USA > Nebraska > Dodge County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 42
USA > Nebraska > Washington County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 42
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Henry Panning, Jr., married Mado Mayer, who was born in Ger- many, their marriage having been solemnized in Dodge County. Nebraska. Eleven children were born of their union, five of whom are living, as follows: Mary Bergt, of Altona, Wayne County, Nebraska; Fred G., living on the home farm in Dodge County ; Lizzie, wife of Henry Kuss,
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of this sketch; Gustaf, a resident of Dodge County ; and Anna Schmidt, of Thayer, York County, this state. Mr. Panning is a democrat in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church.
THOMAS H. WRIGHT. Sterling integrity, keen insight and a willing- ness to work are leading characteristics of Thomas H. . Wright, one of the successful produce merchants of Blair, and a sterling citizen of Washington County. He was born at Abingdon, Virginia, September 30, 1871, a son of Thomas M. and Margaret J. (Neeley) Wright, both of whom were born in Virginia. At the outbreak of the war between the North and the South, Thomas M. Wright enlisted in the Confederate Army and was engaged in some of the leading battles of that great conflict until he had the misfortune to be so severely wounded as to lose a portion of one of his hands. Following the war he found conditions unfavorable in his native state, and so, like a number of the Confederate veterans, came West, locating in Washington County, March 4, 1872, and here he bought land and was engaged in operating it until 1894, when he moved to Kennard, where both he and his wife died. They were consistent members of the Methodist Church. In politics he was a democrat, and served as town assessor. He and his wife had eight children, of whom four are living, namely: Sarah, who married J. A. Chamberlain, a retired farmer of Norfolk, Nebraska ; Thomas H., who was second; John B., who is a confectioner of Kennard, Nebraska ; and Walter E., who is with the Cudahy Packing Company of Chicago, Illinois.
Thomas H. Wright attended the rural and Kennard schools, where he gained a sound knowledge of the fundamentals of an education. His early experience at making himself useful was gained on his father's farm, but his actual contact with the business world was acquired as a clerk in a general store at Kennard, and he worked as such for ten years, and then for four years was with the Anchor Grain Company at Wayne and Hartington, Nebraska. In 1907 he came to Blair. and in 1913, after being connected with several lines, embarked in a poultry, eggs and produce business, and has built up a very desirable connection, handling all kinds of produce and shipping in carload lots to Omaha and eastern markets.
In March, 1901, Mr. Wright was married to Dora Sherwood, who was born in Virginia, and they have two children, namely: Margaret and Helen, both of whom are attending the Blair public schools. Mr. Wright has been very active in establishing the Odd Fellows, belonging to both branches, and the Modern Woodmen .of America, serving the former as secretary and the latter as clerk. Both he and his wife belong to the Daughters of Rebekah, and they are very zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Blair. While he votes the repub- lican ticket, Mr. Wright has never sought public honors, as his time is fully occupied with his business. In every respect he is a fine type of the energetic business man of which Nebraska is so justly proud, and he holds the esteem of his fellow citizens in a marked degree.
JOHN HAVEKOST. Enterprising and progressive and possessing good business talent and tact, John Havekost, of Hooper Township, holds a noteworthy position among the more successful farmers and stock growers of this part of Dodge County, his large and well-kept farm bearing visible evidence to the most casual observer of the owner's thrift and industry. A native of Dodge County, he was born, July 30, 1872, in Logan Township, of German lineage.
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Herman Havekost, his father, was born, bred and married in Ger- many. In 1866, with his wife, Margaretta, he came to the United States, the land of promise, and for two years lived in Newton, Iowa, where he followed the carpenter's trade. Then, with himself, family and household goods packed into two covered wagons, he drove, in typical pioneer style, to Dodge County, Nebraska, camping and cooking by the wayside. Taking up a homestead claim in Logan Township, he first used as a dwelling place one of the wagons in which he had jour- neyed, and with the small means he had at his command began the improving of his land. By means of sturdy labor, he met with desired results in his undertakings, and by future investments became owner of 401 acres of land at the time of his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-eight years and eleven months. He was very well-to-do, his entire property having been acquired through his own efforts. His widow, now well advanced in years, still occupies the old homestead.
