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 76

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 76

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Norman E. Boyd was educated in the pub- lic schools of Illinois, and as a youth was en- gaged principally in assisting his father on the home farm. However, he had a natural bent toward mechanics and gradually mastered the trade of electrician, to which he devoted his attention for some years as a journeyman, both in Illinois and after coming to Custer

524

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

county. Realizing the opportunities offered by the growing automobile business, with Harry Hildebrandt as a partner, he estab- lished himself in business at Eighth and K Streets, Broken Bow, where he does a gen- eral automobile electrical-repair business, a special feature of which is the vulcanizing of old automobile tire casings, which process prolongs their life thousands of miles. He runs a battery, as a Willard service station, and now has an excellent patronage, not only among the people of Broken Bow but also among those who visit from other parts of the state, his accurate and expeditious work- manship and his natural courtesy and consid- eration having combined to make customers as well as friends. At the time of this writ- ing Mr. Boyd's partner, Mr. Hildebrandt, is in the army, at Fort Funston, but retains his interest in the business.

Mr. Boyd was married in August, 1904, at Broken Bow, to Miss Minnie Boots, daughter of C. S. Boots, a Custer county farmer, and she died December 8, 1913, leaving two chil- dren : Frank and Iva K., who are attending the Broken Bow public schools. Mr. Boyd was again married. March 2, 1914, when he wedded Miss Mattie Gross, daughter of Charles and Mary (Gunn) Gross. Two chil- dren have been born to them: Paul and Lillian. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

WILLIAM C. SCHAPER. - While he is one of the younger members of the legal fra- ternity of Broken Bow, the fact of his youth seems in no way to have affected the success of William C. Schaper, who is already ac- counted one of the rapidly rising attorneys of Custer county. Experiences have been nu- merous and varied in the life of Mr. Schaper, who was born October 4, 1890, at Mason City, Nebraska, a son of Henry E. and Louisa ( Trobbe) Schaper, and a grandson of Chris Schaper.

Henry F. Schaper was born near Hanover, Germany, and came to the United States as a lad of fourteen years, locating at De Witt, Ne- braska. In 1888 he homesteaded southwest of Mason City, and in 1902 he went to Mason City, where he established himself in a mer- cantile business. There his career was rounded out. He was an Odd Fellow, was a Democrat in political belief, and he and Mrs. Schaper, who was born at Malvern, lowa, were members of the Baptist church. Will- iam C. Schaper spent his boyhood on the home farm, and his first money was earned by pitching hay for a neighbor. He has a keen

recollection of how they praised his efforts, how his boyish pride caused him to outdo himself in the work accomplished, and how his strenuous labors incapacitated him for further work for a week. He attended the country schools until he was twelve years of age, at which time his father moved to Mason City. and there the youth divided his time between clerking in his father's store and going to the public school. However, he did not feel that he was getting proper educational advantages, and when he was sixteen years of age he ran away from home and went to Grand Island. He arrived at his destination with just twelve cents in his pocket. but, nothing daunted. sought and found work, and he was able to make his way through school by laboring in- dustriously as a clerk in a shoe store, waiting on tables in a restaurant, and whatever other honorable employment presented itself or that he could ferret out. During the second year, Mr. Schaper secured a pass on a hog train going through to Seattle, Washington, a trip on which he was accompanied by a chum, Emory Runyan. The men in charge of the stock became drunk and remained so during the entire trip, and the two youths were not only compelled to unload the hogs at Alliance. Billings, and Spokane, but had to carry the feed from the cars to the stock yard, because of the fear of being left afoot and alone a long way from home. On reaching Spokane, young Runyan stopped off to see an uncle. but Mr. Schaper went on to Seattle, where he received a pass back as far as Billings. There he worked a week, earning just enough money to buy from a traveler a pass to Broken Bow. and after going two days without food he was extremely glad to get back to Custer county. He again began working his way through school and eventually finished a five- year course at Grand Island, during which time he attended two inter-collegiate oratorical meets, one at Orleans and one at Hastings, as a member of the staff of the l'olant, the college newspaper, with which he was con- nected actively during the greater part of his college career. In the fall of 1911 Mr. Schaper entered the Nebraska State Univer- sity, at Lincoln, where he took the full course in the law department and was graduated June 10, 1914, with his degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to the bar by the supreme court on the day of his graduation and to the federal courts on the same day.

