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 109

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 109

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George Faxon was a loyal citizen, a good neighbor, a loving husband and father, and Gage county lost one of her best men when he was called to his final rest. He was a Re- publican in politics, and was affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mrs. Faxon is an active member of the Christian church.

WILLIAM H. RUYLE, whose death oc- curred on the 16th of November, 1914, was a resident of Gage county for more than thirty years and became one of the prominent and successful representatives of agricultural and live-stock industry in this section of Ne- braska. He gave special attention for many years to the raising of excellent types of live stock and made large shipments of the same annually, his finely improved homestead farm having been situated in Section 35, Logan township, and comprising three hundred and twenty acres, besides which he was the owner of fully five hundred acres in Sherman township. A man of sterling character and marked energy, he did well his part in furthering the advancement of farm enterprise in the county, the while he stood exponent of loyal and pro- gressive citizenship.

The father of Mr. Ruyle was born at Knox- ville, Tennessee, in the year 1824, and was about eight years old when his parents re- moved to Illinois, in 1832, and numbered themselves among the pioneers of Scott county. The father of the subject of this me- moir was reared and educated in Illinois, was

one of the historic California argonauts of 1849, and after his return to Illinois he be- came the owner of a very large and valuable landed estate, in Jersey county, where he raised fine horses and cattle on an extensive scale and where he was influential in commun- ity affairs. He served as county commis- sioner and was a Democrat in politics. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary J. El- liott, was born in 1836, on Chamteau island, in the Mississippi river, above St. Louis, and both continued their residence in Illinois until their death. They became the parents of eight children - William. H., Elizabeth, Annie, Laura, Louis, Edward, and Oliver.

William H. Ruyle was born in Jersey county, Illinois, on the 14th of April, 1856, and was there reared and educated. He re- mained on his father's farm until he had at- tained to his legal majority, and in 1877 he visited Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. In New Mexico he became the owner of a pioneer ranch, but he soon returned to Illi- nois, where he continued his association with farm industry until 1880, when he came to Gage county and settled in Logan township, where he developed one of the fine farm es- tates of the county, besides becoming specially successful as a buyer and shipper of live stock. In politics he held to the faith of the Democratic party and he consented to serve in minor offices in his township, including those of tax collector and school director.

On the 10th of October, 1878, Mr. Ruyle wedded Miss Nettie Bateman, who was born in Jersey county, Illinois, on the 26th of Oc- tober, 1858, a daughter of William and Julia (Cowan) Bateman, who came to Gage county, Nebraska, in 1880 and settled in Logan town- ship, where they passed the remainder of their lives, their children having been nine in number. Mr. and Mrs. Ruyle became the par- ents of seven children, all of whom are living, namely : Eva J., Clarence L., William L., Herbert R., George W., Lloyd O., and Arthur. Of Herbert R. individual mention is made on other pages of this volume. Mrs. Ruyle passed to the life eternal on the 10th of June, 1896, and eventually Mr. Ruyle contracted a

HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

second marriage, when Miss Minnie Girl be- came his wife, she still remaining on the old homestead farm in Logan township. Of this union were born seven children, all of whom are living except one- Carl, Lulu, Minnie, Julia, Thomas (deceased), Etta, and Helen.

ROBERT G. GILMORE, who is now liv- ing in well earned retirement and generous prosperity in the city of Beatrice, is one of the most venerable and honored of the early pioneer settlers of Gage county and is entitled to special recognition in this history, for he has done well his part in the development of the resources of the county and in aiding in civic and industrial progress.

