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 124
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the Eastern Star, and he holds membership also in the Modern Woodmen of America. Mrs. Hiatt is affiliated with the local chapter of the Eastern Star and also with the Royal Neighbors, and both she and her husband hold membership in the Christian church.
ROBERT W. SABIN is one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of Gage county. He came to Beatrice from Ill-' inois in August, 1878, and has since main- tained a continuous residence here. He found Beatrice an overgrown village of two thousand inhabitants, while all Gage county contained less than twelve thousand. He has seen the county expand to more than thirty thousand and Beatrice develop from a mere western vil- lage into a modern city of twelve thousand people.
Mr. Sabin was born in a log cabin in Knox county, Ohio, near the city of Mount Vernon, February 9, 1850. When he was but eighteen months old his parents moved from Ohio to McLean county, Illinois, and located on a farm near the city of Bloomington, where his early life was spent. When opportunity offered he attended the country schools of his neighbor- hood, and by the time he attained his ma- jority he had acquired a good common-school education. He then entered the Illinois State Normal School, located at Normal, a suburb of Bloomington, and later he attended Wesley- an College, graduating from the law depart- ment of that institution in the class of 1877. In November of that year he opened a law office at Minonk, Woodford county, Illinois, where he continued in the practice of his pro- fession for ten months. He then came to the rising city of Beatrice, in search of fortune and professional distinction. Here he engaged in the general practice of the law and de- veloped into an excellent trial lawyer. Dur- ing his forty years' practice at the bar of Gage county he has successfully transacted a very large volume of legal business, both civil and criminal. His practice has extended to all the courts of the state and to the federal courts, and on account of his abilities as a lawyer and his standing at the bar he has always
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commanded the respect of the courts and of his professional associates.
In 1883 Mr. Sabin was elected district at- torney of the old First judicial district, which then comprised the counties of Richardson, Nemaha, Johnson, Gage, Jefferson, Saline, Thayer, and Fillmore, and he discharged the duties of his office with great credit to him- self and to the satisfaction of the public at large. During his incumbency he tried and convicted Jackson Marion for the murder of John Cameron, in 1872; he tried and convict- ed Enoch Bradshaw for the murder of H. C. Voorhees, and also tried the case of the State of Nebraska vs. William H. Reed, for wife murder.
Marion was sentenced to be hanged. On appeal the sentence was reversed and a new trial awarded him. He was again convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to be hanged. On appeal the sentence was af- firmed by the supreme court, and on the 25th day of March, 1887, he was executed in the old jail yard, this being the first and only legal execution in Gage county.
In the Reed case the jury on the first trial disagreed, but on the second trial the defend- ant was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary. Bradshaw was given a life sentence in the penitentiary and afterward pardoned by the governor of the state and set free.
Mr. Sabin's successful trial of these cases and many others gave him a standing at the bar as trial lawyer of which any attorney might feel justly proud. Since 1883 he has been counsel for one side or the other in a large number of criminal cases in the Gage county courts, including sixteen murder trials.
In 1892 Mr. Sabin was elected county at- torney of Gage county, and he served one term in that important office. He has held also the office of city attorney of Beatrice for six years, and in all these positions he has acquitted himself as a lawyer of marked abil -- ity.
Mr. Sabin's parents were Daniel Sabin and Rhoda (Williams) Sabin. His father was of pure English stock, his ancestry reaching back
to the Puritans of New England. He was a physician by profession and was also a farmer and a preacher. He was a man of great en- ergy. For his preaching he took no pay, holding that a man who made a daily living otherwise than by preaching ought not to charge for filling the pulpit on Sunday. He was a great reader and a deep Bible student, and for many years he carried on an active practice as a physician, at the same time farming extensively. Robert W. Sabin's mother was of Scotch-Irish stock. Her great- grandfather, Ebenezer Williams, was a Rev. olutionary soldier and fought with great credit in that war for human liberty. She was a literary woman and took time from her house- hold duties to read good and instructive books. Dr. and Rhoda Sabin were the parents of eleven children, the subject of this sketch be- ing their ninth child. Two of their four sons were physicians and two lawyers. In the mother's family there were several lawyers; one brother, Robert E. Williams, for whom Mr. Sabin was named, was a distinguished member of the bar at Bloomington, Illinois.
