USA > Nebraska > Dodge County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 2
USA > Nebraska > Washington County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 2
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After making his preliminary improvements on his Nebraska home- stead Mr. Eaton returned to New Hampshire and on September 10, 1868, married Miss Francena J. Sawyer. They lived happily together for more than half a century. Mrs. Eaton was born November 4, 1845, in the Town of Lee, New Hampshire, daughter of Jefferson and Eliza- beth Sawyer. Her parents were of Puritan ancestry and lifelong mem-
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bers of the Free Will Baptist Church. Francena Sawyer inherited strength of New England character and met all the tests of true woman- hood during her early life in New England and later among the pioneer circumstances of Nebraska. She attended the public schools, the Walnut Grove School of her native town and the Framingham, Massachusetts, Normal, where she graduated, and for several years she was a teacher at Walnut Grove in her native state and at Westboro and Charlestown in Massachusetts.
Mrs. Eaton as a bride was introduced to the pioneer environment of Eastern Nebraska, and her first years in the state were marked by much solitude and unavoidable privation. But she never lost the inbred refine- ment and culture acquired during early womanhood, and she made her home and her life a source of radiating influence over an entire com- munity. She was unceasing in devotion to duty, a helpful friend and neighbor and a conspicuous exemplar of Christian faith and fortitude. Hers was a life of service, but it was also generously rewarded and enriched with the essentials of human happiness. Her last years were spent in a beautiful home which she and Mr. Eaton and their daughter planned and which was complete with every comfort and appointment. When she first came to Nebraska she united with the Centerville Con- gregational Church, and later with her family became active in the First Congregational Church at Fremont. After a life of seventy-four years five months and two days she died April 6, 1920, and she was buried from the First Congregational Church at Fremont. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton had one child, Gertrude Francena, who received most of her early advantages at home and from her mother, and subsequently graduated from the South High School of Minneapolis and from Wellesley College.
WILLIAM REALPH. A skillful and progressive farmer of Dodge County, William Realph has had an extended practical experience in everything relating to agriculture, and is considered an authority on the various branches of this highly important industry. He was born October 19, 1870, in Dodge County, Nebraska, the son of John Realph, one of the sturdy pioneers of this section of the country.
Born and bred in Ireland, John Realph left the Emerald Isle in early life, making his way to the United States, which was known across the ocean as the land of plenty, and for a time was variously employed, work- ing industriously to support his wife and children. In 1870 he came by train as far west as Omaha, Nebraska, and from there, looking for a tract of good land, he walked into Dodge County, and having homesteaded eighty acres of land installed his family in a dugout and began the improvement of his newly acquired property. The country roundabout was in its primitive condition, and the wily red man was everywhere evi- dent, while wild beasts roamed at will. Although somewhat hampered by the lack of cash, he labored with indomitable perseverance and not only improved a valuable homestead, but contributed his full share in advancing the growth and prosperity of the community in which he lived. His wife, Mrs. Bridget Realph, died on the old homestead at the ripe old age of fourscore years. He is still living, making his home with a daughter in Custer County, this state.
The fourth child in order of birth in a family of eight children, William Realph was brought up in pioneer days, and well remembers when Indians were numerous, and generally peaceful. Beginning life for himself at the age of twenty years, he selected the occupation with which he was the most familiar as his life work, and has since been
MR. AND MRS. HENRY PANNING
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actively engaged in general farming and stock raising and feeding, finding both pleasure and profit in his labors. His land, advantageously situated on section 30, Logan Township, is under an excellent state of culture, the buildings are in good repair, the farm well stocked, and everything about the place bespeaks the ability, industry and wise supervision of the owner. He also owns a half section of land in Colorado, near Julesburg. Mr. Realph is a good democrat in politics and religiously is not connected with any church organization.
