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 81

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 81

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In politics Mr. Reiff is a Republican, and he is now serving as justice of the peace, and as a member of the school board of his dis- trict. He is a director of the Blue Springs Telephone Company and a member of the Crop Improvement Association of Gage county. He and his wife are zealous mem- bers of the Brethren church of Rockford township, and he is secretary of the same. He is a member of the board of directors of the Farmers Elevator Company of Holmesville, is now the owner of a fine landed estate of

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two hundred and forty acres and is one of the substantial farmers of the county, - a citizen who commands unqualified popular esteem.

JOSEPH COOPER properly finds recog- nition in this history by reason of his standing as one of the progressive exponents of farm industry in Gage county, his home farm being in Section 34, Riverside township. Mr. Cooper was born at Stratford, Perth county, Province of Ontario, Canada, and the date of his nativity was February 12, 1881. He is a son of Joseph Cooper, who likewise was a na- tive of Stratford, where he was born July 13, 1849. Joseph Cooper, Sr., followed the busi- ness of brick manufacturing in his native prov- ince until 1886, when he came with his family into the United States and engaged in the same line of industrial enterprise at Mary- ville, Missouri. There he continued his activi- ties in this field of productive enterprise until 1892, when he came with his family to Gage county, Nebraska, and established his resi- dence in the city of Beatrice. Here he de- veloped a prosperous business as a manufac- turer of brick and he established and con- ducted also a brick yard at Pawnee City. Of both of these enterprises he continued the ex- ecutive head until his death, which occurred October 9, 1900, and he was known and hon- ored as a successful business man and loyal and progressive citizen. His widow, whose maiden name was Isabel Wharram, was born at Bayfield, Ontario, Canada, on the 28th of December, 1858, and she now makes her home with her son Joseph, subject of this review. Joseph and Isabel Cooper became the parents of the following named children: Rosetta, George R., Rachel, Lillian, Joseph, Jr., Mary, William, John, Frances, Harry, Ethel B. and Fred A. Rosetta is deceased; Mary is the wife of C. Fritz, of Midland township; Wil- liam is a resident of Beatrice; John lives in Riverside township; Frances is the wife of B. Connelly, of Beatrice ; Harry is a resident of Riverside township; and Ethel B. and Fred A. remain in Beatrice.

Joseph Cooper, the immediate subject of this sketch, was five years of age when the

family came from Canada to the United States, and he attended the public schools of Missouri and those of Beatrice, Nebraska, in- cluding the high school in the Gage county metropolis. As a young man he assisted his father in the manufacturing of brick, and in 1900 he purchased forty acres of land in Riverside township, where he turned his at- tention to agricultural pursuits. In the year 1910 he enlarged the scope of his enterprise by leasing a larger tract of land, and five years later he purchased the quarter-section of land where he now resides. By following progres- sive methods in tilling the soil, rotating crops, and planting those cereals best adapted to soil and climate, and by feeding cattle for market quite extensively he has been more than or- dinarily successful. He is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres and leases an equal amount. He makes a specialty of put- ting up prairie hay, of which product he markets hundred of tons every year. Mr. Cooper has erected four sets of buldings on his land and his progressiveness is further shown by his commendable interest in all measures advanced for the public good. Mr. Cooper is still a young man, and as he is making good use of his opportunities and is industrious and enterprising, his success and prosperity are well merited.

GEORGE O. RAINS conducts in the city of Beatrice a substantial business in the sale of leading and popular types of automobiles, and is agent for the Oakland, the Paige, the Dodge and the Maxwell cars. He owns the well equipped building occupied by his salesrooms, on South Sixth street. He is essentially one of the progressive business men and represen- tative citizens of the county that has been his home from his boyhood and in which he has achieved through his own ability and efforts a large and worthy success.

Mr. Rains was born in Madison county, In- diana, on the 29th of January, 1871, and is a son of Joab F. and Mary (Rodecap) Rains, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia. The father was identified with agricultural pursuits in the old Hoosier

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state until 1883, when he came with his family to Nebraska and settled in Nemaha county. In the following year, however, he came to Gage county, where he purchased a partly im- proved farm of one hundred and twenty acres, in Riverside township. With the pass- ing years he developed this homestead into one of the fine farms of this section of the state and he was one of the substantial and honored citizens of the county, - a man who contributed his quota to civic and industrial progress and who commanded the confidence and good will of all who knew him. He con- tinued to reside on his farm until his death. His wife is still living and is a consistent mem- ber of the Brethern church. In politics Mr. Rains was a stalwart Democrat.

