USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 47
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 47
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Mr. Rutherford profited duly by the advantages afforded in the rural schools of his native county, where he thereafter continued to be associated with his father in the work of the home farm until he had attained to the age of twenty- two years. He then gained brief experience in connection with pioneer life in the present state of South Dakota, but in 1883 came to Hamilton county, Nebraska, and at the rate of fifteen dollars per acre purchased his present farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres and turned himself with characteristic vigor to the develop-
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ment of a productive farm. Well did he succeed in the passing years, though he met with losses through grasshoppers and droughts and faced many other adverse conditions in the early days. On his farm his first dwelling was a little frame house, fourteen by twenty feet in dimensions and personally he broke forty acres of his land. Upon this farm he has made the best of improvements, including the erection of good buildings, but the orchard which he planted has now almost entirely died out. Mr. Rutherford continued his vigorous and successful activities as an agriculturist and stock raiser until he had become so placed in a financial way as to justify his semi-retirement, with the result that for more than a decade he has rented his land to desirable tenant farmers. He has taken lively interest in the social and industrial advancement of the county and state of his adoption and has here kept pace with the march of progress. He has had no desire for political activity or public office but is found aligned in the ranks of the republican party.
In Dane county, Wisconsin, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Rutherford to Miss Anna McCaughey, who, like himself, was born and reared in that county, she being a daughter of William and Rebecca (Kapper) McCaughey, the former of whom was a native of Scotland and a pioneer farmer of Dane county, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Rutherford have no children.
LORENZO R. CHAPMAN
Lorenzo R. Chapman, for many years prominent in agricultural circles of Clay county as a successful farmer and stock raiser, passed away at his home here on the 12th of March, 1894. He was born in Portage county, Ohio, on the 25th of January, 1834, a son of Chauncey and Martha (Maynard) Chapman, both natives of Connecticut.
Lorenzo R. Chapman received his education in the county of his nativity and at the age of seventeen years learned the trade of a blacksmith. He entered the shop of Wilson Messenger, where he remained for two years, and then started out as a journeyman, working at first under instruction and finally settling in Ravenna, Ohio, where he became connected with the carriage factory of N. D. Clarke & Company. For two years he was active in that connection and then went to Trumbull county, that state, where for some time he was employed in another carriage factory. In 1858 he went to Michigan and Wisconsin looking for farm land but returned home without purchasing. In the fall of 1859 he removed to Missouri and with his brother, Charles H., settled in what was then the village of Macon City, where he followed his trade until going to Kirksville, Adair county, Missouri, in the spring of 1860, and there working at his trade. Mr. Chapman was a stanch supporter of the Union cause and in the fall of 1860, becoming alarmed at the hostility evinced by the sympathizers of the Southern cause, he removed to Palmyra, Missouri, and after staying there but a short time went to Adams county, Illinois, where on the 4th day of May, 1861, he enlisted in the Union army. On the 24th of that month he was mustered into the United States service by Captain Pitcher, in Company H, Sixteenth Illinois Infantry,
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FARM OF MR. AND MRS. LORENZO R. CHAPMAN
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under the command of Captain William Petrie and Colonel C. F. Smith, serving in the Western Division, chiefly in Missouri. He participated in many important engagements and was with General Pope at the capture of Island No. 10. He was in the battle at Stone River and the Atlanta and Chattanooga campaigns, also the battle of Kenesaw Mountain and had reached Raleigh, North Carolina, when news of Lee's surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln reached the troops. He took part in the grand review on Pennsylvania avenue, Washington, D. C., at the close of the war and was then sent to Louisville, Kentucky, where he received his discharge on the 8th of July, 1865. He served throughout the struggle as a private and non-commissioned officer and was mustered out wearing the stripes of sergeant.
After the regiment was disbanded at Springfield, Illinois, Mr. Chapman located in Quincy, that state, and engaged in working in a machine shop for the firm of Sylvester & Wardell. In the fall of 1865 he went to Andrew county, Missouri, and there purchased three hundred and twenty-seven acres of land for himself and brothers, Charles H., Robert R. and Thomas C. During the winter of 1865-6 Mr. Chapman worked in the city of St. Joseph in company with a Mr. Dempsey, part of the time, and then in the wagon factory of E. Dutton. In the spring of 1866 he returned to Hiram, Ohio, and there engaged in black- smithing until the spring of 1868, when he again went to Missouri. In the fall of 1872 he removed to Clay county, Nebraska, and here secured a homestead. He resided on that place until his death in 1894. His home was a large and com- fortable one and was one of the show places of the county. The barn and granaries were large and well filled, and he had a good bearing orchard of one hundred and fifty apple trees. He planted a large peach orchard of one thou- sand trees, but this died as the result of excessively cold winters. The residence encircled by a beautiful grove containing eight thousand shade trees, was indeed a beautiful place, and the four hundred acres which he owned was all tillable and well watered, therefore easily cultivated.
