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 92
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As the country was being settled, the chil- dren needed schools in which to receive the rudiments of education. The county seemed unable or too listless to give financial aid to this district for a school. Then Frank Masek,
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with his own hand and the help of neighbors, built the first sod hut used for a school. It was in Section 7, Paddock township.
The marriage of Frank Masek and Jose- phine Smola occurred in Bohemia, June 23, 1867. Mrs. Masek shared with her husband all of his labors of the early days and lived to see the fruit of all of their striving. They became the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living. The mother passed away in 1903. Brief record concerning the children is here given: William, born in St. Louis, Mo., in 1870, married Miss Rosa Murphy, and is now deceased; Mary is the wife of Frank Hajek, living in section 5, Paddock township; Anna is the wife of Joseph Hajek, of Glenwood township; Joseph died in infan- cy ; Carrie is the wife of John Boch and they live near Oketo, Kansas; Frank resides near Odell, Nebraska, in Paddock township; Jo- seph is deceased; John is living in Glenwood township; Minnie is housekeeper for her fath- er.
In 1912 Mr. Masek retired from active farming and bought property in Odell, where he now lives with his daughter Minnie. In politics he has voted the Democratic ticket. He has held township offices, was road over- seer and on the school board in Paddock township. He is a member of the Catholic church, which receives liberally of his means. He is owner of two hundred and fifty-two acres of land at the present time, but has owned many more acres. He bought land as fast as he could and gave it to his children, who are farming all through the neighboring townships. He is a shareholder in the State Bank of Odell and the Farmers' Lumber Yard.
EDWARD F. DAVIS is one of the more venerable of the well known pioneer citizens residing in the city of Beatrice, and his career has been one marked by diversified ex- perience as well as by the achievement of worthy success. With marked vigor of men- tal and physical faculties, though he has passed the eightieth milestone on the journey of life, Mr. Davis still gives a general super-
vision to his various property interest, the while he keeps in full touch with current events and takes lively interest in all things pertain- ing to the county and city in which he has long retained his residence. Mr. Davis was born in Herkimer county, New York, June 17, 1836, received in the old Empire state his early educational training, in the common schools, and as a boy and youth he there gained experience not only in farm work but also in the operation of boats on the old Erie canal. Later he was employed as inspector of street improvements in New York city, and this position he retained until a short time before his removal to the west. In 1876 Mr. Davis left the national metropolis and came to Gage county. After devoting about two years to farm enterprise in Riverside town- ship he removed to Beatrice and became owner and manager of the Davis House, which was for many years one of the leading hotels of the city, the building being still owned by him, at the corner of Third and Ella streets, and being kept in good repair as a rooming house. He is the owner of other productive real-estate in Beatrice, as well as his attractive home, at 901 Lincoln street.
Mr. Davis had the distinction of casting his first presidential vote for General John C. Fremont, the first candidate placed in nom- ination by the newly organized Republican party, and he has voted for each presidential candidate of that party during the long in- tervening years, never wavering in his belief in the basic principles for which the party has ever stood sponsor. Mr. Davis made a re- markable record of efficiency during his in- cumbency of the office of sheriff of Gage county. He was elected sheriff in 1885 and continued in service until 1900. He carries himself with the vital erectness of a man many years his junior and with much of dis- tinction, is genial and tolerant, broad-minded and well fortified in his convictions, and he has the high regard of the community in which he has so long maintained his home.
The year 1862 recorded the marriage of Mr. Davis to Miss Helen M. Ferguson, who was born in Herkimer county, New York, on
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the 3d of October, 1842, and who continues as the gracious and popular chatelaine of their pleasant home. Of their four children only one is living, Miss Nellie, who remains at the parental home.
ARMSTRONG O. BURKET, senior mem- ber of the firm of Burket & Feldkirchner, which is successfully engaged in the retail coal business in the city of Beatrice, came to Gage county thirty years ago and was for- merly established as one of the representative exponents of farm industry in Glenwood township. He is now one of the prominent business men and most insistently loyal 'and progressive citizens of Beatrice, a leader in movements tending to advance the civic and material prosperity of Gage county and its fine judicial center, and he is specially entitled to recognition in this history.
