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 128

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 128

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William H. Parde acquired his early educa- tion in the schools of Illinois and Gage county, he having been about fourteen years old at the time of the family removal to Nebraska, as noted above. He continued to be associated with his father in farm enterprise until he had

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

attained to the age of twenty-two years, when he purchased a farm of eighty acres. Later he established his residence on his present fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres and he is one of the successful and energetic ex- ponents of agricultural and live-stock enter- prise in Gage county. He is a Republican in politics, has served two years as road super- visor, and he and his wife hold membership in the Hanover Lutheran church.

In 1896 Mr. Parde wedded Miss Christina Eilers, who was born at Petersburg, Illinois, a daughter of Fritz Eilers, who is now a pros- perous farmer in Hooker township. Mr. and Mrs. Parde have five children - Heye, Min- nie, Tillie, Frederick, and William H., Jr.

OTHO BOYD has been for many years a vigorous and successful exponent of agricul- tural and live-stock industry in Gage county and accumulated a large and well improved landed estate in Sherman township, his pleas- ant home place being in Section 16, on rural mail route No. 1 from the village of Virginia.

Mr. Boyd was born at Canton, Illinois, De- cember 3, 1851, and is a son of John and Susan (Teach) Boyd, the former of whom was born in Maryland, a son of William Boyd, who came from England to that state and who there passed the residue of his life. Mrs. Susan (Teach) Boyd was born in Pennsyl- vania, a daughter of Peter and Margaret Teach. John Boyd, who was a shoemaker by trade, established his residence in Illinois in the '40s, and in 1865 he removed with his fam- ily to Iowa, where he purchased two hundred acres of land and developed a valuable farm property. In 1882 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, where he made investment in a tract of four hundred and eighty acres of land, nearly all of which was unbroken prairie. This he reclaimed and improved and in this county he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, both having been earnest members of the Dunkard church and he having been a Re- publican in politics. Of the children the fol- lowing brief record is available: Sarah is the wife of Lawrence Thornton, M. D., who is now living virtually retired in the village of

Virginia, this county; Otho, of this review, was the next in order of birth; Margaret is the wife of Ira R. Grover, a farmer of Sherman township; Peter is a retired farmer residing in Iowa; Nettie is the wife of William H. But- terfield, of Sherman township; David lives in Sherman township; and Martha is the wife of David Kesler, of Sherman township.

Otho Boyd gained his early education in the schools of Illinois and Iowa and has been actively concerned with farm industry from his youth. Upon coming to Gage county he bought a farm in Sherman township, and to the same he later added from time to time until he had a valuable estate of six hundred acres - one of the fine rural domains of this section of the state. He has won success en- tirely through his own ability and well ordered efforts and is one of the substantial and hon- ored citizens of Gage county. In the live- stock department of his extensive farm opera- tions he has given special attention to the raising of Red Polled cattle and Duroc-Jersey swine, most of his cattle and swine being reg- istered stock. He has sold to his children all but one hundred and sixty acres of his fine landed estate and is to live in semi-retirement from the cares and labors that have so long been his portion. Mr. Boyd is a loyal advo- cate of the principles of the Republican party, has served as road supervisor, and for twelve years he was a member of the school board of his district. He and his family hold mem- bership in the Dunkard church.

In 1873 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Boyd to Miss Lucy Cobaugh, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Paul Cobaugh, who removed with his family to Iowa in 1864 and who passed the closing years of his life in the Gage county home of his daughter, Mrs. Boyd. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Boyd: John C. is a progressive farmer in Sherman township; Susan is the wife of Amos C. Kin- zie, of the same township; Ernest is now a res- ident of Pratt county, Kansas; Martin E. is farming in Sherman township; Stella is the wife of David J. Holsinger, of Sherman town- ship.

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ABRAHAM L. THORNBURG has been a resident of Gage county from the time of at- taining to his legal majority and is a scion of one of the honored pioneer families that was here founded in the territorial era. He is a representative farmer in Midland township and his landed estate in its very appearance indicates the prosperity that has attended his activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower.