On the 6th of March, 1874, occurred the marriage of Mr. Chapman to Miss Selona A. Newcomb, a native of Portage county, Ohio, and a daughter of Timothy and Frinda (Goodell) Newcomb, who were also born in that state. In the Newcomb family were seven children, of whom four are now living: Selona A., Frinda M., who is the wife of O. C. Hubble of Deweese, Nebraska; W. F., formerly a minister but now a well known and successful farmer of Santa Cruz, Cali- fornia; and Patty L., who is the wife of Warren L. Sheets, a farmer of Clay county, living near Fairfield. Mr. and Mrs. Sheets have a son, Hallie, who is county engineer and was graduated from Drake College at Des Moines, Iowa, in 1914.
For nine years following her husband's death Mrs. Chapman made her home with her sister, Mrs. Sheets, and then became the wife of Dr. Alex C. Sabin, a . prominent physician and surgeon of Beatrice, Nebraska. She was born in Ohio, August 4, 1845, and received her education in Hiram College, being for many years a teacher in the district schools of that state. In 1874 she came to Clay county, Nebraska, with her husband, Mr. Chapman, and for two years, they made their home in a sod shanty, while the next seven years were spent in a cellar and then Mr. Chapman erected a fine
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frame house. They lived on that farm for twenty years. No children were born to them but they reared two of Mr. Chapman's nieces, Miriam F. and Lucy I. Chapman. Mrs. Sabin is again a widow, the death of her second husband having occurred in 1910. They lived for the most part in Beatrice and Fairfield, but traveled extensively and spent two winters in California. Before her second marriage, Mrs. Sabin made two trips to Europe and she is a highly educated and intellectual woman. She is an artist of much ability and her home is taste- fully decorated with pictures of her own painting. She often gives lectures to her friends and neighbors on her trips abroad and is a very interesting, clear and concise speaker. She is prominent in the club circles of Fairfield and is very active in the affairs of the Woman's Club. In the work of the Christian Church she takes an active part and she is conceded to be a most representative citizen.
Throughout life Mr. Chapman was a strong prohibitionist and his religious faith was that of the Christian church. He was a stanch supporter of the repub- lican party and for several terms held the office of school director. He was a prominent and active member of the Farmers' Alliance and was connected with many other activities of an agricultural nature in Clay county, of which he was one of the early settlers. He was justly entitled to the proud American title of self-made man. He was a man of grim determination and allowed no obstacles, however great, long to remain in his path. It was through his own endeavor and hard work that he accumulated his possessions.
S. A. FISCHER
Since 1907 S. A. Fischer has been proprietor and editor of the Sutton News, one of the leading newspapers in the community and one widely known for its timely editorials and honorable business policies. Mr. Fischer was born in Grand Island in 1882, a son of Rev. August and Augusta (Reinke) Fischer, both natives of Germany. The father came to the United States in 1868 and settled in Wis- consin. He was educated in Germany and there studied to be a minister of the Evangelical church and served in that capacity for many years. Since 1915 Mr. Fischer has made his home in Sutton, where he is living retired. His wife is also living. To them nine children have been born, eight of whom are living, but only two residing in Sutton, namely: Hulda, who is the wife of J. J. Bowen who is engaged in the harness business in Sutton; and S. A. Fischer, the subject of this review. Rev. Mr. Fischer is a republican in politics and a firm believer in the principles of that party as factors in good government.
S. A. Fischer is indebted to the schools of Grand Island for his education and his first occupation after leaving school was that of clerk in a general store at Fairfield, Nebraska. He then entered a printing office there and later spent a number of years in Washington state in newspaper offices. During all of these years he was thoroughly acquainting himself with the newspaper business and in 1907, upon removing to Sutton, he purchased the Sutton News and is still conducting that sheet. The paper has a circulation of over nine hundred and is very popular with the people in the community. Its policies are the best and it gives to its readers many editorials as well as news of a valuable and interesting nature. The newspaper is always foremost in the support of every public movement
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which Mr. Fischer deems of necessity to the development and improvement of the town and surrounding vicinity. Mr. Fischer conducts a job printing office in con- nection with the newspaper and does a large business. He has never married.
