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 47

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 47

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Mr. Albrecht has resided on the present homestead farm from the time his father purchased the property, and his heritage from his father's estate included the one hundred and sixty acres to the management of which he gives his effective attention, as one of the progressive and representative farmers and stock-raisers of Blakely township.

On the 5th of November, 1909, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Albrecht to Miss Mary Wiebe, who was born in Prussia and

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

was a young woman at the time of the family immigration to America, her parents, Herman and Wilhelmina (Hein) Wiebe, having been born and reared in Germany and the mother having passed to the life eternal in 1884. Mr. Wiebe has been a resident of Gage county since 1894 and lives upon his well improved homestead farm, north of the city of Beatrice. Mr. and Mrs. Albrecht have two children - Margaret and Dora H.

JOHN S. GOODBAN. - Along manifold lines has this honored pioneer exerted be- nignant influence during nearly a half century of continuous residence in Gage county, and he is now living virtually retired, his attrac- tive home being in the village of Cortland. He is a man of broad intellectual ken, high ideals, and gracious personality - a citizen who commands the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem.

Mr. Goodban was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, October 21, 1846, and is a son of William and Margaret (Langley) Goodban. William Goodban was born in Kentshire, England, February 22, 1804, and he contin- ued his residence in his native land until 1840, when he came to America and settled in the state of New York. In 1842 he removed to Erie county, Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his life, his death having occurred in October, 1861. His first wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Langley, died when comparatively a young woman, four children having been born of their union - Edward, Esther A., Hannah C., and one who died in infancy. Edward died when thirty years of age and both Esther and Han- nah likewise are deceased, the former having become the wife of P. J. Mosier, and the lat- ter having been the wife of T. C. Golden. For his second wife William Goodban mar- ried Miss Margaret Langley, a sister of his first wife, and she passed to eternal rest when eighty-three years of age. Concerning the children of this marriage the following brief data are available: Margaret became the wife of J. Kellogg and is now deceased ; Sarah M. is the widow of C. L. Porr and resides in

the city of Burlington, Iowa ; William remains on the old homestead farm in Erie county, Pennsylvania; John G., the immediate sub- ject of this review, was the next in order of birth; Mary S. is the wife of S. Henry, of Dunkirk, Ohio; Henry F. is a resident of Ragan, Harlan county, Nebraska ; Arthur J. is deceased; and Ninetta E. is the wife of L. Darling, of Chandlers Valley, Pennsylvania.

In the old Keystone state John S. Goodban was reared and educated, his scholastic dis- cipline having included an effective course in the Pennsylvania Normal School at Edinboro. His career as a representative of the peda- gogic profession covered a period of nearly fifteen years - 1868-1882 - and he proved a most successful and popular teacher. In 1867 Mr. Goodban numbered himself among the pioneers of Butler county, Iowa, and in that state he continued his service as a teacher, besides following agricultural pursuits, until 1870, when he came to Otoe county, Nebras- ka In 1872 he established his home in Gage county. Here he continued to teach in the district schools during the winter terms for the ensuing decade, and in the meanwhile he carried forward the improvement of his farm. In Section 14 Highland township, one mile south and one-half mile west of Cortland, he entered a pre-emption claim of one hundred and sixty acres, and here he established his home. He broke the prairie soil and made it available for cultivation, set out forty acres of timber and with the passing years so devel- oped and improved his land as to make it one of the valuable farms of the county. He was specially successful in the raising of Red Polled Angus cattle and Poland-China swine, but did not make stock-raising subordinate to agricultural enterprise. Besides his old home- stead he became the owner of other lands, and he continued his active association with farm industry until 1913, since which time he has lived virtually retired in the village of Cortland, where he owns his home property and also business buildings. He is also a stockholder and director of the Bank of Cort- land. He has never abated his interest in educational affairs and served a number of

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years as a member of the school board of his district while still residing on the farm. Well fortified in his opinions concerning public af- fairs, he is a stalwart advocate of the prin- ciples of the Republican party, and he and his wife are members of the Congregational church, he being treasurer of the church of this denomination at Cortland, in 1917-1918, and having previously served a number of years as a member of the board of trustees.