George O. Rains gained his rudimentary education in the schools of his native state and was a lad of about twelve years at the time of the family removal to Nebraska. On the homestead farm in Gage county, this state, he was reared to adult age, early beginning to as- sist his father in the arduous work of the farm and in the meanwhile making good use of the advantages of the public schools of the locality. After leaving the parental home he rented land and engaged in farming in an in- dependent way, and later he did successful work as a traveling salesman, his activities as a salesman of agricultural implements having covered a period of about five years, within which he traveled through an assigned terri- tory that included many of the counties of southeastern Nebraska. Finally he estab- lished himself independently in the implement business at Beatrice, and with this line of en- terprise he here continued his successful as- sociation for several years, after which, in 1910, he established his present thriving busi- ness, which he has developed into one of the most important of the kind in this section of the state.

Vigorous and unremitting in his application to business, Mr. Rains has not hedged in his interests with mere personal advancement but has shown himself loyal and liberal in his civic attitude, and while he has had no politi- cal ambitions he is found aligned as a staunch

supporter of the cause of the Republican party. He is affiliated with the camp of Modern Woodmen of America in the village of Ellis, this county, and he and his wife hold member- ship in the Christian church.

In the year 1891, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Rains to Miss Emma E. Harnes, who was born in the state of Iowa but who was a girl at the time of her parents' removal to Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Rains have four children, - Letha, who is the wife of Allen O. Weigel, a prosperous farmer in Sicily town- ship, this county ; William, who is married and resides in Beatrice, where he is engaged as an automobile salesman; Everett and his wife likewise maintain their residence at Beatrice and he is clerk in a grocery ; and Robert, who celebrated his nineteenth birthday anniversary in 1917, remains at the parental home.

DAVID S. FAULDER became one of the pioneers of Gage county when, in 1878, he settled on a farm in Hanover township, his homestead place comprising one hundred and sixty acres. He was born in Washington county, Maryland, January 9, 1832, a son of Samuel and Margaret (Rohr) Faulder, na- tives respectively of Maryland and Pennsyl- vania. The lineage of the Faulder family traces back to English origin, John and Han- nah Faulder, parents of Samuel, having come to America in 1794 and having settled in Mary- land, where they passed the remainder of their lives, John Faulder having been a suc- cessful school teacher and having been a tailor by trade. Samuel Faulder was born in the year 1798 and in his youth he learned the trade of cooper, besides which he early became identified with agricultural pursuits. He be- came the owner of a good farm in Maryland, near the Pennsylvania line, and there his death occurred in 1872, his wife having passed away in 1858, and their three children having been Mary, David S. and Margaret.

David S. Faulder acquired his early educa- tion in the schools of his native state and as a youth he learned the cooper's trade under the direction of his father. He followed his trade as a vocation for a period of about ten

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

years. In 1853 he wedded Miss Elizabeth Snyder, who was born in Maryland, February 27, 1833, a daughter of Simon and Agnes Snyder. After his marriage Mr. Faulder con- tinued to be engaged in farm enterprise in his native commonwealth until 1873, when he re- moved with his family to Ogle county, Illinois. There he leased a farm and there he continued his alliance with agricultural pursuits for five years. In 1878 he came with his family to Nebraska and settled in Gage county, as before noted. Here he reclaimed and improved a valuable farm estate of two hundred and forty acres, in Hanover township, and his success made him one of the substantial citizens of the county, even as his sterling character gained to him inviolable esteem. In 1891 Mr. Faul- der retired from his farm and removed to the city of Beatrice, and there his death occurred September 13, 1917, his widow being still a resident of that city. Mr. Faulder was a stal- wart Republican in politics and served many years as justice of the peace in Hanover township. His religious faith was that of the Christian church, of which his widow likewise is a devoted member. Of their eleven chil- dren nine are living: Jerome S. is associ- ated with a mercantile concern in Beatrice and reniains with his widowed mother ; Samuel R. is deceased; Laura Ellen is the wife of James F. Boggs, of whom mention is made else- where in this volume; Mary C. is the wife of Dr. Charles S. Boggs, of Filley, who is made the subject of a specific sketch on other pages of this work; Charles remains with his mother ; Anna is the wife of Dr. M. H. Black- burn, of Princeton, Illinois ; Ira M. is a mer- chant in the city of Beatrice ; Irving is a farm- er in Riverside township; Lucy E. is the wife of A. H. Voortman, of Beatrice; and two children died in childhood, prior to the family removal from Maryland.

