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 116

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 116

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Alex Armstrong was a lad of eighteen years when he came to the United States and be- came a farmer in Linn county, Iowa. In 1880 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased an improved farm of eighty acres in Paddock township. He was a successful

farmer, and as his resources increased he added to his original purchase, owning at the time of his death two hundred aeres, finely improved and constituting one of the valuable farnis of the township. He finally retired from active work on the farm and established his home in the village of Odell, where his death occurred August 8, 1910.

At Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the 8th of Au- gust, 1890, Mr. Armstrong was united in mar- riage to Miss Rachel Whelan, who was born in Ireland, a daughter of William and Eliza- beth Whelan, both natives of Ireland. The father was an officer in the British army and fought in the confliet in Afghanistan. On the return of the army to England he was among the few who were ushered into the presence of Queen Victoria, who presented him with a gold medal, as a reward for bravery displayed on the field of battle. He died in his native land, and his wife passed away at Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong became the par- ents of three children : Minnie, born July 29, 1891, became the wife of Erskine Colgrove, and she passed away December 21, 1910; Agnes, born December 4, 1893, and John, born August 22, 1898, still remain with their mother. John married Miss Gertrude Bar- nadt. After the death of her husband Mrs. Armstrong returned to the farm, which, with the help of her children, she has since con- ducted. Both she and her son display excep- tional business ability in connection with agri- cultural pursuits. The husband and father was reared in the faith of the Wesleyan Methodist church. He was a loyal citizen, a loving husband and father, and a substantial citizen whose death marked a loss to the com- munity as well as to his own family.

THOMAS D. MOSBY .- Among the early settlers of Gage county mention should be made of Thomas Davis Mosby, owner of two hundred and forty acres of land in Sec- tions 26 and 35, Adams township. Mr. Mosby was born in Spencer county, Indiana, January 6, 1852, and is a son of L. L. and Mary L. (Adams) Mosby. His father was born in

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ALEX. ARMSTRONG

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Kentucky, in 1820, and as a young man moved to Indiana, where he followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1856. The mother of our subject was born in Kentucky, and her death occurred in Adams, Nebraska, December 2, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Mosby were the parents of three children: Thomas Davis, the subject of this review; Charles J., owner and manager of the Adams Hotel at Adams, this county ; and G. L., a carpenter at Adams.

Thomas Davis Mosby was educated in the public schools in Indiana, and in that state he followed farming until 1871. He then re- moved to Missouri, where he continued farm enterprise until 1876, and in that year he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and settled in Sec- tion 26, Adams township, where he has lived continuously for more than forty-one years. On August 15, 1877, Mr. Mosby was united in marriage to Miss Naomi Adams, daughter of John O. and Letitia (Harris) Adams, and to this union seven children were born. Lulu is the wife of Arthur Campbell, of Adams ; Julia Frances is the wife of Claud Campbell, of Virginia, this county; Samuel A. married Clarinda Whittaker and they reside at Adams ; Mattie Alice is the wife of Frank Van Fossen, of Adams ; Thomas O. died December 5, 1883 ; Georgia A. is at home ; and Edna Isabelle died March 15, 1917.

John O. Adams, father of Mrs. Mosby was the first permanent settler in Gage county and a record of him is given elsewhere in this volume.

Thomas D. Mosby is a Republican in poli- tics and has served on the school board of his district for several years. Mr. and Mrs. Mos- by are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they are both faithful work- ers, and they are numbered among the best people of the community in which they have so long maintained their home and in which they are held in very high esteem by all who know them.

JAMES C. GALLOWAY was not only one of the early and honored pioneer settlers of Gage county, but he also made large and valu- able contribution to the social and industrial

development and progress of this now favored section of the state. He was a member of a family founded in America many generations ago, and the same was true of his wife, both families having had much to do with pioneer activities as the course of empire made its way to the western portions of our national do- main. The subject of this memoir was one of the representative pioneer citizens of Adams township, Gage county, where he established his home nearly half a century ago and where he continued to reside until the close of his long and useful life, his death having occur- red September 9, 1892.