Mr. Gilmore was born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, July 28, 1839, a son of William and Jane (Dickeye) Gilmore, both likewise natives of the old Keystone state, the former being of Irish ancestry and the latter of Ger- man lineage. William Gilmore, who was born in 1803, became a successful farmer in Ve- nango county, and there his death occurred in 1861. His widow survived him by nearly forty years and continued her residence in Pennsylvania until her death, February 15, 1897, her birth having occurred in February, 1817. They became the parents of eight chil- dren: Adam C. was a resident of Kansas at the time of his death, in 1875; Robert G., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Ira B., who was born in 1841, resides in Chicora, Butler county, Pennsylvania ; Quin- ton B., who was born in 1843, died in Penn- sylvania, in 1911; Sarah Jane is the widow of J. R. Adams and resides at Utica, Pennsyl- vania ; Agnes Imelda is the widow of S. P. McCracken and she likewise maintains her home at Utica ; William Walker Gilmore is a carpenter by trade and is identified with the oil industry in Pennsylvania; Ann Eliza is the wife of William Whitman, of Plum, Ve- nango county, Pennsylvania. The father was originally a Whig and later a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were earnest members of the Presbyterian church. He re- claimed a good farm in a heavily timbered sec- tion of Venango county and was in the prime

of life at the time of his death. He is a son of Bruce Gilmore, and the ancestral line is traced back from Ireland to staunch Scotch origin.

Robert G. Gilmore early gained full fellow- ship with the arduous work of the pioneer farm in Pennsylvania and his youthful educa- tion was acquired principally in a primitive log school house. He continued his associa- tion with agricultural industry in his native county until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he subordinated all personal interests to tender his aid in defense of the Union. In August, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Com- pany D, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and with which he participated in many important battles, as well as minor engagements. He was with his regiment at the siege of Yorktown, the engagement at Hanover Court House, the seven days' fight before Richmond, the second battle of Bull Run, and the battles of Antietam, Fredericks- burg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Rappa- hannock Station, the Wilderness, and Spott- sylvania, in which last mentioned conflict he received two severe wounds. Here also he was captured by the enemy, and it was there- after his portion to endure for three and one- half months the horrors and privations that have made the name of Libby Prison odious in he history of the war between the North and the South. His exchange was finally ef- fected and his service as a gallant soldier of the Union covered a period of three years and one month, with honorable discharge granted to him September 20, 1864.

After the close of a military career that shall ever reflect honor on his name, Mr. Gil- more returned to his native county and re- sumed his active association with farm enter- prise. In 1875 he came to Nebraska and in Highland township, Gage county, entered claim to a homestead of eighty acres, in Sec- tion 28. With characteristic energy and re- sourcefulness he applied himself to the de- veloping and improving of his pioneer farm, and eventually he figured as the owner of a fine farm estate of one hundred and sixty

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ROBERT G. GII, MORE

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MRS. ROBERT G. GILMORE

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acres, the excellent buildings which he erected showing that cumulative prosperity had at- tended his earnest efforts. He remained 011 his old homestead until 1892, since which time he and his wife having maintained their resi- dence in the attractive home which he pro- vided in the city of Beatrice.

September 24, 1867, recorded the marriage of Mr. Gilmore to Miss Lucy M. Clough, who was born and reared in Pennsylvania and is a daughter of Horace P. and Ann (Brown) Clough, natives respectively of New York and Pennsylvania, in which latter state the father became a prosperous farmer. He finally re- moved with his family to Illinois, where his wife died, and in 1875 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased the pioneer farm on which he passed the remainder of his life. He was born in July, 1815, and died in Au- gust, 1891. His wife was born in June, 1813, and died in 1867, both having been members of the Free Will Baptist church : of their ten children only four are now living, their daugh- ter Lucy M., wife of the subject of this re- view, having been born July 21, 1841, and she and her husband having celebrated on the 24th of September, 1917, their golden-wedding an- niversary, which was made notable by their entertaining a company of about forty of their kinsfolk and other friends and marked a pleasing event in the social calendar of Gage county for that year. Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore became the parents of five children : Marietta A., who was born November 4, 1868, died in May, 1873: William B., who was born June 4, 1870, is now successfully engaged in the live-stock business at Loveland, Colorado; Flora, who was born November 18, 1872, is the wife of O. L. Stewart, engaged in the mercantile business in Beatrice ; Leonard B., who was born June 18, 1875, lives upon and has the active management of his father's old homestead farm; and Horace Clinton, born January 5, 1880, holds the position of foreman with the Independent Lumber Company at Montrose, Colorado.

