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 97

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 97

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Following his marriage, Mr. Thostesen continued to follow farming in Illinois, with a measure of success, until 1883, when he came to Custer county, and on September 28th of that year he located on Cliff Table, twenty- four miles west of Broken Bow, this being a pre-emption claim. After proving up, he took: a homestead, on which he resided from 1884 until 1900, in which latter year he retired from active pursuits and moved to Broken Bow. where he now has what is considered one of the most beautiful homes of the county seat. He is still the owner of his old pre-emption claim on Cliff Table, a tract of 160 acres of valuable and highly cultivated land which is being operated by a renter.

JOHN TALLIN. - The blood originated in Sweden, but its exhibition of thrift was transferred to America, and in the regions south of Arnold, on the famous Tallin Table, it has been demonstrated that Scandinavian thrift makes good in the middle west of the great American republic.

Mr. Tallin's native land was Sweden, in which country he was born October 15, 1852. His parents Peter, and Carrie (Erickson) Tallin, were of long Scandinavian lineage, and they came to the United States in 1868, when their son John was sixteen years of age. Their first residence was in Burlington, Iowa, where one year later the father died, leaving the mother with four children, of whom John was the eldest, the others being Alec, Peter, and Louis. After the death of his father, much responsibility fell upon the shoulders of John Tallin. The family must be supported, and accordingly he applied himself. His first money was made by trapping or snaring wild turkeys. In the paths of the wooded section he placed the snares, arranging brush on either side, so that the fowls had to confine their meandering to the path which lead them over the traps or into the snares. This was very profitable. He worked the farm in the sum- mer time and put in the winter cutting cord wood. In 1870 the lure of the west got the better of him, and he and the rest of the fam- ily came to Nebraska, settling in Burt county, on rented land. By this time his younger brother was able to assist in the farming op- erations, and things went fairly well. All the family necessities were obtained and the foundations of thrift and energy were deep laid in the character of young John. Four years later, in Omaha, he took unto himself a wife, by his marriage with Ida S. Nelson, a daughter of Peter and Caroline Nelson, both of whom were of Swedish extraction. With the establishment of their own home, Mr. and Mrs. Tallin began the earnest and well di- rected efforts that resulted in the accumula- tions of the present time. Their home was blessed with two children - Carrie is the wife of Robert Blackburn, a farmer living near Armode, Washington, and they have three children ; Mabel is the wife of Axel Nordland, a farmer living in Alberta, Canada, and they have two children.

Mr. and Mrs. Tallin became residents of Custer county in the spring of 1884, when they became the first settlers on the table which now bears their name, twelve miles south of Arnold, and here Mr. Tallin has been a pio- neer resident since that day. The shadows sometimes fell upon the home. In April,

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1885, Mrs. Tallin was called to the life eter- nal, leaving her husband with two small chil- dren. His mother came to his aid and for a time made her home with him, caring for the little girls. August 3, 1892, Mr. Tallin mar- ried Miss Minnie Nelson, a daughter of Lar- son and Carrie (Johnson ) Nelson, and since that time this good lady has presided over the destiny of affairs and made for him a splendid home. He farms a half-section of land and conducts a general stock-raising industry in connection with his agricultural pursuits. From these operations he has been enabled to equip the farm with splendid improvements and contribute to all the calls of the war-time days through which all have so lately passed. He and his wife are favorably known and highly rated in the community. Their relig- ious affiliations are with the Swedish mission of their locality. America, with her oppor- tunities and boundless resources, is indebted to northern Europe for many such stalwart citizens as Mr. Tallin.

LYMAN PIERCE. - Down in the Arnold region, where farming and stock-raising con- stitute the chief industry, lives the subject of this sketch, Lyman Pierce, who operates a splendid farm and holds precedence as a suc- cessful agriculturist and stock-raiser.

Mr. Pierce was born March 12, 1865, in Crawford county, Wisconsin, and is a son of Samuel and Lucinda (Smith) Pierce, the father a native of Massachusetts and the mother of Illinois. In the father's family were three children, the other two being Ada ( deceased) and Helen Wells. The mother died April 5, 1887, and the father later con- tracted a second marriage, when he wedded Adaline Lathrop. Of this union were born six sons and one daughter.

