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 55

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 55

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

was graduated in the high school at Beatrice, is a successful and popular teacher in the dis- trict schools of the county; Walter assists in the work of the home farm; Myrtle likewise was graduated in the Beatrice high school and is an efficient teacher in the district schools of her native county; Sarah is a member of the class of 1919 in the Beatrice high school; Ed- ward and George remain at the parental home; and one son died in infancy.

Mr. Moore has been in the most significant sense the builder of the sturdy ladder on which he has risen to the plane of independence and worthy prosperity, and he is today not only the owner of a valuable landed estate and a stockholder in the farmers' grain elevator at Pickrell but is also entirely free from indebt- edness. He had made good improvements on his farm property and has availed himself of the most modern farm machinery and acces- sories, including an elevator for the transfer- ring of the various grain products raised on his broad and fertile acres. In short, he is a successful exponent of modern and scientific farm enterprise.

THE DOLE FLORAL COMPANY. - In the year 1916 was celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of one of the large, important, and interesting industrial enterprises of Beatrice and Gage county, that of the Dole Floral Company, and this publi -- cation exercises a consistent function when it gives special recognition to this representative corporation, for in the upbuilding of its busi- ness has been exemplified the splendid energy and initiative ability of its honored founder, Mrs. Sophia H. Dole, who, while representing all of gracious womanhood, has proved her -. self one of the most successful business women of Nebraska, has made of her individual suc -- cess a medium of leverage for the uplifting of civic and material prosperity in her home city and county, the while she has ever re- tained an inviolable place in the affectionate regard of the community in which she has lived and labored to goodly ends. Of the in- ception and growth of the business founded by this representative exponent of business.

431

HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

enterprise in the city of Beatrice, a brief, per- tinent, and interesting record was given in the anniversary catalogue issued by the Dole Floral Company in 1916, and it is pleasing to perpetuate in more enduring form this record :

"In the spring of 1891 Mrs. Sophia H. Dole, with an investment of one dollar for flower pots and seventy-five cents for seeds, and with a hot-bed sash for a greenhouse, began the ornamental plant business at 617 Mary street. In the autumn of the same year a small greenhouse was built. The next year Josiah G. Dole and his two sons, Edward W. and Walter A., became associated with Mrs. Dole, under the firm name of S. H. Dole & Sons, and thereafter the greenhouse was en- larged from year to year until the location was outgrown. In 1898 three acres of land were leased and a new range of greenhouses was built at 609 Mary street. The business was incorporated in 1904, under the title of the Dole Floral Company. Capital stock was offered for sale and five acres of land were purchased by the company at the corner of Fifth and Hoyt streets. On this specially eli- gible site was erected in 1905 the present range of greenhouses, which has since been notably enlarged, in consonance with the con- stantly increasing demands placed upon the company in connection with its growing trade. The result is that at the present time the com- pany has twenty-five thousand feet of glass, besides well equipped work and storage rooms.

"Our first down-town salesroom occupied a little building that was only five by seven feet in dimensions, at 114 North Fifth street. In 1908 the company purchased a lot at 518 Ella street, and in the following year there was erected on this site the present Dole building, a substantial brick structure of two stories. The building has since been enlarged and is now equipped with a large and modern case for the preservation of cut flowers and with an artificial ice refrigerating plant."

In a progressive policy that implies the giv- ing of thoroughly metropolitan service the Dole Floral Company has equipped its at- tractive salesrooms with the most modern ap- pointments and facilities, and the establish-

ment is a source of pride to the city of Beatrice and its people. The large display cases in which the cut flowers are preserved after being taken from the greenhouses have cold air supplied from the company's artificial ice plant, which is operated by electricity and which has a capacity for the production of four tons of ice every twenty-four hours. The company has an attractive automobile de- livery car, which is utilized not only in deliv- ering floral products to patrons in Beatrice but also in transporting fresh-cut flowers from the greenhouses each morning, for dis- play and sale at the down-town store. The propagating facilities controlled by the com- pany are of the most approved order and the concern offers roses, carnations, sweet peas, and all other of the popular varieties of flowers, the same being grown entirely at the conservatories of the company. Large ship- ments are made to other cities and many towns in this section of the state, and demands come also from points even farther removed. The company gives the best of service in the sup- plying of cut flowers, bedding plants, house plants, and bulbs. Special attention is given also to the producing of artistic floral designs for decorative and funeral purposes, and the company maintains a department for the handling of the finest varieties of gold fish.

