History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 122

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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Elmer Robert Franz was but eight years old when the family settled near Alda in Hall County. He is the only surviving member now, both parents and three brothers, Roy, Otto and an infant, having passed away. He received the education offered by the public schools of this section and at an early day began to run a farm which vocation he has followed all his life and at present is operat-

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W. C. MULLEN AND WIFE

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ing his own farm of eighty acres which ad- `joins Grand Island on the west, and three hundred and eleven acres which he rents in Alda township. He owns a large amount of first class farm machinery and his farm under- takings are conducted with great thorough- ness. It is to enterprising farmers like Mr. Franz that the world is looking for the nec- essary increased production of food stuffs.

February 11, 1899, Mr. Franz married Miss one of the best improved farms in Alda town- ship and whose parents live in Grand Island. They have one child, Mayme, who remains with her parents. Mr. Franz is not identified with any political party.

AUGUST L. MIETH. - In the death of August L. Mieth, Hall County lost one of its worthy citizens and his family a loving hus- band and father. Mr. Mieth was born in the city of Chicago, February 3, 1862, a son of August Mieth, Sr., of whom a record will be found on other pages of this volume. The son accompanied the family to Hall County in 1880 when the home was established in South Loup township on the farm where another son, Frederick, now, resides. Upon reaching man's estate he wisely chose the occupation to which he had been reared and from the virgin prairie improved and de- veloped one of the best farms in this section. A tract of four hundred and forty acres, with a fine country home, good barns and outbuild- ings, acres of orchard and shade trees, is the result of many years of persistent energy and good judgment on the part of its owner, and now left to be enjoyed by the family which mourns his loss.

Mr. Mieth was married in Cameron town- ship September 13, 1880, to Miss Emma Stewart, a native of Lee County, Iowa. Her parents, Wm. J. and Maggie (Markwell) Stewart, were natives of Lee County, Iowa. They came to Hall County in 1872 and took a homestead in Cameron township. Both are dead. Mr. and Mrs. Mieth became the par- ents of seven children, six of whom are still living: Fred, Frank, Mary, Nathalie, Otto, Everett. Fred married Edna Waddington, and assists in the operation of the home farm. The other children are all at home.

Mr. Mieth early realized the value of pure bred stock and became a pioneer in the breed- ing and raising of pure bred hogs and cattle, and specimens from his farm found their way to many other states. He was one of the familiar figures at fairs, stock and poultry shows and public sales of pure bred stock and

held many sales of pure bred Poland China hogs and Shorthorn cattle at his farm. When the Farmers State Bank was organized in Cairo, in 1911, he was one of the first to put his shoulder to the wheel, and was one of the first to become a stockholder in the institu- tion, displaying the same public spirit that characterized the man in all movements that he thought would help make better the living conditions in his community. He was a mem- ber of the German Lutheran church.

Though the condition of his health was known to the immediate family, yet his pass- ing was a surprise and a severe loss to the county, and left a place that can never be filled. A comfortable estate acquired by pioneer ruggedness, endurance and determina- tion and a good name, are left to a worthy helpmeet and family, and the world is better off for his having lived in it.

HENRY BECKER, well known in Hall County where his life has been spent, owns one of the best improved farms in Alda town- ship, where he conducts agricultural opera- tions with much success. He is a representa- tive of one of the county's earliest families, having been born on the old Becker home- stead near Grand Island, August 26, 1867.

The parents of Henry Becker were Fritz and Elizabeth (Danker) Becker, both of whom were born in Germany but became ac- quainted and were married after they reached Grand Island. Of their family of five chil- dren three sons are living: Charles, who fol- lows the carpenter trade in Hershey, Lincoln County, Nebraska; Henry, a representative citizen of Alda township, Hall County, and August, who resides on the old homestead near Grand Island. Fritz Becker came to the United States in 1860 and homesteaded in Hall County among the early German settlers of that locality. He was an industrious, thrifty farmer, cultivating his land with thoroughness, and by the time that Nebraska became a state, was recognized as one of the stable and substantial men of Hall County.

Henry Becker grew up on his father's pio- neer farm. He had fewer educational ad- vantages than those reared in better organized settlements, but time has fairly remedied that and Mr. Becker is one of the best informed citizens of his township. He has followed farming all his life and owns one hundred and sixty-nine acres of valuable land, devoting it to general farm purposes.

