USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 4
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 4
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Mr. and Mrs. Weedin are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and his political endorsement is given to the democratic party. He owns his home in Aurora, together with one hundred and sixty acres of land thirty miles east of Denver, Colorado, in Arapahoe county. His possessions have been acquired entirely through his own efforts and ability and his course illustrates what can be accom- plished when there is a will to dare and to do.
ISAAC N. CLARK.
No history of Sutton would be complete without extended reference to Isaac N. Clark, one of the founders of the town, numbered among its early merchants and actively identified with the real estate business for many years. He was also the first mayor of the town and his connection with Clay county has always been of a most beneficial and helpful character. Mr. Clark was born at Parma, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, June 18, 1836, and has therefore reached the eighty- fifth milestone on life's journey. His father, David Clark, was born in 1806 and when fifteen years of age went to work for Seth Thomas in his clock factory, being thus employed for three years. In 1830 he emigrated westward, settling at Parma, Ohio, where he purchased a tract of timber land which he cleared and improved. There he served as justice of the peace and was active in recruiting soldiers for the Civil war. He married Ximena Roberts, of Hartford, Connecticut, who was born in 1808, and proved a most devoted mother to their children.
Isaac N. Clark spent his youthful days in his native state and acquired his education in schools of Ohio. His residence in Sutton dates from 1872, at which time he came with his family to Nebraska, having previously been married in the Buckeye state. He embarked in business as a hardware merchant, and in 1873 admitted Samuel Carney, originally from Altoona, Pennsylvania, to a partner- ship, but at the end of about ten years Mr. Carney became sole proprietor. The
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stock of this pioneer hardware store that was handled during the first year was a full carload shipped from St. Joseph, Missouri, to a point on the unfinished Grand Island Railroad and thence transferred across the prairie to Sutton. After turn- ing over the business to Mr. Carney Mr. Clark gave his attention to the real estate business. He was associated with Martin V. B. Clark in purchasing the unsold portion of the town site of Sutton in October, 1871. This they afterward had resurveyed and platted and set apart four blocks for a public park, which was dedicated as Clark Square and was deeded to the city of Sutton. Isaac N. Clark also platted Clark's addition to Sutton and Clark's second addition and most of the lots have since been sold, many attractive residences standing thereon. In the years which have come and gone his active operations in real estate have brought to him a substantial competence and at all times he has not only figured as a progressive business man of the city but has in every possible way aided in the development and upbuilding of this section of the state.
In early manhood Mr. Clark responded to the country's call for aid at the time of the Civil war and enlisted as a member of the Twenty-fifth Regiment of Illinois Infantry in June, 1861. He served as a corporal and did guard duty in St. Louis. He was discharged after weeks of illness and also on account of impaired eyesight. He has since maintained pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in George G. Meade Post, G. A. R., of Nebraska, of which he has served as post commander and quartermaster.
