USA > Nebraska > Dodge County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 55
USA > Nebraska > Washington County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 55
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Odd Fellows and the Improved Order of Red Men. To him and his wife were born five children, three of whom are living, namely: John, of Fremont, who followed the barber's trade, but is now well-to-do and retired; Frederick, the subject of this review ; and Leopold, who accum- ulated considerable property through his gardening operations and is now retired.
Frederick Moller received his educational training in the public schools of Fremont to the age of twelve years, when he entered the office of the Fremont Herald to learn the printing trade, and it is worthy of note that he was the first boy to sell newspapers on the streets of Fremont. He worked at the printing trade until twenty-one years of age, when he learned the trade of a barber, at which he worked for fourteen years. Since then, for almost twenty years, he has been carry- ing mail in this city and is numbered among the oldest employes of the Fremont postoffice. During these years, in storm and sunshine, he has faithfully served the public and his courtesy and careful attention to duty has not been unappreciated by those whom he has served.
On June 15, 1884, Mr. Moller was married to Mary Dierks, who was born in Monee, Illinois, the daughter of John and Gesche Catherine (Behrens) Dierks. Both of her parents were born in Germany and came to Nebraska in 1871. Here Mr. Dierks engaged in the elevator business for a number of years at Fremont, but both he and his wife are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Moller have been born three children, namely: Leonard, who was a traveling salesman, died on March 1, 1919; Gesche became the wife of Fred Lueders, a carpenter and harnessmaker in Fremont, and they have two children, Wade Frederick and Mary Anna; Gerald, who for two years has been a letter carrier in the postoffice.
Mr. and Mrs. Moller are members of the Congregational Church, and in his political views Mr. Moller supports the republican party. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In his early life he was a successful hunter and has killed practically all kinds of game to be found here including such as deer and antelope. In athletic sports he was greatly interested in playing semi-professional base ball, foot racing, trap shooting, and while in training was very successful, winning many first and second prizes. Always quiet and unostentatious in manner, he nevertheless has left the impression of his strong individuality upon all who came in contact with him, and he enjoys a deservedly high standing among his fellow citizens.
WILLIAM A. SHAFFER. A resident of Dodge County for forty-two years, and during a large part of this time personally identified with the agricultural activities of the thriving community of Everett Town- ship, William A. Shaffer holds a position second to none as a thorough farmer and breeder of high grade live stock. His career has been one in which success has come as a direct result of well-directed enterprise and unfaltering industry, and the integrity that has guided his actions in the winning of material prosperity has served also to gain him a position in the unqualified esteem of his fellow-citizens.
Mr. Shaffer was born in Pennsylvania, January 11: 1872, a son of Abel and Mary Ann (Hellwick) Shaffer, who were also born in that state. Abel Shaffer learned the shoemaker's trade in his youth, and followed that occupation in the Keystone State until 1878, when he came to Nebraska and rented a farm in Dodge County. A man of industry, he eventually accumulated means sufficient to buy a farm, and during the
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rest of his life he applied himself to the vocations of farming and stock raising, becoming known as a capable farmer and a good judge of live stock. As a citizen he stood high, and his integrity was inviolate. Politically, while not a seeker for honors, he was a stanch republican, and he and Mrs. Shaffer, a most estimable woman, were faithful mem- bers of the Lutheran Church. They were the parents of six children ; James M., who is successfully engaged in farming in Maple Township, Dodge County ; William A .; Emma, the widow of Joe Barner, of Kearney, Nebraska; Luzetta, the wife of Henry Stiver, who is engaged in farming in Dodge County; Jacob, a resident of Kearney ; and Abel, who is deceased.
