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 59

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 59

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lowed the course of his earnest conviction pertinent to his personal stewardship and en- tered the ministry of the Baptist church, as a clergyman of which he labored for many years, a true disciple of the Divine Master and one who gave himself with devotion to the aiding and uplifting of his fellow men. He bore to the full the "heat and burden of the day," garnered a rich harvest and also a gracious aftermath, and proved himself the friend and counselor of all who came within the sphere of his influence. In 1866 he came with his family to Nebraska Territory and en- tered claim to one hundred and sixty acres of government land in Seward county. There he gave his attention to the development of his farm, the while he continued his activities as one of the pioneer clergymen of the territory and state, and he was one of the revered citi- zens of Seward county at the time of his death, which occurred on his old homestead farm. His was definite leadership in popular sentiment and action in the pioneer commun- ity, he was stalwart in his allegiance to the Republican party, and he served as repre- sentative of Seward county in the last session of the territorial legislature, as well as in the first legislature under state regime. He be- came the father of eleven children, of whom only four are now living, and of the number the subject of this review is the youngest.

Rev. Elipha L. Clark was a son of Elipha and Jemima (Moulton) Clark, and a grand- son of Isaiah and Eunice (Moore) Clark, whose marriage was solemnized December 24, 1778, at Simsbury, Connecticut, and who re- moved in the same year to Vermont, their son Elipha having been born in that year and his death having occurred in 1813, the parents having passed the remainder of their lives in the old Green Mountain state and the family name having stood exponent of strong and noble manhood and gentle and gracious womanhood as one generation has followed another onto the stage of life.

Augustus Munger, maternal grandfather of the subject of this review, was born at Whit- ing, Vermont, on the 22d of May, 1794, and his wife, whose maiden name was Temperance-

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Babcock, was born June 30, 1793, their mar- riage having been solemnized February 22, 1813, and both having passed the remainder of their lives at Whiting, Vermont, where the former died in May, 1841, and the latter in the year 1870. Augustus Munger was a son of Moses and Mercy (Baker) Munger, their marriage having occurred November 21, 1793. Moses Munger was born in the west parish of South Brimfield, Massachusetts, October 21, 1769, and his wife was born in 1778. Both were residents of Whiting, Vermont, at the time of their death, he having passed to eternal rest on the 11th of January, 1861, and she in the year 1840. Moses Munger was a son of Jehiel Munger, who was born at Brimfield, Hampden county, Massachusetts, June 3, 1737, and whose marriage to Elsie Rogers was celebrated in 1758, she having been born at Brimfield in the year 1738 and both having passed the closing years of their life at Whit- ing, Vermont, where Mrs. Munger died in 1798 and where he passed away August 3, 1817. Jehiel Munger was a distinguished pa- triot soldier in the Revolution, in which he rose from the rank of sergeant to captain. He took part in important engagements mark- ing the progress of the great war for inde- pendence, including those of Concord and the Brandywine, and in the "piping times of peace" he manifested the same spirit of loy- alty and patriotism. This sterling Revolu- tionary soldier erected as a home for his fam- ily the first two-story house built at Whiting, Vermont, and in the same were frequently held church services, he having been a deacon of his church. Authoritative family records still extant show that Nicholas Munger, who was born and reared in England, came to America in 1639 and established his home in Massachusetts. He married Sarah Hall, in 1659, and their son Samuel, born in 1665, married Sarah Hand. The next in line of descent to the subject of this review was Nathaniel, who was born in 1712, a son of Samuel and Sarah (Hand) Munger, and in 1736 Nathaniel wedded Elizabeth Bullen, they having become the parents of Colonel

Jehiel Munger, of whom mention has been made.

