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 87

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 87

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

good buildings and up-to-date equipment and carries on his operations in a manner that leaves no doubt as to his progressiveness and his knowledge of his vocation.

Mr. Lee was married in 1909 to Miss Jennie Geeseman, who was born in Butler county, Nebraska, and who is a daughter of Orrin E. and Elizabeth A. Geeseman. Mr. Geeseman was a native of Ohio and an early settler of Nebraska, where he rounded out his life in farming and stock-raising .. To Mr. and Mrs. Lee there have been born three children - Margaret, Elizabeth, and Berenice. Mr. Lee has invariably used his own judgment in sup- porting candidates for political offices, recog- nizing no party ties, and therefore he may be termed an independent voter. He has ren- dered excellent service to his community in the various public offices to which he has been elected by his fellow citizens, having been jus- tice of the peace and town clerk, as well as a member of the board of county commission- ers. At the present time he is acting as a member of the board of school directors. Mrs. Lee was postmistress of Berwyn for three and one-half years.

FRANK MILLER. - During a period cov- ering the last quarter of a century Frank Miller has been engaged in the elevator busi- ness at Berwyn, where he is known as a pro- gressive and industrious man and as one who has made his own way in the world. He has been a resident of Custer county since 1889, in which year he came here as a comparative stranger, without capital or other favoring in- fluences. To-day he is one of the substantial men of the community, owning not only his successful grain-elevator business, but also a modern automobile garage, although his pros- perity has not led him to change his mode of activity, and he is still industrious and strictly applied to his business responsibilities.

Mr. Miller was born in Lee county, Illinois, October 27, 1855, a son of Daniel and Cleo (Gittinger) Miller, the latter born in 1831, in Ohio. Daniel Miller was born in Pennsylva- nia, in 1822, and was a young man when he went to Ohio, in which state he was married. He reinained there until 1855, in which year he moved westward to Illinois and took up a farm in Lee county. Mr. Miller had been a hard-working man, but various causes had com- bined to make him unfortunate, and when he started life anew on the Illinois prairies, it was with a debt of $1,000 hanging over him. However, he made a great success of his life, not only clearing off his indebtedness, but also accumulating a competency which enabled him

to spend his declining years in comfort. His death occurred in 1910, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-eight years, and his wife was sixty-eight years old when her death occurred, in 1899. They were faithful members of the Lutheran church, and were the parents of nine children, of whom eight are living. Mr. Miller was a Republican.

Frank Miller was the fourth in order of birth of his parents' children, and as the fam- ily was in rather modest circumstances during his boyhood, he did not enjoy any special ad- vantages in the way of schooling, the while he was early called upon to do a man's work in the field. In 1878, when he was twenty- two years of age, he left the Illinois home and came to Nebraska, his first place of settlement being York. There he remained two years. following which he went to Colorado, where he spent the next five years in various pursuits, In July, 1885, he came to Custer county, where for a short time he worked in an elevator, and he then turned his attention to the grain busi- ness, still as an employe. By the year 1893 he had accumulated sufficient capital to permit him to engage in business on his own account, and during the years that have followed he has succeeded in building up a large and pros- perous trade, his business relations and activi- ties extending over a wide radius of the sur- rounding countryside. In 1917 Mr. Miller ex- tended the scope of his business interests by building a large and up-to-date garage at Ber- wyn, and this also has attracted a large pat- ronage. He does all kinds of repair work, and numbers among his customers not only the residents of Berwyn, but many who travel through this place from far-distant points and who have confidence in his integrity and work- manlike ability.

Mr. Miller's life has been one in which he has worked hard and in which he is still con- tinuing to be industrious. He has always ap- preciated the dignity of labor, and has found that the best rewards in life come to those who have won their own way rather than those who have been the beneficiaries of the results of another man's labors. He is a Republican, but his interests have kept him busy to the ex- clusion of other affairs, and he has never cher- ished a desire for public preferment, at either the hands of political party or his fellow citizens.

