History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 110

Author: Buechler, A. F. (August F.), 1869- editor
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Pub. and Engraving Co.
Number of Pages: 1011

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Jacob J. Lorentzen attended the public schools in Lake township and assisted his father on the farm, assuming entire charge when the latter died. He has one hundred and eighty-seven acres of well improved land, which he devotes to general farming and stock raising. He has additional business intertests and is a stockholder in the Loup Valley Packing Plant. Formerly he was a leading factor in Democratic circles and yet is active politically but more independently. He has served in numerous township offices, for five years being township assessor, while for four years he was a county supervisor.

He has been chairman of the Liberty Bond drive in Lake township, and his personal popu- larity has had its weight in making the record of Lake township such a creditable one. He is a valued member of the several German social organizations that have been in exist- ence in Grand Island for many years.

HENRY C. J. STOLLE, worthy repre- sentative of an old Hall County family, is one of the most efficient farmers and stock- raisers in Lake township, which has been his home all his life. He was born here July 1. 1889, was educated in the public schools, and is now serving in the office of township clerk.

The parents of Mr. Stolle, Charles and Mary (Rickert) Stolle, were natives of Ger- many, the former of whom was born in Han- over and the latter in Holstein. Of their family of ten children Henry C. J. was the seventh in order of birth, the others being as follows: Alvina, the wife of Otto Kruse, of Grand Island; Herman, who lives in Grand Island; Minnie, deceased, was the wife of Otto Frauen ; William, who lives in Lake township, married Mary Brabander; Anna and John, both of whom are unmarried; Otto, a farmer in Howard County, married Theresa Sassen ; and Emil and Louis, both of whom live in Hall County. The mother of this family died in the spring of 1909, from the effects of fright when automobiles caused the team of horses behind which she was riding, to run away. She was an estimable woman and was much esteemed in her neighborhood. In 1869 the father, Charles Stolle, came from Ger- many to the United States, and after spending two years at St. Louis, Missouri, came to Hall County, Nebraska. At that time he was without capital and the fact that when he died. in the fall of 1914, he owned four hundred and ninety-three acres of well developed land. indicates that his industry and thrift were sup- plemented by good business judgment. In 1871 he homesteaded the eighty acres on which his son Henry now lives, to which he kept on add_ ing until he was one of the county's large land- owners. He was a man of sterling character and was respected by everyone. Although he would never accept any public office, he was strong in his support of the Republican party's principles and candidates. Both he and wife were faithful members of the Lutheran church. To build his first house and barn, he hauled logs by ox team from Loup and Oak creeks. the last of these log structures being taken down in order to make way for substantial modern improvements, about 1909 le

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Henry C. J. Stolle was born on the home- stead and has lived there with the exception of two years, when he resided on one of his father's other farms. He obtained a good com- mon school education and ever since has de- voted himself to general farming and stock- raising with much success.

On December 18, 1912, Mr. Stolle married Miss Anna Schloemer, who is a daughter of Sophus and Mary Schloemer, residents of Grand Island. Mr. Stolle, like his late father, is a sound Republican and on that party ticket was elected township clerk, an office of considerable importance in Lake township. He is a member of the Farmers' Union, the Non-Partisan League, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Plattsdeutchen society, and carries insurance in Globe Life Insur- ance Company.

GEORGE A. TILLEY, one of Lake town- ship's representative citizens, has passed al- most his entire life here and is well and favor- ably known all over Hall County. He was born in Otsego County, New York, September 26, 1871. He was three years old when his parents came from New York to Hall County. They were Adin D. and Maria A. (Perkins) Tilley, a record of whom will be found on another page of this book.

George A. Tilley was educated by his father and his older sister, who also was a well known teacher in Hall County prior to her marriage. He worked on the farm and assisted his father in setting out the many beautiful trees in Grand Island and in the vicinity, which will be a perpetual memorial of the Tilley name. Mr. Tilley has heard his mother tell of the sad lack of trees that so unfavorably impressed his father and herself when they came to this sec- tion. The only two standing on the homestead were landmarks from the fact that they were the only trees within a radius of miles. Mr. Tilley has practically been engaged in farm- ing all his life and on his own account since his twenty-seventh year. He is operating his own eighty acres and an additional eighty acres which he rents, carrying on general farming and moderate stockraising.