Abraham Lincoln Thornburg was born in Midland township, on the 10th of July, 1865, and is a son of Job Alexander Thornburg and Sarah Jane (Craig) Thornburg, both of whom were born and reared in Indiana, the former having been a cousin of John D. Thornburg, of whom specific mention is made on other pages, with incidental record concerning the family history. The parents of the subject of this review came to Gage county in the spring of 1863, and the death of the father occurred in the following year, his venerable widow be- ing now a resident of Delaware county, In- diana. Of the two children one died in early childhood. Upon coming to Gage county Job A. Thornburg took up a homestead of one hundred and twenty acres, in Midland town- ship, and here he provided a pioneer dug-out to serve as a residence until he could complete his log house. In the latter home his death soon occurred and his widow then returned to the old home in Indiana, taking with her her infant son, Abraham L., who thus missed in his boyhood the experiences of pioneer life in his native county. His venerable mother is a devoted member of the Christian church, as was also the father, who was a comparatively young man at the time of his death.

He whose name initiates this review was reared and educated in Delaware county, In- diana, and upon attaining to the age of twen- ty-one years he returned to Nebraska and as- sumed control of the farm property that had been obtained by his father in the territorial days. This property comprises one hundred and sixty acres, and he owns also a farm of eighty acres, south of Beatrice, in Sicily town- ship. With the vital ambition and energy of youth Mr. Thornburg began the work of im- proving his farm and bringing the same under

effective cultivation. Each successive year of application marked a distinct advancement and he now has one of the well improved and valuable farm properties of his native county, the same being given over to diversified agri- culture and stock-growing. His present house was erected in the late '80s and has since been notably improved, while the other farm build- ings likewise indicate thrift and prosperity. His political allegiance is given to the Repub- lican party and his wife and children hold membership in the Christian church, which he attends and supports.

In 1878 Mr. Thornburg wedded Miss Adelia Le Poidevin, a daughter of Thomas Le Poide- vin, of whom mention is made on other pages, and of the four children of this union three are living: Clifford is a member of the na- tional army preparing for service in the great European war and at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1918, is stationed with his command at Deming, New Mexico, he being twenty-seven years of age; Guy, who is twen- ty-five years of age and who married Miss Grace Spitznogle, is associated in the manage- ment of his father's farm, as is also Ferris, who is twenty-two years of age.

WILLIAM T. FRY, a man of broad men- tal ken and mature judgment, has achieved success through his association with agricul- tural and live-stock enterprise in Gage county and his well improved farm property is sit- uated in Section 15, Rockford township. He was born in Keokuk county, Iowa, July 29, 1864, his parents, John and Sarah (Coffman) Fry, having been pioneer settlers of that sec- tion of the Hawkeye state and both having been born in the picturesque mountain town of Staunton, Virginia - the father in 1822 and the mother in 1831. The marriage of the par- ents was solemnized at Harper's Ferry, Vir- ginia, and thereafter Mr. Fry continued to be identified with farm industry in Virginia for several years. In 1854 he numbered himself among the early settlers of Keokuk county, Iowa, the overland trip having been made with team and wagon. He purchased land and im- proved a good farm, and there he continued

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

his residence until 1880, when he came to Paw- nee county, Nebraska, where he passed the residue of his life, his death having occurred in 1900 and that of his wife in 1914. Of their eight children seven are living: Frank is a farmer in Sherman township, Gage county; Cyrus is a farmer in Iowa; David is engaged in farming near Belleville, Kansas; Nettie is the wife of Isaac B. Niswander, of Guthrie, Oklahoma; Jennie is the wife of Henry M. Flora, a substantial farmer of Chase county, Nebraska, where he served four years as coun- ty treasurer; William T., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; and Wesley is a prosperous farmer in Pawnee county, this state. Mary, the second child, died in Vir- ginia. The parents were zealous members of the Brethren church and the father held to the faith of the Democratic party, under the influ- ences of which he was reared. He was a son of Rudolph Fry, who passed his entire life in Virginia and whose parents were natives of Germany. Christian Coffman, maternal grand- father of the subject of this review, was born in Virginia, in 1769, his parents having come from Germany and become colonial settlers of the historic Old Dominion.

