USA > Nebraska > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 53
USA > Nebraska > Clay County > History of Hamilton and Clay counties, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 53
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It was in January, 1877, that Mr. Kessler was married to Miss Ermina Perry, a daughter of Denton Perry, who lived at Rock Falls, Illinois. They became the parents of two children : Clara, now the wife of Clarence Williams, a grocer living at East Moline, Illinois ; and Pearl, the widow of Roy Minier and also a resident of East Moline. Mrs. Kessler passed away in 1895 and Mr. Kessler remained a widower for a number of years but in December, 1908, was married to Miss Bertha Tucker who was a school teacher in Illinois for fifteen years, previous to her mar- riage and was born at Stockton, Illinois, a daughter of Newton and Sarah (Prisk) Tucker, the former a native of Illinois and the latter of England. Mr. Tucker's father was F. L. Tucker, who was the first postmaster at Stockton, Illinois, to which place he had journeyed with team and wagon in 1842. Both Mr. and Mrs. Newton Tucker passed away there, the former in 1918 and the latter in 1915. They were the parents of five children: Mrs. George Robinson, of Hynes, Cali- fornia ; Gilbert Tucker, a farmer of Hope, North Dakota; Mrs. Kessler ; Charles; and Hettie. The parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and the ancestors of Mrs. Kessler were among the first to espouse the cause of Methodism when the church was established in England.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Kessler have membership in the Methodist Episcopal church of Clay Center, which he joined upon its organization, being a charter member, and fraternally he is a Mason, loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft. His political endorsement is given to the republican party but the honors and
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emoluments of office have had no attraction for him. He is largely living retired, although to some extent he engages in the real estate business and occasionally works as a decorator. He has been very successful in the management and control of his business affairs and is today the owner of a nice modern home in Clay Center. He built his first dwelling at the corner of four townships in Clay Center and this is known as Kessler Corners. His was the first house built in the Dickson addition when he erected his new residence in 1910. There he enjoys the comforts and some of the luxuries of life and his prosperity is well merited, as it has come to him as the just and direct reward of his earnest, persistent labor.
W. J. BOOMER
Commercial enterprise in Edgar, Clay county, finds a worthy representative in W. J. Boomer, who for many years has been conducting an implement business there. He was born in Central, Iowa, August, 1879, a son of J. W. and Martha C. (Banks) Boomer, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Canada. Their marriage occurred in Illinois and they went to Iowa at an early day. For some time the father engaged in farming there and in 1882 came to Nebraska, settling in Webster county, buying some land and farming until 1900, when he removed to Adams county and there resided until 1904. In that year he went to Thayer county, remaining until 1913, when he moved to Davenport, Nebraska, where he permanently settled and there his death occurred. Ten children were born to that union, six of whom are living. Our subject, W. J. Boomer, was the fifth in order of birth. Throughout their lives Mr. and Mrs. Bommer were con- sistent members of the Baptist church and his political allegiance was given to the republican party.
W. J. Boomer was a pupil in the schools of Blue Hill, Nebraska, and his first - occupation upon putting his textbooks aside was farming. He rented land for two years and then went to Iowa, where he engaged in the stock business. Returning to Nebraska, he farmed for two years and then entered into the implement and hardware business at Lawrence. In 1907 he located in Edgar and established a large implement business, in the conduct of which he has since been active. He operated the business at Lawrence until 1919, when he disposed of it. From 1907 to 1919 he handled the Buick agency also and he was the proud owner of the second automobile in Edgar. In the conduct of his business Mr. Boomer has displayed sound judgment and indefatigable energy and is quick to utilize every opportunity that opens in the natural ramifications of trade. He has extended his business interests to Ong and Davenport, Nebraska, where he has achieved a success along his particular line.
In 1898 Mr. Boomer was united in marriage to Miss May Metcalf, a native of Webster county, Nebraska, and to them two children were born: Buelah, whose death occurred at the age of two years; and Theodore, a high school student. Mr. Boomer was twice married, the second time in 1909 to Della Utz, a native of Illinois.
