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 75

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 75

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

resourceful character and that public spirit which have given him a state-wide reputation as an enterprising, tireless worker along ag- ricultural and educational lines. He was among the very first in the state to recognize that our little, inefficient rural-school districts were a positive hindrance to the establishment of adequate schools and ideal rural-life con- ditions, and if the future years bring enlarged or consolidated districts and adequate schools, with school buildings of such size and con- struction as will serve as community social and educational centers, thus providing an op- portunity for the development of ideal rural- life conditions, he will be entitled to a fair share of the credit. He saw the opportunities of the west; he saw the possibilities of the agricultural development of Custer county ; and likewise he saw the need of a community life that would help develop the latent social instincts and inspire the ambitions of the ris- ing generation. He gave himself to the double task. He developed his farm. He experimented with many kinds of grain and trees. He be- came a careful student of agriculture and hor- ticulture, and discovered some facts in relation to the Cedar apple fungus not previously known to the scientists.

In this connection it may consistently be stated that Mr. Ream was virtually deprived of the distinction that should be his in the matter of the discovery that it requires two years for the fungus to make its complete cycle from cedar apple to the cedar leaf and return again to the cedar tree to be there ma- tured and made ready for a second onslaught, scientists having previously supposed that this complete cycle was completed in one year. A report of this discovery by Mr. Ream was published in the Custer County Chief, a year prior to the time when the botanist at the University of Nebraska effected the publica- tion of the discovery in the Smithsonian Re- port. It may further be noted that at one time Mr. Ream had in Custer county the finest bearing-orchard in this section of the state. From lack of time properly to care for this orchard. it finally outgrew the supply of mois- ture and thus top-killed.

As a result of the investigations and experi- ments of Mr. Ream in methods of farming, his crops are usually above normal, and his farm is to-day one of the most attractive of the central west. The evergreen windbreaks, consisting of cedar and Black Hills spruce. are exceptionally fine. No distinguished visitor ever comes to Broken Bow with a desire to see what the country can produce, without be- ing taken to the Ream farm, where he sees a

practical demonstration of what thrift, and skill, when applied in harmony with nature's laws, have been able to accomplish. His im- provements are of the first order, and stand as a splendid monument to the profits of agri- culture as conducted by Mr. Ream. Ile has been an able and consistent advocator of ev- erything that would tend to better the social, educational, and material conditions of the community and the state. He helped organize the Nebraska Farmers Congress and the State Corn Improvers Association, and has served several years as master of the Nebraska State Grange. The Grange work furnished an ideal field of labor for him, as the Grange brings the people of the rural community together in a social way, which not only contributes en- tertainment but also stimulates the latent am- bitions of the young people and inspires them to greater activities in all the commendable avenues of life's endeavors. It was this work that gave him the clear vision of the ineffici- ency of our school system, and the determin- nation to correct it.

Politically, Mr. Ream is not classed as a partisan. He is, on the contrary, inclined to be independent and nonpartisan. Yet he is generally popular and has been the recipient of political honors at the hands of his fellow citizens. In 1901 he served in the lower house of the state legislature and made an honorable record. He has served also as county commis- sioner, making a splendid record for himself and serving to the best interests of the county. He has filled many minor offices in the local community and precinct. In farmers' insti- tutes, held for the purpose of promoting ag- riculture and horticulture. Mr. Ream has always been active, and his addresses, papers. and advice have not only been much sought but have also been very valuable to the public generally. Progressive in spirit, born with an ability to lead. he stands in the first rank of public promoters and is willing and able to lead in every progressive movement that con- tributes to the public welfare. For seven years he was president of the Custer County Agricultural Society : he was the leading fac- tor in the organization of the Farmers' Insti- tute held at Broken Bow and for twenty-one years was chairman of the local organization. 1 Ie has also been efficiently connected with the state board of agriculture, having served sev- eral years as a member of that body. He is widely known throughout the state as an agri- culturist and horticulturist, and his name ranks high in agricultural and grange circles, as well in all farmers' movements.

