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 145

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 145

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In 1885 Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Mary Humphreys, a native of Wales. Mrs. Jones was the daughter of Richard and Jane Humphreys, both of whom died in Wales. Mr. and Mrs. Jones became the parents of four children : John D., Robert H., Thomas C. and Jennie E., wife of H. D. Lloyd. All re- side in Barneston township. The parents were members of the Welsh church, of which Mr. Jones was a deacon for about eighteen years. Mr. Jones was a Republican in politics. For a number of years he was president of the Farmers' Lumber, Grain & Coal Company. He

was a self-made man and accumulated a nice estate.

Thomas C. Jones was born in Gage county and received his education in the Wymore schools, graduating from the high school of that place. He has always followed farming, and recently he has greatly improved his farm building a fine new house about three years ago.

In 1913 Thomas C. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Mary R. Jones, daughter of John R. Jones, who came to Gage county in 1880, and who here became the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land.

Thomas C. Jones and wife are the parents of two children: Mary Eleanor and Lucile Jane. The family are members of the Welsh church. Mr. Jones is a Republican, and he is president of the Farmers' Union. At one time Mr. Jones served as manager of the Farmers' Shipping Association. He now buys, feeds and sells cattle and hogs quite extensively, shipping mostly to the market at St. Joseph, Missouri. Mr. Jones is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Barneston township.

CHARLES A. WIBLE is a son of a Civil war veteran, Robert B. Wible, who farmed in Elm township. Robert B. Wible was born October 1, 1843, in Pennsylvania and was a son of Andrew and Sarah ( Kilbourgh) Wible, who were farmers in Illinois, to which state they removed from Pennsylvania, where Andrew Wible had located upon his arrival from Germany, his birthplace: he was born December 30, 1816, and in 1856 removed to Illinois, where his death occurred June 24, 1890.

Robert B. Wible enlisted in the Civil war, in the teamster service, and was faithful to his duty during the entire war. After the sword and musket had been laid aside by the nation and the plow was again placed in the furrow Mr. Wible went to Nodaway county, Mis- souri, where for fourteen years he followed his agricultural activities. In 1882 he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased land five miles southeast of Ellis, where he re-

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

mained until his retirement : he then removed to Beatrice, in 1902, and he passed away Aug- ust 7, 1909. His widow still resides in Bea- trice. In Nodaway county, Missouri, October 27, 1878, Robert B. Wible was united in mar- riage to Clara Martin, who was born in that county, February 1, 1861, a daughter of John and Mary (Pitman) Martin. John Martin died at Elk City, Kansas, and his widow is now living in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Wible were the parents of two children: Emma was born July 26, 1879, and is the wife of Jesse Pearce, who is farming the old Wible homestead; and Charles A. is the immediate subject of this sketch.

Charles A. Wible was born July 23, 1882, in Elm township, and was educated in the dis- trict school. July 21, 1902, he married Miss Barbara Grabher, who was born March 22, 1885, in Gage county. Her parents were Joseph and Barbara (Stuber) Grabher, who were married in April, 1872. Mr. Grabher was born January 28, 1834, and died January 3, 1918, at his daughter's home. Mrs. Grab- her was born March 15, 1849, and died Sep- tember 13, 1908. Mrs. Charles A. Wible was the seventh in a family of eleven children. Mr. and Mrs. Wible are the parents of four children : Emma, Charles, Clara, and Doro- thy. Mr. Wible is renting one hundred and twenty acres of land from his mother and is doing a general farming business. In poli- tics he classifies himself as an independent Republican. His views are influenced by the character of the man and not the party which he follows. Mrs. Wible is a member of the Catholic church.

HENRY A. LASELLE. - In the year 1867, which marked the admission of Ne- braska as one of the sovereign states of the Union, this venerable and revered citizen of Beatrice established his home in the beautiful little city in which he still resides, though at that time the capital of Gage county was a mere straggling, frontier village. Prior to this, as a youth, Judge LaSelle had gained in- timate experience in connection with pioneer life in the west and before coming again to

this portion of our national domain he had given to his native land the loyal and valiant service of a patriot soldier of the Union dur- ing virtually the entire period of the Civil war. In the midst of the clamour and devast- agon of the great European war in which the United States has become involved at the time of this writing, it is grateful to revert to the strong and noble young men who went forth in defense of our national integrity and honor when the Civil war was precipitated, and to mark with renewed appreciation the lofty pa- triotism of those who went forth in that strug- gle, especially in view of the fact that each year records a definite loss in the ranks of the now venerable citizens who had been soldiers of the Union in the historic conflict between the states of the north and the south.

