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 118

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 118

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early experiences, the while they grew strong in mind and body and were prepared to meet the new difficulties of a more advanced civili- zation. November 1, 1896, Henry Spealman was laid to rest, and May 7, 1898, his wife fol- lowed him to the life eternal. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living: John R. is the subject of this sketch ; George A. died in Illinois ; James Edwin is a farmer of Osborne county, Kansas; Armenta F. died in August, 1879; William Henry is a farmer in Marshall county, Kansas; Rachel Mary is the wife of J. E. Daily, a retired farmer of Marysville, Kansas; Andrew is a farmer in Colorado; Clara B. is the wife of P. T. Burk, a retired farmer of Marysville, Kansas; Marcus F. is farming the old home- stead in Marshall county, Kansas.

John R. Spealman was educated in Lee county, Illinois and in 1875 he married Miss Sarah M. Cass, who was born in that county, in 1857, she being a daughter of Aaron Jef- ferson Cass and Sarah Jane (Wheeler) Cass, the former born in 1830, in Steuben county, New York, and the latter born in 1840, in Bangor, Maine. Mr. and Mrs. Cass were early settlers of PawPaw, Lee county, Illinois, and in 1870 they homesteaded near Frankfort, Marshall county, Kansas. There they con- tinued their farming operations until their death. Mr. Cass died August 30, 1910, and his wife died in 1890. Of their seven chil- dren six are living: Sarah is the wife of John R. Spealman, subject of this sketch; Aaron Jacob is deceased; Edwin B. is a farmer near Casey, Iowa; John Franklin is a farmer near Frankfort, Kansas; Miles Diton is a farmer near Onaga, Kansas; Martha Ann is the wife of A. C. Scoville, a carpenter at Frankfort, Kansas ; and Ida May makes her home in Topeka, Kansas.

Mrs. Spealman was a young girl when her parents established the home in Kansas and that she imbibed the principles of that state is attested by the fact that for many years she has been an ardent worker in the Women's Christian Temperance Union. For eight years she has been county president of the or- ganization and she is also president of the

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local chapter. Her influence in political cir- cles has borne fruit, as is seen by the state prohibitory amendment passed by a Nebraska legislature. She has done more for the pro- hibition cause in the southeastern part of Ne- braska than has any other woman, and as much as any other woman in the entire state. Her time and her talents are given unstint- ingly for the righteous cause of making this nation free, - free from moral sins as well as physical bondage to other nations. Such a mother, with such ideals, can not help but give to the world sons and daughters who will carry the light of truth and civilization in a higher and better way. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Spealman : The firstborn is John Franklin, who was afforded the advantages of the Wymore schools and finished his education by attend- ing the Nebraska Medical College. For eigh- teen years he practised medicine in Lincoln, where he was city physician for two years and city health officer for a number of years. He served his country on the border, in the Mexi- can trouble, and since our participation in the great European conflict he has subordinated all else to give his time and service to the nation. He is in command of Field Hospital, No. 166, sanitary train of the Forty-second Division of the Rainbow Forces of the United States in France. He was formerly in charge of the Nebraska field hospital corps of the Na- tional Guard, with the rank of major. The division of which Major Spealman is in charge has won commendatory mention from Secre- tary of War Baker. Major Spealman married Miss Ruth Holmes and they have two daugh- ters, Sarah and Edith. The next child of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Spealman is Ernest Garfield, who is an attorney at Stalkton, Kansas; he was educated in the Wymore schools and the Nebraska State University, at Lincoln, in which he was graduated. Cora Belle, who died in 1915, was the wife of Andrew Alexander, of Lincoln, and she is survived by one daughter, Phyllis Belle. Henry Jefferson Spealman has active charge of the original eighty-acre home- stead of his father in Marshall county, Kan- sas.

