USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 33
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 33
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In August, 1879, Mr. Chapman was married to Sarah Eckerson, who was born in Wisconsin and removed to De Kalb, Illinois, with her parents, afterward going to Iowa, while at a later period her father established the family home in Nebraska, arriving in this state in 1878. He purchased land and passed away in Hamilton county in 1884. His widow survives at the age of more than eighty years and is now making her home with Mr. and Mrs. Chapman, who by their marriage be- came the parents of two children : Glenn S., who was born in 1882, was graduated from the Aurora high school in 1901 and afterward studied for a year in the State University. In June, 1903, he became connected in business with his father and the partnership has since been maintained. He was married in 1911 to Fay Dixon and they have become parents of three daughters: Phyllis, Marian and Ruth; the second member of the family of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Chapman is Erma, now the wife of Emil Holdgraf. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman are members of the Presbyterian church, loyal to its teachings and interested in its growth. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the Modern Woodmen of America, while his political faith is that of the republican party. He is truly a self-made man and deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, as he started out in life empty handed at an early age. Steadily he has advanced, each forward step bringing him a broader outlook and wider opportunities and today he is classed among the most progressive and prosperons merchants of Aurora.
AXEL FREDRICKSON
The vigorous optimism born of self reliance and determined purpose has been a definite force in the career of Axel Fredrickson, who through his own efforts has become one of the substantial representatives of farm industry in Hamilton county, where his excellently improved farm is situated in section 18, Phillips township.
Mr. Fredrickson was born in Sweden in 1868, and there he received his early education, besides gaining a due quota of practical experience. He was twenty-one years of age when in 1889 he came to the United States, firm in his confidence that through his own labors he could here make for himself a place of independence. With a sane outlook upon life he was ready to prove his value in whatever line he directed his energies and soon found employment in connection with construction work on the first division of the Union Pacific Railroad, which was virtually his first service after he came to Nebraska. He was given charge of a construction
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gang and continued his active alliance with this branch of railroad work until 1902, when he purchased eighty acres of his present farm. He had accumulated a fund of one thousand and four hundred dollars and in purchasing his farm ex- pended this and also assumed an indebtedness of two thousand and six hundred dol- lars. By energy and good management he not only developed and improved his land but was able also to clear himself of debt within a period of six years. All this meant hard work and close application, but the end justified the means, as is evident in the fact that he is now the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres, improved with modern buildings and maintained at a high standard of productiveness. He gives his attention largely to the raising of corn and his success has proved the value of his work in this department of agricultural enter- prise.
Mr. Fredrickson's interest in politics is simply that of a loyal public-spirited citizen who has no ambition for office of any kind, and he gives his support to the republican party. He and his wife are earnest communicants of the Swedish Lutheran church.
At Aurora, Hamilton county, in 1899, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Fredrickson to Miss Mary Anderson, daughter of Andrew Erickson, one of the sterling pioneer settlers of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Fredrickson have three children : Florence, Lillie and Aldie, all of whom remain at the parental home. A fourth child died in infancy. Mr. Fredrickson is distinctly one of the world's productive workers and is well entitled to the substantial prosperity that has attended his earnest efforts.
J. P. CHERRY
The attractiveness of Hamilton county as a place of residence is indicated in the fact that so many of her farmers have won success that now enables them to live retired in the enjoyment of the fruits of their former toil. To this class ' belongs J. I'. Cherry who is a resident of Aurora and who comes to the state from Ohio, his birth having occurred in Muskingum county, July 12, 1850. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey Cherry who were reared in Ohio, but at the time of the gold excitement in California the father started for the Pacific coast. He was shipwrecked en route and was never heard from again. The mother died when her son, J. P. Cherry, was but three years of age and the boy was reared by a cousin, Mr. Shamblin. He pursued his education in the public schools of his native state and continued a resident of Ohio until 1862, when he went to Iowa and there rented a farm, continuing to make his home in that state for two decades. In 1882 he became a resident of Nebraska and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land at ten and twenty dollars per acre, buying this from the railroad company. He had ten years in which to make the payments upon this property. He had . a three-room frame house and in the early days met the usual experiences of life on the frontier but persistently and energetically carried on his work and as the result of his diligence and determination won success as the years passed. He
MR. AND MRS. J. P. CHERRY
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continued to reside upon the farm until January 13, 1915, when he removed to Aurora, thus putting aside the active work of the fields.