In 1900 Henry Becker married Miss Lena Luth, who was born in Germany, where her

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father died. She was eleven years old when she accompanied her mother to the United States, where the latter subsequently married George Lorenzen. Mr. and Mrs. Becker have two sons, Carl and William, aged respectively seventeen and sixteen years. They are intel- ligent, well educated young men, and both are giving their father assistance on the home farm. Mr. Becker has never desired public office and takes no very active interest in gen- eral politics.

WILLIAM ORANGE TYLER. - One of the early settlers in Hall County, was the late W. O. Tyler, who owned and operated a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, situated in section eight, South Platte township. This farm is well improved and still remains in the possession of the Tyler family.

W. O. Tyler was born in Orion, Michigan, August 3, 1845, and came to Hall County, in 1870. His parents were William E. and Char- lotte (Nichols) Tyler, who removed from Michigan to Iowa shortly after the birth of their son. William E. Tyler served in an Iowa regiment through the last year of the Civil War, returning then to his farm in Iowa where the family retained residence until 1871 when removal was made to Hall County. Here Mr. Tyler homesteaded and continued on his land until 1884. W. O. Tyler took up a homestead in Hall County, which he de- veloped, and as long as his state of health per- mitted, was active in its improvement. In 1881, however, his health broke down com- pletely and he was forced to retire from the farm and finally, as stated above, went to California, where he spent three years. Mr. Tyler died in California, June 17, 1886.

After a short stay in Nebraska, Mr. Tyler returned to Iowa and soon afterward married Miss Mary F. White. Her parents were John and Mary C. (Thrift) White, who were na- tives of North Carolina. They moved to In- diana in 1863, where they remained until 1867, when they came to Iowa, where Mr. White bought one hundred and sixty acres of land that he developed into a valuable property. Following their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Tyler settled in Hall County and this has been her home ever since. She is well known in this section and is very highly esteemed. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Tyler: Retson, who was born in 1875, is unmarried; and Estella, the wife of Milo Karr. Mr. and Mrs. Karr have the following children : Helen, Lavern, Ada, Glenn and Lloyd, all of whom are attending school except the youngest.

WALTER RHOADES, a prosperous farmer and stockraiser of Hall County, owns eighty acres of fine land situated in section thirty-three, town of Doniphan. Mr. Rhoades was born at Phillips, Hamilton County, Ne- braska, July 4, 1888. His parents were Will- iam H. and Jennie Rhoades, both of whom were born and reared in Illinois. They came from there to Hamilton County about thirty- five years ago, when pioneer conditions pre- vailed here, and they shared in the hardships that tested and proved the courage and steadi- ness of the early settlers. Their lives were not unduly extended, the father dying when aged fifty-four years and the mother passing away at the age of fifty years, their burial being at Phillips.

Walter Rhoades grew up in Hamilton Coun- ty and attended the public schools. For seven years he was in the employ of the Bell Tele- phone Company as a lineman, and his record shows that he was exceedingly efficient in the performance of his duties and maintained friendly relations with his employers as well as the patrons of the company. In 1913 he became a farmer and since then has devoted himself closely to his farm interests.

At Hastings, Nebraska, October 8, 1913, Mr. Rhoades married Miss Lulu May Will- iams, a daughter of C. W. and Viola Will- iams, residents of Hansen, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Rhoades have three children : Law- rence and Florence, twins, and Bettie Irene. They are members of the Presbyterian church. In politics Mr. Rhoades takes no very active part but, as a good, reliable citizen, he casts a vote according to his own judgment after carefully considering public questions for him- self. For some years he has been associated in membership with the Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World.

. LEONARD EARL HUFFMAN, one of the alert young business men and enterprising farmers and stockraisers of Hall County, belongs to an old and substantial family here, and has spent his entire life in this county. He is well known and his reputation as a competent agriculturist and dependable, trust- worthy young man is thoroughly established. Mr. Huffman was born January 3, 1894, at Doniphan, Hall County, Nebraska, a son of Elmer Albert and Amanda Ellen (Kar- michael) Huffman, the former was born in Clarke County, Iowa, in 1862. His parents were John and Margaret (Parkins) Huffman. He worked on his father's farm and attended the country schools in Iowa.d .When he came

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first to Nebraska he was glad to obtain work for $15 a month, while now he is a man of large means, owner of a fine residence in Hastings, and one hundred and sixty acres of well improved land. His first wife was Amanda Ellen Karmichael, and two sons were born to them: Roy and Leonard Earl, both of whom are farmers in Hall County. Mr. Huffman married second Myrtle Wilson. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in Hastings.

