USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 26
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 26
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JOHN TAYLOR
For the past fifteen years John Taylor has been residing retired in Edgar, enjoying a life of ease and comfort as the result of former years spent in intelli- gently directed industry. A native of Ohio, Mr. Taylor. was born in Urbana on the 20th of August, 1845, a son of J. C. V. and Lucinda J. (Van Meter) Taylor, both natives of Ohio, where they resided all their lives. The father was a prominent and successful farmer of the community in which he resided and he also conducted a mill for several years. Six children were born to that union, three of whom are living : John, whose name initiates this review ; Jennie B., a resident of Urbana, Ohio; and J. S., who is living in Seattle, Washington. Both Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were consistent members of the Presbyterian church and fraternally he was iden- tified with the Odd Fellows. Throughout his life he was a stanch republican and for many years served as assessor of his native county.
John Taylor received his education in the country schools of his native county and entered the Union army at the age of sixteen years, enlisting in Company G, Sixty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served three years and eight months. He was in the army of the Potomac until the battle of Chickamauga and then was transferred to the army of the Cumberland. He participated in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Gettysburg and Peach Tree Creek. At the close of the war he returned to Ohio and engaged in farming until 1865, when he removed to Illinois and worked out on farms for four or five years. At the end of that time he again returned to Ohio, where he was married. A man of great force and determination and one eager to grasp every opportunity offered, he decided to come west in 1886 and as a result located in Clay county. He purchased a farm con- sisting of eighty acres before he removed to the county and this land he brought to a high state of cultivation and sold at a time of high prices. For several years Mr. Taylor was auctioneer for the surrounding community and along this line demonstrated a great amount of ability. For fifteen years he has been living retired in Edgar, where he is readily conceded to be a representative citizen.
In 1873 in Ohio occurred the marriage of Mr. Taylor and Miss Frances R. Barger, a native of the vicinity near Urbana, and a daughter of F. M. and Sarah
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(Strayer) Barger, both natives of Virginia. At an early day they removed to Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have become the parents of six children, four of whom are living ; Joe B., a farmer of Clay Center ; Margaret, who is the wife of Ed. T. Wise, also farming in Clay county ; Frank, who is residing on a farm; and Paul, working in an oil field in Rock River, Wyoming.
Since age conferred upon Mr. Taylor the right of franchise he has been a stanch supporter of the republican party and the principles for which it stands. He has always taken an active interest in the development and improvement of the com- muuity but has neither songht nor desired public office. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and his religions faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Taylor takes an active part in the affairs of that organiza- tion, for the promotion of which she cheerfully gives a large portion of her time. Laudable ambition has prompted Mr. Taylor at every point in his career and his enterprise and diligence have gained him his preseut-day success.
ASHLEY BENNETT
Since 1905 Ashley Bennett has been residing retired in Sutton. For many years he has been prominent in the agricultural circles of Clay county and has arrived at his present success solely through his own effort. A native of Wisconsin, his birth occurred in Argyle, October 12, 1846. His father died when he was but a baby and his mother later married Levi Jacobs by whom he was reared, knowing no other father. He is the only child now living who was born to the first marriage of his mother. Four children were born to the latter marriage, Clarissa Davis of Morrill being the only one living.
Ashley Bennett received his education in the country schools of Wisconsin and acquired a good education. He was quick to learn, applied himself diligently and was in every sense of the word a fine student. He remained with his parents on the home farm until 1873, when he came to Clay county and purchased two hundred and forty acres of railroad and school land. He had but sixteen hundred dollars when he arrived there. Sutton was at that time sparsely populated, having but four homes and four business buildings. Mr. Bennett set about immediately to put the land in cultivation and as a result of his energy and determination his land became some of the most productive in the county. Until 1905 he remained on his farm but in that year decided to retire from active life and removed to Sutton, where he bought a nice piece of property on which he erected a comfortable residence. In 1920 he sold his farm, on which he realized a substantial sum.