BERNIE D. HORNE, who is one of Custer county's representative citizens and intelligent and enterprising farmers, has spent almost his entire life in Nebraska and has been identified with much of the development that has taken

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

place in the state. Mr. Horne was born near Cedar Rapids. Iowa, September 9. 1879. His parents are Fred F. and Elizabeth ( Speck ) Horne, the latter of whom was early left an orphan and was adopted and reared by her uncle, James Speck. Fred F. Horne was born near Bedford, Pennsylvania. a son of Jacob and Mary E. ( Smith ) Horne, who lived near Friendly Cove, that state. Mr. Horne is a retired business man of Marshalltown, lowa. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in political matters he gives his support to the Prohibition party. They have three children: Mrs. Zulu Nelson, Bessie, and Bernie D.

Bernie D. Horne was four years old when his parents brought him to Nebraska. They located in Saunders county, two miles east of Ceresco, and there his boyhood was spent, his parents continuing to reside in that county for a number of years. In a successful man's ca- reer it is interesting to recall his first efforts looking to independence, and Mr. Horne be- lieves the first money he ever really earned was when he hauled water to residents of Ceresco, who had no wells at that time, making many trips in carrying the precious fluid in buckets on his sled. He went to school with the sons of other pioneers and years later enjoyed better educational advantages, taking a business course and attending the Wesleyan University at Lincoln, Nebraska. He remained with his father until he was twenty-two years old and then engaged in farming for himself. For sev- eral years after his marriage he rented farm land, with the purchase of a nice home in view, however, and his cherished ambition was grati- fied when, in 1917, he and his estimable wife were able to buy the beautiful farm of J. T. Cole, containing 360 acres, which is favorably located just three one one-half miles north of Broken Bow, in Tappin valley. In the spring of 1918 they located here and this is a home of which they can be justly proud.

Mr. Horne was married February 25. 1903. in the Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal church, near Ceresco, to Miss Myrta Nicode- mus, who is a daughter of Reuben F. and Mary ( Boydston) Nicodemus, and a grand- daughter of Jacob and Margaret ( Fouse ) Nicodemus and Burris B. and Rachel ( Berge) Boydston. For eight years prior to her mar- riage Mrs. Horne taught school in Nebraska and for six of these years she drove ten miles a day, back and forth, through the heat of summer and storms of winter. The compe- tency she thus earned she invested with her husband in their present beautiful farm. She is widely known and very highly thought of

as a teacher. Mr. and Mrs. Horne have three children : G. Marie, V. Ardis, and B. Gaylord. Mr. Horne has never been very active in poli- tics and is an independent voter. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

ALBERT BADER. - An American farmer of German lineage, patriotic and loyal in his allegiance to this, his native country, Albert Bader, a representative farmer and citizen whose story is here recorded, equals in thrift and industry the best of whom the county boasts.

Mr. Bader was born in Illinois, July 2, 1882. He is a son of Stephen and Monika Bader. both natives of Germany. The parents immi- grated to the United States about 1880 and settled in Illinois, where their marriage was solemnized the same year. The father followed farming in the state of his adoption until the year 1887. when with his family he came to Custer county and took a homestead in section 21, township 20, range 21. The mother died in 1905, and the father remarried. In 1911, with his second wife, he returned to Germany, where he now makes his home. In the father's fam- ily, aside from Albert, were two sisters - Anna, wife of George Fleishman. of Merna. Custer county, and Emily, wife of Charles Mc- Graw, of Gates, Nebraska.

In his youth Albert Bader received the ad- vantages of the public schools, and after his graduation in the high school at Wahpeton, North Dakota, he put his acquirements to practical test and utilization by turning his at- tention to pedagogic endeavors. In this con- nection he made an excellent record during the two years that he was engaged in teaching in the public schools. In Custer county Mr. Bader has proved himself a progressive and successful exponent of agricultural and live- stock industry, and few in his community can be credited with the attainment of a greater measure of prosperity. His characteristics of thrift and industry have been so directed as abundantly to reward his toil. Ile is the owner of 760 acres of land in this county, and carries on a general agricultural and stock-raising busi- ness, keeping on hand at all times at least 100 head of cattle and many hogs. Everywhere on the premises is the evidence of prosperity. The stock looks fine, and the horses are well fed and advertise the good care they receive. The buildings on the place are adequate for all needs and show that they receive the atten- tion of a painstaking manager.

