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 96

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 96

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Mr. McGugin was married November 27, 1884, to Miss Jennie A. Robinson, a daughter of Henry and Jane ( Barnard) Robinson; resi- dents of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. McGugin have no children, but they have a very wide circle of attached friends. They are faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. McGugin being one of the first movers in the matter of establishing church and school in his neighborhood. He served a number of terms as school director of school district No. 13, Lillian township, and also as township treasurer. He is a Republi- can in politics but in local matters has always acted with some independence when affairs affecting the welfare of the whole community came under the consideration of the leading citizens. Mr. McGugin is known all over the county.

JOHN C. MILLS, farmer, stock-raiser and public official, is a representative of one of the earliest pioneer families in Clear Creek val- ley, Custer county, and has lived here since he was ten years old. Mr. Mills was born in Crawford county, Wisconsin, December 24, 1869. His parents were Fabius D. and Louisa (Copsey) Mills, his father being a native of Mercer county, Ohio, and his mother of Dane county, Wisconsin.

Fabius D. Mills was an educated, able man, and while living in Crawford county, Wiscon- sin, he was engaged in the practice of law, be- sides which he also served as county superin- tendent of schools. After locating in Custer county he continued his law practice to some extent and also wrote insurance, while carry- ing on farming as his main business. He was foresighted also in business. He came to Cus- ter county in 1878 and bought his first farm

for five dollars an acre, this property having been subsequently sold by him for $100 an acre. In 1879 he brought his family to the farm near Westerville, and he also took a tree claim about this time. While the Mills family found pioneer life a little easier, per- haps, than did many others, this was because of the resourcefulness of Mr. and Mrs. Mills and their ability to adapt themselves to existing conditions. However, they also had a share of deprivation and hardship. Like all the first settlers, their earliest home was a sod house, which under certain conditions was a comfort- able dwelling, but sometimes was not reliable as a shelter. Mr. Mills tells of one occasion when the evening meal was about to be eaten and all the family had assembled, when the sod roof gave way and fell on the table, but fortunately injured no one. It was difficult to provide a healthful variety of food at first, the only meat procurable being that bought from hunters who killed elk and deer, and an oc- casional catch of fish from Clear creek. De- termined to get a few potatoes planted, so that they would have an opportunity to mature, Mrs. Mills cut the heavy sod with a carving knife, for the first potato hills. To her energy and industry the family was indebted also for a plastered wall in their first house, although she had patiently to lay on the plaster with no better tool than a case knife, no emergency seeming to be too great for her to meet. Her many children all recognized how much was due her in the upbuilding of the home and the subsequent preservation of home ideals.

To Fabius D. Mills and his wife the follow- ing children were born: John C. is the im- mediate subject of this review ; Douglas, who married Ollie Gardner, is a farmer near Lee Park; Ella is the wife of John Robbins, who is a stock-raiser in Sheridan county, Nebraska ; Blanche and Arthur both died in infancy ; Aris was drowned in Clear creek, when he was twelve years old; Bessie is the wife of Dennis Leman, a stockman in Douglas county, Wyoming; Edna is the wife of Andrew Al- len, a farmer near Westerville ; Milton died in infancy ; Mabel is the wife of Dr. McArthur, a physician at Broken Bow, Nebraska ; Charles, who married Ollie Runner, is a farmer near Westerville, Nebraska; Roscoe, who married Tina Baker, is a farmer near Westerville; Alice is the wife of M. E. God- dard, a farmer north of Westerville; Frank is in the American army in France at the time of this writing ; Bayard, who likewise is a soldier in the national army, is in France ; Sylvia is a school-teacher in Custer county ; and Edward R. resides with his brother Charles. The parents of the above family

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were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Mills was a Demo- crat. He and H. N. Hopkins were the men who located the trail from Westerville to Broken Bow, which was known as the Hog Back Trail. Mr. and Mrs. Fabius D. Mills are both deceased.

In his boyhood John C. Mills attended school near the home farm and later he took a course in the Nebraska Weslyan college at Lincoln. Farming and stock-raising have mainly engaged his attention all of his life, thus far, but he has not permitted his personal affairs to make him unmindful of public du- ties, and occasionally he has accepted local of- fices. At the present he is serving usefully as a member of the Westerville town board. He gives his political support to the Democratic party.

