USA > Nebraska > Dodge County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Nebraska > Washington County > History of Dodge and Washington Counties, Nebraska, and their people, Volume II > Part 58
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of some of the state officials who had the leasing of the lands under control, he abandoned this enterprise. In the contemplated salt manu- facturing venture he was associated with Thomas F. Hall of Omaha, and both were important witnesses later in the impeachment trial of Governor David Butler. His political record shows a noteworthy inde- pendence. He was first a republican, later a labor party advocate, for a single campaign was a democrat and after 1884 was a stanch prohibi- tionist. In 1900 he was the candidate of his party for treasurer of Nebraska, and served as the first full term mayor of Blair in 1870. He was a pioneer in the prohibitionist movement and he left a fund of $10,000 in trust to be used for the purpose of promoting the interests of the prohibition party. The trustee of this fund was his son, C. C. Crowell, Jr., who used the money to the best advantage and has had the satisfaction of seeing the results which his father so ardently desired in his lifetime.
December 5, 1867, Christopher C. Crowell, Sr., married Polly D. Foster. She likewise was of Mayflower ancestry, and her grandfather at one time was a slave owner in the Town of Brewster. The old house of the Fosters in Brewster was later owned and occupied by a descendant of one of these slaves, and was one of the oldest residences in the state. Christopher C. Crowell and wife had eight children, two of whom died in infancy. Those to reach mature years were Grace E., Edwin F., C. C., Jr., Lydia S., Nathan and Harland. Of these Lydia is the wife of L. M. Weaver, a wealthy rancher and sheep man of Spokane, Wash- ington, and whose father was a Nebraska pioneer, serving as a member of the first Constitutional Convention. Harland Crowell is a fruit farmer at Olympia, Washington. Nathan is a former banker and lives at Stuart, Nebraska.
Since the death of his father Christopher C. Crowell, Jr., has been at the helm of the business affairs of the Crowell Lumber and Grain Company and the Crowell Elevator Company. The Crowell estate is still intact and as manager of the business he has greatly enlarged it. There are now twenty-three stations where they operate lumber yards or elevators in Nebraska controlled by these companies.
Mr. Crowell was born in Blair July 6, 1874, was well educated and practically grew up in the atmosphere of his father's business and was thoroughly qualified for the responsibilities that have devolved upon him during the last ten years. He began business personally with the com- pany in 1894.
He married Augusta Saare, of Newman Grove, Nebraska. They have four children : Herman and C. C. III, both students in the Nebraska Wesleyan University at University Place, and Mildred and Pauline, attending the public schools of Omaha, where the family have their city home.
JOHN ROSENBAUM, who is now living practically retired in the Village of Kennard, Washington County, is one of the pioneers who did effec- tive service in connection with the civic and industrial development of this county, where he remained and improved an excellent farm and became one of the representative agriculturists and stock growers of the county. His loyalty as a citizen has been unstinted and marked by liber- ality and public spirit, while he has so ordered his course in all the relations of life as to retain secure place in the confidence and good will of the community in which he has long maintained his home.
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Mr. Rosenbaum claims the historic old Dominion State as the place of his nativity, and was there reared and educated, he having been a child at the time of his mother's death and his father having there remained until he, too, passed away. Mr. Rosenbaum is a son of Joel and Nancy (Ramsey) Rosenbaum, and his father's active career was marked by close association with farm enterprise in Virginia, where he died when about sixty-seven years of age. He was a republican in poli- tics and he and his wife held membership in the Baptist Church. They became the parents of five children: Hiram J., who came to Washing- ton County, Nebraska, in 1871, and is one of the well-known pioneer citizens of the county; John, immediate subject of this sketch, the next in order of birth; Aaron, who still resides in the State of Virginia; Caroline, who died in that state; and Emanuel, who came to Nebraska in 1882 and here passed the remainder of his life.