February 11, 1883. in Mahaska county,

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY. NEBRASKA

JAMES D. REAM

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

MRS. JAMES D. REAM

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Jowa, Mr. Ream was joined in holy wedlock to Miss Anna E. Seevers, a daughter of Frank and Elizabeth Seevers. Further mention of Mrs. Ream's family is made in the sketch of Robert M1. Seevers, on other pages of this vol- ume. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ream established, and have since maintained, an ideal home, to which every convenience and com- fort of modern life has been contributed.

Mrs. Ream has proved herself a veritable helpmeet in all the activities of their married, life, she having borne her full share of the trials of home-building in a sod house, and the pri- vations and hardships generally due to pioneer life. Much of the credit is due to her for the the flowers that have bloomed so profusely in the door yard, and the order and neatness in which the grounds of the home have been kept.

To Mr. and Mrs. Ream the years have brought three children, all of whom are now grown to maturity and bid fair to continue the public services of their parents. The chil- dren are : Fred H., who is in business in Kan- sas City, Glen C., who resides at Broken Bow, and Loy G., who is pursuing a course in the University of Nebraska, at Lincoln.

PAUL G. KOLBO. - This begins the story of another young farmer of the Kolbo family. Mr. Kolbo, who is located near Lodi, is a farmer of careful and frugal habits, and he enjoys a splendid reputation in his com- munity. He was born April 5, 1885, in Cus- ter county, and is, therefore, in every sense of the term a Custer county product. lle is a son of Oliver and Anna K. (Lee) Kolbo, who are mentioned elsewhere in the biographical department of this volume, and who became the parents of nine children - Melvin, Hil- mer, Paul G., Julia, Olson, Oscar, Selmer, Rudolph, and Tim. Rudolph is in the ser- vice of his country, and at the time of this writing, he is somewhere in France. Oliver Kolbo came to Custer county at an early date and has always been counted as one of the pioneer spirits who did much to develop the resources of the county.

Young Paul Kolbo made his first money by carrying water to the harvest hands. He and his father and brothers farmed on a very extensive scale, and the labor of every mem- ber of the family was required to conduct the operations and make them profitable. Thus, early in life, Paul formed the industrions habits that have enabled him to make good in every farming or stock-raising undertak- ing with which he has identified himself.

Like most farm boys, his services were de- manded on the farm, but he ran the gamut of the common schools and received a funda- mental education which places him at ease in all business transactions requiring judgment, and business acumen.

On the 24th of December, 1898, Mr. Kolbo married Miss Laurina Simonson, at Broken Bow. Mrs. Kolbo also is a native of Custer county, and this makes the entire household of Paul G. Kolbo a Custer county family. Mrs. Kolbo's parental home was in Rose val- ley. She is a daughter of James M. Simon- son, who by occupation was a shoemaker, and who for some time followed his vocation in the city of Broken Bow. The maiden name of his wife was Anna C. Jensen, and both were born in Denmark; they are estimable people. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Simonson are eight in number - Peter J., Mrs. Mary J. Cunningham, Simon P., Mrs. Christina Cramer, Hans P., Julle, Mrs. Laur- ina Kolbo, and Mrs. Carrie M. Cantrell.

Mr. and Mrs. Kolbo have a happy and pleasant home, in which four children have come to share the blessings of their parental care, but one. the eldest, James O., has been taken from the parents into that heavenly home where he awaits the final reunion that time will bring. The living children are Pauline L., and Paul L. who are twins, six years of age, and the youngest, Jerold R., is a sweet little lad of two years, the pet of the home and the one who largely rules the af- fairs of the Kolbo household.

Mr. Kolbo, aside from being a painstaking and careful farmer, is a stock-raiser of no mean reputation. He likes stock, is counted a good hand with stock, knows how to handle it and succeeds in keeping his stock in good condition. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, in which he takes a prominent part. Religiously the home is divided between the Methodists and the Lutherans, but so long as strict integrity and Christian character are concerned, denominationalism counts for little. Mr. Kolbo generally votes the Repub -. lican ticket.

ROSCOE R. BANGS is a veteran of the Civil war who has had experiences in the field of agriculture and merchandising, and whose successful and well directed operations have served to make him one of the leading business citizens of Broken Bow, where his activities have been centered since 1915. Mr. Bangs is one of the few men furnished this community by the state of Maine, for he was born there, at Farmington, March 18, 1843.

