USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 20
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 20
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
In the year 1896 Mr. Titman was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe Zehr, a native of Illinois, and they began their domestic life on a rented farm, which they occupied for seven years. During that period they carefully saved their earnings and Mr. Titman, in 1904, purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land on which were a few small and insignificant improvements. There were some trees on the place and he put out an orchard. Today he has a finely improved property that is a monument to his labor, his enterprise and his business ability. Today he owns altogether three hundred and twenty acres with two sets of fine buildings and improvements on the place and he likewise has a half section of land at Stratton, Colorado. He carries on general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of Poland China hogs, and there are no better specimens of this breed to be found in Hamilton county. He also owns a shorthorn bull and jack and raises fine Per- cheron horses. He holds annual sales of his Poland China hogs and his stock
197
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
raising interests have for three years been an important and profitable feature of his business.
Mr. and Mrs. Titman are widely and favorably known in Hamilton county, where they have reared their family of six children. Their eldest son, Elwin, enlisted in the United States service at the time of America's entrance into the World war and was trained at Camp Cody. He left with the old Company H, holding the rank of sergeant. He did office work and later was made sergeant major. After a time he went across and was within two days of the front when the armistice was signed. The second member of the family is Chauncey, who is at home, and the others are: Merton, also at home, who was made one of the judges for the team from Aurora for the judging of hogs. He is considered one of the best hog judges in the state. Mazie, who is attending the high school at Aurora; Fairy, who died at the age of eighteen months; and Velva, at home. The parents and children are members of the Lysinger Presbyterian church and take an active interest in its work, contributing generously to its support. Mr. Titman has also served as a member of the school board. He is an independent voter, considering the capability of the candidates rather than party ties, and fraternally he is con- nected with the Modern Woodmen of America.
B. F. NALL
Among the number of most substantial and highly respected citizens of Clay county, who hy reason of their industry and progressiveness in former years have been enabled to spend their last years in well earned retirement, was the late B. F. Nall, who was born in Morgan county, Illinois, May 2, 1841, a son of Russell and Hannah (Peters) Nall, the former a native of Tennessee, while the latter was born in Kentucky. In early life they became residents of Illinois and were married in that state. The father was a farmer and brick-maker and burned the first kiln of brick in Macoupin county, Illinois. He was associated with J. I. Rinaker, a prominent man of that locality. Mr. Nall and his wife were loyal members of the Christian church and his political support was given to the democratic party. He was quite successful in his business affairs and in addition to the lines of activity previously mentioned he was well known as a stock buyer and drove his stock from Illinois to St. Louis. He lived a life of intense industry, being never afraid of hard work and his diligence was the basis of his prosperity. Both he and his wife departed this life in Illinois. They were the parents of nine children and the mother also had nine children by a second marriage. One of the first family is still living : Mrs. Susana Berryman, who is now a widow, residing in Texas. B. F., of this review, passed away March 28, 1921.
In the common schools of Illinois B. F. Nall pursued his education and on the 20th of October, 1861, when twenty years of age, he volunteered for service in the Union army, becoming a member of Company A, Thirty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for nine months. He then became ill of brain fever and his eyesight was thus destroyed, so that he was totally blind for forty years. After the war he returned to Illinois and was married in that state to Miss Martha
Vol. II-13
198
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
Evans, who was there born March 9, 1842, a daughter of William M. and Amy (Seymour) Evans, who were natives of Alabama and of North Carolina, respec- tively. Her father was a preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church and served as a chaplain in the Ninety-ninth Illinois Regiment during the Civil war. He was a millwright by occupation, but engaged in preaching the gospel for many years. To Mr. and Mrs. Nall were born nine children, of whom seven are living: Mrs. Ella Hart, whose husband is a retired farmer of Edgar, Nebraska; Mrs. Sina Hayes of Colorado, whose husband follows farming there; Mrs. Anna Lewis, whose husband is a retired farmer of Clay Center; William A., who carries on farming in Clay county ; Franklin, also living on a farm in the same county; Mrs. Mary Schwab, whose husband is a farmer of Wyoming; and Mrs. Minnie Cooper, whose husband is a ranchman and farmer of California.