In 1868 Mr. Bennett was united in marriage to Miss Mary Humphrey, a native of New York state and a daughter of John and Margaret (Lamerson) Humphrey, the former born in New Jersey and the latter in New York. Mr. Humphrey was a successful farmer there and they both passed away in that state. He had been twice married and was the father of twenty-one children, sixteen by the first union and five by the latter. Mrs. Bennett was the youngest of the children born to the second union, and is the only one living. The parents of Mrs. Bennett were con-
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sistent members of the Baptist church. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett one son, Floyd, has been born. He is married and has three children: Alton and Olive, who are attending school; and Ashley, eighteen months old. Floyd Bennett makes his home in Denver, Colorado, and during the war worked for the govern- ment in machine shops.
The political allegiance of Ashley Bennett is given to the republican party, in the interests of which he takes an active part. He has never sought nor desired public office, however, preferring to devote his entire time to his farming interests. The religious faith of both Mr. Bennett and his wife is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is fraternally identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Bennett may well be called a self-made man, for he started out in life empty handed and by his persistence and energy has won independence and financial success. Today he stands among his fellowmen honored for his sterling character, his pertinacity of purpose and his well merited attainments. Mrs. Bennett belongs to the Daughters of the American Revolution.
CHRISTIAN SCHLIESKE
Among the prominent and successful agriculturists whom Germany has con- tributed to the ranks of those active in the development of the state of Nebraska few are more favorably known than Christian Schlieske. He was born in Germany on the 5th of July, 1836, and in 1872 came to the United States.
Upon the arrival of Mr. Schlieske in this country he made his way first to Rock Island, Illinois, where he remained for two and one-half years. At the termination of that time he determined to remove further west and in November of the year 1874 arrived in Hamilton county, Nebraska. He then homesteaded his present place of eighty acres and built thereon a house of sod with dirt floor and brush roof. He set about to break his land which he succeeded in accomplishing with the aid of ox teams. The first year of his residence on the homestead he put under cultivation seven acres of land and the second year, thirty-five. When Mr. Schlieske, his wife and family arrived in the United States they had practically nothing and Mr. Schlieske hauled his neighbors' grain to Sutton, a distance of thirty-four miles, for the sum of two dollars per load. He was ever ambitious and energetic, and it seemed that every discouragement and misfortune but spurred him on to greater effort. His first two crops were destroyed by the grasshopper storms and the droughts of the '90s. For about two years Mr. Schlieske and his family lived in the old sod house and then he built another sod dwelling, which he improved upon by the addition of a board floor and sod roof. Mr. Schlieske now has one hundred and sixty acres, having added an additional eighty acre tract to the original home- stead. This land is located in section 2, Valley township, and is well improved, having a set of modern buildings and is now being farmed by a son, Henry.
In 1864 in Germany Mr. Schlieske was married to Ernestine Erdman, whose death occurred in 1913. To them nine children were born: Adolph, who passed away at the age of fifty years; Carl, deceased; William, whose death occurred at the age of eighteen years; Hulda, who is now Mrs. Herman Stage; Fred, whose
Vol. II-17
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death occurred at the age of three years; Tillie, who is the wife of Otto Grodske; Sophia, the wife of Ed. Gausman of Elba; Mary, who is the wife of R. Fenster of Waco; and Henry, who is farming the home place.
Mr. Schlieske is a consistent member of the German Lutheran church of Hamp- ton and is a generous contributor to all of its charities. His life has been one of hardship and labor, but he is now reaping the reward to which he is so justly entitled.
JAMES ROLLO
Courageous and self-reliant were the men whose ambitions led them to determine to cast in their lot with the new commonwealth of Nebraska in the earlier stages of its development and among the pioneers of Hamilton county to whom must be ascribed marked priority in the matter of comparatively early settlement within its borders was the late James Rollo, who here established his home in the year following that of the admission of Nebraska to the Union.