As previously stated in this context, Rev. Victor F. Clark was about ten years of age at the time when the family home was established in Nebraska Territory, which in the follow- ing year gained the dignity of statehood, and he was reared thereafter under the benignant influences of the pioneer farm and those of a home of distinctive culture and refinement. After having made good use of the advantages afforded in the schools of the locality and period he entered Tabor College, at Tabor, Iowa, and in the preparatory department of this institution, which was founded in 1866, under the auspices of the Congregational church, he continued his studies until his graduation. Thereafter he was a student in the college proper until he went to Chicago, in 1880, and entered the theological seminary. In this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1883, his ordination to the min- istry of the Congregational church having oc- curred in that year. His first pastoral charge was at Milburn, Illinois, where he remained four years and he then devoted a year to ef- fective post-graduate study in Princeton Uni- versity, New Jersey. For the ensuing four years he held a pastorate at David City, Ne- braska ; the next five years found him as pas- tor of the Congregational church at Holdrege, this state. He then accepted a call to the pas- torate of the Congregational church at Liv- ingston, Montana, where he remained six years. He then returned to Nebraska and became pastor of the Congregational church at Neligh, Antelope county, an incumbency from which he retired six years later, to be- come pastor of the church at Ashland, Saun- ders county. After two years of characteristi- cally earnest and fruitful service in this pas- toral charge Mr. Clark was tendered and ac- cepted the position of state secretary of Doane College, at Crete, this state-an institution maintained under Congregational church aus- pices. In this position Mr. Clark did effective work in promoting the interests of the col- lege and after three years he resigned his post to accept, in 1914, the pastorate of the

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First Congregational church of Beatrice. Here he has done much to further the spiritual and material prosperity of his charge and has gained to his church many new members. He is not only .a forceful and eloquent pulpit orator, but his every utterance bears the im- press of sincere conviction and utmost altru- ism, while his entire freedom from intellectual intolerance makes his work in his high calling the more effective and benignant. Aside from his pastoral functions of direct order he has marked executive ability, and has shown splen- did success in gaining the earnest cooperation of the people of the various churches which he has served.

It is to be presupposed that a man of such patriotic ancestry would manifest a deep in- terest in the welfare of the nation and the state, and the civic loyalty of Mr. Clark is shown in his giving his influence and aid in the support of measures and enterprises tending to advance the general wellbeing of the com- munity. He pronounces himself an inde- pendent Republican in politics and while he has never sought public office he has yielded to urgent importunities and is giving effective service at the present time in the office of pro- bation officer of Gage county. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.

In August, 1879, Mr. Clark wedded Miss Katie M. Woods, who was born at Tabor, Iowa, a daughter of Daniel Woods. Mrs. Clark passed to the life eternal in 1886 and is survived by one son, Roy Victor, who is en- gaged in the insurance business at Wilming- ton, California. In 1888 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Clark to Miss Alice Mathews, who was born in the state of Wisconsin, a daughter of Charles and Myra (Simmons) Mathews, the former of whom was born at Norwich, Vermont, in 1825, and the latter at Kinderhook, New York, in 1831: she died in 1857, in Wisconsin. Mr. Mathews was a car- penter by trade and became a successful con- tractor, his home having been established near the state line between Wisconsin and Illinois for many years and his death having occurred in the latter state, in 1895. Mr. and Mrs.

Clark have but one child, Martha Leavitt Clark, who was graduated in the high school at Crete, this state, where she is now a member of the class of 1919 in Doane College.

ANTON NOVOTNY. - The Bohemian farmer is industrious and accumulative. His pinched opportunities for advancement in his native land make him appreciative of the op- portunities offered in the new world. This nationality is found in great numbers in Elm township, and Anton Novotny is a son of Bo- hemian parents, Frank and Mary (Vostry) Novotny. With their family of nine children, the youngest, Anton Novotny, but a child in arms, the parents settled in Pawnee county, Nebraska, in 1878. There were years of hard work and many deprivations facing this sterl- ing pioneer couple, who were called upon to feed and clothe the large family of children, but Frank Novotny lived to see his children all grown to manhood and womanhood. He passed away in 1906. He was born in Bo- hemia in the year 1829. His wife, Mrs. Mary (Vostry) Novotny, was born in Bohemia, and since her husband's death she has made her home with her youngest daughter, Mrs. Emma Fritz, of Washington county, Kansas. The following is brief record concerning the children: Louisa died in Bohemia; Kather- ine is the wife of Anton Blecha, living near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Anna is the wife of Amos Hubka, living in Washington county, Kansas; Mary is the widow of Joe Herring, and lives in Washington county, Kansas ; Jos- eph is a resident of Washington county, Kan- sas ; Frank lives near Virginia, Gage county, Nebraska ; James lives near Gretna, Nebras- ka; Louis resides in Washington county, Kan- sas; Anton, of this sketch, was next in order of birth; Amos lives near Wheatland, Okla- homa; and Emma is the wife of John Fritz, of Washington county, Kansas.

