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 54

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 54

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In the year 1871 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Klein to Miss Catharine Moschel, who was born in Germany and who came with her widowed mother, Mrs. Margaret

(Schantz) Moschel, to America in the year 1865, the father, Christian Moschel, having died in Germany about the year 1854, his vo- cation having been that of cabinetmaker. The widowed mother brought her five children to the United States and the home was estab- lished in Illinois, the mother having there passed the residue of her life, her death hav- ing occurred on a farm near Chenoa, McLean county, in 1886. Three of her sons, Louis, Charles, and Daniel, became pioneers of Gage county, Nebraska, where they settled in the '70s, and all became representative citizens of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Klein have four children, and in a preceding paragraph it has been noted that the three sons are actively associated with the business founded by their father. The only daughter, Ida M., remains at the parental home and is a popular assis- tant to her mother.

HERMAN M. REYNOLDS, M. D .- For all time must Gage county pay a tribute of veneration and honor to the late Dr. Her- man Meyer Reynolds, who was one of the foremost pioneer physicians and surgeons of this part of the state, who wielded large and beneficent influence in the furtherance of civic and material development and progress and who was a leader in all movements tend - ing to advance the welfare and growth of the beautiful little city of Beatrice, the metropo- lis and judicial center of Gage county. He aided in upbuilding Beatrice from a frontier village to its present status as one of the vigorous and important muncipalities of Ne- braska, and his was the distinction of being elected the city's first mayor. His life was significantly one of service, was marked by unwavering optimism and abiding human sympathy, and even this succinct record con- cerning his life and labors can not fail of les- son and incentive. He was one of the best known and most beloved pioneer citizens of Gage county at the time of his death, which occurred on the 26th of April, 1875.

Dr. Reynolds was born at Shelldrake, Sul- livan county, New York, on the 15th of April. 1832, and was a scion of one of the old and

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honored families of that section of the Em- pire state. A youth of alert mind and valiant ambition, Dr. Reynolds early determined, after having availed himself of the advantages of the common schools, to prepare himself for the medical profession, and finally he provided ways and means to complete a course in a medical college in the city of Albany, New York. After having received the degree of Doctor of Medicine he engaged in the prac- tice of his profession, and his ability soon gained him recognition, with the result that success attended his earnest efforts in the work of his chosen calling. For two years prior to coming to the west the Doctor was engaged in practice in the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and he was one of the leaders in the fine col- ony that came to Gage county, Nebraska, and located the town site of Beatrice, the county seat. He was thus one of the founders of this city and had the distinction of being not only its pioneer physician and surgeon, but also the first man elected as chief executive of the municipal government of the ambitious little city. In the work of his humane mission Dr. Reynolds spared himself neither mental nor physical effort in the pioneer days, and he rode on horseback over the Nebraska prairies for miles in every direction from Beatrice, to carry relief and solace to those in affliction and distress. He ministered with all of his unselfish zeal and marked ability in the work of his profession and his kindliness and sym- pathy transcended inere vocation to become an actuating motive for helpfulness. Under these conditions it may well be understood that his name and memory are held in lasting reverence in the community in which he lived and labored to goodly ends. In the attractive brick residence which the Doctor erected at 800 Market street he passed the closing period of his life, and there his venerable widow has maintained her home for more than forty years, the place and the community being en- deared to her by the hallowed memories and associations of the past and hers being gra- cious status as one of the loved pioneer women of Beatrice. In this connection it may consistently be noted that the first home pro-

vided for Dr. and Mrs. Reynolds in Beatrice was a pioneer log cabin, the same having been situated at the corner of Fourth and Court streets. Mrs. Reynolds has thus witnessed the development of Beatrice from a frontier ham- let into a populous and prosperous city of twelve thousand inhabitants, and though she has passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten she retains in splendid degree her mental and physical vigor and finds that in the gracious evening of her life her lines are "cast in pleasant places," her circle of friends in the community being limited only by that of her acquaintances. Dr. Reynolds was a man of vigorous intellectuality and ma- ture judgment, was well fortified in his views concerning governmental and economic poli- cies, and gave his political allegiance to the Republican party, his religious faith having been that of the Christian church. He and his wife were charter members of the church of this denomination in Beatrice and Mrs. Rey- nolds is still active in its work.

