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 121
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tion, is of the most modern type. Mr. Hoff- staedt gives special attention to the breeding and raising of short-horn cattle and is equally vigorous and progressive in directing the agri- cultural department of his farm enterprise. He is a stockholder and director of the Farm- ers' State Bank at Clatonia and is essentially one of the influential and representative citi- zens of the county.
Mr. Hoffstaedt was born in Winnebago county, Illinois, August 2, 1855, and is the eld- est in a family of seven children ; George W. died at Lincoln, Nebraska ; Theresa became the wife of J. P. Ticknor and is now deceased ; Addie is the wife of J. I. Kemp, of Omaha ; Frederick J. is a resident of Phoenix, Arizona ; Anna is the wife of Eugene Richardson and they reside in the city of Omaha ; and David died in l'asadena, California. Frederick Hoff- staedt, father of the subject of this review, was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1822, and was a resident and honored pioneer of Lancaster county, Nebraska, at the time of his death, in 1895. He came to America when a young man and first settled in Winnebago county, Illi- nois. Later he became a pioneer in Minne- sota, where he entered a homestead claim. He perfected his title to this homestead and after having there given his attention to farming for a few years, he continued his active alli- ance with farm industry in Winnebago county, Illinois, until 1882, when he came with his family to Nebraska and established his home in Lancaster county. There he reclaimed and improved a productive farm and there he con- tinned his residence until his death. His wife, whose maiden name was Gertrude Hauser, likewise was a native of Germany, and she passed to the life eternal in Lancaster county, and was about sixty-three years of age at the time of her death.
Frank N. Hoffstaedt was reared to adult age in his native county, where he early learned the varied details of farm work and where he ac- quired his preliminary education in the district schools. In 1876 he entered Northwestern College, at Naperville, Illinois, and in this ex- cellent institution he continued his higher academic studies three years. In 1878 he came
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to Lincoln, Nebraska, and in Lancaster county he found exigent demand for his services as a teacher in the district schools. His success in the pedagogic profession was unequivocal and he continued as a teacher in the district schools for a period of ten years, in the meanwhile be- coming successfully identified with farm enter- prise. He continued his residence in Lancas- ter county until 1892, when he came to Gage county and purchased a farm three miles north of Clatonia. Three years later he purchased his present fine homestead farm, and his suc- cess is attested not only in his possession of a large and valuable landed estate but also in the admirable improvements which he has made on his property. From the time of coming to Nebraska Mr. Hoffstaedt served consecu- tively as a member of the school board until 1914, and has served in other official positions in both Lancaster and Gage counties. He takes deep interest in all things touching the well-being of his home county and state and is well fortified in his opinions concerning eco- nomic and governmental polity. He has given effective campaign service in behalf of the Re- publican party but has manifested no ambition for political preferment of an official order. He is a stockholder of the Farmers' Grain & Coal Company of Cortland, which operates the modern elevator in that village and also conducts a substantial business in the handling of coal and lumber. He and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Hallam and he is a trustee of the same.
August 2, 1887, recorded the marriage of Mr. Hoffstaedt to Miss Diena Schmidt, who is a daughter of the late Jergen and Etta Schmidt, of whom incidental mention is made on other pages, especially in connection with the sketch of the career of John Carstens, who married their daughter Mary. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffstaedt became the parents of five children : Harold died at the age of five years ; Roy and Etta remain at the parental home; Esther died at the age of ten years; and Estella is the youngest member of the gracious home circle. Miss Etta Hoffstaedt was graduated in the Beatrice high school, and in 1918 she is a
member of the senior class in Central Wes- leyan College, at Warrenton, Missouri.
WEITJE G. COOPER owns and resides upon a fine farm estate of three hundred and twenty acres, and his attractive home is in Section 36, Nemaha township. He is essen- tially one of the representative agriculturists and stock-growers of this part of the county and has given special attention to the breeding and feeding of live stock for the market.
Mr. Cooper was born in Atchison county, Missouri, on the 4th of March, 1874, and is a son of Gerd and Rixtie (Harms) Cooper, of whose thirteen children three died in infancy. Concerning the other children the following brief data are available: John is deceased, Thomas is a resident of Atchison county, Mis- souri ; Mrs. Tillie Bowers lives in the vicinity of Filley, Gage county, Nebraska ; Herman is deceased; Eilert remains in Atchison county, Missouri ; Weitje G., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Heibie is the wife of J. Heyen, a farmer near Filley, this county ; John resides in Atchison county, Missouri ; George maintains his home in Gage county, Nebraska ; and Rosa is deceased.
