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 123

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 123

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family to Nebraska and settled in Gage county. At the rate of ten dollars an acre he purchased eighty acres of partially improved land in Sherman township, and his energy and ability brought to him large and substantial success during the passing years, as shown by the fact that at the time of his death he was the owner of a valuable landed estate of four hundred acres. He was a stalwart in the local ranks of the Democratic party and was influential in community affairs in his township, where he held minor official positions, including that of school director.

November 6, 1859, recorded the marriage of Mr. Mangus to Miss Catherine Garst, who was born in Roanoke county, Virginia, Decem- ber 9, 1840, and who survived him by more than a decade, she having been one of the revered pioneer women of Gage county at the time when she was summoned to eternal rest, in February, 1916. She was a daughter of George and Catherine (Marka) Garst, both natives of the state of Pennsylvania. To Mr. and Mrs. Mangus were born twelve children : John H., born May 2, 1860, died December 5, 1860; Sarah E., born December 28, 1861, is the widow of Enos Rishel and resides at Mc- Cook, Nebraska; Rebecca J., born December 1, 1864, is the wife of J. W. Martin, of Sher- man township, Gage county ; George W., born May 7, 1866, is a farmer in Sherman county, Kansas ; Jerry T. is individually represented on other pages of this volume ; Joseph and Josiah, (twins) were born August 17, 1871: Josiah died September 19, 1871, and Joseph is a resi- dent of Gage county ; E. B. was born March 7, 1869; Mary E. was born January 29, 1873, and is the wife of Gustavus A. Erickson, of Gage county ; Catherine, born April 14, 1876, is the wife of John Lidgard, of Gage county : C. E., born August 16, 1879, resides in Gage county ; and William, born February 7, 1882, resides in Delta county, Colorado.

FRED A. HARPER. - The agricultural interests of Gage county find a worthy repre- sentative in Fred A. Harper who owns one hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 20, Adams township.

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

He was born in a brick house in the city of Liverpool, England, at six o'clock in the morning of January 3, 1843, and his parents Allen and Mary (Hopley) Harper, also were natives of England. In 1848, with their fam- ily of four children, they came to America and settled on a farm, in McLean county, Illinois, after a short stay in New York state. When the Civil war broke out, Allen Harper enlisted in the Thirty-second Illinois Volunteer Infan- try. He became a captain, and while in de- fence of his adopted country he was taken sick with typhoid fever and received an hon- orable discharge. His last days were passed at the home of his son, in Jefferson county, Nebraska, where he died in 1888, at the age of sixty-eight years. His widow died in 1891, at the age of seventy-one years. They were the parents of the following named children : Mrs. Elizabeth Mayberry, deceased; Fred A., subject of this sketch; Mrs. William Groves. of Marshall county, Kansas; Allen, deceased ; Samuel, a resident of Illinois; Joseph, de- ceased; and Mrs. Richard Newcomb, of Cali- fornia.

Fred A. Harper was a lad of five years when the family home was transferred to America. He was reared on a farm in Illi- nois, attended district school, in the acquire- ment of an education, and when he became a man he wisely chose for a life work the oc- cupation which he had learned in his younger days. His home remained in Illinois until December 13, 1887, when he came to Nebraska and bought a farm in Jefferson county. He successfully operated this until 1893, when he traded it for his present farm, moving to Adams township on December 13th of that year. He has had made such improvements as were needed, transforming it to a valuable tract. Mr. Harper has done general farming, and pays particular attention to the feeding of swine, both branches of the business prov- ing profitable.

As a helpmeet Mr. Harper chose Miss Cas- sandra Mayberry, their wedding being cele- brated July 18, 1870. Mrs. Harper was born January 17, 1849, in Hamilton county, Illi- nois, in the district known as Egypt. Her

parents were William and Caroline (Mc- Broom) Mayberry, natives of Illinois, and of German and French descent, both are now de- ceased.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Harper has been blessed with seven children as follows: Stella is the wife of W. Barmore, of Adams; Eliza is the wife of F. Perry, a farmer of Adams township; John F. who operates his father's farm, married Miss Clara Silver, whose par- ents were homesteaders in Gage county ; Ira Arthur, who lives in Hollenberg, Kansas, mar- ried Minnie Hildebrand, of Adams; Jessie L. is the wife of A. Robb, residing at Filley, Ne- braska ; and two children died in infancy.