In politics Mr. Bader is independent. His

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religious affiliation is with the Roman Catholic church. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, and, withal, is a substantial citizen upon whom the commonwealth can depend in every emergency. He has been liberal with his contributions to all demands.

June 23. 1909, recorded the marriage of Mr. Bader to Miss Marie Jestrabek, and they have three children - Clara, Irene, and Leo.

SAMUEL W. JACOBY. - Strict attention to business and undaunted faith in his ability to succeed, have been foremost factors in the rise of Samuel W. Jacoby, who is now the prosperous proprietor of a soft-drink parlor at Broken Bow. In whatever circumstances or whatever capacity he has found himself, he has never lost self-confidence, and his ready adapt- ability has made it possible for him to succeed where others might have failed. Mr. Jacoby was born at Burlington, Iowa. September 17. 1868, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Laux) Jacoby.

William Jacoby was born in Germany, and at the age of seventeen years, in order to es- cape military service, he ran away from home and made his way to America, taking up his residence at Burlington. Iowa. For some years he was section boss on the Chicago. Burlington & Quincy Railroad, but his life was cut short in its prime and he was not allowed to taste the fruits of success. He and his wife both passed away at Burlington and were laid to rest in the graveyard of St. John's Catholic church, they having been lifelong members of that faith. They had four children: Michael, who died at the age of forty-four years; Mrs. Elizabeth Gavette, a widow, of Los Angeles, California ; Mrs. Marie Warren, of Duluth, Minnesota, wife of the general superintendent of the Du- luth Street Railway Company : and Samtel W.

At the birth of Samuel W. Jacoby his mother died, and he was only two years of age when he lost his father in death, and at that time an uncle, Sam Laux, undertook to rear him. He did so until the lad was seven and one-half years of age, at which time he began making his own living, and from that time to the pres- ent everything that he has had has been self- gained. By accepting such odd employment as presented itself, he managed to gain an educa- tion in the Burlington public schools, after leav- ing which he spent four years in the employ of Henry Fogle, at Middletown, with whom he learned the trade of carpenter. This he fol- lowed as a journeyman at various points, and during the latter '80s and early '90s he spent several years in California, where he went for

his wife's health. He was young and strong then and earned five dollars a day - considered remarkably good wages for a mechanic at that time. When he gave up his trade, it was to engage in railroading, starting at Burling- ton, Iowa, whence he was later transferred to Alliance, Nebraska. For twenty-three years he acted in the capacities of fireman and en- gineer, and his record as a railroad man was an excellent one. He resigned, with a clean card, April 24, 1912, and engaged in a retail liquor business at Ravenna, Nebraska, con- tinuing therein until the state went dry, when he came to Broken Bow and, August 13, 1917, opened a soft-drink establishment. He has made a decided success of this venture, and his establishment has already become one of the most popular in the city, counting among its regular patrons some of the most repre- sentative families of the community. He has established a reputation as a man of good business ability and one who is faithful to his engagements, the while he has laid the foun- (ation for many lasting friendships.

Mr. Jacoby was married in 1889 to Miss Jennie Speigle, who was born at Burlington, Jowa, where her mother still lives, her father being deceased. Mrs. Jacoby received her ed- ucation in the public schools and resided in her native city until her marriage. She and her husband are consistent members of the Lutheran church. He belongs to Washington Camp No. I. Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, of Burlington, in which he is past noble grand. In politics he takes an independent view, voting rather for the man than for the party which the candidate represents.

L. H. MASON. - One of the substantial citizens to be found in the Georgetown vicin- ity, where good men are far from being scarce, is the man whose name appears in the above title line. Modest in disposition, his life story should be modestly told, and its recital will pay a simple tribute to a worthy, honest, up- right man who was reared in Custer county and who has made the county his home during the major portion of his lifetime.

Mr. Mason was born in 1875, and is a son of W. T. and Mary E. (Griffin) Mason. In the family of the father and mother were six children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest. J. H. is in the employ of Oscar Thompson, in Custer county: F. M. is himself a farmer in this county; J. L. is an- other Custer county farmer: Mabel G. Horn has her home in this county: Grace Robinson lives in Ansley, this county. The father home-

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

GEORGE F. PALMER

MRS. GEORGE F. PAL, MER

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steaded in Custer county in 1884, the same year that he moved here, and, with nothing for a foundation capital, he provided for his family and made for himself a home.

