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 113
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CHARLES H. HOLLINGWORTH is a member of a representative Gage county fam- ily concerning which adequate record is given on other pages of this work, and he was born on the fine old homestead farm which is now his place of residence, in Section 32 Rockford township, the date of his nativity having been March 12, 1865, which signifies emphatically that his parents were numbered among the ter- ritorial pioneers of the county. He remained with his parents on the old home place until their death and then came into possession of ninety-two acres of the property, his fine home being the substantial stone house that was erected more than forty years ago, by his brother Alfred C., of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. This house is one of the veritable landmarks of this section of the state and Mr. Hollingworth takes much satisfaction in the fact that he is able to uphold the prestige of the family name in connection with loyal citizenship and constructive farm industry in Gage county, where he was reared under the influences of the pioneer days and where he gained his early education in the com- mon schools of the period. His political alle- giance is given to the Democratic party and
he and his wife are members of the Christian church in the city of Beatrice.
In 1892 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hollingworth to Miss Anna L. DeWitt, who was born in Montgomery county, Illinois, and they have but one child, Jessie L., who at- tended the Wesleyan University at Lincoln, this state, and who is now a successful and popular teacher in the public schools at Holmesville, not far distant from the old homestead.
Mr. Hollingworth's first school teacher was Hugh J. Dobbs, the author of this history of Gage county, and he recalls with humorous appreciation that on one occasion Mr. Dobbs disciplined him for some youthful prank or remissness by making him stand at a knot hole in a log and hold his toe in the aperture, as a matter of punishment.
CHARLES N. HINDS, cashier of the Hinds State Bank of Odell, is a native of Iowa, born near Postville, November 2, 1871, a son of Edwin B. Hinds, a record of whom ap- pears elsewhere in this volume.
Charles Norton Hinds was a lad of nine years when the family home was transferred to Odell, Nebraska, where he attended the public schools and was a member of the first graduating class of Odell high school, in 1891. In 1895 he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska, at Lincoln, and in 1896 the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by the same institution. Thereafter he was professor of history at York College, York, Nebraska, for one year. Then, for five years, he was in the office of the register of deeds at Beatrice, after which he organized the Commercial State Bank at Barneston and became cashier. In 1903 he returned to Odell and became cashier of the Hinds State Bank, of which his father is president and principal owner.
He was united in marriage to Miss Jessie A. Walker, a native of Wisconsin and they are the parents of these children: Clarence E., Lulu A., Hazel D., William Walker, Ed- win Shaw and James Pershing.
Both by education and temperment Mr.
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Hinds is well qualified for the executive posi- tion of which he is the incumbent in the Hinds State Bank. He has a genial disposition, which begets friendship and good will, and at the same time possesses that dignity and bearing which inspire confidence. He is a personal friend of General John J. Persh- ing, who was commander of the Nebraska University Battalion for four years while he was a lieutenant in the United States army, and Mr. Hinds passed through the grades of service and attained the rank of first lieuten- ant of Company B. He has been solicited to enter the service of Uncle Sam and been ten- dered prominent positions in the army by his old friend, who now commands the United States forces on the battlefields of Europe.
Mr. Hinds is a Republican in politics and fraternally is a member in good standing of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America lodges of Odell.
NOAH WRIGHTSMAN, a substantial re- tired farmer residing in the attractive village of Holmesville, has been a resident of Gage county since 1888 and has here won independ- ence through his active alliance with farm in- dustry. He was born in one of the eastern counties of Virginia, January 23, 1848, and is a son of Samuel and Annie (Wirtz) Wrights- man, who likewise were natives of the historic Old Dominion state.
Noah Wrightsman acquired his youthful education in his native state and was seventeen years old when he accompanied his parents to Macoupin county, Illinois, where his father engaged in farming, the parents having passed the remainder of their lives in that county. When Noah attained to the age of twenty years his father "gave him his time," and for the ensuing six years he was employed by the month at farm work. He then engaged in farming for himself, in Macoupin county, Illi- nois, where he continued his activities until 1888, when he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and bought eighty acres of land in Rockford township. He improved the buildings on the place, erected new buildings and eventually
developed one of the fine farm properties of the township, where he still retains ownership of the farm of one hundred and sixty acres. besides which he owns two residence proper- ties at Holmesville and a tract of land in Thomas county, Kansas. He retired from his farm in 1908 and has since maintained his residence in Holmesville.