At Cleveland, Ohio, Isaac N. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Mary Miner, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. K. Miner, of Olmsted Falls, Ohio, who removed to the Buckeye state from West Farley, Vermont. When but fourteen years of age his daughter, Mary Miner, began teaching school and so continued to her marriage. Leaving Ohio, Mr. and Mrs. Clark removed to Champaign, Illinois, where they settled on a farm, and while there residing Mr. Clark filled the office of assessor and collector of taxes for two terms. In January, 1872, he left Illinois with his family and journeyed westward to Sutton, Nebraska, cross- ing the Missouri river on the ice. To Mr. and Mrs. Clark have been born five children : David and Harry M., twins, who were born January 12, 1864, but the former died at the age of five months; Myra E., born September 10, 1867; Albert W., March 28, 1869; and Roy N., born in Sutton, June 28, 1877. The son, Harry M. Clark, a native of Champaign, Illinois, was brought by his parents to Nebraska in January, 1872, and later he assisted his father in the survey and improvement of Clark's first and second additions to the city. He was for two years a student in the State University of Nebraska and for fifteen years he was in the train service of the St. Joseph & Grand Island Railroad Company. He is now collector for the American Electric Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. The only daughter of the family, Myra E. Clark, was graduated from the Sutton high school in June, 1885. Arrangements had been made whereby Chancellor Mannat of the State University attended the commencement exercises and the examina- tions which were held for a test in order to bring before the board of the State University the question of admitting to the university the students of the Sutton high school without further examination. Because of her creditable reports and markings in school, Myra E. Clark was the first to enter the State University without further examination. She was graduated from the univer- Vol. II-4
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sity in June, 1889, and afterward became the wife of David D. Forsyth, who took up the work of the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Forsyth was for ten years pastor and district superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal church at Denver, Colorado, and was elected corresponding secretary of the Home Missionary Society, with headquarters at Philadelphia. Mrs. Forsyth was also an active worker in the Woman's Department of Mission- ary Education, located at Philadelphia. In the summer of 1920, they visited Honolulu and the Hawaiian Islands and from the 20th of February until the 16th of March, 1921, were in Porto Rico in the interests of the Methodist Epis- copal missionary work. Dr. Forsyth has been most active in behalf of the centenary canvass and the excellent work which he did for the Home Missionary Society during his first four years' term led to his reelection for an equal period in May, 1920. Rev. and Mrs. Forsyth have one son, James, who is in college, and a daughter, Margaret, who was graduated from Goucher College at Balti- more, Maryland, and from Columbia University of New York and is now at Smyrna, Asia Minor, where for two years she has been engaged in the work of the Young Woman's Christian Association. Albert W. Clark, the second son in the family of Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Clark, was born at Champaigu, Illinois, March 28, 1869, and was therefore but about three years of age when the family home was established in Sutton, Nebraska. Here he was graduated from the high school and attended the State University for one year. He early engaged in the ice business, supplying ice for the entire town for a period of twenty years. He also served as a member of the board of supervisors of Clay county for twelve years and was president of the board for two years of that period. He was likewise elected and served as mayor of the city for the year 1919. He is now the manager of the Sutton Opera House and is also engaged in the real estate and insurance business. He married Mayme G. Wieden, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Wieden of Sutton, Nebraska. Roy N. Clark, the youngest of the family, was educated in the Sutton high school and afterward was employed by the Wells Fargo Express Company as express messenger for a period of four years. At this writing he is manager of the Clark farm near Sutton. He married Clara Anderson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Anderson of Chanute, Kansas.
Mrs. Isaac N. Clark was born at West Farley, Vermont, June 27, 1838, and when a young girl removed to Olmsted Falls, Ohio. Later she became a success- ful school teacher, which profession she followed for eleven years. Coming to Sutton, Nebraska, in January, 1872, she was untiring in her devotion as a pioneer woman and was active in all that concerned the moral uplift of the com- munity, assisting in organizing and raising money for the Sunday school and church. She was a loyal and faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years, and was also a member of the Woman's Relief Corps and the Order of the Eastern Star. After a useful and well spent life she passed away at her home in Sutton, July 6, 1916, at the age of seventy-eight years.
Mr. Clark is also an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is serving as a trustee. In politics he has always been a republican and in April, 1877, was elected the first mayor of Sutton upon its organization as a city of the second class. He discharged the duties of the position so capably
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that he was reelected for a second term and he gave to the city a public-spirited and progressive administration. He belongs to Evening Star Lodge, No. 49, A. F. & A. M., in which he has been treasurer, to Sutton Chapter, No. 14, R. A. M., in which he has held the office of king; and to Solomon Council No. 10, R. & S. M., in which he has been recorder. In many connections he has been called upon for public service and his record has at all times been that of marked fidelity to duty and capability in the tasks put in his charge. For forty- nine years-almost a half century-Mr. Clark has been a resident of Sutton, and there is no man more familiar with its history or who has done more for develop- ment, progress and improvement here.
