USA > Nebraska > Dodge County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 30
USA > Nebraska > Washington County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 30
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An active and influential member of the democratic party, intelligently interested in local matters, Mr. Christensen has never shirked the respon- sibilities of public office, but has rendered able and appreciated service as a member of the City Council, as city treasurer, and as mayor, a posi- tion that he filled one term. Fraternally, he is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all of the chairs included in its different branches, and is a charter member of Fremont Lodge No. 514, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He also belongs to the Country Club.
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On November 27, 1869, Mr. Christensen was united in marriage with Marie Paulsen, who was born in Denmark and was there educated. Her father, Nels P. Paulsen, came to the United States from Denmark in 1863, locating in Omaha, where he was employed as a gardener for a year and a half, although he had been a miller in his native country. Subsequently buying land in Washington County, Nebraska, he was there engaged in farming for eighteen years. Retiring then from active pursuits, he moved with his family to Fremont, where both he and his wife spent their remaining days. They had but three children in their family, as follows: Mary, widow of John Hansen, lives in Blair, this state; Christina, wife of Christ Holstein, a farmer, living near Blair; and Mrs. Christensen. Eight children have been born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Christensen, namely: Josephine Johnson, of Omaha; Nora, wife of Charles Kilpatrick, now assistant manager Lee Coyt Andreesen Hardware Company, Omaha; Emma, who married Edward Mills, died at the early age of thirty-one years; Walter, a banker at Norfolk, Nebraska; Arthur, vice president of the First National Bank of Fremont ; Mabel, wife of John A. Ryan, a successful attorney of Omaha; Bessie, wife of Grover Spangler, a jeweler in Fremont; and Eddie, who lived but four short years.
FRANK HAMMOND, of Fremont, president of the Fremont Manufac- turing Company, president of the Hammond Printing Company, and president of the Equitable Building and Loan Asssociation, is one of the most prominent and representative business men of Dodge County, and a responsible factor in the life of his city. He was born in Marshall County, Iowa, a son of George and Jane (Leech) Hammond, both of whom were of Quaker stock, and migrated to Iowa from Ohio at an early day in the history of the former state.
Until 1879 Frank Hammond remained in his native state and there acquired a knowledge of men and affairs which enabled him, when in that year he came to Fremont, Nebraska, to assume at once a com- manding position in the newspaper field as publisher of the weekly Tribune in partnership with his brother, Ross Hammond. Out of this partnership grew the present Hammond Printing Company, although before the present name was adopted the business had become George Hammond & Son, of which Frank Hammond was the junior member. In addition to a large jobbing business the Hammond Printing Company publish the Fremont Tribune, issuing a daily, the circulation of which approximates 10,000. A force of 100 people are required to carry on the business, and this company is the largest individual concern in Fre- mont. Frank Hammond was elected president of this company in Jan- uary, 1920, his associates in this company being: Ray W. Hammond, vice president and general manager ; Lucius R. Hammond, secretary ; and Walter B. Reynolds, treasurer, and these gentlemen, together with Harvey C. Kendall, constitute the board of directors. The last named, Mr. Kendall, is in charge of the advertising department, and he and Lucius R. Hammond are new additions to the official force. Frank Hammond is also editor-in-chief of the Tribune and divides his time between this company and the other organizations with which he is connected.
He assisted in developing the Hammond-Stephens Company, of which he was treasurer, but from which he has since retired, which was organ- ized for the purpose of carrying school supplies for a large territory adjacent to Fremont, and this company is in a very flourishing condi- tion under the present sole ownership of Dan V. Stephens.
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Another of the leading concerns of Fremont which owes its existence to Mr. Hammond's organizing ability is the Fremont Manufacturing Company, formerly the Sure Hatch Incubator Company, of which Mr. Hammond is now president. This concern was first located at Clay Center, but in 1906 was brought to Fremont and at that time the plant was greatly enlarged, a new building being erected with floor space of over 100,000 square feet, and a capacity of 50,000 incubators annually. The company's products also include family refrigerators, ice cream cabinets, chocolate, vegetable and grocers' refrigerators. The last named features are put out under the name of the Crystal Refrig- erator Company. Employment is given to 100 persons and the products are sold all over the world.