In the year 1875 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Wrightsman to Miss Susan Bru- baker, of Tennessee, in which state she was born and reared, and she is a sister of Benja- min A. Brubaker, a well known farmer of Rockford township. Mr. and Mrs. Wrights- man have three children : Harvey P., of Holmesville, is married and has two children ; Elmer C., who is married and has six children, is associated with his bachelor brother, Otis F., in the operation of their father's farm. Mr. Wrightsman is a Republican in politics and he and his family are members of the Church of the Brethren, commonly designated as the Dunkard church.
JOHN APPLEBEE was a youth of four- teen years when he came with his parents to Nebraska Territory and during the long inter- vening years he has maintained his residence in Gage county, where he has been an appre- ciative witness of the splendid march of de- velopment and progress, in which he himself has played a sturdy and worthy part. In Sec- tion 16, Hanover township, he is the owner of the farm of eighty acres upon which he re- sides, and which is a part of the old home place of his father. This he utilizes in his farm operations.
Mr. Applebee was born in La Salle county, Illinois, July 20, 1851, and is a son of John and Ella (Denton) Applebee, both natives of the state of New York, their marriage having been solemnized in Illinois. In the latter state John Applebee, Sr., continued his association with farm industry until 1865, when he came with his family to Nebraska Territory and became a pioneer settler of Gage county. His household effects were shipped by rail and river to Nebraska City, from which point he transported them to Gage county by team and
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JOHN APPLEBEE
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wagon. He settled on the farm now owned by his son John, girded himself vigorously for the arduous work in hand, and eventually re- claimed and improved his land. This hon- ored pioneer passed the closing period of his life in the home of his son William, of Filley, this county, and attained to the patriarchal age of ninety-two years, his wife having passed away on the old homestead place, at the age of eighty-four years. Concerning their children the following brief data are available: William is deceased ; Edward is a farmer in Hanover township; John, subject of this review, was the next in order of birth; Jennie is the wife of Alfred Boyer, of Vir- ginia, this county; Hannah became the wife of Frank Boyer and her death occurred sev- eral years ago ; James is a resident of Nemaha township ; and Jesse maintains his home in the city of Beatrice.
He whose name initiates this article ac- quired his early education in the schools of Illinois and Gage county and was reared to manhood on the farm which he now owns and occupies. He was still a young man when he relieved his father to a large extent of the management of the farm and since the prop- erty came into his possession he has made numerous improvements on the same. He has borne his share of the heavy labors involved in the developing of a farm from the primi- tive wilds, encountered his measure of hard- ships and reverses, but has reason to take just pride in the material prosperity that has crowned his efforts. In the early days he wit- nessed the ravages of many prairie fires and was often called upon to plow around his stacks of grain to save them from such con- flagrations. As a youth he worked at times for other pioneers of the county, as did also his father, and at times they would go to points twelve or more miles distant in the morning hours, apply themselves to work dur- ing the day and return to the home at night. He recalls the depredations and havoc wrought in the historic grasshopper scourge of 1872-1873, when the insects were so thick in the harvest fields as to obscure the bundles of grain. He followed in many a harvest the
old-time reaper and bound the grain by hand, and for three years the family home was pro- vided with water from what was ironically termed a dry-land well -three barrels on a wagon, by means of which water was hauled from a spring two miles distant. The corn raised on the Applebee farm in the pioneer era was frequently sold for ten cents a bushel, and the great change in conditions is shown in the fact that in the summer of 1917 Mr. Ap- plebee sold a load of corn, at Pickrell, for one hundred and thirteen dollars and forty cents, to realize which return in the early days it would have been necessary to sell fully a thousand bushels. Under primitive conditions Mr. Applebee applied himself earnestly and vigorously, and his attitude under the present conditions of opulent prosperity in the county has not changed, as he continued to have the deepest appreciation of the dignity and value of honest toil and endeavor. His political al- legiance is given to the Republican party, but he has never been diverted from the even tenor of his way by any ambition for politi- cal activity or public office.