Mr. Mills was married April 2, 1905, to Lulu Slingsby, a daughter of William and Mary (Smith) Slingsby, and they have five children: Walter, born January 16, 1906; Ellis, born April 12, 1907 ; Mabel, born May 11, 1909; Grace, born September 1, 1914, and Lloyd, born November 28, 1917. A twin brother of Ellis died at birth. The family be- longs to the Methodist Episcopal church at Westerville in which Mr. Mills has been class leader for twenty years.

JAMES W. LUNDY, who has been prom- inently known in business circles of Sargent for a number of years as a realty man, fur- niture dealer, and undertaker, and who prior to his advent in the city had carried on large operations as a ranchman in Custer county, is now, engaged in an enterprise which, when completed, will be of immense commercial value to Sargent and the entire surrounding community as a public utility. This is a hydro-electrical plant at Doris, which will pro- vide light and power in great quantity, and Mr. Lundy is deserving of the appreciation of the whole community for his progressiveness in working out a plan for something that can- not fail to be an asset of incalculable benefit.

James W. Lundy, or "Bill," as he is fa- miliarly known to his numerous friends, was born at Atalissa, Iowa, October 30, 1872, a son of Ira J. and Maria G. (Adv) Lundy, na- tives of the same place. The father, a farmer in Iowa, brought the family to Custer county in 1882, on September 12th of which year he took up a homestead in Cummings Park, sec- tion 9. township 20, range 19. There he con- tinued to be engaged in farming and stock- raising until his death. He also operated a threshing outfit for many years, and, being a

man of industry, business capacity and good judgment, le succeeded in the making of a comfortable home. He was a Republican in politics. There were four children in the family: James W. is the subject of this sketch; Benjamin W., who married Grace Barnes, is the operator of a dray line at Sar- gent; Ada M. is a resident of Davenport, Iowa ; and Vinton A., a member of the United States Army, is stationed at Camp Pike, Arkansas, at the time of this writing.

James W. Lundy received his early educa- tion in the public schools of Custer county and grew up on the home farm, but his first am- bition was to become an educator, and in order to prove himself capable, he passed the second teacher's examination. His career as a teacher lasted only six months, however, during which time he had a school in district No. 189, and he then returned to farming, with which basic industry he continued to be actively identified until about 1906. That he still has large ranching interests is shown in the fact that he is the owner of 1,600 acres of splendid Custer county land. When he left the farm Mr. Lundy located at Sargent, where he entered the furniture and undertak- ing business, and later he became interested in the real-estate business, with H. A. Sher- man as partner. They have built up a large business and have figured prominently in many large deals.

It has been only recently that Mr. Lundy has been engaged in the building of his hydro- electrical plant at Doris, which will furnish Sargent and the entire vicinity with light and power. The power now to be completed as the first unit will develop 225 horse-power, us- ing a Leffel turbine wheel, and a 100-kilowatt generator. The old power plant was pur- chased by Mr. Lundy from R. G. Carr, in 1912, Mr. Carr having been a pioneer in the flour-milling business here but using a seventy- horse-power drive and out-of-date wheels. The flume of the new plant has a twelve-foot head, one and one-half feet of concrete for a flooring, sixteen feet Wakefield piling, a steel re-enforced side way fourteen feet high, three feet at the base and twelve inches at the top. The pit of the turbine is seventeen by twenty- three feet, and ten feet deep, with two-foot side walls and back wall, while the floor of the pit rests on 35-25-foot piling of cedar. In this unit of the power house there have been used 36,000 feet of yellow-pine dimension lumber two inches thick: 110 25-foot cedar piling : 13,000 pounds of steel re-enforce- ment : 1,650 sacks of cement and 350 vards of gravel. The side gates contain 28.000 feet of Wakefield piling of yellow pine; fifty-six 25-

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foot cedar piling; 550 sacks of cement; 150 yards of gravel ; and 4,000 pounds of steel re- enforcement. Mr. Lundy has a patent to take care of sand that fills up the head and in or- dinary cases causes a great deal of trouble and expense. He also has forty-two 30-foot pil- ing, with a 14-inch top, which is to prevent ice from clogging up the head-gates, and guaran- teeing a full flow of water all winter. Here- tofore, ice protectors have never been used anywhere in the state. There are 24,000 feet of lumber used in the headgates, and the head- gates, and side-gates are large enough to fur- nish water for two more units of 200-horse- power each when demand requires it, which will be the goal the owner is working toward. The power unit consists of 56-inch Leffer special turbine, Samson rope drive. Wood- ward oil governor, 100-kilowatt A. C. gen- erator and switch-board. In addition, this plant has a hydraulic ram which will furnish water at an elevation of 125 feet for fountain, irrigation and stock use. The power house will be covered with steel lath and cement. The mill race is one and nine-tenths miles long, the mill dam fourteen feet high, and the river is the most even of any place in the world, be- cause of its sand land on each side of head waters and the fact that it is fed by springs, the volume of flow being 600-second feet per minute. Mr. Lundy has been fortunate in employing men of marked capacity in this great enterprise and much credit rests with Harry Gardner, foreman, and John Wykoff, assistant foreman. Of this fine plant further mention is made in the general historical sec- tion of this volume, where also appear illus- tration of the plant.