Leonard Earl Huffman attended the public schools at Doniphan and was graduated from the high school. He assisted his father on the home farm until the latter retired and moved to Hastings, where he resides at No. 600 West Sixth street. He has been a res- ident of Nebraska since 1882. In 1916 Leon- ard E. Huffman went into business for him- self and now rents two hundred acres of fine land from W. M. Rapp, of Hastings, on which he carries on general farming according to the latest improved methods. He owns a large amount of expensive farm machinery, for Mr. Huffman is a farmer of modern type, and he has invested in first class stock, at the date of writing having eight head of Duroc-Jersey hogs, eight head of horses and five head of cattle, a fine showing for three years of operation.

Mr. Huffman married a woman born, reared and educated in Hall County, like himself. The ceremony that united him to Miss Myrtle Lawell was performed September 20, 1915. She is the youngest of a family of seven chil- dren born to George and Julia Lawell. Mr. and Mrs. Huffman have one son, Jack Wilson. They belong to the Methodist Episcopal church at Doniphan.

HENRY N. MARTIN. - An early settler in Hall County is found in Henry Nathaniel Martin, who now lives retired in Hastings, Nebraska, after many years of successful effort as a general farmer and raiser of fine cattle. Mr. Martin was born in England in 1848, and was brought to the United States in 1851 by his parents, George and Ann (Owers) Martin. For one year the family lived in Ohio and then removed to McHenry County, Illinois, which remained the family home for nine years.

Henry N. Martin was thirteen years old when his people came as far west as Iowa, where they remained one year and then pro- ceeded to Hall County, where his father took up a homestead in section thirteen, township eleven, residing on his homestead until his

death. Within a few years Mr. Martin ac- quired a pre-emption claim for himself and subsequently bought other land when he be- lieved the investment would be profitable, keeping on acquiring farms until he found himself one of the large landowners of the county. He now has eight hundred acres and all his property has been improved in a sub- stantial manner, his farms are well stocked and as a rule they are cultivated according to scientific methods. Mr. Martin continued to manage and operate his land himself until 1911, when he retired and moved into Hast- ings, where he built a comfortable modern residence on North Kansas avenue.

In 1873 Mr. Martin married Miss Letitia Donald, a native of Morgan County, Illinois, and she became the mother of two children: Arthur A., who resides on one of his father's farms, married Pauline Hanson; and Viola, the wife of A. M. Johnson, a native of Ohio, lives on one of Mr. Martin's farms. In 1879, Mr. Martin was married a second time to his present wife, who was Miss Sarah M. Donald, a sister of the first wife. Mr. Martin and his family are members of the Nazarene church. During his many years in Hall County, Mr. Martin has been a witness of wonderful changes, and he has borne a part in much of the development that has made this section of state rich in its agricultural industries and law abiding in its citizenship. He is very widely and commonly known as "Nat" Martin.

JAMES R. VARAH, a well known grain farmer of Hall County, belongs to a family that came to Nebraska full forty years ago and ever since has been represented here. He was born on the hometsead on which he yet lives, situated in section 23, town of Doniphan, No- vember 14, 1886. His parents are Thomas and Erissa (Wisner) Varah, the latter of whom was born in La Salle County, Illinois. The father of Mr. Varah was born in 1857, at Syracuse, New York, was married in Illi- nois, and in 1879 came to Nebraska. He homesteaded in Hall County and for many years lived on this farm, then went into the real estate business and now lives retired in Hastings, Nebraska.

James R. Varah had common school advan- tages and has followed farming for himself since 1907, renting one hundred and sixty acres from his father. He devotes himself mainly to growing grain and sells his product as he makes no special feature of stockrais- ing. For his own use and convenience he averages four head of cattle annually but no Digitized by gre

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H. N. MARTIN AND GRANDCHILDREN

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hogs, and a few horses and mules, all of first class grade. Mr. Varah's farm shows the effect of careful husbandry, his farm machin- ery is of the best and his improvements are adequate and substantial. He owns stock in the mill and elevator at Doniphan.