Essentially a man of large affairs, Mr. Hammond has extended his activities to include membership with the Fremont Commercial Club, which he served as president in 1913, during which year he was also secretary of the Board of Public Works, in the latter capacity having supervision of all of the public improvements made in Fremont for a period of fifteen years.
The children born to Mr. Hammond and his wife are as follows: Ray, who is manager and vice president of the Hammond Printing Com- pany ; Mary Roberta, who married A. G. Christenson of the First National Bank of Fremont; Earl, who is treasurer of the Fremont Manufacturing Company ; Lucius R., who is secretary of the Hammond Printing Company ; and Everette, who is with the Fremont Manufac- turing Company.
Mr. Hammond has possessed the strength of will and caliber of brain which have made it possible for him to forge ahead and accomplish results which would have been impossible to a man less generously endowed. He is so many-sided in his abilities, so catholic in his sym- pathies, so deep in his understanding of human nature, that his friends are included in every rank of life. From the time he located perma- nently at Fremont he has been called into counsel by the best elements, and is recognized as an authority on public questions.
HERMAN PETERSEN is another of Dodge County's sterling citizens who can claim Denmark as the place of his nativity, and he has main- tained his residence at Fremont since 1901 and who now controls a large and prosperous business as a merchant tailor and as a dealer in men's furnishing goods, with a trade of notably representative order.
Mr. Petersen was born in Denmark on the 10th of July, 1878, and is a son of Herman and Cina Petersen, the former of whom passed his entire life in his native land, where his widow still maintains her home, she being a devout communicant of the Lutheran Church as was he also. The father was a merchant in Denmark for a long term of years and continued his association with this business until his death.
The only child of his parents, Herman Petersen, Jr., was afforded the advantages of the excellent schools of his native land, where also he served a thorough apprenticeship to the tailor's trade, at which he became a skilled workman. He continued to work at his trade in Den- mark until 1901, when, at the age of twenty-three years, he came to America, where he felt assured of better opportunities for. winning independence and success in connection with business. He first settled at Emmettsburg, Iowa, but before the close of the year 1901 he came to Fremont, Nebraska, where he found employment at his trade and soon established a reputation for technical ability therein. In 1906 he
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expanded his field of activity by opening a small store and installing a stock of men's furnishing goods. The success which attended the new venture has been cumulative, and in connection with his substantial merchant-tailoring business he now conducts a prosperous enterprise based on his large and select stock of furnishing goods for men. Artistic draping and workmanship in the production of men's clothing and also high grade tailored suits for women have enabled him to gain a spe- cially representative list of patrons in this department of his business, and he has secured place as one of the leading merchant tailors of Dodge County. Mr. Petersen is known as a reliable and progressive business man and as a loyal and appreciative citizen of the land of his adoption, while he has a wide circle of friends in his home city and county. In the Masonic fraternity he has received the chivalric degrees as a member of the local commandery of Knights Templar, besides being affiliated with the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and with Fremont Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His political allegiance is given to the republican party.
In 1907 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Petersen to Miss Ida Larsen, who was born and reared at Fremont, a daughter of Louis Larsen, a prosperous retired farmer of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Petersen have three chilren, whose names and respective ages, in 1920, are here noted : Ralph, twelve years ; Marjorie, eight years ; and Louis, six years.
BENJAMIN E. KRAJICEK, D. D. S. The dental profession is well represented at Scribner, Nebraska, and one of its leading members is Dr. Benjamin E. Krajicek, who devotes his entire time to his practice which, on account of his professional knowledge and skill, has grown to large proportions in a comparatively short period.
Doctor Krajicek was born in 1894, at Atkinson, Nebraska. His parents were Frank and Mary Krajicek, natives of Bohemia, in Europe, from which section they came to the United States many years ago. With others of their countrymen, they settled in Colfax County, Nebraska, where the father homesteaded, but, on account of unusual hardships and fears of Indian attacks, did not prove up. He removed to Atchison, in Holt County, where he operated a flour mill for a time, later taking his family to Arlington, in Washington County, where he worked on the railroad as a section foreman. He was an honest, hard-working man all his life and a faithful Catholic. His death occurred at Arlington, in 1913.
