USA > Nebraska > Dodge County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 17
USA > Nebraska > Washington County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 17
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traced to his honorable methods, ready enterprise and unfailing courtesy. The growth and development of his business have made necessary his close application thereto, but he is not indifferent to the responsibilities of citizenship, and worthy measures meet with his approval and support. He is a republican in his political views, and he and Mrs. Kolterman are members of the Lutheran Church.
In January, 1906, Mr. Kolterman was united in marriage to Miss Christina Von Lauken, who was born at Arthur, Illinois, daughter of George Von Lauken, a native of Germany. To this union there have been born three children: Carl F., Jr., born in 1907 : Frederick, born in 1910, who are attending school ; and Herbert, born in 1918.
OLE HANSEN. A real pioneer of Dodge County, Ole Hanson, who is now retired in a comfortable home at Fremont, has known this section of Nebraska for more than half a century and has been a participant in its farm, rural and civic development.
He was born in Denmark February 23, 1849, and his father also came to America. Ole, who acquired his early education in Denmark, came to the United States in 1866 and at once located in Dodge County, Nebraska. His brother Rasmus had preceded him five years to this state. Ole was too young to enter a homestead, but pre-empted some land. He had the misfortune to have his claim "jumped" and thus failing in his first efforts to establish himself in the country he left Nebraska and spent a year as a sailor on the Great Lakes. He then returned and formally entered a homestead of eighty acres ten miles northwest of Fremont. His first home in which he lived for three years was a dugout. Later he acquired better living facilities, improved his land, put up sub- stantial buildings, and to the homestead of eighty acres added until he had 210 acres. He went through the various hardships to which the early settlers of this section of Nebraska were subjected, though the country afforded a plentiful supply of wild game and there was always enough to eat.
November 7, 1874, Mr. Hansen married Miss Hansena Anderson, a native of Denmark. She was born in 1847 and died in 1906. During their married life of over thirty years six children were born into their home : Celia Olsen, who is married and lives in Colorado; John, a farmer in Dodge County ; Edward, who lives on the homestead; Andrew, of Dodge County; Walter, who lives near Ames; and Anna Ketrina of Dodge County. Mr. Hansen married for his second wife Christina Wilson, who was born in Schleswig, Germany, but recently reunited as a Province of Denmark. She was born in 1865. In June, 1919, Mr. and Mrs. Hansen left their home farm and moved into Fremont, where they enjoy the comforts of a good home. Mr. Hansen is an independent voter, a member of the Lutheran Church, and during his life in the country gave much of his time to the welfare of schools and served fifteen years as school director and for twenty years occupied the office of assessor.
C. EDWARD HANSEN. Son of an old homesteader in Dodge County, C. Edward Hansen has chosen to remain identified with the community in which he was born and reared and has made himself a prominent factor in the agricultural and stock raising activities of Maple Township. He has a well ordered and systematized farm in section 26, and besides the daily routine of duties on the farm he has interested himself in church, schools and other local interests.
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Mr. Hansen was born in Dodge County November 19, 1878. The facts of the family history are detailed in the preceding sketch.
Mr. Hansen grew up on his father's homestead, made the best possi- ble use of his advantages in the schools, and for about twenty-five years has been working steadily towards independence as a farm owner and citizen. He gives much attention to fine stock, particularly thoroughbred hogs of the Duroc and Poland China strains.
October 18, 1911, he married Mary M. Harms. They have two chil- dren, Raymond and Ruth. Mr. Hansen is a democrat in his political affiliations and has served both on the School Board and two years as township clerk. He and his family are members of the Danish Lutheran Church.
R. J. MURDOCH, M. D. A prominent citizen of Blair, and one of the foremost physicians and surgeons of Washington County, R. J. Mur- doch, M. D., is actively engaged in the practice of one of the most exacting professions to which a man may devote his time and talents, and is meeting with unquestioned success. A native of Canada, he was born January 8, 1870, in Lanark County, of honored Scotch ancestry, his Grandfather Murdoch, a man of culture and a native of Scotland, having been sent by the British government to Canada at an early day to superintend the Canadian schools.