CYRUS C. DOBBS
Cyrus C. Dobbs, prominently known throughout Hamilton county by reason of his earnest and effective labors in the church and also through his connection with the Aurora Republican of which he is the editor, was born in Andrew county, Missouri, September 18, 1879, his parents being William and Elva P. (Spohn) Dobbs. The father was born in Missouri in 1855 and the mother in Ohio in 1851, while their marriage was celebrated in Nodaway county, Missouri, in 1875. They are now residing at Savannah, that state, and the father, who devoted many years to farming, has now put aside business cares and since 1912 has been enjoying well earned rest. He was a son of Russell Dobbs, who went from Tennessee with his brother to Missouri, making an overland trip. This brother, Fidille Dobbs, afterward settled in Gage county, Nebraska. The maternal grandfather of Cyrus C. Dobbs was Jonathan Spohn, a minister of the Dunkard faith. Both Mr. and Mrs. William Dobbs are members of the Christian church and his political support is given to the republican party. To him and his wife have been born five children, of whom four are living, namely: Inez, the wife of Joseph Jenkins, a farmer of Andrew county, Missouri; Cyrus C .; Clio, the wife of Samuel Sears who carries on agricultural pursuits in Andrew county, Missouri; and Leslie M., a teacher of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Cyrus C. Dobbs pursued his education in the public schools of his native county and afterwards took up the profession of teaching, which he there followed for five years. He entered upon preparation for the ministry at Bigelow, Missouri, and then became a student in Drake University at Des Moines, Iowa, where he pursued his studies from 1904 until 1907. He was graduated from the Bible department in the latter year and while in college acted as pastor at Bigelow, Missouri, from 1902 until 1904, and at Palestine and Ravenswood, Missouri, for a part of that time. In the fall of 1907 he went to Longmont, Colorado, where he filled a pastorate until the fall of 1912 and then accepted a call from the church at Scottsbluff, Nebraska, where he labored until 1914. He then worked as an evangelist out of Denver for six months and on the 1st of January, 1915, arrived in Aurora, Nebraska, since which time he has been pastor of the Christian church of this city. He is an earnest and convincing speaker and logical reasoner and has been untiring in his efforts to promote the interests of his denomination,
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the church prospering greatly under his care. He has also edited the Aurora Republican for the last year and is thus gaining a still wider acquaintance through the community. He has occupied a number of church positions, such as state superintendent of the Christian Endeavor and member of the state board of the Churches of Christ in Colorado. For five years he was a member of the state board of the Nebraska Christian Missionary Society and for one year of that time acted as president of the board. He was also president of the Nebraska Christian Endeavor for two years and in fact has devoted the greater part of his life to the work of the church. He entered upon his labors in Aurora when the church had an indebtedness of over six thousand dollars. Through his untiring labor which has won the hearty cooperation of the people of the church and of the community he has not only paid off the indebtedness but has to the credit of the church five thousand dollars in the bank toward the erection of a new house of worship.
On the 11th of February, 1900, Elder Dobbs was married to Miss Ethel M. Kellogg, who was born in Andrew county, Missouri, a daughter of J. H. and Emma Kellogg, both natives of that county, where they spent their entire lives, the father there following the occupation of farming. They had a family of four children, of whom three are living: Fay O., who was graduated from the high school of Aurora at the age of eighteen years; Flo, who died in 1907 at the age of two years; Gurnie E., who is eleven years of age and is now in school; and Lenore E., nine years of age, the youngest of the family.
. Mr. Dobbs is a member of the Masonic fraternity also the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and the Loyal Americans of the Republic. He is likewise connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. For a number of years he voted the prohibition ticket and is now a supporter of the republican party. He has always been a stanch advocate of the cause of temperance, doing everything in his power to do away with the use of intoxicants and his activities have been a most potent force in the advancement of high standards of life in the communities in which he has lived and labored and in the promotion of ideals among his fellowmen.
JOHN T. PRICE
The career of this sterling and representative citizen of Hamilton county has covered much of the pioneer period in the history of this county, within whose borders he established his home nearly half a century ago and in which he had the distinction of being the second person to serve as county superintendent of schools. His constructive powers touched effectively the civic and industrial development of the county and later he became prominently identified with similar pioneer service in Greeley county. He is now a venerable pioneer citizen who may well take satisfaction in reverting to the part which he has played in the progress of the great commonwealth of Nebraska. He is living virtually retired in the village of Phillips, Hamilton county, and it is pleasing to enter in this publication a succinct record of his career.