On the 14th day of February, 1878, Mr. Sabin married Miss Mary Louise Carlock, who had been born and reared in the country near Bloomington, Illinois. Six months after their marriage this young husband and wife came to Beatrice and immediately became factors in the social life of the city. They have for many years been active members of the Christian church of Beatrice and are much esteemed for their social and neighborly qual- ities and worth of character. Six children have been the fruit of this marriage, of whom five are living, two sons and three daughters. The elder son, Ralph L. Sabin, is married and lives in Washington, D. C. The younger son, Robert L. Sabin also is married and he lives in Kansas City, Missouri. Both are ac- tive and prosperous business men. Gertrude, the oldest daughter, is the wife of Earl M. Marvin, publisher of the Beatrice Daily Sun ; Louise, the second daughter, is the wife of Dr. F. W. Buckley, of Beatrice, who recently went to France as a surgeon in the American expeditionary army, and when last heard from
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was at Verdun; Hazel, the youngest dangh- ter, is at home with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Sabin live in a pleasant home at the corner of Seventh and Grant streets, and they are here spending the afternoon of their lives, surrounded by their family and by friends who are tried and true.
C. A. GARRISON. - A fine farm of two hundred acres, in Sections 28 and 29, Adams township, reflects credit upon the owner, Mr. Garrison, who is one of the progressive and up-to-date farmers and stock men of Gage county.
Mr. Garrison is a native of the neighbor- ing state of Iowa, his birth having occurred, in Wapello county, April 18, 1870. His fath- er, Silas J. Garrison, was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, January 10, 1846. Reared in his native state, Silas J. Garrison took up farming when a young man, and made it his life work. He had three brothers, Sylvester, Robert, and Herod, who served as soldiers in the Civil war. The last named was a physi- cian who gave his best efforts to care for and heal the sick and wounded during that terri- ble war. In spite of his able services, his two brothers died during the war. After the war Dr. Garrison located at Chicago, Illinois, and practiced his profession. He also be- came president of and a lecturer in the Ben- nett Medical College. The father of these boys was in poor health, a sufferer from rhen- matism, and Silas J. remained at home to care for his parents. He also rendered valuable aid to the widows of his brothers.
In 1873 Silas J. Garrison brought his fan- ily to Gage county, arriving here April 22, of that year. He settled on the farm that is now the home of his son. He hauled lumber from Lincoln to build the first home of the family, a frame house, twelve by fourteen feet in dimensions. The people from whom he bought the land had a crop growing and he gave them ten dollars for the privilege of erecting his cabin. He devoted several years to improving and cultivating this tract, built substantial buildings and set out trees, making it a valuable property. He later bought an-
other farm in this township, and he retired from the active work of the fields several years before his death, which occurred in 1912. The mother of our subject was Lucy A. (Cad- well) Garrison. She was born in Ohio, Jan- uary 22, 1844, and was reared in Indiana, ac- companying her parents there when a little girl. She survived her husband and passed away in 1917. Mr. and Mrs. Garrison were the parents of five children, of whom C. A., the subject of this review is the eldest. Alvin L. and Cilfford E. are deceased; Estella H., wife of J. A. Atkins, is deceased; and Royal V. is a resident of Adams, Nebraska.
C. A. Garrison was three years of age when the home was established in Gage county. He acquired his education in the district schools and in the high school at Adams, also attend- ing the Lincoln Normal School. In 1891 he began farming as a renter, and so carefully did he conserve his earnings that in 1906 he was able to purchase eighty acres of land in Elm township, which he operated for seven years. Upon the death of his father he in- herited eighty acres of the old place, and the next year he moved to the old farm. He has since disposed of his land in Elm township, and he now owns two hundred acres in Adams township. Mr. Garrison leases other land in addition to his own and farms four hundred and forty acres. Aside from general farm- ing he also raises pure-bred Hampshire hogs and Percheron horses, both branches of his business yielding him good returns.