At Beatrice, Nebraska, on the 20th of Oc- tober, 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Reynolds to Miss Naomi Barcus, who was born at Covington, Indiana, on the 20th of October, 1841; and who was an infant at the time of the death of her father, Jesse Barcus. Her widowed mother, whose maiden name was Mary Blodgett, later became the wife of Thomas Sherrill, and in 1859 they came to Nebraska and numbered themselves among the earliest settlers of Gage county, where they passed the residue of their lives. Mrs. Rey- nolds was reared and educated in the old Hoosier state and was about eighteen years of age when she accompanied her mother and stepfather to Gage county, Nebraska, so that it may readily be understood that hers are vivid memories touching the conditions and influences that obtained in the early pioneer days. Dr. and Mrs. Reynolds became the parents of six daughters and one son, two of whom died in infancy ; Elsie is the widow of George W. Loeber and maintains her home at Beatrice; Mollie is the wife of George F. Randall, a large rancher in Morrill county, Nebraska, Redington being their postoffice

Eng by E G Willums & Bre N'Y

gr. wright

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address; Ruth is the wife of Charles C. Far- low, of Beatrice, and Mr. Farlow is serving, in 1918, as deputy treasurer of Gage county ; Miss Josephine is an efficient and popular teacher in the public schools of Beatrice and remains with her widowed mother at the old homestead ; and Hermina is the wife of Harry E. Sackett, a representative Gage county law- year, to whom is accorded mention on other pages of this work.

`JOHN W. WRIGHT was a man whose sterling character gave him excellent equip- ment for being master of his own destiny, and though his financial resources were of the most limited order when he came to Gage county, forty years ago, he so directed his activities as to achieve large and worthy suc- cess. He was a pioneer merchant and farmer of this county, commanded the unqualified respect of all who knew him and it is most fitting that in this history be entered a tribute to his memory.

John Wesley Wright was born in Hawkins county, Tennessee, May 27, 1852, and there he was reared and educated. At the age of twenty-four years he drove with team and wagon from Tennessee to Illinois and settled in Macoupin county, where he found employ- ment at farm work, including the cutting of wood, his compensation at the start being only eight dollars a month. The following year was marked by his turning his attention to independent farm enterprise in that county, and there also the ambitious young man, on March 18, 1877, wedded the gracious young woman who was to continue as his devoted companion and helpmeet during the remainder of his earnest and worthy life. In 1878 Mr. Wright made, with team and wagon, the over- land trip from Illinois to Gage county, Ne- braska, and his wife joined him within a few months thereafter, she having made the jour- ney by railroad. Soon after his arrival in the county Mr. Wright purchased land in Filley township, the farm now owned by John A. Burbank, and with characteristic vigor and resourcefulness he initiated the improvement and development of this place. When the

village of Filley was platted Mr. Wright erected one of the first buildings in the new town and assumed the management of one of the first mercantile establishments there opened. Later he purchased the stock and business and for twenty-one years thereafter he there conducted a substantial and prosper- ous business as a dealer in hardware, agri- cultural implements, and groceries. After selling his original farm he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Filley township, just outside the corporate limits of the village of the same name, and upon this homestead he erected good buildings and made other im- provements of excellent order. Here he be- came a most successful and progressive ex- ponent of agricultural and live-stock enter- prise and he eventually added much to the area of his landed estate, so that he left to his family at his death a valuable farm property of two hundred acres, his widow still remain- ing on the attractive homestead and having at all times been the popular chatelaine of a pleasant home known for its gracious hospi- tality.

Mr. Wright was a man well fortified for leadership in community affairs and while he had no desire for political preferment he was a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Republican party and showed his civic loyalty by his efficient service in the office of justice of the peace. He became a member of the Masonic fraternity when he was twenty-one years of age and continued his active affilia- tion throughout the remainder of his life. He was an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which he contributed liberally and with a high sense of personal stewardship, and his widow likewise is a zealous member.