The fifth child in a family of eleven children, John Havekost began doing the chores incidental to farm life in a new country as a boy, obtaining a practical knowledge of the rudiments of farming when young. In 1895, soon after attaining his majority, he bought land in Cedar County, and was there engaged in tilling the soil for fourteen years. Returning to Dodge County in 1909, he purchased his present place of 360 acres of land in Hooper Township, and in its improvement has spared neither time nor expense. Using excellent judgment in his work, he has placed his land in good condition, and each year adds to its value and attractiveness, his improvements and equipments being up-to-date in all respects. In addition to carrying on general farming successfully, Mr. Havekost raises Duroc Jersey hogs and feeds cattle on a somewhat extensive scale.
Mr. Havekost married, in 1895, Gesina Suhr, a daughter of Herman Suhr. Mr. Suhr immigrated to the United States with his family in 1884, locating in Dodge County, Nebraska, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, at the age of fifty-nine years. Eight children have been born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Have- kost, namely: Mrs. Bertha Olteman, of Dodge County; Mrs. Olga Wurdeman, of Dodge County; Mrs. Alma Moeller, also a resident of Dodge County ; Alvin, Harland, Bernard, Gerald and Woodrow. Politi- cally, Mr. Havekost casts his vote without regard to party lines, and though not an office seeker has served as a member of the local school board a number of terms. Religiously, he and his wife are active mem- bers of the Lutheran Church. Hs is a member and the president of the Farmers Elevator Company of Hooper, and a member and director of the state organization of the Farmers' Union.
ADOLPH F. DIELS has been a resident of Dodge County from infancy, as his parents established their home at Fremont in 1866, when he was but a few months old and prior to the admission of Nebraska to state- hood. Here he is now living retired from active business, after having been for many years engaged in the milling, grain and lumber business at Scribner, this county.
Mr. Diels was born in the city of Brooklyn, New York, December 4, 1865, and is a son of John M. and Anna M. (Kuehn) Diels, both natives of Holland, whence they came to America when young, their marriage having been solemnized in Brooklyn. In 1866 they came to the Territory of Nebraska and established their home at Fremont, where the father opened a meat market and became one of the pioneer business men of
Nr. Dials
Mrs Q. F. Diele
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the vital little town. He here continued his residence until 1873, when he removed with his family to Scribner and established himself in the lumber and grain business, in connection with which he erected and operated a large flour mill. He developed a prosperous business, and was long numbered among the representative business men and influ- ential citizens of Dodge 'County. He lived retired during the latter period of his life and both he and his wife died in the City of Los Ange- les, California. Of their eight children, five are living: Gustave A. is living retired at Redlands, California, in which vicinity he is the owner of two valuable orange groves; John A. is living retired at Los Angeles, that state; Adolph F., of this review, is the next younger son; Mrs. Joseph P. Hahn, the only daughter, resides at Glendale, California ; and Henry M. owns and operates a transfer line in Kansas City, Missouri. John M. Diels was a communicant of the Catholic Church, but his wife was of the Protestant faith. He was a staunch democrat and while a resident of Scribner he served as member of the village council and the board of education.
Adolph F. Diels acquired his early education in the public schools of Fremont and Scribner, and as a youth he became associated with his father's business. He finally purchased this business, and he con- tinued to operate the mill, which was kept up to the best modern stand- ard, and to deal in grain and lumber at Scribner for sixteen years, the business having been greatly expanded and having yielded large returns under his effective management. He finally sold the property and busi- ness and, on March 17, returned to Fremont, his boyhood home, where he has since lived retired.
Mr. Diels is a democrat in politics, and. his constructive interest in community affairs was shown by thirteen years of service as a mem- ber of the village council and the board of education at Scribner. He is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Wood- men of America, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Sons of Hermann, his wife being an active communicant of the Catholic Church.