DRS. BURT L. & CLEMENS A. SPELL- MAN. - With one exception the Spellman brothers have been established in the success- ful practice of dentistry in the city of Beatrice longer than all others of their professional contemporaries in Gage county and they have

built up a practice whose broad and represen- tative scope bears evidence of their proficiency in a vocation that is both a scientific profes- sion and a mechanical art. The brothers have- been associated in the practice of their profes- sion at Beatrice since the summer of 1898, in which year both were graduated in the Chi- cago College of Dentistry, in the city of Chi- cago, each receiving from this institution the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. Their fraternal and professional alliance has proved most effective and they maintain offices of at- tractive appointments and the best of modern facilities in both the operative and laboratory departments. The brothers have been resi- dents of Gage county since boyhood and are members of a family that can consistently claim a measure of pioneer distinction, as their parents came from Iowa and established their home in Gage county nearly forty years ago.

Dr. Burt L. Spellman was born at Atlantic, Cass county, Iowa, on the 14th of January, 1873, and is a son of William N. and Louisa (Gleason) Spellman, whose marriage was solemnized in that state. William N. Spell- man was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, and was a son of Clemens Spellman, who likewise was a native of the old Buckeye state, where his parents settled in the pioneer days. From Ohio Clemens Spellman eventually removed with his family to Illinois, where he passed the remainder of his life, his age at the time of death having been eighty-six years. William N. Spellman continued his association with farm industry in Illinois until about the year 1866, when he removed to Iowa. There he became one of the progressive and successful ' farmers of Cass county, and he was also a pioneer in the operation of threshing outfits in that section of the Hawkeye state. In 1878 Mr. Spellman came to Nebraska in an attempt to apprehend a threshing employe who had stolen and made away with a team of his horses. Incidental to this visit he became so impressed with the attractions and resources of Gage county that he determined to establish his residence within its borders. He returned to his home in Iowa and about six months later, in the same year, came with his family

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to this county, where he not only became the owner of valuable farm property but also achieved marked success in the buying and shipping of grain. At one time he owned a half interest in a flour mill at Blue Springs, his associate in the ownership and operation of this mill having been the late Dr. Gumaer. He was about sixty-four years of age at the time of his death and his wife, who is still living and resides in Beatrice, is sixty-three years of age in 1918. The only surviving chil- dren are the two sons to whom this re- view is dedicated. Mr. Spellman was a stal- wart supporter of the principles of the Re- publican party, he held membership in the Presbyterian church, as does also his widow, and he was prominently identified with local organizations of the Masonic fraternity. He served as worshipful master of Tyre Lodge, No. 85, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, at Blue Springs, and his Masonic affiliations in- cluded also his active membership in the com- mandery of Knights Templars at Beatrice and the Temple of the Mystic Shrine in the city of Lincoln.

Dr. Burt L. Spellman profited fully by the advantages offered in the public schools of the village of Blue Springs. In 1895 both he and his brother, Clemens A., entered the Chicago College of Dentistry, and both were there graduated in 1898, as previously noted in this context. Prior to thus preparing himself for the profession in which he has achieved un- equivocal success Dr. Spellman had given three years of effective service as a teacher in the district schools of Gage county. The brothers began the practice of their profession at Wymore, this county, but four months later they removed to Beatrice, the metropolis of the county, on the 5th of August, 1898, since which time they have been here associated in the successful practice of their profession, with a distinctively representative clientele. For seventeen years they maintained their of- fices in a building at Sixth and Ella streets, and they then removed to the'r present well appointed quarters, in the Baker building, likewise at Sixth and Ella streets.