In politics Mr. Harper endorses the princi- pals of the Republican party, and he has served efficiently as a member of the school board of his district. He is a member of the lodge of the Independant Order of Odd Fellows at Adams. In every relation of life Mr. Harper has measured up to the full standard of citi- zenship. While the active work of the farm has been shifted to younger shoulders, he still is interested in all those things which have to do with moral and material uplift of his com- munity.

HERMAN A. KROESE. - Holland is a country that is noted for its thrifty and in- dustrious people. While it is a small nation geographically, it has won a place in the world as a nation of intensive farming and other pro- ductive industries. Its sons who immigrate to the United States bring with them methods of farming which, when applied to our broad acres, makes them specially successful and prosperous farmers.

Herman A. Kroese is a Hollander by birth and an American by adoption. He was born May 2, 1863, in Elburg, Holland. His par- ents, with their eleven children, left the spot- less town of Elburg, Holland, in 1881, to seek in the United States greater opportunities for advancement. Lancaster county, Nebraska, was selected for their farming operations and they located on a farm near Panama, that county. They remained on this farm until their death. These good people, Jannes and

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Gerritje (Dul) Kroese, were born in Holland. Jannes was born February 17, 1832, and his death occurred August 2, 1916. His wife was born April 23, 1841, and her death occurred a few months prior to that of her husband - May, 28, 1916. Thirteen strong, robust sons and daughters were reared on the farm near Panama, Nebraska. They have all taken their places in the world's work, as farmers and as artisans of various sorts.

Herman A. Kroese was seventeen years old when his parents migrated to the broad prair- ies of Nebraska. They toiled to subdue the wild fertile lands and wrest from nature her treasures, as well as to develop strong minds and bodies for their children. The early edit- cation of Herman A. Kroese was received in Holland and upon his arrival in Nebraska he helped his father on the farm. After he passed his majority he worked among the farmers as a farm hand, continuing in this work until, in 1888, he was employed as a clerk in the general merchandise store at Hol- land, Nebraska.

At this period of life he wedded Ida Boeve, their marriage having been solemnized on the 26th day of February, 1891. Mrs. Kroese was the daughter of Dutch parents who had immigrated to this country from Holland and settled in Iowa, and she was born January 18, 1872. Her parents, Lewis and Hattie (Stuu- rop) Boeve, helped to build up the agricultural wealth of Iowa. Mrs. Kroese was a member of the Dutch Reformed church, was a devoted mother and was a true helpmeet to her hus- band. Her death occurred in Kansas, March 18, 1903. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kroese, and concerning them the fol- lowing brief record in consistently given : Hattie is the wife of G. Wubbels, living in Lancaster county, Nebraska; Louisa is the wife of H. Kamp, of Adams township, Gage county ; John and Edna remain at home with their father; Adrian is deceased; and Arthur is with his uncle, L. H. Kroese.

After Mr. Kroese's marriage, in 1891, he rented land from his father for two years. In 1893 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Norton county, Kansas, and

fourteen years were spent on this farm, where his children were born, and the children at- tended the rural schools of the vicinity. In 1907, about four years after the death of his wife, Mr. Kroese, with his family of children, returned to Nebraska, and he purchased one hundred and seventy acres of land in section 3, Adams county. He is still owner of his land in Kansas.

A modern residence is occupied by Mr. Kroese and his son and daughter who re- main at home with him. The house is lighted by gas, is steam heated, and is provided with running hot and cold water. Such a home a prosperous farmer can truly enjoy after years of hard labor.

In politics Mr. Kroese is independent in his thinking and voting. He believes that the man and not the party is to be chosen as the servant of the people in the legislative and other governmental bodies. His religions views are in accord with the faith of the Dutch Reformed church, which receives of his lib- eral support.

ISAAC H. BRUBAKER, owner and man- ager of the Farmers Feed Yard, 212 South Fourth street, Beatrice, was born in Cass county, Indiana, December 17, 1860, and is a son of Abraham and Martha (Parker) Bru- baker.

