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 85
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156 | Part 157 | Part 158 | Part 159 | Part 160 | Part 161 | Part 162 | Part 163 | Part 164 | Part 165 | Part 166 | Part 167 | Part 168 | Part 169 | Part 170 | Part 171
As his wife and helpmeet B. A. MeDermott wedded Miss Donna Scott, who was born in Indiana, and the four children of this union are: Thomas, Irene, Clara and Blanche. Mr. and Mrs. McDermott are members of the Catholic church, and in the community they have a host of friends.
WILLIAM S. WADDINGTON, a suc- cessful farmer and stockman of 'Custer county, was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, August 20, 1865, and is a son of James and Lydia ( Boreland) Waddington, of whom further mention is made on other pages, in a sketch written for Samuel Waddington.
William S. Waddington was the second youngest of a family of sixteen children and accompanied the family to Custer county in 1886, making his home with his parents as long as they lived. He took a pre-emption on West Table, proved up on the same and re- sided there several years. He then disposed of that property and bought the land where
574
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY. NEBRASKA
he now resides, becoming the owner of 560 acres. All of his land is under a high state of cultivation, and he is one of the successful farmers of the community. The farm is one of the well improved properties of the county, all of the buildings having been put here by the present owner.
For a wife and helpmeet Mr. Waddington chose Miss Ara May Burris, who was born at St. Mary's Kansas, a daughter of Sylvester and Eliza (Robinson) Burris, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in England. their marriage having been solemn- ized in the state of Iowa. From the Hawk- eye state Mr. and Mrs. Burris removed to and settled in Kansas. On the 15th of March, 1905, they came to Custer county, Nebraska, and located on the farm, in Victoria Precinct, where Mrs. Burris still maintains her home, as do also three of her sons and two of her daughters, the honored husband and father having passed away several years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Waddington became the parents of two daughters, of whom Nellie Jaunita is liv- ing, the name of the deceased daughter hav- ing been Lydia Viola.
Mr. Waddington has not only been an eye- witness of the vast changes that have taken place in Custer county since the family lo- cated here, thirty-two years ago, but he has also performed his part in the work of trans- formation and is to-day one of the substantial men of the county.
HANS J. KOLBO. - The countries of northern Europe. in their contribution to America. have contributed few better men than Hans J. Kolbo, who was born September 7, 1851, near to the capital city of Norway. He is a son of John and Carrie (Slatum) Kolbo, representatives of stanch old families in Norway, and in this sterling Norwegian family are eight children: May C. became the wife of Chris Torgenson, who was killed by a cattleman, in 1882, as the result of a quarrel about leaving open a gate on the Olive ranch, near Devil's Gap. His assailant struck him over the head with a revolver, and he lived about six weeks. The other members of the family are: Hans J., Christ. Martin, Mrs. Dinah ( Kolbo) Johnston, John, and Barney.
Hans J. Kolbo's father came to the Unted States in 1861, and located on a farm in Vernon county, Wisconsin. Mr. Kolbo re- members that when he was eleven years of age he attended his first Fourth of July cele- bration in this country. During that day he earned ten cents, by running errands. This was the first money he ever earned, and it
also constituted the sum total of what he had to spend at the celebration.
"The young folks of to-day," says Mr. Kolbo, "expect their parents to give them five or ten dollars for the Fourth of July cele- brations, but nothing of that kind was doing when I was young and began to attend cele- brations and picnics."
Reared on the farm, Mr. Kolbo engaged in all kinds of farm work, and was especially attracted to the threshing operation - not the threshing sometimes administered by an irate ancestor, or a provoked school-teacher, but a grain-threshing operation that called for ma- chinery and horses. This especially appealed to him, and in his boyhood years he learned to operate the separator and all parts of the machinery. He followed threshing for an occupation during six consecutive years, while yet in Wisconsin. Later he transfered opera- tions to Custer county, Nebraska, where he continued in the threshing business and added another twenty years to his experience. He does not advise young men to try any "get- rich-quick" project by leaving the farm to en- gage in the threshing business.
January 8, 1878, at Westby, Wisconsin, Mr. Kolbo married Miss Agnette Johnson, who was born in Norway, a daughter of John and Patrene (Dahl) Johnson, representatives of sturdy Norwegian stock. In the Johnson family were twelve children. Those surviv- ing are: Mrs. Clara J. Stairs, Peter W., Mrs. Elvina Browet, Mrs. Anna Bond, John, Henry G., Clarence, and Reuben.