February 25, 1871, recorded the marriage of Mr. Goodban to Miss Emma J. Mosher, who likewise is a native of Pennsylvania and who was a resident of Iowa at the time of her marriage, her father, the late P. J. Mosher, having been a pioneer of the Hawk- eye state. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Goodban: Eva is the widow of J. Yarnall and resides at Cortland; Carrie L. is the wife of F. Hoffman, of Ragan, Harlan county, Ne- braska; Nettie E. is the wife of C. P. Jones, of Highland township; Winifred died at the age of two and one-half years ; and Arthur J., whose natural mechanical talent has been so developed as to make him an expert machin- ist, conducts an automobile garage at Cort- land, with a well equipped machine and repair shop in connection therewith, besides which he is manager of the Cortland electric-lighting plant and system, he having been one of the organizers of the company which installed this important public utility, and being one of its stockholders.

CLIFFORD P. FALL, M. D .- For a peri- od of virtually thirty years Dr. Fall has been established in the practice of his profession at Beatrice, judicial center of Gage county, and the unequivocal success which he has achieved in his exacting vocation fully attests to his high professional attainments and his facility in the effective application of his tech- nical knowledge. The Doctor has long con- trolled a substantial and representative gen- eral practice, commands inviolable place in popular confidence and esteem and is essen- tially one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Gage county.

Dr. Fall was born in Boone county, Indiana, on the 9th of February, 1863, and is a son of David and Annie (Kernodle) Fall, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Virginia, both families having been founded in the fair southland many generations ago. The parents of Dr. Fall were children at the time of the immigration of the respective fam- ilies to Preble county, Ohio, in the pioneer days, and they were reared and educated in the old Buckeye state, their marriage having been solemnized in Union county, Ohio. David Fall became a successful farmer in Boone county, Indiana, and there his death occurred when his son, Clifford P., subject of this re- view, was but two years of age. Dr. Fall was reared in his native county and there received the advantages of the public schools. Though his youthful experience had to do principally with the basic art of agriculture, he had the ambition that led him to seek a broader sphere of endeavor in choosing his life vocation. He took up the study of medicine and finally went to the city of Chicago, where he was matricu- lated in the College of Physicians & Surgeons. In this celebrated institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1888 and in April of that year, shortly after receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine, he came to Nebraska and established his permanent residence in the progressive little city of Bea- trice, which has continued as the stage of his earnest and successful professional endeavors during the intervening period of thirty years.

Dr. Fall has significantly amplified the scope of his professional work and made a valuable contribution to his home city through his con- ducting of a well equipped sanitarium and hospital which is known as the Beatrice Sani- tarinm. This institution was founded by Dr. Fall and Dr. G. A. Harris about the year 1902, and from a modest inception is has been de- veloped into a well ordered hospital of modern equipment and facilities, the same providing for the accommodation of twenty-five pa- tients. Dr. Fall served four years as a mem- ber of the Nebraska state board of health, and at the time of the Spanish-American war he served as special contract surgeon at the

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

CLIFFORD P. FALL, M. D.

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United States military cantonment at Chicka- mauga, for a period of three months. He is an active and valued member of the Gage county Medical Society and the Nebraska State Medical Society, besides holding mem- bership in the American Medical Association. Through recourse to the best standard and periodical literature of his profession and through individual study and research Dr. Fall insistently keeps in touch with the advances made in medical and surgical science, and brings to bear in his practice the results of this consistent application. Though he has sub- ordinated all other interests to the demands of his profession he has been an exponent of loyal and progressive citizenship and gives allegiance to the Democratic party, his predi- lections never having been such as to lead him to seek or desire political office of any descrip- tion. He not only gives his attention to his large private practice, but also has the active supervision of the Beatrice Sanitarium, of which he is now sole proprietor. He was one of the organizers of the Beatrice Building & Loan Association, which has developed a large and prosperous business that extends into the various sections of Nebraska, and of this pro- gressive association the Doctor has been presi- dent from the time of its organization. In the Masonic fraternity Dr. Fall has completed the circle of each the York and the Scottish Rites, in the latter of which he has received the thirty-second degree. He is past exalted ruler of Beatrice Lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and is a member of the Presbyterian church.