Abraham Brubaker was born in Pennsyl- vania in 1811. He moved to Indiana and later to Illinois. By his marriage to Miss Martha Parker, of Ohio, were born fourteen children as follows: Stephen, living in Iowa; Jacob, a Union soldier, who was taken prisoner and died in Andersonville prison, in 1865; Han- nah, wife of William Parker, of Tennessee; Mary, widow of Wilson Dunniston, now mak- ing her home in Kansas City, Missouri; Jo- seph and Solomon, of Indiana; Alva, of Bige- low, Kansas; David, of Hendley, Nebraska ; Jennie, Martha, and Angeline, deceased ; Isaac H., the subject of this sketch; Henry, of Colo- rado; and Ella, widow of William Woodburn, late of Kansas.

Abraham Brubaker came to Nebraska in 1886 and settled in Furnas county, where he

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died in 1901. His widow passed away in his home until his death, in 1913, his fine farm 1903.

Isaac H. Brubaker was educated in the pub- lic schools of Illinois, and followed farming in that state until 1879, when he came to Ne- braska and settled in Gage county, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, in Glenwood township. Several years ago Mr. Brubaker removed to the city of Beatrice, where he bought the Farmers Feed Yard, which he now manages. He has recently pur- chased thirteen acres of land in Section 35, Midland township, on which he has built a comfortable residence, and where he makes his home.

In 1903 Mr. Brubaker married Miss Eliza- beth Alder, of Beatrice. They are the parents of two children, Richard and Grace. Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and take a great interest in church work.

HERMAN F. SIEMS. - It is a privilege at this point to direct attention to another of the native sons of Gage county who has here achieved success and prominence as a repre- sentative agriculturist and stock-grower, Mr. Siems being the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land in Grant town- ship, his homestead farm, of one hundred and fifty-eight acres, being in Section 16, and his second farm, of one hundred and sixty-two acres, being in Section 21. Both places are un- der his direct and characteristically able man- agement and are given over to diversified agriculture and stock-growing.

On his father's old homestead farm in Sec- tion 23, Grant township, Herman F. Siems was born March 22, 1877, a date that indi- cates that he is a scion of one of the pioneer families of the county. His father, Claus Siems, came to Gage county in the spring of 1876, and eventually he developed and im- proved one of the fine farm properties of Grant township, he having reclaimed from the prairie fully two hundred and forty acres of land and having become one of the successful and representative farmers and stock-growers of the county, where he continued to maintain

estate having been that on which the subject of this sketch was born and reared.

Claus Siems was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, February 11, 1841, and after leaving school he served a thorough ap- prenticeship to the trade of cabinetmaker. In his native land he continued to follow his trade until his immigration to America, and for three years after his arrival in the land of his adoption he was employed in a sash and door factory at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Thereafter he was for ten years employed at his trade at Lincoln, Logan county, Illinois, where, on the 19th of February, 1873, he wedded Miss Lena Weltzein, who was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, August 18, 1849, and who was but five years old when she ac- companied her widowed mother to the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Siems became the par- ents of six sons and two daughters - all of whom are living - and of the number the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth. The devoted wife and mother, who is now deceased, shared fully with her hus- band in the trials and hardships of pioneer life after they had established their home in Gage county, both having been active members of the German Lutheran church and his political support having been given to the Democratic party.

Reared under the influences of the pioneer farm and profiting duly by the advantages af- forded in the English and German schools of the locality, Herman F. Siems early began to lend effective aid in the work of his father's farm, so that he learned in the passing years all details of farm industry. In 1907 he pur- chased his present fine farm, commonly known as the old Ellis place and long prominent in having a large white house which was for many years the only one of this color in the locality. As a farmer he has added to the honors of the family name, as has he also as a loyal and progressive citizen, his political sup- port being given to the Democratic party and he and his wife holding to the faith of the Lutheran church.

In 1904 Mr. Siems married Miss Sophia

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Damkroger, who likewise was born and reared in Gage county and who is a daughter of the late Henry Damkroger, an honored pioneer of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Siems have six children, all of whom remain members of the cheery home circle, namely : Martha, Elmer, Lawrence, Elsie, Arthur, and Laura.

JOHN A. BRYSON, farmer and stock- raiser in Section 35, Adams township, has the distinction of being a native of Gage county, Nebraska, and a member of one of the most widely known and respected families of Adams township.

