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 62

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 62

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president (1918) of the Beatrice aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and he is affiliated also with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. In their home city both he and his wife became members of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal church, with which he is still actively identified.

December 22, 1898, recorded the marriage of Mr. McGirr to Miss Bessie Hoopes, who was born in the state of Iowa and whose death occurred February 15, 1902. In 1905 Mr. McGirr wedded Miss Bertha G. Skinner, who was born in Kansas, and they have three children - Francis D., John, and Paul. There are no children resultant of Mr. McGirr's first marriage.

FRANK W. ACTON. - In the adminis- tration of the office of sheriff of Gage county Mr. Acton has so ordered affairs as to prove conclusively the wisdom of the popular esti- mate that placed him in this exacting posi- tion. His experience in connection with police and constabular service has covered a period of fully a quarter of a century, and thus he was specially well fortified for assuming the office of sheriff of Gage county, to which he was elected in 1914, and reëlected in 1916, at the close of his first term.

Sheriff Acton claims the Hawkeye state as the place of his nativity and is a representa- tive of one of the sterling pioneer families of that commonwealth. He was born on a pio- neer farm in Henry county, Iowa, October 21, 1857, and is a son of William N. and Mima E. (Cook) Acton, the former of whom was born in the state of Maryland, in 1820, and the latter was born in Ohio, in 1827. William N. Acton was a boy at the time of his father's death, which occurred in Maryland, and he was reared and educated principally in the state of Ohio. His energy, self-reli- ance, and ambition led him as a young man to number himself among the pioneer settlers of Iowa, where he entered claim to one hun- dred and sixty acres of land, in Henry county. He improved this property and after perfect- ing his title thereto he finally sold the farm and removed to Montgomery county, that

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state, in 1865. There he continued his suc- cessful activities in agriculture and stock- growing until 1892, when he removed to Kansas and purchased a tract of land. In the following year he came to visit at the home of his son Frank W., at Wymore, Gage county, and here he was attacked with severe illness, in November of that year, his death having here occurred on the 2d of February, 1894. His loved and devoted wife survived him by nearly fifteen years and was a resident of Furley, Kansas, at the time of her death, in July, 1908.

Williamn N. Acton was essentially a self- made man, and he achieved definite and worthy success in connection with normal lines of industrial and business enterprise, the while he so ordered his course as to merit and receive the unqualified respect and esteem of his fellow men. His religious faith was that of the Protestant Episcopal church and his wife held membership in the Methodist Epis- copal church, she having been a daughter of Jesse Cook, who was born in Pennsylvania, whence he removed to Ohio, and who removed from the old Buckeye state to Iowa in the pioneer period of the history of the latter commonwealth: he became the owner of a valuable landed estate in Iowa and there he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. William N. and Mima E. (Cook) Acton be- came the parents of six children, and of the number the present sheriff of Gage county, Nebraska, is the eldest; A. B. is a repre- sentative merchant in the village of Furley, Sedgwick county, Kansas; Ella M. is the wife of A. M. Stanley, a merchant at Palms, Cali- fornia ; O. D. is a successful carpenter and contractor at Colfax, Iowa; J. L. is asso- ciated with his brother A. B. in the general merchandise business at Furley, Kansas, as is also C. M., the youngest of the children.

Frank W. Acton received excellent educa- tional advantages in his youth, and after hav- ing availed himself of the privileges of the public schools of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, he entered the University of Iowa, graduating as a member of the class of 1875, and receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He defrayed

the expenses of his higher education largely through the revenue received from his ef- fective services as a teacher in the public schools, his pedagogic work having included three terms of service in the district schools of Iowa, two terms in the schools of Cali- fornia, and two in Kansas. At Red Oak, Iowa, Mr. Acton gained his initial experience . as a member of a police force.