December 7, 1892, recorded the marriage of Mr. Diels to Miss Anna Josephine Verba, who was born at Schuyler, Colfax County, this state, a daughter of Matthew and Anna (Karel) Verba, the former a native of Iowa and the latter of Bohemia, Mrs. Diels being the elder of their two surviving children, and Emma being the wife of James Moore, a merchant at Schuyler. Mr. Verba came to Nebraska in the early days and was for many years a leading merchant at Schuyler. Mr. and Mrs. Diels have four children : Arthur J. is attending a business college in the City of Omaha; Victor A. and Mildred A. are students in the Fre- mont High School ; and Gladys is a grade pupil in the city schools.
ABRAM CASTETTER is one of the ablest of the pioneer citizens of Washington County and is particularly well known for his extensive interests as a banker and as founder of the A. Castetter banking house of Blair.
He was born in Ohio, February 13, 1831, and grew up and received his education in his native state. A young man seeking broader oppor- tunities in the opening of a new western country, he came to Nebraska Territory in 1856, when the interest of the nation was being turned in this direction as a result of the discussion over the Kansas-Nebraska Bill in Congress. His first settlement was in De Soto. In 1868 he moved to Blair, and the following year established a bank which has been in existence for over half a century as the banking house of A. Castetter.
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He was an active republican, served as county clerk of Washington County, and has many business and civic interests to lend importance to his name. He was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Castetter, whose honored career came to a close on April 23, 1900, married in 1854 Helen M. Phelps of Williston, Vermont. She followed her husband to Nebraska in 1857 and was his personal assist- ant while he was in the office of county clerk. She was one of the woman pioneers of Washington County, and was long prominent socially. Her death occurred May 29, 1909.
FREDERICK H. CLARIDGE. Occupying a place of prominence and influ- ence in the business and financial life of Washington County, Frederick H. Claridge, of Blair, is widely known as the president of the banking house of A. Castetter, which is one of the oldest institutions of the kind in the state, it having been established in 1869. A native of Massa- chusetts, he was born in 1861 in Boston, of honored New England ancestry.
James R. Claridge, his father, was born and educated in Maine, and as a young man went to Boston in search of congenial employment. After his marriage he removed to Baltimore, Maryland, where he was engaged in commercial pursuits until his death, having been employed in foreign trade, shipping goods on ocean bound vessels. He married Fannie R. Whipple, a native of Boston, and of the six children born of their union, four are living, Frederick H. being the eldest child. Both he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian Church. He was a true blue republican in politics, and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Growing to manhood in Baltimore, Frederick H. Claridge was edu- cated in its schools. Coming to Blair, Nebraska, in 1883 he entered the banking house established by A. Castetter, the pioneer banker of this section of the state, and has since been actively identified with the insti- tution, which he has served in various capacities, and of which he is now president, a position of responsibility for which his knowledge, experience and ability amply fit him.
Mr. Claridge married in 1886 Miss Helen M. Castetter, who was born at De Soto, Nebraska, in 1862, daughter of the late Abram Castetter. Mr. and Mrs. Claridge have no children and both are members of the Episcopal Church. Politically, Mr. Claridge is a republican, but has never been an aspirant for public office, his banking affairs demanding all his attention and time.
N. T. LUND. A man of mark and unusual achievement in Washing- . ton County, Nebraska, is found in N. T. Lund, county superintendent of schools, and for a number of years engaged in educational work in this and other sections. Since the age of fourteen years he has been the arbiter of his own fortunes.
N. T. Lund was born in Denmark, December 13, 1874, the youngest in a family of seven children born to Thomas J. and Dorothy (Dahn) Lund, the others being as follows: H. T., who is a prominent citizen of Amery, Wisconsin, a hotel proprietor and stockman; Mrs. Marie Fisher, a widow, who lives at Eugene, Oregon; J. T., who is a Lutheran minister at Hutchinson, Minnesota .; Marian, who is the wife of P. J. Ostergard, a retired minister living at Los Angeles, California; P. D., who is a farmer near Vermilion, South Dakota; and A. W., who is in charge of a Lutheran church at Minneapolis.
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The parents of Mr. Lund came to the United States about 1882 and lived one year at Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Denmark the father had been a blacksmith, but after moving to Clay County, South Dakota, he bought a farm near Vermilion and spent the rest of his life there. The mother died in Wisconsin. They were members of the Lutheran Church and 'in politics the father was a republican.