In 1866 John R. Spealman came to Marshall county, Kansas, and when of sufficient age he there homesteaded eighty acres of land. He added unto his land holdings until he had ac- quired four hundred acres. In 1888 he re- tired to Wymore, where he is now making his home and where his sons and daughters have received the advantages of the excellent pub- lic schools. Mr. and Mrs. Spealman have rea- son to be proud of their children and also are to be commended for their efforts in the work of reform in behalf of the people of their state and nation. Both are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and are active in all of its social and missionary affairs. Frater- nally they are members of the Knights & Ladies of Security, in which organization they have held all official positions. It is men and women like Mr. and Mrs. Spealman, - willing to give their lives that great princi- ples may live- who are the ones that bring truth and righteousness to the world.

CHESTER F. KING, who resides in the village of Filley, was born in Rock Island county, Illinois, November 23, 1867, and is a son of Charles W. and Candace (Stenzell) King, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.

Chester F. King was nine years of age at the time of the family removal to Gage county, where he was reared under the condi- tions that marked the pioneer epoch and where he attended the district schools at intervals until he had attained to the age of twenty- four years. Finally he devoted several years to independent farm enterprise in Filley town- ship. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party.

July 4, 1891, Mr. King wedded Miss Stella Pittman, who was born in Knox county, Illi- nois, and their marriage was the first one per- formed in the new court house of Gage county. Of this union have been born eight children: Charles Francis died at the age of sixteen years; the second child died in in- fancy ; Effie is a popular teacher in the schools of her native county, as is also Hazel ; Chester remains at the parental home; Jesse died at

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the age of two years; Mildred remains with her parents; and the eighth child died in in- fancy.

WILLIAM E. BRYSON .- After years of industry which netted him a competence, Mr. Bryson is now living retired at University Place, Lancaster county, Nebraska. He is a native of Ohio, born in Morgan county, Sep- tember 16, 1858, and is a son of the late Silas and Clarinda (Young) Bryson, to whom a memorial tribute is given on other pages of this volume. On April 1, 1862, the Bryson family arrived in Johnson county, Nebraska. Here William E. Bryson was reared on the pioneer farm, and four years later removal was made to Gage county. His boyhood be- ing passed in the usual manner of farm lads, - in that his time was divided between studies in the district school, the pleasures of the playground and doing such tasks on the home farm as his age would permit. As his years and strength increased he assisted more largely in the work of development and cultivation of the pioneer farm. When a young man he purchased three hundred and twenty acres in Sections 23 and 24, Adams township, and as the years passed he improved and cultivated this tract until it became one of the valuable properties of the town- ship. No better improved place could be found in Adams township, and on this farm he continued to labor until 1908, when he re- tired to the village of Adams. Later he moved to his present abode in University Place. Mr. Bryson has sold his farm in Gage county, and his time now is partly given to superintending a ranch in Thomas county, Kansas, the same comprising two sections of land.

On September 21, 1881, Mr. Bryson mar- ried Miss Etta Bryson, a daughter of David and Elizabeth Bryson, who were early set- tlers in Gage county. The father is deceased these many years. The mother, who has reached the advanced age of eighty-three years, resides (1918) at Adams. Mr. and Mrs. Bryson have become the parents of seven daughters; Kate is the wife of J. A.

Miller, of St. Louis, Missouri ; Dell is the wife of Paul Pillsbury, of Chico, California; Lois is the wife of C. S. Woten, of San Francisco ; Jessie E. is the wife of Shirley Marshall, and they reside at Hastings, Nebraska; Mae is the wife of W. A. Gray, of Lincoln, Nebraska ; and Nell and Mildred remain at the parental home.

The Bryson family were among the early settlers of Gage county, and contributed in large measure to its development and upbuild- ing. By industry and the careful husband- ing of his resources William E. Bryson is en- abled to lay aside the heavier labors and du- ties and to live in ease and comfort. He and his wife are members of and active workers in the Methodist Episcopal church, and they have a host of friends in Gage county, as well as in the community in which they now reside.

EZRA LEPOIDEVIN purchased in 1916 an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Section 26, Holt township, and is giving his characteristically vigorous super- vision to its improvement and management, the while he exercises similar prerogatives in connection with a farm of equal area which he rents from the L. E. Austin estate, in Section 36 of the same township. He may well take pride in his status as one of the successful ex- ponents of farm enterprise in his native county and he is one of the progressive agricultur- ists and stock-raisers of the younger gener- ation in his native county.

