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 52

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 52

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farmer and is the owner of a good farm of four hundred acres, located six miles north- east of Beatrice. They have now retired and live in Beatrice. Charles B. is noted for his love of fine horses and has owned many good ones. Of late years he has been engaged in the automobile business at Beatrice. Eugene P. was the next in order of birth. Ida N. is the wife of Lawrence W. Epard, and they re- side upon the old homestead of her father, adjoining the old home place, John B. Mum- ford having relinquished the homestead in the early days to his sister. Frank W. is still living in the old home where he was born. He is also an extensive live-stock shipper. Luther E., former principal of the Beatrice high school, is now living in Lincoln, Nebras- ka, and is engaged in school work.

The late John B. Mumford took a decided interest in political and public affairs, and was always a Democrat. He did much to advance the party but never consented to be a candi- date for office. His religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his venerable widow is a member of the Christian church.

Eugene P. Mumford was about two years old at the time the family moved to Gage county. He profited by the advantages of the country school and later attended the Blake Select School of Beatrice, but never com- pleted the regular course of study. He has devoted much time to reading, and had the good fortune of having association and friend- ship with such pioneer characters as J. B. Weston, George P. Marvin, Judge Alfred Hazlett, R. S. Bibb, and D. W. Cook, for all of whom he had much respect and who con- tributed much to his fund of useful informa- tion. He is a Democrat politically, as were his ancestors "from the time the memory of man runneth not to the contrary." He be- longed to the old school known as "gold" Democrats, and was opposed to free silver during the campaign on that issue. He was a student of Adam Smith on finance and be- lieved in a commodity basis for value. He has done much, with the assistance of his brother Frank, to build up the ranks of the

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party and has been twice recognized for loy- alty. He was appointed revenue collector for the southeast division of Nebraska during President Cleveland's administration, and al- though he filed his resignation at the end of four years, he was retained two years under President Mckinley, owing to his familiarity with the service, and to the exigencies of the Spanish-American war. He was selected by Governor John H. Morehead as private secre- tary to that able executive during his several terms as governor of Nebraska. Mr. Mum- ford is now engaged in business at Beatrice. His reputation for absolute reliability in all transactions and his wide acquaintanceship and knowledge of affairs have established for him a good business in the real estate and in- surance enterprise, including the rental of properties, of which he has farm and city property to look after. He also has a furni- ture store, which he conducts with the assist- ance of his nephew, C. D. Mumford.

On the 22d of June, 1898, Mr. Mumford was united in marriage to Lenda Mostert, who was born near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and came to Nebraska in 1878, when seven years of age. Mrs. Mumford is of German lineage, her people coming from Bavaria. She was studious during her school days and in 1888 was graduated with honor in the Beatrice high school. For ten years thereafter she was an instructor in the Beatrice schools. Mrs. Mumford has always been active in school affairs, and is held in high regard by her many friends and associates. She is a member of the Trinity Lutheran church and has taken an active part in the work of that organization. She is at the present time treasurer of the Young Women's Christian Association and is now serving her third term. Mr. and Mrs. Mumford are the par- ents of one son, Paul E., who was graduated at the Beatrice high school in the class of 1918.

CHARLES H. OJERS has been a resident of Nebraska for nearly half a century and since 1889 he has been numbered among the honored citizens and representative farmers

of Lincoln township, Gage county, where he has made the best of improvements on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres that consti- tutes the northeast quarter of Section 3, this property having been a heritage received by his wife from the estate of her father, who was an influential pioneer of Nebraska.