Mr. Gilmore has continued his unfaltering allegiance to the Republican party from the time when he cast his first presidential vote,

for Abraham Lincoln, in 1860. While on his farm he served in various township offices, as well as a member of the school board of his district, and in the spring of 1884 he was appointed postmaster at Barkey, a position of which he continued the incumbent eight years. He was formerly affiliated with the Grand Army Post at Cortland and passed the various official chairs in the same, as has he also in Rawlins Post, No. 35, Grand Army of the Republic, with which he has been affiliated since removing to Beatrice and of which he is past commander. He attends and supports the First Baptist churchi, of which his wife is an active member, and both are honored and venerable pioneer citizens of the county that has represented their home for more than two score years.

JOHN CACEK. - A man who has made good use of his opportunities and by intelli- gently directed efforts has become one of the substantial men of his community is John Cacek, a farmer and stock-raiser, residing in Section 6, Paddock township. He was born in the province of Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, November 17, 1865. He was less than two years of age when the family immigrated to America and was a boy of nine when the home was established in Gage county, Nebraska. Reared on his father's farm, amid the pioneer conditions that existed in those times, he early learned the lessons of thrift and indus- try which have been so valuable to him in later life. At the age of twenty-five years he came into possession of one hundred and twenty acres of land, a part of his father's estate, and he is to-day the owner of five hun- dred and twenty acres in Gage county, and five hundred and sixty acres in Jefferson county, Nebraska. His home farm is in Sec- tion 6, Paddock township, and consists of one hundred and sixty acres of land, improved with a nice home for the family and with good barns and outbuildings for the shelter of his stock and machinery.

For a helpmeet Mr. Cacek chose Miss Mary Hebel. She was born in Saline county, Ne- braska, November 14, 1872, a daughter of

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Joseph and Mary ( Mahajek) Hebel, whose record appears elsewhere in this volume.

Mr. and Mrs. Cacek are the parents of cight children: John, Jr., married Mary Shalla and operates one of his father's farms, in Paddock township, and Charles, Emma, Albert, Joseph, Mary, Ralph, and Alvin are still under the parental roof. The family are communicants of the Catholic church and Mr. Cacek votes the Democratic ticket. He is serv- ing his third year as a member of the school board of his district, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion.

Mr. Cacek and his family have worked hard and by carefully saving his earnings, and by judicious investments in farm lands, he is to-day one of the substantial men of Gage county.

HENRY DAMKROGER is one of the progressive and substantial farmers and stock- men of Holt township and is a popular and in- fluential citizen who is well entitled to recog- nition in this history. In Gage county he is the owner of a valuable landed estate of eight hundred and forty acres, besides which he has one hundred acres in Jefferson county and a farm of two hundred acres in Saline county. He is one of Gage county's most extensive and successful stock-growers, and each successive year he feeds on his farm estate an average of about thirty-five head of cattle and three hundred head of swine. His homestead place is attractively situated in Section 7, Holt town- ship, about seven and one-half miles distant from the village of Dewitt, which is his post- office address. In 1908 Mr. Damkroger erect- ed on this model homestead a modern house of fourteen rooms, and the same is one of the most attractive rural homes of the county, the house being equipped with its own electric- lighting system - that known as the Delco - and other facilities and appointments being likewise of the most approved and modern type. Mr. Damkroger has served as township treasurer, township assessor, and as a member of the school board of his district. He is a stalwart Republican in politics and he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Luth-

eran church. He was one of the organizers of the church of this denomination in Grant township, having been one of its eight charter members and having served many terms as a member of its board of trustees. He is presi- dent of the Farmers' & Merchants' State Bank at Dewitt, Saline county, a position which he has held for several years, besides which he is a stockholder in the farmers' elevator com- panies at Dewitt and Pickrell, and secretary of the German Mutual Fire Insurance Asso- ciation of Clatonia.