Politically Mr. Fischer is a stanch republican in the interests of which party he takes an active part. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, in the affairs of which lodge he takes a prominent part. Mr. Fischer devotes his entire time to his newspaper and has, as a result of careful and intelligent manage- ment on his part, won the goodwill and confidence of his fellowmen.
GEORGE N. PIERCE
The vigorous optimism begotten of self-reliance has been significantly mani- fested in the career of the now venerable and highly honored pioneer citizen of Hamilton county, George N. Pierce. Here he proved himself well fortified for the responsibilities, labors and trials that marked the pioneer days and his loyalty has at all times been on a par with that which he showed in his gallant service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war. Mr. Pierce had limited educational advan- tages in his youth and has been in a distinct sense the architect of his own fortunes, so that it is gratifying to record that through his long association with farın enter- prise in Hamilton county he has achieved independence and substantial prosperity.
Mr. Pierce was born in DuPage county, Illinois, on the 5th of June, 1849, and is a son of Palmer and Ruth (Wightman) Pierce, both of whom were natives of Ohio and both of whom died when their son, George N., of this review, was a mere boy, he having been twelve years old when he was taken into the home of his maternal grandmother and little older when he began to depend upon his own resources by working for his board and clothing. Under these conditions his school- ing was meager and irregular, but in the great school of experience he has been able effectively to overcome this handicap of early years. He grew to mature years in the state of Minnesota, where his grandmother resided and thus gained pioneer experience in that section of the great northwest. He was too young to enter service in the earlier stages of the Civil war, but in 1864, when fifteen years of age, he enlisted as a private in Company E, Third Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. His enlistment took place at St. Paul, Minnesota, but he was mustered in at Little Rock, Arkansas, in which state he took part in the battle of Pine Bluff and par- ticipated also in a number of skirmishes and other minor engagements, the major part of his service having been that of guard duty and he received his honorable discharge after having been in the ranks of the "boys in blue" for a period of about nine months. After this phase in his career Mr. Pierce returned to Illinois and later worked on pioneer farms in the state of Iowa, at an average compensa- tion of from eighteen to twenty-five dollars per month. Thereafter he passed one year in Missouri and in 1873 came to Nebraska. After remaining for a time in Adams county he came to Hamilton county, before the close of the year men- tioned, and it was in this county that his wife took up a homestead of eighty acres in that year, their marriage having occurred in 1879, after she had perfected title to her land and proved herself a gallant and determined pioneer woman. Mrs. Pierce Vol. 11-30
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was born and reared in Pennsylvania, her maiden name having been Hannah Townsley, and in 1873, as a young woman of spirit and courage, she came from the old Keystone state to number herself among the pioneers of Hamilton county, Nebraska. From Harvard was transported overland the lumber with which she built the small frame house on her claim and the original barn was of pole and straw construction. Since their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have continued to reside on this homestead in section 26, Union township, and together they reso- lutely bore the trials and labors of pioneers. Mr. Pierce drove from Missouri to Hamilton county with team and wagon and in the early days hunted antelopes and other wild game in this section, besides which he made hunting trips in the wilds of the western part of the state, where on one occasion he killed a buffalo calf. He obtained early fuel from trees along a neighboring creek and at times had to resort to the use of corn and cornstalks for fuel. Harvard was his principal trading point and in taking grist to mill in York county the overland trip required two days. Mr. Pierce states that when grasshoppers descended upon his farm at one time they destroyed all vegetation above ground and even made away with the onions that were growing partly beneath the soil.
Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have four children: Elizabeth is the wife of Charles Turner, a successful farmer of Hamilton county; Frank D. is a carpenter and contractor at Chappell, Deuel county; Curtis conducts an automobile garage at Harvard, Clay county ; and Thomas M. remains with his parents and has active charge of the old home farm, in section 26, Union township. The home receives service on rural mail route No. 2 from the village of Giltner.
Mr. Pierce has been loyal and liberal in his civic attitude, commands unqualified popular esteem, is a republican in politics, and is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic. He and his wife remain on their farm and their circle of friends is coextensive with that of their acquaintances. Mr. Pierce has served as road overseer, an office of which he continued the incumbent seven years and he has been an active and valued member of the local Farmers Union.