Mr. Rollo was born in Scotland on the 15th of April, 1840, and was there reared to adult age, his educational advantages having been those of the common schools. He was a youth of nineteen years when he accompanied his parents on their immi- gration to the United States and the family home was established in the state of Wisconsin. There James Rollo found employment by the month, principally at farm work, and he continued his residence in the Badger state until 1868, in November of which year he arrived in Hamilton county, Nebraska. In company with his brother-in law, John Salmon, he made the overland journey from Wiscon- sin with team and wagon and upon his arrival entered claim to a homestead of eighty acres in what is now Farmers Valley township. His first house was a dugout and this was later replaced by a log house on the bank of the Blue river. He made good improvements on his farm in the passing years and though he met with the losses and reverses common to the pioneer settlers he never wavered in his faith in Nebraska and continued to work with courage and singleness of purpose until substantial rewards became his, as is shown in the fact that at the time of his death he was here the owner of a valuabled farm property of four hundred acres.
A man of superior mentality and sterling character, James Rollo had much of leadership in community affairs during the period of his residence in Hamilton county. He was a republican in politics, had the distinction of serving as the first coroner of the county and held also the office of constable and that of member of the school board of his district. His loyalty to the land of his adoption was significantly manifested by his giving nearly two years of service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war. He enlisted in a Wisconsin volunteer regiment of infantry, took part in a number of battles and minor engagements and was finally incapacitated by the loss of the sight of one eye as a result of an attack of typhoid fever while he was still in service at the front. In later years he showed his abiding interest in his old comrades by maintaining active affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. ยท
Mr. Rollo married Jessie Bothwick, whose death occurred about the year 1881,
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he having long survived her, passing away in the year 1912, secure in his status as one of the honored and venerable pioneers of Hamilton county. Four children survive the parents, namely : Walter, John, Jessie (Mrs. James Bird), and Robert J.
Walter Rollo, eldest of the children, was born on the pioneer farm in Hamilton county, June 20, 1874, and was reared under the conditions and influ- ences of the pioneer period in the history of this section of the state. He early gained close fellowship with the work of the farm and in addition to receiving the advantages of the local schools he completed a course in a business college in the city of Omaha. He has had full appreciation of the county of his birth and has had no desire to sever his connection with it, and he here holds secure vantage ground as a progressive agriculturist and stock raiser and as a citizen who is well upholding the prestige of the family name. In 1913 he took possession of his present farm in section 19, Farmers Valley township, comprising one hundred and eighty acres and the modern buildings on the place erected by him and the other excellent improvements are tokens of his vital and progressive policies. In con- nection with diversified agriculture he gives special attention to the raising of fine Holstein cattle and registered Clydesdale horses.
In 1903 was solemnized the marriage of Walter Rollo to Mrs. Eva-Linna Salmon, widow of Peter Salmon and a daughter of the late John Goff. Mrs. Rollo entered into eternal rest in the year 1915 and is survived by two children, James and William. In 1918 Mr. Rollo wedded Miss Gertrude James and they have one child, Evelyn. The attractive family home is a center of hospitality. Mr. Rollo is serving as treasurer of the school board of his district and is otherwise influential in community affairs, as a liberal and public-spirited citizen.
JACOB E. GEORGE
Among the enterprising and progressive citizens that Russia has furnished to Hamilton county is numbered Jacob E. George who won his success through his farming operations and is now living retired in Aurora, enjoying the comforts and luxuries of life by reason of his former industry and toil. He was born in southern Russia, October 30, 1851, and was there educated. He took up the profession of teaching which he followed for four years before coming to the new world, teaching in both the German and Russian languages. He had been educated in the Gym- nasium school and at length determined to try his fortune in the new world, crossing the Atlantic in 1874. He at once made his way to Nebraska and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of railroad land. For a few months he worked for a farmer at fifteen dollars per month and then his employer advanced him fifty-six dollars and he made his first payment on his farm. He continued with his employer, however, for two years and in the meantime was getting a start on his land. He first built a sod house in 1875 and when his parents came to the new world he gave them the primitive little dwelling. Subsequently he built another sod house and in 1878 built his first frame house which contained two rooms. He lived on the farm until 1884, continuing its cultivation year by year until that time, when he traded the property for a farmers' flour mill in the southern part of the
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county. He afterward bought more land, however, when he sold his mill in 1889, acquiring three eighty-acre tracts in York county. This he subsequently sold and bought more land in Hamilton county. He now owns eleven hundred and twenty acres of land, all of which has been acquired through his own efforts and from his property he derives a most substantial and gratifying annual income. All of this land is now very valuable and would sell at a high figure. He has always displayed sound judgment in making his investments and his business record is such as should serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what can be accom- plished through resolute will intelligently directed.