Anton Novotny was born October 15, 1876, in Bohemia, and he was only fifteen months old when his parents immigrated to the United States. He received his education in the rural schools of Pawnee county, Nebraska, and early began to assist in the work of the home

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MR. AND MRS. ANTON NOVOTNY

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farm. He left the parental roof in 1901, when he married and bought land south of Virginia, Gage county. This place he farmed until 1906, when he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 34, Elm town- ship, where he has since resided. February 19, 1901, Mr. Novotny married Miss Mary Chadima, who was born in 1878, in Iowa. Her death occurred October 20, 1916, and she left three sons to be cared for by their father - Alvie, Fred, and George.

Mr. Novotny is a Democrat in politics but has never sought any political honors. He is a member of Western Bohemian Lodge, and is a shareholder in the Farmers' Telephone Company at Odell, this county. His sons re- main on the farm with him and help him in the many ways in which boys of such age can be of use.

WILBUR S. BOURNE. - This repre- sentative member of the Gage county bar has been established in the practice of his profes- sion at Beatrice, the county seat, for the past thirty-five years, and he has exemplified in his activities the best ethics of his profession, which he has dignified alike by his character and achievement. He is now (1918) serving as city attorney, and his inviolable hold upon popular confidence and esteem has been shown by his having been called upon to serve in various other offices of public trust. He presided six years on the bench of the county court of Gage county, has held the offices of city clerk and member of the board of education of Beatrice, and in 1898 he was elected mayor of the city, an office in which he gave a most able and popular administration, marked by well ordered progressiveness, his tenure of the position of chief executive of the munici- pal government having continued for two years. Judge Bourne is unswerving in his allegiance to the Republican party and has given effective service in the furtherance of its cause. In the Masonic fraternity he has completed the circle of the York Rite, in which his maximum affiliation is with Mount Her- man Commandery of Knights Templars, be- sides which he holds membership in the ad-

junct Masonic organization, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, his affiliation in this being with Sesostris Temple, in the city of Lincoln, Ne- braska. Both he and his wife are active and valued members of the Christian church of Beatrice.

Wilbur S. Bourne was born at Macomb, McDonough county, Illinois, on the 22d of June, 1854, and is a son of Rev. Milton Bourne and Melvina (Gardiner) Bourne, the former of whom was born in the state of Massachu- setts and the latter in that of New York, she having been the second wife of Rev. Milton Bourne, and the latter having been the father of five children by his first marriage and five by the second. One of the sons, Milton, Jr., went forth from Illinois as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. Rev. Milton Bourne was a child at the time of his par- ents' removal to the state of Vermont, where he was reared and educated. He entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church and became one of its pioneer clergymen in Illinois, where he formed the personal ac- quaintance of his historic contemporary, Peter Cartwright, while he was presiding elder of the Monmouth district of the Methodist church in Illinois at a time when said district comprised fully one-third of the entire state. Rev. Milton Bourne labored with all of zeal and self-abnegation in his chosen calling and the closing period of his life was passed on a farm in McDonough county, Illinois, where he died when his son William S., of this re- view, was a lad of nine years, his loved wife surviving him by a number of years.

Wilbur S. Bourne passed the period of his childhood and early youth in his native county and after having profited by the advantages of the public schools he provided ways and means that enabled him to supplement this training by a course in a normal school of Illinois.

In 1878, with a team and old-time "prairie schooner," Mr. Bourne and his young wife made the overland journey from Illinois to Nebraska, and for the ensuing year he was here engaged in farming, in Gage county. He

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then returned to Illinois, where he completed his interrupted law studies and gained admis- sion to the bar. In 1882 he returned to Ne- braska and established his home at Beatrice, where he has since continued in the practice of his profession and where he is not only a representative member of the bar of south- eastern Nebraska but also one of the most honored citizens of Gage county.