Mr. Ojers was born in Steuben county, New York, on the 15th of May, 1851, and is a son of John A. and Phoebe A. (Huntley) Ojers, the former of whom was born in the city of London, England, in 1821, and the latter of whom was born in Steuben county, New York, in April, 1823, a representative of one of the well known pioneer families of that section of the Empire state. In his native city John A. Ojers gained his youth- ful education and also served a thorough ap- prenticeship to the shoemaker's trade. As a young man he came to the United States and, as a skilled workman, found employment at his trade. After his marriage he continued his residence in the state of New York until 1856, when he removed with his family to Illinois and established his residence in Ogle county, where he continued in the work of his trade for a number of years. In 1874 he and his wife came to Nebraska, where he passed the remainder of his long and useful life. his death having occurred at DeWitt, Saline county, in 1909, at which time he was eighty- eight years of age. His venerable widow, who celebrated in the spring of 1917 the ninety-fourth anniversary of her birth, is one of the revered women of Gage county and is passing the gentle evening of her life in the village of Wymore.

Charles H. Ojers was five years of age at the time of the family removal to Illinois, where he was reared to manhood and where his educational advantages were those of- fered by the common schools. There he gave his attention principally to farm work, being employed by the month, until he had attained to his legal majority, when, in 1872, he came to Nebraska and rented land in Johnson county. Under these conditions he there con- tinued his operations as a farmer until 1887, when he removed to Saline county and set-

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MR. AND MRS. CHARLES H. OJERS

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tled on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres which his wife inherited and which they still own. In 1889 they came to Gage county and established their home on their present at- tractive farm, upon which he has made ad- mirable improvements in the way of build- ings and other permanent evidences of thrift and good management, and which he has made one of the fine farms of Lincoln town- ship. He has been a vigorous and productive representative of farm industry during the many years of his residence in Nebraska and has achieved success worthy of the name. He is progressive and judicious in his business policies and in addition to his valuable farm holdings he is a substantial stockholder in the Blue Valley Mercantile Company of Beatrice. Though he has had neither time nor inclina- tion for political activity or public office of any kind, he accords loyal support to the cause of the Republican party, and he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

On the 20th of August, 1871, was solemn- ized the marriage of Mr. Ojers to Miss Fan- nie R. Rathburn, who was born in Ogle county, Illinois, and who is a daughter of the late Job B. Rathburn, an honored pioneer who accumulated a very extensive and valuable landed estate in southeastern Nebraska and was one of the prominent and influential citizens of Gage county at the time of his death. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Ojers, Charles, who was born in 1872, died at the age of five years; George L., born in 1874, died in early childhood; Annie R., who was born in 1874, is the wife of Edward Zobel and they reside with her parents on the latter's homestead farm, of which Mr. Zobel has much of the active management; and Addie R., who was born in 1881, is the wife of Essa A. Lash, a prosperous farmer in Sa- line county, where he operates a farm owned by his wife's father. Mr. and Mrs. Lash have six children - Lloyd, Myrtle, George, John, Mary, and Gertrude.

JEFFERSON B. WESTON. - Not too often and not through the agency of too many vehicles can be recorded the life history of

one who lived so honorable and useful a life as did the late Jefferson B. Weston, who wrote his name in large and indelible char- acters on the history of the state of Nebraska, within whose borders he established his home three years after the creation of the original territory and fully six years prior to the re- duction of its area to the present limitations. He was one of the founders and builders of this now noble and opulent commonwealth and he gave the best of an essentially strong and loyal nature to the service of the terri- tory and the state; his life course was guided and governed by the highest principles of in- tegrity and honor. As offering a somewhat intimate and assuredly earnest and consistent estimate of the man and his services, there is all of propriety in perpetuating in this memoir the following extracts from an appreciative article that appeared in the Beatrice Sun at the time of the death of Mr. Weston, who passed from the stage of life's mortal en- deavors on the 15th of September, 1905, minor elimination and paraphrase being in- dulged in the reproduction of these excerpts : "Mr. Weston was born at Bremen, Lincoln county, Maine, on the 3d of March, 1831, and thus he was nearly seventy-five years of age at the time of his death. He was a scion of the staunchest of colonial New England an- cestry and in his personality always mani- fested the sturdy and rugged characteristics of a strong and worthy ancestry. When he was about twenty years of age Mr. Weston entered Union College, at Schnectady, New York, and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1856. In less than a year thereafter he joined the exodus of emigrants who were pushing their way westward, and in April, 1857, he came to the new territory of Nebraska, which then ex- tended from the Missouri river west to the Rocky mountains and from the fortieth par- allel to the Canadian border. He was one of the leaders of that band of intrepid men and women who, on board the old river boat 'Hannibal,' on the 3d of April, 1857, while stuck on a sand bar opposite Doniphan, Kan- sas, entered into a compact to remain together