Mr. Damkroger was born in the province of Westphalia, Germany, April 30, 1858, and is a son of William and Louisa (Schlake) Dam- kroger, of whose nine children he was the sixth in order of birth; Mrs. Mary Dorfler resides at Beatrice, this county, being the wife of John Dorfler; Louisa is the wife of Carl Weber, of Holt township; Charlotte is the wife of John Schuermann, a farmer near De- witt, Saline county ; Anna is the wife of Wil- liam Schuermann, of the same county ; Fred- erick is a retired farmer residing at Clatonia, Gage county; John F. is a representative farmer of Grant township; Frank resides at Wakefield, Kansas; and William was killed by accident when on a hunting expedition. The father was born in the year 1833 and continued his residence in Germany until 1879, when he came with his family to America and numbered himself among the pioneers of Gage county. In Grant township he pur- chased railroad land, at eight dollars an acre, and he reclaimed and improved one of the ex- cellent farms of that township, where he con- tinued to reside until his death, which oc- curred in 1907, his wife having survived him by about two years and having been sum- moned to eternal rest August 2, 1909, at the age of seventy-three years, both having been devout communicants of the Lutheran church, and their names meriting enduring place on the roll of honored pioneers of Gage county.

Henry Damkroger was reared and educated in his native land and was a youth of seven- teen years when he came to the United States, in 1874, his brother Frederick having come in the preceding year. Landing in the port of

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New York city, he forthwith set forth for Ne- braska. When he arrived in the city of Lin- coln he found his financial resources entirely exhausted, and from a cousin residing in that city he borrowed the sum of five dollars, which enabled him to continue his journey to Dewitt, Saline county. After coming to Ne- braska Mr. Damkroger worked one year as a farm hand, and thereafter he was employed three years as clerk in a general store at De- witt. Between the years 1874 and 1878 he saved from his earnings the sum of six hun- dred dollars, and of this he expended two hundred dollars in making the trip to Ger- many and inducing his parents to join him. With the remaining four hundred dollars he purchased cattle, and he grazed his herd over the prairies in Gage and Saline counties, be- sides taking additional cattle to feed and herd on contract. The late William Steinmeyer lent him money to purchase his first team of horses, and he then engaged independently in general farming and stock-growing in Gage county. It was a modest beginning, but energy, ambition, and good management brought returns, the while in his career suc- cess has been synonymous with honor. To the earnest co-operation and wise counsel of his devoted wife he attributes in large measure the success that has attended his productive activities as a member of the world's great army of workers. His paternal devotion has been shown in his having aided all of his children to get a start in life, besides having given them excellent educational advantages. Of his financial status an idea is conveyed in the statement that for the year 1916 he paid an income taxe of one hundred and two dol- lars.

In September, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Damkroger to Miss Louisa Spilker, who was born April 5, 1854, and who is a daughter of Henry Spilker, detailed men- tion of the family appearing on other pages, in the sketch of the career of her brother, Ernest H. Spilker. Of the eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Damkroger two died in infancy ; Sophia is the wife of Herman F. Siems, of Grant township; Louisa is the wife of H. O.

Waldo, of Dewitt, Saline county; Lena is the wife of J. J. Kruescher, a merchant at Dewitt ; Charlotte is the wife of George Pohlman, of Grant township; Catherine remains at the parental home; Henry W. has entered the na- tional army in preparation for service in the great European war and at the time of this writing, in the winter of 1917-1918, is sta- tioned at the army cantonment of Camp Funston, Kansas; and Herman, Frederick, and Lavina are the younger members of the gracious home circle.

CHARLES ARMSTRONG was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, October 20, 1858, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth Armstrong, who passed their entire lives in Ireland. Four children of this family came to America, their first home being in Linn county, Iowa, and later they all became residents of Gage county, Nebraska. Kate became the wife of William Hommersham and they lived in Gage county for several years. They now are residents of Missouri.

The subject of this record was eighteen years of age when he came to the United States and joined his brothers, who were liv- ing in Linn county, Iowa. In 1880, he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and located on eighty acres of land which he purchased and upon which his home has been maintained ever since that time; but little improvement had been made on the place and Mr. Arm- strong has provided a comfortable home for his family besides which he has recently erected a new barn and provided other good buildings for the shelter of grain and stock. He is progressive and up-to-date in his meth- ods and has added to his original purchase until to-day he is the owner of two hundred acres of valuable land.

