History of Gage County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religious, and civic development from the early days to the present time, Part 100

Author: Dobbs, Hugh Jackson, 1849-
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Publishing and Engraving Company
Number of Pages: 1120

USA > Nebraska > Gage County > History of Gage County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religious, and civic development from the early days to the present time > Part 100

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Francis A. Miller, named in honor of the first Methodist bishop, Francis Asbury, was born April 26, 1872, near Howard Springs, Cumberland county, Tennessee. His attend- ance at school there was limited, but fortu- nately his father and mother made good that defect, and when, at the age of ten years, he removed with them to Sandwich, Illinois, he was able to take the place in the public schools to which his age would entitle him. When he was thirteen years of age, in 1885, his par- ents removed to Arapahoe, Furnas county, Nebraska, where his schooling was finished by his graduation from the high school, at the age of sixteen years. September 30, 1890, he came to Beatrice, where he has since resided. He worked at his trade as a printer for seven years, clerked in a grocery store nearly four years, later engaging in the business success- fully on his own account, beginning December 5, 1900, and continuing to the present time.

November 20, 1895, Mr. Miller married Nellie Robbins, who was born at Dwight, Illinois, a daughter of William H. and Carrie (Horton) Robbins. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Robbins was solemnized Sep- tember 13, 1870, at Poughkeepsie, New York. William H. Robbins was born in Saratoga county, New York, January 14, 1844, a son of Richard Robbins, who was born in England, January 12, 1805, and Sarah (Deth) Robbins, who was born in England, June 7, 1809. Mrs. Carrie Robbins was born in Poughkeep- sie, New York, a daughter of Smith Horton and Mary (Riggs) Horton, who were married in Fishkill, New York, September 4, 1848. Mr. and Mrs. Robbins made their home in Dwight, Illinois, later removing to Steele City,

Nebraska, and in 1884 he engaged in business in Beatrice. Mr. Robbins was a territorial pioneer of Nebraska, having engaged in freighting across the plains before the rail- roads were across the state of Iowa.

Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, and they have all received their education in the public schools of Beatrice, and are, as they graduate, supplementing this with advanced work in higher places of learn- ing. Dorothy Robbins, a graduate of the Beatrice high school, class of 1914, was gradu- ated in 1918 from Doane College, Crete, Ne- braska, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Horace Gilmore Miller, of the class of 1917, Beatrice high school, is a member of the 1921 class at Doane College. Lermond Horton Miller is a member of the 1920 class of the Beatrice high school, and Ruth Eleanor Miller attends the sixth grade of the Beatrice public schools.

Mr. Miller has at all times taken an active interest in måtters of a public nature, never, however, having been a candidate for public office, except to serve as member of the school board for four years, 1914-1918, during two years of which time he was president of the board. He was a member of the building com- mittee and served for a period of seven years on the board of directors of the Mary Young Men's Christian Association, when it was first organized. With his family he is a mem- ber of the First Congregational church, and he has in turn been trustee and treasurer of that organization. He states his politics as being progressive Republican, is a member of Beatrice Lodge, No. 26, Ancient Free & Ac- cepted Masons, and the Nebraska Society Sons of the American Revolution. During the present war he is active in what has been termed "the third line of defense," serving on various committees, assisting in the food ad- ministration, being a member of the Home Guards, and keeping himself generally useful.

DELL B. COLGROVE is a native son of Gage county and is successfully operating a farm of seven hundred and ten acres in Pad- dock township. He was born in this township, March 3, 1890, a son of James F. and Eliza-

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beth (With) Colgrove, a record of whom ap- pears elsewhere in this volume.

Dell B. Colgrove was reared on his father's farm in Paddock township, attended the pub- lic schools, and when old enough assisted his father in the operation of the farm. He came into possession of four hundred and seventy acres of the estate and has recently purchased the two hundred and forty acres where his father settled when he came to the county, in . 1878. He is one of the extensive stock far- mers of the county, the only son in the family who carries on stock farming in much the same manner as did his father.

Mr. Colgrove married Miss Celia Etta Whitton, who was born in Gage county, a daughter of the late Richard Whitton, an early settler of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Col- grove have two children, Eugene and Thelma. A third child, Beulah, is deceased.