On the 25th of November, 1877, Mr. George was married to Christina Eberhardt, a native of Russia and a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Eberhardt. Her father, who was a blacksmith, died in Russia but the mother afterward came to the United States and passed away in Mississippi. To them were born eleven children, five of whom are living, Mrs. George being the eldest. By her marriage she has become the mother of six children, five of whom survive: Louisa, the wife of C. K. Penner, a dairyman of York county, Nebraska; William C., a minister of the German Methodist Episcopal church, who was educated in Warrenton, Missouri, and Chicago, and is now located at Clatonia, Nebraska ; Emil, who is on his father's home farm ; John J., who is engaged in farming in Hamilton county ; and Mollie, the wife of Helmuth Griess, also a farmer of Hamilton county. Annie is deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. George are loyal supporters of the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics he is a republican. He has served on the school board, has been road supervisor and at all times is loyal to the interests and welfare of his adopted county. Since 1913 he has made his home in Aurora, purchasing a residence at No. 905 K street which he rebuilt in 1915 and which is today a modern and attrac- tive dwelling. There amid pleasant surroundings he is spending the evening of life. He has reached the Psalmist's allotted span of threescore years and ten but in spirit and interests seems yet a man in his prime.
HENRY WUNDERLICH
Henry Wunderlich, a retired farmer now living in Giltner, Nebraska, engaged in general farming and stock raising in Hamilton county from 1878 to 1914. He was born in Illinois, March 10, 1843, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Shuman) Wunderlich, both natives of Germany. The parents came to the United States in 1840 on an old sailing vessel and located on a farm in Illinois.
Henry Wunderlich received his education in the common schools of Illinois, which schools were conducted in primitive log houses, and he later went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he entered a parish school. After putting his textbooks aside he started to work on his father's farm in Illinois, remaining in that state until 1856, when he removed with his parents to Minnesota. He was married in that state and followed farming there for twelve years, renting land for three years and later purchasing eighty acres. His first home on the Minnesota land was built from the timber secured on the farm. In 1878 he decided to come west, with the result that he located in Hamilton county, going as far as Grand Island
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HENRY WUNDERLICH AND FAMILY
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by train. He purchased three hundred and twenty acres of railroad land in this county for four dollars per acre and broke his own land. For five weeks he made his home in a nearby schoolhouse but then built a small frame house and slab barn on his own place to which he removed. He put out trees and planted a large orchard, the latter having mostly died, and he now has a fine small vineyard. At first he was compelled to haul all of his necessities from Grand Island and he obtained his fuel by cutting willows from along the banks of the Platte river, also burning cornstalks. Mr. Wunderlich experienced many hardships and has been snowed in for many days when severe blizzards hit that section of the country. He has built two sets of good improvements on the land and he achieved a sub- stantial amount of success in his general farming and stock raising. Mr. Wunder- lich has always taken an active interest in the development and improvement of the community and for several years he served on the school board of District 41. He was also road overseer for six years.