It was in October, 1872, that Mr. Nall brought his family to Clay county and here he homesteaded, securing one hundred and sixty acres of land. He lived in a sod house in the early days and had a sod barn on his place. As time passed he improved the property and purchased one hundred and eighty acres of additional land. His family still owns the three hundred and twenty acres of rich and valuable farm land in Clay county, on which he placed many splendid modern improvements and his sons now occupy the farm. In September, 1906, the parents removed to Clay Center where he and his wife were living at the time of his death, he having here erected a nice home. Mr. Nall certainly deserved great credit for what he accomplished. He came to Nebraska empty-handed and, moreover, was handicapped by his blindness. Notwithstanding all this, his industry, his careful management and sound business judgment enabled him to wring fortunes from the hands of fate, and he became one of the men of affluence in Clay Center. His political support was given to the republican party and he was a member of the Evangelical church, as is also his widow. They have long been numbered among the most highly esteemed residents of this part of the state, enjoying the friendship and kindly regard of all. He was a member of the G. A. R. Post for many years.
CARL F. HUENEFELD
Carl F. Huenefeld, who devoted his life to the occupation of farming and was numbered among the leading agriculturists of Hamilton county, was born October 6, 1853, in Veldrom, Lippe Detmold, Germany, his parents being Carl and Louise Huenefeld, who emigrated to America in 1854, settling near Fennimore, Wisconsin, in the spring of 1855. There the father followed farming as a life work. Both the paternal and the maternal grandfathers of Carl F. Huenefeld were soldiers in the Napoleonic wars in the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Carl F. Huenefeld obtained a common school education in the English and German languages, while spending his youthful days on his father's farm in Wis- consin. After his textbooks were put aside he concentrated his efforts and attention upon the further work of the fields until he reached the age of twenty-four years, in 1878. He then began farming on his own account in Aurora precinct, purchasing the northeast quarter of section 31 in 1880. He built a house on this property and
199
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
he and his wife-for he previously married-took up their abode there. In 1911, however, they removed to Arkansas, where they now reside. Mr. Huenefeld has become the owner of land in Nebraska, Arkansas and Louisiana and has also made other judicious investments.
It was at Liberty Ridge, Wisconsin, on the 30th of May, 1880, that Mr. Huene- feld was married to Miss Auna Elizabeth Bald, whose parents were natives of Germany, but came to America wheu quite young. They lived in Philadelphia for a number of years and settled in the town of Liberty, Grant county, Wisconsin, in 1858. To Mr. and Mrs. Huenefeld have been born eleven children, all of whom are living and five of the number are married. Three of the sons reside in Nebraska, one daughter in Las Vegas, New Mexico, one son in Louisiana and six of the children in Arkansas. There are also thirteen grandchildren. One of the sons, Arnold, was with the American forces in France during the World war, while another son, Fred, was in training at Camp Stanley, Texas, at the time the armistice was signed.
Mr. Huenefeld never held office save serving on the election board and as school director, for he always preferred to devote his time and attention to his business interests. He has given his political support at times to the democratic and to the populist parties, but in 1916 supported the republican candidate for the presidency. He has become identified with no secret organizations except the Farmers' Alliance and served as secretary of Harmony Alliance, its meeting place being the Prairie Center schoolhouse. When a resident of Nebraska he attended the German Evangel- ical church of Aurora, but since taking up his abode in Arkansas has attended the Methodist church. His has been an active and useful life and his industry and perseverance have been the broad basis upon which he has builded his success.
JOHN W. PINE
John W. Pine, now deceased, was for many years well known in the agricultural circles of Clay county as a successful and progressive farmer. Born in Ohio, Novem- ber 21, 1832, he came to Illinois with his parents, William and Nancy (Tedrow) Pine, being then but six years of age.