William A. Shaffer was about six years of age when he accompanied his parents and brothers and sisters in their long and arduous journey across the country from Pennsylvania to Nebraska, and in the new com- munity of Dodge County acquired his education in the district schools. He was only twenty years old when he began an independent career as the owner of land, and from that time to the present he has extended the scope of his activities until now he is known for his accomplish- ments as a general farmer and a breeder of a good grade of live stock. He has splendid improvements on his property, which is modern in every respect, and is a stockholder in the Farmers Union of Hooper and a member of the Omaha Stock Exchange. Mr. Shaffer has given all of his attention to the farm, taking little part in public affairs, although he feels a loyal pride in the prosperity and welfare of the community he has helped to build. The respect which is accorded him by his neigh- bors and fellow-citizens in general is proof of his worth. He votes independently.
Mr. Shaffer was married January 31, 1897, to" Wil mina K. Schafer, who was born in Dodge County, January 15, 1876, and they are the parents of two children: Alois Raymond, who is connected with the Goodyear Tire Company; and Dorothy Fern, who resides with her parents. Mrs. Shaffer belongs to the Christian Science Church.
H. CHARLES HANSEN. In the life history of H. Charles Hansen, one of the substantial agriculturists of Maple Township, Dodge County, the young can see what industry and temperance can accomplish ; the farmer, the mechanic, the professional man, all can learn the results of energy and the possibility of the combination of a substantial success with unsullied citizenship. Mr. Hansen is one of the worthy sons of Denmark now numbered among the valued citizens of Dodge County, and was born January 11, 1866, his father, now deceased, having been Rasmus H. Hansen, a farmer who never left his native land. Of the children, one, N. Lena, still resides in Denmark, and four came to the United States : H. Charles: Fred, a resident of Omaha; Peter, of Tennessee: and Chris, of Oklahoma.
H. Charles Hansen was educated in the public schools of his native land, and was still a young man when he immigrated to the United States in 1887. At the time of his arrival he was possessed of $4.50, of which amount he spent $4 for a pair of boots. Thus he began his career in this country with the sum of 50 cents, but he was likewise the possessor of ambition and willingness to work, and these proved suffi- cient to get him started on the road to independence. Making his way to Nebraska, Mr. Hansen settled in Dodge County, where for the next three years he worked in the field as a farm hand. He then started independent operations as a renter, which continued to be his status for
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seven years, and he then purchased his first property, a tract of 100 acres. This he subsequently sold, then purchasing the 160-acre tract which comprises his present farm in Maple Township, section 12. For the greater part he applies himself to general farming, in which he has won much success, although he has also been prosperous in his experiments in raising live stock. He has splendid improvements on his land, includ- ing large and substantial buildings and the most modern equipment and up-to-date accessories. Mr. Hansen is a republican, and belongs to the Danish Brotherhood and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a great friend of education and for four years served as a member of the board of school directors.
In 1893, at Fremont, Nebraska, Mr. Hansen was united in marriage with Katie Hansen, who was born in Denmark, and to this union there have been born two children: Roy and Edel, both residing with their parents.
FRED OSTERLOH. Of the agriculturists who have assisted in sus- taining the integrity of the farming and stockraising interests of Dodge County during an extended period of years mention is due Fred Osterloh, the owner of a well-cultivated and valuable farming property lying in section 26, Cuming Township. Mr. Osterloh has passed his entire career in this county, where he is well known, and his manner of conducting his affairs has so met with the approval of his associates that he is held in general esteem as a man, citizen and farmer.
Fred Osterloh was born on a farm in Dodge County October 22, 1873, a son of Henry and Anna (Egbers) Osterloh. The parents, natives of Oldenburg. Geratyoona: Cmigrated to the United States during the '60s, at which timeheky made their way across country to Omaha, and then drove overland to Dodge County, where the father took up a homestead. During the early years, when the crops were small and money not easily secured, he added to his income by freighting with an ox-team, but in later years his well-developed farm paid him well for his labors and he was able to furnish himself with many of the comforts of life, the farming advantages being added each year and the improve- ments progressing in modernity. Henry Osterloh passed away on this farm in 1903, at the age of sixty-eight years, while his widow survived him until 1917 and was seventy-seven years of age at the time of her death. They were faithful members of the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Osterloh was independent in his political views. There were six children in the family: Fred, Catherine, who is the wife of Henry Peters, a farmer in Washington County, this state, and four deceased.