Mr. LePoidevin was born in Midland town- ship, this county, March 28, 1880, and is a son of Thomas LePoidevin, concerning whom individual mention is made on other pages. Reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm the subject of this review early learned the value and consistency of honest toil and endeavor, the while he profited fully also by the advantages afforded in the district schools. His inclinations and tastes have led him wise- ly to accord unwavering allegiance to the basic industries with which he is now identified and in connection with which he is making suc- cess not an accident but a logical result. He is loyal in support of those measures and

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movements which make for the advancement of the general welfare of the community, is a Republican in politics and he and his wife hold membership in the Christian church.

December 22, 1909, Mr. LePoidevin wedded Miss Bessie Essam, who likewise was born in Midland township, where her father is a representative farmer, her mother being now deceased. Mrs. LePoidevin is a daughter of Jacob and Mollie (Bartram) Essam, both of whom were born and reared in Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. LePoidevin have two children, - Irma, born February 7, 1912, and Irene, born March 3, 1913.

JAMES CRAWFORD. - Among the men of Gage county who fought gallantly in the Civil war and who have now passed to their reward, may justly be mentioned the late James Crawford. In 1863, when he was only seventeen years old, James Crawford enlisted in Company G. Sixty-fourth Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, and he became one of Yale's famed sharpshooters. He was involved in many a battle ere the end of the war. At Kenesaw Mountain twenty-two of his com- pany were killed and it seemed as though the enemy was to win the day, but the "Boys in Blue" fought bravely and finally won the victory. Mr. Crawford was also with Sher- man on the famous march through Georgia to the sea. He was wounded twice and was taken to the military hospital at Springfield, Illinois.

James Crawford was born in New York city, October 10, 1846, and was a son of Wil- liam and Mary (Quinn) Crawford, who were born in County Kerry, Ireland, and were land owners in the Emerald Isle, but they became convinced that the hospitable shores of the United States offered better opportunities than their native land. In 1845 they came to New York city, and for a number of years William Crawford conducted a steamship busi- ness between Brooklyn and New York. Later he operated an omnibus line. He continued to reside in New York city until his death.

The Crawford family lineage traces to the famous Robert Bruce, of Scotland, James

Stuart being the descendant who founded the family in Ireland, and he having been be- headed because of his religious views, in the early part of the fifteenth century.

James Crawford received his education in Illinois and, as before noted, he enlisted from that state for service in the Civil war. When the war had ceased and the men were again able to go back to the peaceful occupations of office and farm, Mr. Crawford came back and began to study to fit himself more efficiently for his life work. In March, 1870, he mar- ried Miss Lavina McDonald, who lived only three months after their marriage.

In 1871 Mr. Crawford came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased land in Sec- tion 22, Wymore township, where he gave many years to successful farm enterprise, his death having occurred May 19, 1914. On the 31st of August, 1875, at Blue Springs, this county, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Crawford to Miss Carrie Lott, and their gracious companionship continued unbroken for nearly half a century, the ties being severed only by the death of the devoted hus- band and father. They reared their sons and daughters to lives of honor and usefulness, and concerning the children brief record may consistently be entered at this point: Frank E. is at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1918, a member of the fine military forces which the nation is preparing for participa- tion in the great European war and he is sta- tioned with his command at Deming, New Mexico, where he is captain of Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment of the United States Army. Captain Crawford acquired his preliminary education in the dis- trict schools of Gage county, and supplemented this by attending the high school at Wymore. Later he took up the study of law, and in 1901 he was graduated at the law department of the University of Nebraska. Thereafter he was engaged in the practice of of his pro- fession at Wymore until he became a mem- ber of the patriotic military organization which is destined to bring the greatest honor to the American arms in connection with the great world war. Alice, the elder daughter of the

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honored subject of this memoir, is the wife of W. C. Dagwell, an insurance agent, and they reside in the city of Omaha, Mrs. Dag- well being a graduate nurse and having fol- lowed the work of her profession prior to her marriage. Mary E., the younger daughter, is the wife of Robert Jones, a skilled ma- chinist, and they reside at Wymore, this county. Harry remains with his widowed mother on the old home farm and has the active management of the same. Ralph is identified with bridge building operations in the service of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.