One week after his graduation Mr. Schaper was married. at Wahoo, Nebraska, to Shirley M. Shires, a daughter of Millard Shires, and started for his home town of Mason City. where he arrived without a dollar. He en-

525

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

gaged in the practice of law there and was soon in sound financial circumstances, con- tinuing at Mason City until October, 1916, when he came to Broken Bow. Here he has since carried on a general practice and has steadily advanced in patronage, in public con- fidence and in the ranks of his calling. He has been connected with much important litiga- tion, and his success in several prominent cases has demonstrated his possession of marked talents. He belongs to the various organizations of his profession, is an active member of the Public Service Club, and is a Woodman, a Royal Highlander, a Mason, and a Shriner. His political inclinations cause him to support the Democratic party, and he and Mrs. Schaper hold membership in the Baptist church. They are the parents of two children : Carlos E. and Lucile.

DEWITT BOWLEY. - Among the young men of moral and material worth whose ener- getic labors are contributing to the business prestige of Broken Bow, one who is making rapid progress in the commercial world is Dewitt Bowley, who for several years has been the proprietor of a furniture business and also has other interests. He was born at New Helena, Nebraska, October 21, 1890, and is a son of William O. and Minerva (Hud- dleston) Bowley.

William O. Bowley was born in West Vir- ginia and was an early immigrant to Custer county, settling in the vicinity of New Helena, where he established a home among the pio- neers. He was a man of small capital when he came and this was soon swallowed up, his early experiences and those of his wife, par- ticularly during the hard winter of 1880 and spring of 1881, including all the hardships and privations coincident with pioneer life on the western plains. He was compelled to haul his necessities of life from Grand Island and Kearney, and his wheat was laboriously ground in a coffee-mill, but his was the kind of courage that but grows stronger under ad- versity, and eventually he became one of the county's successful men and accumulated a large amount of property. He died, highly respected, April 6, 1913, at Anselmo, and his widow is now a resident of Merna, this county. There were six children in the fam- ily, as follows: James, the owner of two farms near Sargent, married Grace Rush, and has three sons and two daughters : Gallie is a farmer and stock-raiser near New Helena, and his wife is Josie, whose parents were from Virginia; John, who is engaged in farming and stock-raising on the old homestead, near

New Helena, married Ethel Smith, a daughter of Moses Smith, and has had three daughters ; Oscar, who is a Custer county farmer, mar- ried Ora Flemmings and they have five daugh- ters and one son; Annie is the wife of Bert Garrison, a farmer near New Helena, and they have two daughters and one son; and Dewitt is the subject of this sketch.

Dewitt Bowley attended the public schools in the vicinity of his home, and divided his boyhood and youth between working on the home place, for his brothers, or on the farms of the neighbors. He remained on the home farm until he reached his majority, at which time he entered upon his own career, his en- . ergies for a time being devoted to farming. In 1915, however, he became proprietor of a furniture business, which he has since built up to satisfying proportions, and in connection therewith he is conducting a rooming house. He is one of the alert and progressive young men of Broken Bow and is bringing himself rapidly forward by the exercise of industry and good management.

Mr. Bowley was married June 3, 1914, at Broken Bow, to Miss Grace Pernie, daughter of David and Eva (Albertson) Pernie, who for some years were engaged in agricultural pursuits near Anselmo but are now living in retirement at Broken Bow. Mr. Pernie is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge and is a Republican in his political views. He and his wife had seven children: Blanche. Clark, Grace, Ethel, Myrtle, Lucille, Eva, and Will- iam. Mr. and Mrs. Bowley are the parents of one son, William, born in 1915.

Fraternally, Mr. Bowley is affiliated with the Modern Brotherhood of America, in which he has numerous friends. He main- tains an independent stand upon poltitical questions.