Mr. Galloway was born near Jonesboro, Tennessee, on the 17th of July, 1836, and as a youth he accompanied his parents on their im- migration to Macoupin county, Illinois, where his father engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Galloway had the true pioneer instinct, as shown by the fact that in 1861 he set forth with a wagon and ox team to make an explor- ing expedition to the western lands being opened to settlement. He continued his jour- ney westward until he arrived in California, and such were the conditions at the time that he encountered many perils from attack by marauding Indians, as well as danger from depredations of wild beasts. He walked vir- tually the entire distance on the long overland journey, and after making careful observations he finally returned to Illinois. There, in 1872, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Eliza- beth Scott, and in 1874 the young couple, with their infant son, set forth with a team and cov- ered wagon for Gage county, Nebraska. Here Mr. Galloway purchased, at the rate of fifteen dollars an acre, a tract of land in Section 26, Adams township, this being the old homestead on which his widow and two of their sons still reside. Mr. Galloway bent his energies to the improving of his farm and the passing years brought to him a generous measure of pros- perity. From the wild prairie he eventually developed a fine landed estate of three hundred and twenty acres, and his widow still retains the ownership of this valuable property. On the old homestead, as previously intimated, Mr. Galloway remained until his death. He

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was enterprising and progressive in his farm enterprise and left to his sons the gracious heritage of a good name and the record of a useful and successful life. Mr. Galloway was always ready to give his support to measures tending to advance the civic and material wel- fare of the community and he so ordered his life as to retain the unqualified confidence and good will of his fellow men. His political al- legiance was given to the Democratic party and he was affiliated with the Masonic fra- ternity. The land which he purchased for fif- teen dollars an acre is to-day valued at one hundred and fifty dollars an acre.

As previously noted, the marriage of Mr. Galloway to Miss Elizabeth Scott was solemn- ized in 1872. Mrs. Galloway, now venerable in years, is a representative of a family that has been one of not a little distinction and in- fluence in connection with pioneer history in various states of the west and middle west. Members of the Scott family were early set- tlers in Illinois, and in the early part of the nineteenth century the father of Mrs. Gallo- way, in company with his brother John, drove an ox team and cart from Kentucky to Ohio and thence into Illinois. The forests of Ohio were dense and only a few Indian trails marked the route to settlements and Indian trading stations. The Scott brothers were numbered among the earliest settlers of what is now Scott county, Illinois, and the county was named in honor of John Scott, the elder of the two brothers. James C. Scott, father of Mrs. Galloway, became a substantial farmer in Scott county, Illinois, and there Mrs. Galloway was born, on the 6th of July, 1845. Her father was a native of Kentucky and her mother, whose maiden name was Mary Cow- hick, was born in Ohio. They continued their residence in Scott county, Illinois, until the close of their lives. Mrs. Galloway remains on the old homestead that is endeared to her by the gracious memories and associations of the past, and she is still able to direct many of the domestic economies of the household. She is one of the revered pioneer women of Adams township, where she bore with her husband the trials and hardships of the pioneer days.

This honored pioneer couple became the par- ents of four sons: Lee and James remain with their widowed mother on the old home- stead and have the active supervision of the well ordered farm; Scott died when about six years of age; and Charles M. resides in the village of Adams, this county.

James E. Galloway was born and reared on the fine farm which is now his home and in the management of which he is well upholding the prestige of the name which he bears. He was born May 9, 1876, and received his early education in the public schools of his native township. After the death of his father he and his brothers assumed the active manage- ment of the farm, and he and his brother, Charles M., still have the same in charge, the while they carry forward the various depart- ments of the farm enterprise with marked energy and progressiveness. James E. Gallo- way has lived on this farm from the time of his birth and has stated that he feels that he is almost a part of it. He has shown much circumspection in his agricultural enterprise and also in stocking the farm with pure-bred cattle and other excellent live stock. His po- litical allegiance is given to the Democratic party, but he has had no desire for public of- fice of any kind.