JOSEPH HENNINGER
Joseph Henninger, who passed away on June 26, 1913, was prominently iden- fified with the business interests of Edgar, where he was well known for a long period as a representative and substantial citizen. He was born in Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, on the 18th of August, 1854, and there resided with his parents until he was eighteen years of age. He came to the United States in that year and located at St. Louis, Missouri, where he completed the mastering of the cobbler's trade. In 1876 he removed to Edgar, Clay county, and there opened a shop in a small frame building. His business grew to extensive proportions and in 1899 he built a much larger place in which to house his workshop. Mr. Henninger continued this line of work until June 26, 1913, when his death occurred, his passing taking from Edgar one of her pioneer and representative citizens.
In Elsah, Illinois, while working there for a short time, Mr. Henninger met Miss Amelia Serini, and on the 1st of March, 1878, they were united in marriage
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at Sutton, Nebraska. Her parents were Christopher and Bertha (Putch) Serini, both natives of Germany, who came to the United States at an early day and located in Clay county in 1876. He was a prominent man in that community, where for a number of years he conducted a hotel and in addition to that property he owned much land and other town property in Edgar. Both Mr. and Mrs. Serini passed away in Edgar. Thirteen children were born to their union, eleven girls and two boys, five of whom are living: Henrietta, who is the widow of John Bosler and lives in New Baden, Illinois; Maria, who is the widow of Joe Vautraim and lives in the Commercial hotel at Edgar; Otto, who makes his home with Mrs. Henninger; Jennie, who is the widow of C. W. Brown and makes her home with her sister; and Mrs. Henninger. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henninger but all died in infancy. They adopted one son, Clyde Edgar Ilenninger, who runs a music store at Everett, Massachusetts, and also reared two nieces : Ora Serini, who is now the wife of R. I. Shibiya of Omaha, Nebraska; and Amanda, the wife of Wilbur Potter, a garage man of California.
Throughout his life Mr. Henninger was a stanch supporter of the republican party and his fraternal affiliations were with the Modern Woodmen and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church and Mrs. Henninger is a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Henninger was one of the oldest pioneer residents of Edgar and he watched its development from a sparsely settled community to one of large proportions, pros- perous and successful. He was a frugal, hardworking man and made his way by diligence and industry and an unquestionable honesty. Mr. Henninger never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for here he found the opportunities which he sought and made for himself a creditable place among the representative citizens of his community.
L. E. PILLARD
L. E. Pillard, a retired farmer residing in Aurora, was born in France, December 22, 1847, and is a son of James and Susan (Laude) Pillard, who were also natives of that country, where they were reared and married, coming to the United States with their family in 1854. They settled at Dubuque, Iowa, and there the father engaged in farming, owning a good tract of land. His wife died in that state and he afterward returned to his native country, where his remaining days were passed. Both were members of the Lutheran church and while in America Mr. Pillard gave his political support to the republican party. Their family numbered eight children, four sons and four daughters.
L. E. Pillard was reared on the home farm in Dubuque county, Iowa, and pur- sued his education in the schools of that state, he being only seven years of age when the family home was established in the new world. He came to Nebraska in 1874 and took up a timber claim in Hamilton county. He then improved the farm and lived thereon until 1915, when he established his home in Anrora. He built a small frame house on the farm, added other improvements and carried on the work of tilling the soil most successfully for many years, bringing his land
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under a high state of cultivation. He still retains the ownership of his farm which comprises two hundred acres of good land and since taking up his abode in Aurora in February, 1915, he has purchased a lot and erected a nice home at No. 510 Elm street. In addition to these properties he owns a farm in Perkins county, comprising one hundred and sixty acres and his success has come to him as the direct and merited reward of close application, indefatigable energy and sound business judgment.
In the fall of 1878 Mr. Pillard was married to Miss Eveline Bartholmew who was born in Iowa, a daughter of Ezra and Margaret (Mansfield) Bartholmew, the former a native of Michigan and the latter of Indiana. They came to Hamilton county in 1872 and Mr. Bartholmew secured a government claim, continuing his residence in the state until death called him. Mr. Bartholmew was a soldier of the Civil war, serving in an Iowa regiment in defense of the Union for about nine months. He and his wife were members of the Christian church and his political endorsement was given to the republican party. They had a family of ten children, of whom four are living, Mrs. Pillard being the eldest. She has one brother, Charles. Bartholmew, who is a resident of Custer county, Nebraska, while another brother, George, is a resident of Gordon, Nebraska, and is a physician.
