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 62

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 62

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Clifford N. Brittan became a harnessmaker

by trade and occupation. He was married on Christmas day, 1871, in Quincy, Iowa, to Alice B. Jones, who was born and reared at that place and who is a daughter of Luke R. Jones and Elizabeth ( Parke) Jones, both natives of West Virginia. In the Clifford Brittan tam- ily are five children: Frederic C., Walter M., Charles E., Harry F., and Hazel B. Wright. Frederic C. lives on the old Holli- way ranch near Arnold and has a water-power plant which furnishes electric power and lights for the village of Arnold. Walter MI. is in- dividually mentioned on other pages. Charles E. is located at Alliance, Nebraska, and at present is vice-president of the First State Bank of Alliance. He is also vice-president of the Antioch Bank, at Antioch, and is a potash dealer and operator. Harry is a farm- er and ranchman living ten miles southwest of Callaway, where he conducts very success- ful and extensive ranch operations. Hazel B. is the wife of Carl Wright, of Callaway, who is the Callaway miller.

Clifford N. Brittan came to Custer county in 1889 and engaged in the hotel and livery business. During a period of ten years he gave his attention to farming and ranching. still living in Callaway. In 1917 he sold 1.440 acres of good land, but he still owns a full section -640 acres. In addition to this he has a fine town property and is counted a very successful man. Public-spirited, respon- sive to every appeal for community improve- ment, he is an excellent citizen. In politics he is independent, and religiously he is con- nected with the Methodist church.

CHARLES A. GRANGER, who is a well known and respected citizen of Comstock, Nebraska, is one of the substantial men of Custer county, farming and stock-raising being industries in which he is extensively en- gaged. Mr. Granger has been a resident of Nebraska for over forty years, but his birth took place in Macomb county, Michigan, June 24. 1843. His parents were Haskel and Eunice (Dibble) Granger, these being good old New England names, but his father was born in New York and his mother in Canada. They were the parents of seven children, three of whom are living, namely: Charles .A .; Sallie, the wife of James Chrisman, a re- tired resident of Wahoo, Nebraska ; and Ev- elyn, the wife of Edward Knod. their home being on their farm in Saunders county, Ne- braska.

For a number of years, during which time the parents of Mr. Granger lived in Indiana, the father was engaged in business enter-

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prises in different cities. During an early period he owned and operated a dray line in Michigan City, Indiana, and for three years he conducted a meat market at Crown Point, that state. He then bought a hotel in that vil- lage and conducted it two years. In March, 1877, he brought his family to Nebraska and settled in Saunders county. His death oc- curred in August of the same year. The mother survived him many years, having passed her eighty-ninth birthday when she passed away, in 1915. They were people of real worth and were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The father was a Repub- lican in politics and was a member of the Masonic fraternity.

Charles A. Granger attended the common schools in Indiana and assisted his father, who, with his other activities, was engaged in farming and stock-raising. Mr. Granger ac- companied his parents to Nebraska and his father's death, so shortly afterward, placed added responsibilities on his shoulders. In the spring of 1893 Mr. Granger came to Cus- ter county and bought land. He resided on that tract eleven years, making many improve- ments, and he then sold the property and moved into Comstock, where he has resided ever since. In the meanwhile he purchased another farm, west of the town. This place contains 110 acres, and he directs the farming and stock-raising industries without living on the farm, making it profitable because he has had abundant experience and still keeps abreast of the times along agricultural lines.

Mr. Granger was married April 25. 1869. at Hebron, Indiana, to Miss Marion Matheson. and they have seven children, as follows: Lydia is the wife of P. T. Walton, and they live at Plattsmouth, Nebraska; Zara, who is a farmer near Sargent, Custer county, married Nannie Seidel; Harry, who is in the well and windmill business at Comstock, married Inez Heller ; Clarence, who is a farmer northwest of Comstock, married Maud Cleveland ; Eva is the wife of Arnold Simpson, a farmer near Sargent : Florence is the wife of Mahlon Cleveland, a railroad man living at Aurora, Nebraska ; and Edith is the wife of Charles Cleveland, a farmer north of Comstock. It is a great satisfaction to Mr. and Mrs. Granger that their children are all so well set . tled in life and that all, with the exception of two, live near the old home, making it pos- sible for them to have the companionship of their thirty-three grandchildren and their three great-grandchildren. Since taking up his residence at Comstock Mr. Granger has taken an active interest in civic affairs, but not as a politician. His many years have given

him a wider experience than some of his fel- low citizens and his ripened judgment is fre- quently consulted in matters of local impor- tance. Mr. Granger is a veteran of the Civil war. He enlisted, at Valparaiso, Indiana, in January, 1862, as a member of Company B. One Hundred and Fifty-first Indiana Volun . teer Infantry, and he served one year. He was then discharged on account of sickness. He took part in several minor skirmishes but in no important battles.