In 1901 occurred the marriage of C. A. Gar- rison and Miss Mary Isley, who was born in Hawkins county, Tennessee, a daughter of David and Martha (Walker) Isley. Mrs. Garrison's brother Jasper lived in Gage coun- ty and with him she made her home several years prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Garrison have three children, Dwight, Ruby, and Ruth, all under the parental roof. The family attend the Methodist church, of which they are all members. In politics Mr. Garri- son is a Democrat. He is one of the substan- tial men of Gage county and enjoys the es- teem and good will of all with whom he has come in contact.
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CHARLES A. MILLER-One of the sterling pioneer citizens who achieved suc- cess and prosperity by coping vigorously with the opposing forces incidental to the devel- opment of a productive farm from the virgin prairie soil of Gage county, Mr. Miller ac- quired and improved one of the large landed estates of Clatonia township and continued as one of the active agriculturists and stock- growers of this township until 1911, since which time he has lived retired in the village of Clatonia, where he erected a modern and attractive house,- a pleasant home in which he and his wife are enjoying the rewards of former years of earnest endeavor.
Mr. Miller was born in Lippe, Germany, on the 6th of December, 1851, a son of Fred- erick and Charlotte (Hartmann) Miller, he being the eldest of the three children and the only son ; his elder sister, Minnie, who became the wife of Bernard Mooberg, is deceased ; and Martha is the wife of William Sang, of Lancaster county, this state. Mr. Miller was about four years old when he accompanied his parents to America and the family home was established at Freeport, Illinois, where the father engaged in the work of his trade, that of wagonmaker. In 1878 Frederick Miller came with his family to Gage county and two miles north of Clatonia he purchased land, though he never engaged personally in farm- ing, the place having been turned over to his only son: he and his wife passed the remain- der of their lives in this county, as honored pioneer citizens.
Charles A. Miller has achieved prosperity entirely through his own ability and efforts, and when but fourteen years of age he began working as farm hand in Illinois. His initial service included the planting of corn, which lie dropped by hand and covered by throwing earth over the grain with his foot. For this work he received fifty cents a day, and his recompense for nine months work was not given in cash but in four loads of corn. Dur- ing the winter months as a boy and youth he attended school at Davis, Illinois, and he was twenty-six years of age when he accompanied his parents to Gage county, where it devolved
upon him to break up and otherwise improve the farm of one hundred and sixty acres which his father purchased in Clatonia township, the nearest market points at that time having been the villages of Cortland and Wilber. Each of his parents attained to the age of three score years and ten, his mother having passed away in 1893, and the father in 1894. Both were earnest members of the German Metho- dist church.
Prior to coming to Nebraska, Mr. Miller had gained pioneer experience in Oregon, to which state he made his way in 1874. He found employment on a farm near the city of Portland and received compensation of four hundred dollars a year, paid in gold. He remained in Oregon four years and then re- turned to Illinois, whence, soon afterward, he came to Nebraska. Industry and good man- agement brought to him cumulative success in connection with farm enterprise in Gage county, and he eventually accumulated a val- uable and well improved landed estate of three hundred and twenty acres, in Section 11, Cla- tonia township. This property he has sold to his children. He used much discrimination in the improvement of his farm property and on the same set out both fruit and shade trees. One spring he planted sixty-five dollars' worth of fruit trees, a portion of which are still in bearing. Mr. Miller has contributed his share to the general development and progress of Gage county, is a Republican in politics and both he and his wife hold membership in the German Methodist church.
March 13, 1878, recorded the marriage of Mr. Miller to Miss Sophia Hanrichmeier, who was born in Stephenson county, Illinois. April 23, 1857, a daughter of Frederick and Amelia (Meyer) Hanrichmeier, who were natives of Germany and whose marriage occured in 1851, in Illinois, where they passed the re- mainder of their lives and where Mr. Han- richmeier eventually became the owner of a valuable farm of three hundred and twenty acres. He was born February 2, 1828, and in 1848 he passed seven weeks in making the voyage across the Atlantic to America, on a sailing vessel. In Stephenson county. Illinois,
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his first farm was one of forty acres, and on this homestead he maintained his residence twenty years, removal having then been made to a new house which he erected on the op- posite side of the road. He died March 29, 1908, and his widow passed away June 23. 1914, she having been born in Lippe-Detmold, Germany, August 26, 1833: of their nine children -three sons and six daughters - Mrs. Miller was the third in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Miller became the parents of six children : Paul is a prosperous farmer two miles north of Clatonia; Minnie is the wife of Charles C. Houpt, of Clatonia township; Charles is a resident of Kansas and Frederick of Texas; Wesley is a teacher in the public schools at Doniphan, Missouri; and Herbert is attending school at Warrington, Missouri, his plans being to locate on a farm in Colorado.