Gerd Cooper, father of him whose name in- troduces this review, was born in Straukhault, Germany, on the 13th of January, 1837, and in his native land he was identified with farm enterprise until, as a young man, he immi- grated to the United States and settled in John- son county, Nebraska, in the early pioneer days. Later he removed to Atchison county, Missouri, where he passed the remained of his life, his death having occurred June 13, 1907. A man of energy and ability, he achieved defi- nite success and at the time of his death he was the owner of a large and valuable landed es- tate. On the 14th of March, 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Gerd Cooper to Miss Rixtie Harms, who was born in Han- over, Germany, February 28, 1844, and who survived her husband by a period of seven years, she having been summoned to the life eternal on the 12th of June, 1914.
Weitje G. Cooper was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and received the advan-
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tages of the public schools. He remained at the parental home until 1895, when he began farming on his own account, in which enter- prise he rented land from his father, in Atch- ison county, Missouri. There he continued his activities until 1905, when he came to Ne- braska and purchased two hundred and forty acres of partially improved land in Gage county. He is now the owner of three hun- dred and twenty acres, showing that he had added to his original holdings in Nemaha town- ship, and in the developing and improving of this valuable farm estate he has shown splen- did enterprise and progressiveness. In 1915 he erected his present handsome farm house, which contains nine rooms and which is mod- ern in architectural design, as well as in all appointments and equipments. The house is heated by furnace, has circulating hot and cold water, and is supplied with its own system of lighting, by acetylene gas.
March 4, 1895, recorded the marriage of Mr. Cooper to Miss Anna Heyen, who like- wise is a native of Atchison county, Missouri, where she was born October 1, 1873. She is a daughter of Heye J. and Gobke (Heyen) Heyen. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have four chil- dren, - Heiko, Frank, Freda and John.
In politics Mr. Cooper gives his allegiance to the Democratic party and in his civic relations he is liberal and public-spirited. He is now serving as a member of the school board of his district, and he and his wife are commuicants of the German Lutheran church.
HERMAN WEIBE has been a resident of Gage county since 1894 and is a brother of Gerhard Weibe, of whom specific mention is made on other pages, with adequate review of the family history. Mr. Weibe is the owner of a fine farm property in Midland township and is a substantial and honored citizen who well merits recognition in this history. He was born in the province of Danzig, Prussia, February 3, 1850, and acquired his early edu- cation in the schools of the city of Danzig. He accompanied his parents on their removal to Russia, and there he was identified with the general merchandise business for a quarter of
a century. In this enterprise he was asso- ciated with his brother Gerhard and he came to Nebraska in 1894. In 1896 he purchased his present finely improved farm estate, of two hundred and eighty acres, where he is living virtually retired, his sons having the active management of the farm, which they rent. Un- qualified success has attended the activities of Mr. Weibe as one of the progressive expon- ents of farm industry in this county, and he has given his attention to diversified agricul- ture and stock-growing, besides having de- veloped a prosperous dairy enterprise, with a fine herd of Holstein cows. He has erected modern buildings on his farm and the attrac- tive home is one of the model rural residences of the county. In political matters he is inde- pendent, and he and his family are active mem- bers of the Mennonite church.
In 1875 Mr. Weibe married Miss Wilhel- mina Hein, and she died in Russia, in 1882, the two surviving children being John, who is as- sociated in the management of the home farm, and Mary, who is the wife of Franz Albrecht, a farmer residing eight miles west of Beatrice. In 1885 Mr. Weibe contracted a second mar- riage, when Miss Gertrude Epp became his wife, she likewise having been born in Ger- many. Of the children of this union brief rec- ord is given in conclusion of this article: Her- man is a successful school-teacher in the fine Mennonite institution known as Bethel College, at Newton, Kansas, his education having in- cluded courses in the University of Nebraska, the University of Wisconsin and the Univer- sity of Illinois ; Jacob is one of the lessees of his father's farm property; Gertrude is the wife of Aaron Claassen, a farmer ten miles south of Beatrice; Elizabeth remains at the parental home; William and Ernest are asso- ciated in the operation of the home farm; and Helena and Katie likewise are at home, though both are, in 1918, students in the Beatrice high school.