It was in Iowa, before his removal to this state, that Mr. Cherry was united in marriage to Miss Margaret E. Grim who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Joseph Grim, who became a resident of Iowa in early times and there followed the occupation of farming. To Mr. and Mrs. Cherry were born three children, two of whom are living: Joseph, a farmer residing on his father's farm near Phillips, Nebraska ; and Vernie, the wife of Clyde Cogil, also living on her father's farm near Phillips. Mrs. Cherry passed away in 1905, at the age of forty-five years and eighteen days. She was a member of the Freewill Baptist church and was a lady of many estimable qualities. In 1908 Mr. Cherry was married to Georgiana Eppner, a native of Iowa, where her father settled in early pioneer times. Again Mr. Cherry was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife in 1919, for Mrs. Georgiana Cherry passed away on the 4th of July of that year. She was a loyal member of the Christian church and Mr. Cherry attends services at that church. His political endorsement is given to the republican party but he has never sought nor desired office, preferring always to concentrate his energies and attention upon his business affairs. It has been by reason of his close applica- tion and unabating diligence that he has gained the place which he now occupies as one of the men of affluence in Aurora and his record illustrates what can be accomplished through individual effort. He still owns eighty acres of land, having given his children eighty acres each. While upon the farm he raised considerable stock and in all that he undertook met with success, so that he is thoroughly justified in enjoying the rest which is now his, the result of his former activities supplying him at the present time with all of the comforts of life.
F. A. BUTLER, M. D.
For thirty-six years Dr. F. A. Butler has engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Harvard and such has been his devotion to the duties of his pro- fession that he well merits the high regard and warm esteem entertained for him throughout the county. The summer's sun has never been too hot nor the winter's cold too severe for him to respond to a call of suffering and in the earlier days perhaps no one was better known than Dr. Butler as he drove from place to place in all parts of the county, alleviating pain and suffering and carrying with him an atmosphere of cheer and comfort. A native of Illinois, his birth occurred in Jack- sonville, January 22, 1854, his parents being James L. and Oletha P. (Sargent) Butler, the former a native of Virginia, while the latter was born in Ohio. The grandfather, William Sargent, represented Morgan county, Illinois, in the state legislature at the time that Abraham Lincoln was a member from Sangamon county. The parents were married in Illinois, having become residents of that state in an early day and there the father engaged in the occupation of farming. He served in the Black Hawk war of 1832 and went through many of the expe- riences and hardships of pioneer life. Some time afterward he removed to Parsons, Kansas, where he lived a few years when death called him to the home beyond and
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his wife also passed away there. They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Butler gave his political endorsement to the republican party. To him and his wife were born twelve children, of whom seven are living: A. C., who has been superintendent of schools at Abingdon, Illinois, for fifteen years; F. A., of this review ; Thomas Butler, who is successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in Seattle, Washington; Melton, who occupies the old homestead farm in Kansas; Mrs. Belle Duree, living at Edna, Kansas; Harriett, the wife of John Henson, a farmer and stockman, residing at Newalla, Oklahoma; and Mary Malinda, the wife of Joseph Essig of Parsons, Kansas. One son, John T. Butler, was a very promi- nent figure in political circles in San Diego, California, serving as county clerk and as a city official. He was also very prominent in Masonic circles, the honorary thirty-third degree being conferred upon him. He passed away in 1916. The eldest of the family was Charles Wesley Butler who went with Sherman on the celebrated march from Atlanta to the sea during the Civil war. Later he was taken prisoner and for a time was at Libby prison, after which he was transferred to Richmond and was there incarcerated at the time Grant captured the city. After a furlough home he went to camp in Springfield, Illinois, and there passed away.