James Murdoch, the doctor's father, spent his entire life in Canada, during his active career having been a tiller of the soil. To him and his wife, whose name before marriage was Elizabeth Moffatt, were born three children, as follows: Edith, wife of C. A. Wilson of Kelowna, Canada ; R. J., of this personal review ; and Maude, wife of John Black, a farmer residing in Kelowna, Canada. Both parents were devout mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church.
Acquiring his preliminary education in the Winnipeg Collegiate Institute, R. J. Murdoch subsequently entered the medical department of the University of Nebraska, from which he was graduated in 1898, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Locating immediately in Peters- burg, Boone County, this state, Doctor Murdoch established a good practice and remained there seven years, gaining experience, confidence and skill. In 1905, desirous of broadening his field of endeavor, he came to Blair, where he has built up a very large and lucrative patronage, and gained an enviable reputation, not only as a physician but for his judgment and skill as a surgeon.
The doctor is actively identified with various professional organiza- tions, belonging to the American Medical Association, the Nebraska State Medical Society, the Elkhorn Valley Medical Society and the Washington County Medical Association, which he has served as presi- dent. He is also a member of the County Insanity Board; is local surgeon for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company, a member of the Blair Board of Health, and during the World war served on the Board of Draft Examiners. Fraternally the doctor is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to Lodge and Chapter; of the Knights of Pythias, of the Woodmen of the World, and the Highlanders ; and both he and his wife are active members of the Order of Eastern Star.
Doctor Murdoch has been twice married. He married first, in 1898, Lela Bonine, who was born in Iowa, and died in 1916 at her home in Blair. Of the three children born of their union two are living, namely : Evelyn M., attending Doane College in Crete, Nebraska; and Louis, a
Clara OHauby
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pupil in the Blair High School. The doctor married in 1917, Ruth Palmer, who was born in Blair, a daughter of Dr. W. H. Palmer, a pio- neer physician of this place, and they have one child, Margaret. Reli- giously Mrs. Murdoch is a member of the Presbyterian Church, while the doctor belongs to the Congregational Church.
CLARK O'HANLON. Well equipped for his chosen profession, Clark O'Hanlon of Blair occupies a noteworthy position among the active and successful attorneys of Washington County, his broad knowledge of law, and his keen and lucid powers of exposition having won him an assured place in the legal world. He was born February 24, 1869, in Washington County, Nebraska, on the parental homestead, which was situated just north of the present site of Blair.
His father, Richard O'Hanlon, was born, reared and married in Washington County, Ohio. Seeking a favorable location for conducting his chosen vocation, he came to Nebraska with his wife and their grow- ing family in 1865, and for a few months was engaged in railroad work. In 1868 he took up a homestead claim in Washington County, and by dint of persistent toil improved a good farm. He subsequently bought a ranch not far from Herman and managed it successfully until 1893. His health becoming impaired, he went South, hoping to recover his former physical vigor, and died at Gueda Springs, Kansas, in 1897. He was a self-made man, having begun life even with the world, and in addition to bringing up and educating a large family of children accumulated con- siderable property, acquiring title to 280 acres of valuable land. He was a democrat in politics and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
The maiden name of the wife of Richard O'Hanlon was Sarah Joy. She was also born in Washington County, Ohio, and she died in 1904 in Hartford, Kansas. To her and her husband fourteen children were born, ten of whom are living, Clark, the fifth child in succession of birth, being the only one residing in Washington County, Nebraska. She was a con- sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but her husband was not affiliated with any religious denomination.
Spending several years of his earlier life in Iowa, Clark O'Hanlon attended the public schools of Herman, Nebraska, and the State Normal School at Shenandoah, Iowa, subsequently studying law under Col. L. W. Osburn, he was admitted to the bar in 1891 and began the practice of his profession with his former tutor. Leaving the colonel's office in 1897, Mr. O'Hanlon established himself in Blair, and has continued in active practice ever since, having built up an extensive and highly remunerative clientele. In order to give proper attention to his numerous patrons, Mr. O'Hanlon has secured a partner to assist him in his work, and now his son is to be admitted to the firmn, the firm being O'Hanlon, Maher & O'Hanlon. In 1910 Mr. O'Hanlon helped organize the Com- monwealth Life Insurance Company of Omaha, of which he has since been a director, and the general legal counsellor, positions that demand considerable of his time and attention.