In 1910 Sheriff Acton removed from Wy- more to Beatrice, Nebraska, the capital of the same county, and here he soon afterward as- sumed the position of deputy sheriff, under the administration of Sheriff J. L. Schiek. Prior to this he had served for twenty years as a member of the police force of Wymore, Gage county, in which thriving little city he held also, for fourteen years, the position of street and water commissioner. Known and honored in Gage county, Mr. Acton retired from the position of deputy sheriff only to assume the more important post of sheriff. In connection with the conscription of the. young men of the United States for service in the great European war Sheriff Acton is serving as a member of the exemption board for Gage county. As a stalwart in the camp of the Republican party he has at all times taken an active and loyal interest in political affairs and has been influential in the local councils of his party. The sheriff is promi- nently affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, in which he is past chancellor, besides which he has on several occasions served as a dele- gate to the Iowa grand lodge of this order. He holds membership also in the Improved Order of Red Men and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

In the year 1881 was recorded the marriage of Mr. Acton to Miss Mary E. Harris, who was born and reared in Jefferson county, Iowa, and she was summoned to the life eternal in 1911, her memory being revered by all who came within the sphere of her gracious influ- ence. Mrs. Acton is survived by two chil- dren : Paul holds the position of bookkeeper in the offices of the warehouse of the Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Wy- more, this county ; and Maude is the wife of

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Paul W. Hitchins, foreman in the establish- ment of the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company, at Beatrice. Christine, a foster daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Acton, is now the wife of R. M. Burroughs, an electrician at Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. Mrs. Acton was a devoted member of the Christian church and active in its work.

I. T. MERCHANT, the efficient postmaster at Adams, Gage county, claims the old Buck- eye state as the place of his nativity. He was born in Paulding county, Ohio, on the 19th of March, 1856, a son of Isaac and Nancy (Caylor) Merchant. The father was born at a place eighteen miles southwest of Wash- ington Court House, Ohio, on the 25th of November, 1823. He was a prosperous far- mer in Ohio at the time when the Civil war was precipitated, and he showed his intrinsic patriotism by enlisting in an Ohio volunteer regiment and by serving valiantly with the same during the period of the great conflict between the states of the north and the south. When his country no longer needed his ser- vices as a soldier he returned to Ohio, and in 1866 he removed to Kingston, Missouri. In that locality he was engaged in farming until the time of his election to the position of county judge. In this office he served until 1873, when he came to Lincoln, Nebraska. In the following year he went to Custer county, this state, where he took up a homestead claim and became one of the pioneer settlers of that large and now prosperous section of Ne- braska. He there continued his agricultural activities until 1885, when he sold his farm and established his residence at Broken Bow, the county seat, where he practiced law for several years thereafter. In 1911, after hav- ing spent some time in a visit to his native state, Mr. Merchant came to Adams, Gage county, where he passed the closing period of his life in the home of his son, the subject of this review, his death having here occurred November 10, 1913. His wife was born Feb- ruary 5, 1830, her birthplace having been not far distant from that of her husband, in Wash- ington county, Ohio. She died at Broken

Bow, Nebraska, January 22, 1892, and in the cemetery at that place were laid to rest the mortal remains of both her and her husband. They became the parents of ten children, con- cerning whom the following brief record is available: Mrs. T. J. Todhunter lives at Washington Court House, Ohio; John was a soldier of the Union at the time of his death, which occurred in a hospital at Memphis, Tennessee, within the progress of the Civil war; George W. is a resident of Bedford, Iowa; Mrs. W. H. Huffer lives at Urbana, Ohio; the subject of this sketch was the next in order of birth; Mrs. John Armstrong re- sides in San Francisco, California; Emma and William are deceased; and Mrs. R. D. Ross lives at Anselmo, Custer county, Ne- braska.

I. T. Merchant continued his studies in the public schools until his graduation in the high school at Kingston, Missouri, as a member of the class of 1873. In 1873, as previously noted, the family removed to Lincoln, Nebras- ka, and there he became bookkeeper in his father's hotel. In the following year he ac- companied his parents to Custer county, this state, where he entered claim to a homestead and engaged in the feeding of sheep and cat- tle. He finally disposed of his farm inter- ests and removed to Broken Bow, where he became deputy sheriff of Custer county. Thereafter he was appointed postmaster at Broken Bow, an office of which he continued the incumbent until 1890. Thereafter he was there engaged in buying and shipping grain and live stock until 1893, when he became a keeper in the shops of the Nebraska peniten- tiary, at Lincoln. The next year he went to Toronto, Canada, where he became actively identified with lumbering enterprise.