Doctor Butler obtained his education in the common schools of Illinois and later attended the Kansas Normal school at Fort Scott, afterwards winning the degrees of D. S. C. and A. M. in Chicago College. He also attended the Iowa State Medical College, where he studied both pharmacy and medicine and in 1879 was graduated in medicine from the Louisville University of Louisville, Kentucky. . He practiced in a hospital at Sheridan, Illinois, for a period of six years and gained the broad and valuable knowledge and experience which hospital practice brings. In 1885 Doctor Butler arrived in Harvard, Nebraska, and through the intervening period to the present time sixty-eight physicians have located in this city but the greater number have been forced to seek a location elsewhere. Doctor Butler, however, throughout the years has enjoyed a good and paying practice, the public recognizing his ability and efficiency in his chosen field. In twenty-five years he drove but six horses in making his calls all over the county. He would go day and night at any time his services were needed and his course has always been characterized by a broad humanitarian spirit as well as comprehensive pro- fessional knowledge and skill, so that through the years he has ever enjoyed a large practice and has won success as time has passed.
On the 1st of September, 1887, Doctor Butler was married to Miss Emma Keebler, a native of Pennsylvania, and they have become parents of two children : Fletcher A. of Lincoln, Nebraska, who is married and has one child, Virginia; and Oletha, the wife of William McCommins of Rock Island, Illinois, who served as a soldier of the World war. Mrs. McCommins is a talented musician and is now playing the pipe organ in a church of Rock Island.
Both Dr. Butler and his wife are consistent and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church and politically he is a democrat, but has never sought nor desired office, preferring to concentrate his energy and attention upon his practice and his business affairs, for as the years have gone by he has accumulated large property holdings, having now ten hundred and forty acres of land, of which four hundred acres is situated in Clay county and the remainder in various sections
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of Nebraska. He is also the owner of land in Oklahoma." In his profession he has ever held to the highest standards and has kept in touch with progressive thought and methods through his membership in the Clay County, Nebraska State and American Medical Associations. He has attended the American Medical Associa- tion six different times as a delegate from the state and has been president of the county organization and also of the York District Medical Society. He has like- wise held many positions of honor and trust in the State Medical Association and for thirty years has been the contract surgeon of the Northwestern Railway Com- pany of Clay county. He has recently attended the American College of Surgeons at Omaha with the expectation of becoming a member thereof. He has always specialized in gynecology and surgery and has been particularly skillful in these fields of practice. He has taken much post-graduate work in Chicago, in Rochester, Minnesota, in Louisville, Kentucky, and in New York city, thus acquainting himself with the most advanced methods and ideas of the eminent physicians and surgeons of America.
J. M. GRAY
Among the worthy and representative citizens of Sutton is J. M. Gray, who for many years was prominent in the lumber circles there and throughout the county, but is now living retired, enjoying the fruits of his many years of industry. Mr. Gray was born in Marion, Iowa, August 30, 1843, a son of Hosea and Nancy Ann (Smith) Gray, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Indiana. They were married in Marion, Iowa, however, where the father had come in 1837 and the mother a year later. Hosea Gray was an able and prominent attorney and for many years practiced in Marion., He also had the distinction of being the first sheriff of Lynn county, that state. In 1871 he decided to come west, with the result that he located in Sutton, resuming his law practice. At the time of his arrival Sutton boasted of but one house and that a dugout belonging to Luther French, an early homesteader. Mr. Gray loaned money to Mr. French to lay out the town of Sutton in lots. For some time Mr. Gray had a partner, A. A. McCoy, and they dealt in land in connection with their law practice. At the time of his death in 1885 Mr. Gray had become quite prosperous and was widely known throughout the connty. His wife passed away in 1868 in Iowa. Nine children were born to that union, of whom J. M. Gray is the oldest. Seven are living, but only one besides our subject resides in Sutton, a sister, Mrs. Sam Carney. Mrs. Gray was a con- sistent member of the Congregational church, while her husband was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a Scottish Rite Mason and served as master of the Marion, Iowa, lodge for many years. Politically Hosea Gray was a stanch republican, having helped to organize that party in Iowa. He always took an active part in politics and was a member of the constitutional convention of Iowa in 1856. Mr. Gray was a well educated man and great reader. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army, organizing Company A, Sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and went into service as captain of that regiment, with which he served for nearly three years. IIe was then taken sick and received
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an honorable discharge. He was commissioned a brevet colonel at the close of the war.