GEORGE BARNARD .- The prosperity of Gage county is due largely to the industry displayed and the success achieved by those of its citizens who are engaged in the noble occupation of tilling the soil. Among this number should be mentioned George Barnard, who for thirty-five years has given his best effort to the agricultural development of his adopted county.

Mr. Barnard is a native of Tennessee, his birth occurring near Tazewell, in Claiborne county, December 11, 1862, a son of John and Delia C. (Webb) Barnard, both of whom were natives of Tennessee. The father met his death in 1877, by a fall from a horse. His widow now resides in Kentucky. They were the parents of ten children, two of whom, James and George, are residents of Gage county.

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

George Barnard was reared and educated in his native state, and was a lad of fifteen years when he was bereft of his father. In 1883 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and there- after he conducted farming operations on leased land, in Hanover, Logan and Midland townships, until 1900. Having carefully hus- banded his earnings, he then purchased one hundred and sixty acres, and as his financial resources increased he added to his holdings, until today he is the owner of four hundred acres in Midland township. Beginning his career empty-handed, he has by diligence and intelligently directed efforts acquired a valu- able estate. His farm is well improved and everything about the place is substantial. The buildings and neat appearance display the thrift and good judgment of its owner.

April 3, 1879, Mr. Barnard was united in marriage to Miss Belle Day, who was born in Greene county, Tennessee, December 29, 1862, and to this union have been born eight chil- dren : William C. is a farmer in Logan town- ship; Mary is the wife of Charles Le Poidevin, of Midland township ; John, Woodson, James, and Roy also are farmers of Midland town- ship ; Zella is at home, and one child died in infancy. The religious faith of the family is that of the Christian church, of which they are devoted members. In politics Mr. Bar- nard is a Democrat. The allurements and emoluments of public office have no charms for him, as he prefers to give his time and at- tention to his business interests, of which he has made a decided success.

LOUIS WERNER .- One of the noble and well ordered institutions of Nebraska is the Home for the Feeble Minded, at Beatrice, and of the same Mr. Werner has been the effi- cient and honored steward since 1908, his residence in the county having covered a pe- riod of more than forty years. He was born in Alsace-Lorraine, France, October 6, 1853, and the province of his nativity, now again the stage of terrific warfare, passed under the dominion of Germany at the time of the Franco-Prussian war. He is a son of Freder- ick and Dorothy (Weil) Werner, both like-

wise natives of Alsace-Lorraine, where the former was born in 1809 and the latter in Feb- ruary, 1810, their marriage having been sol- emnized about 1836 and both having passed their entire lives in their native province, where the father died in 1868 and the mother in 1886. Frederick Werner served seven years in the French army and thereafter he followed the carpenter's trade, in which con- nection he became a successful contractor and erected a number of important public build- ings, churches, etc. Of the five children the subject of this review is the younger of the two survivors, and his brother, Charles, re- sides in the historic old city of Strassburg, capital of Alsace-Lorraine. The parents were devout communicants of the Lutheran church and the paternal grandfather of the subject of this review was Jacob Werner, who like- wise was a carpenter by trade and vocation.

Louis Werner was reared and educated in his native province and there he learned the trade of carpenter with such a measure of effi- ciency as to be able to uphold the ancestral prestige of the family name in this connec- tion. In 1871 he came to the United States and established his residence in New York city. There he followed his trade for the en- suing six years, at the expiration of which, in 1877, he came to Nebraska, with Gage county as his destination. In the following year he purchased twenty acres of land, in Midland township, and there he continued to maintain his home for thirty-two years, giving his at- tention to farm enterprise and eventually de- veloping a good property, which he still owns. Upon leaving the farm Mr. Werner removed to Beatrice and resumed the work of his trade. Here he continued his activities as a contractor and builder until 1908, since which time he has served continuously, through suc- cessive reappointments, as steward of the Ne-" braska Home for the Feeble Minded, his re- tention of the office affording the best evidence of the efficiency of his administration. He is a Democrat in his political adherency and served two years as a member of the county board of supervisors. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, his wife having been a

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

communicant of the Catholic church, as are also their children.

