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 79

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 79

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

The Kearney place consists of 240 acres of good land. and the farm is well improved. 100 acres being under cultivation and very productive. All kinds of farm machinery, out-buildings, etc., make up the farm equip- ment. Stock-raising is one of the sources of profit and income followed by Mr. Kearney. The development of the place has been brought about under many difficulties and early-day experiences. Lumber for the build- ings was freighted in the early days from Kearney. Sumner is the nearest town. The spring wagon and the lumber wagon of the early day are no longer used as the vehicles of conveyance, but the family ride in a motor car and are farming with modern-day imple- ments.

Mr. Kearney is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, in which order he takes a prominent part. The family stand high is the community and are worthy of the rating accorded them.

CHARLES E. SHEPPARD. - The life of Charles E. Sheppard, of Broken Bow, is an illustration of the possible control over early limitations and the wise utilization of ordinary opportunities. His career has been identified with Custer county from 1889, since which year he has engaged in several business ven- tures, but for the past seventeen years he has been proprietor of the elevator of the Central Granaries Company. Mr. Sheppard was born January 19, 1851, near Springfield, Illinois, a son of Franklin Bullock. He was about one year old when his parents died, within a month of one another, and he was adopted by and taken into the home of Ira S. and Marjorie ( Van Vleet ) Sheppard.

Ira S. Sheppard was born in the state of New York, and as a young man removed to Minnesota, where he was engaged in the boot and shoe business until reaching the age of thirty-five years, when he turned his attention to farming. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and was a strict Prohibitionist. He died in 1917, Mrs. Sheppard passing away in October, 1908, both in Moon Lake township. Their own children were a daughter who died when young ; and Joseph P., Cyrus R., Pros- per E .. Benjamin F., and Fred.

Charles E. Sheppard was sent to the dis- trict schools in Minnesota, and spent the summer months in working on his foster father's farm. He remembers well the first money he ever made, the sum of ten cents, which was given him for handing bundles of wheat on a stack to Elder Kern, a Methodist Episcopal minister. The incident remained in

his memory because of something that fol- lowed. In the evening, with the other young- sters, he went out to the old log barn to look at some newly-arrived puppies, and when the jealous and irritable mother dog charged him he nearly lost his hard-earned dime as he fled to safety. Mr. Sheppard remained on the home place until he was twenty-two years of age, and then founded a home of his own when he married, April 18, 1873, at Linden. Minnesota, Miss Mary E. Warner, daughter of Captain Luther and Jennie (Goodwin) Warner. Her father was a native of New York and was captain of a canal boat, and her mother was born in England. Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard became the parents of eight chil- dren, of whom five are living. Franklin Lu- ther, the eldest son, is a member of the Broken Bow grocery firm of Sheppard & Burk, located in the Dierks Block, and is a Mason and Highlander, a Republican in politics, and a member of the Episcopal church. He was first married to Grace Ken- nedy, daughter of Charles Kennedy, and they had one child, Stella. Mr. Sheppard married. second, Marion Vanderburg, and they have a son, J. Luther. Charles A. Sheppard, second. son of Charles E., follows the trade of mason at Broken Bow, and is a Republican. He married Mary Carr, daughter of George Carr. a pioneer farmer of Custer county, and they have two sons and three daughters. Mabel. the elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Sheppard. is the wife of John Myrick, a farmer in the vicinity of Sherman, Pennsyl- vania, and has three daughters. R. J. Shep- pard, youngest son of Charles E., is a musi- cian of Beloit, Kansas, and is a Republican voter. He married Eva McCall. Pearl, the youngest child of Charles E. and Mrs. Shep- pard, is a graduate nurse from Green Gables Sanitarium, Lincoln, as is her husband, George Minor, and for the past several years they have been conducting the Broken Bow Hos- pital. They are members of the Episcopal church and Mr. Minor is a Republican.

Charles E. Sheppard came to Custer county in 1889 and took up his residence at Broken Bow, where he embarked in the ice business. This he conducted for seven years, when he disposed of his interests and for some time thereafter applied himself to carpentry, a trade which he had mastered in his youth, but in 1901 he became the manager of the elevator known at Broken Bow as the Central Granaries Company, of which he has made a substantial success. He is one of the pro- gressive business men of his community and a citizen who supports actively and generously all movements which promise advancement.