In the year 1878 was solemnized the mar- riage of Judge Bourne to Miss Georgia Rile, who likewise was born and reared at Macomb, Illinois, and they have three daughters: Fan- nie L., who is the wife of Edward Buhler, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Etsel and Velma, who remain at the parental home.

GEORGE W. PITTS .- The early '80s saw great numbers of farmers coming to Gage county and possessing themselves of their sev- eral portions of land. They built their sod huts and set themselves with a will to win the wild prairie to fertility. One of these men is George W. Pitts, who for nearly forty years has tilled Gage county soil on Section 7, Glenwood township.

Mr. Pitts came to Gage county February 22, 1880, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government, for $3.50 an acre. As far as the eye could see there was nothing to obstruct the view of the roll- ing prairie with the exception of one lone tree, which Mr. Pitts cut down to provide fuel for cooking the first meal after the family arrival in the county.

Mr. Pitts was born September 16, 1844, in Ross county, Ohio, where his parents, George and Lucinda (Turk) Pitts, followed their farming operations upon coming from Penn- sylvania, their natal state. It was in the year 1840 they established their Ohio home and in 1848 the father was called to his eternal rest. His widow later married a Mr. White, and her last days were spent in Kansas, where her death occurred in 1882.

The early days of Mr. Pitts' life were spent amid the rural environments of Ohio, and it was here he met and married, in 1865, the companion of these many years, Albina

Runnels. She was born October 17, 1845, in Licking county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Sollis and Eliza (Nash) Runnels, who were born in Vermont and became pioneers of Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives.

In 1869 Mr. Pitts and his good wife re- moved to Washington county, Iowa, where he continued farm operations until 1880, when he made selection of his present farm of .one hundred and sixty acres, in Gage county, Ne- braska. Mr. and Mrs. Pitts are the parents of the following named children: Flora, the wife of D. Baker, living in Idaho; Sollis, a resident of Alda, Nebraska; Cora, the wife of H. Coleman, living at Diller, Nebraska; Walter, residing in Louisiana; Arthur, of Thedford, Nebraska; and Eva, wife of O. A. Dean, farming the home place of subject. One child died in infancy.

Mr. and Mrs. Pitts are members of the Methodist church and in politics he is inde- pendent of partisan lines.

SAMUEL D. RUTH. - Controlling a large and representative trade, the John H. von Steen Company holds prestige as one of the leading business corporations of Gage county and its progressive metropolis, and more spe- cific mention of this important Beatrice busi- ness house is made on other pages of this publication. Of this company Mr. Ruth is the secretary, and his activities as an execu- tive and a progressive business man have in- ured materially to the success of the enter- prise with which he is thus identified.

Mr. Ruth was born in St. Clair county, Illi- nois, on the 29th of March, 1873, and he re- ceived his early education in the schools of his native state. He was there graduated in the McKendree College as a member of the class of 1898. He then came to Beatrice, Nebraska, and entered the employ of the John H. von Steen Company, with which he has since maintained his alliance and in connection with which he has advanced to the responsible office of secretary, of which he has been the incumbent since 1908. He has entered fully into the general communal life of his adopted

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city and is essentially liberal and progressive in his civic attitude. He gives his political allegiance to the Republican party and he and his wife hold membership in the Mennonite church.

In the year 1904 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Ruth to Miss Marie C. Dueck, who was born in the city of St. Louis, Mis- souri, and their two children are Clinton and Mildred.

JOHN W. McKISSICK is known and valued as one of the loyal and influential citi- zens of Gage county, which he has represent- ed in the Nebraska legislature, and he is now an executive of the pure-food department of the state, in which position he is serving his fourth consecutive year, his official duties de- manding virtually his entire time and atten- tion and involving his traveling through al) parts of the state. He maintains his home in the city of Beatrice, and this history of Gage county properly accords to him specific recog- nition.