William T. Fry made good use of the ad- vantages afforded in the district schools of his native state and later he completed normal and commercial courses in Holton University, Kansas. After the family removal to Ne- braska he was for some time employed as clerk in a general store and also as assistant post- master at Imperial, Chase county. He home- steaded one hundred and sixty acres of land there and for a few years thereafter he farmed on land rented from his father, in Pawnee county. He finally purchased the eighty acres in Pawnee county, and after selling this prop- erty he bought one hundred and sixty acres of his present valuable landed estate in Gage county, where he now owns a half-section of the valuable land of Rockford township - a property accumulated entirely through his own ability and well ordered activities.

In 1896 Mr. Fry wedded Miss Ella Dor- rance, who was born in Pawnee county, this state, a daughter of John G. and Florence

Dorrance, who there homesteaded in 1867 and who are now venerable and honored pioneer citizens of that county, living at Pawnee City. Mr. and Mrs. Fry have five children - John, Wesley, Vera, Chester, and Lawrence.

Mr. Fry is liberal and progressive as a citi- zen, is a Republican in politics and is now serving, 1918, as a member of the official board of Rockford township, besides which he has been for fifteen years a valued member of the school board of his district. In connection with his well directed farm enterprises he raised a goodly amount of cattle and swine, making a specialty of raising the full-blood Poland-China hogs. He and his wife are earnest members of the Brethren church. Mrs. Fry was grad- uated in the high school at Pawnee City and prior to her marriage had been for six years a popular teacher in the schools of her native county.

EHME WALLMANN. - Through his own energy and well ordered activities Mr. Wall- mann has become one of the substantial and representative exponents of farm enterprise in Gage county, where he has maintained his home since 1883 and where he is now the own- er of a valuable farm estate of six hundred acres, his attractive homestead place being in Section 11, Logan township.

Mr. Wallmann was born in the eastern part of Germany, on the 30th of May, 1857, and is a son of Jeremiah and Annie (Miller) Wall- mann, both of whom passed their entire lives in Germany, where the father was a farmer by vocation. The subject of this review is the one surviving of the two children of his fath- er's first marriage and of the four children of the second marriage two are living - George, a retired farmer in the state of Missouri, and Alma, who is the wife of Benjamin Omman, of Hanover township, Gage county, Nebraska. The parents were earnest communicants of the Lutheran church, and the father died in the year 1880.

Ehme Wallmann gained his youthful educa- tion in the schools of his native land and was a young man of twenty-three years when he came to America, in 1880, and established his

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

residence in Johnson county, Nebraska. There he was employed at farm work until 1883, when he came to Gage county and purchased eighty acres of land in Logan township. In acquiring this property he was able to make only partial payment, but he had full confi- dence in his ability to win through energy and resolute industry eventual success. On his farm, which was at the time unbroken prairie, he erected a little house of one room and in this little domicile he and his wife provided also accommodation for the school teacher who was making her home with them. He soon built a new house, but July 24, 1898, this was destroyed by fire. He then erected his present attractive and comfortable house of eight rooms, and with increasing prosper- ity he has erected other farm buildings of substantial and modern type, the while he has developed to the best standard his large and valuable farm property. Mr. Wallmann is in- dependent in politics and he and his wife are active communicants of the Lutheran church, in which he holds the office of clerk. He served five years as road supervisor and two years as township assessor, these preferments indicating the confidence and esteem reposed in him in his home community.

On May 1, 1884, Mr. Wallmann wedded Miss Margaret Jurgens, £a daughter of Thee Jurgens, of whom mention is made on other pages. Mr. and Mrs. Wallmann have a fine family of ten children: Jerry has charge of his father's farm in Filley township; Annie is the wife of Thees Busboom, of Logan town- ship; Thee is a farmer in Logan township; George in Logan township; John in Hanov- er township; and the children who remain at the parental home are: Henry, Ehme, Jr., Theodore, William, and Richard.