Clarence Johnson made ready to do well his part as a member of our national forces in the great world war, and at the time of this writing he is a member of Battery D. One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Field Ar- tillery, at Fort Sill. Oklahoma. Reuben Johnson, youngest of the children, remains at home with his father.
Mr. and Mrs. Kolbo came to Custer county in 1882, and located on Wood river. one-half mile south of Lodi. Mr. Kolbo has just sold his land and is preparing to buy a new home. He and his wife belong to the Lutheran church, and are honest. industrious, frugal people who well represent the type of farm- ers and producers that has made Custer county the mighty emporium of resources that it is. In politics Mr. Kolbo is a Republican.
JAMES M. INGRAM. - The life record of James M. Ingram is an illustration of what may be accomplished by a laudable ambition and a determintion to succeed. From the modest circumstances in which he found him- self when he arrived in Custer county, twenty-
575
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
seven years ago, Mr. Ingram is to-day the owner of a splendid farm and the possessor of a competence.
Mr. Ingram was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, June 3, 1854, a son of Abe Ingram, who was born in Virginia and came to Illi- nois, settling in Vermilion county in 1851. The father married a Mrs. Huddleston, who bore the maiden name of Mary Kennedy. The parents were farming people and resided in Vermilion county till their death.
James M. Ingram spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native county, and recalls having done work for "Uncle Joe" Cannon when their homes were not far apart. On reaching manhood he became a farmer, and he carried on agricultural pursuits in Illi- nois until 1891, when he came to Custer county, Nebraska, with his wife and their two children. His worldly possessions at that time consisted of a team and wagon and one dollar and forty cents in money. Some friend had arranged to have a place for them, but when they arrived, the house could not be had, so they moved into a dugout in the canyon twelve miles from where they now live. They lived in this primitive home from March until October. For several years Mr. Ingram rented land, and twenty-one years ago he came as a renter to the land he now owns. To-day he owns 320 acres, all under cultiva- tion, having made a success of his undertak- ings. The sod house in which the family live was erected thirty-five years ago and at that time was the finest one in this part of the country ; it is still a very comfortable home.
In Illinois, Mr. Ingram married Susan Davis, a native of Vermilion county, that state. Her parents, Reese and Lucinda (Rickert) Davis, were natives of Ohio and became early settlers of Vermilion county, Illinois, where they spent the remainder of their lives. The home of Mr. and Mrs. In- gram has been blessed with four children : Pearl married Inez Hutchinson and resides at Lakeside, Nebraska; Robert married Clara Herman and is a farmer in Custer county ; Ida is the wife of Earl Meyer, a farmer of Custer county ; and Ollie, unmarried, is still with his paernts, assisting in carrying on the old farm.
Mr. Ingram has a record of having been a farmer fifty-four years continuously, has al- ways been a hard-working man. The success which has come to him is the result of good judgment and years of persistent labor, and by all who know him he is held in the highest of esteen1.
MICHAEL MCCARTHY .- The subject of this record is one of the wide-awake, pro-
gressive farmers of Custer county, where he owns and operates 320 acres of land.
Michael Mccarthy was born in Franklin county, New York, September 25, 1857. His father, Charles McCarthy, was a native of County Cork, Ireland, and was a young man when he came to America. In New York state he married Ann Haverty, who was a native of County Tipperary, Ireland, and who was a young woman when she came to the United States. The parents bought a farm in the wooded section of New York, where the father chopped the trees, cleared the land of stumps and carried on farming until 1863, when he removed to Hancock, on the upper peninsula of Michigan, and found employ- ment in the copper mines. When his son Michael was a lad of twelve years the family home was established on a farm in Whiteside county, Illinois, where the parents resided many years, their last days being spent at Grand Island, Nebraska.
Michael McCarthy began working on a farm when twelve years old and received the magnificent wages of one dollar a week. When a young man of twenty years he came to Nebraska, and for several years he was in the employ of the Union Pacific and other railroads, having charge of a gang of men laying steel rails. It was while working in this capacity for the Burlington Railroad that he formed a liking for Dale valley, Custer county, and in 1903 he came here and pur- chased the northwest quarter of section 25, township 18, range 22, on which he has made extensive improvements, and recently, he has extended the boundaries of his holdings by purchasing a quarter-section adjoining on the north, all of which is devoted to general farm- ing and stock-raising.