CHARLES L. MULLINS, M. D. - The medical profession of Custer county has no more skilled or distinguished member than Dr. Charles L. Mullins, who, both as a pri- vate practitioner and in numerous positions of public trust, has gained a state-wide reputa- tion. He is a veteran of the Spanish-Ameri- can war and in connection with the nation's participation in the great world war he has been an indefatigable worker in behalf of the government's interests. The high esteem in which he is held by his professional confreres is evidenced by his being chosen president of the Nebraska State Medical Society.

Dr. Charles L. Mullins was born at Win- chester, Clark county, Missouri, January 27. 1867, a son of William B. and Anna M. (Kep- hart ) Mullins. His paternal grandfather, Reuben Baker Mullins, was born in Virginia and at an early day went overland into Ken- tucky, as a contemporary of Daniel Boone. He was married in Virginia to Betsy Love be- fore emigrating, and both passed the rest of their lives in the Blue Grass state. The ma- ternal grandfather of Doctor Mullins was Henry Kephart, who was born in Pennsyl- vania, moved to Kentucky, married Sallie Teaters, and finally settled in the neighbor- hood of Blakesburg, Iowa, where he was en- gaged in farming until his death and where Mrs. Kephart also spent her last years. Will- iam B. Mullins was born in Pendleton county. Kentucky, in 1814, and as a young man adopted the profession of school teaching, a capacity in which he went to Blakesburg, Wapello county, Iowa, where he wedded Miss Anna M. Kephart, who was born in Kentucky, in 1833. Some time after their marriage they moved to Winchester, Clark county, Missouri, where they were residing at the outbreak of the Civil war, and Mr. Mullins enlisted in the Twenty-first Regiment of Missouri Volunteer Infantry. At the close of a gallant service. he returned to Missouri, resumed merchan- clising, and continued to be so occupied until his death. which occurred August 11, 1884. Mrs. Mullins survived him until 1917. They

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY. NEBRASKA

were the parents of six children: William H .. of Missouri ; R. B., a dental practitioner of Broken Bow ; Mary, the widow of C. W. Bol- linger, formerly a retail and wholesale music dealer of Oskaloosa, Iowa; Sallie, the wife of S. W. Parr, of that place; Dr. Charles L. : and Luzenna, the wife of Fred Trico, of Oskaloosa, Iowa. William B. Mullins was a Mason and in politics was a Democrat.

Charles L. Mullins attended the public schools of Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska, and as a youth took up the study of pharmacy, completing his education therein at Northwes- tern University, Chicago. He was registered and began the practice of pharmacy in Cass county, Nebraska, where he resided for sev- eral years, and while thus engaged he became interested in the study of medicine, to which he applied himself personally for some time before entering the Omaha Medical College. Graduated with his degree in the class of 1891. he began practice at Gretna, Nebraska. In 1892 he removed to Eagle : in 1894 he camc to Ansley, Custer county ; and in 1895 he cen- tered his activities at Broken Bow, where he has since carried on a general practice. He is a close and careful student of his profession, and on several occasions has taken post . graduate courses at Chicago.

Not long after his location at Broken Bow, the Spanish- American war came on. and Doc- tor Mullins enlisted as a medical officer, re- ceiving the rank of captain with the First Nebraska Volunteers. He served in the Philippines and rendered valuable service to his country as a member of the first board of health at Manila after the American occupa- tion. Much of his time recently, in fact since the entrance of the United States into the great war, has been devoted to war work of varied character, and he gave specially effect- ive service as a member of the exemption board of Custer county. Several years ago Dr. Mullins served as coroner of Custer county, and at present he is county health of- ficer, a post which he has held for a number of terms. He is also a member of the Ne- braska state board of medical examiners. He belongs to the Custer County Medical Society, of which he has been secretary for a number of years, and of which he was formerly presi- dent : he was president of the Nebraska State Medical Society for the year 1918; and he is a member also of the Missouri Valley Medical Society and the American Medical Associa- tion. In politics he is a Democrat, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, includ- ing the Scottish Rite.