Mr. Realph married in 1895 Christina Larson, and into their pleasant home eight children have made their advent, namely: Mrs. Julia Bullock of Julesburg, Colorado; Harvey, Bryant, Edward, John, Mabel, Floyd and Norman, all of whom are at home with the exception of Mrs. Bul- lock. Harvey Realph, the eldest son, was drafted during the World war, going into the Three Hundred and Fifty-Fifth Infantry, Company A, Eighty-Ninth Division, and during the year he spent overseas took part in various battles of note, including the engagements at St. Mihiel, on the Meuse, and in the Argonne Forest. Returning home after the signing of the armistice, he was discharged at Camp Funston in 1919.
HENRY PANNING of Winslow, now retired, belongs to the real pioneer element of Dodge County, coming here when he was twenty years of age, and for half a century contributing an important share in the labors by which this wilderness region was reconstructed and made into a won- derful landscape of valuable farms and homes.
He was born April 15, 1844, in Hanover, Germany, and was eight years of age when in October, 1852, with his parents he reached the United States. His parents, Henry and Margaret (Wolf) Panning, located at Watertown, Wisconsin, but left there in 1864 and with wagons and ox teams crossed the country beyond the Missouri to Nebraska. Henry Panning, Sr., paid $1,200 for 360 acres of land partly improved, including a small house. At that time any amount of land was still open for homestead settlement, but he preferred this and was willing to pay a larger price for just what he wanted. On that farm he and his wife lived out the rest of their years, she dying at the age of fifty-eight and he at sixty-seven. Henry Panning early took his sons, Henry and Frederick, into partnership with him, and their holdings increased to about 1,000 acres, were kept intact until after the death of Henry Panning, Sr., when the land was divided.
Henry Panning, Jr., acquired most of his education after coming to this country and in the State of Wisconsin. He was just twenty when he came to Nebraska and many of his youthful years were devoted to the clearing up and improvement of the land in the community where the family settled. He was very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, and continued his work in the rural district until 1916 when he turned the management of his farm over to his sons and then built his present home in Winslow and retired. He is one of the men of property in Dodge County, is a stockholder in both the Winslow State Bank and the Hooper Telephone Company, and has always assumed his share of duties and obligations in the community welfare. He is a stanch demo- crat and both he and his wife are valued members of the Lutheran Church at Winslow.
Mr. Panning married Miss Meta Meyer, who was born in Olden- burg, Germany. Eleven children were born to their union, six dying young. Those to grow up were: Mary, wife of J. G. Berght, a farmer in Wayne County, Nebraska ; Louise, wife of Henry Kuss, man-
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ager of the Nebraska & Iowa Grain Elevator at Winslow, whose indi- vidual career is sketched elsewhere; Anna, wife of Paul Schmidt, man- ager of an elevator at Thayer, Nebraska ; Frederick G. and Gustave C., each of whom receives individual mention in this publication.
FREDERICK G. PANNING. Thoroughly acquainted with the art and science of agriculture carried on by the present-day methods, Frederick G. Panning, owner of a valuable farm in Hooper Township, occupies a noteworthy position among the active and thriving farmers of Dodge County, his diligent toil and good management having won him an assured success. He is a son of Henry Panning of Winslow, and an account of this pioneer family of Dodge County is presented more in detail elsewhere in this publication.
Mr. Panning was born in Dodge County February 14, 1874, acquired his education in the local public schools, and the Fremont Normal School, and worked for his father until reaching his majority. Not liking farm life well enough to continue it, he entered merchandising, and operated a general store at Altona, Nebraska, for sixteen years. Afterwards he was cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Altona four years. On account of ill health disposing of his interests in that locality Mr. Pan- ning in 1912 returned to Dodge County, and has since resumed his early occupation and is prosperously engaged in agricultural pursuits, includ- ing general farming and stock raising. He possesses marked business and financial ability, and is now serving as vice president of the Farmers State Bank of Winslow, in which he is a stockholder, also stockholder in the Hooper Mill, and is secretary and a director of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company.
Mr. Panning married in 1909 Miss Emma Pflueger, a native of Wayne County, Nebraska. The seven children born to their marriage are: Victor, Leona, Theodore, Arthur, Esther, Ruth and Ervin. In politics Mr. Panning is a straightforward republican and religiously he and his wife are valued members of the Lutheran Church.