The youthful years of Lyman Pierce were spent on the home farm in Wisconsin where he assisted in the arduous task of cutting tim- ber from the farm and thus clearing up the land so that it could be cultivated. It was here that he received his education in the country schools, and to this preliminary disci- pline he has constantly been adding, by exten- sive and well directed reading. He made his first appearance in Custer county in 1882. He remained two years, and then went to LaSalle county, Illinois. In 1887 he returned to Cus- ter county, and here he located ten miles southeast of Arnold, where he has lived ever since. His wedded life dates from Novem- ber 30, 1893, when at Gothenburg, Nebraska, he led to the marriage altar Miss Ada Hans- berry, a gracious and popular young lady of

Pawnee county. Mrs. Pierce is a daughter of Albert and Mary ( Hainning ) Hansberry. In her father's family were six children - Mary Pierce, William, Olo Tabor, Charles, Lemuel, and Ray.

Immediately following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pierce established a home which in many ways has been ideal. Into the family circle the years have brought two sons, L. Loyd, who is now farming for himself. He married Edna Gion, and they have one daugh- ter, Signa Doris, who, in addition to her high- school education, has had a two years' course in the Grand Island Business College. The younger son, A. Hugh, an eligible young bach- elor, lives at home and farms on his father's place. Mr. Pierce has 960 acres of good land to show for his work in Custer county. This is splendidly improved and well stocked. He has a fine home and his farm is well equipped for profitable operations. All that he has ac- cumulated represents the result of toil and splendid judgment.

Recalling the early days, Mr. Pierce states that his first money was made by catching cat- fish in the Kickapoo river and selling the same for ten cents apiece. At the time they were caught, the fish weighed from six to ten pounds each. What they weigh now depends upon the dimensions of the fish in the story Mr. Pierce has to match. Mr. Pierce has long been regarded as one of the prominent, sub- stantial farmers of his community. He has made a decided success of his chosen occupa- tion and in a social way enjoys the confidence of a large circle of friends and neighbors. His political affiliations are with the Republican party, and he is a man well informed in cur- rent events, and thinks for himself.

ALVIN M. SCHUDER. - One of the prosperous and busy men of Sargent. Ne- braska, is Alvin M. Schuder, carpenter and builder, who has resided here for thirty years and has watched and helped in the develop- ment of this bustling town from a grain field to its present proportions and varied inter- ests. He was born September 28, 1856, in Marshall county, Indiana, and is one of four children born to his parents, Simon B. and Margaret B. ( Als ) Schuder.

Simon B. Schuder was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, and in early manhood moved to Indiana, where he was engaged in farming when the Civil war broke out. In response to President Lincoln's first call, he enlisted in Company E. Seventy-fourth Indiana Volun- teers, and during his first terin of service he was with the armies of Grant and Rosecrans.

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

He re-enlisted. and continued a brave and courageous soldier in the ranks until just be- fore the end of the war, being wounded and incapacitated in one of the last battles, and he was honorably discharged. Despite the hard- ships of military life, the exposure and the wounding, he recovered his normal health, and to-day, when eighty-five years old, is an ex- ample of vigorous old age. After the war he resumed work at the carpenter trade, which he had previously followed in connection with farming, but later he removed to a farm in Indiana and lived there until he retired. He now resides in Columbia City, Indiana. For his first wife he married Margaret B. Alms. who was born in Pennsylvania, and who died in 1865. They had the following children : Alvin M., whose name initiates this sketch : William H., who is deceased ; and Minnie M. and Susannah E., both of whom live at joliet. Illinois. During early manhood the father of Mr. Schuder was a Democrat, but the issues of the Civil war changed his opinions and he became a staunch Republican. He is a mem- ber of the Church of God, and the mother of Mr. Schuder belonged to the Methodist Epis- copal church.

Alvin M. Schuder had fair school advan- tages in his youth and had both farm and mechanical training in his native state. In September. 1884 he came to Custer county, driving over the country from Greenwood, Nebraska, to Broken Bow. He pre-empted a half-section of land north of West Union, and also secured a timber claim. Through all the hardships of pioneer times, he preserved his holdings, and several years ago he disposed of his half-section to great advantage. When he recalls Sargent's beginnings, he remembers the waving grain that once covered its site. The land was owned by E. P. Savadge and J. W. Thomas, the latter of whom is a banker in Omaha. In the early days Mr. Schuder was engaged in freighting quite extensively, and before the railroad reached this section he car- ried freight, with more or less danger, to al- most all the surrounding towns. His remi- niscences of those days are full of interest, and prove how rapid and substantial may be the growth of a community when practical and enterprising men take sufficient interest. In Custer county Mr. Schuder has done a large amount of carpentering and building that stand to his credit, and he still keeps active in his chosen vocation. In politics he is a Democrat. He is not married.