John W. Pine is indebted to the schools of Illinois for his early education and he remained on his parents' farm until reaching man's estate. The town of Baylis now stands on land which was included in his father's farm. Mr. Pine then bought eighty acres of land in Illinois, also renting other land, and there he engaged in general farming and stock raising until his removal to Missouri in 1882. The following year he came to Nebraska and located in Fall City for a year, after which time, in 1884, he bought two hundred and forty acres of land in Clay county. There was a small two-room house on this land and also some outbuildings and he worked to bring the place to a high state of cultivation. He set out shade trees and also an orchard, but the latter mostly died out during the droughts of 1893 and 1894. In his agricultural ventures Mr. Pine achieved a great amount of success and at the time of his death was in possession of four hundred and forty acres of
200
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
fine land, well improved. In 1900 he retired from active life and removed to Trumbull, where his death occurred December 1, 1917.
While living in Illinois Mr. Pine was married to Miss Mary McCleery, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Thomas and Martha (Lawson) McCleery, who came to Illinois at an early day. Nine children have been born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Pine: Lucinda, who is the wife of E. M. Rader of Trumbull; Lizzie, the wife of Alfred Hill of Pike county, Illinois; George, deceased; Martha, also deceased ; Jennie, who is the wife of John Wass of Oklahoma; Lucetta, who was the wife of Oliver McCoy, but is now deceased ; Ella, who is the widow of T. J. Dudgeon, a farmer in Clay county ; Lucy, the wife of Ed. Talbert of Hastings, Nebraska ; and Irene, who is at home.
For many years Mr. Pine was a stanch republican but in later life became a supporter of the populist faction. In religious circles of Trumbull he played a prominent part, having assisted in the building of the Methodist church there, of which he became a trustee. He was active in civic affairs as a member of the school board and while residing in Illinois served as road overseer. Practically his entire life was devoted to farming and only by his own industry and diligence did he achieve his success. His death left a void in the community which will be hard to fill for he was widely acknowledged a self-made man and a representative citizen.
JOHN N. BROCK
No man is to be commended specially for having lived a goodly number of years, but if he has made those years count in worthy achievement and has exemplified the character and the powers that make for usefulness as a man among men, then he is entitled to definite tribute and honor when the shadows of his life begin to lengthen toward the golden west. Judge John N. Brock of Giltner, Hamilton county, has been a resident of this county nearly half a cen- tury and is now one of the county's most venerable and honored pioneer citi- zens, his being the distinction also of having given gallant service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war. His loyalty at that period of the nation's history has been equalled by that which he has exemplified in all of the relations of his long and useful career.
Judge Brock, who has served continuously as justice of the peace or police judge in Hamilton county since 1882, claims the old Empire state as the place of his nativity and is a scion of a family whose name has been linked with American history for many generations. He was born at Cuba, New York, on the 19th of November, 1838, and is a son of David and Elizabeth (Pittsly ) Brock. Ile was about five years old when his parents removed to Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1843, and two years later he accompanied them on the journey to Grant county, Wisconsin. There his father purchased a tract of government land, for eighty acres of which he paid at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and for the remaining eighty acres he paid fifty cents per acre. The entire tract was covered with a heavy growth of timber and in the little log house which the father constructed on the embryonic farm was the home in which the subject of
MR. AND MRS. JOHN N. BROCK
203
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
this review was reared to adult age. Under the conditions and influences that marked the pioneer period in the history of that section of the Badger state, Mr. Brock progressed mentally and physically, and he recalls with pleasing memory that he attended school in a little schoolhouse of log construction, with slab benches and other primitive accessories. He walked nearly two miles back and forth from his home to pursue his studies in this pioneer school and did not fail to make good use of the advantages there afforded. As a young man he was for two years employed on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and then learned the miller's trade, to which he there continued to give his time and attention for seven years. When the Civil war broke out Mr. Brock did not long restrain his patriotic ardor, for in August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company B, Twenty-third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. After serving about one year with this regiment he was honorably discharged on account of physical disability, but in October, 1864, he was again able to enter the nation's service, and enlisted in Company G, forty-seventh Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he was assigned to duty in guarding railroads between Chattanooga and Nashville, Tennessee. He also served as drill sergeant and remained with his regiment until the close of the war. Thereafter he continued his residence in Wisconsin until 1875, when, accompanied by his wife and their four children, he set forth with team and wagon on the long overland journey to Nebraska. In making preliminary provision for the new home in the pioneer community he brought with him five head of cattle and upon arrival in Hamilton county he settled one- half mile west of the present village of Giltner. Here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of railroad land, built a small house of combined frame and sod construction and girded himself for the work and responsibilities of a pioneer farmer. The village of Giltner had not then been established and he did most of his early trading at Hastings and Grand Island. He brought much of his land under cultivation, continued to make improvements on the place and, like other settlers, met loss through drought and grasshopper visitations, besides facing the many other trials and perplexities common to the pioneers of the locality and period.