To Mr. and Mrs. Pillard have been born seven children: Lucy, the wife of Thomas Julian, a farmer residing in Montana; Emily, the wife of James Larson, a resident farmer of Custer county, Nebraska; Pearl, the wife of Walter Herbig, who is operating her father's farm in Hamilton county; Cora, the wife of George Thompson, a farmer of Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska ; Blanche, the wife of Wesley Pringo, a hardware dealer at Grant, Perkins county, Nebraska; George, who lives on a farm in Perkins county ; and Grace, who is a teacher in the country schools and remains with her parents.
In religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Pillard are Presbyterians and fraternally he is connected with the Royal Highlanders. He votes with the republican party but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. His time and energy have been concentrated upon his farming interests and the careful management thereof has brought to him a gratifying measure of prosperity. Almost a half century has passed since he took up his abode in Hamilton county and through the inter- vening period he has witnessed much of its growth and development and has at all times borne his share in the work of general progress and improvement.
JAMES F. ADAMS
The genius of success as implied in determined purpose and a readiness to work consecutively in the effort to realize that purpose was possessed in an eminent degree by the honored pioneer, James F. Adams. Mr. Adams and his wife faced and overcame the trials and obstacles that marked the pioneer period in the history of Hamilton county and since the death of her husband Mrs. Adams has continued her residence on the old homestead farm that is endeared to her by many gracious memories and associations, this attractive rural home
JAMES F. ADAMS
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being situated in section 20, South Platte township, on rural mail route No. 3 from the village of Marquette.
James F. Adams was born in Randolph county, Indiana, in the year 1835, and thus was seventy-eight years of age at the time of his death, on the 23d of April, 1913. He was reared and educated in the old Hoosier state and at the age of eighteen years gained pioneer experience in Iowa, to which section of the Union he made his way overland, with team and wagon. The same medium of transportation was used when he returned to the east and established his residence in Ohio, where, in 1857, was solemuized his marriage to Miss Edieth Wiley, who was born in Wayne county, Indiana, on the 11th of January, 1840, and who is now one of the venerable and revered pioneer women of Hamilton county, Nebraska. After his marriage Mr. Adams returned to Iowa and there he and his wife resided until 1872, when they came to Nebraska, with Hamilton county as their destination. They drove through from Iowa with teams of mules and horses and brought with them a number of head of cattle, their arrival having been in the year of the great Easter blizzard that held this section snow- bound for three or more days. In the spring of 1873 Mr. Adams filed entry on a homestead in what is now South Platte township and at the time he and his wife here established their home in a rude dugout house their nearest neighbor was two miles distant, not a house was to be seen between their embryonic farm and the Platte river and no railroad had as yet entered the county. In this little dugout fourteen persons found shelter during the three days of the memorable Easter blizzard and eventually a sod house replaced the dugout. This sod house was warm and comfortable and seemed most pretentious in comparison with the earlier dwelling. In the early days when conditions were such as to permit crossing the Platte river the settlement of Lone Tree was their nearest trading point and they replenished their table at intervals with the deer and antelopes which Mr. Adams brought down with his rifle. He also killed one or more buffaloes in the district not far to the west of Aurora, the county seat of Hamilton county. The homestead was too far removed from the river to be troubled with visits from the Indians, who made their pilgrimages along the course of the streams. The original homestead obtained by Mr. Adams comprised eighty acres and at the time of his death he was the owner of a finely improved farm property of two hundred acres, representing the results of his earnest and well directed labors as a pioneer agriculturist and stock raiser and a progressive and reliable citizen of the county to whose civic and indus- trial development he contributed his part. Two years after establishing his home in the county Mr. Adams added to the area of his landed estate by purchas- ing a relinquishment from two young men who wished to return to Iowa and on this he filed entry as a tree claim. The trees which he planted in conformity with the provisions made in connection with such claims now constitute a fine grove along the north side of the Adams farm. In planting this grove Mr. Adams made the trip to Nuekolls county to obtain walnut trees and planted also a goodly number of box elders, this grove now constituting one of the pleasing pioneer landmarks in Hamilton county.
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