JERRY T. MANGUS, whose fine farm home is situated in Section 24, Midland town- ship, has won large and worthy success through his association with farm enterprise in the county that has represented his home since he was about fourteen years of age, and as one of the substantial and well known citizens of the county he merits recognition in this history. He is a son of the late William Mangus, to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages, so that further review of the family genealogy is not demanded at this juncture. Mr. Mangus was born in Macou- pin county, Illinois, October 19, 1867, and there he acquired in the public schools his early education. In 1881 he came with his parents to Gage county and his father pur- chased a farm in Sherman township, so that Jerry T. had ample opportunity to gain fel- lowship with arduous toil in connection with the development and general operations of the pioneer farm. He attended school when op- portunity afforded and finally he engaged in- dependently in farm operations. For four years he farmed on rented land and he then purchased two hundred and twenty acres, in Midland township, where he has since con- tinued his earnest and fruitful activities. In
obtaining this property he assumed, as may be inferred, an appreciable indebtedness, but his energy and good management not only enabled him eventually to relieve himself en- tirely of such financial obligation but also to make the admirable improvements that mark his estate as one of the model farms of the county, his attractive residence being one of the best rural homes in Midland township, and all other farm buildings provided by him being of consonant order. As an exponent of farm industry Mr. Mangus has wisely di- versified his activities and has made himself successful both as an agriculturist and as a raiser of good types of horses, cattle and swine. In politics he is to be designated as an independent Republican, and while he takes loyal interest in communal affairs and is lib- eral in supporting measures and enterprises advanced for the general good, he has man- ifested no ambition for public office. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and he and his wife hold membership in the Metho- dist Episcopal church.
On the 20th of December, 1893, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Mangus to Miss Elvina Reed, who was born, April 2, 1871, in the state of Iowa, and who was a girl when she came with her parents to Gage county, in the early '80s, her father, Enos Reed, having been a native of Illinois and having become one of the substantial farmers of Gage county. Mr. and Mrs. Mangus be- came the parents of seven children, of whom five are living: Orville, who was born, Feb- ruary 26, 1895, and who was associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm, is, in the spring of 1918, in the national military forces preparing for service in the European war, and, as a member of Battery C, Second Artillery, is stationed at Fort McArthur, California; Josephine died January, 4, 1916, at the age of nineteen years ; Oscar, who remains at the parental home, was born March 23, 1899; Wilda was born in December 18, 1901; Louise was seven years old at the time of her death, in 1910; Jolin Thurston was born February 12, 1912; and LeNore was born June 5, 1917.
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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA
EDWIN B. HINDS
MRS. EDWIN B. HINDS
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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA
EDWIN B. HINDS. - A native of the Green Mountain state, the subject of this biography was born in Windham county, Vermont, November 21, 1842. He is a son of Charles C. and Lorena (Burke) Hinds, who were natives of Vermont and who left their New England home in 1855 and became residents of Clayton county, Iowa. Here the father passed away March 21, 1877, having rounded out sixty-eight years of a busy and honorable life. His estimable wife did not long survive the shock of his death, her death occurring on the 14th of the following August, when she was sixty-two years of age. They were the parents of two children : Edwin B. and Charles C., the latter heroically giving up his life for his country in the Civil war: he died May 14, 1863, at Grand Gulf, Mississippi. He was a member of Company B, Twenty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry.