In the year 1877, as previously intimated, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wright to Miss Ella E. Fetter, who was born and reared in Macoupin county, Illinois, and who is a daughter of Adam and Amelia (McDon- ald) Fetter, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Morgan county, Illinois, where her parents were pioneer set- tlers. Mr. Fetter became a prosperous far-

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mer in Illinois and there he and his wife con- tinued to reside until their death, when well advanced in years. Of the eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wright all are living except the last, who died in infancy ; Clara is the wife of J. R. Landon ; Cora B. is the wife of William B. Little and they reside in the city of Omaha; Charles is a bachelor and re- mains with his widowed mother, he having active management of the home farm; Minnie is the wife of Elon E. Hill of Omaha; Alice remains at the maternal home, as do also James and Lillie; Otis is married and resides in the village of Filley; Ella is the wife of Guy Steece, a farmer in Logan township; and Marie is the wife of Edward Dobbs, of Logan township.

AARON PALMER. - An indomitable energy that has triumphed over seemingly great obstacles, as well as varied misfortunes, is that which had dominated Aaron Palmer . during the varied stages of a remarkably earnest and productive business career in which he has rallied to his cause splendid initiative ability and has made each recurrent stroke of adverse fortune but a spur to re- newed effort. Depending entirely upon his own resources he has pressed forward along the line of worthy ambition and that he has arrived at the goal of substantial success and influence in connection with business opera- tions needs no further voucher than the fact that he is now president of the A. Palmer Company, of Beatrice, which conducts the largest and most complete house-furnishing establishment in the entire state of Nebraska, this important enterprise being controlled by himself and his wife, the latter of whom is secretary of the company, even as she has been his devoted and efficient coadjutor throughout the entire period of their ideal marital companionship. Mr. Palmer is wide- ly known through Nebraska as the "Fire King," and this title has been gained through his having purchased and sold a greater num- ber and quantity of stocks of merchandise sal- vaged from fires than has probably any other one man in Nebraska - in fact the foundation

of his success having been laid through this means. The company of which he is now the executive head gives special attention to the buying and selling of bankrupt stocks, fire stocks, first and second hand goods, etc., and a prosperous business has been developed. The extensive and well ordered business es- tablishment of the A. Palmer Company at Beatrice gives twenty-six thousand square feet of floor space in the main sales and dis- play rooms, at 119-123 North Fifth avenue, and in the company's warehouse and manu- facturing building, at 417 Ella street, are utilized twelve thousand seven hundred and fifty square feet of floor space. The opera- tions of the company are based on a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, and of this the stock has been issued to the amount of thirty-one thousand dollars. The modern storage building owned and occupied by the company is a four-story structure with double walls and is moisture-proof. All save a few shares of the stock of the company are owned by Mr. Palmer and his wife.

Aaron Palmer, known and honored as one of the most substantial and progressive busi- ness men of southeastern Nebraska and as a citizen of loyalty and liberality, has the dis- tinction of being a native of Nebraska and a scion of a family that was here founded in the early territorial days. He was born in the old frontier town of Brownville, Nemaha county, this state, on the 9th of February, 1857 - a decade prior to the admission of the state to the Union - and he is a son of James and Elizabeth (Bell) Palmer, the former of whom was born in Missouri and the latter in Illinois, her mother having been a childhood schoolmate of Abraham Lincoln. James Palmer came from Missouri to Nebraska in 1856 and became one of the early settlers at Brownville, in which vicinity he began the de- velopment of a small farm, besides raising various garden products that found ready de- mand in the frontier settlement. He died at Brownville when he was but forty years of age, leaving his wife to care for their seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the eldest. Mrs. Palmer bravely faced

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the responsibilities that devolved upon her and in providing for her fatherless children mani- fested the utmost self-abnegation and ma- ternal solicitude. She continued to reside in Brownville until her death and was one of the revered pioneer women of Nebraska, her death having occurred when she was about seventy-two years of age.