Mr. O'Hanlon married, in 1893, Bertie Reed, a native of Monmouth, Illinois, and into the household thus established four children have made their advent, namely: Reed; Philip, attending the Blair High School; Luther, and Francis. Reed O'Hanlon, the eldest child, entered the army as a member of the National Guard in 1916, and as lieutenant of his company spent seven months on the border. He was afterward trans- ferred to the One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Field Artillery, in
.
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which he served as adjutant and as captain, being first stationed at Camp Cody, and later at the School of Fire in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Going overseas in September, 1918, he was commissioned major in the Seventh Division Regulars, while in France, and after the signing of the armistice he had charge of over 700 of the soldiers employed in reconstruction work, near Metz. In 1919, soon after his return home, he, having previously studied law in the University of Nebraska, was admitted to the bar, and is now associated in practice with his father.
An influential member of the democratic party, Clark O'Hanlon served as county attorney from 1895 until 1899; was mayor of Blair in 1903 and 1904; and having been elected county judge in 1908, served in that capacity until 1911, when he resigned from the bench to resume his practice, which required his whole attention. Fraternally Mr. O'Hanlon is a prominent member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to Lodge, Council, Commandery and is also a member of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and is likewise a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past grand master. Both he and his wife are members of the Congregational Church.
CHRISTIAN G. FRITZ. Having proven himself a reliable business man and worthy of favors from the Government of his adopted country, Christian G. Fritz was appointed postmaster of Hooper by President Wilson in 1913 and has held this important office ever since. He is a man well and favorably known all over Dodge and Washington coun- ties and deserves the confidence he inspires.
Christian G. Fritz was born in Germany May 13, 1869, a son of Fred- erick and Dorothy (Maier) Fritz, both natives of Germany, the former of whom was a tailor by trade. They had the following children born to them: Carl, who is a tailor of Fremont, Nebraska; Albert, who is a barber of Hooper; Ernest, who was also a barber, was killed acci- dentally; Jacob, who is a resident of Omaha, Nebraska; and Christian G., whose name heads this review.
In 1884 Mr. Fritz came to the United States and located in Dodge County, Nebraska, and for two years was engaged in farm labor. From 1886 until 1888 he was in the employ of the Plambeck grocery and crockery establishment at Fremont, and then went to Oklahoma, where he homesteaded, but relinquished same back to the Government and returned to Dodge County and conducted a barber shop at Hooper until 1905. He and a brother then turned their attention in another direction, opening a bakery and restaurant that they conducted very profitably under the name of Fritz Brothers. Mr. Fritz has also been quite exten- sively identified with the real estate operations of this neighborhood, and has handled some large transfers. In 1913 he was appointed postmaster of Hooper, and has since been in charge of the postoffice here, under his systematic conduct its affairs being in excellent condition.
In 1897 Mr. Fritz was united in marriage with Martha Nehling, born in Dodge County, a daughter of Oswald Nehling, one of the pioneers of this region. Prominent in the ranks of the democratic party, Mr. Fritz has held a number of local offices, including those of village trustee for a number of years and justice of the peace. Zion Lutheran Church of Hooper holds his membership. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Mr. Fritz is a man who has succeeded because he has never shirked hard work, or failed to give honest value in return for what was accorded
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him. Both as a business man and private citizen he measures up as an honest, dependable and capable man, and it would be difficult to find one who is more deserving of popular regard than he, for he has earned this confidence, as well as his prosperity, through his own unaided efforts.
JOHN SANDERS. With a firm and abiding faith in the ultimate reward of the homely virues of honest, diligence and unselfish loyalty to the task at hand, John Sanders has developed more than average abil- ity and justifies in every transaction the confidence placed in him. He is of a superior type of the self-reliant, clear-brained business man, and is one of the most valued buyers and salesmen of the Nye-Schneider-Fow- ler Company of Hooper.
John Sanders was born in Pennsylvania February 2, 1865, a son of Emanuel and Barbara (Capp) Sanders, natives of Pennsylvania. Emanuel Sanders was a millwright by trade, and was also engaged in farming, and he spent his entire life in Pennsylvania, where he died at the age of sixty-eight years. He and his wife had eleven children, three of them living, namely: William, who is county surveyor of Dodge County, lives at Fremont : Jacob B. owns and operates a grocery at Hooper; and John, who was the youngest born. In politics Emanuel Sanders was a republican. He and his wife belonged to the United Brethren Society.