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

and locate somewhere in the new territory of Nebraska, with the definite purpose of there founding a city. He was the principal mem- ber of the committee representing this com- pany of pioneers, and this committee, upon personal inspection in May of that year, de- termined upon the site which comprises the original town of Beatrice as the location of the prospective city to be founded by these sterling pioneers, and Mr. Weston was one of the enthusiastic young men who made prompt answer when the roll of this company was called on the site of Beatrice, June 27, 1857. From the date of his arrival in the territory Mr. Weston identified himself fully and vigorously with the activities of pioneer life. In the early days he engaged in various freighting ventures and with ox teams crossed the plains to Denver and other points, besides having gained his quota of experience in trading with the Indians and with mining en- terprise. Early in his career he was admitted to the territorial bar, and for some time prior to 1872 he gave considerable time and atten- tion to the practice of his profession, as one of the pioneer members of the bar of Gage county and its judicial center.

"In the autumn of 1872 Mr. Weston was elected auditor of public accounts of the state of Nebraska, and by successive re-elections he continued the incumbent of this office from January, 1873, until January, 1879. From 1873 to 1886 he and his family resided in the city of Lincoln, capital of the state, but with this exception he held continuous residence at Beatrice from 1857 until the time of his death.

"From the brief data here presented it will be seen that Mr. Weston was closely identi- fied with the history of Nebraska from the beginning. He belonged to that class of frontiersmen who have in a large degree the constructive faculty. Possessed of the true pioneer spirit which looks far into the future and sees states rise from tenantless wilder- nesses and naked plains. he never wavered from his trust that here God had marked the outlines of a great commonwealth. He lived to see the justification of his faith and to par-

ticipate in a large measure in the fruition of his hopes.

"Not only was Mr. Weston the possessor of a liberal education but he was also a man of large intellectual life. Deliberate and con- servative in his judgment, he was accustomed to take an accurate and comprehensive view of human affairs. His clear, comprehensive way of looking at things made him one of the most useful members of the community in which he lived and also a useful and valued citizen of his state. His charity was large, his kindness of heart without bounds, and in his habits and associations he was the most democratic of men. With a generous, open- hearted faith in humanity and a deep-rooted faith in God, he came to the end of his long journey in an atmosphere of hope, courage and cheer that was infectious and touched all who came within the sphere of his benign in- fluence. Men loved him, and to hundreds in his home community and in other portions of the state the world will be lonelier and less in- viting without Jefferson B. Weston."

Measured by its beneficence, its rectitude, its productiveness, its unconscious altruism, and its material success, the life of Hon. Jefferson B. Weston counted for much, and Nebraska is perpetually favored in that as a young man he allied himself with all of tho- roughness and completeness with its interests, grew with its growth and dignified and hon- ored the territory and the state by his char- acter and his achievement. Standing in the light and unassuming glory of life and character like this, those of the younger generation of Americans may gain lesson and inspiration and feel the thrill of buoyant loyalty and patriotism, the while there can not fail to be appreciation of the splendid and ever widening influence which such a life implies.

In the stability of his mature judgment Mr. Weston was well fortified in his opinions con- cerning economic and governmental policies, and he gave his political allegiance to the Republican party. Mr. Weston was asso- ciated with other representative citizens in the founding of the Beatrice National Bank,

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which received its charter in the autumn of 1883, and by the original board of directors he was elected president of the institution, an office of which he continued the incumbent until his death - a period of nearly a quarter of a century.