Mr. Price was born in Rush county, Indiana, on the 21st of November, 1845,
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and is a son of Daniel and Sarah (Stewart) Price, both natives of the state of Ohio. The father early settled in Indiana and there he reclaimed and developed a farm in Rush county. In 1876 he became one of the pioneer settlers of Hamilton county, Nebraska, whither his son John T. had preceded him by about four years and he obtained land and took up his abode in a sod house of the type common to that early period, where he instituted the reclamation of his land to cultivation. Here he remained until his death at the venerable age of eighty-five years and his name merits enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of the county. His wife died in Indiana, at the age of fifty-two years, their children having been ten in number: Elizabeth, eldest of the children, died in June, 1920; Abbie and Christy likewise are deceased, as is also Jane, who died in 1920; John T., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Frances M. is a missionary in China; A. W., a railroad man, resides at University Place, near Lincoln, Nebraska; and D. E. is a resident of Grand Island, Hall county. He served as county commissioner of Hamilton county and secretary to Congressman Stark. The father was influential in public affairs in Hamilton county. Prior to coming to Nebraska he had been for a number of years a resident of Iowa.
The common schools of his native state afforded to John T. Price his early education, which was supplemented by his attendance at the Illinois Wesleyan University, at Bloomington. He became a successful teacher in the public schools of Illinois and it was in the spring of 1873 that he set forth from that state, with team and prairie schooner, to initiate his pioneer experiences in Nebraska. Nearly four weeks were required to complete the trip to Hamilton county, this state, he having crossed the Mississippi river at Burlington, Iowa, where a ferry transferred his team and wagon, a similar medium having been utilized in crossing the Platte river, at Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Mr. Price adjusted himself readily and effectively to pioneer conditions after his arrival in Hamilton county and that his ability along pedagogic lines did not long wait special recognition is shown in the fact that in the year of his arrival here he was chosen as the second incumbent of the office of county superintendent of schools, in which office he continued one term, or two years. He purchased one hundred and twenty acres of railroad land in the present Phillips precinct and paid for the same at the rate of three dollars an acre, the contract terms providing that the full payment should be completed within a period of ten years. On his land he erected a small frame house of primi- tive type, the lumber and other material used in its construction having been hauled overland from Grand Island, twenty-six miles distant. His original barns on the place were constructed of straw and he personally took charge of the break- ing of his new prairie land and making the same available for cultivation. His experiences, many of which are more pleasing in retrospect then they were in realization, were those of the average pioneer of the locality and period and he recalls that in the early period of his residence here the bones of buffaloes were to be found scattered about the open prairies and that deer and antelopes were fre- quently seen.
Mr. Price continued his residence on the Hamilton county farm until 1881, when he amplified his pioneer activities by removing with his family to Greeley county, where, by taking up homestead and timber claims he became the owner of a tract of three hundred and twenty acres. He bent his energies to the improving of this
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property and eventually perfected his title thereto. From the farm he finally re- moved to the village of Scotia, that county, where he effected the organization of the Greeley County Bank, of which he continued the vice president for the ensuing seven years. For three years thereafter he conducted the Walker House, a leading hotel at St. Paul, Howard county, and he then returned to Hamilton county and resumed his active association with farm enterprise. Here he remained from 1898 until 1907, in which latter year he removed to the city of Lincoln, in order to give to his children the advantages of the excellent educational institutions of the capital city. There he remained until 1914, after which he lived with his children, at different points in the state, until 1920, when he established his home at Phillips, where he remains as an honored citizen of the county in which he gained his initial experience as a pioneer of the state.