J. M. Gray is indebted to the schools of Marion, Iowa, for his education and after graduating from the high school there he worked in a woolen factory at Cedar Rapids, that state, remaining in that connection for three years. In 1869 he removed to Belle Plaine and for the next three years engaged in the general mer- cantile business. At the termination of that time, or in the fall of 1871, he came to Sutton and opened the first lumber-yard there. He soon proved his ability, establishing an extensive business, in the conduct of which he was active until 1919 when he sold the yard. He is now financially independent and is enjoying a life of retirement.
In 1875 Mr. Gray was married to Miss Emma Jane Wolcott, a native of Illinois and a daughter of Daniel H. and Jane (Seymour) Wolcott. Both of her parents were natives of New York state but were married in Illinois. In the early '40s they went to Illinois and afterward removed to Iowa, where he successfully engaged in farming. Mr. Wolcott was in service during the Civil war, having enlisted in a company of Iowa infantry, with which he served for three years. His death occurred in a hospital as the result of a wound received while in action. One of his sons, Alden, enlisted in the service with him. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott, Mrs. Gray and Alden being the only ones living. To Mr. and Mrs. Gray three children have been born, two of whom are living: Homer W., who is residing in Havelock, where he is conducting one of his father's lumber-yards, is married and has four children: John Maxwell, Catherine, Homer Thomas, and Mary Margaret; and Ada Jane, who is now the wife of G. H. Huard of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, a retired lumberman.
The political allegiance of Mr. Gray is given to the republican party, in the interests of which he takes an active part. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church and fraternally he is an Ancient Free and Accepted Mason. In the banking circles of Sutton he is likewise prominent, being a stock- holder in the City National Bank. Mr. Gray built a beautiful residence in 1876, in which he resided for a number of years, but in 1905 he erected a more modern one in which he now makes his home.
W. T. PERRY
W. T. Perry, whose well appointed furniture and hardware store is one of the leading commercial interests of Harvard, was born in Marshall county, Illinois, December 26, 1844, his parents being W. H. and Mary (Hollenbeck) Perry, who were natives of Kentucky and Ohio, respectively. Their marriage was celebrated, however, in Illinois and there the father devoted his life to the occupation of farm- ing, thus providing for the support of his family. He had a section of good land and his careful cultivation of his fields brought to him a substantial annual income. In his late years he became a member of the Christian church, while his wife was long an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he was a
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democrat. In the family of this worthy couple were thirteen children, six of whom are living.
W. T. Perry is the eldest of the family and the only one residing in Nebraska. He obtained a district school education in his native county and when not busy with his textbooks gave his attention to the work of the fields, continuing to devote his time to farming there until thirty-two years of age. He then decided to take up commercial pursuits and established a hardware business at La Rose, Illinois, in 1876, continuing to reside at that place until his removal to Harvard. Here he opened a hardware store and is today the oldest merchant in this place in years of continuous connection with its trade interests and also one of the oldest merchants of the county, having taken up his abode in Nebraska in 1879. He started in business with a small stock and now has a large store, carrying a fine line of hard- ware and furniture. He owns the building which he occupies, which is twenty-four by sixty feet. This he erected in 1884.