RAY HINDMARSH. Actively engaged in the prosecution of one of the most independent and important industries to which a man may devote his time and energies, the wealth of the nation depending largely upon the success of the farmer, Ray Hindmarsh is successfully employed in his chosen calling on section 19, Elkhorn Township. A native of Dodge County, he was born in Dodge, May 12, 1896, of English ancestry.
His father, Adam Hindmarsh, was born, bred and educated in New- castle, England. Desirous in early manhood of trying the hazard of new fortunes, he immigrated to the United States, and for awhile resided in Illinois. Coming from there to Nebraska, he took up a homestead claim in Dodge County, and with true pioneer courage and industry began the labor of improving his land, and placing it under culture. Suc- ceeding well in his efforts, he carried on general farming for many years, residing in the county until his death, at the age of seventy-two years. A man of far more than average intelligence and ability, he was active in public affairs, and served for many terms as county assessor. He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopl Church, and belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Harkins, preceded him to the better world, passing away at the comparatively early age of forty-six years. She was a most estimable woman, and helpmeet in every sense of the term.
Brought up on the homestead which he had helped to clear and improve, Ray Hindmarsh early woke up to the fact that there was both
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profit and pleasure in agricultural pursuits, and having decided to take up farming as his chief occupation started in life for himself in 1916, ere becoming of age. Endowed with native ability and intelligence, his labors have been so eminently successful that he now has a valuable farm of 360 acres, lying a mile and a half south of Arlington, a most advantageous location. In addition to carrying on general farming, Mr. Hindmarsh raises thoroughbred stock, including Holstein cattle and Poland China hogs, a branch of agriculture on which he is considered an authority, and on which he has written papers of value and interest. He likewise feeds stock on a somewhat extensive scale, being one of the largest feeders in Elkhorn Township.
Mr. Hindmarsh married in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1916, Julia Lar- son, whose father, Nels Larson, is now a carpenter in Fremont, Nebraska. Mr. Hindmarsh invariably supports the men and measures he deems best, voting independent of party lines or distinctions.
CHARLES H. BALDUFF. Among the strong and influential citizens of Dodge County the record of whose lives have become an essential part of the history of this section, the gentleman whose name appears above has exerted a beneficial influence throughout the community where he resides. His chief characteristics are keenness of perception, a tireless energy, honesty of purpose and motive and every-day common sense, which have enabled him not only to advance his own interests, but also to largely contribute to the moral and material advancement of the community.
Charles H. Balduff is a native son of Dodge County, having been born here on July 21, 1870, and is the son of Charles and Christina (Basler) Balduff. These parents were both born in Germany, being brought to the United States in their infancy. Here they were reared and educated and in 1868, after their marriage they came to Dodge County, where Mr. Balduff homesteaded a tract of land. He was a baker by trade and after living on his land for a time he moved into Fremont and started a bakery, his being one of the first bakeries and restaurants in this city. He prospered in this enterprise and afterwards also engaged in the meat business, which also proved a good investment, so that some time before his death he was enabled to retire from active business pur- suits. He had also been interested in the ice business, and as a result of his energetic efforts in these various lines he accumulated a valuable lot of real estate, being numbered among the substantial citizens of the community. He and his wife were at first members of the Lutheran Church, but Mrs. Balduff changed her membership to the Congregational Church. In politics Mr. Balduff was an earnest supporter of the demo- cratic party, and took an active interest in local public affairs, having served several terms as a member of the city council and as supervisor. To him and his wife were born seven children, six of whom are living, namely : Charles H., Carrie, who is unmarried and lives at home : Fred, who is associated with Charles H. in the meat business; Louis M. is an engineer and lives in Fremont; William S., who is assistant cashier for Nye, Schneider & Company of Fremont; Amelia, who is employed in the Commercial National Bank.
Charles H. Balduff attended the public schools, graduating from the high school and then attended the Fremont Normal School. After com- pleting his education he formed a partnership with his brother Fred and they engaged in the meat business in Fremont. They have been pros- pered in their enterprise, which they have continued to the present time,
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and are numbered among the enterprising and successful merchants of their city. Their success has been gained by close attention to business and the wants of their customers, and they enjoy the largest volume of business in their line in the city. Charles H. Balduff has been wisely economical and judicious in his investments and is the owner of con- siderable valuable real estate in Fremont.