Fred Osterloh was given his educational training in the public schools of the rural districts of Dodge County, and passed his boyhood in much the same manner as other farmer's sons of his day and community. He continued to reside under the parental roof, and it was not until he was twenty-seven years of age that he began farming operations on his own account. In 1901 he was united in marriage with Miss Marie Romberg, who was also born in Dodge County, and to this union there have been born eight children: Christina, William, Martin, Anna, Her- bert, Elmer, Marguerite, and Glenville.
Mr. Osterloh devotes his activities to carrying on general farming and also raises a good grade of stock, for which he finds a ready and satisfying market. He has a number of business interests and is a stockholder in the Douglas Motor Company of Omaha. His record in business affairs has given him a good reputation among his associates,
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IRVING J. POLLOCK
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and this statement holds good also as to his status as a citizen, for he has always discharged his duties in a conscientious manner. He is an independent voter and is rather a farmer than a politician, but at this time is the incumbent of the office of Clerk of Cuming Township.
VICTOR E. KOYEN. An industrious and well-to-do farmer of Elkhorn Township, Victor E. Koyen, who succeeded to the ownership of the parental estate, is interested in mercantile pursuits as well as agricultural, having a well patronized store on his farm. A son of the late Frederick and Christina Koyen, he was born March 31, 1881, on Washington Island, in Lake Michigan, of thrifty Danish ancestry.
Born in Denmark, November 28, 1848, Frederick Koyen remained in his native land until attaining his majority. Coming then to this country, he located in Wisconsin, where he worked as a lumberman and farmer for eleven years. He then came to Dodge County, Nebraska, and bought 160 acres of prairie land in Elkhorn Township, which he improved. He there carried on general farming until ready to give up active pursuits, when he removed to town, and spent his later years of life enjoying the fruits of his early labors. His wife, whom he married in the Empire State, died on the home farm at the age of sixty-nine years. Their children were five in number, and three of them, William, Albert and Victor E., are living. The father was independent in politics, and a member of the Danish Lutheran Church, to which his wife also belonged.
Choosing the independent occupation with which he became familiar in early life, and having been but a child when he came with his parents to Dodge County, Victor E. Koyen was educated in the district schools and began farming on his own account about 1906. Since assuming possession of the parental homestead he has added to the improvements previously inaugurated, and now has a conveniently arranged dwelling house, modern in every respect.
The land is well improved and most of it tiled, everything about the premises giving evidence of the owner's prosperity and wise management.
On the first day of January, 1906, Mr. Koyen was united in marriage with Anna Benson, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, came with her parents to Dodge County, Nebraska, in pioneer days, and was then living in Fremont, where their marriage was solemnized. Two children have blessed their union, Bernice J. and Rodney Victor. Mr. Koyen is a stanch republican in politics, and both he and his wife are valued members of the Baptist Church.
IRVING J. POLLOCK has been a resident of Dodge County from the time of his birth and is a representative of a well known pioneer family of Nebraska. He is also one of the substantial and prominent exponents of agricultural and live stock industry in his native county, where he owns and resides upon a well improved farm estate of 220 acres, and is one of the influential citizens of Elkhorn Township, where his homestead place is situated in section 25.
Mr. Pollock was born in Elkhorn Township, Dodge County, October 19, 1872, and is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth Pollock, whose marriage was solemnized in this county. Joseph Pollock was born and reared in Scotland, a scion of the staunchest of Scottish ancestry, and he was eighteen years of age when he came to America and settled in White- side County, Illinois, where he became actively identified with farm industry and whence he went forth as a gallant young soldier of the
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Union in the Civil war, a service in which he proved most effectively his loyalty to the land of his adoption. He was twenty-one years of age when he came to Nebraska and settled on a pioneer farm three miles west of the present Village of Arlington, but in Dodge County, that village being in Washington County. In the early period of his residence in Nebraska he followed the line of construction on the Union Pacific Railroad as far westward as Cheyenne, this state, and had charge of the eating house maintained for the construction men. He developed and improved his farm in Dodge County and was still the owner of a good farm of 160 acres at the time of his death in 1899, when sixty-four years of age, his wife passing away at the age of fifty years and both having been active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of their eight children the subject of this review was the second in order of birth and of the number, seven, one having died at the age of twenty- eight, are now living (1920). The father held a secure place in pop- ular confidence and esteem and was one of the honored citizens and pioneers of Dodge County, where he served for some time in the office of justice of the peace.