FRANK DEVINE, who was born in 1872, is a son of John A. and Bridget A. (Sharp) Devine, very excellent people, of Irish extraction, who have given to this coun- try the splendid contribution of their life ef- fort and a family of children who are nu- merated among our best citizens. In the family of John A. Devine were eight children : Charles, the first son, lives in Illinois ; the sec- ond son is Frank, the subject of this sketch ; the third. James, is a banker and prominent citizen of Oconto, Custer county ; Joseph, the fourth born, is a young farmer living with his mother and his brother Frank on the home place, where he assists in the farming opera- tions : John, the youngest son. is a dentist by profession and is living at Cheyenne, Wyom-

526

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ing ; Martha is the widow of Joseph P. Berry and maintains her residence at Oconto, this county ; Anna is the wife of James Noon, of Joliet, Illinois ; and Mary, who has been popu- lar and successful as a school teacher, resides at the old home, with her mother and two brothers.

As indicated above, Frank and Joseph De- vine and their mother live on the old home place, and here the father died about nine years ago. The brothers are doing a general farming and stock-raising business, to which they devote the most of their time. They are energetic men of good judgment and of that business ability which insures success to every venture they undertake.

They have been very patriotic and ardent supporters of the government in the crisis en- tailed by the great world war. They re- sponded liberally to every call and were glad to render whatever assistance lay in their power.

They are members of the Knights of Colum- bus, and to the splendid war work done by this organization, as well as the Red Cross and the Young Men's Christian Association, they have made their contributions. They are also substantial supporting members of the Catholic church.

MRS. ALBERT GUNDY. - Several of the valuable and highly improved farms of Custer county are owned and operated by women, and most of these are widows of for- mer agriculturists, while most of them be- came well versed in the science of tilling the soil by reason of hasing assisted their respec- tive husbands during their years of indus- trious labor. Under this classification is to be placed Mrs. Gundy, whose farm, six miles southeast of Broken Bow, comprises a tract of 160 acres, with good improvements. This property is owned by Mrs. Gundy, who has resided here for more than nine years.

The late Albert Gundy was born near the city of Berlin, Germany, September 25, 1832, and was a son of Frederick and Minnie Gundy, who brought their family to the United States in 1839 and settled in Ohio. Later they went to Illinois, where they en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, and where both parents passed away in the faith of the Luth- eran church. They gave three sons to the Union cause during the Civil war - Fred, William, and Ed., the first-named of whom fell on the battlefield of Gettysburg.

Albert Gundy received his education in the public schools of Ohio, and as a young man he engaged in independent farming operations

in Illinois. He was an industrious man, with good, practical ideas, and did not lack the courage to adopt modern methods, so that he made a success of his operations. In 1892 he moved to lowa, where he had just begun to repeat his Illinois success when he was called by death, April 22, 1894. Following his de- mise Mrs. Gundy disposed of the home farm in Iowa and came to Custer county, where she purchased 160 acres of land six miles south- east of Broken Bow, this place being her pres- ent home. Here she has developed a splen- did farm, one of the most valuable in this part of the county, with substantial buildings and modern improvements of every character. She has numerous friends in the community, attracted to her by her many fine qualities of mind and heart, and she belongs to the Cath- olic church, attending services at St. Joseph's church, Broken Bow.

Mrs. Gundy, who married Mr. Gundy in 1869, bore the maiden name of Mary Lerette. and she was born in Illinois, a daughter of Louis and Eliza (Delill) Lerette, the former a native of France and the latter of Canada. There were eleven children in the Lerette family, of whom four survive - Mrs. Cather- ine Jones, of Chicago: Mrs. Margaret Fin- gure, of Joilet, Illinois ; Nicholas, a retired farmer of Hancock, Iowa; and Mrs. Gundy. Of the thirteen children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gundy, ten attained to maturity: Henry, an lowa farmer: Jessie, deceased wife of Louis Range, of Joliet, Illinois ; Frank, farming in Custer county : Fred, a mail carrier at Min- den, Iowa; May, the wife of Will Booth, a farmer near Broken Bow ; Maggie, the wife of George Allard, proprietor of a garage at Crookston, Nebraska ; Kate, the wife of Frank Coulter, of Custer county ; Lewis, a carpenter of Lincoln; Lucy, the wife of James Roucis, a railroad man of Lincoln ; and Andrew and George, at home, and assisting their mother in conducting the home farm.

HENRY SWEENEY. - In this brief memoir is given the life record of one of Cus- ter county's early settlers - a man who con- tributed his full share to the upbuilding of his community.