In 1860, at Nebraska City, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Weston to Miss Helen Towle, who was born at Hennepin, Illinois, a daughter of Albert and Catherine (Holt) Towle, who likewise were numbered among the honored pioneers of Nebraska. Mrs. Weston survived her honored husband and in her gentle and gracious womanhood she proved a true complement to his virile and upright manhood, so that the home relations were ideal during a devoted companionship that continued nearly half a century and that was broken only by the death of the husband and father. Mrs. Weston passed to the life eternal on the 25th of February, 1917, and her memory is revered by all who came within the compass of her gentle and gracious influ- ence. Mr. and Mrs. Weston became the par- ents of four children - Ralph A., Elizabeth L., Herbert T., and Katharine. Ralph A. is now a resident of Millet, Alberta, Canada, and Katharine, who became the wife of Thomas E. Wing, was a resident of Scars- dale, New York, at the time of her death. Elizabeth L. and Herbert T. remain in Beatrice.

JOSEPH LUTHER WEBB, M. D. - Large, definite, and benignant was the im- press which this honored pioneer left in con- nection with this history of Gage county, and no work purporting to give record concern- ing those who have here been the vigorous apostles of civic and material development and progress can be consistent with itself if there is failure to accord an earnest tribute of recognition to Dr. Webb. He was one of the very first physicians to establish residence and engage in practice in the little frontier community which was the nucleus of the present city of Beatrice, and it has well been said that "all through the rest of his life he was closely associated with every movement

looking toward the development, growth, and social and material well-being of the com- munity.

Dr. Webb was born on a pioneer homestead farm near the city of Springfield, Illinois, and the date of his nativity was August 1, 1837. He was a son of Luther Hiram Webb and Martha (Bellows) Webb, both representa- tives of sterling families that were founded in New England in the early colonial period of our national history. The Doctor was the sixth in order of birth in a family of seven children and the youngest of the number was Hiram P., who likewise became prominently identified with pioneer activities in Gage county, Nebraska. Concerning the early period in the career of Dr. Webb the follow- ing record has been prepared, and it is worthy of perpetuation in this connection : "When the Doctor was but ten years old his father and elder brother died, only a day apart, leav- ing the widowed mother and the surviving children on the pioneer homestead. In the face of most strenuous hardships and trials the devoted mother struggled to keep her family together and saw to it that each child was cared for and afforded the best educa- tional advantages offered in that pioneer locality, the capital city of Illinois having been a mere village at that time. After having availed himself of the advantages of the local schools, Dr. Webb went to Springfield, the state capital, and there he prosecuted his study of medicine in the offices of several of the leading physicians of the place, this meth- od of preliminary training having been com- monly in vogue in the locality and period. At this time Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas and many other men who attained to eminence were residing in Springfield, and the ambitious young student came to an ap- preciable extent under their influence, his life ever afterward having shown the strong characteristics that such association tended to develop. With characteristic ambition and zeal Dr. Webb pursued his medical studies and finally he found it possible to enter the Eclectic Medical Institute in the city of Cin- cinnati, Ohio, an institution of celebrity at

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the time and one notable for leadership in the development of medical reform and advance- ment, -one that continues to the present day as a strong and influential school of medi- cine. In this college the Doctor was gradu- ated as a member of the class of 1871 and in the same year he established his permanent residence in Gage county, which he had pre- viously visited. In 1867 the new country rep- resented in Nebraska, which was admitted to statehood in that year, was being much talked about and exploited in the eastern states, and a group of young men from the vicinity of Springfield, Illinois, and including Dr. Webb and his brothers, decided to pay a visit to this new land of promise. Accord- ingly, they set forth, and they made the trip partly by stage, partly by rail, partly on horse- back, and for a considerable distance on foot, gaining much from each experience. Before returning the Webb brothers had acquired in Gage county a tract of land, as an investment. They then returned to their home in Illinois and after having prepared himself thoroughly for the work of his chosen profession Dr. Webb reverted to the favorable impression which Nebraska had made upon him, with the result that, in 1871, he came to Gage county and established himself as one of the pioneer physicians and surgeons in the embryonic city of Beatrice.