The year 1876 recorded the marriage of Mr. Price to Miss Nancy Lutz, who was born in Indiana and who was a resident of Hamilton county, Nebraska, at the time of her marriage. Like her husband Mrs. Price is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of their children the eldest, Elizabeth, died August 19, 1912; Mary is the wife of Chris Husted, D. D. S., of Omaha; Georgia is the wife of Clarence Shahan, a commercial salesman of Omaha; and Ruth is the wife of D. M. Davis, a farmer in Wayne county, this state.
Mr. Price is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the republican party, and while a resident of Greeley county he served in various local offices, including those of justice of the peace and township assessor. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church and he is affiliated with both York and Scottish Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity, in which he served eight years as master of the lodge of Free & Accepted Masons at Scotia and also at Phillips. Mr. Price has witnessed and taken part in the splendid civic and material development of Nebraska and in reverting to conditions in Hamilton county at the time of his arrival here he states that when he passed through Aurora, the present county seat, he found the town represented by a single house.
A. E. SIEKMANN
The business career of A. E. Siekmann should well serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what can be accomplished through individual effort, determination and ability. He came to Hamilton county in 1878 practically with- out means and at various periods has been identified with farming, real estate and banking. Mr. Siekmann came to Nebraska from Stephenson county, Illinois, where he was born May 5, 1855, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Siekmann. Mr. Siekmann attended the Lawrence University at Appleton, Wisconsin, and Rock River Seminary at Mt. Morris, Illinois, thus qualifying for life's practical and responsible duties. He was early trained to the work of the farm, soon becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. His attention when not in school was given to farm work in Illinois and in 1878 he came to Hamilton county where he lived on the farm until 1888 when he removed to Aurora and turned his attention to real estate and insurance. In
MR. AND MRS. A. E. SIEKMANN
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1905 he entered banking circles, becoming a stockholder and the president of the Fidelity National Bank, since which time he has remained as the chief executive of the institution. The careful management of his business affairs and the simple weight of his character and ability have carried him into important business relations.
In 1879 Mr. Siekmann was united in marriage to Miss Virgilia Fox, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Fox of Stephenson county, Illinois.
Mr. Siekmann is most prominently known through his connection with the Royal Highlanders. He was one of the organizers of the fraternity in 1896 and has since served as its chief treasurer. The order has made an excellent showing from the beginning and is steadily growing along substantial lines.
Politically Mr. Siekmann believes in the party of Lincoln, Mckinley, Roose- velt and Harding.
C. C. FRAIZER
C. C. Fraizer, who is engaged in law practice in Aurora where he took up his abode in 1917, becoming a partner in the firm of Hainer, Craft, Edgerton and Fraizer, was born in Montpelier, Indiana, a son of A. J. and Amelia (Cooper) Fraizer who were likewise natives of the Hoosier state where they were reared and married. They still reside within the borders of that state, now making their home at Muncie, Indiana, and from early manhood Mr. Fraizer has devoted his attention to the drug business. The father and his wife are members of the Christian church and he is a faithful follower of the teachings of Masonry, of the Knights of Pythias, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His political endorsement is given to the republican party. To him and his wife have been born two children : C. C. of this review, and Joseph H., who is now in school in Los Angeles, California. In tracing the ancestral record still farther it is learned that Abraham Fraizer, the grandfather of C. C. Fraizer, was one of the early settlers of Indiana, where he took up farming in pioneer times and the maternal grandfather, Robert Cooper, also established his home on the frontier of Indiana.
C. C. Fraizer mastered the work of the grades and of the high school at Muncie, Indiana, being graduated with the class of 1910. It was his desire to become a member of the bar and with that end in view he studied law in the University of Pennsylvania from 1910 until 1911 and then completed his studies in the George Washington University, at Washington, D. C., the year of his graduation there being 1914. He at once entered upon active practice in the national capital where he remained for three years, and in 1917 he arrived in Aurora where he became a partner of the present firm of Hainer, Craft, Edgerton & Fraizer. He is thus con- nected with one of the strong law combinations of the city, a firm that enjoys an extensive clientage of an important character. Mr. Fraizer has served as deputy county attorney of Hamilton county and also as city attorney of Aurora and he devotes his entire attention to his professional interests and duties.
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