Reared in his native town to adult age, Aaron Palmer was about twenty-three years old at the time of his father's death, and as the eldest of the seven children, he applied himself earnestly to aiding his mother in car- ing for and rearing the younger children, to the support of whom he continued to con- tribute until they were old enough to assume individual responsibility for their own main- tenance. Under such conditions it may read- ily be understood that the early educational training of Aaron Palmer was limited to a somewhat irregular and desultory attendance in the pioneer schools at Brownville, but his alert and receptive mind later enabled him to profit largely through the lessons learned under the preceptorship of that wisest of all head-masters, experience. In aiding in the support of the family he applied himself to whatever work he could obtain, and finally he learned the trade of baker, in a modest bakery at Brownville. With this line of occupation he there continued his association until 1887, when he came to Beatrice and opened a bakery and restaurant. He had no available capital and thus initiated this enterprise on credit. The venture proved a failure, notwithstand- ing his earnest and assiduous efforts, and within a year he came to involuntary liquida- tion, with an indebtedness of about eighteen hundred dollars. Thus temporarily astride the back of adversity, Mr. Palmer did not falter in courage or determination, and in order to provide for his family and rid him- self of the burden of debt he gained appoint- ment to the position of city mail carrier in Beatrice, in which capacity he continued to give effective service for eleven years, within which he brought himself triumphantly out of debt and also accumulated a modest reserve of sixteen hundred dollars. In 1894 the gen-

eral merchandise establishment of Begole & Van Arsdale, of Beatrice, was destroyed by fire, and Mr. Palmer purchased the damaged goods salvaged from the fire, though he had only the sixteen hundred dollars to apply on the purchase price. He borrowed the balance required and in the sale of this stock of mer- chandise he made a profit of about two thousand dollars. Since that time he has con- tinued to deal extensively in bankrupt and fire stocks, in which field of enterprise he has de- veloped from a small inception a business that is now the largest of the kind in Nebraska. It has been consistently stated that in the Palmer establishment may be purchased any- thing from a needle to a piano, and the dis- play of merchandise includes clothing, dry goods, hardware, stoves, and general house furnishings of every description.

Mr. Palmer has had no communion with apathy or idleness, has been a productive worker and has been found busily at work at all stages of his career. Essentially a busi- ness man, he has had neither time nor desire to enter the turbulence of practical politics or to seek public office, though he is liberal and public-spirited in his civic attitude and gives staunch support to the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands spon- sor. Widely known throughout this section of the state, he has by his earnest and honest endeavors entrenched himself firmly in popu- lar confidence and esteem, and this has con- tributed much to the success of his present im- portant business enterprise. In the Masonic fraternity he has completed the circle of the York Rite, his maximum affiliation being with Beatrice commandery of Knights Templars, besides which he holds membership in the ad- junct Masonic organization, the Mystic Shrine.

On the 11th of January, 1879, was officially recorded the marriage of Mr. Palmer to Miss Della Furlow, who was born in the state of Maine, but who was a child at the time of her parents' removal to Nebraska, where she was reared and educated, her father having been one of the pioneer settlers of Nemaha county. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have no children, but in

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MR, AND MRS. WILLIAM C. MOORE

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their attractive home they delight to extend welcome and entertainment to the young folk of the communty as well as to the friends of their own generation. Mrs. Palmer is an active member of the Presbyterian church of Beatrice, and is affiliated with the representa- tive Masonic subsidiary body known as the Order of the Eastern Star.

WILLIAM C. MOORE. - In Sections 35 and 36, Holt township, Mr. Moore and his wife are the owners of a fine rural estate of three hundred and twenty acres, and Mr. Moore, whose farm experience has touched various sections of Nebraska, looks upon Gage county as one of the best and most at- tractive districts for the successful prosecution of agricultural and live stock industry that can be found within the limits of this pro- gressive state. He has made his farm prop- erty one specially notable for thrift and good management and is essentially one of the rep- resentative citizens and substantial farmers of Holt township.