VALTER

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a son of Richard and Isabelle (Clayton ) Bangs.

Richard Bangs was born in October, 1809, at Gorham, Maine, and passed his life in the peaceful pursuits of farming. He died on his farm, in 1888, after an honorable and use- ful career. He was a Democrat but never en- tered actively into politics, preferring to give himself wholly to his farming operations, in which he was considered a successful man for his day. Mrs. Bangs, who was born at Farmington, Maine, in September, 1809, died in 1872, having become the mother of six children, of whom three still survive: Mrs. Anna C. Sprague, a widow residing at Farm- ington, Maine : Roscoe R., subject of this re- view : and Mrs. Annette B. Kendall, who re- sides at Springfield, Massachusetts, and whose husband is a fruit-grower and the owner of a chicken ranch.

Roscoe R. Bangs attended the public schools of Farmington and began life on the home farm. The peaceful routine of his life was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil war, however, and September 5, 1862, he enlisted in Company L. First Maine Cavalry, with which he served two years and nine montlis, being a member of the Army of the Potomac and participating in such important engage- ments as Fredericksburg, Chancellorville, and Gettysburg. He took part in the battle of the Wilderness, went with his .company and took part in the engagement at Cold Harbor, and with his regiment participated in each consecutive battle in which it was involved up to the time when victory crowned the Union

arms. He established a splendid record for bravery and faithful performance of duty, and when the war was closed and peace declared he returned to his home in Maine. His life was changed, however, and his views as well, and he soon left the parental home and went to Hartford, Connecticut, where for four years he was employed in a belt factory. While living there, in 1869, he married Miss Mary Baisley, who was born in Connecticut, and shortly after this event he returned to Maine and engaged in the clothing business. In this he continued with a measure of suc- cess for seven years, and thereafter he spent five years as the proprietor of a general store. Feeling that he could better his fortunes in the west, in 1882 Mr. Bangs came to Nebraska, and located at Ashland, where for one season he was the occupant of a farm. He also spent a like period in a shoe store, but in 1884, he came to Custer county, where he took up a homestead and proved up on it, and for four years thereafter continued to engage in farm- ing. Eventually he rented his farm, although

he continued to live in the country, and finally he sold the property. Later he was in busi- ness at Wescott, and subsequently at Com- stock, for thirteen years, and in April, 1915. he came to Broken Bow, where he established himself as the proprietor of a modern furni- ture business. While he is a practical new- comer to this community, he possesses the necessary business attributes and qualities and has already gained the confidence and patron- age that go to make for success in a mercan- tile venture. He has been found a man of sound integrity, and the business done by his store has shown a consistent advancement.

Mr. and Mrs. Bangs became the parents of six children: Twins who were born in 1875 both died in infancy; Carrie J. is deceased ; Georgia B. is the wife of Howard Savage, an insurance man of Everett, Washington ; Lot- tie B. is the wife of E. C. Wescott, an auto- mobile man of Chicago; and Ralph B. is on a ranch in Cherry county, Nebraska. Mrs. Bangs, who died in 1905, was a member of the Congregational church at Comstock, al - though she had formerly been a member of the South Baptist church of Hartford, Con- necticut. Mr. Bangs is a Mason, and is a popular comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic, being past commander of C. C. Washburn Post, No. 98. The military honors of the family are being well upheld by two of his grandsons, Clarence J. Forte, and Roscoe E. Savage, who have been gallant young sol- diers of the United States Army in connection with the nation's participation in the great world war. He is a Republican and inter- ested in politics and public affairs, but his only official position has been that of town clerk.

WALTER WOOD. - A rancher and stockman whose field of operation is in the pioneer region of the South Loup river is Walter Wood. He is thirty-nine years of age. and is a descendant in the first generation from the pioneer, Joshua Wood, who was chosen as Custer county's first sheriff and was one of the early characters in pioneer days ; further mention of his career is made in the life sketch of his son Frank, elsewhere in this volume, as well as in his personal sketch, which is accompanied by an excellent portrait of this sterling pioneer.

Walter Wood was born in 1879, in the Wood river district. February 18, 1918, he was united in marriage to Edna Downey, a very excellent young lady who by birth and life-residence is entirely a Custerite.