In 1900 Mr. Merchant established his residence at Liberty, Gage county, Nebraska. where he continued to be engaged in the buy- ing and shipping of grain for the ensuing nine years. He then removed to the village of Adams, this county, and here he was success- fully engaged in buying and shipping grain and other farm produce until 1913, when he was appointed postmaster of the village, a

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position in which he has since continued his effective administration.

At Broken Bow, Custer county, on the 4th of September, 1880, was recorded the mar- riage of Mr. Merchant to Miss Sarah E. North, who was born in the Dominion of Canada and who is a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Kilpatrick) North, natives of Ire- land. Mr. and Mrs. Merchant have one son, T. O., who has become a member of the na- tional army and who is, in the spring of 1918, stationed at Camp Cody, New Mexico. Mr. and Mrs. Merchant belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics he is a Demo- crat. He has rendered efficient service as a member of the township board, as justice of the peace and as police judge. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows. Mr. Merchant is a man of ability and civic loyalty and he takes deep interest in all things pertaining to the com- munal welfare.

DAVID F. BRYSON. - Some one has said, "Expect great things, attempt great things and great things will result." This may not be true in every instance, but in the case of David F. Bryson it most undoubtedly is. Nebraska might be called "The young man's state," for she has within her borders many brilliantly successful young men. In this class should be included the subject of this re- view.

David S. Bryson is a native of Gage county, born in Adams township, July 1, 1872, and he is a son of Silas and Clarinda (Young) Bry- son, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. David F. Bryson spent his boy- hood days on his father's farm in Adams township. He attended the district school in acquiring his early education and assisted in the work of planting, cultivating, and harvest- ing the crops. On reaching man's estate he engaged in farming on his own account, and no man in Gage county has met with greater success in his chosen calling. He is the owner of six hundred acres of well improved land and leases 1700 acres. He is a breeder of pure-bred Angus cattle, and deals extensively

in cattle and hogs, which he buys and ships. He is the best known and most successful auctioneer in southeastern Nebraska, making a specialty of selling fancy live-stock, as well as land.

December 24, 1891, Mr. Bryson married Miss Martha L. Kensing. Her father, Au- gust Kensing, was born in Germany and came to America when a lad of sixteen years. He worked as a stone-mason and on a farm until 1861, when he enlisted as a soldier in the Civil war, serving under General Ulysses S. Grant. He was a loyal and valiant soldier, and after being captured by the enemy he was held a prisoner at Andersonville until his ex- change was effected. He was mustered out at the close of the war, in 1865, when he went to Iowa and located on the farm where he re- mained until the time of his death. The mother of Mrs. Bryson was born in New York state, June 5, 1847, a daughter of Solo- mon and Martha (Davis) Perrin. She is now the widow of David J. Olmstead, and makes her home with her daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryson became the parents of ten children : Velma is the wife of Guy At- kins, of Adams, Gage county ; George Doug- las died in infancy ; Reuben K. married Belle Hargis, and lives at Adams; Elnora May, Frank LeRoy, Martha Pearl Joy, David Silas, Alma Clarinda, June, and Queenie Hazel are still under the parental roof; and James I. died in infancy.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryson are members of the Methodist church, and in politics Mr. Bryson is a Prohibitionist, the cause of temperance finding in him a stalwart champion.

With no unusual advantages, except a laud- able ambition and abundance of self-reliance and ability, Mr. Bryson has so intelligently directed his efforts that to-day he stands in the front rank of the men of large affairs in his native county.

HARRY R. BROWN, M. D., a successful and representative physician and surgeon of the younger generation in Gage county, is es- tablished in the practice of his profession in the city of Beatrice and also holds the position

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MR. AND MRS. DAVID F. BRYSON

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of assistant surgeon of the German Lutheran hospital in his home city.