John Rosenbaum was born in Washington County, Virginia, on August 30, 1850, and there received his early education in the common schools of the period, he having been about eleven years old at the inception of the Civil war and having been deeply impressed with the struggle that brought so much of disaster and devastation to his native state. In 1872, shortly after attaining to his legal majority, he came to Washington County, Nebraska, where he purchased a tract of wild land and stanchly girded himself for the arduous work of reclaiming a productive farm. With the passing years generous success attended his efforts as an agriculturist and stock grower, with the result that he is now one of the substantial men of the county, where he still retains a valuable and well-improved landed estate of 180 acres, though he removed from his farm to Kennard in 1912 and has since lived virtually retired. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party, he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, and his wife is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Kennard.
On March 22, 1887, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Rosenbaum to Miss Ruth McCann, who likewise was born in Washington County, Virginia, and whose parents, Isaac and Margaret (Wright) McCann, became early settlers of Washington County, Nebraska, where he was a successful farmer at the time of his death at the age of seventy-two years, and his wife was seventy-six years of age at the time of her death. Mr. and Mrs. Rosenbaum have seven children : Jasper H., Clyde, Ethel, Blanche, Hazel, Glenn and Roscoe. All of the sons are actively identified with farm enterprise in their native county, and in this con- nection, as well as in loyal citizenship, they are well upholding the honors of the family name. Ethel is the wife of Dudley P. Rosenbaum, a car- penter and contractor, residing at Arlington, Washington County ; Blanche is the wife of Frank Naeve, who resides at Kennard; and Hazel is the wife of Samuel Wright, who is prominently associated with the grain and elevator business at Kennard.
EDWARD PILCHER. The late Edward Pilcher was for many years one of the leading citizens of Washington County, and after he had retired from the agricultural labors with which he had occupied him- self he moved to Blair, although he did not enter its business life. He was not born in this country, but became one of its most devoted adher- ents, and exemplified in his life and associations the principles upon which the government is founded.
Edward Pilcher was born in England, October 22, 1833, a son of George and Mary Pilcher, who were born, lived and died' in England.
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When only a lad Edward Pilcher came to the United States all by him- self, and until he enlisted for service during the war between the two sections of the country, lived in New York. After a military service of one year he was honorably discharged, and then began looking about him for a good opening. This he found in Washington County, although his resources were nearly exhausted by the time he reached his destination. Here he homesteaded and for many years continued to conduct the farm he proved up. In 1903 he left the farm, moved to Blair, and there he died, August 17, 1904. Both he and his wife were members of the Bap- tist Church. In politics he was a republican, and he served on the school board for fifteen years.
In 1865 Mr. Pilcher was married to Mary Teeter, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of David and Teressa (Raidey) Teeter, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania, where he died, his widow then coming to Nebraska, where she passed away. On both sides of the family the ancestry is of German origin. Mr. Teeter had four children, and his widow, when she married again, had four more children. Mr. and Mrs. Pilcher became the parents of twelve children, six of whom sur- vive, namely: Jane, who married Del Ballard, a Dakota farmer; Dora, who married Mike Wilson, a Nebraska farmer: Grace, who married Burdett Hancock, a farmer, resides at Cuming; Edward C., who lives on the old homestead ; Charles, who is engaged in farming in the vicinity of the old homestead; and Lloyd L., who is living on a portion of the homestead.
When Mr. and Mrs. Pilcher began their married life they were poor, and for years they had to work very hard, but in time they prospered and became the owners of a large amount of land, some of which has been sold, but Edward C. owns the homestead. Mrs. Pilcher maintains her residence at Blair, where she is very highly regarded. She is proud of her children, all of whom are doing very well, and looks back with pride on the days when she was able to render so much assistance to her husband in his uphill climb to prosperity.
NORMAN WILKINS. Born and reared on a Nebraska farm, herding cattle in Washington County when most of the land was unfenced, and after experiences in other vocations and seeing a good deal of the world Norman Wilkins made the happy choice of farming as his steady voca- tion, and has seen his affairs prosper until he is now one of the substan- tial land owners and good citizens of Blair Township, his home being in section 17, three miles west and one mile south of Blair.