In 1900 Mr. Balduff was married to Emma Day, a native of the State of Illinois, and the daughter of W. B. Day, now deceased, who came to Fremont in an early day and here successfully carried on a con- tracting business. To Mr. and Mrs. Balduff have been born two children, George and Richardson.
Mr. Balduff is independent in his political action, voting at all times according to the dictates of his own judgment. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has attained to the degree of a Royal Arch Mason, and he is also a member of the Royal Highlanders and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which last named order he has passed all the chairs in both branches. He is essentially a man of affairs, sound of judgment and farseeing in what he undertakes, and he has won and retains the confidence and esteem of all classes.
J. FRANK SCHWAB, one of the substantial agriculturists of Dodge County, identified with the agricultural interests of Hooper Township for many years, belongs to a family whose persistence and energy have been of inestimable benefit to that part of Nebraska whose strides in growth and material progress of the best type have been a source of credit to the community and of just pride in the commonwealth itself.
Mr. Schwab was born in Dodge County, Nebraska, in 1882, a son of Henry Schwab and a grandson of Henry and Katherine (Veight) Schwab. The grandparents, natives of Germany, were married in that country, where their son Henry was born in 1852, and in 1855 came to the United States, locating first in Dodge County, Wisconsin, and subsequently, in 1861, coming to Dodge County, Nebraska. Here the grandfather homesteaded 160 acres of land, on which he proved up, and continued to be engaged in farming and the raising of livestock until the time of his retirement, when he took up his residence at Hooper. His death occurred at that point in 1902, when he had reached the remarkable age of ninety-three years, his wife having passed away at the age of seventy-two years, in 1888. Mr. Schwab was a democrat, and he and his worthy helpmate were devout members of the Lutheran Church and the parents of four children : Katherine, the widow of Theo Uehling; Jacob, deceased; Adam, engaged in ranching in Colorado; and Henry. Henry Schwab, the younger, was three years of age when he accompanied his parents to the United States and nine years old when the family located in Dodge County, Nebraska. He remained with his parents on the home place, being associated with his father in his agricultural operations, until 1874, when he bought land of his own and followed an agricultural life until his retirement in 1910, when he moved to Hooper, his present home. Mr. Schwab, during the active period of his career, was a successful farmer and stock raiser and at all times has been a man whose integrity has been impregnable. ยท In 1874 he married Louise Weigle, daughter of George and Christina (Cramer) Weigle, natives of Germany, who were among the first settlers of Dodge County, coming here from Cuming County, where they had spent one year. Mr. Weigle died in 1895, at the age of seventy-three and his wife in 1904 at the age of seventy-five. They passed through a number of
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exciting experiences on the frontier, including the Pawnee Indian raids, in one of which the red men stole an ox from the Weigle farm. There were nine children in the family: Pauline, the widow of Jacob Schwab; Godfred, who is still engaged in farming in Dodge County ; Rachael, the wife of Adam Schwab, a farmer of Colorado; John, engaged in farming in Dodge County ; George, who is deceased ; Mary, also deceased ; Louise, who is now Mrs. Henry Schwab; and Gustaf, who is operating his father's old homestead. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schwab: Mannie, the wife of Henry Wagner of Hooper; Harry, farm- ing the old homestead; J. Frank; Edward H., engaged in the hardware business at Hooper; Louise, the wife of P. J. Ewald of the Hooper Garage; Robert L., cashier of the Dodge County Bank of Hooper; and Elmer A., associated with his brother-in-law, Mr. Ewald, in the garage business at Hooper. Henry Schwab is a democrat, and in past days was one of the influential members of his party in this locality, being a member of the Legislature in 1887. For a period of twenty years he con- tributed to the maintaining of high educational standards through his service as a director of School District No. 15. He is past master and the oldest member of Hooper Blue Lodge of the Masonic fraternity. He and his worthy and faithful wife are consistent members of Grace Lutheran Church. J. Frank Schwab was educated in the public schools and the normal school at Fremont and was reared to agricultural pur- suits on the home farm. In 1910 he began operations on his own account, at the time of his father's retirement, and at the present time has a well-cultivated farm, on which there are numerous improvements and the most up-to-date machinery and equipment of every kind. In a capable and well-directed manner he carries on his activities as a farmer and a raiser of good livestock and his business affairs are conducted in a straightforward manner that has given him an excellent reputation and standing among those with whom he associates.