From a lad of nine years, L. H. Mason grew up in Custer county, and here he re- ceived his education in the public schools. Here he learned the art of western farming, and here he learned to handle and feed all kinds of stock, and to do it successfully. Here he started for himself and established his first home. It was here that he led to the marriage altar Miss Jennie Smith, who is his splendid helpmeet and the mother of his children. To them have been born three children: Jennie E., L. H., Jr., and Dorothy, all of them at home and contributing to the cheerfulness and brightness of the household.

At the present time Mr. Mason is employed on the Ed. Gould ranch, and is giving splendid satisfaction. Reliable and competent, the world has a demand for many just such men. He is a member of the Woodmen lodge,, in which he takes an active part, and in politics he af- filiates with the Republican party.

GEORGE F. PALMER. - The life of the late George Fremont Palmer was one in which there was illustrated the value of industry in labor and honesty and integrity in business transactions. Through the former, combined with his ability, he gained material position and accumulated a satisfying competence ; through the latter he won and held the re- spect and confidence of his fellow citizens. There were few men better known in the field of horse-buying, and at Broken Bow, where he made his home for twenty-seven years and where his death occurred February 10, 1915. no man was held in higher esteem.

Mr. Palmer was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, June 15, 1855, a son of Freeman and Mary (Raught) Palmer. His parents were Pennsylvania farming people who never left that state, and George F. Palmer there re- ceived his early education in the district schools, while he had his early training along the line of agricultural work under the pre- ceptorship of his father. He grew up to sturdy manhood and was married, in 1874, at Lacey- ville, Pennsylvania, to Miss Harriet Pierce, who was born at Middletown, that state, a daughter of Joseph and Hannah ( Rowley ) Pierce, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New York. There were four children in the Pierce family, as follows : Mrs. Palmer : Edith, who died at the age of eighteen years; Addie, who became the wife of Sam

Brewster, and resides in New York ; and Vere W., who for twenty years has been identified with a shoe factory at Johnson City, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, who were farm- ing people, both passed away in Pennsylvania.

In 1878 Mr. and Mrs. Palmer changed their residence to St. Paul, Nebraska, and it was there that Mr. Palmer engaged in business as a horse-buyer. For three years he resided at Grand Island, and also for a time lived at Omaha, but in 1888 he came to Broken Bow, which continued as the stage of his activities and his successes during the remainder of his life. At one time during his career, in ad- dition to his main business, he was engaged for three years in buying and selling hogs, in partnership with J. J. Wilson, but his prin- cipal enterprise was dealing in horses, and in his particular field there were few who were more successful and none better informed. He made a careful study of his business, which he found an interesting and congenial one, and thus he was able in many ways to outrank his competitors ; but while he was shrewd and far-seeing, with an eye toward opportunity, his dealings were always honest and above- board, and his associates not only had the greatest of confidence in his judgment but also in his integrity.

Mr. and Mrs. Palmer became the parents of three children -Elton F., who is an ex- press messenger at Broken Bow ; Edson M., whose death occurred in 1907; and Hiran!, who is assistant postmaster at Broken Bow. Mr. Palmer was a popular member of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was a Republican, and took all interest in political and civic affairs, but his only office was that of deputy United States marshal, in which position he served three years. His religious connection was with the Baptist church. Mrs. Palmer, who survives her husband, holds membership in the Metho- dist Episcopal church. While she resides at Broken Bow, where she has numerous appre- ciative friends, she is the owner of a valuable and well developed farm of 320 acres, seven miles from Broken Bow, and also has several pieces of city property.

COE KILGORE, whose story is related in this review, is a native of Bradford county, Pennsylvania, where he was born March 3. 1836. He is one of the oldest settlers in Cus- ted county and had to do with the carly for- mation of county affairs and the initial days of county development. His name often ap- pears in the official record of the early days

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and he is one of the men upon whom the honors of pioneer times and later day develop- ments justly rest.