FRANK M. BARMORE. - One of the early settlers of Gage county, and one who was numbered among the most respected and honored citizens of the community in which
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he lived was Frank M. Barmore. Mr. Bar- more was born at Buchanan, Berrien county, Michigan, on the 11th of September, 1862, and was a son of Horace C. and Mary (Curtis) Barmore. Horace C. Barmore was born in New York state, in December, 1829, and moved to Michigan when a young man. There, in the pioneer days, he worked in the making of potash. In 1859 was recorded the mar- riage of Horace C. Barmore and Mary Curtis, of Michigan, and to this union were born six children: Carrie B. resides in the city of Chicago; Frank M. is the subject of this memoir; William A. is a resident of Texas; Charles L. and Walter H. live in Gage county, Nebraska, as does also Florence, who is the wife of Perry Disher. In the fall of 1863, Horace C. Barmore started west and he and his family arrived in Gage county, Nebraska, on December 4th of that year. He took a homestead in Section 33, Adams township, and lived on the place a number of years. His death occurred at Adams, in 1889. At one time Mr. Barmore was engaged in freighting across the plains from Nebraska City to Fort Kearney. His widow survived him by many years, and passed away in 1911. Her father came to Gage county, Nebraska, in 1860, and here he took a homestead, besides which he built the first house ever erected in the town of Adams, this county. He passed to the life eternal in 1876.
Frank M. Barmore was united in marriage September 9, 1886, to Miss Mollie O. Bryson, a daughter of Silas and Clarinda (Young) Bryson, of whom a record will be found on other pages of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Barmore became the parents of three sons and five daughters, as follows: Melvin C., of Adams, this county; John W., of Chicago; Mrs. Ray Braddock, of Filley, Gage county ; Mrs. Clay Campbell, of Lincoln, Nebraska ; and Irene, Eunice, Lora and Eugene, at home with the widowed mother. The husband and father passed away on the 1st of March, 1916. The following extract is taken from a notice which appeared in the Adams paper at the time of Mr. Barmore's death: "Frank M. Barmore was born in Buchanan, Berrien
county, Michigan, September 11, 1862. The following fall he was brought by his parents to this vicinity, then a part of Nebraska Ter- ritory, reaching the Nemaha, December 4, 1863. His boyhood was spent on the family homestead southwest of Adams, where he grew to manhood, getting his schooling in books in the district school, and in the sterner school of work and experience he studied on his father's farm, where he and his younger brother Will, much earlier than most boys, shouldered a large share of the men's work and responsibility, because of a lame father, who was unable to follow a team or do many of the other tasks on a farm. He was mar- ried September 9, 1886, to Miss Mollie C. Bryson, who had been a girlhood friend and schoolmate. In this neighborhood they built a home, which was ever a bright center of love and confidence to the family and of cheery hospitality to friends and acquaintances. Mr. Barmore belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church of which he was ever a faithful and consistent member. His faith in Christ cheered and sustained him, and remained bright and clear as his physical powers failed. His death brings deep sorrow not only to the family group but also to a wide circle of friends, many of whoni have known him from boyhood, and none knew him but to esteem him more highly as the years passed by. He was one of na- ture's noblemen in the truest sense, - brave, generous, manly, his was the soul of honor and his friends and friendships were sacred to him.”
Mrs. Barmore makes her home in the com- munity where she was born and reared and where she and her husband spent most of the years of their married life.
OTIS B. HEFFELFINGER. - Of the business men and farmers in Gage county none is more worthy of consideration in this his- tory than Otis B. Heffelfinger, business man, and live-stock dealer. Mr. Heffelfinger was born in Whiteside county, Illinois, on January 5, 1881, a son of Bell M. and Louise (Wag- ner) Heffelfinger, of whom a record will be found in other pages of this volume. (See
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MRS. ALBERT BEDNAR
ALBERT BEDNAR
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sketch of Ray C. Heffelfinger). The subject of this review came to Nebraska with his par- ents in 1887, at the age of six years. Their first home in the west was at Grand Island. Nebraska, and later in Adams county, where they remained only a short time before coming to Beatrice. Mr. Heffelfinger received his education in the public schools of Beatrice, and thereafter he was associated with his father in meat-market enterprise, and also in farm- ing and stock-raising until his father's death. Since that time he has conducted the farming and stock business on his own account, and he is associated with H. L. Goble in the meat- market business in the city of Beatrice, where they do a large business in both wholesale and retail lines. Near the city of Beatrice, Mr. Heffelfinger is the owner of a small tract of land, where he has his home, and where he conducts his live-stock activities. He feeds each year a large number of both cattle and hogs for the market, and is making a great success of his chosen occupation. The meat market is conducted under the firm name of Goble & Heffelfinger.