At Vinton, Iowa, was solemnized the mar- riage of Charles Arnistrong and Miss Agnes Whelan, who is, like her husband, a native of the Emerald Isle and who came to the United States when a young lady of eighteen years. She supplemented the education she received in her native land by attendance at Coe Col- lege, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and thereafter she

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was engaged in teaching, being thus employed at the time of her marriage.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong has been blessed with eight children: Kate is still under the parental roof; Minnie died in in- fancy ; Andrew, married Flo Wilson and is engaged in farming in Gage county ; Bessie Viola, Alex George, Joseph, William F., and Charles Edward all remain at the parental home.

The religious faith of the family is that of the Methodist Epicopal church, and Mr. Arm- strong exercises his right of franchise in sup- port of men and measures advanced by the Democratic party. While not an aspirant for public office, he has rendered efficient service as a member of the school board of his dis- trict.

RALPH A. DUIS. - Germany has fur- nished some most valuable citizens to Ne- braska and one of the number is Ralph A. Duis, who is one of the substantial farmers of Glenwood township.

Mr. Duis was born in the province of Han- over, Germany, April 24, 1867. His parents, Pabe and Engel Duis, spent their entire lives in their native land, the father passing away at the age of eighty-five years and the mother being seventy-five years of age when she was called to the home beyond.

Reared and educated in his native land, Mr. Duis was twenty-two years old when he sought a home in America. The first year he worked as a hired man on a farm in Atchison county, Missouri, after which he came to Gage county, Nebraska, where for five years he operated a rented farm near Wymore. He carefully saved his earnings until he was able to pur- chase a farm of eighty acres near Wymore. Five years were spent in developing this place, which he then sold. He thereupon purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Glenwood township, where he has resided and success- fully carried on agricultural pursuits for the past seventeen years.

In Atchison county, Missouri, was cele- brated the marriage of Mr. Duis to Miss Johanna Luben, who is also a native of Ger-

many, and who came to America the same year as did her husband. They have become the parents of fourteen children, and the fam- ily circle has been untouched by the hand of death. Pabe is married and is farming in Washington county, Kansas; Minnie is the wife of August Adam, of Glenwood town- ship; Tina is now Mrs. Nienober, of Wash- ington county, Kansas ; John is at home ; Han- nah is now Mrs. Wieters, of Glenwood town- ship; and Tillie, Anna, Dora, Rosa, Rudolph, Alfred, William, Harold and Elmer are still under the parental roof.

The family are members of the Lutheran church and the father votes the Democratic ticket. Aside from two thousand dollars which Mr. Duis inherited from his parents, his success is the result of his own efforts. His prosperity is attested by the fact that he has two hundred acres of valuable land, equip- ped with a good house and other requisite farm buildings. Mr. Duis and his family are among the highly respected residents of Gage county.

WILLIAM H. JEWELL. - In Section 20 of Grant township, Gage county, is the home of William H. Jewell, who is one of Gage county's many prosperous farmers and stock- growers, and a native son of the county. Mr. Jewell was born on the old homestead of his father in Clatonia township, January 25, 1872, and is the eldest of the three surviving chil- dren of George W. and Martha (Carpenter) Jewell; Bertha, the only daughter, is the wife of W. E. McJunken, of Dewitt, Saline county ; and Earl C. is individually mentioned on other pages of this volume.

George W. Jewell was born in Ohio, on the 25th of April, 1845, and thence removed with his parents to Illinois when a youth. The Jewell family is of Scotch-Irish origin, having been founded in America in colonial days. George W. Jewell, as a valiant soldier, served in the Second Illinois Cavalry in the Civil war, and thereafter he continued his residence in Illinois until 1870, when he came to Ne- braska and numbered himself among the pio- neers of Gage county. He reclaimed a home-

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stead in Clatonia township, and later bought the southeast quarter of Section 20, on which the subject of this review now resides. Here he made his home until his death, which oc- curred November 21, 1910, his wife having passed away in 1902. Mr. Jewell was a citi- zen who did his part well in the furtherance of civic and industrial progress, and was one of the honored pioneers of the county at the time of his death. He was a Republican in politics and was affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic.

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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 109

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