Judge LaSelle, a man of strong intellect- uality and marked ability, contributed in the early days to the march of development and progress in Nebraska and he has continued the exemplar of high-minded and liberal civic ideals during the long intervening period. Though the year 1918 has recorded the eigh- tieth anniversary of his birth, he has the verve and enthusiasm of a man many years his junior and does not consent to divorce himself from practical business activities and effective communal service. He still gives his atten- tion to well ordered real-estate operations and since 1910 has been the incumbent of the of- fice of justice of the peace. Even these few preliminary statements give assurance that this honored pioneer is one specially entitled to recognition in this history of Gage county and the state of Nebraska.

Henry A. LaSelle was born in Madison county, New York, on the 5th of August, 1838, and is a son of Mason A. and Dorcas (Conant) LaSelle, both of whom passed their entire lives in that county, where the respec- tive families were founded in the pioneer period of the history of the Empire state, be- sides which both found representation in the colonial settlement of America. Mason A. LaSalle gave his entire active life to the basic industry of agriculture and was one of the venerable and honored citizens of his native

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

HENRY A. LASELLE

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

county at the time of his death, which occured March 18, 1875, his devoted wife having passed to eternal rest in the year 1866. Of their six sons and five daughters, five are now living, and of the number the subject of this review was the fourth in order of birth.

The childhood and early youth of Henry A. LaSelle were compassed by the invigorating environment and discipline of the old home- stead farm in Madison county, New York, and his district-school education was supplemented by a course in Hamilton Academy, at Hamil- ton, New York. In 1856, at the age of eigh- teen years, Mr. LaSelle initiated his pioneer experience in the great west, as in that year he located in Fayette county, Iowa, where he assisted in the original development work of a new farm, besides finding requisition for his services as a teacher in the pioneer schools, this being his initial service in the pedagogic profession. In 1859 he returned to his native state, where he added to his scholastic re-in- forcement by continuing his studies for two years in the historic Oneida Conference Sem- inary, at Cazenovia. Thereafter he continued to give his attention principally to teaching, until there came to him the opportunity of voicing his ardent patriotism in direct military service after the Civil war had been precipi- tated on a divided nation.

In August, 1862, Mr. LaSelle enlisted as a private in Company D, One Hundred and Fourteenth New York Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Elisha B. Smith, and with this gallant regiment he lived up to the full tension of vigorous campaign activities incidental to the operations of the Depart- ment of the Gulf. Always to be found at the post of duty, he was made a non-commissioned officer and in his earnest and efficient service gained the unequivocal commendation of his superior officers, the while he had the con- fidence and respect of his comrades in arms. He was finally assigned to detached commis- sary duty in the city of New Orleans, where he had charge of thirteen hundred men, but near the close of the war he rejoined his regi- ment, while it was in service under General Hancock in the Shenandoah valley of Vir-

ginia. After the assassination of President Lincoln the regiment proceeded to the na- tional capital, were it was assigned to guard duty during the period in which the assassin, Booth, was captured and tried, and finally it was Mr. LaSelle's privilege to participate with his regiment in the Grand Review of the vic- torious Union troops in Washington, after the close of the war. He then returned with his comrades to New York state, and there, in the city of Elmira, he received his honorable dis- charge in June, 1865. As a soldier he par- ticipated in General Banks' expedition to the Gulf of Mexico and in the Teche campaign to the west of New Orleans. With his com- mand he was continuously under fire for forty- two days, incidental to the siege and final capture of Port Hudson, and he took part also in the battle of Donaldsonville and in the Franklin expedition to Sabine Pass, in the meanwhile participating in numerous engage- ments of minor order.