JAMES E. BROWN, who has been a resi- dent of Gage county for nearly two score years and who has contributed worthily to the advancement of farm industry in the county, has lived virtually retired, in the city of Bea- trice, since 1901, and he and his wife have a large and attractive residence at 702 North Eighth street, where they are enjoying the

gracious peace and prosperity that properly crown the earnest activities of former years.

James Edward Brown was born in Stephen- son county, Illinois, on the 9th of September, 1845, and is a son of William and Lydia (Hatch) Brown, the former a native of Ire- land and the latter of the state of New York. William Brown was six years old at the time of the family immigration from the Emerald Isle to America, and in 1838 he became a pioneer settler in Wisconsin. Later he re- moved to Illinois and purchased land in Stephenson county, where he became a suc- cessful farmer and where both he and his wife passed the residue of their lives, his death having occurred in 1871. Of the seven chil- dren only three are now living. James E. Brown was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, received his early education in the common schools of his native state, and though he was not yet sixteen years of age at the outbreak of the Civil war his youthful patriotism was of insistent order and was not long to be denied expression. About three months after his eighteenth birthday anni- versary Mr. Brown, a remarkably vigorous youth who was six feet in height and weighed two hundred and fifty pounds, tendered the full force of his brain and brawn in defense of the integrity of the nation. On the 26th of December, 1863, he enlisted as a private in Company D, Forty-sixth Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, George C. Crane having been captain of the company. With this command Mr. Brown proceeded to the front and with the same he continued to serve for a number of months after victory had crowned the Union arms, as he was mustered out January 20, 1866, his honorable discharge having been re- ceived on the 2d of the following month. He took part in the historic Red River campaign, the siege and capture of Mobile, and in vari- ous other active engagements, and he was favored in never having been wounded or captured. His fine physical powers stood him well in the arduous service incidental to marches and campaign activities, and during his entire period of service he endured only minor illness, which did not long incapacitate

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

MR. AND MRS. JAMES E. BROWN

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HISTORY OF GAGE. COUNTY, NEBRASKA

him, he having been mustered out at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and having then returned to his home, in Stephenson county, Illinois, where he found employment at farm work. In 1871 he went to Story county, Iowa, where he purchased eighty acres of land, for which he paid twenty dollars an acre. There he con- tinued development work and farm enterprise for the ensuing four years, at the expiration of which he sold the property at the rate of twenty-five dollars an acre. Thereafter he farmed on rented land in Stephenson county, Illinois, until 1883, when he came to Nebraska and established his permanent residence in Gage county. In Holt township, at a point three miles west of the present village of Pickrell, he purchased one hundred acres of unimproved land, and in the spring of the fol- lowing year he brought his family to the new home, the domicile of the family for the first summer having been a crude shanty, fourteen by sixteen feet in dimensions. In the follow- ing autumn Mr. Brown purchased an adjoin- ing tract of one hundred and sixty acres and he then erected a good frame house as a home for his family. He gained secure status as one of the substantial and progressive expon- ents of farm industry in the county, made the best of improvements on his land and con- tinued to reside on the old home place until 1901, since which time, as previously stated, he has lived retired in the city of Beatrice.

On the 8th of February, 1871, was solemn- ized the marriage of Mr. Brown to Miss Mary E. Fuller, of Stephenson county, Illinois. Mrs. Brown was born February 18, 1849, in Jef- ferson county, New York. She is a daughter of Jacob and Lydia (Spencer) Fuller, both natives of Verinont Mr. Fuller died in Jef- ferson county, New York, and his widow later removed with her children to Stephenson county, Illinois, where she passed the remain- der of her life. Mrs. Brown, a woman of gen- tle and winning personality, proved a true helpmeet to her sturdy young husband and their companionship during the long interven- ing years has been ideal in all relations. They have three daughters: Dora is the wife of David Neher, and they reside on her father's

old homestead farm in Holt township, their three children being Leslie, Charlotte and Violet; Mary Jeanette, the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brown, is the wife of Jacob Meyer, of Beatrice, and they have two chil- dren,-DeLysle and Ruth; Ida, youngest of the daughters, is the wife of A. Blaine Ozman, a prosperous farmer in Holt township, and they have two children, Dwight and Evelyn.