On February 14, 1899, Mr. Tilley married Miss Lida Nickle, who is a daughter of Will- iam and Mary (Black) Nickle. They have one son, Lawrence. Mr. Tilley and his family belong to the Baptist church. In politics he is a Republican and takes hearty interest in public affairs. Like his father before him, he values his privilege of real Amercan citi- zenship, and is proud of his ancestral names

that connect him with the founding of the United States of America.

RUDOLPH SASS is a representative of one of the earliest families of Hall County, as he was born on the old homestead near Grand Island, December 23, 1874, and is a son of Detlef Sass, a record of whom will be found elsewhere in this history.

Rudolph was reared on the farm and re- mained at home till he was twenty-five years of age, when he became a farmer on his own account, and is operating one hundred twenty acres of land in Alda township.

January 23, 1900, was solemnized the mar- riage of Rudolph Sass and Christina Clausen. Mrs. Sass is also a native of Hall County, and is a daughter of Juergen Clausen, of whom further mention is made on other pages of this volume.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Sass has been blessed with four children, namely: Helen, Tony, Detlef and George, all of whom are still under the parental roof.

The family are held in the highest esteem by all who know them, and their friends are those who have known them since childhood days. Mr. Sass has been elected justice of the peace in his township and his neighbors have given him the title of "Judge."

CHARLES WYLEY SMITH is one of the successful farmers of Hamilton County, has since boyhood resided in this section of Ne- braska. He was born in Union County, Ohio, April 18, 1870, and was but three years old when his parents established their pioneer home in Hall County. His father, James Wyley Smith, came to Nebraska in 1873 and secured a homestead in Hall County where for many years he carried on farming opera- tions. A record of this pioneer family will be found on other pages of this volume, in a biography furnished by Mrs. Nancy Smith, the mother of our subject who is living in a comfortable home in the village of Doniphan.

Charles Wyley Smith was reared on his father's farm, attended the public schools of the neighborhood, and under the instructions of his father learned the best methods of till- ing the soil and caring for crops, as a result of which upon attaining landlord's estate he was well qualified to enter upon the task of farm- ing on his own account. That he chose wisely and has made a success of the business is prov- en by the fact that today he is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land under

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

a high state of cultivation equipped with the necessary buildings and machinery for an up- to-date farm. The success and prosperity that has come to Mr. Smith is the result of his own efforts and the logical outcome of perse- verence and industry.

Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Amy Harris, a native of Hall County, a daughter of Thomas and Emily (Starky) Harris, who were among the pioneers of this section, taking up their abode here in 1872 on a homestead. Thomas Harris is now deceased but the mother of Mrs. Smith resides in Doni- phan.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been blessed with three children : Emily May, Nancy Anna and Geneva, all of whom are still under the parental roof. The family are held in high esteem by all who know them and their circle of friends is co-extensive with their circle of acquaintance.

ALBERTUS E. EDWARDS, who carries on an extensive greenhouse business, devotes his entire fifty-four acres of richly cultivated land, situated in section four, Washington township, to gardening purposes. Although not a native of Hall County, he has spent the greater part of his life here, and it is his opinion that there are no finer people any- where.

Albertus E. Edwards was born in Wood County, Ohio, September 18, 1861. His par- ents were Edson and Jane' (Cleveland) Edwards, the former of whom was born in the state of New York, and the latter in Cleveland, Ohio. The late Hon. Grover Cleve- land, twice prsident of the United States, was her cousin. Edson and Jane Edwards had three children, two of whom survive: Al- bertus E. and Eva N., the wife of R. I. Evans, residing in South Dakota. In early manhood Edson Edwards learned the shoemaking trade but afterward became a farmer. He came to Hall County, Nebraska, in 1871, homesteading thirteen miles west of Grand Island, where he secured one hundred and sixty acres, on which the family lived until 1877 and then moved to Grand Island. For one year he conducted the Crescent Hotel, and for three years a shoe store, moving then to Custer County, where he resided three years. He finally located per- manently at York, where he was engaged in the insurance business until his death, in April, 1886. His widow survived until December 22, 1897.