Mr. McKissick is a native son of the west and during the course of his earnest and constructive career he has exemplified most fully the progressive western spirit. He was born near Hamburg, Fremont county, Iowa, on the 2d of November, 1875, and is a son of William A. and Ruth (Utterback) McKissick, both likewise natives of Fremont county and both representatives of pioneer families of that section of the Hawkeye state. William A. McKissick was born June 11, 1842, on the same farmi as was his son John W., of this review, and in Fremont county, Iowa, he passed the closing years of his life. He was a son of Cornelius McKissick, who was born in Scotland and who was a boy at the time of the family immigration to the United States, where he was reared and educated. The family home was established in Missouri, and from that state he removed to Fremont county, Iowa, in 1830. He was the first set- tler of that county, where he took up a squat- ter's claim and where eventually he developed a valuable farm property. He became one of the influential citizens of Fremont county and

remained on his old homestead until his death, in 1894 - a patriarchal pioneer who had been a leader in the march of development and progress in the great empire of the west and whose name and achievement merit enduring place in the annals of Iowa history. Cornel- ius McKissick assisted in the construction of the pioneer stage road between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, and in compensation for his services he received an allotment of land in Iowa, which was under the territorial jurisdiction of Michigan Terri- tory at the time when he there established his home on the frontier. His wife survived him and remained on the old homestead until her death, at the remarkable age of one hundred and two years. Mrs. William A. McKissick is a daughter of James R. Utterback, who was born in Indiana and who was the second per- son to make settlement in western Iowa, Cor- nelius McKissick having been the first settler.

William A. and Ruth (Utterback) McKis- sick became the parents of seven children, of whom John W., of this review, is the eldest son; Edward resides at Riverton, Iowa, and is engaged in the telephone business; Mattie is the wife of Ora Hatton, of Fremont, Ne- braska ; Miss Stella remains with her widowed mother in the pleasant home at Riverton, Iowa; Winnie is the wife of Herbert Jones, a farmer near Riverton, Iowa; Nellie is the wife of Frederick Beam, who is engaged in the agricultural implement business at River- ton; Gosper is associated with the Palmer- Wheelock Company, in the metropolis of Gage county, Nebraska.

William A. McKissick had a broad expe- rience in connection with life on the frontier, and it is worthy of record that he made, with wagon and ox team, eight trips across the plains in the early days. On the last of these venturesome journeys he made his way to California, where he remained seven years and was engaged in the buying and selling of horses. Upon his return to Iowa he brought with him from the Pacific coast several horses, besides which he was accompanied by some faithful Indians. Mr. McKissick gained through his own ability and efforts a generous

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measure of success and prosperity and he municipalities, and in each instance it makes wielded much influence in his native county, a definite guaranty to the accuracy of its work and to the legal impregnability of the same. The commission has already produced valuable work in its special province and this has been in connection not only with Nebras- ka municipalities, but also those of other states of the Union. In this connection it is interesting to record that the commission is at the time of this writing, in the summer of 1918, completing the codification of the ordi- nances of Gage county's judicial center and metropolis, the city of Beatrice. where he was held in unqualified popular es- teem. He was sixty-three years of age at the time of his death, December 18, 1908, and, as before intimated, his widow now resides at Riverton, Iowa. Her father, James R. Utter- back, settled in Fremont county, Iowa, in 1833, and there he remained on his original homestead until his death, in April, 1893, his wife having passed away in 1883. William A. McKissick was a staunch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party and his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, of which his widow has long been a devoted member.

John W. McKissick, the immediate subject of this sketch, acquired his youthful educa- tion in the public schools of Riverton, Iowa, and he passed his childhood days on the old home farm of which mention has been made in preceding paragraphs. As a lad of thirteen years he accompanied one of his brothers to western Nebraska, where he passed about two years on a large ranch owned by his father. During the ensuing two years he was at the parental home and in the meanwhile he con- tinued his educational work. In 1895 he set- tled in Polk county, Nebraska, where he con- tinued his successful activities in connection with agricultural and live-stock industry until 1902, when he came to Gage county and established his residence in the city of Be- atrice, where he has since maintained his home. Here he engaged in the insurance business, in connection with which he was made general agent for the Nebraska Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Hastings. For a few years he held the position of actuary of this company, besides having served for a term of years as a member of its board of directors. Since 1914 he has been one of the most efficient and valued executives of the Nebraska pure-food department, and he is doing also an important work as secretary of the Municipal Code Commission, of Lincoln, this state. This commission was organized for the authoritative handling of the work of codifying the ordinances of cities and minor

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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 59

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