Dr. Burt L. Spellman gives his political al-

legiance to the Republican party, he and his wife are active members of the Presbyterian church, and his Masonic affiliations are with Beatrice Lodge, No. 26, Ancient Free & Ac- cepted Masons ; Livingston Chapter, No. 10, Royal Arch Masons; Mount Herman Com- mandery, No. 9, Knights Templars ; and Sesos- tris Temple of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Lincoln.

In the year 1901 Dr. Spellman wedded Miss Roza Barnum, who was born and reared in Gage county and who is a daughter of the late H. Sizer Barnum. Her farther became one of the earliest permanent settlers in this county, where he established his residence in May, 1859, nearly a decade before the admis- sion of Nebraska to the Union. Mr. Barnum was born in the city of Buffalo, New York, November 11, 1837, and in the following year his parents, Hiram and Irena H. (Howard) Barnum removed to the former's old home in his native state of Ohio, where Hiram Barnum became a representative lawyer and a prom- inent and influential citizen : he was born in Trumbull county, in 1811, and passed the closing years of his life on a farm in that county, where he died at the age of seventy- six years, his wife surviving him by a num- ber of years. Hiram Barnum was a son of Eli Barnum, who was a native of Danbury, Connecticut, and who became one of the ear- liest settlers in Trumbull county, Ohio.

H. Sizer Barnum, as before stated, came to Gage county in 1859, and at the time when he established his residence in Blue Springs township there were only three other families within its borders. He developed one of the productive farms of that part of the county and here continued his activities until the out- break of the Civil war, when, on the 1st of September, 1861, he enlisted in the First Bat- talion of Nebraska Calvary, being later trans- ferred to the Fifth Iowa Cavalry, and con- tinuing in service in Kentucky and Tennessee until November 11, 1862, when physical dis- ability necessitated his discharge. Thereafter he remained on his farm until 1871, when he removed with his family to the village of Blue Springs, where for many years thereafter he

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was engaged in the livery business and in the breeding of fine horses. He became one of the most substantial and influential pioneer citizens of the county and was called upon to serve in various local offices of public trust. In this connection it should be noted that he was elected register of deeds for the county before the formal organization of the county had been effected, his certificate of election, carefully preserved by the family, bearing date of July 16, 1859. Mr. Barnum was living on East Court street, Beatrice at the time of his death and his wife, whose maiden name was Myra H. Rappleye, passed away when about seventy-two years of age. Of their four children three are living, and of the number Mrs. Spellman is the youngest. Dr. and Mrs. Spellman have two children, - Kathryn and Marguerite.

Dr. Clemens A. Spellman was born at At- lantic, Iowa, on the 8th of September, 1875, and was not yet three years of age at the time of the family. removal to Gage county. Here he received in his boyhood excellent edu- cational training under the direction of Pro- fessor Blake, one of the early and able repre- sentatives of the pedagogic profession in this county, and in 1892 he was graduated in the high school at Blue Springs. In a preceding paragraph it has been noted that in 1898 he and his brother were graduated in one of the leading dental colleges in the city of Chicago, but prior to this he had taught two years in the district schools of his home county and for one year had been associated with his father's grain business. In this article ade- quate data have already been given relative to his successful professional career. Both of the brothers have been specially active and appreciative in connection with their Masonic affiliations, as is indicated by the statement that each is past master of his lodge, past high priest of his chapter and past eminent com- mander of his commandery of Knights Tem- plars. Dr. Clemens A. Spellman is likewise past patron of the local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, of which his wife is a leading member, she being, in 1917-1918, con- ductress of the Nebraska grand chapter of this

order. The Doctor and his brother are both affiliated with the Phi Omega dental frater- nity, and Dr. Burt L. Spellman was secretary of the local organization while a student in the Chicago College of Dentistry.