The brothers and sisters of Doctor Krajicek are as follows : Stephen A., who is a civil engineer with a construction company at Greybull, Wyoming; Amy, who is the wife of C. N. Cook, a farmer near Arling- ton, Nebraska ; Mary, who is the wife of Ross Marshall, a farmer near Arlington; Bessie, who teaches school near Fremont; Louis, who works for his brother-in-law, C. N. Cook; Joe, who is a mail carrier at Arling- ton; Frank, who operates a hotel at Reno, Nevada; and Julia, who is the wife of E. J. Christenson, an oil operator at Greybull, Wyoming. The mother of the above family survives and resides at Arlington. The father was insured in the Bankers Reserve Life Insurance Company, showing that he was a prudent man, belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America, and voted with the republican party.
In boyhood Doctor Krajicek attended the public schools, and in 1913 was graduated from the Arlington High school, shortly afterward enter- ing the Lincoln Dental College, from which he was graduated in 1917. He immediately opened an office at Scribner and is very firmly estab-
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lished in the confidence of the people. He belongs to the new school of dental practitioners, whose scientific work precedes that of the physi- cian, in many cases making that of the latter entirely unnecessary. He has a well located and thoroughly equipped office.
Doctor Krajicek was married in 1918 to Miss' Mable Hrabak, of Bohemian ancestry, but born and reared in Nebraska, her people having settled in Dodge County. They are members of the Catholic Church. Doctor Krajicek belongs to the Royal Highlanders, the Omaha Life insurance Company, the Business Men's Accident Association and retains membership in his old dental college fraternity, the Delta Sigma. He is identified also with the Nebraska State Dental Society.
WILLIAM EDWARD VLOCH. Energetic and enterprising, full of vim and push, William Edward Vloch, of Dodge, is prosperously engaged in mercantile pursuits, as proprietor and manager of the Golden Rule Store, having built up a highly satisfactory trade, his patrons coming from far and wide. He was born, December 8, 1890, in Cuming County, being the fifth child in succession of birth of the ten children born to his par- ents, Vaclav and Mary Vloch, who came from Bohemia to Nebraska, and now, retired from agricultural pursuits, are living in Dodge.
Acquiring his preliminary education in the district schools, William Edward Vloch completed his studies at the Fremont Normal School. Although brought up on a farm, he didn't take kindly to agricultural work, and soon after leaving school entered the employ of his brother Joe, a general merchant, with whom he remained as a clerk for twelve years. On June 26, 1918, having obtained not only valuable experience, but a practical insight into the modern ways of business, Mr. Vloch pur- chased his brother's interest in the Golden Rule Store, which he has since successfully managed, retaining its old customers and adding many new ones each season.
Mr. Vloch married, in November, 1913, Edna Yunek, and they have one child, Wilman. In his political relations Mr. Vloch is a steadfast republican.
LUDWIG UEHLING. A member of that old and substantial family of Uehlings who from pioneer days to the present have been decided factors in the agriculture, business and civic affairs of Dodge and Wash- ington counties, Ludwig Uehling has applied his efforts almost entirely to farming, and in that vocation has achieved most substantial success, at the same time winning the confidence and trust of his home com- munity. His farm and home are in section 10 of Logan Township.
Mr. Uehling was born near Hooper in Washington County Novem- ber 8, 1865, a son of Theodore Uehling, a prominent pioneer for whom the town of Uehling was named. A sketch of Theodore Uehling and family is found on other pages. Ludwig Uehling attended some of the pioneer schools of eastern Nebraska, but the best lessons were those he learned by practical contact with the land and with men. He was strong, self-reliant and ambitious and soon after reaching manhood had acquired some lands for himself. He married at the age of thirty, and since then has given a quarter of a century to the general farming and stockraising. He has always favored good stock, and his efforts have served to advance the standards of livestock in his section. His farm contains a herd of ten registered Holstein cattle. He also keeps a good grade of horses. His farm represents a growing business and a sub- stantial degree of prosperity, all of which has been won from a very modest start.
Ludwig Richtung mrs Ludwig Vehling
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In a public way he has served his township as treasurer two years and for many years as treasurer of the school board. In politics he is a republican.