Mrs. James Crawford is a representative of one of the honored territorial pioneer fami- lies of Gage county. She was born at Blue Springs, this county, May 3, 1862, and is the youngest of the children of James Mon- roe Lott and Sarah L. (Knight) Lott. The father was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1826, and his death occurred in 1870, his wife having been born in Ohio, in 1832, and she having passed to the life eternal in the year 1909; their marriage was solemnized in Iowa and in 1862 they came to Nebraska Territory and numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers in Sicily township, Gage county, where Mr. Lott entered claim to a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres and where he and his wife bore their full share of the hard- ships and arduous labors incidental to the re- claiming and improving of a pioneer farm, the while they reared their children carefully and well, inculcating in them the highest of ideals and principles and fortifying them for the duties of later years, much of this responsi- bility resting upon the devoted mother, as the father was in the very prime of life at the time of his death, which occurred on his home farm. Mr. Lott was a man of education and superior intellectual ken, and was preparing himself for the ministry at the time of his death, in the winter of 1870. He was a Re- publican in politics and as a citizen he was influential in community affairs in the pioneer period of Gage county's history. Mr. and Mrs. Lott became the parents of four chil-

dren, of whom the youngest is Carrie, widow of the subject of this memoir. The other surviving children are Augustine and Olive M. Augustine, whose first wife was Dollie Wymore, chose Miss Ada Nichols for his second wife, and he is a blacksmith by trade, though at the present time he is operating a saw mill in the great lumbering district of the state of Washington. Olive M. is the wife of D. E. Moore, who is a veteran of the Civil war and who is now living retired at Napanee, Nebraska. All of the children were reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, for the ministry of which their father was pre- paring himself, and Mrs. Crawford is an earn- est member of this church. She has the dis- tinction of having been the first white child born in Blue Springs township, this county, and she acquired her education in the schools of the county, all of her life thus far having been passed within its gracious borders, so that she knows well the history of this section of the state and is deeply interested in all things touching the welfare of her native county.

James Crawford, to whom this memoir is dedicated, was a gentleman of distinctive cul- ture and of high ideals, -a man who ac- counted well for himself in all of the relations of life. He was an appreciative and valued member of Coleman Post, No. 115, Grand Army of the Republic, and he served seven years as a lieutenant in the Nebraska state militia. He took lively interest in all that con- cerned the fine state of his adoption and was a member of the Nebraska State Historical Society. For thirty-nine years he served as a member of the school board of his district, and it is probable is that a record for such ser- vice during so prolonged a period can be claimed in connection with few, if any, other citizens of Gage county. Mr. Crawford held for two terms the office of county com- missioner, he was a stalwart Republican in politics, was always alert and ready to aid in the furtherance of civic and material progress, and was a valued citizen who will long be re- membered by his surving comrades of the Civil war and by his host of other friends.

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CARL I. WHYMAN .- In Section 27, Adams township, on the outskirts of the town of Adams, may be found the beautiful resi- dence of Carl I. Whyman, farmer and busi- ness man and a representative of one of Gage county's most prominent and influential pio- neer families. Mr. Whyman was born at Adams, this county, on July 9, 1882, and is a son of Frank E. and Mary (Windle) Why- man. Frank E. Whyman is a native of Pennsylvania, born July 25, 1854, and he re- ceived his early education in the schools of his native state. As a youth of fourteen years he came with his parents to Nebraska and the family home was established in Adams township, Gage county, - in 1868. The father homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he reclaimed and im- improved. Frank E. Whyman eventually bought land and engaged in independent farm enterprise. He thus continued his activities until 1882, when he disposed of his land and engaged in the drug business in the village of Adams. In this business he continued for some time and he then sold out and engaged in the furniture and undertaking business, also buying and selling live-stock. In 1914 Mr. Whyman disposed of his business in Gage county, and removed to Boise City, Idaho, where he now makes his home. He is a son of Charles A. and Amelia (Allen) Whyman, who were natives of England and who came to the United States in 1852: Charles A. Why- man passed to the life eternal March 23, 1911. The following extract is taken from an article which appeared in the Adams newspaper at the time of his death :