BENJAMIN A. BRUBAKER, who has prestige as one of the substantial farmers of Rockford township, is here the owner of a well improved landed estate of three hundred and twenty acres, in Sections 16, 21, and 22, and his is the further distinction of being a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of Gage county, which has been his home since he was a youth of sixteen years.

Mr. Brubaker was born in Greene county, Tennessee, September 2, 1863, and is a son of Peter and Delilah (Watenbarger) Brubaker, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Tennessee. Peter Brubaker was ten years old at the time of the family removal to Ten- nessee, where he was reared and educated and where his marriage was solemnized. There he continued his activities as a farmer until 1879, when he came with his family to Ne- braska and numbered himself among the pio- neers of Gage county. For the first year he rented land near the village of Dewitt and he then purchased eighty acres in Rockford town- ship where he developed a productive farm. After he had attained to advanced age he lived for some time in the village of Holmes- ville, but he passed the closing period of his long and useful life in the home of his son

Benjamin, of this review. He was seventy- three years of age at the time of his death and his widow attained to the venerable age of eighty-two years, she having been one of the revered pioneer women of the county at the time of her demise: both were most earn- est members of the Brethren, or Dunkard, church, and Henry Brubaker, a brother of Peter, was the founder of the church of this denomination in Gage county, where he estab- lished his home in 1876 and where he did much to foster the development of the very appreciable and valued Dunkard colony that has been representative in social and indus- trial development in the county. The subject of this review is the youngest in a family of seven children; Susan is the wife of Noah Wrightsman, who is mentioned on other pages ; Mary became the wife of William H. Root and was a resident of this county at the time of her death; Martha is the wife of George A. Hill and they reside in the state of Kansas; Henry D. is a farmer in that state; John was a resident of Gage county at the time of his death, which resulted from injuries received when he was kicked by a mule.

Benjamin A. Brubaker passed the period of his childhood and youth on his father's farm in Tennessee, was afforded the advantages of the district schools and was a lad of sixteen years at the time of the family removal to Gage county, in 1879. He here continued to be associated with the activities of his father's farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-one years, when he purchased a farm near Blue Springs. He made good improve- ments on this place and there continued his residence four years, at the expiration of which he purchased his father's farm, where he made a home for his venerable parents until the close of their lives, according to them the filial solicitude that was so essentially their due. He has since added to the area of his farm estate, which now comprises three hun- dred and twenty acres and gives every evi- dence of thrift and prosperity.

Mr. Brubaker has given efficient service as a member of the school board of his district and has otherwise shown loyal interest in com-

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

munity affairs, his political support being given to the Republican party and both he and his wife being active members of the Church of the Brethren.

In 1890, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Brubaker to Miss Sarah McPheron, who was born in Tennessee and whose father, James M McPheron, is now a resident of Holmes- ville, Gage county. Mr. and Mrs .. Brubaker have six children, all of whom remain at the parental home except the eldest, Anna, who is the wife of David M. Frantz, a successful farmer in Rockford township. The children of the parental home circle are John, May, (wife of Roy Shaffer), Florence, Ray, and Lois.

JAMES F. COLGROVE .- One of the earliest settlers on what was formerly the Otoe Indian reservation was James F. Col- grove, who came to Gage county in 1878 and who for many years was one of its substantial farmers and stock men. He was born in Steuben county, New York, July 31, 1853, a son of Andrew and Almira (Baxter) Col- grove, natives of New York state. The par- ents of Mr. Colgrove lived at different time in Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, and their last days were spent at Marysville, Kan- sas.

James F. Colgrove received his education in the various states where his parents lived, and was the third in a family of nine children. He came to Gage county in 1878 and pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Paddock and Sicily townships. This land was wholly unimproved, as it had been but recently opened for settlement and had been a part of the Otoe Indian reservation. Without capital, but with that perseverance and ambition which always augur for success, Mr. Colgrove became one of the extensive land-owners and stock men of the county. He owned more than two thousand acres in Gage county, besides land in Oklahoma and Texas. He has lived retired for several years, and is making his home at the present time in Okla- homa.