In 1917 Mr. Schwab married Anna Sommers, who was born in Dodge County, a daughter of John Sommers. Mr. and Mrs. Schwab have two children, Myrtle and Louis, and are members of Grace Lutheran Church. Mr. Schwab is a Mason and an independent voter.
WILLIAM C. CONDIT is the avowed apostle of good behavior in Dodge County, where he is giving a vigorous and effective administration in the office of county sheriff, a position of which he has been the efficient incumbent since 1901 and his retention of which indicates the popular estimate placed upon his services.
Mr. Condit was born on a farm in Jones County, Iowa, May 12, 1874, and is a son of William G. and Emily (Crane) Condit, the former of whom was born near Sunbury, Union County, Ohio, and the latter in the State of New York, not far from the shores of Lake Ontario. The marriage of the parents was solemnized in Iowa, to which state the father made his way by driving overland with team and wagon, from Ohio, in 1856, he having been accompanied by his father and an older brother, and the family having thus gained pioneer distinction in the Hawkeye State. William G. Condit was a skillful mechanic and was injured while working at his trade in Peoria, Illinois, the result being that he went to Iowa and turned his attention to farm enterprise. He developed one of the valuable farm properties of Jones County, that state, and after the death of his wife he came to Nebraska in 1907. Later he removed to Lebanon, Missouri, and there he died at a venerable age. He was a republican in politics, was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and
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both he and his wife were members of the Congregational Church. Of the five children the sheriff of Dodge County is the eldest of the four surviving ; Ernest is a prosperous farmer in South Dakota; Bessie M. is the wife of Orrin Reed, who is engaged in the restaurant business at Oelwein, Iowa ; and Orrin B. resides in the southern part of the Canadian Northwest. From this section Orrin B. enlisted in the Canadian army in the early stages of the World war, he having accompanied his com- mand to France, where he continued in active service two years and four months and in his arduous and perilous trench service he con- tracted rheumatism, and he was in bad physical condition when he returned home. Orrin Condit has not failed to gain from the Canadian government recognition of his gallant service, for after remaining for a time in his native land after his return from France, he went to Canada and took up pre-emption and homestead claims of 160 acres each and has instituted the development of the property, the Canadian government loaning to its former soldiers $8,000 to develop and improve properties thus secured and to supply livestock.
William C. Condit acquired his early education in the public schools of Iowa, including the high school at Anamosa, and there also he initiated his independent career as a farmer. In 1898 he came to Fre- mont, Nebraska, where for one year he was employed at the marble and monument works of Hodges & Baldwin, the following year having found him employed in connection with the operations of the Frank Davis dray line, for which service he received $20 a month. At the expiration of one year Mr. Condit purchased this draying business, which he successfully conducted for the ensuing six years. He then sold out, and for the next two years he was employed as freight foreman and baggageman at the local station of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. For the next eighteen months he was traveling for the firm of Hodges & Baldwin, previously mentioned, and at the expiration of this period he was appointed deputy sheriff of Dodge County. Seventeen days later, taking his first insane patient to the asylum while waiting for his train, the patient threw himself in front of the train with the intention of committing suicide and Sheriff Condit, at the risk of his life, threw the patient to safety and lost his own leg by the engine run- ning over it while making the rescue. After serving three years as deputy sheriff he was, in 1901, elected sheriff, and by successive re-elec- tions he has since continued the incumbent of this office. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, and during the period of the nation's participation in the World war he served as chairman of the draft board of Dodge County. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Highlanders and the Modern Woodmen of America. His wife holds membership in the Congregational Church.
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