Mr. LaSalle passed the winter of 1865-1866 in the city of New York, but in the early spring was called home to the bedside of his dying mother, who passed away March 20, 1866. In April, 1866, Mr. LaSelle again set forth for the west, and he first located at St. Joseph, Missouri, where he passed about one year, giving his attention to railroad work and real- estate operations. In the meanwhile he visited Nebraska. which was soon to pass from territorial to state regime, and in this sojourn he entered claim to a tract of government land near Beatrice, Gage county, the future city having at that time been a little frontier hamlet with about twenty buildings, a few of them primitive business establishments. In addition to his homestead claim Mr. LaSelle secured land by purchase also, and besides making provision for the improving of his land he purchased a stock of general mer- chandise and engaged in business as one of the pioneer merchants of Beatrice, where he continued operations in this line about fifteen years, his store having stood on the site now occupied by the depot of the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad. In 1882 Mr. La- Selle initiated operations in the real-estate

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

business, and through this medium he assisted in bringing many desirable settlers to this sec- tion of the state, besides contributing in a gen- eral way to civic and industrial progress. He still continues a representative of this line of enterprise, hut does not attempt to carry on operations as actively as in former years. As before noted, he has served since 1910 as jus- tice of the peace, and he has made the office justify its name. A man of broad mental ken, he decides each case according to the dic- tates of justice and equity and without fear or favor, so that very few of his rulings have met with reversal by courts of higher juris- diction.

Judge LaSelle cast his first presidential vote in 1860, for Abraham Lincoln, and when on furlough from service in the Civil war, in 1864, he voted for the martyred president again, on the occasion of his second election. Since that time he has never failed to support every presi- dential candidate of the Republican party and thus all of the presidential candidates of the party save its very first, General John C. Fremont, has found him aligned as a staunch supporter. He perpetuates the most gracious memories and association of his military career by retaining affiliation with Rawlins Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in which noble patriotic organization at Beatrice he has been an influential and honored member during virtually the entire period of its history. He has been for many years a zealous member of the Presbyterian church, as was also his wife.

In the year 1875 was solemnized the mar- riage of Judge LaSelle to Mrs. Elizabeth (Campbell) Crawford, widow of William G. Crawford, of Council Bluffs, Iowa. She was born in Brown county, Ohio, and was a daughter of Martin M. and Sarah B. (Walker) Campbell. After her first marriage she and her husband resided for a time in Nebraska, in the territorial days, and Mr. Crawford served as a member of the territorial legisla- ture in 1857-1858. Soon thereafter Mr. and Mrs. Crawford established their residence at Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he continued in the practice of his profession until his death, as one of the representative members of the bar

of Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford became the parents of one daughter, Kittie C. The Crawfords were neighbors and close friends of the late General Grenville M. Dodge, and upon the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad Miss Kittie C. Crawford accom- panied the General over the line to the Pacific coast, as guest on his private car, besides which General Dodge also entertained Mrs. Craw- ford and her husband, Judge LaSelle, after her second marriage. Of this second union no children were born, but the closest of ties link Mr. LaSelle and his stepdaughter, who has ever accorded to him the utmost filial af- fection. The supreme loss and bereavement in the long and useful life of Judge LaSelle came when his gracious and devoted wife was summoned to eternal rest, her death having oc- curred January 11, 1916, and her memory be- ing revered by all who came within the sphere of her gentle and kindly influence.

JAMES M. HOWE, a prosperous farmer in Section 8, Liberty township, was born May 22, 1885, near Tuscola, Illinois, and is a son of William and Harriet (Lester) Howe.

William Howe was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, in 1828, and died in 1892. He was a farmer, and at the time of the gold excite- ment in California he went to that state, in 1850. There he prospered for a time, return- ing to Illinois with about four thousand dol- lars. Mr. and Mrs. Howe became the par- ents of eight children, as follows: James M., the subject of this review; John S., of Miles City, Montana; Perry, of Tuscola, Illinois ; Etta, wife of James Drennen, of Osceola, Iowa; Effie, wife of J. C. Reed, professor of schools at White City, Wisconsin; Charles, a farmer near Champaign, Illinois; Leona, wife of W. H. Joseph, of Tuscola, Illinois ; and Lora, wife of William Robertson, an at- torney at Mount Vernon, Ohio.