In the year 1885 was solemnized the mar- riage of Dr. Fall to Miss Annie Kemper, who was born in the state of Wisconsin, and they have two children,- Hazel F., who is the wife of Carl F. Shafer, of Beatrice, and Frederick who remains at the parental home.

FREDERICK H. HOWEY - The busi- ness career of Frederick H. Howey has been significantly characterized by courage, self- reliance, and progressiveness, as well as by that dynamic initiative and executive ability that brings normally in its train a full mea-

sure of success. His resolute purpose and inviolable integrity have begotten the popular confidence and esteem that are so essential in the furtherance of success in the important line of enterprise along which he has directed his attention and energies, and through the medium of which he has gained secure status as one of the representative figures in the financial circles of Nebraska. During practi- cally his entire business career Mr. Howey has been closely associated with banking en- terprise, and there is needed no further voucher for the precedence he has gained, than the statement that he is now president of the First National Bank of Beatrice ; president of the First State Savings Bank of the same city ; president of the State Bank of Liberty, Gage county ; treasurer of the National Accident Insurance Company of Lincoln, Nebraska ; and a director of the Farmers' Bank & Trust Company of Fort Collins, Colorado. As a banker Mr. Howey has shown special con- structive talent, and through his effective policies and efforts he has furthered the suc- cess of every financial enterprise with which he has become associated. As one of the rep- resentative business men and progressive and public-spirited citizens of Gage county he merits specific recognition in this publication.

Mr. Howey was born in the vicinity of Columbus, the fair capital city of Ohio, on the 9th of December, 1868, and is a son of Rev. John D. and Lina E. (Bowman) Howey.

Rev. John D. Howey was born November 21, 1831, and was summoned from the stage of life's mortal endeavors on the 29th of De- cember, 1894. After completing a four years' course in Jefferson College, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a two years' course in the Allegheny Theological Seminary he entered the ministry of the Presbyterian church, in which he was ordained in 1858. For the long period of thirty-eight years he continued as an able and faithful clergyman of the Presby- terian fold, and his earnest labors terminated only when death set its seal upon his mortal lips. He was a man of fine intellectuality and labored with all of consecrated zeal and devo- tion in the vineyard of the Divine Master. He

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held pastoral charges in Ohio and Illinois prior to becoming one of the pioneer ministers of the Presbyterian church in Nebraska, in which state he established his residence in 1884. Here he served in various pastorates, and though his death occurred in the city of Lincoln he was at the time maintaining his home at Hastings, this state. He was born and reared in Pennsylvania and was sixty- three years of age at the time of his death, his memory being revered by all who came within the sphere of his kindly and benignant influence. Mrs. Lina E. (Bowman) Howey was born at Neilsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1835, a daughter of John and Nancy Bowman. Her marriage to Rev. John D. Howey was sol- emnized in the year 1861, and she survived him by nearly a quarter of a century. Mrs. Howey passed the closing period of her life in the home of her daughter Ivie, wife of Wil- liam C. Black, Jr., of Beatrice, and she passed to eternal rest July 19, 1917, after a lingering illness and when in her eighty-second year. For more than twenty years this gracious gen- tlewoman had been a resident of Beatrice and was here a member of the First Presbyterian church, in the work of which she took an active and devoted interest. Concerning the children of Rev. and Mrs. John D. Howey the following brief data are available: W. Clement is living retired on a small farm homestead near the city of Lincoln, this state; Loyal B. is president of the City National Bank of Lincoln ; Frederick H., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Clyde G. is an osteopathic physician and is engaged in the successful practice of his profession in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Miss Marie T. has held responsible clerical posi- tions in connection with the banking business for a long term of years, was for some time in the employ of Hon. William Jennings Bryan, and she now resides in the city of Los An- geles, California; Ivie B. is the wife of Wil- liam C. Black, Jr., and they maintain their home at Beatrice.