In 1875 Mr. Werner wedded Miss Nepo- mocena Musialowska, who was born in Po- land and whose death occurred in 1894. Con- cerning the children of this union the follow- ing brief record is available: Josie is the wife of Albert Hetherington, of Beatrice; Sophia Anna remains with her father; Mary is the wife of Michael Rooney, a farmer in the state of Wyoming; Lulu remains at the paternal home ; Leo is associated with his father-in-law, Louis Graff, in the lumber business at Be- atrice; Nettie is employed in the office of a leading trade journal in the city of Lincoln; and Dorothy is the wife of Edwin Graff, of Blakely township.

MARTIN V. B. NICHOLS, one of the well known and highly honored citizens of Beatrice, was born at Newark, New York, March 17, 1835, a son of Samuel F. Nichols, M. D., who was a representative physician in Wayne county, New York. In 1844 Dr. Nichols removed with his family to Wiscon- sin, where he platted the village of Albany and became the virtual founder of the same. There he organized the Northwestern Stage Company, which has continued operations for more than half a century, and he became one of the prominent and influential citizens of the Badger state, his wife having been a member of a prominent family in Wayne county, New York, one of her brothers having been super- intendent of the historic old Erie canal, be- sides having served as a member of the state senate of New York. The maiden name of Mrs. Nichols was Julia A. Bartle.

Martin Van Buren Nichols was afforded the advantages of the common schools of his native state, and also attended an academy at Platteville, Wisconsin, in which state he later was a student in Beloit College. As a youth he became associated with the stage company organized by his father at Black River Falls, Wisconsin, and in 1858, he was placed in charge of the company's business, as general manager in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. He eventually became one of the largest stock-

holders of this pioneer corporation, the North- western Stage Company, which later assumed control of the business of the El Paso Stage Company, operating in the southwest. In 1878 the Northwestern Stage Company operated the most expeditious mail service ever given to the government by a stage line - this opera- tion having been between Los Angeles and Soledad, California. During the climacteric period of the Civil war Mr. Nichols served as provost marshal in Minnesota, the stage com- pany with which he was identified having at the time been running stages through the Winnebago Indian reservation, and the his- toric New Ulm massacre having there taken place within this period. Mr. Nichols loaded wagons with arms and munitions and set forth, as provost marshal, for Mankato. En route he encountered his own men and stock and as the men were fleeing to a point of safety he ordered them all to turn back, the little band which was thus reinforced having thereafter taken general part in conflict with the insubor- dinate Indians.

In 1867 Mr. Nichols came to Nebraska and for a time he maintained his residence at Ne- braska City, as representative of the North- western Stage Company. In 1869 he removed to Osage, Iowa, and there the family home was maintained for the ensuing nineteen years. He continued his active association with the operation of stage lines until the con- struction of railroads caused the business to wane. the Northwestern Stage Company hav- ing been the first to establish stage service be- tween Nebraska City and Beatrice, and the organization of the company being still main- tained, with Mr. Nichols as general manager.

Mr. Nichols held the responsible post of general manager of the Northwestern Stage Company during the years in which it was conducting active and important operations in many states of the west and northwest. Pass- engers were conveyed in "Concord coaches" and stages, and the company became asso- ciated with the El Paso Stage Company in operations in Texas and other southern states after the close of the Civil war, their mail re- ceipts at this period running as high as one