William . Howe was a Republican and for several years was supervisor for his district. He came to Illinois in very moderate circum- stances and was a very successful farmer. The American progenitors of the Howe family were natives of England and came to America

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

and settled in Kentucky about the time of Daniel Boone.

James M. Howe was educated in the public schools of Tuscola, Illinois, and remained in that state until 1883, when he came to Ne- braska and settled in Gage county. In 1883 he was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Long- shore, of Kansas. She was born in Madison county, Iowa, a daughter of Samuel Long- shore, who was a harnessmaker by trade and who was a captain in the Civil war, during the entire period of which he valiantly served, he having enlisted in 1861.

Mr. and Mrs. James M. Howe are the par- ents of five children: Ethel, wife of Roy Palmer, a civil engineer living in Los Angeles, California; Roy W., on his father's farm ; Merle, wife of Charles H. Stoll, an attorney of Long Island, New York; and Frank R., now (spring of 1918) located at Camp Dick, New Jersey. Frank R. Howe is a graduate of Plattsburg, New York, training camp and also of Manhattan, Kansas, Military School. He is now a lieutenant and expects to go to France in the aviation corps. He was em- ployed in the National City Bank of New York for about two years. James B., the young- est of the children, is attending school and living at home.

Mr. and Mrs. Howe are members of the Presbyterian church. He is a Mason, belong- ing to the lodge of the Ancient Free & Ac- cepted Masons at Barneston and to the Chap- ter of Royal Arch Masons and the Council of Royal and Select Masters at Wymore, this county. He served as supervisor during 1890-1891 and 1892. In 1883 Mr. Howe bought one hundred and sixty acres of gov- ernment land, and he has added to this from time to time until he now owns eight hundred and eighty acres. He has improved this land, has erected a fine farm home and good farm buildings and does a general farming business. He is president of the Commercial Bank of Barneston.

JOHN E. JONES a pioneer and successful farmer in Section 8, Barneston township, was born in Wales, August 30, 1854, son of Evan

and Martha (Jones) Jones, both of whom passed their lives in Wales, where Mr. Jones was a farmer and well-to-do citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Evan Jones had six children, as follows : Richard G., a stock man in Alberta, Canada ; Edward C., a farmer in Alberta, Canada ; Jane married and living in Wales; John E., of this sketch ; and two others, who live in Wales.

John E. Jones was educated in Wales, and af- ter coming to America attended school in Iowa, where he established his residence in 1872. He worked on farms and in 1879 he came to Gage county, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, for which he paid the Gov- ernment three and one-half dollars an acre. This land is in Section 8, Barneston township, where he now makes his home, and he has de- veloped the property into a valuable farm.

In 1891 Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Jones, and further record concerning her family will be found in the sketch of John S. Jones, elsewhere in this volumn.

Mr. and Mrs. John E. Jones are the parents of three children, - Amwell E., county agent of Jewell county, Kansas. E. G., now in Lin- coln college, learning telegraphy with the in- tention of soon going into the army as oper- ator; and Evan, in Wymore high school.

Mr. Jones and family are members of the Welsh church, and in politics Mr. Jones is a Republican. He is now the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land, which he has accumulated by his own effort, and he has on the property good buildings and other im- provements.

ISAAC REID - The subject of this record was born in Whiteside county, Illinois, De- cember 13, 1859. His parents George and Rachel (Gibler) Reid, were natives of Ohio, in which state their marriage was solemnized. Soon after this event they became residents of Whiteside county, Illinois, where the father purchased a farm, and there they made their home until 1877, when they came to Gage county, Nebraska. Here Mr. Reid became a successful farmer, spending the rest of his days in Island Grove township. He and his

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

wife were members of the Methodist church and in politics he was a Republican. He served in various township officers, including those of justice of the peace and road overseer. Of the seven children five are still living: Chris- tian, a farmer of Island Grove township ; Wil- liam, a resident of Thomas county, Kansas ; John, of Phillips county, Kansas ; Isaac, sub- ject of this sketch ; and James, of Oklahoma.