His father was John H. Kilgore and his mother's maiden name Lydia Haines. Both parents were natives of New Jersey. The father. who lived to be eighty-four years of age, was a tailor by trade but also farmed in Pennsylvania, where the subject of this sketch was born and spent his childhood years. There were nine children in the John Kilgore fam- ily: Robert lives in Elmira, New York, and is a successful farmer ; Harriet is deceased ; Coe is the subject of this sketch; William was farmer and early-day settler in Custer a county ; the other children being Raymond, Sarah, Ellen, Anne, and one child who died in infancy.

In 1858 Coe Kilgore married Miss Libbie Lord; and to this estimable couple three chil- dren were born - Etta, who became the wife of Joshua Wood, one of the pioneer characters of this county: Willie, who died in infancy, in 1861 : and Ellen, who married Tom Blunden.

Mr. Kilgore was again married. in 1883. when Anna Peterson became his wife. She is a daughter of Thomas C. and Anna Peterson, who came from Denmark in 1863, and walked most of the way from Ontario to Salt Lake City. hauling their goods with an ox team. They settled at Huntsville, where Mr. Peter- son entered the mercantile business. They were connected with the Church of Latter Day Saints. There were no children by this second marriage.

In 1871 Mr. Kilgore came to Nebraska and settled at Gibbon, Buffalo county, but a year or so later he came to Custer county and at once entered upon his pioneer career. He homesteaded a fine piece of land and began operations in handling cattle and in stock-rais- ing, in which enterprise he was very success- ful. In relating his experiences he says that he went "dead broke" when fifty years of age : but with loss of money he did not lose his płuick, nor was his indominable spirit broken. He commenced again, and the same thrift and shrewdness which fastened the first success proved equal to the occasion the second time. and he is now well and comfortably fixed. He has enough to provide comfort and ease for the rest of his days. He recently sold an eighty- acre traet of land for ninety dollars an acre.

W. W. WILLIAMS. - The energetic and well directed efforts of W. W. Williams, of Broken Bow, have within three years resulted in the building up and development of a pros- perous milk business and the placing of its

founder in a position of comparative financial independence. Mr. Williams was born in Vir- ginia, February 11. 1877, a son of Hazel and Mary ( Karnes) Williams, both natives of the Old Dominion.

Hazel Williams was engaged in agricultural pursuits and was a man of some standing and influence in his community in Virginia, where he served for a time as constable. However, he felt that he could better himself by coming to the west, and in October. 1885, he brought his family to Nebraska and took up a pre- emption claim of 160 acres in Custer county. After proving up on this property he continued to cultivate it for some time, making develop- ments and improvements, and eventually he sold it and moved to a tract located south of New Helena, that being his home until the spring of 1918, when he once more sold, this time going to Anselmo, this county, his present place of residence. Mrs. Williams died in July. 1914, in the faith of the Baptist church. Mr. Williams is a Democrat politically. All of the thirteen children of this couple survive and all are living in Nebraska, W. W. having been the second in order of birth.

W. W. Williams received his education in the Custer county public schools and was reared as a farmer, being given a good training by his experienced and skilled father. He con- tinued to follow the pursuits of the soil in a general way, but finally came to a realization of the opportunities offered to one who would establish a well conducted milk business, and in January, 1916, he initiated the venture that has since developed into substantial success. At that time he bought four acres of land at the limits of Broken Bow, where he installed a first-class dairy, having had everything planned out in the way of sanitation and expediency in handling the product. He now has large and commodious buildings, the most modern and highly improved equipment, including milking machines, and everything else that goes to make up an up-to-date plant of this kind. His product, delivered in bottles, has found favor with the people of Broken Bow and the surrounding country, because of its purity and high quality, and his business has continued to grow and expand until he is now doing between $800 and $900 a month. He milks an average of fifty cows, his fine herd of Holsteins being we'l kept and contented, and the service that he renders in the way of delivery is expeditious and gratifying to his customers. This is a bus- iness which has been built up entirely through the initiative and industry of its owner, and Mr. Williams may therefore be accounted one of Broken Bow's self-made men.

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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 87

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