April 16, 1874, Mr. Colgrove married Miss

Mary With, a daughter of John W. and Eli- zabeth (Clark) With. Mr. and Mrs. Col- grove became the parents of the following children : John W. married Della Smith and resides at Linn, Kansas ; Willie M. was killed in a runaway accident at Wymore, when eleven years of age ; James A. is a farmer near Barneston, Gage county ; Charles H. married Lena Fisher and resides in Washington county, Kansas; Edward F. is a farmer in Paddock township; Elizabeth A. died in in- fancy ; Elmer L. married Myrtle Burdette, and resides in Texas ; Dell B. is individually men- tioned on other pages; and Nell J., is the wife of Owen Brown, of Linn, Kansas.

LYSANDER H. BARDWELL. - The record of this gentleman furnishes a forcible illustration of the power of industry and self- reliance, he having risen by successive steps from moderate circumstances to his present position of affluence. He was born in Onon- daga county, New York, October 7, 1844, a son of Orren Bardwell, who was a native of Massachuetts and when ten years of age was taken by his parents to New York state. Here he was reared and became a successful farmer. He passed away in that state, at the age of ninety-three years. The mother of our sub- ject was in her maidenhood Arvilla Bostwick, a native of New York. She died at the age of thirty-five years. The paternal grand-par- ents were natives of Massachuetts. They were Zenus and Polly Bardwell. The latter lived to the age of one hundred and one years.

Lysander Holland Bardwell grew to man- hood in New York state, and at the age of twenty-four years came west and established a home in Holt county Missouri, where he farmed for seven years. In 1878 he became a pioneer settler of Gage county, Nebraska, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild land in Paddock township. This land had but recently been opened for settle- ment, having been part of the Otoe Indian reservation. Mr. Bradwell built his first house by setting poles in the ground and fas- tening boards to them, with one door and one window. The roof was made of boards with

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

strips of paper to cover the cracks. In this house the family lived the first winter. The stable was built in much the same manner, the roof being thatched with grass cut from the prairie in the month of January. Water was obtained by cutting through the ice on the creek, for household use and stock. At that time corn was selling for fifteen cents a bushel, and to provide for his family Mr. Bardwell would go to the settlement north of him and husk corn, receiving as his pay every seventh bushel. He at one time cut and traded halt a cord of wood for a half-gallon of syrup, a lit- tle sugar and a package of soda. His nearest neighbor was five or six miles away, and there was only one or two houses between his farm Beatrice.

Mr. Bardwell was united in marriage to Miss Clara Rice, who like himself was born in Onondaga county, New York. She was one of the pioneer women of Paddock township, and that first winter, while living in that primi- tive dwelling, she was called to her final rest. Mr. Bardwell was left with four children, the youngest but a few weeks old. Two years after his wife's death he married a widow, a sister of L. S. Austin, one of the early settlers of Sicily township. She passed away some years ago.

As the years passed and his financial re- sources increased, Mr. Bardwell added to his original purchase and to-day he is the owner of four hundred acres of valuable land, well improved, -a worthy monument to his un- faltering zeal. His children are four in num- ber: Leroy is married and living in Okla- homa; Frank is married and, with a family of four children, lives in Middleton, Idaho; Ezra, with his wife and three children, resides in Tabor, Iowa. The fourth child, bereft of its mother when a few weeks old, was adopted into the family of L. S. Austin, and is known as Orren Emory Austin ; he lives in Dakota.

Mr. Bardwell is one of the few remaining real early settlers of Paddock township. He has done his share to bring about present day con- ditions, and will soon leave the farm to enjoy a well earned rest, and will make his home in Odell, Nebraska.

GEORGE F. MILLER is the owner of a well improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Section 5 Highland township, and is one of the energetic and successful agri- culturists and stock-growers of this part of the county. In addition to this homestead farm he owns also a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Kearney county. Mr. Miller was born in Lancaster county, Nebraska, July 2, 1879, a son of Fritz and Anna (Hempke) Miller, he being the second eldest of the four surviving members of the family of child- ren; Theodore is a successful farmer in Kearney county ; Mrs. Anna Menner resides at Dorchester, Illinois; and Laura maintains her home in Kearney county.