Irving J. Pollock received his early education in the public schools of Dodge County and as a youth gained full fellowship with the work of the home farm, a preliminary experience that well fortified him for his later and independent activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower. His fine farm estate of 220 acres bears every evidence of thrift and good management, and is devoted to diversified agriculture and the raising and feeding of a due complement of live stock for the market. In politics Mr. Pollock is a democrat, and he has given effective and loyal service as township clerk, as road overseer and as a member of the school board of his district. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is affiliated with the Modern Wood- men of America.
In 1896 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Pollock to Miss Esther DeLong, and they have eight children : Joseph, Nellie, Mildred, Gladys, James, Ivan, Dorothy, and Esther. Nellie, the eldest daughter, is the wife of Fred. Brown, and they maintain their home in the City of Fre- mont, Dodge County.
E. C. DIERS. The experiences of those men who are numbered among the pioneers of Nebraska form an interesting part of the history of each division of the state. Through the efforts of these sturdy men present conditions have been developed, and it is only fair to render to them the credit which is their due. Among these residents of Dodge County who belong to the pioneer class is E. C. Diers of section 32, Nickerson Township, whose finely developed farm of 880 acres demon- strates the value of careful farming and intelligent use of the facilities at hand. He is a native son of Nebraska, having been born at West Point, Cuming County, November 13, 1868. His father, Charles Diers, and his mother, Ernestine Diers, were natives of Germany, who came to the United States in 1868 and settled in Cuming County, Nebraska, where they homesteaded. The father was a farmer and stockman, but had retired, and he died in Pasadena, California. His widow survives him.
Remaining on his father's farm until he was twenty-one years old, and during his youth attending the district schools and acquiring a practical working knowledge of farming, Mr. Diers then began to work on his own account, and came to Dodge County during its pioneer period. At the time he came here the Indians were still hostile and
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there were no facilities other than natural ones offered the men brave enough to take up homesteads, but those who did so and persisted until they proved up and developed their claims have been amply rewarded and are now men of means and high standing in their community. The original homestead of Mr. Diers has been increased until it now con- tains 880 acres. While all of his stock is of a good grade, he does not handle thoroughbred strains. Nearly all of his stock is bred on his farm, and he raises all of his feed. He averages about three carloads of sheep annually.
Mr. Diers was married to Erma Levy, born and reared in Saunders County. They have two children, Walter C. and Eugene Donald, both of whom are at home. In his political faith Mr. Diers is an independent democrat, but aside from exercising his right of suffrage he does not participate in politics. In the Congregational Church he finds a medium for the expression of his religious faith, and he is a liberal contributor to the local church. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow. His accounts of really thrilling experiences with the Indians are well worth preservation. He was born in a dugout, and if his children had to go through the hardships he and his wife took as a part of their everyday life, they would feel that fate was according them an unfair portion, and yet both Mr. and Mrs. Diers realize that these very hardships played an important part in the development of their characters, and that without them they might not today be what they most certainly are, self-reliant and dependable citizens of a mighty commonwealth.
HENRY KNOELL. In connection with his progressive farm enterprise Mr. Knoell is proving himself fully equipped with success-winning qualifications and is to be classed among the substantial and popular representatives of the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing in his native county, where he is a scion of a sterling pioneer family. His farm of 160 acres consists of rich valley land in section 2, Platte Township, Dodge County, and he is making it one of the model places of the township. The farm has good buildings, and its general appear- ance gives full evidence of thrift and prosperity.