He was born in Washington County November 11, 1873, and after getting his early education left home and for about three years traveled over the country, most of the time as a railroader. About sixteen years ago he started for himself and is now living on one of his father's farms, comprising 200 acres. Besides the general farm management he is spe- cializing in thoroughbred livestock, Hereford cattle and Poland China hogs.
Mr. Wilkins married Sophie Rathman. Her father, George Rathman, was an early settler in Washington County and died during the Spanish- American war. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins have two children : Norman, Jr., born July 4, 1918, and Marietta, born May 28, 1920. Mr. Wilkins and family are members of the Christian Church. He is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, and for several years has interested himself in the cause of public education as a member of the school board.
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MANNASSES FAUQUET. The success of men in business or any voca- tion depends upon character as well as upon knowledge, it being a self- evident proposition that integrity of motive and action is the best policy. Business demands confidence, and where that is lacking business ends. In every community some men are known for their upright lives, strong common sense and moral worth rather than for their wealth or political standing. Their neighbors and acquaintances respect them, the young generations heed their example, and when they "wrap the drapery of their couches about them and lie down to pleasant dreams," posterity listens with reverence to the story of their quiet and useful lives. Among such men of a past generation in Nebraska was the Mannasses Fauquet who was not only a progressive man of affairs, successful in material pursuits, but a man of modest and unassuming demeanor, of a high type of mental calibre, a reliable, self-made man, a friend to the poor, char- itable to the faults of his neighbors and always ready to unite with them in every good work, and active in the support of laudable public enter- prises. He was a man who in every respect merited the high esteem in which he was universally held, for he was a man of public spirit, exemplary character and business ability.
Mannasses Fauquet was born in the Province of Picardy, France, on January 8, 1840, and his death occurred at his home in Fremont, Nebraska, on October 5, 1916. He was reared and educated in his native land until 1858, when, at the age of eighteen years, he came to the United States, locating first in Ohio, where he learned the trade of a cooper. Subsequently he entered the oil business, drilling wells for different companies, and at length became manager of one of the most successful of the oil concerns. He was successful not only as a work- man and a manager of men, but he also possessed a business acumen and shrewdness that enabled him to make use of opportunities for business advancement. He lived in Ohio and West Virginia until 1872, when he moved to Saunders County, Nebraska, where he bought eighty acres of land, comprising the present site of Cedar Bluffs. Some time later this land was sold to a railroad company and Mr. Fauquet bought a larger place, on which they lived for fourteen years and to the improvement and cultivation of which he devoted himself with energy and splendid financial results. Then, selling that place, he bought another farm near Wahoo, Saunders County, and lived there until 1910, when he and his wife moved to Wahoo, where they resided three years. Then, in 1913, they came to Fremont, where Mrs. Fauquet still lives. For several years prior to Mr. Fauquet's death he and his wife had spent their winters in the South, spending one winter in Florida and three in Texas. When they came to Nebraska their total cash capital was $1,700, and with this nucleus Mr. Fauquet by persistent and well-directed industry succeeded in accumulating a handsome property and was able to spend his last years free from any necessity for active participation in business affairs, enjoying that rest which he had so richly earned.
In 1865 Mr. Fauquet was married to Mary J. Prince, who was born and reared in West Virginia, the daughter of Hubbard and Elizabeth (Kincheloe) Prince, both of whom were natives of eastern Virginia, though they spent practically all of their lives in West Virginia. Mr. Prince was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, though he afterward transferred his labors to the Baptist Church. In connec- tion with his religious work he also carried on agricultural pursuits. To Mr. and Mrs. Fauquet were born seven children, of which number six are living, namely : Cleophine, who is the wife of Alfred Softley, of
Mar Racquet
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Dodge County ; Emile, who is a graduate of the Nebraska State Univer- sity, is now living on his mother's farm in Saunders County; Arsene W., who is a graduate of the Nebraska State University, is now a college professor at Sioux Falls, South Dakota ; Bertha is the wife of William Luehrs, a farmer in Dodge County; Ernest has moved to a large farm which he owns near Mason City, Nebraska; and Ephriam J. is a farmer in Dodge County.