Edwin B. Hinds was a boy of thirteen when the home was established in Iowa and his ed- ucation, which was begun in his native state, was continued in the public schools of Iowa. When the Civil war broke out he longed to take part in it and he had not yet reached his majority when he enlisted, in August, 1862, as a private in Company M, First Iowa Cav- alry, and for three years and six months he faithfully served the Union cause on many a hard fought battle field, his military record as a brave and efficient soldier being one of which he may well be proud. He took part in the battles of Prairie Grove, Little Rock, Camden and many others, and was with General Cus- ter through Texas. He was mustered out in March, 1866, and returned home without a scar, although he took part in every battle in which his regiment participated.
Mr. Hinds' early education was supplement- ed by a course at Eastman's Business Col- lege, Chicago, after which he engaged as a clerk in a general merchandise store, later turning his attention to agricultural pursuits. Winding up his affairs in Iowa, he decided to seek a home farther west, and in May, 1881, he went to Washington county, Kansas, but not finding a suitable location he came to Odell, Nebraska, then a small village where
the railroad was just being built. Here he established a hardware business which he suc- cessfully conducted for several years. He also invested in farm lands and in 1903 he entered the banking business, as president of Hinds State Bank, of which he has continued the head and principal owner. It is one of the strong financial institutions of Gage county and though its president is still active in its management, the active affairs of the bank are under the supervision of his son, Charles N., a worthy young man who is mentioned else- where in this volume.
December 1, 1870, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Hinds and Miss Sarah Shaw, a native of Clayton county, Iowa, and a daugh- ter of the late John Shaw.
Mr. Hinds has taken an active interest in all things pertaining to the welfare of the com- munity. In 1893-95 he served in the lower house of the state legislature, and in 1895 was chairman of the railroad committee. He was the first director of the school board of the Odell district and served about twenty years as treasurer of the board. He is affiliated with Reserve Post, No. 148, Grand Army of the Republic, and with Odell Lodge No. 97, In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Hinds is an active member of the Methodist Episco- pal church.
PERCY J. CHAPMAN. - The history of the early '80s in Gage county is made up of tlie rapid settlement of its lands by the num- bers of people who came at this time to make their home upon her soil. One of the young men who came with his parents to Gage coun- ty is Percy J. Chapman, who is one of Blue Springs township's representative citizens.
Percy Chapman was born July 31, 1871, in Woodford county, Illinois, where his parents, John and Verona (Kellogg) Chapman, had lived for forty years previously to their com- ing to Gage county to make their home. John Chapman was born in 1825, in Connecticut, and in the early days of our nation's history his parents immigrated to the state of Ohio, where he received his education and learned the shoemaker's trade. In Vermont Mr.
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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA
Chapman was married to Verona Kellogg, who was born in 1834, in that state. In the early '40s Mr. and Mrs. Chapman moved to Illinois and for forty years they labored to win the living which would give their sons and daughters, growing up around them, strong minds and strong bodies. In 1885, af- ter disposing of their land in Illinois, they came to Gage county, where John Chapman purchased two hundred and sixty acres of land and tilled it until his retirement to Be- atrice. He passed from this life in 1903. His wife, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, is still residing in Beatrice. For further fam- ily history see Lee L. Chapman sketch in this volume.
The fourteen years of Percy J. Chapman's life spent in Illinois were under the parental roof, learning the lessons of childhood under their direction and that of the school teacher at the district school. He remained with his parents on the farm until his marriage, in 1895, to Millie M. Swett, who was born in Gage county. She is a daughter of Merton L. and Mary (LaGorgue) Swett, the former born in 1850, in Wisconsin, and the latter 1853, in Iowa. They commenced their home building in Gage county, where they married in 1873, and this was the home until 1914, when Mr. Swett retired to live in Beatrice, where he is still making his home. His wife passed away in 1908. Five children were born to them, three of whom are living - Millie M., wife of Percy J. Chapman ; Effie, wife of W. H. Reid, living in Sicily township; and Hattie, the wife of E. W. Calkins, also in Sicily township.
Mr. Chapman has recently purchased the home farm where he lives and he is doing a general farming business, keeping a good grade of cattle and hogs. His lodge affilia- tions are with the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, his political views are in harmony with the Democratic party, and he is serving as township assessor at the present time (1918). He and his wife are members of the Brethren church. Three children, Clarence, Wesley, and Myrtle, have come to bless this
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