8. 1. Boblite

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

PETER W. MULLEN. - The qualities of adaptability, common sense, persistence, and good judgment have prevailed in the ener- getic life of Peter W. Mullen, winning for him .enviable rank in business circles of Broken Bow, where since 1908 he has been a member of the firm of Mullen Brothers, operators in real estate, loans, and insurance. Mr. Mullen is a product of the agricultural region of Harrison county, Iowa, having been born at Missouri Valley, July 6, 1878, a son of Peter R. and Ellen M. ( Rourke) Mullen. His parents were natives of Dubuque county, lowa, and his grandparents on both sides were born in Ireland.

Peter R. Mullen passed his entire life as an agriculturist in Iowa, where he was known in several communities as a capable and indus- trious man, a stanch member of the Demo- cratic party and a faithful Catholic. He died January 16, 1918, at Missouri Valley, Iowa, where his widow still resides, in the home of her son-in-law, Frank McBride. There were nine children in the family, as follows: John is deceased ; James P., a ranchman of Broken Bow, Democrat and Catholic, married Rose Sweeney, daughter of Michael Sweeney, and has had five children, of whom four are liv- ing - James, Joseph, Charles, and Thomas ; Peter W. is the immediate subject of this re- view : Mary A., who died in November, 1916, was the wife of George P. Sweeney, owner of a garage at Neola, Iowa, and a member of the Catholic church and the Knights of Columbus, with four children - Francis, Ellen, James, and Eileen ; Charles M., a Custer county farmer, Democrat voter, Catholic, and a member of the Knights of Columbus, married Catherine Ryan, daughter of Edward Ryan, and has five children - Loretta, Catherine, Bernard, Carmelita, and Joseph : Ellen M., wife of John J. Ryan, a farmer of Broken Bow, Catholic. Democrat, and Knight of Columbus, has five children - Leona, Ce- lestine, Joseph, Ellen, and Richard ; Catherine is a member of the Dominican Sisters at Omaha ; Genevieve, wife of Frank McBride, of Missouri Valley, in the United States post- office department, a Democrat, and member of the Knights of Columbus, has two chil- dren - Geraldine and Lucille ; and Cecelia is the wife of John Doyle, a farmer near Neola, lowa, a Democrat, Catholic, and Knight of Columbus, with one child - Clair.

Peter W. Mullen received his education in the public schools of Harrison county, and until he was thirty years of age he worked on his father's farm with his brother Charles. When he was a lad his father was greatly

troubled by gophers. In order to stimulate his sons' energy in getting rid of these pests he made them an offer of three cents for each animal, and in case its head possessed gray hairs the reward was five cents. It is to be supposed that a thorough search was made on each little rodent by the sharp-eyed youths, to see that no gray hairs escaped them. While residing in Iowa Mr. Mullen took some interest in real-estate matters, but this was only as a side line, and it was not until he came to Broken Bow, in November, 1908, that he engaged in the business seriously. Here he joined his brother James, who had pre- ceded him by about one year, and the firm of Mullen Brothers, real estate, loans, and insur- ance, was formed, the business having since been developed to large and important pro- portions. The brothers have won universal confidence and respect because of their straightforward manner of conducting their transactions, and their business standing is excellent.

On October 5, 1909, Peter W. Mullen was married, at Missouri Valley, Iowa, to Miss Anastasia J. Ryan, daughter of John and Julia (Senat) Ryan, farming people of that community and devout members of the Catholic church. Mr. Ryan was a Democrat and belonged to the Knights of Columbus. In the Ryan family there were the following children : Edward, Richard, Timothy, Mary, Patrick, James, Bridget, Malachi, Margaret, Johanna, and Anastasia. Mr. and Mrs. Mul- len are the parents of four children : Angela, born in 1910; Patricia, born in 1912; Mary, born in 1914; and John, born in 1916.

EUGENE J. BOBLITS. - In Eugene J. Boblits, one of Custer county's best known citizens, is found a leader in the cattle indus- try on the South Loup river, and he is also an honored veteran of the great Civil war. Mr. Boblits was born December 21, 1846, in Frederick county, Maryland. His father, Jacob Boblits, was likewise born in Frederick county, where he became a man of considerable prom- inence. He was influential in the Masonic fraternity. the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias; was an elder in the Moravian church, and was a tanner by occupation. He married Josephine Gernand, who was a daughter of Jacob Gernand, a weaver, and of the eight children born to them the following are living: Eugene J. is the sub- ject of this review: Alice is the widow of Eugene Willard, of Pittsburgh, Pennsyl- vania, and she has four children ; and Ida is

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

the wife of Henry C. Stuckey, a retired ranch- man now residing at Lexington. Nebraska, and they have three sons and two daughters.