The Dole Floral Company now bases its operations on a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, and the personnel of its executive corps is as here noted: Edward W. Dole, president ; Victor Ryhd, secretary ; and George M. Johnson, treasurer and manager. Of each of these officers more specific mention is made on other pages of this volume, and similar recognition is given also to the popular foun- der of the enterprise, Mrs. Sophia H. Dole.

CHARLES F. BONHAM was one of the organizers of the State Bank of Ellis, a thriv- ing village of Gage county, and has been cash- ier of this well ordered institution since 1909, his administration having proved potent in the upbuilding of the substantial business of the bank.

Mr. Bonham was born in Andrew county,

432

HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

Missouri, December 7, 1871, and is a son of William and Mary Ann (Nicholson) Bon- ham, of whose four children he was the third in order of birth, Eunice, the firstborn, having been about three years of age at the time of her death; William B. died at the age of twelve years; and Clarence L. is now engaged in the banking business at Ayr, Adams county. William Bonham was born near the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1841, a scion of a sterling pioneer family of that state. His par- ents, David and Rebecca (Weaver) Bonham, were natives respectively of England and Wis- consin, and from the Badger state they finally removed to Missouri, making the long over- land journey in a covered wagon that was drawn by a mule and a blind horse, besides which they had an ox team. David Bon- ham engaged in farming in Missouri and there he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of eight chil- dren and four of their sons were soldiers of the Union in the Civil war - David, Jr., Rob- ert, John, and James - all now deceased.

William Bonham became a substantial far- mer and influential citizen of Andrew county, Missouri, and later was engaged in farming in Gentry county, that state, where for a num- ber of years he was engaged also in the agri- cultural-implement business, at King City. He came to Nebraska about the year 1892 and he reclaimed and developed a good farm in Fur- nas county, where he passed the remainder of his life, his death having occurred in 1902. His widow, who was born in Indiana, in 1846, and whose death occurred in 1906, was a daughter of John F. Nicholson, who was a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. William Bonham and his wife were most zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics he gave his support to the Republican party.

Charles F. Bonham was reared on the farm of his father in Missouri and after having profited duly by the advantages of the district schools he continued his studies in the village schools of King City until he had completed the work of the tenth grade. Later he com- pleted a commercial course in Wesleyan Col-

lege, at Cameron, Missouri, and after his graduation he became bookkeeper for his father, who was then engaged in the imple- ment business at King City. In 1892 he re- sumed his association with farm enterprise in his native state and in 1894 he accompanied his parents to Furnas county, Nebraska, where he was engaged in farming until 1909, when he came to Gage county and became cashier of the State Bank of Ellis, of which position he has since continued the efficient and popular incumbent. This bank was or- ganized in 1907 by his brother Clarence and eight representative farmers of this section of the county, and in the general record con- cerning the banking interests of the county, on other pages, due mention is made of this prosperous institution, of which Temple E. Pierce is president and Albert C. Pefferman, vice-president.

Mr. Bonham takes vital interest in all things touching the wellbeing and advancement of his home village and county, is a Republican in his political allegiance, is affiliated with the local organizations of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Ellis, of which he is serving as a steward in 1917-1918. He is the owner of village property in Ellis, including his pleasant home, and also has a well improved farm property of three hundred and twenty acres near Wil- sonville, Furnas county.

January 7, 1893, recorded the marriage of Mr. Bonham to Miss Elsie Timmons, who was born in the state of Illinois, a daughter of Ephraim Timmons, and of this union have been born three children: Lee D. is assistant cashier of the Union State Bank in the city of Beatrice; Ada died at the age of two years ; and Russell died in 1915, at the age of seven years.