Mr. Lundy was married October 31, 1894, to Miss Laura E. Anderson, daughter of Frank and Rebecca Anderson, homesteaders of Loup county in the year 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Lundy have four children: Sadie A., Alpha D. and Lela M., all of whom reside at home with their parents ; and Albro L., who in 1918 enlisted in the United States Army and who is, at the time of this writing with the Forty-eighth Regi- ment, Battery D., C. A. C., in France.

Mr. Lundy is a man who does large things in a large way. He is a leading factor in every important, public-spirited movement promul- gated and his high standing in business circles makes his influence a valued and valuable one.

WESLEY N. BAKER. - Among the prominent and progressive farmers and stock- raisers of Custer county, there are found a number who make a specialty of certain de- partments of agricultural work, believing that

in this way they reap the greatest amount of success from their labors, in that they are able to centralize their energies and attention upon one definite thing. In this class is found Wesley N. Baker, of the vicinity of Ansley, who, while he follows general farming to some extent, has for a number of years past made a specialty of raising sheep. He is accounted one of the energetic and progressive men of his community and belongs to a family which is well known in Custer county, and a review of which will be found elsewhere in this work, in the sketch of Frank Baker.

Wesley N. Baker was born February 15, 1881, and has the distinction of being a native son of Custer county, his birth having occur- red on the family homestead near Westerville, on Clear creek. The public schools of that community furnished him with his early edu- cational training, and during the summer months he assisted his father and brothers in the fields, while being trained in all the arts and methods of agriculture as practiced in this locality. His choice of an occupation when he reached years of maturity rested upon farming, and this he has followed in a method- ical, careful and practical way, adopting mod- ern methods only when they have proved worthy. His long experience in the business of raising sheep has made him more or less of an authority upon the subject, and he is fre- quently called upon by his associates for coun- sel and advice. Politically a Democrat, poli- tics and public affairs have had a small share in his career, but his actions have always shown him to be a public-spirited citizen, ready to support good measures. He and the members of his family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Baker was married February 21, 1907, at Westerville, Nebraska, to Miss Amy Cop- sey, daughter of A. H. and Anna (Wallin) Copsey, and to this union there have come two children : Irene, born January 1, 1908; and William J., born January 20, 1909. The pleasant home of the Baker family is located in section 21, township 35, where are to be found modern buildings and other improve- ments of an up-to-date character.

CHARLES A. WORRELL, a retired farmer of the Arnold section, has made good in more ways than one. He has run the gamut of pioneer experiences and has ac- cumulated a competency by farming and stock -. raising in the good old county where his home has been for many years.

Charles A. Worrell was born April 20, 1857, in Hancock county, Illinois, and is a son

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of John and Mary (Butler) Worrell, the for- mer a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and the latter a native of the Buckeye state. John and Mary Worrell became the parents of six chil- dren, all of whom are living - Abarilla Work- man, Matilda E. Hunt, Charles A., Ida A. Hunt, Eva Clark, and William H. The par- ents were of the old-time and substantial fami- lies, and the father was a farmer. The en- tire family were connected with the Baptist church. The father moved to Davis county, Iowa, when his son Charles was eight years old, and there the boy had his first introduction to farming as it was conducted in that part of the central west. His first money was made by husking corn, and in this manner he earned enough to buy a suit of clothes. In addition to this clothing enterprise he worked long enough to buy 100 pounds of flour, and as wheat flour was very scarce in those days, this hundred weight of white flour was utilized for making the biscuit which made the larger por- tion of the Sunday dinner, while some of it was used for white bread for the children's school luncheons.