Henry Sweeney was born in Roscommon county, Ireland, and when a young man of about eighteen years, having heard favorable reports concerning the opportunities to be found in America, he left his native land, and came to the United States, where he first found employment in New Jersey. It seems that he was not disappointed in the prospects which confronted him, for he sent for his par-

527

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ents and had them join him, he making a home for them as long as they lived. They were Thomas and Ellen (Henry) Sweeney, and both passed away in New Jersey.

Henry Sweeney then went further west, and in Livingston county, Illinois, he estab- lished a home. There he married Bridget Harvey, who was born in County Leitrim, Ire- land, August 24, 1840, a daughter of Daniel and Catherine (McGuire) Harvey, both of whom lived and died in their native land. Bridget Harvey was a girl of sixteen years when she came to America, with friends and neighbors who settled at Dwight, Illinois. where she met her future husband. The young couple continued to reside in Illinois until 1886, when they came to Custer county, Ne- braska, and located in section 16, township 18, range 22. This being school land, it was not open for settlement, but Mr. Sweeney pur- chased 480 acres of it as soon as it was on the market for sale. Pioneer conditions were still in evidence on every hand, and a sod house served as the family home for many years. In 1908 Mr. Sweeney made arrangements to pro- vide better quarters for the family, and the large frame house which adorns the place was erected that year. But the husband and father was not long permitted to enjoy the new home, as he was called from the scene of earthly activities in November of that year. His widow still makes her home on the old farm and is one of the Custer county pioneer women who shared in its pioneer hardships and who has been spared to view the changes that have taken place and share in the joys and pleasures of the present day. She became the mother of ten children: Thomas met ac- cidental death at the age of nineteen years, in a sand bank caving at Ulysses, Nebraska ; Cath- erine is the wife of Owen Gray, of Seward Nebraska ; Harry is married and resides in Wyoming; George is a farmer of Custer county ; Alice died at the age of four years and seven months; Arthur is a resident of Anselmo ; Amrose resides at Merna : Ann is the wife of James D. McCarty : William lives at Merna ; and Edward J. owns and operates the old home farm. The family are com- municants of the Catholic church and are held in the highest respect.

JAMES FARRITOR. - Among the pio- neers of Custer county who still reside within its borders mention should be made of James Farritor, who for thirty-eight years has been a resident of the county.

Mr. Farritor is a native of the Emerald Isle, born in County Kerry, Ireland, May 25,

1834. He was a babe in arms, only five weeks old, when his parents, John and Nora (Fitz- gerald) Farritor emigrated from Ireland to the United States. They first settled in Bos- ton, later living at Worcester, Massachusetts, then in Connecticut, and from the latter state they removed to Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where they spent the remainder of their lives.

James Farritor spent his boyhood days in the different places where his parents lived and when a young man he became a coal miner. He was still a young man when he went to Streator, Illinois, where he followed mining until 1880. In that year he came to Nebraska and secured a homestead on Victoria creek, Custer county. But few families were to be found in the county when he took up his resi- dence here, and the work of development had only been begun. He built a sod house, be- gan the task of conquering the wilderness, and in due time was planting and harvesting. Here he followed agricultural pursuits for many years. In the early days Kearney was the nearest trading and milling point, and Mr. Farritor made many trips there to get wheat ground and to secure provisions for the fam- ily.

At Elmira, New York, Mr. Farritor was united in marriage to Miss Ann McDonald, a native of Ireland, and she became one of Custer county's noble pioneer women. They became the parents of five children, as fol- lows: The firstborn, a daughter, is now a Sister of Charity in a Catholic convent in Kansas ; Mrs. H. G. Clark, Mrs. Joseph Moro- ney ; and Mrs. Homer Hickman all reside in Custer county ; and Julia, is deceased.

Mr. Farritor makes his home with Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Moroney, his wife having passed away. He is one of the venerable pioneers of Custer county and has reached the age of eighty-four years. He has been an eye-wit- ness of the vast changes that have taken place in this section of Nebraska, and delights in recounting the experiences of those early clays.

EDWARD J. SWEENEY. - The subject of this record is a worthy representative of the agricultural interests of Custer county, within whose borders he has resided since he was five years of age.