Mr. Applebee was twenty-one years of age at the time of his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Griffin, and her death occurred in 1887. Of their children the first two died in infancy; Emma is the widow of Albert Brinton, of Hanover township; Elmer is a farmer in the same township; Walter resides in the village of Pickrell; and Viola is the wife of Pearl Stanley, of Beatrice. The second marriage of Mr. Applebee was with Miss Ida Post, who was born in Illinois, and she presides most graciously over their pleasant and hospitable home: Of their children two died in in- fancy, and those surviving are Pearl (the wife of Jesse Green, of Haxton, Colorado), Mary, Edna, Annie, Clyde, Esther, Ruby, Hazel, Erma, and Myrtle.
LEWIS C. McCLUNG is consistently to be designated as one of the representative expon- ents of farm industry in Sherman township, where he is carrying forward his progressive operations as an agriculturist and stock-grower with a well improved estate of four hundred
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acres, owned by himself and his wife, their pleasant home being in Section 8 of the town- ship mentioned, and the same being known for its generous hospitality and good cheer.
Mr. McClung was born in Johnson county, this state, on the 30th of January, 1878, and on other pages of this volume is given ade- quate record concerning the family, he being a son of the late Justin O. McClung, to whom a memoir is thus given.
Mr. McClung was reared on his father's farm in Filley township, this county, and at- tended schools in the village of Filley. At the age of twenty-six years he married and en- gaged in independent farm operations in Sherman township, where he has since con- tinued his successful activities and won for himself secure vantage-place as an energetic and progressive farmer and public-spirited citizen. His wife received three hundred and twenty acres of land as a heritage from the estate of her father and Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Clung have since added to its area until they have one of the best farm properties in Sher- man township. They are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church and in poli- tics he gives a basic allegiance to the Republi- can party.
In the year 1904 Mr. McClung wedded Miss Cora Chichester, who was born in Filley town- ship, this county, a daughter of Samuel and Martha (Forbes) Chichester, who were na- tives of Illinois and who became pioneer set- tlers in Gage county, where both died when Mrs. McClung was a child, she having been reared in the home of William Reed, another pioneer of the county. Mr. and Mrs. McClung have no children.
JOSEPH SHALLA. - Born on his fath- er's farm in Glenwood township, where his boyhood days were spent in attending the pub- lic schools and receiving instruction in the best methods of agriculture under the direction of his father, the subject of this review wisely chose the occupation to which he had been reared and for the past three years has been operating a farm of one-hundred and sixty acres in Section 16, Glenwood township.
Joseph Shalla was born August 3, 1893 and February 10, 1915, he married Miss Jennie Pribyl, a daughter of Milton and Mary (Bed- nar) Pribyl.
Mr. Shalla, though still a young man, is making a success of his farming venture and is becoming one of the substantial citizens of Glenwood township, where his entire life thus far has been passed.
AUGUST ADAM. - A native son of Gage county and a representative of one of its early pioneer families is August Adam, who owns and operates an excellent farm of two hun- dred acres in Glenwood township. He was born on his father's farm in this township, De- cember 4, 1887, a son of Ernst Adam, of whom individual record is made on other pages. His boyhood days were spent on the home farm, where he learned the best methods of agri- culture under the direction of his father and he attended the public schools to acquire his education. He inherited his farm from the estate of his parents and has been operating this for the past six years. An excellent set of buildings has been put on the place since it came into his possession and he is one of the successful young farmers of the county.
Mr. Adam married Miss Minnie Duis, who likewise was born in this county and who is a daughter of Ralph A. Duis. Of her father per- sonal record is given elsewhere in this volume. Two children, Martha and Walter, have come to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Adam. The family are members of the Lutheran church and are among the highly respected people of the community.