N. T. Lund left home at the age of fourteen years and after attend- ing school in Minneapolis, came to Blair, Nebraska, in 1892, intent on procuring a college education. After two years at Blair he spent two terms in the Normal school at Fremont, then took charge of the Larsen School, situated seven miles north of Fremont, which position he held for seven years. In order to complete his college course he attended summer school during this period at Fremont College, and later an entire year, receiving his A. B. degree in 1903.
Mr. Lund then accepted a position on the faculty of Luther College, Racine, Wisconsin, where he remained a year and a half. During the next year he was out of the educational field, being associated with a partner in a book and stationery store at Des Moines, Iowa, at the end of which time he returned to Blair and accepted a place on the faculty of Dana College, where he continued for the next ten years, becoming so favorably known that in 1914 he was elected county superintendent of Washington County. He was twice re-elected, then declined to serve further, having made plans to retire from the educational field in favor of an agricultural life. He owns a fine farm of 120 acres, situated south of Blair, and he promises himself a vast amount of enjoyment in making improvements on this land and making it a model modern farm.
In 1903 Mr. Lund was united in marriage to Miss Marie Hansen, who was born at Hampden, Nebraska, and they have children as fol- lows : Ray, Una, Lona, Ruth, Norma, Russell and Dorothy Louise, the last named being an infant, the older children being in school, the eldest being in the high school. Mr. Lund and his family belong to the Lutheran Church.
During the great war Mr. Lund was one of the active and loyal supporters of the Government and worked unceasingly and freely in many official positions of responsibility. He was chairman of the Coun- cil of Defense of Washington County, and was Government Appeal Agent on the draft and also was chairman of the Junior Red Cross Commission in Washington County. He is zealous in his support of the republican party and in full sympathy with its claim of true Amer- icanism, for he loves his adopted country with most loyal devotion.
EDWIN DIFFEY has been a resident of Nebraska since boyhood and his parents here established their home about three years after the admission of the state to the Union, so that pioneer distinction may justly be applied in connection with the family name. He whose name introduces this paragraph has won for himself success and prestige as one of the progressive agriculturists and stockgrowers of Dodge County, and his well-improved farm, comprising 160 acres, is situated in Cotterell and Union townships.
Mr. Diffey was born in England, in the year 1863, and is a son of Charles and Sarah (Holland) Diffey, who came from their native land to America when their son was a child, and they arrived in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1870. In that city the father was for a time employed as teamster, and finally he came with his family to Dodge County and rented a farm near the village of Webster. Here he continued opera-
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tions eighteen years, at the expiration of which he took a homestead in Holt County, where he developed and improved a good farm and where he passed the remainder of his life, his death having occurred in 1901, and his wife likewise having passed away. Of the five children Edwin, of this review, is the eldest; Martha is the wife of William Hull, a farmer in Dodge County; Rose is deceased; Elizabeth is the wife of William Butterfield and they reside in Holt County; Fannie is the wife of George Gans, a farmer in Howard County. The father was a repub- lican in politics and during the residence of the family in Dodge County the mother was a zealous member of the Presbyterian Church at North Bend.
Edwin Diffey gained his early education principally in the public schools of Dodge County and here he continued his association with the work of his father's farm until he had attained the age of twenty-six years, when he initiated his independent career as an agriculturist and stockraiser. His present farm of 160 acres is one of the well improved places of this vicinity and in connection with diversified agriculture he gives special attention to the raising of pure-blood Shorthorn cattle and Poland-China hogs. His political support is given to the republican party, he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian Church at North Bend.
In 1891 Mr. Diffey was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Cather- wood, daughter of Johnson Catherwood, who was a pioneer settler in Dodge County. Mr. and Mrs. Diffey have two children: Edna is the wife of Arthur Mapes, a prosperous young farmer of Dodge County ; and Harold is associated with the activities of the home farm, where he remains at the parental domicile.
HENRY BENNER. No small amount of the development represented in Ridgeley Township in the way of good farms, productive homesteads, roads, schools and other facilities must be credited to members of the Benner family, who have lived here for nearly forty years.