On January 15, 1901, Mr. Heffelfinger was united in marriage to Miss Effie Veon a daughter of John and Hulda (Burner) Veon, of Beatrice, Nebraska, and to this union have been born six children, - Gussie L., Robert L., Marion B., Belle M., Harold E., and Ruth E. - all of whom are at the parental home.
Mrs. Heffelfinger has three brothers and one sister, as follows: John, of Oxford, Ne- braska ; Henry, and Russell, both of Beatrice ; and Laura, wife of Herbert Palmer, of Bea- trice.
In politics Mr. Heffelfinger is a Republican, but he has never sought public office, prefer- ring to give his whole time and attention to his business. Mr. and Mrs. Heffelfinger have a beautiful little home in the south part of the city of Beatrice and have hosts of friends in the community in which they live.
ALBERT BEDNAR. - In 1876, the year that marked the centennial of the national in- dependence of the United States, Albert Bed- nar and his wife numbered themselves among
the pioneer settlers of Nebraska. They first located temporarily near Wilber, the county seat of Saline county, and in the spring of 1880 established themselves on an embryonic farm near the town of Wymore, Gage county -- on what had but recently been a part of the Otoe and Missouri Indian reser- vation. Here Mr. Bednar, with the help of his wife and family, reclaimed from the un- trammeled prairie a fertile farm. Not a fur- row had been turned on the land and no im- provements of any kind had been made. The coyote and the Indian were the only habitues It was truly virgin soil.
Undaunted by the prospects, Mr. Bednar, with a yoke of oxen and a breaking plow broke sod, built a sod house for his family, and then turned vigorously to the reclaiming and cultivation of his pioneer farm. He soon came to be one of the representative expo- nents of agricultural industry in his com- munity. His energy and good management brought to him a generous measure of success in his passing years. Through his well directed activities he eventually not only accumulated a large and valuable landed estate in Gage county, but in all of the relations of life he so ordered his course as to merit and receive the unqualified confidence and good will of his fellow men. He contributed his full share to the civic and industrial development of the county ; took a loyal interest in all matters touching its communal welfare, but never sought or desired public office. In his political views he was non-partisan. His early re- ligious faith was that of the Catholic church, but on coming to America he did not affiliate with any church.
Albert Bednar was born April 23, 1837, in Pistina, Bohemia. . By trade he was a skilled cabinetmaker. He was actively engaged in his vocation while in Bohemia, but after coming to America he devoted almost his entire time to farming and stock-raising. In August, 1863, was solemnized his marriage to Jo- hanna Peroutka. It was a matter of great gratification to Mr. Bednar that he lived to celebrate his golden wedding anniversary, an occasion on which the children, grandchildren,
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and friends of Mr. and Mrs. Bednar united to pay the aged couple a lasting and well de- served tribute.
In 1908 this honored pioneer, having already accumulated a competency, his health failing him, left, though somewhat reluctantly, the farm in Sicily township that had been the home for over a quarter of a century - the farm which by his labor he had converted from raw prairie into fertile fields, the farm where he had witnessed his children grow to manhood and womanhood - and removed to the village of Odell. Here were spent the closing years of his life and on the 21st day of September, 1914, he passed away-a man who had accounted well for himself to the world in which he lived and labored to goodly ends. He is buried in the Odell cemetery.