Though he has passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten, Mr. Brown re- tains splendid physical vigor and is erect and active, with a commanding physique that the passing years have touched most lightly. He is aligned as a staunch supporter of the prin- ciples of the Republican party and while on his farm he served as a member of the school board of his district, having invariably de- clined to become a candidate for any other office. Mr. Brown vitalizes the memories of his youthful military career by his affiliation with Rawlins Post, Grand Army of the Re- public, in his home city. He and his wife are earnest members of the Congregational church, and they have inviolable place in the esteem an affection of a host of friends in Gage county.

JACOB P. SAUSMAN. - As a dealer in creamery products, poultry, flour, and feed, Mr. Sausman has built up a prosperous en- terprise in the village of Cortland and he is a popular member of one of the sterling pio- neer families of Gage county.

Mr. Sausman was born at Lena, Stephenson county, Illinois, December 11, 1859, and is a son of John L. and Caroline (Shearer) Saus- man, the only other child having been Joseph, who died when about fifty-six years of age. John L. Sausman was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, February 18, 1834, and his death occurred May 25, 1904. During the period of his residence in Illinois he followed the trade of stonemason, and on the 10th of March, 1875, he established the family home on a pioneer farm one mile east of Cortland, Gage county. Here he continued his active association with farm enterprise until 1880, when he removed to the city of Beatrice,

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

where he passed the remainder of his life. He reclaimed his farm from the virgin prairie and made good improvements on the place, this property having been sold by him in 1881. During the remainder of his active career he followed his trade and was a successful con- tractor in Beatrice. He was a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, his service hav- ing been with the Forty-sixth Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, in which he enlisted in 1861. He participated in the battle of Shiloh, in which he received a wound of minor order. and after serving three years he reënlisted as a veteran, so that he continued as a soldier of the Union during virtually the entire period of the war. He was in later years an hon- ored and influential member of the post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Beatrice. He was a son of Joseph and Hannah Saus- man, the former of whom was born in France. whence he came with his parents to America when he was a boy. He was reared in the state of Pennsylvania, where his marriage was solemnized, and finally he removed with his family to Illinois and became a pioneer farm- er in Stephenson county, where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. Mrs. Caroline (Shearer) Sansman was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1835, a daughter of Jacob and Fannie (Bi- celine) Shearer, likewise natives of that state, and her death occurred at Beatrice, Nebraska, April 14, 1894.

Jacob P. Sausman was reared and educated in Illinois and in Jo Daviess county, that state, he gained early experience in connection with farm work. He was fifteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to Gage county, Nebraska, and here he gave effective aid in the reclaiming and improving of the home farm, eighty acres of which he event- ually purchased. In 1884 he sold his farm and removed to Cortland, where he established a draying business. Later he was employed four years as a traveling representative of the International Harvester Company, after hav- ing previously been engaged for a number of years in the coal and farm-implement business at Cortland. In 1905 he established his pres-

ent creamery business in Cortland, after hav- ing previously had charge of the Cortland station of the Beatrice Creamery Company, and in his enterprise in the handling of cream- ery products, poultry, flour, and feed he has developed a substantial and prosperous busi- ness. In politics he is a stalwart Republican and he served from 1904 to 1906, inclusive, as deputy assessor of Highland township. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Modern Woodmen of America.

On the 18th of November, 1880, Mr. Saus- man wedded Miss Villetia Batten, who was born at Ottawa, Illinois, January 25, 1859, a daughter of William and Mary (Hayward) Batten, natives respectively of Maine and Ver- mont. The parents of Mrs. Sausman came from Illinois to Gage county, Nebraska, in July, 1871, and the father entered claim to a homestead one mile east of Cortland, where he developed a productive farm, both he and his wife having passed the remainder of their lives in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Sausman have two children; and both were graduated in the Cortland high school. Albert L., who was born April 23, 1883, conducts a barber shop in Cortland, the maiden name of his wife having been Ethel Fink. Una, who was born August 8, 1898, is the wife of Alvin Jung- meyer, who conducts an automobile garage at Cortland.

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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 128

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