By a former marriage Doctor Mullins has three children. The eldest, Tom P., is en-

gaged in the practice of dentistry at Valpa- raiso, Nebraska. Charles L., Jr., is a gradu- ate of West Point Military Academy, 1917. and at the time of this writing he is a captain in the Twelfth Infantry, United States Army. stationed at Camp Fremont, California, await- ing orders to go to France. The only daugh- ter, Mary, is the wife of H. Mashburn, a Cali- fornia ranchman. Dr. Mullins was married October 18, 1904. to Thankful Z. (Potts) Day, who was born in Kansas, but reared in California. She is a member of the Episcopal church.

ALBERT P. JOHNSON. now one of the leading members of the Custer county legal fraternity, did not initiate his active career as a professional man. It was not until he had for some years been engaged in pursuits of a commercial nature that he took up the study of law, but since his entrance upon this field of endeavor, in 1903, he has advanced steadily in prestige and to-day he is adjudged one of Broken Bow's leading attorneys. Mr. John- son was born at Racine, Wisconsin, October 22, 1871, a son of Burt and Caroline ( Swin- son) Johnson.

Shortly after the close of the Civil war. Burt Johnson took up his residence at Ra- cine, Wisconsin, where he was married and settled down to work as a skilled mechanic in the wagon shops of the Mitchell Lewis Com- pany. Later he secured business interests of his own, and, becoming independent in means, in 1911 he retired from active affairs and re- moved to Kearney, Nebraska, where he and his wife now reside, in the enjoyment of the comforts that come to those who have lived industrious and honorable lives. While not connected with any particular religious de- nomination, they are Christian people who live the true faith and whose actions are guided by honorable motives. Mr. Johnson is a Pro- hibitionist in politics. They are the parents of four sons : J. W., who is a carpenter of Broken Bow; Albert P., whose name intro- duces this review : Edward J., who is engaged in farming in Lincoln county, Nebraska : and Benjamin S., who likewise is a successful farmer, with a property west of Merna. Cus- ter county.

The public schools of Racine. Wisconsin. furnished Albert P. Johnson with his early education. following which he enrolled as a student at a school at Gibbon, Nebraska. this school later becoming York College. York, Nebraska. He was duly graduated after con- pleting the prescribed course, in 1891. For several years he was variously employed, but

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

in August, 1895, came to Broken Bow, where he began clerking. He gradually drifted into the insurance business, and while thus em- ployed came into contact with a number of problems that attracted his interest to the law. Deciding that he would follow a profes- sional career, he began studying under Kirk- patrick Brothers, a well known law firm of the city at that time, and eventually he went to the State University of Oregon, where he completed a course and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in 1903. On his return to Broken Bow, he at once engaged in practice, and since that time has devoted himself unremittingly to his calling. For a time he was engaged alone, but eventually be- came, as now, a member of the firm of Sulli- van, Squires & Johnson. This is considered one of the strong legal combinations of the county, and has been retained in numerous cases where important litigated interests have been opposed. Not long after his admittance to the bar, Mr. Johnson was elected county attorney of Custer county, and he acted in that capacity during 1904 and 1905, since which time he has not cared to have his name used in connection with public positions, pre- ferring to give his large clientele his undi- vided attention and energies. He belongs to the county and state bar associations and to the Modern Woodmen of America, and in political faith he is a Democrat.

Mr. Johnson was married, March 4, 1894, to Miss Lola M. Hogg, who was born in Iowa, a daughter of John A. and Margaret ( Hall) Hogg, pioneers of the Hawkeye state. To this union there have been born five children : Esther R., who is the wife of Merlin C. Van- nice : Albert Paul, who is in the United States Army, as a member of Flying Squadron C. stationed in Georgia at the time of this writ- ing : Thelma R., the wife of William Schultz : and Margaret and Carol, public-school stu- dents. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson and their chil- dren belong to the United Brethren church.