His widow, Mrs. Johanna Bednar, now ven- erable in years, was born in Hatina, Bohemia, in 1840. Since the death of her husband she makes her home with one of their sons, Peter Bednar, near Barneston, Nebraska. To her thrift, industry, and undaunted courage much credit is due for her husband's success and prosperity. With a family of six little chil- dren she braved the perils of an ocean voyage from the old world to the new, and endured the many subsequent hardships incident to pioneer life. Her's is the distinction of being the mother of ten children, nine of whom she reared to manhood and womenhood. Felix, a son, died in infancy, in November, 1876, and is buried in Saline county ; Lillie died September 28, 1891; Theresa, who later became the wife of Frank Zaribnicky, died March 10, 1894; Frances, later Mrs. Vincent Marek, died Feb- ruary 26, 1917 ; Ferdinand, the oldest member of the family, is a prosperous farmer in Sicily township; Mary, the widow of Milton Prebyl, resides on her farm near Barneston, Ne- braska; Carrie is the wife of Joseph Krotz, of whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work; Peter is a substantial farmer near Barneston, Nebraska ; and Eman- uel is similarly. engaged near Wymore, Ne- braska. James E. is engaged in the practice of law in the city of Omaha, and is individually mentioned on other pages of this volume.
WILLIAM N. REVIS. - While not a na- tive born Nebraskan, Mr. Revis says that in all his life he never tilled better land than can be found in Gage county. After a residence of one year in Lancaster county, he came to Adams township, Gage county. The work of subduing the prairies was so hard and the food so scarce this first summer that Mr. Revis gave out completely. He continued his stay in Gage county eight years, then he returned to Illinois. He was born in Montgomery county, Illinois, October 9, 1855, a son of Ewen and Jane (Greer) Revis. Ewen Revis was born in Kentucky and went to Illinois with his parents with horses and rude wagon, the wheels, which were hewn from the trunk of a tree. As a farmer he aided in opening the way for future generations. His death oc- curred in 1877. His wife, Jane (Greer) Revis, likewise was born in Kentucky and her par- ents were pioneer settlers in the state that reared Abraham Lincoln. She passed away in 1876.
After his first experience in Nebraska, Wil- liam Revis remained for three years in the state that had been his boyhood home, but he then decided that Gage county, Nebraska, of- fered the best opportunities for farming.
November 28, 1878, he married Chloe B. Ellis, who was born December 30, 1860, in Montgomery county, Illinois. Her parents, Jeremiah and Henrietta (Holcombe) Ellis, were born in New York and Ohio respectively, and after coming to Illinois they there re- mained until 1881, when they came to Gage county, Nebraska. Here they purchased land for six dollars an acre. They continued their farming operations all of their life. After their death, Mrs. Revis inherited forty acres of the Revis farm, located in Section 5, Adams township.
The following named children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Revis: Ethel Ann died in infancy ; Berge is living at home; Emery is living in Nemaha township, this county ; Bertha is the wife of Edgar Sims, and they reside in Wright county, Iowa; Earl lives in Adams township; and Jane is at home with her parents.
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In politics Mr. Revis is a Democrat, but he is prone to cast an independent vote, prefer- ring men and measures to strict party lines. He and his wife attend the Baptist church, which has their liberal support.
CHARLES S. CURRY, M. D. - One of the younger members of the medical profes- sion in the city of Beatrice is the subject of this sketch, Dr. Charles Samuel Curry. Dr. Curry was born in the village of Clayton, Adams county, Illinois on the 30th day of July, 1873. He is a son of Benjamin A. and Lucy (Hopkins) Curry, both of English des- cent. His father was born in Kentucky in 1825 and in 1837 he was taken by his parents to Illinois. The family was amongst the ear- liest settlers of Adams county and was well connected and highly respected.
Benjamin A. Curry obtained title to a consid- erable tract of land in the immediate vicinity of Clayton, his patent to a portion of it being signed by Franklin Pierce, president of the United States. At the tinie of his death, which occurred on the 29th day of June, 1915, when he was just closing his ninetieth year, he was one of the wealthy farmers of Adams county. Doctor Curry's mother, Lucy (Hopkins) Curry, was born in the state of Ohio, in 1840. She was a woman of great refinement. She was reared in the state of Illinois and became the wife of Benjamin A. Curry in 1858. She died in 1881, at the age of forty-one years, and when her son Charles S. was in the eighth year of his age.
Six children were the fruit of this marriage, - four daughters and two sons. The daugh- ters are Mrs. Linnie A. Wilson and Mrs. Dora A. Cain, both of Clayton, Illinois; Mrs. Nel- lie P. Potter, of Chicago, Illinois; and Mrs. Carrie A. Andrews, of Kansas City, Missouri. The sons are Edgar T. Clayton, the leading hardware merchant of Clayton, and Dr. Charles Samuel Curry, of Beatrice.
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