HENRY MENKE. - This publication ex- ercises one of its most important functions when it accords tribute to those worthy pio- neers who, after having contributed their full quota to the civic and industrial development and progress of Gage county, have passed from the stage of life's mortal endeavors and rest from their labors after having proved steward- ship that well merits the commendation of "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Mr. Menke, who long held status as one of
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the representative agriculturists and stock- growers of Gage county, was born in Wurtem- berg, Germany, December 4, 1832, and he was a youth at the time of the family immigration to America, his father having previously taken part in the revolutionary movement in Ger- many. The family home was established in Ohio, where the parents passed the remainder of their lives, as sterling pioneers of the old Buckeye state. Henry Menke was given the advantages of the schools of his native land until the time of the family removal to the United States. About the year 1880, he came to Nebraska and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 33 Clatonia township. He developed this into one of the productive and well improved farms of the county, there passed the residue of his life, and there his widow still maintains her home. He erected good buildings on the farm, set out trees and in time, by his thrift and enterprise, made it one of the model farms of Clatonia township. Here his death occurred Septem- ber 20, 1915, and his name and memory are revered in the community that so long repre- sented his home. He was a man of strong intellectuality, well fortified in his convictions concerning public policies, was a Republican in politics, and while he had no desire for of- ficial preferment he consented to serve for a number of years in the position of road over- seer in his township. He was a most earnest and devout member of the German Methodist church, as is also his venerable widow, and he gave zealous and effective service as a local preacher of this denomination. Ordering his life upon the highest plane of integrity and honor, he was essentially one of the world's productive workers during the course of a long and vigorous career.
As a young man Mr. Menke wedded Miss Mary Neimeyer, of Ohio, she having been born in Germany and her death having occur- red in Ohio, in 1861. Of the four children of this union the following brief data are avail- able: Frederick is a merchant in the city of Portsmouth, Ohio; Mrs. Lizzie Schmidt re- sides at Friend, Saline county, Nebraska ; Henry, Jr., is deceased, he having been a
clergyman of the Presbyterian church; and Emma is the wife of William Werner, their home being near Portsmouth, Ohio.
On the 1st of January, 1865, was solemn- ized the marriage of Mr. Menke to Miss Eliza Knapp, who was born in Germany, May 15, 1843, a daughter of Henry and Caroline (Schocke) Knapp. She was but a small child when her parents came from Germany to America on a sailing vessel, and eleven weeks elapsed ere the family disembarked in the port of New York city, whence removal was made to Ohio, the family home having been established in Lawrence county, that state, when Mrs. Menke was a child of four years and her parents having there passed the re- mainder of their lives, her father having been for many years employed in connection with the operation of the iron furnaces in that sec- tion of the state. Of the ten children of Mr. and Mrs Menke two died in infancy, and of those who attained to adult age the following record is given in conclusion of this brief me- moir: Caroline is the wife of Lewis Klopper, of Caltonia township; Matilda is the wife oi William Daubendick, of South Bend, Iowa ; Catherine is the wife of John H. Wayman, of Clatonia township, and he is individually men- tioned on other pages of this work; Eliza is the wife of R. H. Kane, a merchant at Desh- ler, Thayer county, Nebraska ; Rosa is the wife of Lewis Wayman, of Holt county, this state; Edward is a resident of Hebron, Nebraska; Nettie is the wife of Frank Steinmeyer, of Grant township; and Albert remains with his widowed mother, as manager of the old home farm.
GERHARD L. FRERICHS was born on the farm which is now the stage of his inde- pendent activities as one of the representative young exponents of agricultural and livestock industry, in Section 22, Logan township, the date of his nativity having been October 8, 1889, and he being a son of L. W. Frerichs, concerning whom individual mention is made on other pages of this volume. The early educational discipline of Mr. Gerhard L. Frer- ichs was acquired in the district and German
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schools, and his judgment has caused him to pay unfaltering allegiance to farm enterprise. In 1910 he married and then became a part- ner of his father in conducting the operations of the well improved farm estate. In the spring of 1917 his father retired and removed to the city of Beatrice, and the subject of this review has since continued his successful and progressive activities in the control and man- agement of the finely improved farm of three hundred and twenty acres, upon which his father settled more than thirty-five years ago.