Mr. Bryson was born in Adams township, this county, on May 12, 1869, a son of Silas and Clarinda (Young) Bryson, of whom men- tion is made elsewhere in this volume. John A. was educated in the district schools of Gage county and as a boy and young man he worked with his father on the farm. Later he rented land and was here engaged in farm- ing for himself until 1899, when he went to Oklahoma, in which state he continued farm- ing until 1903. He then returned to Gage county, Nebraska, and farmed on rented land until the spring of 1908, when he again went to Oklahoma, where he remained until 1911. Coming back to Gage county, Nebraska, in that year, he engaged in farming and stock- raising on Section 35, Adams township where he has remained to the present time. Mr. Bryson is making a success of his chosen calling, and at the present time, in connection with his brother, David F., is feeding a large herd of cattle for market.

Mr. Bryson was united in marriage Feb- ruary 8, 1893, to Miss Evalena A. Reynolds, a daughter of J. S. and Sarah (Thompson) Reynolds, and of this union have been born five children, as follows: George W. died in childhood : Lilah I. is a teacher in the Johnson county schools ; and Hugh, Charles, and Zella are at home.

J. S. Reynolds, father of Mrs. Bryson, was born in West Virginia, in May, 1839, and followed farming and the carpenter trade in Iowa until 1861, when he enlisted in the Un- ion army and served throughout the war. He

was mustered out in 1865, and thereafter in Iowa he again took up the carpenter trade, which he followed until 1878. He then came to Nebraska with his family and settled in Otoe county, where he stayed only one year. In 1879 he came to Gage county and here he followed farming for twenty years. Going to Oklahoma in 1899, he there bought land and he remained there until his death, in 1908. Mrs. Reynolds is a native of Indiana, born April 15, 1850, a daughter of Garret Thomp- son. She now makes her home at Pond Creek, Oklahoma.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryson are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Adams, in which they are both devoted workers. In politics Mr. Bryson is a Prohibitionist and he is very enthusiastic in the furtherance of the party cause.

COLONEL JOHNSON HIATT. - The history of nations is but the composite assem- bling of the histories of individual persons, each of whom, in working out his destiny, co-ordinates with others in making the history of the community, the county, the state, the nation. Few men in Gage county have had in life a closer personal and ancestral touch and asssociation with events of historic import- ance than has Colonel Johnson Hiatt, who is an honored and influential citizen of Odell and who is familiarly known throughout this sec- tion of Nebraska.

The sixth in a family or seventeen children, Colonel Johnson Hiatt was born at Sidney, Fremont county, Iowa, in the year 1859, and he is a son of Joseph anad Martha Ann (Es- tes) Hiattt. His parents were numbered among the early pioneer settlers of the Hawk- eye state, which was little more than an un- trammeled wilderness when they there estab- lished their home. in 1851, upon removal from Illinois. Joseph Hiatt was born in Peoria county, Illinois, on the 27th of December,, 1826, and was a son of Jesse Hiatt, the family name of whose wife was Proctor. Jesse Hiattt was a soldier in the war of 1812 and thereafter became one of the very early set- tlers in the state of Illinois. His father was a birthright member of the Society of Friends,.

HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

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COLONEL JOHNSON HIATT AND WIFE

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

or Quakers, and his religious faith did not permit him to give military service. Under these conditions he paid a fourfold tax in lieu of such service, at the time of the war of the Revolution. As recognition is taken of the lives and deeds of such worthy men and wo- men as the ancestors of the subject of this re- view, it becomes evident that they did a noble part in connection with laying broad and deep the foundations of our nation, gave loyally to upholding the principles of democracy, and aided in the conquering of the wilderness as the great march of progress made its west- ward way. Mrs. Martha Ann (Estes) Hiatt, mother of Colonel Hiatt of this review, was born in Clinton county, Missouri, on the 12th of January, 1884, and was a daughter of the celebrated Joel Estes, in whose honor Estes Park, Colorado, was named, he having been the first white man to discover and exploit this region, which is full of nature's wonder and which now attracts thousands of visitors each year. The marriage of Joseph Hiatt and Martha Ann Estes was solemnized in Il- linois, on the 30th of November, 1850, and in the following year, as before stated, they es- tablished their home in Fremont county, Iowa, where all of their seventeen children were born. On the 30th of November, 1900, this venerable and noble pioneer couple celebrated their golden-wedding anniversary, and the oc- casion was made a notable one, as fourteen of their married children, with their respective families, and also one unmarried daughter, came from far distant points to pay a tribute of honor and affection, this having been the first family reunion to be held in fifteen years. One daughter and her husband came from London, England, where they were en- gaged in missionary work, to be present at this memorable celebration and family reunion. At this remarkable gathering of a remarkable family, old times, stories, and incidents were recalled in pleasing reminiscence, and thus were brought back to memory the joys, the sorrow, the hardships and the happy associ- ations of days long past. Joseph and Martha A. (Estes) Hiatt lived long and useful lives and gave to the world sons and daughters of