JAMES D. HASKELL, one of Custer county's best known and most respected citi- zens, came here in the spring of 1876, before the county was organized. He is a man of interesting personality and the experiences he lived through form an absorbing page of the county's history and are told with the gift of the true story teller.

James D. Haskell was born June 2, 1853, in Butler county, Ohio. His father, Enoch Has- kell, was a substantial farmer of Butler county and reared his son in that practical way that in large measure prepared him well for the

hardships, experiences and changed conditions that later entered his life. The district schools gave him an education that sufficed for ordi- nary social and business affairs in his early manhood, and later, in the school of expe- rience, he has widened and broadened his knowledge. In the spring of 1876 many eager homeseekers turned their eyes toward Ne- braska and, when they were able to choose. very many of them decided to settle in Custer county. Mr. Haskell entered the county with 100 head of yearling heifers, for which he had paid $700 and which he had driven from Ellis, Kansas. He located a claim about eight miles west of Calloway.

When Mr. Haskell came to Custer county he was a man of family. In December, 1880, at Eaton, Ohio, he was united in marriage to Miss Cora L. Wilcher, a daughter of Joseph Wilcher, and seven children were born to them, namely : Kent, Essie, Arlie, Alta, Hazel. Iela, and Minnie.

Mr. Haskell is an honored pioneer who has had startling adventures and unique expe- riences in Custer county, and the reader is referred to the detailed account of the same given in another part of this history.

HARRY C. EVANS, proprietor of the Evans Hereford Ranch, located two miles west of Callaway, Custer county, has been for many years known to the citizens of this com- munity, to which he came with his parents in the year 1887. He is now known as a promi- nent and successful breeder of registered Hereford cattle and registered Percheron horses - a line of business in which he has been engaged for five years, and in connection with which he is rapidly taking rank with the leading stockmen of the county.

Harry C. Evans, who was born at Mason, Effingham county, Illinois, February 12, 1877, is a son of Joshua H. and Samantha (Gibson ) Evans, and a grandson of John Gibson. His father was a Republican in his political sym- pathies, was a blacksmith by trade and fol- lowed this vocation in Illinois for a number of years, both he and his wife having been faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had two children: Launa, who is the wife of George H. La Fleur ; and Harry C. When Harry C. Evans was four years of age his parents moved to What Cheer, Jowa. and he attended the public schools of that place and also at Perry and North Platte. He finished his schooling in Custer county, Ne- braska. The only son of his parents, he early lisplayed industry and a predilection for his father's business, and when he was still so

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

small that he had to stand upon a box, he began earning money at his father's forge, where he placed himself in front of the anvil and did striking to make a weld. He thor- oughly mastered his father's trade and with him moved to Callaway in 1887. Here father and son continued blacksmithing together until the elder man was elected postmaster, an office which he capably filled for a period of twelve years. In the meantime Harry C. Evans con- tinucd the blacksmith business until 1913, when he disposed of his interests to turn his attention in the direction of raising and breed- ing stock. For some time past he had been interested in the subject of Hereford cattle and Percheron horses, and when he bought the 720-acre tract, two miles west of Callaway, which is known as the Evans Hereford Ranch, he began with characteristic energy to breed registered animals in both these lines. He has met with surprising success during the five years that he has been engaged in this busi- ness, and the results that he has attained have made him known as somewhat of an authority on the subject. Mr. Evans occupies an estab- lished place in the confidence of his associates and the general public, and is a progressive citizen who supports beneficial and construc- tive movements in his community. He is a Republican, but not an office-secker, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Evans was married June 23, 1907. at Mason City, Iowa, to Miss Frankie M. Cross- ley, the only child of Amasa A. and Gertrude (Van Fleet) Crossley, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Auburn, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Crossley were members of the Episcopal church, and the father be- longed to the Odd Fellows' fraternity. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Evans: Gertrude June, attending the Calla- way schools as a student of the third grade ; and Robert C., Frankie M., and llarriet L., at home.

BRYAN LEONARD. - The art of healing is as old as man, and there have been and still are many and diverse systems. One of these that has become very generally accepted among well informed people, because of its remarkable efficacy when other systems have entirely failed, is known under the name of chiropractic. Its practitioners are of both sexes, as in other medical schools, and are graduates of institutions which thoroughly teach the underlying scientific principles of this admirable system.