John Sanders attended the public schools of Pennsylvania and Dodge County, Nebraska, coming to the latter in 1882, and was employed in farm work for a time. He then engaged with May Brothers, wholesale grocers of Fremont, for a short time, but returned to the farm, and con- tinued to be an agriculturist for fifteen years. During that experience he gained a thorough knowledge of grain and in 1894 decided to put this to some practical use, so became manager for Henry Roberts of Hooper, handling his grain and lumber business very acceptably for five years. Leaving Mr. Roberts, he formed connections with Nye-Schneider-Fowler and has been with this concern for nine years, devoting his attention to buying grain, livestock and similar commodities, and selling lumber and coal.
In 1892 Mr. Sanders was united in marriage with Miss Emma Ruy. sert, born in Nebraska, a daughter of William K. Ruysert, one of the homesteader's of Dodge County. Mr. Sanders is a republican, but has never sought public office, his time being too much occupied with his own affairs. He belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees and the Knights of Pythias. Possessed of admirable and effective qualities and not easily deceived in men or misled in their motives, he has been able to render his concern a valuable service and is held by it in high esteem.
WILLIAM D. HOLBROOK. The long and honorable career of William D. Holbrook, who has been a resident of Dodge County for forty-two years, has been characterized by successful achievements in the voca- tion of agriculture as well as by business success and splendid public service in offices of marked responsibility and trust. Belonging to that class of men who have watched the wonderful development of their sec- tion since they themselves initiated the forward movement by breaking the sod of the prairies, he has combined his activities for personal advancement with conscientious and able labor in behalf of his adopted county and state and has served in both bodies of the Nebraska Legis- lature, in addition to having been a justice of the peace for thirty-two years.
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Mr. Holbrook was born April 17, 1850, on a farm in Sullivan County, Missouri, a son of William N. and Mary (Osborn) Holbrook, natives of Virginia. His father was educated for the law in his native state, whence he went to Indiana and subsequently to Missouri. He became a practitioner of some reputation and at one time was district judge of Sullivan County, in addition to which he served as county superintendent at Milan, Sullivan County, in which community he was the owner of valuable land. He was a Mason, fraternally, and he and his worthy wife held membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. They were the parents of ten children, of whom two are living: Nancy, the wife of Charles Kingsolver, a retired citizen of York, Nebraska ; and William D.
William D. Holbrook was educated in the public schools of Missouri and was still a youth when, in 1863, he went to Illinois and became a farm hand. His opportunities for advancement were few, and it was not until he came to Dodge County, in 1878, that he really entered upon his career. In March of that year he rented a property in section 6, Maple Township, and broke the virgin sod of the prairie. Later he pur- chased the land, and at this time is the owner of a finely-improved farm of 160 acres, which boasts of the most modern equipment and improve- ments. He has been a general farmer who has kept thoroughly abreast of the times and modern methods have always been a feature of his work. Although primarily an agriculturist, Mr. Holbrook has not allowed opportunities of a business character to pass unnoticed. He assisted in the drafting of the constitution and by-laws of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Dodge County, in which he held policy No. 1, and at this time is a stockholder in the Farmers Union Elevator of Hooper and Ames, and in the Farmers Telephone Company of Hooper.
From early manhood Mr. Holbrook has been interestedly active in politics and has been a stanch and unwavering republican. After filling several minor offices, in 1895 his fellow-citizens sent him to a seat in the State Senate, and in 1897 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives. He was returned to the former body in 1899, and was again elected in 1907. His service in the Legislature was constructive and valuable, and in addition to being the father of some very useful legislation he was always found supporting movements making for the betterment of his county and state and tending to advance the interests of his constituents in an honorable way. He has likewise served as a member of constitutional conventions of 1919 and 1920, and for thirty- two consecutive years has been a justice of the peace. His religious con- nection is with the United Brethren Church.