Dr. Clemens A. Spellman is found aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Republican party and while he has had no ambition for public office he has manifested his civic loy- alty through his effective service as a member of the board of education of Beatrice, a po- sition of which he is the incumbent at the time of this writing. His Masonic affiliations in- clude membership in Sesostris Temple of the Mystic Shrine, in the city of Lincoln, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Presbyterian church at Beatrice, in which he is serving as deacon, as well as superintendent of the Sunday school. On the 27th of Sep- tember, 1899, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Clemens A. Spellman to Miss Carrie M. Schlosser, who was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of Jesse L. Schlosser, subject of specific mention on other pages of this work. Dr. and Mrs. Spellman have two children, - Helen and Clemens Eugene.

LEROY BRUGH, who is one of the repre- sentative farmers of the younger generation in Midland township, is a native son of Ne- braska and a member of a well known family that was here founded in the territorial days, his paternal grandfather having been one of the earliest settlers of Dodge county. Mr. Brugh was born on a farm near Wahoo, judic- ial center of Saunders county, Nebraska, on the 18th of April, 1881, and is a son of Jacob A. and Laura E. (Davis) Brugh, the former of whom was born at Hartford City, Indiana, August 29, 1854, and the latter of whom was born in the state of Indiana, a daughter of Andrew J. and Nancy (Cowan) Davis. Of the children of Jacob A. and Laura E. (Davis) Brugh the following brief record is given: Mabel died when about six years of age; Maude is the wife of Elof Pierson, of Oak- dale, Antelope county, Nebraska; Leroy, of this review, was the next in order of birth;

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Dr. Spangler Brugh, a representative phy- sician and surgeon of Gage county, is engaged in the practice of his profession at Beatrice; Nancy is the wife of George A. Girl, of Rock- ford township, this county ; Arthur is married and conducts a hotel at Holmesville, this county ; Milo is a resident of Beatrice; and one son died in infancy. The marriage of the parents was solemnized December 5, 1875.

Jacob A. Brugh is a son of Spangler and Nancy (Shick) Brugh, and he was seven years of age when his parents came to Nebraska Territory, in 1861, and established their home in Dodge county, where the father took up land under the terms of a squatter's right. About three years later Spangler Brugh sold this squatter's claim and removed with his family to Fremont, which is now a thriving little city of about ten thousand population, the judicial center of Dodge county. When Mr. Brugh there took up his abode the town was represented materially in one store and three or four houses, and he thus became vir- tually one of the founders of the present at- tractive city. Upon coming to Nebraska with his family Mr. Brugh made the journey by railroad to St. Joseph, Missouri, from which point he came with wagon and ox team to Dodge county. Later he engaged in freight- ing with ox teams between Omaha and Den- ver, in which profitable venture he was as- sisted by the late Herman Kountz, who was at that time engaged in the banking business in Omaha and who furnished him with the re- quisite freighting outfit. Mr. Brugh con- tinued operations as a frontier freighter until the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad, and he then engaged in the hotel business at Fremont. In this connection he conducted feed yards in which accommodations were provided for horses and wagons of settlers and travelers. He constructed a large shed of cot- tonwood poles, with straw roof, and this shed would accommodate seventy-five teams, a charge of one dollar a night being made for each team. About the year 1875 Spangler Brugh removed with his family to Saunders county, where he remained about fifteen years and greatly amplified his pioneer experiences.

There he took up land and engaged in farm enterprise, and after his retirement from active life he returned to his old home in Fremont, where he died on the 5th of February, 1917, at the age of eighty years, his wife having passed away October 24, 1912, and the names of both meriting enduring place on the roster of the honored pioneers of Nebraska. They became the parents of two sons and three daughters, Jacob A. having been the elder son ; Spangler M. is now a resident of Pueblo, Colorado ; Mary E. became the wife of Leo Snyder and was a resident of Arlington, Washington county, this state, at the time of her death ; Cora M. became the wife of George Codding- ton and died at Fremont, Dodge county ; and Miss Edna is a resident of Fremont.

Jacob A. Brugh was reared under the con- ditions and influences of the pioneer epoch in Nebraska history and received his early education in the schools of Dodge county. He accompanied his parents on their removal to Saunders county, and there he was engaged in farm enterprise until 1887, when he re- moved with his family to Colorado. There he remained eleven years, at the expiration of which he returned to Nebraska, and he and his wife now reside at Holmesville, Gage county, where they have a pleasant home and where he is living retired.

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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 81

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