It seems that Dale valley had attractions for Mr. McCarthy other than her beautiful farms, for here he found a companion and helpmeet, when he was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie McGrath, a native of Kane county, Illinois, and a daughter of Philip Mc- Grath, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Carthy has been blessed with four children: Philip, Edward, Mary, and Alice, all of whom are at home and assist in the work of the farm and the home. The family are communicants of the Catholic church and in politics Mr. Mc- Carthy votes the Democratic ticket.
PHILIP MCGRATH. - One of the pio- neer settlers of Dale valley, Custer county, who has been called to his reward was Philip McGrath, who passed away at Merna, March 18 1916, at the patriarchal age of ninety- eight years.
576
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY. NEBRASKA
Philip MeGrath was born in County Tip- perary, Ireland, June 29, 1818, next to the youngest of thirteen children born to Thomas and Nellie ( Hanley ) McGrath. He was reared and educated in his native land and was married there, February 1, 1848, to Miss Catherine Hogan, also of Irish birth. In July, 1848, they came to America and located first at Pleasantville, New York, where they spent six years, he being engaged in railroad work. In 1854 he went to Chicago, where he served three years on the police force, and they made their home in that city for several years. In 1861 they moved to Lily Lake, Illi- nois, and there Mr. McGrath carried on his first farming operations in America. In 1865 they went to Lacon, Marshall county, Illinois, which was their home for many years.
June 7, 1884 Mr. McGrath came to Custer county, to visit his daughter. Mrs. Terry John- son, who with her husband had come to Ne- braska in 1881 and secured a homestead in this county. Mr. McGrath bought a relin- quishment on 160 acres in section 19, town- ship 18, range 21, his family joining him the next year. Here he carried on agricultural pursuits for many years, and he then retired, in February, 1900, and moved to Merna. Mrs. McGrath was called to her final rest February 11, 1907. She was the mother of five children: Thomas, who has not been heard from by other members of the family for some time; Mrs. Al. Thomas, of Holly, Colorado: Mrs. Terry Johnson, of Sargent, Custer county ; Mrs. Michael Mccarthy, of this county; and Frank, a resident of Colo- rado.
Mr. McGrath passed through many dis- couragements in his early days in Nebraska and had the usual experiences of pioneer life. He served eleven years as treasurer of his school district. He was a successful man in business and had a host of friends. He was one of the oldest men in Custer county at the time of his death.
EMERSON R. PURCELL. - If one were delegated to choose the leaders of public af- fairs in Custer county he would name Emer- son Purcell almost. if not quite, the first one. Since an early date he has been so actively identified with all matters of public interest. and so prominently before the public. that he is known throughout the entire country, and his acquaintance and reputation. not to be con- fined by county lines, extend throughout the state. Ile is editor and proprietor of the Cus- ter County Chief, a paper so marked and dis-
tinguished among publications of its kind that further mention of it will follow later.
Emerson R. Purcell was born September 9, 1866, and is a son of the late George Purcell and Marietta ( Root) Purcell, who still sur- vives, and who during a long life has been an exceedingly devoted and careful mother. The father, George Purcell, was born in Dub- lin, Ireland, July 10, 1832, and died in Broken Bow, March 3. 1918. The mother was born in Connecticut, of old colonial stock. The parents were married in Cincinnati, Ohio. in 1854, and their gracious companionship. cov- ering a period of sixty-three years, was sev- ered only by the death of the father. The celebration of their golden wedding was one of the largest gatherings of its kind ever held in Custer county.
In early life George Purcell was a carriage- painter. In later years. after his sons, Emer- son R. and William G. Purcell, established the Custer County Chief. he had charge of the binding department of that establishment for several years. He came to Custer county in the spring of 1884, and he homesteaded and entered a tree claim north of Merna. He proved up on both of these places and one of them is still in the possession of the family.