Albertus E. Edwards obtained his educa- tion in the public schools. He was ten years

old when he accompanied his parents to Hall County, and sixteen when the family moved into Grand Island. At that time he says that when the hunting trips of the Indians were over, they came in from the Republican River in such numbers that the streets were crowded and he has seen valuable skins and pelts piled four feet high. That would be a strange sight today on the busy, modern thoroughfares of Grand Island. He lived with his parents until he was twenty-three years old, in the mean- while working for three years in the drug store of Barker & Hait, in Grand Island. He had a strong predilection, however, in favor of the business in which he is now engaged, and when he started his gardening enterprise, on ten acres of land, it was with a debt of $150 hanging over him. His natural gifts in this direction, however, soon made his venture a splendid success, and his business has con- tinued to expand until now he dominates the trade in this section and furnishes both retail and wholesale to dealers in Grand Island and elsewhere. He has a greenhouse one hundred and twenty-five by sixty feet in dimensions, making specialties of choice early lettuce and French asparagus, also supplying cut flowers and bedding plants.

On March 30, 1886, Mr. Edwards married Miss Mollie A. Roush, whose people came to Hall County in 1883. She is a daughter of David and Marie (Lowery) Roush, who were born near Letart Falls, in Meigs County, Ohio. The father of Mrs. Edwards died December 19, 1900, and the mother, November 10, 1916. They were the parents of eight children.

Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have no children of their own, but they reared one as a daughter and she is now married and lives at Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Edwards has never been active in politics but is a good citizen who is ever mindful of the welfare and good name of Washington township.

WILLIAM F. STOLLE, whose fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, situated in sec- tion three, Lake township, Hall County, gives evidence of careful cultivation and intelli- gent management, is a member of a fine old family of this section, that has been identified with Lake township affairs for almost a half century. Mr. Stolle was born in Hall County, May 3, 1883.

The parents of Mr. Stolle were Charles and Mary (Rickert) Stolle, the former of whom was born in Hanover and the latter in Hol- stein, Germany. Of their family of ten chil- dren, William F. iwas the fourth born, the

HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

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A. E. EDWARDS AND WIFE

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

other members being: Alvina, the wife of Otto Kruse, of Grand Island; Herman, a resident of Grand Island; Minnie, deceased, was the wife of Otto Frauen; Anna, who lives in Hall County ; John, a farmer in Lake town- ship; Otto, a farmer in Howard County, Ne- braska, married Theresa Sassen; and Emil and Louis, both of whom live in Hall County. The mother of the above family died in the spring of 1909, from the rupture of a blood vessel, when an accident occurred, while the father passed away in the fall of 1914. He had been of considerable importance in Lake township and was one of its largest land- owners. He came to the United States in 1869, lived at St. Louis, Missouri, until 1871, removed to Hall County, Nebraska, taking up a homestead of eighty acres in Lake town- ship. Through industry and business ability he increased his possessions and when he died left an estate of four hundred and ninety-three acres of well improved land. He was a Re- publican in politics and was loyal to his friends but accepted no offices for himself. For many years the log structures he built in early days remained on the farm, but the last one was torn down in 1909 when modern buildings were erected.

William F. Stolle attended the public schools . in Lake township, and ever since has devoted himself to farm pursuits. His land is well adapted to the industries he carries on and his annual crop and stock products are very satis- factory from their owner's point of view. On October 26, 1910, Mr. Stolle married Miss Mary Brabander, a daughter of Garrett and Louise (Manke) Brabander, and they have three children: Alfred, Carl and Blanche. They belong to the English Lutheran church. Politically Mr. Stolle is a Republican. He is a member of the Farmers Union, the Non- Partisan League, and a German society.

AUGUST STOLDT, who represents large agricultural interests in Lake township, is representative of a family that has been known and respected in Hall County for many years. He was born in the city of New York, June 12, 1873, the son of. Hans and Magdalene (Suehlsen) Stoldt, the former of whom was born in Germany, August 13, 1839, and the latter September 19, 1840. Their marriage took place in Germany, September 30, 1865. They became the parents of five children, three of whom died in infancy. The two sur- vivors are August and Johanna. The latter is the wife of Asbjorn Heiberg. who lives at Big Sandy, Montana. A few days after mar-