Frederick H. Howey acquired his early edu- cation in the public schools and after the re- moval of the family to Nebraska, when he

was about sixteen years of age, he continued his studies in the schools of the cities of Lin- coln and Fairmont, where his father held pas- toral charges. Mr. Howey early began to de- pend upon his own resources and he has been in the truest sense the artificer of his own fortunes as one of the world's productive workers. At the age of eighteen years he left the gracious environment of the parental home and found employment as a clerk in a dry-goods establishment in the city of Lin- coln. His judgment and ambition prompted him to further reinforce himself by taking a course in bookkeeping and accounting, and for this purpose he pursued his studies in a business college at Lincoln. Soon afterward he found employment as bookkeeper in the State National Bank of Lincoln, and after four years of effective service with this institution he was elected cashier of the Bank of Mar- quette, in the village of Marquette, Hamilton county, where he remained one year - in the later '80s. For a short time thereafter he held a position in the American Exchange National Bank in Lincoln, and he then purchased an interest in and assumed the position of cashier of the First National Bank at Humphrey, Platte county, at the time the same was or- ganized as successor of the Citizens' State Bank. He played a large part in the upbuild- ing of the substantial business of this insti- tution and continued the incumbent of the office of cashier until 1897, when he resigned his position and came to Beatrice, where he was elected vice-president of the First Na- tional Bank. This office he retained until 1911, since which time he has been president of the institution, his administration in each of these offices having been potent in further- ing the advancement of this representative in- stitution, which bases its operations on a capital stock of one hundred thousand dol- lars, the while its surplus fund and undi- vided profits have now attained to the sig- nificant aggregate of more than sixty thousand dollars. Since 1909 Mr. Howey has served also as president of the First State Savings Bank of Beatrice, which has a capital stock of twelve thousand five hundred dollars, sur-

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plus and undivided profits of six thousand dollars and deposits to the amount of more than one hundred thousand dollars. Under his careful and progressive régime the First National Bank has made a wonderful ad- vancement in the volume of its business, and its deposits are now in excess of one million dollars, the bank having been founded in 1877, and being one of the leading financial institu- tions of southeastern Nebraska. It has pre- viously been noted that Mr. Howey is presi- dent also of the State Bank of Liberty, and it may further be stated that this institution has a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars and deposits of approximately three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

In 1907 Mr. Howey became associated with his brother Loyal B. in the organization and incorporation of the National Accident Insur- ance Company, at Lincoln, and the same has operations based on a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, he being treasurer of the company and his brother the president. Unequivocal success has attended the under- writing business of this corporation, and in . extending health and accident indemnity the company now has in force policies represent- ing about four million dollars. Its thorough reliability and able executive control have caused this company to have a remarkable growth within a decade, and it now has an extensive and representative list of patrons throughout the state of Nebraska, as well as a good business in other states of this section of the Union.

As a broad-gauged and liberal citizen Mr. Howey has always shown vital interest in community affairs, and he has served three years as a member of the Beatrice school board. He has been active in the local coun- cils of the Republican party, as attested by the fact that he has served since 1916 as treasurer of the Gage county Republican committee. He is, however, essentially a business man and has not deviated from his course to become an aspirant for public office of any kind. He and his wife are active members of the First Pres- byterian church of Beatrice and he is affiliated with the local organizations of the Masonic

fraternity, including Mount Herman Com- mandery of Knights Templars, as is he also with Beatrice Lodge of the Benevolent & Pro- tective Order of Elks.