George Purcell and his two sons, William G. and Edward H. Purcell. all took land north of Merna in 1884. and on their claims they erected three sod houses, which belonged to the mansion class of their day. George Pur- cell lived five years on his land, and later moved to Broken Bow, where he died on the date above recorded. In the immediate family of George Purcell and his good wife were four children : William G., whose home is in Broken Bow and who has individual mention else- where in this volume: Edward H. who lives in Broken Bow; Ella, who is deceased : and Emerson R., who is the subject of this sketch. George Purcell was a communicant of the l'rotestant Episcopal church, and was very de- voted and liberal in its support. He was a quiet. unassuming man of sterling character, and had many friends in Broken Bow. The widow is a devout communicant of the Epis- copal church and is revered by all who have come within the sphere of her gentle and gracious influence.
Essentially the entire career of Emerson R. Purcell belongs to Custer county. His early education was received in the district schools of Saline county, this state, and the public schools of Crete, that county, where later he finished at Doane College. His first work was done in a printing office at Crete. After
1
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
577
EMERSON R. PURCELL
578
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
coming to Broken Bow he secured a position in the old sod printing house in which the Custer County Republican was then published. He lived with his parents on the claim near Merna, and he and his brother, William G., worked for R. H. Miller, on the paper just mentioned. They had to undergo some hard- ships, but they were equal to the emergency. They brought their "grub" from home every Monday morning, and made sleeping apart- ments in the office. They had breakfast and supper in their room and took their dinner at the old Commercial hotel. This is the way they made their start in the printing and pub- lishing business.
The year 1886 found William G. and Emer- son R. Purcell established in a job-printing business of their own, in the building next to the sod Republican office, and as they look back now to that office, the dimensions of which were seven and one-half by sixteen feet. they feel that they have no occasion to despise the day of small things. A few weeks after the establishment of business for themselves, they built an addition on their office, twelve by sixteen feet, and this was their first ex- pansion, as well as the beginning of business growth. In this place they did a large busi- ness. This was the year of the coming of the railroad and in the fall they established the first newspaper in the town of Merna. Emerson R. Purcell, who had not as yet reached his majority, assumed charge of the new venture. which was named the Merna Record, and the first issue was given to the public Thanksgiving day. He conducted this paper five years, during which time William G. conducted the job-printing business in Bro- ken Bow. After disposing of the Merna business, Emerson R. returned to Broken Bow, and in April, 1892, the two brothers estab- lished the Custer County Chief. They con- tinued as partners for fifteen years after the establishment of the Chief. and in 1907 the business had grown to such an extent that they found it advisable to divide the business. William G. taking over the job business and Emerson R. continuing the publication of the Chief.
The Custer County Chief has a larger weekly edition than any other country weekly in the state. It came into prominence as a weekly paper hack in the '90s and, by the push and persistence of its editor, kept on increasing its patronage and influence until, in 1914. it reached the highest point in circulation of all weekly papers of its class in the state. Its present circulation is more than 4,200, and aside from standing at the head of the circu-
lation list in the state, it occupies fourth or fifth place among the country weeklies of its class in the United States.
December 23, 1896, recorded the marriage of Mr. Purcell to Grace Cox, of Broken Bow. she being a daughter of W. H. Cox, who came to Custer county in 1890, and served a number of years as manager of the Chicago Lumber Company. Mr. Cox was a tinner and plumber and eventually established a business for him- self at Broken Bow.
In the Purcell family to-day are five child- ren : Helen, who finished her education in the Broken Bow schools, later became secretary to the supervisor of playgrounds in Washing- ton. D. C .: the other children are Josephine, Alice, Emerson R., Jr., and Harry Cady. Mrs. Purcell is a member of the Episcopal church. Mr. Purcell is high in Masonic circles, being a past master of the Masonic blue lodge. a Royal Arch Mason, a Knight Templar, a member of the Scottish Rite bodies and affili- ated with the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a past grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
A Democrat in politics, Mr. Purcell was, in November. 1918, elected to the Nebraska legis- lature from the Fifty-eighth district, and in the thirty-seventh session, which convened early in 1919. was an able member of that body. For many years he has been active in the Nebraska State Press Association and is now vice-president of that organization. He was identified with the Custer County Fair for many years, holding the position of both sec- retary and president at different times, and his success as a fair manager attracted such fa- vorable attention in the state that he was elec- ted, and for the past seven years has been, a member of the Nebraska State Board of Agri- culture. He has been a recognized factor in the promotion and success of the great Ne- braska State Fair and for the past three years has been one of the board of managers of that institution.