Walter Wood is the manager of part of the Wood ranch, on which stock-raising on a

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

large scale is conducted by him and his brother Frank. His cattle herds average about 900 head of high-grade Herefords, but of course the number fluctuates accordingly as sales are made. From 100 to 160 hogs are produced each year, which adds to the food stuff of the country very materially. A splen- did Percheron stallion heads the stables ,from which are produced fine horses. The farm is well improved, with stock-raising promin- ently featured. All kinds of farm machinery, and a splendid automobile contribute their share to making operations profitable and ex- tensive. Mr. Wood and his wife are a splen- did couple in good standing in the community and are rated always in the first class.

It might be said that no better stock-judge or ranch manager than Mr. Wood is to be found in the stock or ranch business to-day. Like his brother, he patriotically responds to all war appeals and is an ardent supporter of the government. The dependence of the country is upon such food-producers as the Woods Brothers.

JOHN HOTHEM, who is one of the ster- ling pioneers of the district about the town of Sumner and whose well improved farm estate lies across the line in Dawson county, has been closely and worthily identified with the civic and industrial development and progress of this favored part of the state and is spe- cially entitled to recognition in this history.

Mr. Hothem was born in Ohio, and is a son of John and Christena ( Bremer) Hothem, the former of whom attained to the patri- archal age of eighty-eight years and the latter of whom passed away at the age of seventy- eight years, they having become the parents of seven children, three of whom are living - the subject of this review and two of his sisters. Valentine died at the age of seventy- two years and Michael was seventy-one years of age at the time of his death; Catherine died at the age of eighty-two years, and Elizabeth at the age of eighty years. The two surviving daughters, in 1918, are Mary, aged seventy years, and Margaret, aged sixty- eight years. In 1840 John Hothem, Sr .. im- migrated to America from his native Ger- many, and he settled in the state of Ohio. where he became a substantial citizen and where his son John was born, as noted above.

Ile whose name introduces this article was reared in Ohio, where he received the ad- vantages of the common schools. and as a young man his ambition prompted him to seek his fortunes in the progressive west. After leaving Ohio he was a resident of Indiana

for a period of six years, and the ensuing six years he passed in the state of Iowa. In 1879 he came from the Hawkeye state to Nebraska, in company with Wilson Hewett, whom he accompanied to Custer county, Mr. Hewett's name being prominently identified with the pioneer annals of this county. Mr. Hothem states that when he and Mr. Hewett were making their initial trip into Custer county and were proceeding up the course of Muddy creek, they became stranded, on account of lack of water for themselves and their teams, but they finally extricated themselves from this difficulty. Mr. Hothem has been actively associated with farm enterprise during the major part of the time since he came to this section of Nebraska, and he has won pros- perity through earnest and well directed en- deavors. He endured his full share of the hardships that marked the pioneer days, and lie pressed forward to the goal of inde- pendence and definite success. all that he has in the line of worldly possessions to-day hav- ing been accumulated by him since he estab- lished his residence in this part of the state. When he arrived in Custer county he was fortified in the possession of two horses and a wagon, but his available cash was repre- sented in the sum of only twenty dollars. He has been a productive worker and the passing years have brought to him a worthy success. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. including the Order of the Eastern Star.

In 1885 was recorded the marriage of Mr. Hothem to Miss Wilhelmina Lahm, and they have eight children: Jacob continues to re- side in Custer county; Etta, Elizabeth, and Anna remain at the parental home : Wesley is out working for himself but still remains in Custer county ; and Fern, William, and Min- nie remain with their parents.

HARVEY S. WATERBURY, who has been a successful participant in both agricul- tural and mercantile lines at Berwyn and the surrounding vicinity for a number of years, is one of the contributions of the state of In- diana to the citizenship of Custer county. Mr. Waterbury was born at Logansport. In- diana. September 24, 1858, and is a son of Harvey M. and Louie (Calloway) Water- burv.