Judge Brock remained on his farm until 1885, when he removed to the village of Giltner, where he has since maintained his residence and where he is giving characteristically efficient service as police judge, his original commission as justice of the peace having been received by him in 1882, while he was still living on his farm and he has continued as a magistrate in this county during the intervening years. A stalwart supporter of the republican party Judge Brock cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln and he is known as a resourceful and ardent advocate of the principles of the party which has enlisted his al- legiance during his entire mature life. He has been affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic, being a member of the post at Giltner until its enrollment became so diminished that the organization was permitted to lapse. He has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity since 1882 and his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 19th of November, 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Brock to Miss Adelaide Bailey, and not until after they had celebrated their golden wedding anniversary were these ties severed by the death of Mrs. Brock,
204
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
who passed to eternal rest in the year 1912, she having been a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of their eight children four are living. In 1915 Judge Brock was united in marriage to Hannah E. Bellairs and she is the popular presiding genius of their pleasant home in the village of Giltner.
Judge Brock became a member of the school board of his district in Union township, this county, in 1877, and after removing to Giltner served many years as a member of the local school board. He also held for several years the posi- tion of chairman of the village board of Giltner.
JOHN HOMER GROSVENOR
John Homer Grosvenor, who has made the practice of law his life work and has been a representative of the bar of Aurora since June, 1898, has done much to maintain the legal and moral status of his community, being an able representa- tive of that profession which stands as a firm, conservator of justice and the safeguard of the rights and privileges of the individual. Mr. Grosvenor was born on a farm in York county, Nebraska, April 5, 1873, his parents being George W. and Caroline Grosvenor. The father was born at Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio, and was a son of John Grosvenor and a grandson of Richard Allen Grosvenor, who came from England to the new world, settling in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. The ancestral line in England can be traced back to the time of William the Conqueror, for the family is one of the oldest of the "Merrie Isle." The present head of the English family is the Duke of Westminster and only a limited number of the family is to be found within the United States. George Washington Grosvenor had reached early manhood when the Civil war was inaugu- rated and joined Company A of the Third lowa Cavalry, serving through the four years of hostilities from 1861 until 1865. He married Caroline Leach, who was born near Wheeling, West Virginia, and both saw much of the pioneer life as represented in the log cabin and sod house experiences of the frontier in Ohio, Iowa and Nebraska.
John H. Grosvenor pursued his early education in the common schools of Hamilton county, Nebraska, and afterward attended the Fremont Normal College, now the Midland College, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy in 1896. In preparation for a career at the bar he entered the College of Law of the University of Nebraska and completed his course by graduation in 1898, at which time the LL. B. degree was conferred upon him. In his youthful days his experiences were those of the farm bred boy and in young manhood his time was divided between teaching and college work. Subsequent to his graduation from the State University he entered immediately upon the practice of law in Aurora, where he has since continued. As the years have passed he has been accorded a large clientage of an important character and enjoys an enviable reputation by reason of the thoroughness and precision with which he prepares his cases and the clearness and logic with which he presents his cause before the courts. The story of his progression is the record of perseverance and determination and wise use of the talents with which nature endowed him. After practicing for a few
205
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
years he became city attorney for Aurora and later filled the position of county attorney of Hamilton county. Subsequent to that period he was chairman of the special tax commission of the state in 1913 and 1914 and he enjoyed a large general law practice until April, 1916, when he was appointed postmaster of Aurora and concentrated his attentions in large measure to the duties of that position. From early manhood he has manifested' a deep and conscientious interest in the affairs of state and has exerted not a little influence over the public thought and action, especially along political lines.