In 1895 Mr. Uehling married a daughter of Henry von Seggerson. To their marriage have been born five children: Mrs. Alma Osterlow, Edna, Orvel, Windsor and Kenneth.
FRED A. HERFURTH. One of the first-class examples of the self- reliant man who has made his own way in the world is Fred A. Herfurth, a successful contractor and owner of a planing mill at Fremont. He was born at Madison, Wisconsin, on June 14, 1868, a son of August and Ida (Dienald) Herfurth, both natives of Germany, who came to Wisconsin at an early day and were there married, and became the parents of five children, four of whom survive, namely: Millie, who married Earl Brink of Grand Island, Nebraska; Mrs. Alma Leberman, who is a widow, of Fremont; Fred A., who was third in order of birth; and Max, who is a carriage trimmer, living at Fremont. The parents were members of the Congregational Church. In politics the father was a democrat. By trade he was a gunsmith and he worked at his trade at Madison, Wisconsin, and at Fremont, Nebraska, to which city he moved when Fred A. Herfurth was a child, and here he died in 1884, but his widow survives him and lives at Grand Island.
Fred A. Herfurth attended the public schools of Fremont, and was graduated from its high school course in 1894. Beginning his appren- ticeship in boyhood, Fred A. Herfurth learned the carpenter trade and has always worked at it, developing into a contractor, and has done con- siderable building in and about Fremont. In 1907 he established a planing mill that he sold to W. R. Reckmeyer, and in 1913 built another mill that he is still conducting in conjunction with his contract work. In his mill Mr. Herfurth makes fixtures of all kinds used in woodwork, and his product is in great demand. A skilled workman himself, he will not accept anything but first-class work and is noted for his faith- fulness in living up to the specifications of his contracts.
In March, 1913, Mr. Herfurth was married to Lena Haverfield, born in Illinois. They have no children. Both Mr. and Mrs. Herfurth are members of the Congregational Church and active in all of its local organizations. While he exercises his right of suffrage Mr. Herfurth does not give much time to politics as his business cares are exacting, but he is interested in the progress of Fremont and willing to give his support to those measures which will result in practical results and not waste the people's money.
GEORGE F. STAATS. A prominent and prosperous dealer in farm lands and city property, George F. Staats, of Fremont, is actively iden- tified with a large and highly profitable industry, being one of the most extensive dealers in realty to be found in this section of Dodge County, he and his partner, Henry C. Dahl, having won a large patronage. A son of the late Jeremiah F. Staats, he was born, June 12, 1866, in Taze- well County, Illinois, where his childhood days were spent.
Jeremiah F. Staats was born near Boundbrook, New Jersey, where his father, Peter Staats, was a life-long resident. Learning the brick- layer and stone mason's trade, he followed it in his native state until 1858, when he migrated to Illinois, where he lived for fifteen years. Coming from there to Nebraska in 1873, he bought, in Saunders County, railroad land, giving five dollars an acre for the tract, and on the farm
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that he improved resided until his death in 1898. Successful in his undertakings, he added by purchase to his original homestead, which is now owned by his son George, increasing its area to 400 acres. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary E. Hoagland, was born in Bound- brook, New Jersey, and died in Nebraska in 1903. Of the six children born to their union, four are living, as follows: Mrs. W. J. Harmon, of Fremont, whose husband is a retired farmer; Charles, of Omaha, accountant for the Woodmen of the World; Louis C., of Central City, Nebraska, a real estate agent ; and George F., of whom we write. The father was a republican in politics, and a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. The mother, who inherited the religious faith of her father, Christian Hoagland, was a member of the Congregational Church.
After his graduation from the Fremont Normal School in 1888, George F. Staats turned his attention to agriculture, and for twenty years was prosperously engaged in general farming. Wisely investing a part of his annual profits in other tracts of land, Mr. Staats now has title to upwards of a thousand acres, a large part of which is under culture. On January 20, 1911, he took up his residence in Fremont, and has since dealt extensively in real estate, making a specialty han- dling farm lands and farm loans, branches of business with which he is familiar, and for which he is amply qualified both by knowledge and by experience.