Mr. Fauquet was a supporter of the republican party and formerly took an active interest in political affairs. In an early day he served as postmaster of Cedar Bluffs. Religiously he and his wife were earnest and faithful members of the Baptist Church, to which they gave gener- ously. During the Civil war Mr. Fauquet rendered good service as a teamster, and was always a loyal and stanch supporter of the govern- ment of his adopted country. One special phase of his makeup was recognized by all who became acquainted with him, namely, the keen quality of his mind. Though he possessed but an ordinary education, he wrote many articles for the newspapers, and wrote in an attractive and graceful style that always rendered his articles interesting. Had he pos- sessed a more complete education he undoubtedly would have occupied a definite position in the literary field, for he was a keen and analytical thinker and possesses naturally strong powers of expression. By a straightforward and commendable course Mr. Fauquet made his way from a modest beginning to a respectable position in the business world, winning the hearty admiration of his fellow citizens and earning a repu- tation as an enterprising, progressive man of affairs and as a broad- minded, charitable and upright citizen, which the public was not slow to recognize and appreciate. He was a man whom to know was to respect and admire, and his loss was keenly felt by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
LOUIS CHRISTENSEN. At the age of fourscore Louis Christensen has a retrospect of half a century spent in Washington County, and that half century has been well employed and involves many years of fruitful labor, well ordered industry, and a giving of service both to further his own ambitions and benefit his community.
Now retired from the heavy responsibilities of farming, Louis Chris- tensen was born in Denmark April 2, 1840. He and his brother came to the United States by the way of Canada in 1862, and located at Mon- mouth, Illinois. Louis Christensen almost immediately signalized his loyalty to his adopted country, enlisting and serving in the Union army with Company I of the Sixty-First Illinois Regiment. After the war he continued to live and work at Monmouth until 1870, when with a team of mules and a covered wagon he made the interesting and lengthy overland journey to Washington County, Nebraska. He took up his homestead near the Town of Washington, acquiring at first only forty acres, but eventually extended his land holdings until he is now the prosperous owner of 480 acres of well-improved land.
Two years before coming to Nebraska, in 1868, he married Miss Anna Paulsen, at Omaha, Nebraska. She died in 1891, the mother of three children : F. W. Christensen, whose career is briefly noted on other pages ; Mary, who died at the age of twenty-six; and George, who lives on the home farm in Washington County.
For a number of years past Mr. Christensen has lived in the Town of Washington, and his sons have taken over the management and work of the farm. He was always a hard worker, and deserves all the credit
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for his prosperity. The first home he owned in Washington County was a little one-story frame board shack, but many years ago that was replaced by a modern farm home surrounded with a group of other buildings. Mr. Christensen has performed his duties [as a citizen through his record as a Union soldier and through the quiet and effective management of his private affairs. He has always cast his vote as a republican and is a member of the Lutheran Church.
JOHN FINEGAN. The career of John Finegan since coming to Dodge and Washington counties represents real achievement. An Irish youth recently arrived, he recommended himself by his willingness to do hard work and was satisfied with the slow but sure progress of laying a foun- dation and accumulating capital. The rewards have come in later years in the possession of valuable farming land and an extensive business as a stock raiser.
Mr. Finegan, whose home is in section 32 of Nickerson Township, Dodge County, was born in County Galway, Ireland, September 23, 1864. He grew up and received his education in his native country and at the age of twenty years came to the United States, going directly to Wash- ington County, Nebraska. For a number of years he was employed as a farm hand, using his limited savings to purchase lands and gradually getting the equipment to start farming on his own account in Dodge County. The years have brought a steady increase of prosperity until he now owns 257 acres in Dodge and Washington counties and recently he completed a modern home, one of the best in this section. The first year he came to the land he set out an orchard and for many years has had abundance of fruit. He is one of the successful sheep growers of Dodge County and he also feeds hogs and cattle.