ARNOTT D. McCANDLESS. - Each successive stage of a life that has been worth- ily lived bears its full measure of compensa- tion, and the man who has passed life's me- ridian, who has stored up the lessons of rich

433

HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ARNOTT D. MCCANDLESS

434

HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

and varied experience, and who has wrought wisely, justly, and effectively, must find each successive year thereafter radiant in personal contentment and gracious in memories. Such a sane, direct, and productive life has been that of Arnott Duncan McCandless, who is one of the representative members of the bar of Gage county and whose buoyant optimism has enabled him to get the best out of life in its varied relations. He is a writer of excep- tional talent and another dominating attribute of his makeup is his love for the vital sports afield and afloat, in which domain of recrea- tion he has gained distinct prestige. He is en- gaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Wymore and his status as a citizen, a lawyer, and as a genial and popular man makes it specially pleasing to accord him rec- ognition in this history.

Mr. McCandless is of staunch Scotch an- cestry on both the paternal and maternal sides, as the respective names fully indicate. He was born on a farm six miles east of Macomb, McDonough county, Illinois, on the 27th of August, 1849, and is a son of William Wal- lace McCandless and Sarah (Duncan) Mc- Candless, both natives of Pennsylvania. A literal and fully substantiated fact pertinent to the McCandless family is singularly in con- sonance with a statement all too tritely made concerning the founding of other families in America. That is, the original progenitors of the McCandless family in this country were the proverbial three brothers, but it has been clearly established that one of the number established a home in Pennsylvania, that an- other located in the south and that the third became a seafaring man. From the one who settled in the old Keystone state the subject of this review is descended.

Arnott D. McCandless was five years old when his parents removed from McDonough county, Illinois, and settled on a farm one- half mile southwest of Aledo, Mercer county, and he was a lad of about thirteen years when his loyal and patriotic father went forth to battle for the nation's integrity as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war. On the 14th of August, 1862, William W. McCandless en-

listed as a private in Company H, Eighty- fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and with his command he set forth from Quincy, Illi- nois, marched across Kentucky and on to Nashville, Tennessee, the soldiers of his regi- ment sleeping at night under the open sky, as they were not provided with tents. Mr. Mc- Candless was destined soon to sacrifice his life in the righteous cause, for he was killed at the battle of Stone River, on the 31st of Decem- ber, 1862, little more than four months after he had enlisted. He had become the father of six children, and his widow and two of her married daughters eventually came to Ne- braska and settled in Box Butte county. While visiting at the home of her son Arnott D., of this review, at Wymore, the widowed mother was summoned to eternal rest, her death having occurred in 1910, at which time she was eighty-eight years of age.

Arnott Duncan McCandless attended the district schools in Mercer county, Illinois, and thereafter attended for two years a Presby- terian select school in that state. He was at this time about eleven years old and there- after he attended school only three months until after he had attained to his legal major- ity. The death of his father compelled him to assume heavy responsibilities when he was but a boy, and through his application to farm work he aided in the support of his mother and the other members of the family. His in- sistent determination to broaden his education led him to take his Latin grammar into the field with him, in order that he might apply himself to study during his all too few leisure moments. In the meanwhile his advancement had been such that he proved himself a suc- cessful teacher during four months of peda- gogic service in the district schools of his native state.