Fritz Miller was born in Germany, in 1836, and was a young man when he immigrated to the United States and found employment as a farm workman in Illinois. Later he gained pioneer experience in Iowa, where he worked on the farm of an Irishman and where he gained his first colloquial use of the English language, which he had previously been unable to speak. In Iowa he met and married Miss Anna Hempke, who was born in Germany, in 1842, and came to America when young. In 1878 Fritz Miller numbered himself among the pioneers of Lancaster county, Nebraska, where for the ensuing seventeen years he was engaged in farming, his farm having been one- third of a mile north of Hickman. He then removed with his family to Kearney county, where he improved a good farm and where his death occurred in 1898, his widow having sur- vived him by a decade and having passed away in 1908.

George F. Miller early gained full fellow- ship with arduous toil, as he was a mere boy when he began to assist his father in the work of the home farm, the while he availed him- self as fully as possible of the advantages af- forded in the district schools. In 1905 he rented land from his widowed mother, in Kearney county, and initiated his independent activities as a farmer. Energy and close ap- plication brought tangible returns and his suc- cess increased from year to year. On the 5th of March, 1914, Mr. Miller purchased of Wil-

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

liam Wagner his present farm in Gage county, the place having been well improved but having received under his control further improvements of substantial order, including the erection of an excellent modern barn that is fifty-two by fifty-four feet in lateral dimen- sions. Mr. Miller is vigorous and resourceful in all departments of farm enterprise, main- tains his land under effective cultivation and is a successful grower of short-horn Durham cattle and Duroc-Jersey swine. He has won advancement through his own well directed industry and has placed himself in secure status as one of the successful exponents of farm industry in his native state. He has had no desire for public office, is independent in politics and is liberal in support of meas- ures projected for the communal welfare. He and his wife hold membership in the Presby- terian church.

On the 18th of February, 1905, Mr. Miller married Miss Lizzie Scheneman, who was born in Germany, on the 9th of November, 1879, and who was a child at the time when the family home was established in Gage county, Nebraska, she being a daughter of Gottfried and Anna Scheneman. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have three children, - Ernest, Viola and Ruby.

WILLIAM RIGGERT is one of the suc- cessful and up-to-date farmers of Glenwood township, where he owns and operates a valit- able farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, on the 24th of January, 1869. His parents, John and Dora (Maas) Riggert, were likewise natives of Hanover, Germany, in which country they passed their entire lives. They were the parents of six children, five of whom are living. William of this review and his sister, Mrs. Herman Dunker, of Lundell, Kansas, are the only representatives of the immediate family who are living in America.

William Riggert was a young man of seven- teen years when he came to the United States, and for six years thereafter he found employ- ment as a hired man on a farm. During this time he carefully saved his earnings and finally

he began farming for himself. He rented land for four years, and for twenty-one years. he has owned and cultivated his present farm, which is equipped with a good set of buildings, all of which have been put on the place by its present owner.

For a companion and helpmeet, Mr. Riggert married Miss Mary Loemker, a native of Washington county, Kansas, a record of the family being found on other pages, in a sketch of Ernst Loemker, a farmer of Paddock town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. Riggert have one child, Raymond. Their religious faith is expressed by membership in the Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Riggert is a Republican. Though he has never aspired to public office he is serving efficiently as moderator of his school district.

Coming to America with no capital except a willingness to work and a determination to own a home of his own, so characteristic of his race, Mr. Riggert has every reason to be proud of his record, for to-day he is one of the substantial men of Gage county.

FREDERICK L. ROOT is consistently to be designated as one of the representative farmers of the younger generation in his na- tive county and is conducting his operations on a part of the old homestead on which he was born, in Section 36 Rockford township, where he received eighty acres from his father's estate and has since added by the pur- chase of an adjoining tract of equal area. He was born on the 26th of September, 1881, and is a son of the late William H. Root, an hon- ored pioneer to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this work. The subject of this review was reared on the farm which is now his home and is indebted to the public schools for his early education. He has never had desire to sever his association with farm enterprise and is making himself known as a progressive and successful agriculturist and stock-raiser.

In 1906 Mr. Root married Miss Ida Falwell, who likewise was born and reared in this: county, and they have four children, - Ruth, Marion, Addie and Gertrude.