At Hastings, Nebraska, April 29, 1908, Mr. Varah married Miss Mary Rothwell, one of a family of three children born to James and Mary Rothwell, both deceased. The father of Mrs. Varah was formerly a druggist at Trum- bull, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Varah have five children : Lloyd, Curtis, Howard, Wayne and Norma, their ages ranging from nine to two years. Mrs. Varah is a memeber of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is an independent voter. He belongs to a family noted for its longevity, and his grand- father, who died in 1916, was eighty-three years old and had been a retired farmer at Central Square, Oswego County, New York, for many years. The grandmother still sur- vives, being now in her eighty-sixth year.

FRED J. BUDDECKE, a prosperous gen- eral farmer in Hall County, is a native of Ne- braska, born at Hayes Center, in Hayes County, September 6, 1891. His parents were Carl and Louise Buddecke, both of whom were born in Germany. They came to the United States in 1884, landing in the harbor of New York. From there they went to Toledo, Ohio, where three years were spent. From Toledo they came to Nebraska and the father secured a homestead near Hayes Center, proved up, then moved near Trumbull, in Clay County, dying in Hastings, January 9, 1917, at the age of sixty-four years. The mother is still living.

Fred J. Buddecke obtained his education in the public schools. He was reared on a farm and has been interested in farm pursuits all his life. In 1913 he started out on his own responsibility, renting a tract of land which he operated successfully. Later he rented the farm he is now operating, situated in section twenty-four, town of Doniphan, belonging to the Buddecke estate. Here he has made many substantial improvements, has invested in first class farm machinery, follows modern methods and is making a great success of his venture. He handles standard stock only and at the time of writing has forty head of Duroc-Jer- sey hogs, four mules and twenty head of cattle, all ready for market.

In Hastings, Nebraska, December 17, 1914, Mr. Buddecke married Miss Minnie Brum- mond, a daughter of Herman and Hattie

Brummond, who have been residents of Hamilton County, Nebraska, for seven years, where Mr. Brummond is a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Buddecke have one son, Norman, who is two years old. They attend the Lutheran church. Mr. Buddecke has been treasurer of school district No. 39 for four years and in many other ways has proved his good stand- ing as a citizen. In politics he casts an inde- pendent vote.

OTIS TAGGART. - If an early beginning has anything to do with it, Otis Taggart, one of Hall County's prosperous farmers, should be very competent in his chosen vocation, for his efforts began when he was five years old. There are many small tasks on a well regu- lated farm that can easily be performed by the sturdy growing boys of the family, and Otis, as the second eldest son, was found very use- ful by his practical, sensible father, who has been a resident of Nebraska for the past thirty-six years.

Otis Taggart was born in Moultrie County. Illinois, May 4, 1878. His parents were David and Margaret Ellen Taggart, both deceased. His mother was born in Kentucky and his father in the city of New York. He served during the Civil War as a member of Com- pany H, One Hundred and Twenty-third Illi- nois Infantry. After the war he returned to Illinois, was married and became a farmer in Moultrie County and in 1883 removed from there to Hall County, Nebraska, where his death occurred at the age of fifty-three years. The mother survived until sixty-six years old, passing away near Doniphan. They were estimable people in every relation of life. Their four children survive: Otis, Edward, James and Nellie.

As above indicated, Mr. Taggart was reared on a farm. He attended the public schools and afterward worked as a farmer for others until 1900 when he rented land and since then has carried on agricultural industries on his own account. He is operating two hundred and forty acres, carrying on a general farming line. Mr. Taggart makes no special feature of stock raising but he always maintains a sub- stantial supply on the farm, all of good grade, and at present has two fine milch cows, nine brood sows, some good horses and an exten- sive poultry yard containing about a thousand chickens, with a large proportion of Plymouth Rocks. In addition to his farm property, Mr. Taggart is interested in the Doniphan Elevator and Mill Company.