Mr. Holbrook was married in 1875 to Miss Adda R. Mahan, a native of Ohio, the ceremony being performed in Illinois. They have been the parents of five children : Myrtle, the wife of W. A. Hough, an agriculturist of Dodge County ; Mabel, deceased, was the wife of Arthur Bowring, a ranchman of Cherry County, this state; Edith, the wife of D. F. Head, a Dodge County farmer; Frank, a chiropractor of Sheri- dan, Wyoming; and Ethel, the wife of C. O. Hull, connected with the Hooper Milling Company.
H. O. L. OLLERMANN. A resident of Blair since September, 1881, and consecutively identified for nearly forty years with the jewelry busi- ness in the county seat of Washington County, Mr. Ollermann repre- sents a pioneer family in Dodge and Washington counties. Apart from their substantial enterprise as homesteaders, business, men and citizens,
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the Ollermanns, particularly with the older settlers, are widely known all over this section of Nebraska on account of their musical gifts and abilities. The Blair merchant was for many years prominent in all musical events in his home city.
Mr. Ollermann was born in the Province of Pomerania, Prussia, Germany, January 5, 1855, son of Franz and Othelia (Krahn) Ollermann. His father was a thoroughly educated musician and gave his son the benefit of musical instruction in Germany. The father at one time was a traveling musician with a concert band and spent one season with a circus band. By trade he was a tailor.
The Ollermann family came to America and settled in Dodge County, Nebraska, in 1869. They took up their residence on a homestead two and a half miles from Snyder in section 32, township 20, range 6. The mother lived on the homestead until her death, while Franz Ollermann died at Scribner. They were devout Lutherans, and the father followed the fortunes of the democratic party in politics. There were six children, two daughters and four sons. The three now living are: Gustav, a farmer near St. Charles, South Dakota; H. O. L .; and Anna, wife of Carl Barz, owner of extensive plantation interests and a banker at Morganza, Louisiana.
H. O. L. Ollermann learned to. play the violin when a child and at the age of nine played for a wedding in his native country. He was twelve when he came to America and settled on the homestead in Nebraska. He and his three brothers and their father comprised a family orchestra that forty years or more ago was in constant demand to play at all the dances in Fremont and adjacent towns. They were musicians of sound taste as well as skill in the use of their respective instruments.
After his removal to Blair H. O. L. Ollermann organized a band and for a number of years played both in the band and orchestra. On locating at Blair in September, 1881, he took charge of the jewelry department of the local drug store. He had learned the jeweler's trade in Fremont, and he was actively identified with the jewelry business at Blair until September, 1911, when he opened a jewelry store of his own. He now conducts the leading establishment of its kind in the county seat, carries a large and well selected stock of jewelry of all kinds, and also does repair work. He keeps two people employed in the business.
In 1880 at David City, Nebraska, Mr. Öllermann married Hattie S. Woodruff, a native of Hartford, Connecticut. Four children were born to their marriage: Parker, who served in the United States navy for five years and is now at home assisting his father in business; Agnes, a teacher in the schools of Weeping Water, Nebraska ; Hermine, at home ; and Frederick, still attending school at Lincoln, taking the agricultural course and in his senior year.
Mr. Ollermann attends the Lutheran Church while his wife is a Universalist. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, casts his vote independently, and is a citizen who has given close attention to business but incidentally has exercised a good influence on the community and achieved the thorough respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
ULYSSES S. CAIN. A man of good business ability, possessing in a large measure the energy, intelligence and tact necessary for the successful conduct of his chosen work, Ulysses S. Cain of Fremont has built up a large and profitable business as agent for the Central Life Insurance Company of Des Moines, Iowa. A native of Iowa, he was born August 28, 1868, in Brooklyn, Poweshiek County.
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Milligan J. Cain, his father, was born and educated in Ohio, from whence he migrated in early manhood to Iowa, where he first found employment in a tailoring shop. He married soon after going there, and at the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted in Company K, Thirty-Ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, of which he was commissioned first lieutenant. Returning to Brooklyn, Iowa, at the end of the conflict, he opened a general store and meat market, but later moved to a farm lying east of Brooklyn, and was there engaged in agricultural pursuits for twenty years. He lived to a good old age, dying in Brooklyn, Iowa, in 1913. He was a republican in politics, and soon after the formation of the Union Labor party ran on that ticket for governor of Iowa, but, naturally, the party being new, was defeated at the polls. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and for forty years belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
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