HENRY TIETJENS. - Ever and again the American citizen must take off his hat to

the thrift and prosperity of the foreign-born. Written above is the name of a prosperous and substantial farmer in whose veins flows the blood of frugal German parents and who himself was born in the German empire, so that his discovery of America, as well as his residence here, was an act of his own volition.

Mr. Tietjens was born July 18, 1848, and is a son of Henry and Anna A. (Hoelweig) Tietjens, representatives of long lines of ster- ling German ancestry. Henry Tietjens is the eldest in a family of four children, the others being Rebecca, Andrew, and Jacob. In ad- dition, Mr. Tietjens had two step-brothers and two step-sisters. His father was a farmer and hotel keeper in Germany.

The first eighteen years of the life of Henry Tietjens were spent in Germany, where he received a creditable education and earned his first money as messenger boy, running er- rands for the guests in his father's hotel. When he was eighteen years of age, the call of America brought him to this country, and from the seaboard he made his way di- rect to Holt county, Missouri, where he worked for two years on a farm. Then he came to Nebraska and settled in Madison county. In this county, on December 10, 1876. he married Miss Catherine Peck, who was born in Iowa, a daughter of George and Anna (Ruck) Peck, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. In the Peck fam- ily were four children: John. Scott, Earl, and Catherine. The members of this family be- long to the Lutheran church.

The family history of Mr. and Mrs. Tiet- jens, as connected with their own home circle, give the following record of their children: George, who is a plumber living at Bow, Washington, married Lizzie String, and thev have three sons and one daughter. Anna is the wife of Moses Irvin, who runs a restaur- ant at Arnold, and they have one child. Nanna, who married Roy Nansel, and has since been divorced, has one child, a little daughter named Vera. Jacob is a bachelor and lives at home with his parents. Lenore is the wife of Charles Woodward, who is in the navy, and located at Norfolk, Virginia, at the time of this writing. Mr. Woodward was formerly on submarine carrier and went around the world with the Roosevelt fleet. Scott is at Camp Funston, in Company H. Twentieth Infantry.

Mr. and Mrs. Tietjens located in Custer county in 1889. Their first home was in Merna, where they conducted a hotel about two years. Then they located eight miles southeast of Arnold. Mr. Tietjens now owns 1.680 acres of good land and is rated as one of the prosperous ranchmen of the county. He

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has made good and is well and favorably known among the people of the community. Always ready to assist any worthy enterprise, . he has contributed to the betterment of the community in which he lives. Politically he affiliates with the Republican party, believing that it represents the principles of a common democracy in which the burden of government rests upon the intelligent voter.

DORCAS HOGUE LEO. - Here follows the story of a woman who has had a remark- able career; who has experienced the hard- ships and privations of pioneer days ; who, as the mother of a large family of children, has done well her part in the years that have passed ; and who has contributed largely to the present-day development of the county's resources. Hers has been an active and use- ful life.

Mrs. Leo was born August 4, 1860, in Pike county, Missouri. She was the last born of the children of Andrew and Jane (Wilkison) Hogne, both of whom were native Kentuck- ians. Aside from herself, the children of these parents were: Hardin, and Susan, both of whom are deceased ; Shannon A. ; and Alice Kruser. In his younger days, Andrew Hogue, the father, lived in Clarksville, Missouri, where he had a small grocery store. When Mrs. Leo was nine years old her parents moved to Lincoln county, Missouri, where her father engaged in farming and where her mother died, leaving Mrs. Leo motherless at the age of twelve years. Later her father married Mrs. Jennie Nally Blackmore. To this union three children were born : Myrtle King, Zella M. (deceased), and Andrew J. Mrs. Leo received a common-school education and after experiencing the common lot of young wommanhood in the rural districts of those days, she was united in marriage, in her twenty-first year, at Ellensburg, Missouri, to Henry W. Leo. Mr. Leo was born in Ger- many, coming of sturdy German ancestry. He was a member of a large family, in which there were fourteen children. He came to America when twenty-one years of age and located in a small town in Indiana, where he opened a blacksmith shop and worked at the trade for several years. With his wife he came to Custer county in 1885 and located southeast of Arnold, on the South Loup river, where he and his young wife had their first induction into pioneer experiences. Selling his relinquishment, they moved to Dale, a little town in Ortello valley and there Mr. Leo built a sod blacksmith shop and again worked at his trade. Later when the principal business

interests of Dale moved to the new town of Merna, Mr. Leo re-established his shop in the new town and here the family home has been maintained for twenty-five years.