Charles A. Worrell worked at home until he was twenty-one years of age. January 22, 1882, recorded his marriage to Miss Mary J. Bybee, who was born in Iowa, a daughter of John H. and Frances J. (Clark) Bybee. Her father and mother were Kentuckians. Her family, like her husband's, were Baptists and the family circle numbered six children -- Drury S., William H., John J., Sarah E. At- wood, Mary J. Worrell, Izey C. Stoak.

Mr. and Mrs. Worrall have maintained an excellent home, for which every provision pos- sible has been made. They have three sons in their family circle : John H. lives on a farm of his own, near Stapleton. He married Effie Marrs and they have one son and three daugh - ters. They belong to the Baptist church. William H. married Frances Goodyear and owns his father's old farm which was home- teaded on the Tallin Table. They have no children. C. Alva likewise farms his own land. He married Elva Goodyear, and they have one daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Worrell came to Custer county in the fall of 1885, and, in the spring of the next year they located a homestead on the Tallin Table, eleven miles south of Arnold. At that time Mr. Worrell's worldly posses- sions, after he had paid for a relinquishment. consisted of a team of horses, one cow and $7.50 in cash. This was the capital upon which he began his farming career. Many hardships had to be endured. There was no fuel obtainable except corn stalks, and to ob- tain these he often had to wade through the

snow and cut the stalks with the corn knife. At one time a sleet, which lasted several days, covered the stalks with ice and made them very poor fuel. Water was another difficult proposition of the early days. For five years Mr. Worrell hauled all the water for house and stock use. The distance water had to be hauled ranged from one and one-half to eleven miles, but all this has been overcome and the Worrells are now well fixed, and prepared to take life more easily than in former years. After giving each of his sons a good 160 acres of land, Mr. Worrell still has 490 acres in the home tract. He and his wife have now retired from the farm and are living on a ten- acre tract in Arnold. They have a nice home and are substantial, respected citizens of the community. They belong to the Baptist church. During all the years of his residence in Custer county, Mr. Worrell has been active and foremost in community affairs, and he has served on the school board and as road overseer for a number of years. The family are to be rated among the best people of the county.

U. GRANT BROWN .- Down in the region south of Ansley is the home place on which this splendid citizen lived his life. ap- plied his ability and energies, established his home, and finally responded to the call which removed him from the earthly sphere of action to that "undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns.'

Mr. Brown was born May 31, 1871. in In- diana. His parents were Dr. John G. and Martha ( Tucker) Brown. The father was a native of Indiana. where he was born August 10. 1840, and he was one of a family of eleven children. in all of whom were the predominat- ing traits of thrift and integrity, inherited from their worthy parents. In the fall of 1872. when U. Grant Brown was but one year old. his parents moved to Danville, Illinois. and from that place they came, in 1883, to Polk county. Nebraska, where they grazed their cattle for two years. They then contin- ned their journey to the promised land of Custer. In 1885 they settled here, securing a home in Loup township where they resided until the father's death. eight years later. Dr. Brown was one of the able and honored physi- cians of Custer county, and his services are well remembered by his contemporaries of the pioneer days. He was influential in commun- ity affairs and served two terms as county coroner.

U. Grant Brown homesteaded in 1893. be- ing a practical farmer all his life. He made

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U. GRANT BROWN

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a success of his farm developments and farm- ing activities. Like his father, he was a use- ful citizen, active in all local affairs, and supporting every enterprise that tended to up- build the community.

On Christmas day in 1895 Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Anna Fortik. a daughter of Joseph and Anna (Cline) Fortik. (See sketch of Anton Fortik.) To this union were born four children: Guy Floyd, the firstborn, is at home and operating the home farm; and Mary Ruth, Charles William, and Dorothy May are all at home. The earthly career of Mr. Brown ended on the 19th day of March, 1918, on the home place, and thus ended the career of a widely known and useful citizen.

The family are keeping the estate intact and are conducting the farming operations much as the father directed. Mr. Brown, the man who endured the hardships, who experienced the privations of pioneer life, who was dom- iciled in a sod house and called it home. has left behind him a splendid monument in the well improved place which he named Cat Creek Ranch, and upon which he himself made the fine improvements. He rendered the com- munity a good service and it might be said none could have done better for his family than did he.

He was a member of the Christian church, was independent in politics, and he served a number of years in the office of road overseer. He leaves a memory and example which are a valuable heritage to his children, who are coming on to walk in the paths he had marked for them.