Mr. Burket was born on a farm near Dixon, Lee county, Illinois, December 29, 1863, and is a son of Henry and Mary Jane (Crawford) Burket, both natives of Pennsyl- vania, their marriage having been solemnized in 1848. Henry Burket became a pioneer farmer in Lee county, Illinois, where he won independence and prosperity through his earnest and honorable endeavors and where both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. On the old homestead farm in Lee county, Illinois, Armstrong O. Burket gained in his boyhood and youth the sturdy discipline that well matured his physical powers and that gave him enduring apprecia- tion of the dignity and value of honest toil. He profited duly by the advantages afforded in the public schools of his native county and there he continued his association with farm enterprise until 1887, when he came to Gage county, Nebraska, and purchased a tract of land on that part of the Otoe Indian reserva- tion that is now included in Glenwood town- ship. There he developed a good farm and there he continued his successful activities as an agriculturist and stock-grower for a period of seventeen years. For the ensuing six years he gave his attention to effective service as manager of the Farmers' Elevator Com-
pany at Odell. He established his residence in Beatrice, and finally, in January, 1912, after spending eighteen months traveling for the Root Grain Company in Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado, he became associated with his brother-in-law, E. Feldkirchner, in establishing the coal business which they have since successfully conducted under the firm title of Burket & Feldkirchner, with well equipped headquarters at 222 Ella street.
The political allegiance of Mr. Burket is given to the Democratic party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife are zealous members of the First Christian church of Beatrice, in which he holds the office of elder.
On the 23d of December, 1886, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Burket to Miss Ora E. Feldkirchner, who was born and reared in Lee county, Illinois, and they have an inter- esting family of four children: Hazel is the wife of H. F. Graff, of Beatrice; Neva is a trained nurse by profession and resides in the city of Lincoln; Lulu is a successful and popular teacher and at the time of this writ- ing, in 1918, is teaching in the public schools of Spalding, Greeley county; and Bessie was a member of the class of 1917 in Doan Col- lege, at Crete, Saline county.
DANIEL ALBERT .- Few families have given more aggressive and successful demon- stration of the splendid potentiality of agri- cultural and live stock enterprise in Gage county than that of which Daniel Albert is a popular representative, he being a son of Henry Albert, an honored and influential citizen of whom specific mention is made on other pages. Daniel Albert rents from his fath- et two hundred and forty acres of land in Sec- tion 26, Clatonia township, and as a vigorous and discriminating young farmer and liberal citizen he is well upholding the prestige of the family name. He was born on his father's old homestead farm, in Clatonia town- ship, November 18, 1884, and his early educa- tional advantages included those of the high school in the village of Clatonia, as well as a course in a business college in the city of
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Lincoln. He has had no desire to sever his association with farm enterprise and in con- nection with the same is achieving substantial success. His father gave him excellent op- portunities for independent activities after he had attained to the age of twenty years, for it was at this juncture in his career that he assumed virtual control of his present large and well improved farm, which he maintains under conditions that reveal thrift and good judgment, the while he has shown his pro- gressiveness by adding materially to the im- provements on the farm, which is given over to diversified agriculture and the raising of excellent types of live stock. In politics Mr. Albert gives his support to the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Modern Wood- men of America, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 15th of February, 1912, Mr. Albert married Miss Scenta Krauter, who likewise was born and reared in Clatonia township and who is a daughter of Edward and Gezena (Carstens) Krauter, natives of Illinois, the father being still a resident of Clatonia town- ship and the mother being deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Albert have two children,- Henry K. and Zena Bernice.
STEPHEN V. SHAW .- One of Gage county's pioneer settlers and one who has con- tributed his full share to bringing about pres- ent-day conditions is Stephen V. Shaw, who is residing on the farm, in Section 21, Adams township, which has been his home for fifty years. Mr. Shaw was born in Dutchess county, New York, January 4, 1844. His father, Stephen P. Shaw, was born in the same county, July 31, 1801, and he became a far- mer in his native state. After a short resi- dence in Connecticut he became a pioneer set- tler in Somers township, Kenosha county, Wisconsin. In 1857 he and his family started overland for Nebraska Territory in true pio- neer fashion, driving ox teams. There was a train of six wagons, and of the twenty-one persons who made up the party ten are still living. Mr. Shaw located and maintained
squatter's sovereignty on eighty acres of land in what was then known as Clay county, Ne- braska (now Gage county). From timber on the south branch of the Nemaha river he cut and hewed the logs with which to build the first house that was to be the family home. He helped organize the first school district in Adams township, and this is now District No. 51. Until his death, which occurred April 1, 1863, Stephen P. Shaw made his home on this pioneer farm. His wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Hicks, was likewise a na- tive of Dutchess county, New York, where she was born February 10, 1801, and she died in Gage county, Nebraska, February 22, 1886.