Dr. Brown was born in Jefferson county, Nebraska, on the 9th of January, 1883, and is a son of Joshua P. and Dora Bell Brown, both natives of the state of Pennsylvania. Joshua P. Brown was born in the year 1856 and is a son of Orlando Brown, who likewise was born and reared in the old Keystone state and who died in 1915, at the patriarchal age of ninety years. Joshua P. Brown was for many years a successful teacher in the schools of Pennsylvania and finally he came to Ne- braska and became a pioneer teacher in the schools of this commonwealth. He purchased land in Jefferson county and there reclaimed and developed a good farm. He there con- tinued his active association with farm enter- prise until 1909, when he removed to Kansas, in which state he had become the owner of two sections of land. He and his wife now main- tain their home at White City, Kansas, and both are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Brown is a man of broad intel- lectual ken and high ideals, and he has proved successful in the lines of productive enterprise along which he has directed his energies. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he has served in various township offices and as a member of school boards since he came to the west. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he became a member while he was still a resi- dent of Pennsylvania. Levi K. Karschner, father of Mrs. Joshua P. Brown, continued his residence in his native state of Pennsyl- vania until he came with his family to Ne- braska and became a pioneer settler and home- steader in Jefferson county. He made the long journey to this state by means of wagon and ox team. Mr. and Mrs. Joshua P. Brown became the parents of four children and of the two surviving Dr. Brown of this review is the elder; Merle is now (1918) attending school at Manhattan, Kansas.

Dr. Harry R. Brown acquired his early edu- cation in the public schools of Nebraska and in the same he continued his studies until his graduation, in 1901, in the high school at To-

bias, Saline county. In 1901-1902 he was a student in the University of Nebraska, and he then entered Marion Sims Medical College, now the medical department of the St. Louis University, in the metropolis of Missouri, and in this celebrated institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1907. After thus receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he initiated the active practice of his profession at Dakin, Nebraska, where he built up a sub- stantial business and where he continued his activities until 1915, when he removed to Be- atrice, where he has since been associated in practice with Dr. Harry M. Hepperlen, of whom specific mention is made on other pages of this work.

In March, 1910, was solemnized the mar- riage of Dr. Brown to Miss Alta Briggs, daughter of Russell Briggs, who came to Ne- braska in the pioneer days and who now lives on his extensive cattle ranch near Broken Bow, judicial center of Custer county. Dr. and Mrs. Brown have two children - Harry R., Jr., and Helen Loure.

Dr. Brown is found arrayed in the ranks of the Republican party, he is affiliated with the local organizations of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are communicants of Christ church, Protestant Episcopal. The Doctor has gained special prestige through his ability as a sur- geon and has to his credit many delicate opera- tions, both major and minor.

FRANCIS ELIAS, M. D., established his residence in the thriving little city of Wymore in the year 1911, and here he has since been engaged in the successful practice of his pro- fession, in which his ability and effective ser- vice have given him secure place among the representative physicians and surgeons of Gage county.

Dr. Elias was born in the state of Kansas, on the 17th of June, 1883, and the place of his nativity was his father's home farm, in Clay county. He is a son of Henry A. and Emma (Younkin) Elias, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, and the latter in

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Illinois. In the early '70s Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Elias removed from Illinois and numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of Clay county, Kansas. There Mr. Elias reclaimed and developed a valuable farm property and since his retirement from active farm enter- prise he and his wife have maintained their home in the city of Manhattan, Kansas. In the Sunflower state were born their three children - Anna, who is the wife of Rev. Mr. Tannehill, of Centralia, Kansas; Mary, who is the wife of Jacob Nelson, of Wakefield, that state; and Dr. Francis Elias, who is the immediate subject of this review. Henry A. Elias is aligned in the ranks of the Republi- can party and while residing on his farm in Kansas he was called upon to serve in various local offices of public trust. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episco- pal church.