ELISHA BUDD DALEY, farmer and financier, is one of the best known and most esteemed citizens of Custer county and has spent almost his entire life in Nebraska. He was born in the village of Digby. Nova Scotia, March 16, 1874. His parents were James and Marian E. (Budd) Daley, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in Nova Scotia. The grandfathers. James Daley and James Budd, were natives of Ireland and Nova Scotia, respectively. E. Budd Daley had one brother. Ernest, who died December 6. 1886. The father's vocation was farming and it was in the hope of extending his agricultural ac- tivities profitably that he brought his family to the United States and, in the spring of 1880. secured a homestead beautifully located in Dale valley. Custer county, Nebraska. This he de- veloped into a valuable property. He was one of the earliest settlers in that section and he served as postmaster of Dale Valley in 1884-5

The office was then removed to the village of Dale and Daniel Lohr became postmaster. The Catholic church still stands on the site of that village. James Daley lived in Custer county for thirty-four years to a day, his death occurring May 10, 1916. His widow survived until January 5, 1917. They were highly es- teemed people in every relation of life and were faithful members of the Presbyterian church. James Daley gave his political sup- port to the Prohibition party.

E. Budd Daley grew up on his father's farm and attended the public schools. He has al- ways been interested in farming and stock- raising and his operations in these industries are extensive. He owns 760 acres of fine land, included in which is the old family home- stead of 320 acres, and he cherishes the hope that his sons will develop like tastes and, after they have been thoroughly educated, make this old valley homestead their preferred home. In addition to his agricultural activities, Mr. Daley has prominence in the banking field and is vice-president of the Farmers' Bank of Merna.

Mr. Daley was married April 14, 1897, in Ortello Valley, this county, to Miss Eliza A. Jones, a daughter of John D. and Amelia (Ed- wards) Jones, and a granddaughter of Thomas J. Edwards. Mr. and Mrs. Daley have three children : Gladys E., who is a graduate of the Merna high school; James R., who is attend- ing school; and Elden R. Mr. and Mrs. Daley are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is a Democrat, and fra- ternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Wood- men of America.

ZACHARIAH THOSTESEN, a member of the retired colony of Broken Bow, is one of the sturdy sons of Denmark who came to this community when it was still new and here lived through the period of development. As a

farmer and stock-raiser he maintained through many years a high standard of pro- ductive industry, and now, as a retired citi- zen, he is accounted one of his community's helpful and constructive representatives in civic movements.

Mr. Thostesen was born in Denmark, May 31. 1848, a son of Ove and Barbara (Jesper- daten ) Thostesen and a grandson of Thost and Bodil Thostesen, there being nine other chil- dren in the family. He is one of five surviv- ing children. the other four being Claus, Chris- ten, Mrs. Bodil Jessen and Miss Anna M. Zachariah Thostesen, the tenth of his parents' children in order of birth, was educated in the

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public schools and remained on the home farm until he was eighteen years of age, his first money being earned by mowing grass for a neighboring farmer. In 1866 he gathered to- gether what small resources he could accumu- late, and set out alone for the United States, eventually arriving at his destination, the town of Dwight, Illinois. He had no knowledge of the English language or of the customs of the country, but he was strong, eager and willing, had no trouble in finding employment, and in- dustriously applied himself to whatever work opportunity placed in his hands, the while he gradually learned the language of his adopted land and began to make progress. By 1870 he was ready to establish a home of his own, and on April 7th of that year he married Miss Anna Miller Nielsen, daughter of Peter and Marie (Jepsen) Nielsen, and a sister of Peter Nielsen. To their union there were born six children : Ove N., who is a railroad man of Bridgeport, Nebraska, married Catherine Reeder, a daughter of Henry Reeder, and fol- lowing is given a brief record concerning their children : Marenus B., who is a retired miner of Seattle, Washington, married Edith John- son, and they have one son and one daughter ; Barbara is the wife of John A. Meryes, a farmer twelve miles southwest of Merna, Cus- ter county, and they have one son and six daughters; Marie, is the wife of Peter A. Hartvigson, of Ephrata, Washington, and they have one son and one daughter; Florence married Frederick Cram, of Bridgeport, Ne- braska, who died in 1914, leaving a son, Wayne; and John, who is an engineer on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, living at Bridgeport, Nebraska, married Esther Swanberg, and has one daughter. The mem- bers of this family belong to the Lutheran church, and at elections Mr. Thostesen's sup- port is given to the candidates of the Repub- lican party.

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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 96

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