In 1873 Mr. Perry was united in marriage to Miss Susan McCune, who was born in Ohio, and they became the parents of four sons: James Leroy, who is deputy county clerk at Clay Center; Charles, who is in business with his father; B. Frank, who is filling the office of county clerk at Red Cloud, Nebraska; and Fred, a radiator repair man, living in Hastings, Nebraska. After the death of Mrs. Perry in 1914 Mr. Perry wedded Mrs. Vernie Turner, the widow of William Turner and a representative of one of the pioneer families of Clay county, her parents having located here at a very early day. Mr. Perry belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and his political support is given to the democratic party. He withholds his cooperation from no plan nor measure that he deems of general public worth and in all matters of citizenship has stood on the side of progress, reform, improvement and advancement.
JOHN BENSON
John Benson, now living retired in Saronville, was born in Sweden on the 28th of October, 1843, and there resided until 1870, when he came to the United States.
The education of John Benson was received in his native country, where he made his home until he was twenty-seven years of age, at which time he came to the United States, moved directly to Nebraska and secured work in Saunders county. For about two years he was employed on the railroad in that county and then removed to Friend, where he was engaged as section foreman for seven years. In 1873 he bought eighty acres of land in Clay county, near Saronville, but retained his work on the railroad until he had the land entirely paid for. In 1879 he moved upon the land and commenced farming, making his home in a small lumber house which stood on the farm. He erected a straw barn for his cattle. The success of Mr. Benson as an agriculturist seemed assured from the start and he at one time owned seventeen hundred acres of land, one hundred and seventy-two acres of which are located in Fillmore county. He has given this land to his children, who are following in his footsteps as successful farmers. After becoming financially independent Mr. Benson decided to retire from active life and removed to Saron-
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ville, where he built a fine home. He also owns a twenty-acre tract just outside of that place.
In 1866 Mr. Benson was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Swanson, and to them eleven children have been born, nine of whom are living.
As a prominent member of the community Mr. Benson has always taken an active part in every movement for the furtherance of the general welfare. For nine years he was county supervisor and he is now a member of the board of directors of the State Bank at Saronville. Mr. Benson has many friends who appreciate his true personal worth and he is readily conceded to be a representative citizen.
T. H. BENNETT
Thomas H. Bennett, deceased, who was familiarly known as "Tom," was for many years a well known resident of Clay county and for a considerable period conducted business as a merchant of Harvard. He was born in Waterford, Wis- consin, August 6, 1850, and passed away in May, 1909. His parents were Edward and Mary Bennett, the former probably born in Ireland, while the latter, it is definitely known, was a native of Cork, Ireland. On coming to the new world Edward Bennett settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, and afterward followed the occupa- tion of farming in Wisconsin for a number of years, He and his wife reared a family of four sons, of whom Thomas H. is the eldest. The parents were members of the Roman Catholic church.
Thomas H. Bennett of this review acquired his education in the schools of Wisconsin and when starting out to provide for his own support turned his atten- tion to farming-the occupation to which he had been reared. On attaining his majority, however, he accepted a position as traveling representative of the J. I. Case Company, agricultural implement manufacturers, and continued on the road until thirty-four years of age, or for a period of thirteen years. In 1884 he pur- chased a half interest in the furniture and undertaking business of Joseph A. Rupiper, his father-in-law, and in 1886 became sole owner, acquiring his father-in- law's business in partnership with C. J. Scott, later buying Mr. Scott's interest. He then conducted the store independently until 1892, when he sold out and returned to Wisconsin. Later, however, he again came to Harvard and was here living when death called him, his demise being of a tragic nature, for he was killed by a horse.
On the 25th of December, 1884, Mr. Bennett was married to Miss Josie C. Rupiper, a daughter of Joseph A. and Fidelia A. (Foat) Rupiper. The father was born in Westphalia, Germany, and the mother in Wisconsin. Mr. Rupiper was but six years of age when brought by his parents to the new world, the family home being established in Cincinnati, Ohio. Later he removed to Wisconsin and resided in that state until 1879, when he came to Harvard. Here he opened a furniture and undertaking establishment and built the first two-story business building in the town, shipping the lumber from De Pere, Wisconsin, ready to be used in the construction of the building. He was closely associated with the pioneer develop- ment and later progress of the community until his death, which occurred in 1892.
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