Dr. Francis Elias acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of Clay county, Kansas, and the discipline included a course in the high school. In preparing for the pro- fession of his choice Dr. Elias entered the medical department of the University of Kan- sas, and in the same he was graduated as a member of the class of 1910. After thus re- ceiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine he was engaged in practice at St. George, Kansas, about one year. He then, in 1911, came to Gage county, Nebraska, and established his residence at Wymore, where he has since continued in active general prac- tice as a well fortified physician and surgeon who keeps in full touch with advances made in the profession that has enlisted his earnest and effective services. The Doctor has de- veloped a substantial and representative prac- tice and is one of the loyal and progressive citizens of Wymore. He holds membership in the American Medical Association, the Ne- braska State Medical Society, and the Gage County Medical Society. In 1915 he took an effective post-graduate course in the medical department of the famous Johns Hopkins Uni- versity, in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. He gives undivided allegiance to his exacting profession but is loyal to all civic duties and

responsibilities, his political support being given to the cause of the Republican party. In his home city he is affiliated with Wymore Lodge, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, and Hiram Chapter, Royal Arch Masons.

The year 1911 recorded the marriage of Dr. Elias to Miss Olive Todd, who was born and reared in Clay county, Kansas, where her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Todd, still maintain their home. Dr. and Mrs. Elias have three children - Houghton, Winfield, and Allison.

DWIGHT S. DALBEY has identified him- self most closely and loyally with the interests of Gage county, where he has been influential in public life and civic and industrial affairs, and where he has been called upon to serve in various positions of distinctive public trust, including that of representative of the county in the Nebraska legislature.

Mr. Dalbey was born in Christian county, Illinois, on the 22d of September, 1878, and is a son of William M. and Mary N. (Hall) Dalbey, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Illinois. Dwight S. Dalbey found the period of his boyhood and early youth compassed by the benignant influences of the old home farm in Christian county, Illinois, and in his native state he continued his studies in the public schools until he was graduated in the high school at Taylorville, as a member of the class of 1897. For the ensuing two years he was engaged in independent farm enterprise in his home county, and he then entered the college of agriculture of the Uni- versity of Illinois, in which he was graduated in 1902 and from which he received the de- gree of Bachelor of Science. His definite pro- ficiency was recognized by his being appointed an instructor in agronomy in the agricultural college after his graduation, and after serving in this capacity about eighteen months he re- signed the position and went to Arkansas, where he purchased a one-third interest in a large cotton plantation, near Marianna. He gave the greater part of his time to the super- vision of this plantation until his marriage, in 1903, after which he continued his resi-

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dence at Jerseyville, Illinois, the old home of his wife, until 1907, when they came to Gage county, Nebraska, and established here their permanent home, their removal having been prompted by their desire to assume personal direction of the large landed interests which Mrs. Dalbey had received in this state as a heritage from her father. Mr. Dalbey found in the new home splendid opportunities for the utilizing of his vital energies and the ex- ercising of his progressive civic policies. His ability and personal popularity soon brought him into service in offices of local trust, for in 1910 he was elected a member of the board of supervisors of Gage county, the efficiency of his service having led to his reelection thereafter for three additional terms. He was a member of the board at the time when was constructed the first concrete bridge in the county, and he had been so conspicuously influential in bringing about this modern im- provement that, at the suggestion of the supervising engineer, the new bridge was named the Dalbey bridge.

In 1915 Mr. Dalbey was elected representa- tive of Gage county in the lower house of the Nebraska legislature, as candidate on the Re- publican ticket, and it should be recorded that he ran ahead of the party ticket in this elec- tion, as did he also at the time of his reëlec- tion, in 1917. He has proved a most valuable working member of the house and the various committees to which he has been assigned, and has done much to further the interests of his constituent district, as well as wise legisla- tion for the state at large. Mr. Dalbey is a stalwart advocate of the principles and poli- cies for which the Republican party has ever stood sponsor in a basic way, and he and his wife are active members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Dalbey was president of the Beatrice Young Men's Christian Association for a number of years and is now director. He has been a member of the Beatrice li- brary board for eight years, and is president of the Cornhusker Highway, which runs through Beatrice from Marysville, Kansas, to Sioux City, Iowa. He also is a director in the Beatrice National Bank, and has been a di-

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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 62

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