Eugene J. Boblits lived at home and assisted his father until July 7, 1862. when he enlisted for service in the Civil war, entering Company H. One Ilundred and Twenty-fifth l'ennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry. He was so severely wounded at the battle of Antietam. September 17. 1862, that he was confined in a hospital for three months, at the expiration of which he was honorably discharged. December 8. 1862. Of his bravery and the quality of his service no better testimony can be produced than the following lines, which may be found on page 74 of the history of the regiment : "In the retreat from the said West Woods. the regimental colors of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth were saved through bravery wor- thy of special mention. The color sergeant. George A. Simpson, was shot down and in- stantly killed, and five of the color guard went down. Then Eugene Boblits, of Company 11. rescued and carried them for some distance. and when he was badly wounded, he threw them to Sergeant Walter W. Greenland, of Company C (afterward adjutant general). from whom Captain Wallace received them and carried them to the rear of the battery we were ordered to support. In the meanwhile men were falling thick and fast, like leaves in autumn, and out of the 150.000 soldiers en- gaged on both sides in this great battle, 40,000 men were killed and wounded between sunup and sundown."

Home care and nursing brought about Mr. Boblits' partial recovery, so that, in 1863, he was able to enter Millwood Academy. at Shad Gap. Huntington county, Pennsylvania, where he continued for three years and completed his education. By that time he had so far re- covered from his wounds that he was able to learn the tanning business under his father. and he became so expert that he was engaged by James B. Reese to operate the latter's large steam tannery at New Creek. West Virginia. where he remained for four years. In the meanwhile he married, and in 1874, with his father's assistance, he went into the cattle bus- iness on the South Loup river, having come to Custer county in the fall of 1873. He has witnessed many changes in this field of enter- prise, as in every other industry, during these forty-four years, but he has always maintained that Nebraska is the natural stage for cattle- raising. Mr. Boblits has tender recollections of his childhood home and of his loving par- ents, who taught him habits of industry and instilled ideas of thrift. lle tells an amusing

story of what was probably his first business transaction, when he was yet a little Soy. His mother prevailed upon him to keep the cow- yard clean, and encouraged him by the pay- ment of three cents a week. He carefully. saved his pennies until he had accumulated eighty- five cents, when, unknown to his mother. he planned to spend his entire fortune on a valen- tine for a little neighbor maiden and awaited the coming of the good saint's day to purchase and send the heart missive. It was but a short time before this that his dear mother came to him and, patting him on the shoulder as good mothers do. she said. to his dismay: "Eugene, you have been a good little boy and I am going to take your saved-up pennies and put enough more with them to buy you a pair of red-top boots with copper toes.'

Mr. Boblits was married October 3. 1871. to Mrs. Harriet E. McNeill, of New Creek. West Virginia. She had one daughter by her first marriage, and this daughter is now Mrs. Jennie B. Allcar, a resident of Keyser. West Virginia. Mrs. Boblits' maiden name was Harriet E. Duling. Her father, William A. Duling, was born near Bull Run, Virginia, and before the Civil war, was a slave-owner and planter. Her mother, Harriet ( Cluter) Du- ling, was a native of Hampshire county, West Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Boblits have three children - James J., who operates the home ranch, four and one-half miles north of Ocon- to: Mary J., who is at home : and Harriet A., who is the wife of Frank A. Tierney, a ranch- man near Oconto.

FLOYD HOLCOMB. - In the thriving community of Broken Bow, one of the live and enterprising business men is Floyd Hol- comb, who, with his brother, Carl Holcomb, is actively engaged in the conducting of an automobile garage. He has been a resident of Custer county since 1885, in which year he came to this community from his birthplace. Hamilton county, Nebraska, where he was born November 9, 1874. a son of John Mon- roe Holcomb and Amanda (Vickers) Hol- comb. There were three sons in the family : Carl, Floyd, and Ray, of whom the last- named is looking after the brothers' large and valuable agricultural interests in Custer county.