Mr. Moore was born at Waterloo, Black- hawk county, Iowa, March 27, 1865, being the youngest in a family of ten children, of whom eight attained to maturity. He is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Waltz) Moore, the former of whom was born in Germany, March 27, 1821, and the latter of whom was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1821. Jacob Moore was about eleven years old when he accompanied his parents on their immigration to America, and the family home was established in Pennsylvania, where he was reared to adult age and where his marriage was solemnized. In 1857, within a short time after their marriage, Mr. Moore and his wife left the old Keystone state and made their way to Green county, Wisconsin, both having walked a large part of the intervening dis- tance. He became a pioneer farmer in that county, where he remained until about 1864, when he removed to Blackhawk county, Iowa, where he repeated his pioneer experience as an agriculturist. One of his sons, John W., went forth as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war: he enlisted in a Wisconsin volun-

teer regiment of infantry and took part in many engagements marking the progress of the conflict between the north and the south, he having been with Sherman on the historic march from Atlanta to the sea. This honored veteran of the Civil war is now venerable in years and maintains his home in Newburg, Oregon. Jacob Moore became a farmer in Jowa, where he remained until 1874, when he came to Nebraska, the closing period of his life having been passed in Hamilton county, this state, where he died March 27, 1877. He had been an invalid for eight years. A man of sterling character and indefatigable industry, he had the distinction of being a pioneer in each of three different states, and he lived a righteous and upright life, so that he com- manded unqualified popular esteem. His widow long survived him and was a resident of Newburg, Oregon, at the time of her death, in June, 1906. Both were reared in the faith of the German Lutheran church but after their removal they became members of the Dunkard church, with which they continued to be affiliated during the remainder of their lives.

William C. Moore gained his preliminary education in the schools of Iowa and was nine years of age when his parents numbered themselves among the pioneers of Hamilton county, Nebraska, where he continued to at- tend school until he was fifteen years of age. When eleven years of age he received an in- jury that compelled him to abandon his school work for a year, and as a youth he turned his attention to farm work, his initial experience as a farm hand having been gained when he was a lad of fifteen years. At the age of nine- teen years he rented land in Hamilton county, where he conducted independent farm opera- tions for the ensuing four years. He then es- tablished the first dray line at Stockham. He later became the owner of a homestead farm in the southern part of Lincoln county, and after selling this property, in 1889, he became asso- ciated with his brother John W. in purchasing of Daniel and William Nicewonger a general merchandise store and business in the village of Pickrell, Gage county. In 1893 the subject

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of this review sold his interest in the business to his brother and resumed his active associa- tion with farm enterprise, by renting a farm located to the east of Pickrell, in Holt town- ship. In 1895 he purchased forty acres in Section 23 of that township, for a considera- tion of eleven hundred dollars, and about six years later he sold the property for two thousand dollars. In 1899 Mr. Moore pur- chased the Jersey Smith farm of eighty acres, and this constitutes an integral part of his now large and admirably improved landed estate in Holt township. Energy, progressiveness, and correct business policies have enabled Mr. Moore to achieve unqualified success in the different departments of farm industry and he is one of the substantial and influential citi- zens of Holt township, where he has been called upon to serve in various public offices of minor order and where he is now a director of the school board for District No. 57, his political allegiance being given to the Republi- can party and he and his wife being active members of the United Brethren church.

February, 1891, recorded the marriage of Mr. Moore to Miss Mary Lewis, who was born in Holt township, this county, November 8, 1870, a daughter of John E. and Sarah M. (Williams) Lewis, the former a native of Wales and the latter of the state of New York. Mr. Lewis became a pioneer of the state of Wisconsin, where he remained until 1868, when he came to the new state of Ne- braska and became one of the earliest settlers in Holt township, Gage county, where he re- clainied and improved a valuable farm prop- erty and where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives as honored pioneer citi- zens of the county. Mr. Lewis died May 2, 1913, at the age of seventy-two years, his wife having passed away February 17, 1905, at the age of fifty-two years. Of their eight children all are living except one, only two of the num- ber being residents of Gage county and the others maintaining their residence in Scotts Bluff county. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Moore the following brief record is given: John is associated with his father in the management of the home farm; Eva, who

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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 54

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