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 91

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 91

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL S. PHEASANT

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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA

a place of honor on the roll of the sterling pioneers of Gage county, where they lived and labored to goodly ends. Of their nine chil- dren five are now living, namely: Mary, who is the widow of George Metzger and maintains her home at Beatrice; Jennie, who is the wife of Albert Sponsler, of San Francisco, Califor- nia ; Charles O., who is the immediate subject of this sketch; Nellie, who is the wife of James McMahill, of San Fancisco, California; and George, who resides at Long Beach, that state.

Charles O. Gudtner was a boy of about seven years at the time of the family removal to Gage county, and he is indebted to the pioneer schools of Beatrice for his early edu- cational training. Here as a youth he learned the blacksmith trade by serving a through ap- prenticeship in the shop conducted by George Metzger, at the corner of Sixth and Court streets. In 1887 he went to Sheridan county, Kansas, where he took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres, established a modest bachelor's home on the place and in- stituted its reclamation and improvement. He remained on his Kansas claim until he had per- fected his title thereto, and later he sold the property in an advantageous way. In 1892 Mr. Gudtner returned to Beatrice and resumed the work of his trade. His capitalistic in- vestment in opening his shop was only eighty- five dollars and though the city had at the time thirteen other blacksmith shops he had gained reputation for skill in his vocation and was so well and favorably known in the county that he soon developed a prosperous business. He now has the largest blacksmithing establish- ment in the city and in the same gives employ- ment to a corps of seven efficient assistants --- a condition that indicates the broad scope and relative importance of his well ordered indus- trial enterprise.

As a man of indefatigable industry and pro- gressive ideas, Mr. Gudtner has achieved sub- stantial success in business, the while he has exemplified the civic loyalty that denotes the ideal citizen, his political allegiance being given to the Republican party.

In 1890 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Gudtner to Miss Nettie Smith, who was

born and reared in Kansas, a representative of one of the pioneer families of the Sunflower state, and they have one son, Frederick, who is now actively associated with his father's bus- iness enterprise and who is well upholding the family prestige for skill in the work of the blacksmith trade.

SAMUEL S. PHEASANT, who is the owner of a valuable landed estate of four hun- dred acres in Gage county, as well as the old homestead farm upon which he was reared and on which he now resides, in Section 1, Jefferson township, Jefferson county, is a representative of one of the well known terri- torial pioneer families of southeastern Ne- braska, and his association with Gage county is such as fully to justify his recognition in this history, his home farm being nine miles distant from Beatrice, from which city he re- ceives service on rural mail route No. 1. Mr. Pheasant was born in Benton county, Iowa, September 15, 1859, and was about seven years old when, in 1866, his parents came to Ne- braska territory and established their home on the farm which is his present place of resi- dence. He is a son of Edwin and Isabel (Gar- ton) Pheasant, the former of whom was born in New York city, January 10, 1820, and the latter of whom was born in Indiana, their mar- riage having been solemnized in the state of Illinois, in 1845. As a boy Edwin Pheasant found employment in the factory of his uncle, James Watson, who was engaged in manufac- turing wooden pumps in the state of New York, and in 1835 he accompanied his uncle to Illinois, where he became associated with the latter in farm enterprise and where he was reared to manhood under the conditions mark- ing the pioneer period of the history of that state. After his marriage he there engaged in farming in an independent way, but a few years later he removed with his family to Iowa and became one of the pioneers of Ben- ton county. There he continued his active association with farm enterprise for fourteen years, and on the 14th of June, 1866, he and his family arrived at Beatrice, Nebraska Ter- ritory. In the following September the fam-

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ily removed to the tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land which he had secured in Section 1, Jefferson township, Jefferson county, just over the line from Gage county. Later he added to this estate by the purchasing of eighty acres in Section 5, Lincoln township, Gage county, and with the passing years his well ordered industry was crowned with sub- stantial success, involving the development of one of the valuable farm properties of this section of the state. Edwin Pheasant re- mained on his old homestead until his death, which occurred October 14, 1898, his wife having passed away in June, 1896, and both having been earnest members of the Primitive Church of Christ. They were charter mem- bers of the Christian church at Beatrice. Of their children the subject of this review is the youngest, and concerning the others the fol- lowing brief data are available: Ellen, who became the wife of A. R. Francis, is deceased, as are also James and John ; Mary is the wife of James McNeen, of La Junta, Colorado ; Laura became the wife of J. G. Lawrence and was a resident of Beatrice, Nebraska, at the time of her death, which occurred October 27, 1917.