He has served his county and his community in too many capacities to warrant the enumer- ating of them here, but among his activities which are appreciated by his home town are his services as a member of the board of edu- cation, and his long term of service on the library board of the city. He served in the city council and was twice elected mayor of Broken Bow without opposition. It was dur- ing his term as mayor that municipal owner- ship of the present city waterworks plant was acquired by Broken Bow. He and his family are valuable assets of both the town and the
579
HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
county, and the name of Emerson R. Purcell will always be linked in a most substantial way with the history of Custer county.
GEORGE W. SIMMONS. - Over in the vicinity of Milburn lives a successful farmer who is coming to the time of his retirement from hard work and active life. He has been successful, and has around him a good show- ing for his Custer county years of toil.
Mr. Simmons was born in the year 1858, and his good wife, Alice ( Barber) Simmons, was born in the same year. Mrs. Simmons is a daughter of Philo and Sarah Jane Barber, her father having died in the sixtieth year of his age and the mother when in her fortieth year. Philo Barber was a railroad man and for a number of years he maintained the family home at Aurora, Hamilton county, Nebraska. He and his wife became the parents of eleven children, and of the number five are living in addition to Mrs. Simmons : Isaac is a farmer in the state of Washington ; Tom is a Kansas farmer; Walter lives in Iowa and is retired from active work: John lives in Colorado, where he works at the carpenter trade ; and Mrs. Susanna Mencer lives at Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Simmons is a son of John Simmons. and his mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Hazen. John Simmons, a man of general versatility and good education, turned his hand to several occupations. He served several years as sheriff of Sullivan county, Pennsylvania, and for a time taught school in that state. He at one time operated a blacksmith shop, and in these callings, varied as they might seem to be, he was rated as very successful.
George W. Simmons, the subject of this sketch, came to Custer county in 1879 and bought out a relinquishment, on which he filed a homestead entry. To this original home- stead, by hard work and stringent economy, he has added until his landed possessions now consist of 640 acres, all well improved. On his ranch are to be found good blooded horses, a fine grade of shorthorn cattle, and Poland-China hogs of good and fancy grade. After his arrival in the county Mr. Simmons spent his first seven years working on a ranch. For four years he made his home in Seneca, where he was in the employ of the railroad company. He has had the varied experiences of the Custer county pioneer. He began with primitive improvements on his pioneer farm, these tentative improvements including a sod house, and he added to and replaced them until he has to-day the present excellent equipment.
Most of the life of Mr. Simmons has been spent in bachelorhood. It was only four years ago that he married the gracious wife and helpmeet who now makes for him a comfort- able home.
Mr. Simmons is in good standing as a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and delights in attending all of the meetings of the lodge. In politics he is independent. selects his own principles, and votes for the man above reproach. Both he and his wife belong to the Christian church, and are lib- eral contributors to its maintenance. Very excellent people, and rated among the best in the vicinity of Milburn, is the estimate placed on this worthy couple by the Milburn com- munity.
ANTON P. DOBESH, one of the most widely known men of Custer county, Ne- braska, belongs to a representative family, and one that is highly respected wherever known. He is a man of business ability and energy, be- ing progressive in his ideas and actively in- terested in all measures tending to advance the general welfare and prosperity.
Mr. Dobesh was born in the village of Rouchorany, Moravia, a part of Bohemia, January 13, 1861, and was next to the eldest of thirteen children born to Thomas and Josephine (Job) Dobesh. The parents were born, reared and married in Moravia and came to the United States in the spring of 1871, sailing from Bremen to Baltimore in the "Co- lumbia," it is believed, and spending nineteen days on the water. With their six children they first located on a homestead which the father secured in Saunders county, Nebraska, and there several children were born. There were seven sons and six daughters in the family. One daughter, Annie, now Mrs. Poland, lives on the old home farm. Two sons and one daughter live in Custer county and one son and two daughters live in Butler county, Nebraska. The mother of these chil- dren died in Saunders county, in 1884, and the father died in 1916, at the age of eighty- five years. He had retired from farm life and lived in Weston, Saunders county. He was highly respected as an unright and reli- able citizen and had many friends.
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.