Edward James Sweeney was born in But- ler county, Nebraska, March 16, 1880, and is a son of Henry and Bridget ( Harvey ) Swee- ney, a record of whom appears on other pages of this volume. Reared on the farm, he wise- ly chose as a vocation the occupation with which he was familiar, and he is to-day the

528

HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

owner of 320 acres of the old home place. It is one of the best improved farmsteads in the township. the buildings having been put here by his honored father.

Mr. Sweeney married Miss Delia Kaelin, a native of Custer county, and they are the proud parents of twin children, a boy and a girl, named Helen Eileen, and Henry Edward.

The family are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Sweeney votes the Democratic ticket. He is a progressive and up-to-date farmer, as well as a representative of one of the early families of Custer county.

GEORGE W. TRUEMAN is consistently given pioneer honors in Custer county, within whose borders he has maintained his resi- dence for more than thirty years. He re- claimed and developed one of the excellent farms of the county and as an energetic and progressive business man he is now manager of the general merchandise store at Georgc- town, where he also holds the office of post- master.

Mr. Trueman was born in Pennsylvania, in the year 1857, and is a son of John George Trueman and Caroline (Coleman ) Trueman, who were folk of sterling character and who reared their children in such a way as ad- mirably to fit them for the duties and respon- sibilities of later years. Of the four children the following brief record may consistently be entered: David L. is a resident of Camus Valley, Oregon ; Martha is the wife of Will- iam Rollins and they reside on their farm north of Summer, Dawson county ; George W., of this review, was the next in order of birth ; and William lives in Dawson county.

George W. Trueman acquired his early education in his native state and supplemented this by attending school after the family re- moval to Illinois, in which latter state he was rcared to adult age. He continued his resi- cence in Illinois until 1886, when he came with his family to Nebraska and established his permanent home in Custer county. Here he entered claim to a homestead of 160 acres, and in its development, improvement, and diversi- fied activities he showed characteristic energy, thrift, and good judgment, with the result that he made the property one of the well equipped and valuable farms of the county. That the homestead was recently sold for $4.000 gives tangible evidence of the fact that the property had received the best of manage- ment on the part of Mr. Trueman, who had incidentally made a record for vigorous and effective enterprise in connection with agri- cultural and live-stock industry. He now has

full charge of the general store of George- town, as representative of the owner, H. S. Clouse. In his present field of enterprise he is meeting with the same gratifying success that attended his activities as a farmer, the while his personal hold upon popular confi- dence and esteem inures to the success of the business with which he is now identified. In politics Mr. Trueman upholds the basic principles for which the Republican party stands sponsor, but he is not constrained by partisan dictates to the extent of feeling it necessary to vote for candidates who do not appeal to his judgment, even if they are ad- vanced by his own party. He holds member- ship in the Christian church, of which his wife likewise was a devoted adherent, her death having occurred in 1897.

The year 1882 recorded the marriage of Mr. Trueman to Miss Mary Helen Hope, and the four children of this union are living : Carrie is the wife of Byron Morgan, of Cus- ter county : John William conducts a garage and blacksmith shop at Cumro, this county ; Martha is the wife of Dell Mason, their home being in Custer county ; and Arthur S. resides at Fort Collins, Colorado.

JOHN TEAHON .- As we write of the early settlers of Custer county, giving each his meed of praise, the name of John Teahon should have a place in the front rank.

John Teahon is a native of the Emerald Isle, born in County Kerry, Ireland, where the days of . his boyhood and youth were passed. In 1880, when a young man of twenty-one years, he came to America, and for one year he resided in Halifax. In 1881 he came west to Nebraska, and in the month of July, 1882. he drove a team and wagon to Custer county, where he pre-empted the northwest quarter of section 17, township 18. range 22. When asked if "Uncle Sam" had made any improvements, Mr. Teahon an- swered as only an Irishman could do. "No. that was left for your Uncle John to do."

Not a house was in sight in the valley on the west, and North Platte and Kearney were the nearest trading points when Mr. Teahon took up his residence here. He shared in all the trials and hardships of the pioneer days. but has been faithful to duty and has con- tributed his share toward the betterment of conditions.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time, Part 76

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