Of their children the following record is given: William H. was killed, at St. Louis, during the Civil war ; Egbert, who also was a soldier in the Civil war, died at Adams, Gage county, in 1895; Mrs. Margaret A. Gale is de- ceased; Mrs. Emily Silvernail resides at Adams, this county ; Mrs. Elmira Lyons is de- ceased, as is also Mrs. Hannah Noxon; Mrs. Rebecca Silvernail resides at Indianola, Ne- braska; James I., who was a soldier in the Civil war, lives at St. Cloud, Florida; and Stephen V. is the immediate subject of this sketch.
The first childish recollections of Stephen V. Shaw are those of his home in the Nutmeg state. He also remembers the trip to Wiscon- sin, and he was a boy of thirteen years when the trip was made to Nebraska Territory. It was the 6th of July, 1857, when they reached the banks of the Nemaha river, where the home was established. After a trip across the prairies of Illinois and Iowa, the family crossed the Missouri river on a flat-boat. As a boy Mr. Shaw had received such schooling as circumstances would permit, and at the age of sixteen years he had completed his studies in the schools of Nebraska City. He con- tinued to assist in the development and im- provement of the home farm until he arrived at his majority, when he made a prospecting trip to Colorado, where he remained one year. Upon returning to Gage county he engaged in farming. He homesteaded a tract of land on Section 21, Adams township, and on this place
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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA
STEPHEN P. SHAW
MRS. STEPHEN P. SHAW
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HISTORY OF GAGE COUNTY, NEBRASKA
MR. AND MRS. STEPHEN V. SHAW
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he has continued to maintain his home for fifty years.
On November 8, 1866, Mr. Shaw married Miss Minerva Hand, who was born in Niag- ara county, New York, May 24, 1850, and who passed away on December 7, 1908. Mrs. Shaw was a daughter of William and Anna (Scott) Hand, natives of New York state. William Hand died on board a vessel while with the colony en route for Wisconsin and was buried in the lake. This was during the epidemic of cholera, to which he succumbed. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw became the parents of nine children: Louis V. resides in Custer county, Nebraska ; Katie is at home with her father ; Almira H. is the wife of J. C. Boyd, a farmer of Sherman township; Mrs. Ada McKnight resides at Adams, this county ; Mrs. Alice Kauffman is a resident of Havelock, Ne- braska ; Mrs. Carrie E. Palmer lives at Chap- pell, Nebraska ; May R. and Charles E. are at home; and Eva Rae resides in the city of Lin- coln, this state.
Mr. Shaw has been an eye witness to all the changes that have taken place in this county, and has always done his share in the march of progress. In 1862-1863 he freighted out of Nebraska City with oxen. In December, 1864, he drove to Colorado, distributing goods along the way. When the local Presbyterian church was organized, in 1860, his mother was made superintendent of the Sunday school, and she continued to hold that position until her death.
In both paternal and maternal lines Mr. Shaw's ancestors participated in the Revolu- tionary war. He has every reason to be proud of the record of the family in Gage county, and he is held in highest esteem by all with whom he has come in contact.
HENRY KASPAREK .- The untimely death of Henry Kasparek called from earthly activities one of the younger business men of . Odell,- one who for fifteen years had given his best energies to the moral, social and com- mercial uplift of his community. Mr. Kasparek was born at Chicago, Illinois, April 11, 1874. He was a son of Adolph Kasparek,
who was a native of Bohemia and who be- longed to that class of foreign-born citizens who have done much for the development of Nebraska. Henry Kasparek was a child of two years when the family home was estab- lished in Jefferson county, Nebraska. Reared on a farm, he early learned those lessons of industry and enterprise which are of such value as to assure success in any and every walk of life.