"Charles Whyman was born April 15, 1827, at Great Bowden, Leicestershire, England. He was the youngest son of eleven children born to Henry and Anne Whyman. He was left fatherless at the age of twelve, which threw him upon his own resources, with the care of a widowed mother. This, together with the rigid conditions of England at that time, de- veloped in him a spirit of integrity seldom met with and, with the prayers of a Christian mother, as a young man of twenty he conse- crated himself to Christ, beginning his life of

service at that time by entering the Congrega- tional church, and that actively as an earnest Sabbath-school teacher, one of a company of young men who regularly taught in several villages each Sabbath. He married Amelia Allen, in the Butler Avenue Congregational church of Leamington, June 27, 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Whyman removed immediately to Mrs. Whyman's childhood home at Galbally, Ireland, where they resided about fifteen months, and where their first daughter, Mary, was born. In the fall of 1852 they embarked for America, which at that time meant a voy- age of thirty-two days on a sailing vessel. They came to Pennsylvania and settled in Erie county, where they remained until 1868, when they came to Nebraska with twelve children, and settled on a homestead in Nemaha town- ship, Gage county. Here they were welcomed by the hardy pioneers, and met the hardships with them. Many may remember the 'Old Log schoolhouse' church services, Father Why- man reading a sermon. In 1887 Mr. Whyman united with the Presbyterian church of Adams. Mr. Whyman's life has been one of activity as a farmer and merchant. He lived in the Adams vicinity for forty-three years. About four years ago he removed to the home of his daughter, Mrs. Cora Coffman, where on the morning of March 23, 1911, he passed peace- fully to the home he had longed for, just ten years after the wife and mother departed. Ten of the fourteen children, forty-four grand children, and seventeen great-grandchildren are left to mourn the loss and cherish the memory of a noble father."

Carl I. Wyman was educated in the public schools of Adams, and is a graduate of the Adams high school. As a young man he clerked in a general merchandise store in Adams, and later he bought an interest in a furniture and undertaking business, with his father. This enterprise he continued to con- duct until 1914, and in the same he is still in- terested. In 1914 Mr. Whyman bought sixty acres of land in Section 27, Adams township, and here he and his family now make their home, in a comfortable modern residence. He

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is actively engaged in farming and stock- raising.

November 27, 1902, Mr. Whyman married Miss Mary Ellen Meyer, a daughter of the late Adolphus Meyer. Mrs. Whyman passed away on June 28, 1907, and is survived by three children, Bertha, Ruth and Harold, all at home. On April 21, 1908, Mr. Whyman was united in marriage to Mrs. Eliza A. Gar- rison, a sister of his former wife, and to this union one child has been born, Josephine.

Mr. Whyman is one of a family of eleven children, as follows: George E., of Adams, Nebraska; Ralph W. and Arthur, of Lincoln ; Harry, deceased; Eve, wife of George F. Bates, of Canby, Oregon; Estella, wife of Hugh Jones, of Monticello, Utah; Annie, wife of Earnest DeHaven, a soldier in the engi- neering corps of the United States Army ; Esther and Mildred, of Boise, Idaho; and Rose, wife of Charles M. Galloway, of Adams, Nebraska.

In politics Mr. Whyman is a Republican, and he and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Adams, where they are numbered among the most progres- sive and esteemed citizens.

JOHN BRADDOCK has proved himself energetic and forward-looking in his activities as a farmer and is one of the representative agriculturists and stock-growers of Filley township, where his attractive homestead is situated in Section 13. He is a scion of a sterling pioneer family of the Hawkeye state and was born in Marshall county, Iowa, Oc- tober 16, 1853, a son of Martin and Delilah (Lepley) Braddock, who were born and reared in Ohio, where their marriage was sol- emnized and whence they removed to Iowa in 1850. They remained for a time in Mahaska county and then removed to Marshall county, where Martin Braddock entered claim to gov- ernment land, perfected title to the same and developed a good farm, both he and his wife having there passed the remainder of their lives, the subject of this review having been the second of their eleven children, of whom eight are living. Martin Braddock made the

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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 118

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