At Doniphan, Nebraska, March 18, 1908,

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Mr. Taggart married Miss Edith Maud Cava- naugh, the youngest in a family of eight chil- dren born to Simon and Julia (Stansberry) Cavanaugh. The father of Mrs. Taggart was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, and the mother in Tennessee. Both are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Taggart have three children : Bonnie Maxine, Floyd Allen, and an infant. Mrs. Taggart is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Mr. Taggart carries insurance in the Bankers Life Company. He belongs to the order of Woodmen of the World. Mr. Taggart is an intelligent, progressive farmer, and is a good citizen of his county He is known to be ever ready to co-operate with his neighbors for mutual benefit and for good government. Politically he casts an independ- ent vote.

HENRY MOELLER. - There are many men now living in Nebraska who have built up comfortable fortunes since coming here. One of these is Henry Moeller, who owns a large body of valuable land situated in section twenty-five, Alda township, Hall County. Mr. Moeller is also one of the leading stockmen of this section.

Henry Moeller was born in Holstein, Ger- many, July 26, 1861. His grandfather, Claus Moeller, was a highly educated man in Ger- many, a scientist and an astronomer. He never came to America as he was eighty-two years of age when his descendants set out for the United States in 1883. The parents of Henry Moeller were Henry and Margaret Moeller, who landed in the harbor of New York in 1883 and from there came to Davenport, Iowa. Later they removed to Harlan County, Ne- braska, where both died on the home farm.

Before coming to the United States Henry Moeller had attended a public school. He assisted his father on the homestead in Harlan County and afterward operated his own farm there where he continued to live for many years. He now owns eight hundred and thirty- three acres of rich bottom land along the river, and his farm improvements are of a substantial character. He is a large cattle feeder and has two car loads of cattle ready for shipment, also about two car loads of hogs for market every year. Mr. Moeller's farm methods are thorough and practical and his undertakings result profitably.

On March 29, 1895, in Hall County, Mr. Moeller married Miss Emma Boltz. They have seven children : John C., a soldier in the United States army, at Fort Douglas, Utah, connected with a hospital ambulance corps,

and Albert G., Elsie M., Clara, Hannah, Rosie and Nora, all of whom reside at home. Mr. Moeller and family belong to the Lutheran church. He is an independent voter. While living in Harlan County he served in the office of school treasurer for twenty-one years.

EDWARD BOLTZ. - In meeting the rep- resentative and substantial men of Hall County who came here as early settlers, much that is interesting and historically instructive is learned from the recital of their experiences. Very few of them came here with any con- siderable amount of capital, and their present state of comfortable independence is a result of their own industry, prudence and good judgment. Edward Boltz, one of the county's big feeders of cattle may be cited as an ex- ample.

Edward Boltz was born in Holstein, Ger- many, June 22, 1870, the son of Claus and Johanna Boltz, both of whom were natives of the same country. They came to the United States with two children, in May, 1873, having incurred a debt of $200 in order to make the voyage. The father located in Hall County, Nebraska, on Schimmer's Lake, near Grand Island, where he engaged in farming until his accidental death, which was occasioned by a runaway team of horses. He was then forty- five years of age and the father of nine chil- .dren, the eldest being seventeen years old and the youngest aged but eighteen months. This calamity fell heavily on the mother and during the following years when pioneer hardships added to her troubles, all her resources of strength, cheerfulness and frugality were heav- ily taxed. Edward Boltz in recalling those times makes mention of the great snowstorm in the winter of 1888. He was eighteen years old at the time and when the storm assumed vio- lence, started some distance away to get his brothers and sisters who were in the school- house. Fortunately on the return he found a fence and only by following that, hand over hand, was he able to bring the little ones home safely. The mother survived to the age of sixty-four years.

Edward Boltz has always been a farmer and more or less interested in stock. He now owns three hundred and sixty acres of fine meadow land, for some of which he paid $38 and acre, which he now refuses to sell for $125 an acre. He has placed fine farm improvements here. For many years he has been an extensive feeder and now averages three cars of cattle annually and fifty head of hogs. All the horses he raises find a ready

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market. Mr. Boltz has experienced some hard times and would be sorry indeed to see a re- currence of the furious storms that once swept over this section of the country within his memory, or the return of such a devastat- ing plague as the grasshoppers.

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History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 122

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