In 1900 Henry Kasparek came to Odell and purchased the business conducted by one of Odell's pioneer citizens, Frank J. Truxaw. Until his death, April 8, 1914, Mr. Kasparek. gave his best efforts to make a place for him- self in the business affairs of Odell. Success. had crowned his efforts, as may be seen by the neatly arranged place of business he had. established. His chosen line was the furni- ture and undertaking business, in connection. with which he handled a full line of linoleums,. rugs, and musical instruments. A complete- and extensive stock of goods was carried, and the faith and trust reposed in him by the peo- ple of the community were unbounded. Since- his death his widow has continued the busi- ness, employing a capable manager to handle· her affairs.
As a companion and helpmeet Mr. Kasparek: chose for his wife Miss Anna Tejcka, a na- tive of Gage county, Nebraska, her parents. having been early settlers in Sicily township. Mrs. Kasparek is a daughter of Frank and Josephine (Prucha) Tejcka, natives of Bohemia. The father is deceased and the mother still resides on the old home place, in Sicily township.
Mr. and Mrs. Kasparek became the parents- of four sons, who with their mother occupy a beautiful home in Odell. The names of these boys are Frank, Clarence, Vernon and Everett. Mr. Kasparek was a faithful mem- ber of the Christian church of Odell, having- joined that church April 14, 1908. He was. also a member of the Odell lodges of the I. O.O.F. and the Z. C. B. A. He was a de- voted husband and father, an energetic busi- ness man and a first-class citizen, a man who- stood for progress, and real friendship, and.
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one who thought more of others than of him- self. He lived an unselfish life, and was one whom his family and the community could ill afford to lose.
PHILIP A. BINDERNAGEL .- A mem- ber of one of the honored pioneer families of Gage county, Mr. Bindernagel has here main- tained his home from the time of his birth and he is now numbered among the successful and representative agriculturists and stock- growers of his native township, his well im- proved and ably managed farm of one hundred and sixty acres being situated in Section 35, Blakely township, and being a part of the large landed estate of the family.
Mr. Bindernagel was born in Blakely town- ship on the 25th of November, 1874, and is a son of Philip and Margaret (Marschel) Bindernagel, concerning whose other children brief mention may here be made, the subject of this review having been the second in order of birth; Rosa now presides over the domestic economies of her father's pleasant home in the city of Beatrice, having assumed this responsibility after the death of her mother ; David M. is numbered among the progressive farmers of Lincoln township, this county; Elizabeth is the wife of George W. Stevens, of Lincoln township; Caroline died in the year 1909; and Emma is the wife of I. K. Stevens, of Blakely township.
Philip Bindernagel was born in Germany, on the 28th of January, 1838, and there con- tinued his residence until 1852, when he established his home in the city of London, England, where he found employment at his trade, that of baker. A few years thereaf- ter he came to America and engaged in the work of his trade in New York city, and in 1866 he came to Nebraska Territory, and numbered himself among the pioneers of Gage county. He entered claim to a home- stead of one hundred and sixty acres, in Filley township, and here he endured the full tension of hardships and deprivations incidental to life on the virtual frontier. The passing years, marked by his indefatigable and earn- est application, brought to him independence
and definite prosperity, as is clearly demon- strated by the fact that he is now the owner of a valuable landed estate of four hundred and eighty acres in Blakely township, this county, and an equal amount in Sherman county, Kansas. He gave earnestly and effect- ively of his energies and abilities in further- ing the social and industrial development and progress of the county, has ever commanded the confidence and good will of his fellow citizens and in his venerable years he is living in well earned retirement in his attractive home in the city of Beatrice. He has been a lifelong communicant of the Lutheran church, as was also his devoted wife, who was his true helpmeet in the days of their early struggle to make for themselves a home and a place of independence in Nebraska, the state having been admitted to the Union about one year after they had established their residence on the pioneer farm in Gage county. Mrs. Bindernagel was born in Germany on the 22d of October, 1850, and was summoned to the life eternal on the 23d of February, 1913, her memory being revered by those who came within the compass of her gentle influence. On other pages of this work appears a specific record of the career of Philip Bindernagel.