In Winona, Minnesota, occurred the marriage of Mr. Wunderlich and Miss Rosana Felzer, a native of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Maier) Felzer. Her parents were both natives of Germany, having been born near the river Rhine. They came to the United States in 1840, taking nine weeks to make the journey, and first settled in Maryland. From there they removed to Pennsylvania and later to Minnesota, where the father followed the blacksmith's trade. Mr. and Mrs. Wunderlich have become the parents of ten children: Eliza- beth, who is the wife of Jacob J. Lindgren of Albany, Oregon; John, who is engaged in farming in Hamilton county ; Frank, who died March 31, 1921; Elnora C., the wife of Charles Wanek, a farmer of Hamilton county ; Charles H., deceased ; George L., of Colorado Springs, Colorado; William M., a farmer of Burwell, Nebraska ; Rudolph, who is farming in Hamilton county; Edith M., the wife of Otto Shaffer, a Hamilton county farmer ; and Janette, deceased.
Since age conferred upon Mr. Wunderlich the right of franchise he has been an independent voter, giving his support to the man he thinks most fitted for the position. The Wunderlich family are members of the Catholic church at Giltner, in the activities of which they take a prominent part. Mr. Wunderlich has lived a useful, active and busy life, as has also his wife, and whatever success he has achieved has come to him as the reward of ability and industry. He has been a dominant factor in the upbuilding of this section of the country and has been a witness of its progress and improvement. Mr. and Mrs. Wunderlich celebrated their golden wedding April 8, 1916.
GUST W. SANDIN
Gust W. Sandin, who has the agency at Aurora for the Ford car and also main- tains a garage and repair shop in connection with his salesrooms, was born in Sweden, April 6, 1878, and his parents, A. G. and Gustava (Ericson) Sandin, were also natives of that country. The father, who was a tool maker by trade, died in Sweden and Mrs. Sandin was remarried in Sweden, to P. A. Ekberg, and brought the family to the United States in 1890, settling in Polk county, where
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they resided until 1896, when she removed to Marquette, Nebraska. Mr. Ekberg was a farmer by occupation and has passed away. Mrs. P. A. Ekberg had a family of three sons by her first marriage, of whom two are living: Fred and Gust, who are associated in business. One son, Sigfred, died at Swedehome, Nebraska, at the age of thirty-six years. The mother was a member of the Lutheran church and was a woman of many sterling qualities, devoted to her family and doing every- thing in her power to qualify her children for life's practical and responsible duties.
Gust W. Sandin was educated in the schools of Sweden to the age of twelve years, when he came to the United States with his mother and stepfather and then started out to earn his own living. For ten years he was connected with farming west of Marquette and eventually purchased the Baleys homestead of two hundred acres. Later he sold this land when he turned his attention to the automobile business in Marquette in 1909. There he remained until 1914 but established his garage in Aurora in 1912. He began handling the Ford car and has since had the agency for this. He also has a branch agency at Giltner. His business has reached extensive proportions and in addition to selling many cars annually he does all kinds of Ford repairing. He is energetic, alert and determined and carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.
In 1900 Mr. Sandin was married to Miss Edna Cowling, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of John W. Cowling, who in 1889 became a resident of Marquette, Nebraska, and devoted his life to the occupation of farming. Mr. and Mrs. Sandin have become parents of six children: Ada, who was a teacher in the schools of Hamilton county for two years and now occupies a position with Hainer, Craft & Edgerton, attorneys of Aurora, was graduated from the high school at Aurora when sixteen years of age; Freda is now a high school pupil; Mabel, Phyllis and Gust W. are also in school ; and Wilbur, two years of age, completes the family.
Mr. Sandin is a Scottish Rite Mason and Noble of the Mystic Shrine and he also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he maintains an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment with little regard for party ties. For three years he served as assessor while in Marquette but does not seek nor desire political preferment, as his time is fully occupied by his business affairs and though he started out to make his own living when but twelve years of age and had no financial resources at all at the outset of his career, he is today one of the men of affluence in Aurora, occupying an enviable position in its business circles.
RICHARD H. PEARD
In the year 1872 variously equipped "prairie schooners" were to be seen making their way across the prairies from the east to Hamilton county, Nebraska, and one of these with its more or less jaded teams, was that occupied by Richard H. Peard, the sterling citizen whose name introduces this review, who was destined to do well his allotted part in connection with the civic and material development and upbuilding of the county, he having been about twenty-six years of age at the time of his arrival in the county.
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