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

GILBERT R. SHELLEY is one of the rep- resentative agriculturists and stock-growers of the younger generation in his native county and is giving his attention to the management of the fine old homestead farm of four hun- dred acres, in Section 19, Rockford township, which was the place of his birth, the date of his nativity having been December 17, 1888. He is a son of James W. Shelley and a brother of Frank R. Shelley, owner and executive head of the Beatrice Business College, a sketch of the latter's career being offered on other pages, with due incidental record concerning the family history, so that a repetition of the data is not here demanded. Gilbert Shelley gained his initial experience of practical order in connection with the work of the farm which is now his home, and in the meanwhile he made good use of the advantages afforded in the public schools of his native county. He remained at the parental home until he had at- t ined to his legal majority and for seven years thereafter he conducted farming oper- ations on land which he leased. In 1916 he assumed control of the landed estate of his father and he is directing his energies spe- cially to making the place a thoroughly modern and scientific stock farm, his energy and pro- gressiveness offering assurance of cumulative success in this important field of industrial enterprise. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

In 1910 Mr. Shelley wedded Miss Bessie Kennedy, who likewise was born and reared in this county, and they have a winsome little daughter, Geraldine.

FRED H. TURNER, who is engaged in general farm enterprise in Sicily township, is operating one hundred and twenty acres of land, this farm having been the home of the Turner family since pioneer days in Gage county.

Mr. Turner was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, August 20, 1870, and is a son of the late Alva Turner, of whom further mention is made in a biography prepared for William

R. McKinley, of Beatrice, a half-brother of the subject of this sketch. Fred H. Turner was only a boy when the family home was es- tablished in Gage county and amid the pio- neer conditions he was reared to young man- hood on the farm which is now his home. When a young man he spent four years in Colorado and Wyoming at a "cattle puncher." Returning to Gage county, he took up the occupation to which he had been reared and for several years he has successfully operated the home farm.

For a companion and helpmeet Mr. Turner married Miss Effie Floyd, a native of Gage county, and they have become the parents of three children: Floyd H., Fern and May. Mrs. Turner is a member of the United Brethern church.

Mr. Turner is a Republican in politics, but the emoluments of public office have had no at- traction for him, as he has preferred to de- vote his time and energy to his private indus- trial and business affairs. He has been an eye-witness of the vast changes that have taken place in Gage county and this, together with the fact that the Turner family has con- tributed its share to the development of the community, makes a publication of this order of especial interest to him and his family. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, of which latter he has been a mem- ber for twenty-seven years.

JOHN SCHEIDELER was a pioneer farmer in Paddock township, and contributed his share to the upbuilding of Gage county, - a sterling citizen to whom a tribute should be given in this history. Mr. Scheideler was born in Westphalia, Germany, July 8, 1847, and as a soldier he did valiant service for his na- tive land in her war with France in 1866. Soon after this he came to the United States, working in New York for a time. He then came west and located in Waukesha county, Wisconsin. In 1879 he became a resident of Gage county, Nebraska, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of raw prairie land in Section 14, Paddock township. He

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immediately began the improvement of the place. His first abode, -that in which all of his children were born - was a rock house which still stands. In 1882 he returned to Wisconsin and was united in marriage to Miss Anna Loibl, who was born at Eagle, that state, October 31, 1860. She came with her husband to the pioneer home in Gage county, and as the years passed she assisted him in the development of the farm. To this worthy couple were born nine children, as follows : Catherine is the wife of Alfred Barnes, a railroad man residing at Norfolk, Nebraska ; Edward is a farmer in Gage county; Anton is a business man of Wymore, this county, and at the present time (1918) is a member of the county board of supervisors; John is a farmer in Gage county ; Herbert is in the na- tional army and is now a corporal in his con- pany, located at Salt Lake City, Utah ; Henry is, at the time of this writing, about to enter the aviation school of the United States army at Chicago; Albert and Carl are at home; Mary, the youngest, is the wife of Clay Cole, manager of the Kriter elevator in Paddock township. The father of these children, after a useful life, passed away January 21, 1907, on the farm where he had lived twenty-eight years.

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History of Gage County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religious, and civic development from the early days to the present time, Part 100

Author: Dobbs, Hugh Jackson, 1849- Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Publishing and Engraving Company Number of Pages: 1120

Author: Dobbs, Hugh Jackson, 1849-
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Publishing and Engraving Company
Number of Pages: 1120