Soon after reaching his legal majority Mr. McCandless entered the law office of Isaac N. Bassett, a leading lawyer at Aledo, Illinois, and, at a stipend of sixteen dollars and seven- ty-five cents a month, he here took charge of a set of abstract books, the while he vigorous- ly applied himself to the study of law. In 1874 he had so effectively absorbed and as-

435

HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

similated the science of jurisprudence that he was admitted to the Illinois bar, at a session of the supreme court of the state held at Otta- wa. In 1875 Mr. McCandless went to the new town of Creston, Iowa, and became one of its pioneer lawyers. There he built up a substan- tial practice and there he continued his profes- sional activities until 1882, when he again evi- denced his predilection for being in at the start of things in a new town, as he cast in his for- tunes with the village of Wymore, Gage county, Nebraska, a place that had been founded about one year previously. A man of vigorous thought and action, he proved a staunch force in furthering civic and material development and progress at Wymore, and he has continued as one of the valued and public- spirited citizens of this thriving little city, even as he has been recognized as one of the able and representative members of the bar of the county. For fifteen years after their marriage Mr. McCandless and his wife kept their text- books constantly at hand in their home and devoted themselves earnestly to study and reading, vying with each other in enthusiasm for advancement along educational lines.

In 1873 Mr. McCandless wedded Miss Gertrude Cabeen, who was born at Keiths- burg, Illinois, a daughter of Richard C. Ca- been, an early settler and influential citizen of Mercer county, that state. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Candless have no children, but their devoted companionship during the long years has been of ideal order - intensified, as it were, by their having had no child to divide even measur- ably their interests.

In politics, as in other matters of vital im- portance, Mr. McCandless thinks and acts for himself, and he has not been constrained by strict partisan dictates. In his home village he is affiliated with Wymore Lodge, No. 104, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons; Hiram Chapter, No. 28, Royal Arch Masons; and Cypress Council, No. 22, Royal and Select Masters.

For many years prior to the death of his loved mother Mr. McCandless made regular visits to her and his two sisters, in Box Butte county, and incidentally he made interesting

hunting expeditions in Cherry county. As he says, he "loves to sleep out on the sand hills, with only a blanket for protection, to breathe the air no one else ever breathed, and to deter- mine the time of the night by observing the position of the Great Dipper." Along literary lines Mr. McCandless has gained no little re- pute by reason of the specially original and interesting articles which he has contributed to the periodical known as "Forest and Stream," his articles having been entitled "Days in Cherry County" and "Boyhood Days in Illinois." These articles have attracted wide attention on the part of devotees of out- door sport, and Mr. McCandless has not only received letters of marked appreciation from the editor of "Forest and Stream," but they have led also to his being called upon to act as escort to wealthy and influential sportsmen in expeditions in western Nebraska. Among such millionaire sportsmen with whom Mr. McCandless has been thus pleasantly asso- ciated may be mentioned Mr. Wilbur, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Mr. Liles, of Aurora, Missouri. Mr. McCandless is an ex- pert shot and has made splendid record at the traps, in which connection he has come in close competition with Thomas Marshall, of Keithsburg, Illinois, the two having become acquainted when they were boys.

Even this brief article indicates the broad mental grasp of Mr. McCandless and shows that while he has concentrated and won suc- cess in his profession he has had appreciation of other things that go to make up the full and complete life, and that he has made the pass- ing years count not only in achievement but also in giving the benefices of happiness and contentment.

JOHN STROUGH. - In the career of the late John . Strough, who was a resident of Gage county for more than a score of years, success and honor were inseparable, and he made his life count for good in its every rela- tion. His sudden death, as the result of heart disease, occurred at his home in the city of Beatrice, November 23, 1917, he having been stricken while engaged in his customary eve-

436

HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

ning work about the home, at 1423 High street.

Mr. Strough was born in Henry county, Indiana, on the 28th of January, 1844, and was a son of John and Sarah (Miller) Strough, who reared to years of maturity a family of eleven children. John Strough, Sr., was born in Pennsylvania, in the year 1808, and in the earlier part of his career he followed the trade of tailor. As a young man he went to the historic old state of Virginia, and later he numbered himself among the pioneers of Henry county, Indiana, where he became a prosperous farmer and where his death oc- curred on the 20th of May, 1863. His wife was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, in which state she was reared and educated, and there their marriage was solemnized, her father, George Miller, having been a native of Pennsylvania : she was born about the year 1835 and passed to eternal rest about 1887, her first three children having been born in Virginia, prior to the family removal to In- diana, where she continued to reside until her death.