Mr. and Mrs. Leo became the parents of eleven children, nine of whom are still living. Rollie F. is the eldest. Stella A. is the widow of Charles Grissom, who was an employe of the Standard Oil Company, at Wood River, Illinois, at the time of his demise, which oc- curred December 16, 1916. He is survived by his wife and two children - Leo, twelve years of age, and Lillian, nine years old. Russell A. married Leona Cash, who lived only a few months thereafter. He is a farmer near Gary, South Dakota. Joseph A. was a ser- geant in Company M, Fifth Regiment Ne- braska National Guard, and died at Grand Is- land, this state, July 2, 1917. Mary F. is de- ceased. Wilhelmina is the wife of Lawrence Welton, superintendent of the Standard Oil Company's refinery at Casper, Wyoming Ilelen is single. Theresa is the wife of Walter Shoemaker, and they reside at Lincoln, Ne- braska. They have one daughter, Deetta, eight years old. Henry A. is single and works on a farm near Arnold. Bernard A. also is single and an Arnold farmer. George M. is a student in the Arnold high school. Mrs. Stella Grissom and Miss Helen Leo, daughters of Mrs. Leo, are operating an up-to-date eating establishment in the town of Arnold and their mother, who is an adept in that line, has charge of the culinary department. Mrs. Leo comes from a family who were connected with the Baptist church. Her husband was a Catholic and accordingly her children incline to the faith of that church.

WILLIS M. STEBBINS not only owns a large body of valuable and well improved land in Custer county but is also a leading business man at Gothenburg, Dawson county, and has been prominently identified with pub- lic affairs in the latter county. He was born near Wattsburg, Pennsylvania, on the 20th of January, 1863, and is a son of John C. and Polly J. (Swatland) Stebbins, the former a native of Yates county, New York, and the latter of Chautauqua county, that state, the parents having returned from Pennsylvania to Chautauqua county. New York, when the sub- ject of this review was but six months old. On the maternal side Willis M. Stebbins is a grandson of Silas and Abigail (Rose) Swatland, natives respectively of Connecticut and Vermont. Mr. Stebbins has three brothers - Monroe D., Laverne G., and Virgil A.

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Willis M. Stebbins completed his education in Sherman Academy, at Sherman, New York, and practically his start in life may be dated from 1884, when he came to Nebraska and took a homestead claim near Farnam. Dawson county. He proved up on this claim, and in 1889 he moved to Gothenburg, where he engaged in business, which has since been expanded to include dealing in hardware, agricultural implements and real estate. For many years he has owned section 9, township 64, range 25, Custer county, and he is very proud of this land, because of its fine loca- tion, remarkable fertility, and superior im- provements.

Mr. Stebbins was married January 1, 1891. in Hastings, Nebraska, to Miss Avis W. Wil- cox, who was born at Albany, New York, a daughter of Schuyler C. and Olivia H. (Cheeney) Wilcox. Mr. and Mrs. Stebbins became the parents of five children: Verna A. is the wife of Professor Arthur Greenslit, superintendent of schools of Baxter, Iowa, and they have one daughter, Kathryn; Guy L. died September 15, 1914; Willis Earl served eight months at Llana Grande, Texas, on the Mexican border, as a member of Com . pany L, of Gothenburg, and after his com- pany was called into the service of the United States, July 15, 1917, he was made mess ser- geant : as a soldier in the national army pre- paring for foreign service, Willis L. Stebbins, on February 8, 1918, entered the aviation · school at Austin, Texas, and in August, 1918, he was commissioned second lieutenant pilot : Alice I. and Virge W. remain at the parental home and are attending school.