Floyd Holcomb started to attend the dis- trict schools of Custer county, he having been still a boy when he accompanied his parents to Custer county, in 1885, the family settling nine miles northeast of Broken Bow, in a lo- cality which subsequently became known as

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the Holcomb neighborhood. He earned his first money working for his father, with whom he remained until the latter's death, in 1900, when he removed to other land, which he and his brothers had purchased. In 1917 Mr. Holcomb and his brother Carl decided to enter business at Broken Bow, and according- ly they here bought the old Martin garage. which they have since conducted with great success. Mr. Holcomb is known as a business man of superior ability, and in addition to executive capacity possesses much mechanical skill and ingenuity. He is interested in fra- ternal affairs, being a member of the Masons, the Odd Fellows. and the Woodmen, and his political faith is that of the Democratic party. He and his family belong to the Baptist church.

Mr. Holcomb was married, May 16, 1908. to Miss Ruby Baker, daughter of Rolland T. and Margaret J. ( McClain) Baker, former farming people of this county and now re- tired residents of Broken Bow. To this union. there have been born four children: Mar- guerite T .. John M., Donald R., and Gifford F.

RASMUS ANDERSON. - The career of Rasmus Anderson, a pioneer of Custer county, and now one of the successful business men of Broken Bow, has been one in which inter- esting incidents have occurred from his early boyhood, and in which he has worked his way from obscurity to prominence and from pov- erty to affluence. He is a native son of Den- mark, and was born July 11, 1863, his parents being Niels and Marie ( Rasmussen) Ander- son, natives of that country.

Mr. Anderson's father was a sea captain who owned his own vessel and did a general commercial business, both at home and abroad, frequently conveying cargoes of grain to England, where he would take on coal as cargo for the return trip. Mr. Anderson vividly remembers one trip which he took with his father when he was about twelve years old, to Iceland, carrying a load of pro- visions and returning with wool and woolen goods. He was very greatly interested in the Hekla geyser, near Mount Hekla and the famous volcano of that name, the geyser throwing a stream some fifty feet in height. The return journey was delayed through various reasons and it was not until late in the fall that the sturdy little vessel again put to sea. so that it was twice necessary on its voyage to run out into the Gulf Stream, where the warm waters would melt the great cakes of ice that had formed on the vessel's sides and threatened to sink it. There were eight

children in the Anderson family, of whom seven are living, five in Denmark, and Mr. Anderson and one sister in the United States. This sister is now Mrs. Marie Winters and resides at Norman, Nebraska.

Rasmus Anderson received a public-school education, and when a lad of seven years be- gan to think of going to foreign lands, eagerly listening to the stories of the sailors from whom he occasionally secured employment at cleaning their nets and knocking the barnacles from the bottoms of their boats. He was but seventeen years of age when he left the parental roof and shipped on a three-masted schooner, "The Sun," bound for England, with a cargo of barley. When he arrived in the latter country, stories that he heard in America fired his imagination with a desire to visit this country, and March 10, 1880, he em- barked on a tramp steamer, "The Marathon." and set sail for the United States. As it was still early in the spring the sea was rough and the weather stormy, but after a voyage of twenty-two days the steamer made port at New York city and young Anderson there- after arrived in Boston with only five cents in his pocket. In addition to this financial handicap, he had no working knowledge of the English language, but he soon secured em- ployment in helping to unload cargoes from the incoming vessels, and he continued to be thus employed until he had enough money to buy a ticket to Niles, Michigan. There he obtained work on a farm and remained for a few months, following which he moved on to Omaha, Nebraska, and was given free trans- portation to Grand Island, to work with a surface gang on the Union Pacific Railroad. After one day's work he graduated from that position, for which he had little liking after his blankets had been stolen by some of the gang, and he accordingly made his way to a farm in Hamilton county, where he worked for a short period. In 1883 Mr. Anderson came to Custer county and settled on a home- stead in the Dutchman's valley, six miles east of Broken Bow, where he made his real start toward success.