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million dollars annually and the express busi- ness handled being correspondingly large. At the time when the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad was in process of construction the Northwestern Stage Company operated a line of stages between Fort Scott, Kansas, and Austin, Texas, and between Little Rock Arkan- sas, and Hot Springs. In this enterprise were utilized Concord coaches with six-horse teams, and ambulances for the sick were provided by the company. This line was in operation at the time when the epidemic of epizootic swept over virtually the entire country, and all of its horses were afflicted with the malady, with, however, very few fatal cases, owing to the wise policies adopted in caring for the ani- mals. The horses, when so badly afflicted with phleghm in the throat that they could hardly breathe and could move only with dif- ficulty, were harnessed to the stages and started forth on a slow walk. After going four or five miles they would sweat profusely and become so limbered up that they could thereafter proceed along their regular route. After their journey was completed they would be carefully blanketed and each horse be given a good dose of whisky and pepper. After eat- ing they would, in three or four hours, again be in the same condition as on the previous day, and could not eat or drink. The epidemic continued about two months but by following the system described the stage company not only saved its horses but continued to use them in the active service. For service in Nebraska the company first stocked its line for the passenger and mail transportation between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska, and the route was along the river on the Kansas side. Much of the road along this route was in very bad condition, and two days and one night were demanded in making the stage journey of one hundred and fifty miles. Mr. Nichols made an admirable record in handling the important transportation service of the pioneer days, and it is pleasing to enter these brief details concerning that period.

During the period of his residence in Be- atrice Mr. Nichols has been distinctly the ad- vocate and supporter of civic and material

progress. Here he has served as president of the Union Savings Bank, and at the present time he is vice-president of the First National Bank. He is a staunch advocate of the prin- ciples of the Republican party and he and his wife hoid to the faith of the Presbyterian church.

In June, 1865, Mr. Nichols married Miss Frances A. Lindsley, daughter of Charles H. and Sylvia (Willard) Lindsley, of Rochester, Minnesota, and the three children of this union are Stella, who is the wife of Charles H. Van Arsdale, of Beatrice; Samuel F., of whom specific mention is made on other pages ; and Grace, who is the wife of Walter S. McLucas, president of the Commerce Trust Company, of Kansas City, Missouri.

Mr. Nichols gained wide and varied expe- rience in connection with pioneer life on the frontier and it is interesting to record that he became closely associated with the interests of Nebraska in the year that marked the admis- sion of the territory to statehood. He is one of the venerable pioneer citizens of Beatrice and it is most consistent to pay to him this tribute in the history of the county and the state.

BYRON P. ZUVER. - In the years that have passed, many of the illustrious citizens of Gage county have gone to their reward. The impress of their lives and the evidences of their labors are felt on every hand, and lesson and incentive are given in reviewing the life records of such noble men of the past. The following is a copy of the record prepared for a former publication of Gage county personal histories, and the context fully merits repro- duction in this volume.

"The grandparents upon the paternal side of the family of which Byron P. Zuver is a member were Henry and Margaret (Schnei- der) Zuver ; upon the maternal side, John and Elizabeth (Zuver) Kerns. Both these families were of Holland Dutch origin, and representa- tives of both became residents of America prior to the Revolutionary war. The history of the Kerns family in America dates back to 1727. The two families included within their

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circles a large number of children, of whom were Solomon Zuver and Julia Ann Kerns, the father and mother of Byron P. Zuver. Solo- mon Zuver was born in the year 1819, in Pennsylvania, and his wife was born in Ohio. They were united in marriage in 1839, in Wayne county, Ohio, whither the father of our subject had accompanied his parents. Of this union there were born five children, the eldest of these being Byron P. The others were Sarah, John H., George W., and Henry. The last named died when quite young ; John H. departed this life in 1883, in Sonoma county, California ; Sarah resides in Los An- geles, that state; and George W. lives near Adams, Nebraska.

"Solomon Zuver became prosperous in his farming and mercantile business, which very rapidly expanded, and in a short time he be- came comparatively well-to-do, but reverses followed rapidly upon the heels of success, owing to some unfortunate transactions, and his fortune melted away, leaving him nothing but the unsubstantial memory and sometimes bitter reflections of baffled hopes and desires. In 1855, a poor man and starting life the sec- ond time, he moved to Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, where he was one of the early pioneers. He there engaged in keeping hotel, and by the summer of 1864 he had so succeeded in busi- ness as to be able. to make a somewhat ex- tended trip to the Pacific coast and through the northwestern states. Upon his return home he removed to Kansas, where he lived until October 5, 1878, when he departed this life, at the age of fifty-eight years. He was married three times, but had no children by the last two marriages.

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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 116

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