The subject of this memoir was reared on the old homestead farm in Indiana and ac- quired his early education in the pioneer schools of Henry county, that state. At the time of the Civil war he gave efficient service as a soldier in an Indiana volunteer regiment, and his service covered practically the entire period of the conflict between the North and the South. In his native state his marriage was solemnized in 1867, and in 1870 he re- moved with his family to Holt county, Mis- souri, where he purchased a farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres, near the village of Craig. There he continued his successful activities as a farmer until 1890, when he and his wife es- tablished their home in Gage county, Nebras- ka, after he had disposed of his farm in Mis- souri. Upon coming to Gage county Mr. Strough purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 33, Holt township, and, with his progressive policies and mature judgment he there proved notably successful in his farm enterprise, the while he made ex- cellent improvements on the homestead. He

remained on the farm until 1908, when he re- tired from active labors and removed with his devoted wife to the city of Beatrice, where he passed the residue of his life, secure in the high regard of all who knew him.

Mr. Strough was well fortified in his con- victions concerning governmental policies and was a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Republican party. He took deep interest in community affairs and while living on his Gage county farm he served as a member of the school board of his district. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church and his widow holds membership in the Congre- gational church of Beatrice.

In the year 1867 Mr. Strough wedded Miss Sarah Ann Bowers, who was born in Henry county, Indiana, April 14, 1849, a daughter of George and Lydia (Weane) Bowers, both natives of Rockingham county, Virginia, where the former was born in the year 1819 and the latter on the 9th of August, 1831. Upon his removal to Indiana, Mr. Bowers became a pioneer of Henry county, and there he became a substantial farmer and influential citizen of his community. He was one of the venerable pioneer citizens of the county at the time of his death, in 1891, at the age of seventy-two years, and his widow, who at- tained to the age of eighty-one years, was a resident of Henry county, Indiana, at the time of her death, in 1908. Since the death of her honored husband Mrs. Strough has continued to reside in the attractive home which he provided upon their removal to Beatrice. In conclusion is given brief record concerning their children, eleven having been born to them and two of the number having died in infancy: Laura is the wife of Giles Laughlin and they reside near Sheridan, Arkansas; Mary B. is the wife of Thomas Harding, a prosperous farmer of Holt town- ship, Gage county, Nebraska ; Joseph Leonard resides in Beatrice, this county, where he operates a garage ; Dora E. is the wife of John Coonley, who is engaged in the grocery busi- ness in West Beatrice; Lloyd L., who owns and resides upon his father's old home farm in Holt township, is individually mentioned

437

HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

on other pages of this volume; Rufus F. is engaged in the oil business in the city of Beatrice; Jesse F. is a resident of Ottumwa, Iowa; and Nona E. is the wife of William Sherwood, a prosperous farmer in Logan township.

ANDREW J. REEDY. - In nearly every village in the United States are to be found men who fought that our nation might re- main an indissoluble union, and one of such men is Mr. Reedy, of Blue Springs, this county.

Andrew Jackson Reedy was born in Mor- gan county, Indiana, January 1, 1839, and is a son of William and Nancy (Cannedy) Reedy, the former born in Ireland and the latter in Scotland; they migrated to West Virginia with their respective parents and in that state their marriage occurred. With hearts full of hope and courage they traversed the wilds of Ohio and crossed over into In- diana, where they cleared a space for their rude log cabin and where William Reedy be- came a pioneer farmer. Sons and daughters grew up around them, and they became the parents of a fine family of sixteen children. Three of this large family are now living ; George Reedy, a Civil war veteran, is living retired at Nebraska City, Nebraska; Polly, widow of John Busha, resides at Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Andrew J. Reedy is the subject of this sketch. In Morgan county, Indiana, the mother of these children passed to the life eternal. Her husband later con- tracted a second marriage and by this union six children were born. The latter years of the life of William Reedy were spent in Ore- gon, where his death occurred. He was a Douglas Democrat in politics and was a cap- tain in the Mexican war.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 55

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