Mr. Finegan married Miss Julia Delaney, a native of Dodge County, member of the well-known Delaney family of Dodge County (to whom reference will be found on other pages of this edition). They have six children : Gertrude, Julia, Agnes, John, James and Edward, all of whom live with their parents and have a part in the management of the house- hold and the farm. Mr. Finegan is a democratic voter, a member of the Catholic Church, and for a number of years has given much of his thought and time to the affairs of the local school district. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Columbus.
HARRY L. SWAN. In journalistic circles of Washington County a name that has become well and favorably known is that of Harry L. Swan, publisher and proprietor of the Herman Record. In something over three years Mr. Swan has so managed the affairs of this weekly that he has made it an important factor in the molding of public opinion, and at the same time has established himself firmly in the confidence of the community as a man of breadth of view and sound judgment.
He was born in New York state in 1859, a son of Samuel P. and Calista (Crandall) Swan, natives of New York, the former of whom died when sixty-five years of age and the latter at the age of seventy- three years. On both sides of the family the ancestry is traced back to pre-Revolutionary days. Taken to Missouri in boyhood, Harry L. Swan received his education in the public schools of that state, and at the age of nineteen years entered upon his career in southwestern Missouri, where he taught in the rural district for two years. He also conducted small country nwspapers from 1880 to 1890, and in the latter year went to Denver, where he was associated with several city papers. In 1885
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he accepted a position with the Associated Press, and continued with that organization until coming to Herman in May, 1918. At that time he purchased the Record, a weekly publication, of which he has been the owner and publisher ever since. He is furnishing his readers with a well-edited, well-printed and entirely reliable paper, and has the sup- port of a large subscription list and of advertisers who have found his publication a valuable and business-bringing medium. While Mr. Swan is a democratic voter, his paper maintains an independent stand as to party matters. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Woodmen of the World and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen, while Mrs. Swan belongs to the Order of the Eastern Star and the Neighbors of Woodcraft.
In 1886, at Schell City, Missouri, Mr. Swan was united in marriage with Sarah A. Herrick, and to this union there have been born seven children : Herrick, a resident of Billings, Montana ; Robert, Ernest and Harry L., Jr., all of whom reside with their parents; Helen and Maude, who died in infancy; and Eula, deceased, who was the wife of Harold Gorham.
HENRY MENCKE. Only those who come into personal contact with Henry Mencke, of Blair, scion of one of the worthy old families of Washington County, and one of the popular and successful attorneys of this locality, can understand how thoroughly nature and training, habits of thought and action have enabled him to succeed in his life work and made him a fit representative of the enterprising class of professional men to which he belongs. He is a fine type of the sturdy, progressive American of today, doing thoroughly and well the work that he has to do, and because of his ability and character he enjoys an enviable reputa- tion among his fellowmen.
Henry Mencke was born in Washington County on June 28, 1876, and is the son of Claus and Tina (Rathmann) Mencke, both of whom were born in Germany, and who now live in Blair. Claus Mencke came to Washington County in 1869, bought land and devoted himself to its improvement and cultivation for a number of years. He was elected sheriff of Washington County, and so satisfactory was his service that he was retained in the office for the unusual period of twenty-two years. He is now a bonded abstracter and is numbered among the leading citi- zens of Blair. He is a democrat in politics and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. To him and his wife were born seven children, five of whom are living, as follows: Henry, the subject of this sketch; Bessie, who is engaged in the millinery business at Tekamah, Nebraska ; George, who is engaged in the lumber business at Seattle, Washington ; Emma, the wife of E. J. Lazure, who is engaged in the grocery business at Florence ; and John, a bookkeeper at Brush, Colorado.
Henry Mencke was reared at home and attended the public schools, graduating from the Blair High School, in addition to which he took a commercial course in a business college. He then read law and in 1900 was admitted to the bar. During the following years he was variously engaged, being in the lumber business for a year or two, then spending six years in the banking business in Buffalo County, was deputy sheriff under his father for about a year, and four years was deputy county treasurer. In 1912 Mr. Mencke entered upon the active practice of law at Blair, and during the subsequent years he has enjoyed a large and lucrative business. Well versed in the principles of law, a constant stu- dent of the latest court decisions and keen and sagacious in his compre-
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