Mr. Frerichs takes loyal interest in com- munity affairs but has had no desire for po- litical activity or public office. He and his wife are active members of the Lutheran church.
In 1910 Mr. Frerichs wedded Miss Gret- chen Meints, a member of a well known pio- neer family of which specific representation is given elsewhere in this work, she being a daughter of Henry Meints and a granddaugh- ter of Christ Meints. Mr. and Mrs. Frerichs have four children: Marie, Abbie, Lammert and Katrina.
HENRY WIETERS, who is one of the sub- stantial representatives of farm industry in Glenwood township, was born in Germany, September 2, 1857, and when a young man he served in the German army, in the same regi- ment in which the present Kaiser William was a captain. When twenty-nine years of age he came to the United States, and for several years thereafter he worked in the lum- ber yard of his brother William, at Lanham, Kansas. Twenty years ago he purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres on Section 20, Glenwood township, where he has made extensive improvements, including a good house and barns, and here he success- fully carries on general farming.
He married Miss Louise Ritter, a native of the province of Hanover, Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Wieters are the parents of six children : Henry, who married Miss Hannah Duis, is at the home assisting in the operation of the farm; Sophia is the wife of Pape Duis, a farmer of Washington county, Kansas ; Louise
is the wife of Fred Sheele, of Lanham, Gage county ; and Minnie, Annie and Caroline are at home.
Mr. Wieters and his family are members of the Lutheran church, and in politics he is Re- publican. He is a good farmer, a good neigh- bor and a loyal citizen and he is held in high regard by all who know him.
TONY SHALLA was born on the farm, in Glenwood township, which has been the home of his parents since 1879, his natal day having been March 29, 1882. He is a son of Frank Shalla, whose life record is given in other pages of this book. Tony was reared on the farm, attended the public schools and as a boy assisted in the work about the farm. As his years and strength increased he gradually as- sumed the heavier burdens connected with the farm, giving his father the benefits of his la- bors until, on reaching man's estate and de- ciding upon agricultural pursuits as his voca- tion in life, he was assisted by his father in purchasing the farm which has been the scene of his successful activities for the past ten years. He is the owner of two hundred and forty acres, well improved, and gives his at- tention to general farming.
For a companion and helpmate he chose Miss Matilda Zaribnicky, who was born in Gage county, a daughter of Frank Zaribnicky, a farmer of Paddock township. Mr. and Mrs. Shalla are the parents of five children : Elsie, William, James, Wilma and Martha.
EDWARD BAUMAN is to be considered fortunate in that he is the owner of a well improved landed estate in Holt township, where his attractive homestead place is eli- gibly situated in Section '9 and where he is giving his attention most successfully to di- versified agriculture and to the raising of high-grade Durham cattle. In addition to owning four hundred acres of the valuable land of Gage county he has also a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Cheyenne, Kansas.
Mr. Bauman was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, to which Gage county is
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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA
MRS. EDWARD BAUMAN
EDWARD BAUMAN
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indebted for a goodly number of representa- tive citizens in past as well as the present gen- erations, and the date of his nativity was Au- gust 24, 1862. He is a son of Reiner and Fannie (Buhr) .Banman, of whose five chil- dren the eldest is Tillie, wife of Heye P. Parde, of Hanover township, this county; Anna is the wife of Heye Werts and they re- side in the state of California; Tena is the wife of Herman Wolken, of Hanover town- ship; the subject of this review is the young- est of the number and the only son; and one daughter died in infancy.
In the year 1864 Reiner Bauman immi- grated with his family to America and settled in Adams county, Illinois, his wife having died ยท there about two weeks later. Subse- quently Mr. Bauman contracted a second mar- riage and of the same were born two children, both of whom are deceased. Mr. Bauman continued his activities as a farmer in Illinois. but shortly before his death he purchased land in Hanover township, Gage county, Nebraska : as he had made no payment on the purchase price the land reverted to the former owner upon the death of Mr. Bauman, when he was about seventy-two years of age.
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