riage, Hans Stoldt and his wife left Germany for the United States and safely reached the harbor of New York. He was a cabinet- maker skilled in his trade and had no difficulty in finding employment in the big piano manu- facturing houses of Steinway and Kroenig & Bach, of New York City. In 1878 he came with his wife and family to Hall County. He purchased a part of what is now the farm of his son. Both he and his wife were very in- dustrious, letting no opportunity go by to add to their income. While not engaged on his farm, Mr. Stoldt worked as a carpenter and helped in the erection of the present substan- tial Wolbach store building at Grand Island. In those early days, when there were no pub- lic means of transportation, it was a heavy task to procure fuel. The custom was for the householder to start with his team at three o'clock in the morning for the Loup River, trirty-two miles away, making the round trip, loading logs which cost nothing at that time, and usually reaching home in the night. This was but one of the many hardships of early settlement in Lake township. Nevertheless, when Mr. Stoldt retired in 1903, he owned two hudred acres of well improved land in Hall County, the direct result of his industry and thrift. Both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. He belongs to old Ger- man social societies in Grand Island.

August Stoldt attended the common schools near his father's farm and later a business col- lege in Grand Island, after which he accepted a position in a grocery house in Brooklyn, New York, having an ambition to become a city business man. During the six months that he worked for the Brooklyn firm, his hours were from five in the morning until eight at night, and half of Sunday, for which he re- ceived the meager salary of $10 a month. He remembers how tiresome this service was on account of the city customers purchasing in small quantities for their daily needs, and the repetition, day after day, finally became too much to stand and he decided to return to a real man's work on the home farm, where he has continued to reside. He now owns and operates three hundred and eighty acres of fine land, all well improved, and has a profitable, growing business in the breeding of Hereford cattle. Mr. Stoldt carries on his operations with first class machinery. He says the first binder in this neighborhood was owned by Henry Ahrens, and further, in contrasting old days with the present, recalls that the first top buggy, a great luxury and extravagance at that time, was owned by Fritz Buckow.

On June 16, 1903, Mr. Stoldt married Miss Digitized by Google

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

Anna Mohr, a daughter of John and Margaret (Lemburg) Mohr, very early settlers in Hall County. They are now living retired at Grand Island. Mr: and Mrs. Stoldt have had three children, two of whom died in infancy, the one surviving being his father's name sake, August, Jr., who was born February 11, 1911. In poli- tics Mr. Stoldt is a Democrat. He has served Lake township in the office of assessor several terms and for a number of years has been treasurer of his school district. He is presi- dent of the Farmers Union and one of the board of directors, and also is president of the Anti-Horse Thief Association, which has a hundred members. He is a member of one of the old German social societies in Grand Island.

ALBERT J. NIEMOTH, whose farm ac- tivities are large and important in Hall County, and who stands among the foremost farmers and cattle breeders of Lake township, has been a resident of Nebraska nearly all his life. He was born in Winnebago County, Wiscon- sin, September 28, 1872, a son of John and Wilhelmina (Lindstedt) Niemoth.

Both parents of Mr. Niemoth were born in Germany. John Niemoth came to the United States when fourteen years old and for seven years worked in a Norwegian settlement in Wisconsin, where he learned the Norwegian language. He was twenty-two years old when he married. In May, 1873, he came to Hall County, Nebraska, buying one hundred and sixty acres of land at first, afterward owning two whole sections. His wife having passed away on the farm June 25, 1912, in 1916 he retired to Grand Island. They had ten chil- dren: Anna, the wife of August Buchfink, of Grand Island; Frank, who lives in Merrick County ; Clara, the wife of Ernest Wagner, of Greeley County, Nebraska; Emily, who lives in California ; Albert J., a farmer and stock- man of Lake township ; Frederick, who lives. at Gordon, Nebraska ; Robert and Richard, twins, the former of whom lives in Lake township, and the latter is deceased; Augusta, the wife of Rhinehart Kunze, of Lake township; and Ernest, who lives in Lake township.

Albert J. Niemoth obtained his education in the Hall County schools and remained with his father until grown, then went to Grant County, where he took up a homestead on which he lived for nine years. In 1904 he sold his interests there and returned to Hall County, since which time he has been operating five hundred acres in Lake township, all well im- proved. Mr. Niemoth is justly proud of his

Red Polled cattle, this breed, in his opinion, being the most profitable in Hall County as well as in Grant, where he began in the cattle business.