Samuel S. Pheasant was seven years old when he gained his initial experience in con- nection with pioneer farm enterprise on the homestead which is now his place of abode, and his early education was acquired in the pioneer schools of Jefferson county. He has had no inclination to sever his allegiance to the fundamental industries of agriculture and stock-growing in his mature years and through the medium thereof has achieved large and worthy success. The homestead on which he lives and which is modern in all of its im- provements, comprises one hundred and sixty acres, and the remainder of his large landed estate, of about four hundred and sixty acres, is in Lincoln township, Gage county. Mr. Pheasant has exemplified the utmost progres- siveness as a citizen and man of affairs and while he has had no desire for political prefer- ment he gives staunch allegiance to the Re- publican party, both he and his wife being

active members of the Primitive Church of Christ, as was also his first wife.

In January, 1884, Mr. Pheasant wedded Miss Eugenia Pittinger, daughter of Benjamin F. and Amanda (Holeman) Pittinger, who established their home in Gage county in 1874 and who here passed the residue of their lives. Mrs. Pheasant was summoned to the life eter- nal on the 30th of October, 1895, and is sur- vived by three children : Guy L. is one of the progressive young farmers of Lincoln town- ship, Gage county, and on the 19th of Oc- tober, 1910, he wedded Miss Mary E. Mc- Clure, daughter of James L. and Lucy (Mc- Michael) McClure, of Gage county, the one child of this union being Harold E .; Mary is the wife of Floyd L. Marco, of Beatrice ; and Samuel E. remains at the paternal home.

June 18, 1897, recorded the marriage of Mr. Pheasant to Miss Rhoda Potts, daughter of Jonathan J. and Elizabeth Potts, who set- tled in Jefferson county, Nebraska, in 1866, Mr. Potts having previously served as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. Of the second marriage of Mr. Pheasant no children have been born.

ALBERT KUHLMANN. - The melting pot of America has been receiving immigrants from every country in the world and is turn- ing out a new nationality - the American He is endowed with the industry of the Ger- man, the stolidness of the Scotch, the wit of the Irishman, the idealism of the Italian, the orientalism of the Jap and the stubborness and frankness of the English. Such a combination will conquer the world through love and jus- tice. Albert Kuhlmann is a native of Ger- many - the great empire that has poured so many of its sons into the great melting pot of America to form a new nation. His father and mother, Ernest and Sophia (Jordan) Kuhlmann were born in Germany and immi- grated to this country in their early married life, when Albert Kuhlmann, who was born January 15, 1874, was just a tiny baby in arms. Ernest Kulhmann was born August 25, 1846, in Hanover, Germany, and upon his arrival in America he settled in Illinois. Later he moved

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to Missouri, and in 1881 he came to Richard- son county, Nebraska, where he purchased land in Barada township and where he is still con- tinuing his farming operations. His wife, Mrs. Sophia Kuhlmann, was born May 19, 1849, and passed away December 26, 1893. They were the parents of the following chil-

dren, all of whom were born in this country with the exception of the oldest, Albert, with whom this sketch deals ; Emma, is the wife of Otto Scharinghausen of Jansen, Nebraska ; and Henry resides in Richardson county, Nebraska. Three more children were born, but are de- ceased.

Albert Kuhlmann was educated in the rural schools of Barada township, Richardson coun- ty and after choosing his life vocation and working for himself, he continued his alle- giance to farm industry. He married Sophia Hartman, February 3, 1898. Mrs. Kuhlmann was born in Barada township, Richardson county, December 20, 1877. Her parents, Leo- pold and Sophia (Gretchmann) Hartman were of German birth and lineage. They came to Nebraska and the father became a prosperous farmer in Richardson county. Both are now deceased. They were the parents of eleven children.