Mr. Knoell was born in Nickerson Township, this County, August 29, 1871, and is a son of Christopher and Dora (Strom) Knoell, whose marriage was solemnized at Fremont, the judicial center of the county. Christopher Knoell was born in Germany and was fourteen years of age when the family came to America and established a home in the State of Wisconsin, where he was reared to adult age and where he continued to be employed, principally at farm work, until he became one of the pioneer settlers of Dodge County, Nebraska. Here he rented land for some time, and eventually he purchased land until he was the owner of seven quarter-sections. He was one of the prosperous farmers of the county for many years prior to his death, when well advanced in age. His wife died in 1901. The subject of this review was the eldest of their seven children, all of whom are living.
Henry Knoell was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and gained his early education in the public schools of his native county. In 1900 he rented land and engaged in farming in an independent way, and with increasing resources he finally purchased his present farm, which he has since operated with unequivocal success, the place being devoted to diversified agriculture and the raising of live stock of good grades. Mr. Knoell maintains an independent attitude in politics, and the only office in which he has consented to serve was that of school
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director of his district, a position of which he continued the incumbent from 1917 until 1920. He is affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
March 7, 1900, recorded the marriage of Mr. Knoell to Miss Mary Hoffman, who likewise was born and reared in Dodge County, and their pleasant home is still brightened by the presence of their seven children, namely: Theodore, Lora, Henry R., Raymond, Mabel, Herbert and Marian. Clara, the eldest in order of birth, died at the age of seventeen years.
ERIC OLSON. Among the many successful agriculturists who are quietly pursuing the even tenor of their way in the counties wherein they were born is Eric Olson, of Logan Township, who during his active career has been a tiller of the soil, and in his chosen occupation has found both pleasure and profit. A son of the late Matts Olson, he was born December 13, 1873, in Dodge County, coming from pioneer stock.
Born and bred in Sweden, where his birth occurred in 1841, Matts Olson, who was not at all satisfied with his future prospects in his native land, immigrated to the United States in 1868, and having secured employment on the Union Pacific Railroad, which was then in process of construction, worked on it as far westward as Salt Lake City. He subsequently worked for a time in Omaha, but about 1870, finding himself $50 in debt, he decided to turn his attention to agriculture. Coming, therefore, to Dodge County, he homesteaded eighty acres of land in Logan Township and built the sod house in which he and his family first lived. Industrious and thrifty, he not only improved his homestead property, but through his agricultural operations was enabled from time to time to purchase other tracts, and at the time of his death, at the age of seventy-three years, owned 718 acres of good land. He married in 1871, and reared a family of six children and a step-son, as follows: Eric, the special subject of this sketch; Willie, of Pleasant Valley ; Mrs. Mary A. Anderson, of Iowa; Alfred, of Burt County, Nebraska ; Mrs. Christie Erickson, of Dodge County; Mrs. Glen Carson, of Burt County ; and A. B. Jacobs, of Thurston County, Nebraska. In politics the father was independent, voting for the best men and measures regardless of party restrictions. The mother died in Dodge County at a good old age.
Acquiring his education in the rural schools of Dodge County, Eric Olson began working as a boy on the parental homestead, and finding that occupation congenial to his tastes has since continued in it. Starting for himself at the time of his marriage he rented land of his father and in its management was quite successful. When he had accumulated a sufficient sum to warrant him in so doing he bought land, and has now a well improved and well equipped farm of 118 acres, and being a skillful and practical farmer, systematic and thorough in his methods, he is being amply rewarded for his labors, his land yielding abundant crops each year.
Mr. Olson married, in 1903, Hilda Lundberg, who was born in Sweden and as a child was brought by her parents to Fremont, Nebraska, where she grew to womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. Olson have three children : Geraldine, Evelyn and Howard. As a prosperous farmer and stock raiser Mr. Olson, who is a man of strict integrity and a trustworthy citizen, has the esteem and respect of the community in which he resides and in the advancement of which he takes a genuine interest. He is independent in politics, and for several years served acceptably as a member of the local school board.
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