On September 16, 1897, Mr. Niemoth mar- ried Miss Bertha Loescher, a daughter of Frederick and Louise (Raatz) Loescher, who live in Grand Island. Mr. and Mrs. Niemoth have the following children : Frederick, Laura, Minnie, Ella, August, Bertha, Elizabeth and Pearl. The eldest son is attending college in Grand Island. Mr. Niemoth and his family are members of the German Lutheran church. For many years he has been a Republican in his political connection and on that ticket was elected to the office of treasurer of Lake town- ship, in which he has served for two years. He is vice-president of the Lake township local of the Farmers Union and belongs also to the Non-Partisan League.

JOHN A. RUFF, one of the highly esteemed older residents of Lake township, came to Hall County almost a half century ago, having chosen to make this locality his home to the present day. He has had varied experiences in the passage of a long life, and his reminis- cences are both interesting and enlightening. His birth took place in Germany, September 24, 1847, the son of John H. and Anna M. (Miehe) Ruff, the former of whom was born in Germany, March 26, 1801, and the latter, January 26, 1806. They came to the United States in 1856, settling near Peoria, Illinois, with a son, who was pastor of a church there. He afterward built a house in Bloomington, Illinois, in which the family resided a num- ber of years, the son, in the meanwhile fill- ing pastorates in Wisconsin, then in Michigan, in which state he died, having spent some years in the family home. All the rest of their children have also passed away except John A. and Elizabeth, the latter being Mrs. Hoff- man, a resident of Jacksonville, Illinois. In Germany Mr. Ruff's father had been an emi- nent physician and surgeon, also carying on a mercantile business, but he had retired from general practice before coming to this country. Both parents died at the home of their son, John A., the mother on May 3, 1888, and the father on January 18, 1890. Their burial was in the Grand Island cemetery.

John A. Ruff had school training at Peoria and Bloomington, Illinois, and in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. When sixteen years old he went to Chicago, where he learned the mattress making trade, subsequently making a specialty of this line, and also worked at

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upholstering. In the meanwhile the Civil War was in progress and at Nashville, Tennessee, he enlisted for six months service in the army. Within two months, however, his health failed, and later he became so ill that he was dis- charged on account of disability. At Jeffer- sonville, Indiana, he met an acquaintance and together they went to Indianapolis, Mr. Ruff being on his way home to Bloomington, but in that city he met with misfortune, being robbed of his army pay, and was left with only fifty · cents which had been concealed in an inside pocket. Although he did not recover from his army illness for two years, a year later he left Bloomington for Chicago, where he worked irregularly at his trade, also in Dwight and Bloomington, Illinois, until he came to Hall County, Nebraska, in 1870. Here he homesteaded eighty acres situated three miles north of Grand Island, where he lived for seven years, later he bought land on section 17-12-9, and on this farm he yet lives. Mr. Ruff owns more than four hundred acres of land, the greater part of it being well im- proved.

In the fall of 1871, when meat and pro- visions were scarce in the region around Grand Island, he did as other men of the neighbor- hood who had families to provide for, bought a trusty rifle for $5 from an Indian chief, and thus fitted out he started after game. When some sixty miles from home he killed three elk and other game including a black- tail deer. The latter he traded to a party to ferry him across the river with his load, as there were no bridges in this section at that time, and the meat he brought home from this trip kept their larder supplied all winter. On another occasion, when stalking an elk, he had to walk through weeds and sunflowers fully eight feet high, and came suddenly to a cliff in the canyon. Hearing a noise above his head he discovered a herd of at least thirty elk look- ing at him. The sudden view and unusual sight almost unnerved him, but he managed to get two of the elk before they dashed away, a tribute to his good marksmanship.

In Grand Island, November 26, 1870, Mr. Ruff married Miss Welhelmina Beyer, of Bloomington, Illinois. They became the par- ents of fifteen children, all but two of whom survive: John, a minister, lives at Secord, Gladwin County, Michigan ; Charles, a teacher, lives in the great city of Chicago; William, a preacher, lives at Chase, Kansas; Henry, a resident of Grand Island; Mary, the wife of William Sielaff, lives at Grand Island; Clara, the wife of John Quandt, of Lake township; Paul, who lives in Howard County, Nebraska ;

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History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 110

Author: Buechler, A. F. (August F.), 1869- editor Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Pub. and Engraving Co. Number of Pages: 1011

Author: Buechler, A. F. (August F.), 1869- editor
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Pub. and Engraving Co.
Number of Pages: 1011