Philip A. Bindernagel supplemented the dis- cipline of the district schools by attending the Beatrice high school, and in 1907 he rented of his father his present farm, which he has made a model of thrift and prosperity and upon which he has made many excellent im- provements, including the erection of his commodious modern house and a barn thirty- two by thirty-four feet in dimensions, with an eighteen-foot wing. He takes loyal in- terest in all things touching the walfare of his native county and home community, is a Republican in politics and both he and his wife are earnest communicants of the Luth- eran church.
February 26, 1908, recorded the marriage of Mr. Bindernagel to Miss Bertha Brosious, who was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, where she was reared and educated -a daughter of Charles Brosious, who likewise was born in the old Keystone
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state. Mr. Bindernagel made the acquaint- ance of his wife while he was visiting in Pennsylvania, and there their marriage was solemnized. They have had two children, Orval Philip born November 5, 1910, and Louise A. born November 21, 1915.
JOSEPH KROTZ .- Among the citizens of foreign birth who have done much toward the upbuilding of Gage county, Nebraska, none deserve more credit than those sturdy men and women, natives of Bohemia, who came to Nebraska in the late 70s, and became instrumental in converting into productive farms and beautiful homes the raw prairies that had but recently been occupied by the Indians. To this class belongs Joseph Krotz. In the province of Bohemia, dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, there lived one Vencel Krotz, who, having heard favorable reports of America from friends and neighbors who had found in the "land of the free" the op- portunities that were not obtainable in their native land, gathered his family and a few earthly goods, and crossed the ocean. He made his way to Washington county, Iowa, where many of his countrymen had settled, and arrived in that state in 1867. Eleven years later we find him again seeking a new home, this time where he knew land could be had at much cheaper price than in the more thickly settled region of Iowa. The first year the family lived at the old town of Charleston, in Gage county, and then he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of raw prairie land in what is now Glenwood township. The first home was a sod house and in this the family resided while initiating the work of conquering the virgin Nebraska soil. Mr. Krotz prospered, and here he made his home until he was called from his earthly labors.
The maiden name of the first wife of Vencel Kratz, was Catherine Kumbera, who passed away in their native land. Later he there married a second time, Miss Anna Soper becoming his wife. She still resides on the old home farm in Glenwood township. The two children of the first marriage are
Mary, who is the wife of Fred Hoffmeister, of Imperial, Chase county, Nebraska, and Joseph, who is the immediate subject of this sketch. Of the children of the second mar- riage it is to be recorded that John is a farmer of Paddock township; Anna is the wife of William Hohl, of Prague, Saunders county, Nebraska; and Frances is the wife of Frank Benda, on the old home place in Glenwood township.
Joseph Krotz was but four years of age when the family home was established in the new world, he having been born in Bohemia, the land of his fathers, on the 21st of May, 1863. When the home was transferred from Iowa to Nebraska he was a boy of fifteen years. He gave valuable assistance in trans- forming the Indian lands to productive pro- perty. Remaining with his parents until his thirty-first year, Joseph Krotz was then as- sisted by his father in the purchase of the farm on which he began farming on his own account. Mr. Krotz made further preparation for a home of his own by his marriage, on May 21, 1894, to Miss Carrie Bednar, also a native of Bohemia, where she was born November 4, 1872. Her parents were among the early settlers of Nebraska and a record of them will be found elsewhere in this his- tory. Mr. Krotz has met with success in his farming operations, and to-day is the owner of seven hundred and twenty acres of valu- able land. For several years he has made a specialty of raising pure-bred Aberdeen Angus cattle, and in the spring of 1918 he had forty head of fine registered stock in his yards just south of Odell.
Mr. Krotz and family occupy a beautiful home in Odell, and in the household are three happy children,- Marcellus, Laird and Eve- lyn. The family are communicants of the Catholic church, the faith of which was the religion of the parents of both Mr. and Mrs. Krotz. In politics Mr. Krotz is a Democrat, but he has never desired or held any office, preferring to devote his entire time to his business affairs, in which he has met with goodly success. There was no railroad in the vicinity when the Krotz family located on
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