"The country was sparsely settled and the practice of medicine must needs be carried on without the aid of any of the modern con- veniences, such as laboratories, hospitals, telephones, automobiles, consultants, and stores where needed appliances could be ob- tained. The life of the self-abnegating and faithful physician was full of exposure, long and irregular hours and all manner of inci- dental hardships. Dr. Webb's ministrations in the early days often involved the making of trips that required several days to com- plete, and on numerous occasions he found his buggy unavailable for further progress, so that he would proceed on horseback and at times even on foot -moved by an in- violable sense of stewardship and consecrated professional zeal. Travel would follow the

trails and ridges, streams were to be forded, and the Doctor must needs be both physician and nurse in cases of emergency. Still, the services thus rendered seemed to be more on a basis of friendship than mere remuneration, and the heartfelt appreciation and affection- ate regard which these old-time physicians won proved a greater and worthier recom- pense than that of mere money. Such close and inviolable relationships are seldom pos- sible between the physicians of the present day and their clients. Later in life Dr. Webb was pleased to recount, with animation and appreciation, many stories of experience gained during these early years, when the buffalo, the Indian, the desperado sometimes crossed his path. He had unexpected meet- ings with many whose names are prominently associated with frontier annals in the west, as well as border outlaws and other insubordi- nate characters, but his genial personality and indomitable courage were such that such en- counters never resulted in specially unplea- sant experiences."

Dr. Webb was humanity's friend in the highest sense of the expression, was tolerant and kindly in his judgment, and he labored earnestly and efficiently in the alleviation of suffering and distress - a guide and coun- sellor to many of the representative pioneer families of Gage and adjoining counties. He continued in active practice until within a few years prior to his death, and even after his retirement many of his former clients re- fused to receive ministration from any other source. He was loved and revered in the county which so long was the stage of his earnest endeavors, and the entire community manifested a sense of personal loss and be- reavement when he passed from the scene of this mortal life. Pertinent, indeed, are the following quotations : "Dr. Webb was a man of vigorous health, regular habits and temper- ate living. He was active in church and other Christian work, true to his friends and pos- sessed of an exceptionally broad education, with a philosophy in life that made him a pleasant member of any group in which he appeared. He made a trip into the country

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DR. JOSEPH L. WEBB, SR.

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on the morning of May 12, 1911, returned and was with his family at noon. He went to his down-town office as usual, and there he was suddenly taken ill, passing into uncon- sciousness about sundown, and his death oc- curred near midnight. His demise was so unexpected that it came as a distinct shock to the community when it was announced the next morning."

Associating themselves with other repre- sentative citizens, Dr. Webb and his brother Hiram P. were closely identified with the early development of the community. They gave freely of their time and energy in the furtherance of every movement that seemed to promise good to the interests of the com- monwealth, and the early annals of Gage county history give record of much which they did to accelerate social and material prog- ress in the county and especially the city of Beatrice.

On the 2d of October, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Webb to Miss Kate Louise Sheppard, daughter of G. W. Shep- pard, who had come with his wife and chil- dren from England to America in the preced- ing year and who established a home in Gage county. In conclusion of this memoir is given brief record concerning the children of Dr. and Mrs. Webb, the latter continuing to occupy the attractive old homestead in the city of Beatrice and being an earnest member of the Episcopal church: Hiram L., eldest of the children, now resides near the city of Binghampton, New York; James Edgar died in infancy; Dr. Joseph Lewis Webb is indi- vidually mentioned elsewhere in this volume; and Kate L. remains with her widowed mother, being prominent in the women's ac- tivities of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal church of Beatrice and also in the local and national affairs of the Young Women's Christian Association, the while she is a popular figure in the representative social life of her native city.

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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 52

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