Six children have come to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kuhlmann - Edward, Minnie, Emma, Amanda, Alvin, and Elsie. All are at the parental home and are receiving proper education to fit them to take their share in the world's work and enrich the civic and social life by their good works.

The politics of Mr. Kuhlmann are of the in- dependent Republican order. He has served on the school board of District No. 130, for eleven years.

In 1904 Mr. Kuhlmann, his wife and fam- ily came to Gage county, where he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, in Glen- wood township. He has made improvements on the farm buildings for the better conducting of his farming work. He and his family are members of the Lutheran church.

PERCY J. SMETHERS, a representative retired farmer now residing in the city of Be-

atrice, established his home in Gage county forty years ago and through his energy and progressiveness he developed and improved one of the fine farm estates of Glenwood township. He was born in Lee county, Illinois, on the 30th of September, 1856, and is a son of Josiah and Mary (Hill) Smethers, who were born and reared in Pennsylvania and who came to Gage county, Nebraska, in 1878, the father taking up a tract of land on the Otoe Indian reservation and having reclaimed the same into a productive farm. Upon his retirement from the farm he established his home in the village of Lanham, this county, and there he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, hon- ored as sterling pioneer citizens of the county. Of their eight children five are living: Cin- derella is the wife of B. C. Burkett, a retired farmer residing in the village of Odell, this county ; Percy J., of this review; is the next younger ; Harvey M. is prominently indentified with mercantile enterprise in the city of Beatrice ; James is employed as a skilled iron worker in the same city; and Oscar Leon resides in Wyoming. The father was a Democrat in politics and he and his wife were consistent members of the English Lutheran church. Their marriage was solemnized in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and in 1853 they immigrated to Lee county, Illinois, where they continued to reside until their removal to Nebraska, as already noted.

Percy J. Smethers acquired his early educa- tion in the public schools of his native county and was twenty-two years of age when he ac- companied his parents to Nebraska, in 1878. On the Otoe Indian reservation, in what is now Glenwood township, Gage county, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, and here he reclaimed and developed the fine farm on which he continued to reside for thirty-one years. His original house was little more than a hut, and was built at a cost of forty-five dollars, and this constituted the family home for seven years. He then erected a substantial and commodious farm house, and he also erect- ed other good buildings on his homestead. In buying his original farm Mr. Smethers paid for the same at the rate of three and one-half

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dollars an acre. In 1909 he sold the property for one hundred dollars an acre. As a farmer l:e gave his attention to diversified agriculture and the raising of good live stock, besides developing a prosperous dairying business. Upon selling his old homestead he purchased forty acres of land lying adjacent to the city of Beatrice, and in the spring of 1917 he sold this property for two hundred and fifty dol- lars an acre. He still owns a well improved farm of eighty acres in Glenwood township.

In 1877 Mr. Smethers wedded Miss Mary Uhl, who was born in Lee county, Illinois, June 17, 1857, a daughter of the late Hiram and Margaret (Wilhelm) Uhl, the latter of whom died in 1858, and two of her four chil- dren are still living. Mr. Uhl ultimately con- tracted a second marriage, when Nancy Hughes became his wife, and of this union were born four children. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Smethers the follow- ing brief record is given : Nettie is the wife of W. A. Seitz and they reside in the state of Montana ; Elroy resides in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska; Maevi became the wife of Horace Loeber, who passed away November 26, 1917.

Mr. and Mrs. Smethers are earnest and zealous members of the Christian church and he is a valued member of the church choir. In politics he gives his support to the cause of the Democratic party and while residing on his farm he served for several years as town- ship clerk.

GEORGE T. STEPHENSON, who is now living practically retired in the thriving little city of Wymore, has been an influential and valued citizen whose varied activities along civic and business lines have been so wisely and honorably directed as to make them prolific in the furtherance of the general wellbeing of the community. His spirit of personal stewardship has been exemplified in his civic loyalty, as well as in his large and worthy achievement as a man of broad and varied interests, and none is more essentially entitled to recognition in this history of Gage county.