When Mr. Stebbins came to Dawson county he not only showed an interest in forwarding his own enterprises, but immediately identi- led himself also with public affairs, as be- comes a progressive citizen, this attitude soon winning to him the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, which he has never lost. He has been prominent in civic matters at Gothenburg and has contributed time and money to make this a business center and a desirable residence location. In 1911 he was elected to represent Dawson county in the state legislature, his public services meeting with such approval on the part of his consti- tuency that he was returned in 1913 and again in 1915. He has always been identified with the Republican party. Mr. Stebbins is well known in Masonic circles in the state, has at- tained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. With his family he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and at all times he has been liberal in his charities.

MERLE M. RUNYAN, deputy clerk of the district court of Custer county, has the distinction of having been the first white child born at Mason City, this county, which accounts for his middle name being Mason. He is one of the energetic and progressive young men of his locality, is a lawyer by pro- fession and for several years has been prom- inent in public affairs. During the time that he has thus been before the people he has con- ducted himself in a way that has won him uni- forni esteem and confidence.

Mr. Runyan was born at Mason City, Ne- braska, May 23, 1886, and is a son of George and Medora H. (Amsberry) Runyan. George Runyan located at Mason City in 1878, being the first postmaster of that village, and for some years he was prominent in its mercan- tile affairs and in the agricultural life of the community. He became successful as farmer and accumulated a substantial prop- erty. He is now living retired from active af- fairs, his home being situated at Broken Bow. He is a stanch Democrat in politics, and he and his wife are consistent members of the Baptist church. They are the parents of seven children: Ira G., Mrs. Ada Watson, William A., Glenn E., Mrs. Blanche Rumery, Merle Mason, and James W.

The early education of Merle M. Runyan was secured in the public schools of Mason City, and when he was not employed at his studies he assisted his father, while at times he worked out among the neighbors, besides earning odd sums by selling roasting ears of corn to the people of the surrounding villages. He completed his course at the Mason City high school in 1906, following which he went to the Grand Island Baptist College, where he completed the curriculum of five years. Returning to his home, he was engaged for a time in the real-estate business, and while thus occupied he became interested in the law - first in order that it might assist him in his business ventures and later that it might serve as his profession. For nearly four years he studied in the office of N. Dwight Ford, a well known Mason City attorney, and after duly passing the examination he was admitted to the Nebraska bar in 1915. He had already settled down to practice, however, when, in 1915, he was appointed deputy county clerk of Custer county and moved to Broken Bow to assume his duties of office. So capably were these discharged that he made a distinctly favorable impression upon the minds of the people, and in 1918 he was appointed deputy clerk of the district court of Custer county, a position which he still retains. Mr. Run- yan has been conscientious in handling the re-

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sponsibilities of his position and all matters coming before him have been treated in a thorough, able and expenditious manner. He is one of the influential members of the Demo- cratic party in Custer county, but is popular with those of other political belief, and has many warm friends in both large parties.

On November 26, 1913, at Broken Bow, Mr. Runyan was united in marriage to Miss Grace Duke, a daughter of Charles W. Duke, and to this union there have been born two sons - Byron D., and Howard G.

JOHN CAMERON, who for thirty years has been a resident of Custer county, resides on his farm near Callaway and is well known throughout the county, having taught school for eight years, in different neighborhoods, and having done his part in furthering the various developing agencies that have changed a sparsely settled wilderness into a wealthy, prosperous, and intelligent community. John Cameron was born at Wellsville, Ohio, De- cember 25, 1869. On the paternal side he is of Scotch ancestry, his father, David Cameron, having been a native of Scotland. After com- ing to the United States and locating in Ohio, David Cameron married Elizabeth Figgins, a native of that state, and of their eight children the survivors are the following: Simon D., David F., John, and William. The parents were members of the Presbyterian church.

John Cameron was reared in Ohio. was well educated in the public schools and was variously employed until he was nineteen years old, when he came to Nebraska, to which state many young men in the east were turn- ing their eyes at that time. for here land was to be easily secured and great rewards were offered for thrift and industry. When Mr. Cameron came to Custer county he bought 160 acres of land adjoining the Brighton ranch on the north, and set about it develop- ment. But he lacked the experience that would probably have made his venture profit- able, and after three years of effort he sold his land. His next purchase was more care- fully made and consisted of 160 acres about six miles southeast of Callaway. When he bought this land. in 1891, there was not a tree to be seen on the place. and Mr. Cameron has done a wonderful amount of improving, his comfortable bachelor home being now sur- rounded by orchards and shade trees.

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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 97

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