In 1894 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Howey to Miss Eva Tamblyn, who was born at Mason City, Illinois, and who was reared at Altona, Knox county, Illinois, in which state she was graduated in the Musical Conservatory of Knox College, at Galesburg. A pianist of exceptional ability, she was a suc- cessful teacher of music prior to her mar- riage, and she is a leader in church work and the literary and musical circles of Beatrice, where she is a popular factor in the repre- sentative social activities of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Howey have three children : Earle T., who was born in 1896, was a mem- ber of the class of 1920 in the University of Nebraska, where also he is affiliated with the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, but in December, 1917, he enlisted in the regular army of the United States, for service in the great Euro- pean war; Katharyn, who was born in the year 1897, is a member of the class of 1919 in the University of Nebraska, where she holds membership in the Delta Gama sorority; and Walden H., born in 1900, is a member of the class of 1919 in the Beatrice high school.

SOLOMON HARPSTER was one of the strong and worthy pioneers who came to Ne- braska in the year that marked the admission of the territory to statehood, the first year of his residence within the borders of the new commonwealth having been passed in Richard- son county, and his home having been estab- lished in Gage county in 1868. He contrib- uted to the civic and industrial development and progress of the county, represented the best in communal life and spirit and bore with fortitude and unwavering faith and confidence the hardships and trials of frontier life. He gained inviolable place in popular confidence and good will and was long and familiarly known in Gage county as "Uncle Sol Harp- ster." This sterling pioneer, whose death oc- curred in 1894, is consistently given a tribute of honor in this publication.

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MR. AND MRS. SOLOMON HARPSTER

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Solomon Harpster was born in the state of Pennsylvania and was seventy years and twelve days of age at the time of his death. He became a resident of Ohio when about nine years of age, remained in the old Buckeye state until 1867, when he came with his family to the newly created state of Nebraska and, as previously noted, established himself in Richardson county, whence he came to Gage county about one year later. In this county he secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of wild prairie land, in Sicily town- ship. It is interesting to record that this land, to which he received a deed from the govern- ment, has never passed from the possession of the family, by members of which it is still held. Mr. Harpster reclaimed his land and developed the same into one of the valuable farm properties of the county. In Ohio his health had been considerably impaired, but he found the climate and vital influences of Ne- braska so invigorating that he became a man of robust health. He labored with character- istic zeal and ability in furthering the devel- opment of his farm and in aiding the general advancement of the county along civic and material lines. He lived in this section of Ne- braska during the early pioneer days in which hardships and privations drew men together in strong ties of friendship and helpfulness, and his genial personality gained to him the sobriquet of Uncle Sol, by which he was known to all the early settlers.

Mr. Harpster superintended the building of the bridge across the Blue river at Blue Springs and also the erection of the first coun- ty jail, at Beatrice. He was careful and up- right in all of the relations of life, had a fine sense of personal stewardship and was never known to use profane language, tobacco or intoxicating liquors. Both he and his wife were lifelong and zealous members of the Evangelical church. In coming to Gage coun- ty he transported his family and effects with wagon and ox team, and the oxen he there- after utilized in breaking his land and other- wise carrying forward the development of his farm.

In Ohio was solemnized, June 16, 1850, the

marriage of Mr. Harpster to Miss Judith Beck, and they passed the closing years of their lives in their pleasant home in the vil- lage of Blue Springs, his death having oc- curred in December, 1894, and his widow hav- ing entered into eternal rest in March, 1911, when seventy-seven years of age. They be- came the parents of four children: Malissa is the widow of Samuel Mowry, to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this volume; Alonzo is a boilermaker by trade and is employed in the shops of the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad at Wymore, this county ; George resides in the city of Lincoln and is a conductor in the service of the Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; and Miss Sue remains at the old home of her par- ents at Blue Springs.

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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 47

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