George F. Stephenson was born in Floyd county, Iowa, on the 22d of June, 1862, and

is a son of Thomas and Mary A. (McCune) Stephenson, both natives of Ireland. Thomas Stephenson, who was born in the year 1828, was reared and educated in his native land, and the year 1840 recorded him as a resident of the state of New York. There was solem- nized his marriage to Miss Mary A. McCune, who had come from the fair old Emerald Isle to the United States in company with her parents, the year of her nativity having been 1827. Prior to the Civil war Thomas Stephenson and his wife numbered them- selves among the pioneers of Iowa, where he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. When the Civil war was precipitated on the nation he showed his intrinsic loyalty to the land to which he had come as a youth, for he tendered his services in defense of the Union by enlisting in the Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. With this command he served faithfully and gallantly during his term of enlistment, and it may be specially noted that he was with General Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and in the subsequent and memorable march to the sea. After the close of the war he continued his farming operations in Iowa until 1866, when he came to Richardson county, Nebraska, and again girded himself for pioneer responsibilities and service. In 1878 he came to Gage county and here he purchased from the government two hundred acres of wild and untrammeled prai- rie land, and to this embryonic farm, in Sicily township, he brought his family by means of a team and "prairie schooner." He developed a finely productive farm property, and in the meanwhile he and his wife endured their full share of the privations and vicissitudes that so distinctly marked the pioneer era in Gage county history. They lived upright and righteous lives, were true to all the respon- sibilities that devolved upon them and gave to their children the goodly heritage of noble thoughts and noble deeds, though they had naught of the spirit of self-glorification or any desire to divert themselves from the even tenor of their way. They were sterling pioneer citizens who commanded unequivocal esteem, and Mr. Stephenson was sixty-six

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years of age at the time of his death in 1894.

His widow has attained to the age of ninety- one years and is a resident of Lincoln, this state. Thomas Stephenson was aligned in the ranks of the Democratic party, was affili- ated with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and his wife is a member of the Bap- tist church. Of their eight children six are now living : William, a retired farmer, resides at DuBois, Pawnee county ; George T., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Riley is engaged in ranching in Montana; Alice is the widow of Albert Clayton and resides in the capital city of Nebraska; Emma is the wife of John W. Cutshall, a farmer of Pawnee county, this state; and Martha is the wife of John K. Campbell, who is, in 1918, principal of the public schools of Wymore, Gage coun- ty.

George T. Stephenson passed the period of his childhood and early youth on his father's farm, and in the meanwhile he profited duly by the advantages of the district schools. He was a lad of four years at the time of the family removal to Nebraska, and he contin- ued his studies in the schools of Gage coun- ty, besides which he took a course in the well ordered business college at Lawrence, Kansas. He proved and tested his scholastic acquire- ments by devoting his attention to teaching for several years, and in 1891 he established his residence at Wymore, where he engaged in the hardware and agricultural-implement business. He developed a substantial and prosperous enterprise in this important line of trade, and continued the business for a period of ten years. Thereafter he was for several years engaged extensively in the real- estate business, in which connection he devel- oped a large and prosperous enterprise in the handling of both farm and village properties.

The progressiveness and loyalty of Mr. Stephenson have been demonstrated also in other alliances of important order. He was the organizer of the Wymore Building & Loan Association, of which he became secretary, and with this vital corporation he continued his connection until 1917, when he resigned his position as secretary. He is vice-presi-

dent of the First National Bank of Wymore and is the owner of valuable farm property in Gage county.

The political predilections of Mr. Stephen- son are indicated in the unswerving allegi- ance which he has given to the Democratic party, and he has given yeoman service in be- half of its cause. He served for a number of years as tax collector of Wymore township and also gave effiecient service in the office of city treasurer of Wymore. He is affiliated with the local lodge of the Masonic fraternity and has passed the various official chairs in the same, as has he also in the Wymore camp of the Modern Woodmen of America.