The family was established by John Benner, who was born in Ger- many in 1851 and married in his native land Helene Roemer. When he was thirty-three years of age he brought his wife to the United States and at once settled in Dodge County. Being without capital and with- out influential friends, he chose a road to prosperity by renting, and was a farm renter seven years before he bought his first land. Before renting, he worked three years as a farm laborer at $15 per month. He experienced nearly all the hardships to which the farmers of Nebraska were subjected twenty-five or thirty years ago, and sold his corn crop for as low as eleven cents a bushel. His persistent industry has brought its sure reward, and he acquired 275 acres of Dodge County lands, made excellent improvements, and is now able to take life in comfort and leisure, his only regular employment being tending his own garden. He is a member of the Lutheran Church and an independent voter. John Benner had six children: Charles, who died at the age of twenty-one; Louis, who passed away at the age of thirty-three ; Henry ; Laura ; Louise, who died at the age of fifteen; and Mrs. Carrie Joens, who lives in South Dakota.
Of this family, Henry Benner is one of the high-class modern farmers of Dodge County, a young man college trained and well fitted for the responsibilities imposed upon the young men of this generation.
He was born in Dodge County September 17, 1888. He grew up on his father's farm and after the common schools attended the Grand
Joseph Roberta.
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Island Business College, Highland Park College, at Des Moines, Iowa, and spent three years in the University of Nebraska. He began farming on his own account in 1914 and now has 140 acres devoted to crops and livestock. He feeds some stock for market every year and runs a small band of sheep. His farm is modern in every respect.
In 1915 he married Dora Ditse of Lincoln, and they have one son, Robert Edwin. Mr. Benner and family are Lutherans, while in politics he chooses an independent course. He is now a director of his local schools.
JOSEPH ROBERTS was a young man of twenty years when he first made his appearance at Fremont, the judicial center of Dodge County, and that the impression which he has here made has been most excel- lent needs no further evidence than the fact that he is now serving as treasurer of the county.
Of sturdy English lineage, tracing back to the time when the memory of man runneth not to, the contrary, Mr. Roberts was born in the rugged old county of Cornwall, England, on the 4th of August, 1854, and is a son of John and Catherine (Dungey) Roberts, who passed their entire lives on the "right little isle" of England, where the father was a farmer by vocation. Of a family of four children Joseph Roberts, of this review, is the youngest of the three surviving; Mary is the widow of Louis Jennings and resides in the state of Iowa, and the elder sister, Elizabeth, is the wife of Charles Long, a prosperous farmer of Dodge County, Nebraska. The father achieved success in connection with his agricultural activities and continued to reside in Cornwall until his death, both he and his wife having been earnest communicants of the Church of England.
Joseph Roberts attended the schools of his native land until he was thirteen years of age, when he was brought to the United States by William H. Hicks, who became a farmer in the state of Illinois and with whom he remained until he had attained to adult age. There Mr. Roberts continued his association with agricultural pursuits until 1884, when he came to Nebraska and purchased a farm near Fremont, Dodge County. To the work and improvement of this farm he continued to give his attention four years, and during the following six years he trav- eled extensively through the state as a representative of the business of Mark M. Code, an extensive importer of horses. In the meanwhile he sold his original farm, but after leaving the employ of Mr. Code he purchased the well improved farm on which he still resides, a short distance east of Fremont, the place receiving his general supervision and affording him relaxation from his official duties as county treasurer.
Upon becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States and thereby gaining the franchise, Mr. Roberts allied himself with the republican party, of whose principles and policies he has since continued a loyal advocate. He has been influential in the councils of his party in Dodge County, and has represented the county as a member of the State Legis- lature, 1903-1905, in which connection he made a record of effective service in behalf of his constituent district and the state at large. In 1905 he was elected to the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture and re-elected to same and has served as president of the board for two terms. For eight years he was a valued member of the board of county commissioners and in 1918 further evidence of his secure place in pop- ular confidence was given by his election to the office of county treas- urer. As a citizen Mr. Roberts has been emphatically progressive and
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