On May 13, 1886, about three years after his arrival, Mr. Anderson was married, at the home of the bride's parents, near Berwyn, to Louisa E. Barnes, daughter of Peter M. and Eunice (Roden) Barnes, farming people, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes had three sons and three daughters. They were devout members of the Methodist church, and Mr. Barnes was a Republican. Mr. Anderson re- mained on his farm about fifteen years, and each year he was increasingly successful as

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a farmer and stock-raiser. Eventually he be- came interested in real estate, and finally he moved to Broken Bow, to devote all of his time to this business, in which he has made a marked success. His office is located over the postoffice, he being the owner of the building, in addition to which he has various other in- terests and holdings. He has an excellent reputation in business circles, as he has also as a citizen. He is a member of the Masons and is a Republican in politics.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have had six chil- dren, as follows : Ray R., a graduate of Broken Bow High school and Broken Bow Commercial College, is now municipal-court judge and United States commissioner at Billings, Montana; Nels M. is a salesman of automobile accessories, at Portland. Oregon ; Omer K., who is a resident of Broken Bow. and who is a salesman for Swift & Company. of Omaha, married Anna Eddy, and has one son, Omer K., Jr .; Lee I. is a student at the Bailey Sanitarium, Lincoln; Eunice 1. is a teacher in the public schools of Broken Bow ; and Florence is the wife of Lieutenant Warde Cousin, a member of the United States Tank Corps, stationed with his regiment at Gettys- burg, Pennsylvania, at the time of this writ- ing.

GUY E. LIVERMORE. - The life of a professional or literary man seldom exhibits any of those exciting or striking incidents that seize upon public feeling and fix attention upon himself. His character is generally made up of the aggregate of the qualities and qualifications he may possess and as these may be elicited by the exercise of the duties of his vocation or the particular profession to which he may belong. Guy E. Livermore, editor of the Sargent Leader, may not form an exception to this general rule, but since ma- turity his life has been one of constant pro- fessional duty, and the distinction he has at- tained in the journalistic circles of Custer county is evidence enough that these qualities have not been planted on barren soil.

Mr. Livermore was born in Ringgold county, Iowa, October 17, 1875, and is a son of M. F. and Sophia E. ( Hatch) Livermore. His father was born in Louisa county, Iowa, where he was united in marriage with Sophia E. Hatch, born near Canton, Ohio, in 1854. In his native state, where he was born in 1850. Mr. Livermore followed farming and school teaching in the vicinity of Mount Ayr until 1879, in which year he moved to Kansas. where he engaged in farming a homestead for four years. The buffaloes had disappeared

from the plains of Kansas a number of years previously, but Mr. Livermore added to his income through the former presence of this noble animal, by collecting bones from the prairies and hauling them forty miles to market. In 1883 he came to Custer county and settled on a homestead, and here he con- tinned to be engaged in farming until his death, in 1892. He and Mrs. Livermore were the parents of seven children: Guy E., whose name initiates this article: Weldon. of Sargent: Floy, who is engaged in teaching school in Custer county : Mrs. R. W. Hicks, whose husband is a Sargent druggist ; Mrs. Rae Hicks, whose husband has the star mail route from Ansley to Sargent: Fay, who is farming near Burwell; and Harrison B., who, as a member of the national army, in France, and in a medical corps at the time of this writing. Mrs. Livermore, who is a resident of Sargent, belongs to the Christian church, and her husband held the faith of the Method- ist Episcopal church. He was a Republican in politics and served on the county board of supervisors about 1886 or 1887.

Guy E. Livermore attended the graded schools of Sargent and the high school at Broken Bow, graduating from the latter, in 1900, as a valedictorian of his class. He be- gan teaching in 1894, and continued to be thus engaged for twenty-two years, being one of the best known and most popular teachers in Custer county. In 1908 he took a course in the University of Nebraska, attending sum- mer school courses. He made good advance- ment in his profession, and during the last eight years of his pedagogic labors he was principal of the school at Comstock, which, during his regime, increased from three to six rooms. He was a general favorite with pupils, teachers, and his other co-workers, and was acknowledged a man of particular effi- ciency in his field. In 1916 Mr. Livermore turned his attention from this kind of educa- tional work to another field, the instruction of the public through the columns of a news- paper. He purchased the Sargent Leader, which now has a circulation of nearly 1000 copies in Custer county and which has been a success under his management. It is bright, clean, enterprising and wholesome, and it has made many lasting friends among the read- ing public, being also well deserving of the support it receives as an advertising medium. In connection with the paper Mr. Livermore conducts an up-to-date job printing office.

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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 79

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