Harvey N. Waterbury, the paternal grand- father of Harvey S .. was born at Waterbury, Connecticut, and at an carly date removed to Michigan, where he passed the remainder of his life and where his death occurred when he was in advanced years. The maternal grand- father was Timothy Calloway, who was born

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near Dover Bay, Delaware, and after his marriage he settled in Ohio, shortly following which he lost his wife, who had borne the maiden name of Jennie Olcar. Subsequently he became one of the early settlers of In- diana, and there his death occurred when he was seventy-seven years of age. Harvey M. Waterbury was born near the city of Kala- mazoo, Michigan, in 1835, and as a young man he went to Indiana, where he met and married Louie Calloway, who was born at Lake Sicott, Indiana, in 1837. He was a farmer by vocation, was an energetic man who was making his mark in the world, and was a sincere member of the Christian church. He had been a strong Republican, and when the Civil war came on, it found him one with intense Union sympathies, so that at length he broke home ties, left his wife and five children, and enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He met a soldier's death on the field of battle, during the second day's fighting in the siege of Vicksburg. Of the five children, Har- vey S. is the only survivor. Later, Mrs. Waterbury, who died January 2, 1906, became the wife of John Robison, and they became the parents of seven children, of whom three survive: Mrs. May Harrington, whose hus- band is now a photographer at Logansport, Indiana ; Mrs. Ruth Tiner, whose husband is identified with a laundry-machinery manu- facturing company at Cincinnati, Ohio; and John, a farmer in the vicinity of Logansport, Indiana.

Harvey S. Waterbury received a limited education in the public schools of Burnetts- ville, Indiana, and when he was sixteen years of age he left the home of his guardian, after which he worked for farmers in the neigh- borhood until he had attained to his legal majority. At the age of twenty-one years he came to Nebraska and located in Howard county, where he found employment by the month, as a farm hand. About one year later, July 12, 1880, Mr. Waterbury came to Custer county and took up a homestead, his first ‹ vote being cast that fall, for James A. Garfield for president. In 1881 he further strengthened his position by forming a home of his own - through his marriage to Miss Carrie Sigourney, who was born near San- dusky, Ohio. Seven children came to this union, of whom six are living: Louie, who is the wife of Charles Betts, a farmer of Chap- pell, Nebraska; Jessie, who is the wife of Charles Wolford, a very successful jeweler at Gothenburg, Nebraska; Ray, who is in busi- ness at Litchfield, this state, the maiden name of his wife having been Mayme Garnett ;

Lottie who is the wife of W. L. McCandless, cashier of the Berwyn State Bank; Harvey, who is his father's associate in the store busi- ness, and who married Ada Stark ; and Veva Ruth, who is the wife of L. G. DeValt, con- nected with the State Bank of Berwyn.

In 1894, after about fourteen years of suc- cessful farming operations, Mr. Waterbury turned his attention to mercantile lines, and during the period that has followed he has built up a large, representative and lucrative business. He has also been interested in a blacksmithing business, and in each avenue of activity his abilities have served to bring him a full meed of prosperity. He bears the reputation of being a man of the strictest in- tegrity, and this is evidenced by the confidence in which he is held by his associates and the public in general. A Republican in his politi- cal sympathies, he has always taken an interest in public matters, and has rendered his com- munity valuable service in the offices of clerk and assessor. He belongs to the Independent .Order of Odd Fellows, and has not only been through the chairs of the local lodge but also those of the grand lodge, at Broken Bow. Both his sons are Masons, Ray having re- ceived the thirty-second degree of the Scot- tish Rite. Mr. Waterbury and the members of his family belong to the Methodist Episco- pal church, and all have been earnest and generous supporters of all movements which have been made for better citizenship, better morality, and better education.

NORMAN E. BOYD is one of the pushing. energetic, and enterprising business men of Broken Bow, where he has built up a prosper- ous trade in the automobile-repair and general electrical business. Born in Dewitt county, Illinois, February 13, 1881, he is a son of Frank and Minerva (Waller) Boyd, and a grandson of David Boyd. Frank Boyd was an Illinois farmer until 1905, when he dis- posed of his interests in that state and came to Broken Bow, where he was variously em- ployed for five years, then entering the city waterworks department, with which he has been identified for eight years. Mrs. Boyd died in Missouri, in 1896, leaving only one son, the subject of this review.

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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 75

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