Isaac Reid was a young man of eighteen years when the home was established in Ne- braska and his education had been acquired in the public schools of Illinois. On reaching manhood he became an independent farmer and he is to-day the owner of one hundred and twenty acres, with good improvements, all of which have been placed here by him. He does general farming and is meeting with deserved success. His farm is in Island Grove town- ship.

February 6, 1896, Mr. Reid was united in marriage to Miss Beryl Avison, who was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, a daughter of George and Ann Elizabeth (Ayre) Avison, natives of England, the former born in Lin- colnshire and the latter in Yorkshire. 'The home of Mr. and Mrs. Reid has been blessed with one child, George, who is still under the parental roof. The members of the family are all members of the Christian church and all active workers in the same. In politics Mr. Reid is a Republican and he has rendered ef- ficient service as a member of the school board and as road overseer. Mr. Ried is a progres- sive and public-spirited in citizenship, success- ful as an agriculturist and can always be relied upon to give his support to any worthy cause.

JOHN FRITZEN was seventeen years of age when he came with his parents to Gage county and in here initiating his independent career as a farmer virtually his sole equipment consisted of a team of horses that had been given to him by his father. Of his achieve- ment in the intervening years tangible evi- dence is given in his ownership of a well im- proved farm estate of four hundred acres, in Logan township, his home place, comprising two hundred and forty acres, being in Section

15, and the remaining constituent portion of his estate being the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Section 21, in the same town- ship, which is operated by his older son.

Mr. Fritzen was born in Brown county, Illi- nois, on the 28th of February, 1865, and is a son of Lammert and Sophia (Rines) Fritzen, the former of whom was born in Friesland, Province of Hanover, Germany, and the lat- ter of whom was likewise a native of Ger- many, their marriage having been solemnized in Brown county, Illinois. Lammert Fritzen was reared and educated in his native prov- ince and was sixteen years of age when he came to the United States and settled in Brown county, Illinois. There he continued his association with farm enterprise until 1882, when he came with his family to Ne- braska and rented a farm in Gage county. Later he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Logan township, and this he developed into one of the excellent farms of that township. After his retirement from the farm he established his residence in the city of Beatrice, and he is now living in the home of his son John, of this review, vigorous and. alert in both physical and mental powers and constantly finding opportunity to do active work about the farm, though he celebrated in 1917 the seventy-seventh anniversary of his birth, his loved wife having passed away at the age of sixty years, a lifelong member of the Lutheran church, of which he likewise is a zealous communicant. His parents, John and Etta (Boden) Fritzen, passed the closing years of their lives in Gage county.

John Fritzen acquired his early education in the public schools of Illinois and there learned in his youth the varied details of farm industry. After coming to Gage county he assisted in the work of his father's farm, do- ing effective service in connection with its reclamation and development, and at the age of twenty-two years he began independent op- erations as a farmer, as previously intimated in this article. When he became the owner of his present fine homestead farm the build- ings on the place were of insignificant order, but he has erected a modern house, barns and

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

MR. AND MRS. JOHN FRITZEN

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

other buildings that mark the place as being one of the best improved farms of Logan township. The old house is now used as a granary and the original prairie stable that was on the place is still standing. Mr. Fritzen has been an energetic and successful agriculturist and stock-grower, has had no desire to extend his influence along political lines or to serve in public office, but he has been loyal and lib- eral in support of measures projected for the general good of the community and is inde- pendent in his political attitude. His civic loyalty caused him to give effective service when he was called upon to assume the po- sition of school director, and the same was true in connection with his service as road overseer in his township. Both he and his wife were reared in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which she was a devoted member until her death, June 13, 1905, and of which he continues an active adherent.

In 1894 Mr. Fritzen married Miss Marie Frerichs, who was born in Illinois and reared in Gage county, Nebraska. She is a daughter of L. W. Frerichs, of whom specific mention is made on other pages. She is survived by six children : Lammert J., as before intimated, has the active management of the second farm owned by his father in Logan township; Wil- liam is associated in the management of the homestead place; Sophia is the wife of Fred- erick Lineman, a farmer in Hanover town- ship; and Marie, Lena and John, Jr., remain at the paternal home.

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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 145

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