Mr. Grosvenor was originally a member of the people's independent party and later joined the democratic party. He served as state chairman of the people's party in 1911-12. In 1897 he was elected to represent the forty-first district of Nebraska in the house of representatives and remained a member thereof for four years or until 1901 and during that period was in 1899 the caucus chairman of the Fusion forces. His service as county attorney extended from 1907 until 1911 and as chairman of the special tax commission from 1913 until 1915, while on the 16th of April, 1916, he was appointed postmaster. For many terms he has acted as city attorney for Aurora and has also been a member of the board of the insane commission of Hamilton county for many years.
At Bostwick, Nebraska, on the 15th of June, 1904, Mr. Grosvenor was married to Miss Florence White, a daughter of the late Captain Arthur W. and Lora Josephine White of Nuckolls county, Nebraska. Mrs. Grosvenor's father was a well known veteran of the Civil war and acted as one of the personal bodyguard of Abraham Lincoln. His wife was well known as an artist in oils, china and water colors. Both have now passed away, their remains resting in the Aurora cemetery. To Mr. and Mrs. Grosvenor have been born seven children: Grace Florence, Josephine Caroline, John Homer, Jr., George Arthur, Hannah White, Gertrude Helen, and Ruth Louise. The education of their children is one of the foremost ambitions of the parents.
Mr. Grosvenor belongs to several fraternal organizations, being a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, an Elk, a Highlander and also a member of the Woodmen and of the Workmen lodges. He was formerly great sachem of the Improved Order of Red Men in Nebraska and has made many fraternal addresses on various occasions. He is identified with Commercial and Golf clubs and is a life member of the Hamilton County Agricultural Association. He has earnestly championed the cause of the Young Men's Christian Association and of the Sal- vation Army and is interested in all those forces which make for higher ideals of life and for advanced standards of citizenship.
JUDGE WILLIAM FREDERICK JEFFERS
William Frederick Jeffers, familiarly known as "Fred" Jeffers, who since 1911 has been judge of the county court of Hamilton county, is a representative of a family that was of English origin but was established in America in the seventeenth century. The grandfather, Elijah Jeffers, was born in Ohio. The father, William P. Jeffers, was a native of Clermont county, Ohio, and in Pike
206
HAMILTON AND CLAY COUNTIES
county, Illinois, to which he removed in 1837, he was married to Miss Martha Potter whose birth occurred in Adams county, Illinois. Her father was David Potter who removed to that state in the '30s and settled upon a farm, spending his remaining days there. William P. Jeffers devoted his life to farming and fruit raising in Illinois for many years and in 1884 came to Hamilton county, Nebraska, purchasing land seven miles southwest of Aurora. There was nothing on the farm at that time but a barn and granary but with characteristic energy he began improvements and erected a frame house in the midst of a cornfield. As the years passed he continued the work of development and became the owner of an excellent farm property, upon which he and his wife spent their remaining days. They were the parents of fourteen children, three of whom died in Illinois in infancy. Nine of the family are living: Mrs. Mary A. Starks, residing in Wyoming; Jennie, the wife of N. S. Cole, living on a farm near Aurora; Thomas P., a resident farmer of the state of Washington; Mrs. Emma Fye, whose home is near Aurora; William F .; Etta, the wife of Omer Auten, occupying a homestead in Arizona; Warren, who resides on the old home farm in Hamilton county ; Alta, the wife of J. E. Rolstin who has retired from business and is located in Aurora; and Nellie, who is a nurse in Los Angeles, California. The parents were consistent members of the United Brethren church and Mr. Jeffers gave his political allegiance in later years to the democratic party. He won a fair measure of success and was highly esteemed in the community in which he made his home.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.