whom they had every reason to be proud when the gracious evening of their lives began to show the lengthened shadows from the sunset gates of the golden west. Joseph Hiatt passed from the stage of life's mortal en- deavors on the 19th of February, 1914, at the age of eighty-six years, his loved and devoted wife having passed to the life eternal Decem- ber 20, 1907. They were earnest, unassuming folk of noble character and exemplified in their daily lives the best ideals of the gentle religious faith to which they adhered, that of the Society of Friends.

Colonel Johnson Hiatt is thus shown to be a true scion of fine pioneer stock, and in his native state he was reared and educated under the conditions of the pioneer era. He was an ambitious youth of eighteen years when, in 1877, he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and entered claim to a homestead on the Otoe In- dian reservation, which had recently been opened to settlement. There were no roads, no houses in sight and no improvements made on the land which he determined to reclaim into a productive farm. In that early period of his residence in Gage county Colonel Hiatt followed the Indian trails to the little village of Charleston, where he obtained his mail and his necessary supplies. Charleston is now one of the vanished towns of this part of the state, and it was situated one mile south of the present thriving town of Odell. Though a mere youth, Colonel Hiatt girded himself valiantly for the responsibilities and services of a pioneer, and it was his to know and experience all of the incidental loneliness, privation and hardships incidental to the early days on the old Otoe reservation. He endured all and faltered not in his resolute purpose, with the result that the passing years rewarded him with generous prosperity, so that to-day he is one of the substantial land- holders and influential citizens of Gage county. It may consistently be said that the community would have lost much had his life and labors found another stage of activity than this, in which he has pressed forward to the goal of worthty prosperity. Colonel Hiatt or added from time to time to the area of his

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original homestead, and to-day he is the owner of a well improved and valuable landed estate of eight hundred and sixty acres, - in Elm, Glenwood and Paddock townships. In July, 1911, he removed from his farm to the village of Odell. He bought land adjoining the town and has here platted and developed an attrac- tive addition to the village, the same being known as Hiatt's addition and having proved a distinct gain to Odell, as well as an evidence of the progressiveness of Colonel Hiatt, who has been successful in the development of the addition. Though he is retired from active farm enterprise he gives his attention to the buying and selling of cattle and hogs. For fully thirty years he has been a buyer and shipper of cattle, his shipments having been made principally to Kansas City and St. Jo- seph, Missouri.

On the 6th of April, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Colonel Hiatt to Miss Ade- laide Upson, who was born at Rockford, Il- linois, March 11, 1859, and who is a daughter of Lyman D. and Lucina ( Miller) Upson. Her parents removed from the state of New York to Illinois, and later they came to Gage county, Nebraska, where Mr. Upson took a homestead in the former Otoe Indian reservation, but his death occurred three years later. To Colonel and Mrs. Hiatt have been born ten children, concerning whom brief record is here given : The first child died in infancy; Joseph is a resident of Glenwood township; Mrs. Ruth A. Moffat and her husband reside five miles west of Odell; Wilber is in Elm township; Miles Cleveland resides in Glenwood town- ship; Clarence W. remains at the parental home; Mrs. Grace Thompson lives east of the city of Beatrice ; Mary E. is at home and is a popular teacher in the district schools, as is also George D., who likewise is a member of the parental home circle ; and Caroline S. is the youngest of the children at the pleasant home.

Colonel Hiatt gives his allegiance to the Democratic party and while he had had no ambition for public office he gave efficient ser- vice as treasurer of his school district while residing on his farm. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, including the order of

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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 123

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