Mr. Staats married, in March, 1891, in Fremont, Nellie Sanderson, who was born in Utica, New York, where her father, William Sander- son, was an early settler. Three children have blessed their union, namely : Roy, living in Fremont ; Ruby, a teacher in the Fremont schools ; and Mabel, attending school. A stanch republican in politics, Mr. Staats has held several township offices, and in 1917 was elected as a represen- tative to the State Legislature. Fraternally, he is conspicuously iden- tified with the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, belonging to Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council, Commandery, and to the Shrine, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed all the chairs. Both Mr. and Mrs. Staats are faithful and valued members of the Presbyterian Church. During the World war Mr. Staats took an active part in the drive for bonds, and was active in Red Cross work, giving generously of his time and money.
JAMES C. ROBERTSON. A representative citizen of Dodge County who actively engaged in farm pursuits for many years, is James C. Robertson, capitalist, who is well known in business circles at Fremont, where he is interested in developing valuable property. Mr. Robertson has been a resident of Dodge County since he was fifteen years of age, found his business opportunity here, through thrift and industry built up an ample fortune and is held in high esteem by those who have known him for almost forty years.
James C. Robertson was born in Ayreshire, Scotland, June 22, 1866. His parents were Robert and Elizabeth (Wilson) Robertson, natives of Scotland, who came to Dodge County, Nebraska, in 1881, and both died here. They had the following children: Hugh, who was an early homesteader in Dodge County, died in 1916; Robert, who is a cabinet- maker by trade, still lives in Scotland; William, who is foreman in a copper mill at Butte, Montana; Jane, who is the wife of John Fer- guson, who owns a cattle ranch in Blaine County, Nebraska ; and James C., who resides at 350 East Tenth Street, Fremont.
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James C. Robertson was reared on a farm but had excellent educa- tional advantages in Perth Academy, near Glasgow. Although he was compelled to borrow his passage money to America, he insisted on accom- panying his parents and after reaching Nebraska proved very helpful to his father. Before very long he had cancelled his indebtedness and then set himself to the task of honestly acquiring land of his own. Like other settlers of thirty or more years ago, Mr. Robertson found many hard- ships to contend with, but he persevered and finally owned a large farm which he cultivated and improved, making it so valuable a property that when he decided to remove to Fremont in 1918, he was able to sell it for $50,000. He still owns about 600 acres in Nebraska and Colo- rado, together with valuable realty at Fremont.
On January 27, 1893, Mr. Robertson was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Hastings, who was born in Illinois. Her father, A. J. Hastings, now an octogenarian, resides in California. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have had the following children: Anson, who was in military training at Camp Custer, during the World war, is connected with a mercantile establishment at Webster, Nebraska; Margaret, who fills a clerical posi- tion in a business house at Fremont ; Bessie, who is a school teacher ; Fred, who is a student in the Fremont High School; and Walter S., who died of influenza in November, 1918.
After coming to Fremont, Mr. Robertson bought property and is now having three lots near his home improved with buildings, occa- sionally doing a little carpenter work himself. With his family he belongs to the Presbyterian Church. In politics a republican, he has served as assessor of the First Ward, at Fremont, and while living on his farm was long a member of the school board at Webster.
W. F. HEMPHILL. D. D. S. A well known and successful dentist of Blair, W. F. Hemphill, D. D. S., is actively identified with one of the most important branches of surgery, its application being required at some period of life by almost every member of the human family. Rapid strides in dentistry have been made in recent years, elevating it to a distinct science in which America has taken a foremost position, American methods being used not only in this country, but in countries across the sea. A son of Theodore Monroe Hemphill, the doctor was born, August 7, 1892, in Litchfield, Illinois, his boyhood home.
Born and bred in North Carolina, Theodore M. Hemphill obtained an excellent education and, having adopted a teacher's profession, fol- lowed it successfully as a professor in some of the leading schools of Illinois and Kansas, his home at the present time being in Belleville, Kansas. He is a man of sterling worth and ability, highly esteemed in his community, where he occupies a place of influence. He is a repub- lican in politics, a member of the Woodmen, and belongs to the Pres- byterian Church. He married, in Illinois, Clara Hamilton, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and died in Kansas in 1906. Eight chil- dren were born of their marriage, W. F., of this sketch, being the fourth child in succession of birth.
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