of its principles.

The education of Charles Penn was ac- quired with some difficulty, as it was neces- sary that he walk three miles to and from the Iowa district school of his community, but in the meantime he also was able to learn much of the blacksmith and machinist's trades. The Civil war came on to interrupt his career, and, although he was little more than a lad, he en- listed, in 1862, in Company H. Twenty-fourth Jowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he served nearly three years. He fought with a command which took part in some of the bloodiest and hardest-fought battles of the great struggle between the north and the south, but his recollection of the hottest fight of them all was that of Champion Hill, where his regiment lost 676 during the time, out of the 1,018 men never returning. On his return from the war, the brave young soldier resumed

his trades of machinist and blacksmith, both of which he fully mastered, and finally he set- tled at York, Nebraska, where he opened a shop for the pursuance of his vocations. He ·was successful in his efforts, and in 1882 he came to Broken Bow, gave up his regular trades, and turned his attention exclusively to the buying and selling of sheep, a field in which he had acquired some previous exper- ience. This was something entirely different from his mining experiences in Colorado and old Mexico, his working at his trades, or his wearing of his country's uniform, but just as he had been successful in the other avenues of endeavor, so did he become prosperous in his operations along this line, and by 1883 he had 24,000 sheep and a large and valuable ranch. He continued to be actively interested in this field and to have large holdings in other enterprises and industries until 1907, when he retired from active affairs and transferred business burdens to younger shoulders.

Mr. Penn was married December 25, 1865, to Miss Emily Swecker, who was born in Wis- consin, a daughter of an early Iowa settler. Mrs. Penn died October 12, 1888, having been the mother of ten children, of whom seven are living: W. H., a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work: Effie Stephenson, of Edgemont, South Dakota ; Nellie Brown, of Leaf City, South Dakota ; Melvin, of Butte city, Montana : Ellsworth, also of that place ; Clara Shocker, of Stanton, Nebraska; and Ed. engaged in carpentry at Broken Bow. Mr. Penn was again married January 1, 1890, when he was united with Miss Laura Wood, a native of England, and they have two children: Warren, of Los Angeles, California, a general salesman for the Hudson Automobile Com- pany ; and Edith, in the employ of the Burling- ton Railroad Company, at Lincoln. Mrs. Penn is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Penn is affiliated with the blue lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity. He is a Republican in politics, and on several occasions has held public office, having been city marshal while a resident of York, and sheriff of Custer county from 1885 to 1890. during which time he established a splendid record for efficiency, conscientious perform- ance of duty, and unwavering courage.

HENRY B. LANDIS, M. D. - The pro- fessional labors of Dr. Henry B. Landis, at Broken Bow, have covered a period of seven years, during which time he has firmly estab- lished himself as a thorough, skilled, and learned practitioner. This honored member of

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the Custer county medical profession was born near Burlington, Iowa, April 13, 1874, a son of Peter E. and Elizabeth ( Fetrow) Landis.

The paternal grandfather of Doctor Landis was Henry Landis, a native of Virgina, who migrated to Iowa and died in the latter state, while on the materanl side, the Doctor is de- scended from a Holland Dutch ancestor. Peter E. Landis was born in Virginia, June 1, 1848, and was a child when taken to Iowa. There he grew to manhood, and when the Civil war came on he was one of the youths who swelled the Hawkeye state's fighting ranks. As a member of Company A, Nineteenth Iowa Vol- unteer Infantry, he fought gallantly for two years and nine months. He then resumed the duties of peace, in a regular, honorable, and industrious manner, which eventuated in his securing compensating awards. He remained as a resident of Iowa until 1884, when he purchased a farm near St. Joseph, Missouri, where he still resides, as one of his commu- nity's most highly esteemed residents. Mr. Landis is a Republican, and belongs to the Christian church, which represents also the religious faith of his wife. Mrs. Landis was born at Burlington, Iowa, November 9, 1853, and their union, at Wapello, Iowa, has been blessed by the birth of eight children, of whom five are living : Henry B .; Mary Kathryn, the wife of C. F. Remus, a merchant of Maryville, Missouri ; Lowrie F., who resides at the home place; Alice Cary, the wife of Lawrence Brunn, a farmer near St. Joseph; and Fern. residing with her parents.

The public schools of St. Joseph furnished Henry B. Landis with his preliminary educa- tional training, and following his graduation from the high school there he entered the Central Medical College. His diploma and de- gree of Doctor of Medicine were granted him in 1896, and in that year he commenced prac- tice at St. Joseph. Two years of interne work at Chicago and a post-graduate course in a polytechnic school gave Doctor Landis further preparation and added to the professional equipment which he brought to Broken Bow in 1911. His reputation, gained at St. Joseph, and at King City, Missouri, where he was lo- cated prior to coming to the county seat of Custer county, has been strengthened and solidified by his professional achievements at Broken Bow. He has the confidence of a large clientage, and a high standing among his brethren of the profession. His profes- sional labors are of a general character, as he is equally at home in any branch of his call- ing. As one who keeps fully abreast of the advancements and progress made in medicine and surgery. Doctor Landis is a close student,

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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 58

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