Bryan Leonard, who is well known as a

chiropractor at Callaway, Nebraska, was born in Ireland, in 1882, a son of Hubert and Julia ( Freeman) Leonard, who were likewise born in Ireland, and of whose large family of chil- dren eight are living - Mrs. Mary Tehon, John J .. Michael M., James G., Patrick F., Hubert, Bryan, and Charles E. Dr. Bryan Leonard was four years old when his parents came to the United States and settled in Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, and in 1886 the family came to Custer county, Nebraska, and located in Eureka valley. There he grew to man- hood, attending school and assisting his father in boyhood and afterward following farming and ranching on his own account. Prior to taking up chiropractic. Dr. Leonard taught in the schools of Custer county for eight years. It would be interesting to know what definitely turned Dr. Leonard's attention to the profes- sion for which he is so eminently qualified, but statistics are at hand that show that in 1911 he became a student of chiropractic, at Daven- port. Iowa, and he was graduated in the Chiropractic College in that city.

Dr. Leonard was married in 1905, in Cus- ter county, to Miss Elizabeth J. Schmitz, who is a daughter of John B. and Ann ( Ward- robe) Schmitz, and they have one son, Gale H. Mrs. Leonard also is a chiropractor, hav- ing likewise been educated at Davenport. Iowa, and having graduated in the same class with her husband. They both practiced at Farmington, Iowa, and at Milton, Iowa, prior to locating at Callaway. in 1914. Here they have been continuously engaged in practice with the exception of the time required for a post-graduate course, which they have both completed, and Mrs. Leonard has also com- pleted a full course in Red Cross work. They have built up a fine practice here and have state licenses for both Nebraska and Kansas.

JAMES R. DEAN. associate justice of the supreme court of Nebraska, came for Chicago to Custer county in October, 1890. and has re- sidede here ever since except when serving on the supreme bench, when. as the law provides. he resides at Lincoln. He is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, and is of Scotch-lrish an- cestry. He is a son of Henry and Ellen Mar- garet Dean. His mother's family name was Armour. She was a native of South Carolina. but her parents were of Scotch-Irish descent. Judge Dean's father emigrated from County Antrim, Ireland, as a boy of seventeen, without means. He became a tanner and leather merchant at St. Louis, with interests in tan- neries at Allegheny and other points in Penn- sylvania. When he retired from business he

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

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JAMES R. DEAN

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

engaged in farming. He died in 1889 and his widow passed away in 1901, their remains be- ing interred in the family plot of ground in Woodland cemetery at Des Moines, Iowa.

Judge Dean acquired his preliminary educa- tion in his native city and at Decorah, lowa. When he was ten years old he visited Europe with his father, and in later years he has visited nearly every state in the Union, as well as Mexico and Canada. After his eleventh year, except when in school, he worked on a farm until he entered upon his profession. In 1885 he was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, besides taking other branches of study at the university and paying his own way through school. That year he located and entered prac- tice in Chicago, where he remained until he came to Broken Bow. He was the fourth to hold the office of county attorney here, being first elected in 1894 and re-elected in 1896. He was city attorney of Broken Bow four years and a member of the board of education ten years, serving four years as president. In his first year as city attorney he compiled the or- dinances of 1904.

In January. 1892, Judge Dean married Miss Jennie E. Sutton, daughter of Albert Y. and Abbie C. Sutton, of Broken Bow, and they have two children, Paul H. and Dorothy S. Dean.

On January 1. 1909, the subject of this re- view was appointed supreme judge, by Gov- ernor George L. Sheldon, when the constitui- tional amendment was adopted increasing the membership of the supreme court from three judges to seven. In 1911. on a party ticket. he failed of election to the supreme bench, by a narrow margin, but he led his party judicial ticket in the state by about 9,000 votes. He has membership in the American Bar Associ- ation : the Masonic Fraternity, including the Royal Arch Chapter, the Knights Templars, and the Shrine : and also the Odd Fellows. He is a Presbyterian, as were his forefathers. In 1906 he was commissioned from the presbytery to the General Assembly at Des Moines, lowa. IIe is a Democrat - perhaps one of the best known of that party in Nebraska. In 1913 he was a Wilson presidential elector-at-large.

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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 62

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