In March, 1889, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Stephenson to Miss Nellie Beer, and they have two children: Bernice is the wife of Myrle C. Evans, efficiency expert in the employ of a Chicago electric-light corpor- ation ; and Doane, who was in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, at Wymore, is now at Fort Logan, in the service of the United States. Mrs. Stephen- son was born in Illinois and is a daughter of William and Adeline Beer, who were born in Pennsylvania and who came from Illinois to Gage county, Nebraska, in 1880, the re- mainder of their lives having been passed in this county.

ISAAC W. BURCH has continuously maintained his home in Beatrice since 1877 and for more than a quarter of a century he has been a member of the force of city mail carriers, a veteran in this branch of service and a citizen whose circle of friends is coinci- dent with that of his acquaintances.

Mr. Burch was born in Cambridge, Wash- ington county, New York, December 11, 1848, and is a son of Lorenzo and Hannah M. (Durfee) Burch, both of whom passed their entire lives in that county of the old Empire state, where the respective families were founded in an early day. Mr. Burch was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and acquired his youthful education in the common schools of his native county. Up- on attaining to his legal majority he engaged

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in working on a farm by the month, and he and opportunity. June 24, 1867, the day af- was twenty-four years of age when, in 1873, ter Frank Masek's marriage to Josephine he made his first visit to Gage county, Ne- Smola, this young Bohemian couple sailed for the United States, a land that to them was one with unknown tongue, unknown customs and unknown opportunities, but they faltered not, being ready to meet their destiny as it came. When only six days from land, the ship caught fire. So great was the fire that men and women were kneeling all over the deck, praying that God would save them. Life belts were put on, in expectation that any minute the passengers would have to take to the open sea, but the fire was finally extin- guished and they were spared to reach their destinations. Mr. and Mrs. Masek, with the brother, William Masek, who came two years later, located at St. Louis, Missouri. For twelve years the family home was maintained in that city and Mr. Masek worked in the stone quarries. braska. Two months later he returned to New York state, but in 1877 he came again to Gage county and established his home at Beatrice, his memory thus having an indelible impression of the progressive movements that have resulted in the development of the frontier village into one of the attractive and prosperous cities of the state. On the 1st of July, 1891, Mr. Burch entered the employ of the government as a city mail carrier in Beatrice, and of this position he has since continued the efficient and popular incumbent, few citizens of the county being better known or held in higher esteem. His political allegi- ance is given to the Republican party and he takes a lively interest in all things touching the welfare and advancement of his home city. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary B. Hill, likewise was born and reared in Cambridge, Washington county, New York, and she has gained a wide circle of friends within the long period of her residence in Beatrice. They have no children.

FRANK MASEK, a retired farmer living in Odell, Nebraska, is the owner of two hundred and fifty-two acres of land, in Pad- dock and Glenwood townships. Mr. Masek is of the true pioneer type,- a type exempli- fying both brains and brawn. It needs a character which can stand the hard knocks of privation and loneliness, and which can, with determined will and unswerving purpose, persist when others would fail. Such a per- sonality is Frank Masek, a native born Bohemian. He was born in the village of Horcic, Pilsen, Bohemia, March 20, 1847. His parents, Joseph and Mary (Machasek) Masek, were born in Bohemia and lived all their lives in that Slav country,- one of little opportunity and few great achievements. These good people were the parents of twelve chil- dren and Joseph Masek plied his trade of carpenter all of his life. But of more ven- turesome blood were his two sons Frank and William, who longed for new fields of service

In 1879 Mr. Masek, with his wife and three children, came to Nebraska to start life afresh on the soil. He had saved six hundred dollars while in St. Louis and expected to buy land. The first year he rented, but the next year he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land from his brother William, who had purchased this land but had not tried to improve it. All that Frank Masek possessed was a pair of horses and a wagon; he had no tools to work with, no spade nor hoe, only his strong hands and a determina- tion to make good. This land, which to-day is so well cultivated and dotted with farm homes, barns and silos and stocked with herds of cattle and hogs, was then one vast expanse of prairie. As far as the eye could reach no human habitation could be seen. There was no shelter for the people who had brought their all to "pioneer" in Gage coun- ty. Very soon they had their rude sod hut and a shelter for their horses, and were tilling the soil.

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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 91

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