In politics Mr. Boomer has always been a stalwart republican and he has served
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on the town and school boards for many years. Mrs. Boomer is a consistent member of the Presbyterian church and he is fraternally identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, No. 159, at Hastings. Although the greater portion of his time is devoted to his implement business he is interested in the agricultural developments of the county. Mr. Boomer is honored and respected by all who know him, not alone by reason of the success he has achieved but also owing to the straight- forward business course which he has ever followed, while his life at all times measures up to the highest standards of manhood and citizenship.
BENJAMIN F. ANDERSON
Benjamin F. Anderson, numbered among the retired farmers living in Aurora, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, September 28, 1837. He has there- fore traveled far on life's journey, passing the eighty-third milestone. His parents were Samuel and Eleanor (Mahannah) Anderson, the former a native of Maryland, while the latter was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania. They were married in the Keystone state and the father there passed away, July 10, 1846, when about forty-six years of age, while his wife departed this life in Illinois, to which state she removed with her half brother, Josiah Scott, who was the guardian of the children. He purchased sixty acres of land for the children and made a payment thereon of two hundred and fifty dollars, while Benjamin F. Anderson later made the additional payments. The support of the family early devolved upon Benjamin F. Anderson, for his older brother had lost an arm and was therefore unable to do much work. The family numbered four sons and two daughters but Benjamin F. Anderson, the third in order of birth, is the only one living. The parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and ยท the father gave his political endorsement to the democratic party.
In the district schools of Illinois Benjamin F. Anderson pursued his education to some extent and also attended subscription schools, but had opportunity to pursue his studies for only about two months each year between the age of nine and fifteen. He early began work in order to provide for the members of his mother's household and his youth was largely a period of earnest and unremitting toil. The sixty acres originally purchased were sold and Mr. Anderson obtained about eight hundred dollars from the sale. In 1872 he removed to Iowa, where he lived for a decade, owning a farm in that state. The year 1880 witnessed his arrival in Nebraska. His previous experience at farming had well qualified him for the work which he undertook here. He had purchased eighty acres of land in Page county, Iowa, following his marriage and after cultivating it for a time had sold it and later bought one hundred and ten acres of land in that state. He then traded his Iowa farm for one half section in Hamilton county. . This was railroad land and he paid the balance on the property. He cultivated this for a time but later sold one hundred and twenty acres of the tract, retaining, therefore, two hundred acres. Year by year he tilled the fields and cared for his crops and his diligence, industry, and capable management constituted the basis of a constantly growing success. He continued on the farm until 1910, when he removed
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to Aurora, where he had purchased two and a half acres of land near the out- skirts of the city. Upon this tract he built a pleasant home and is now living retired.
It was in 1866 that Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Kate B. Yost. She was born in Pennsylvania and her parents were early settlers of Illinois. To this marriage were born four children, of whom three are living: Laura, who is the widow of John G. Miller and resides on a farm in this county; Leona M., living at home; and Frank, who occupies the old home farm of his father and is now serving for the second term as a member of the state legislature. Mrs. Anderson passed away November 19, 1908, her death being a matter of deep regret to many friends as well as to her immediate family. In 1910 Mr. Anderson was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Martha Wilson, the widow of F. M. Wilson and a native of Ohio. By her first marriage she had three children : J. C. Wilson, a farmer living at Stockham, Nebraska; George F., who is a rep- resentative of Armour & Company at Los Angeles, California; and Mary E., the wife of George W. Harter, a ranchman and stockman of Highmore, South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are members of the Presbyterian church and are highly esteemed in the community in which they reside. He votes for the republican party and has served in various school offices for a number of years, the cause of education ever finding in him a stalwart champion. His support is always freely given to plans and measures for the general good and his interest in the public welfare is manifest in many tangible ways.
H. E. NEWTON
H. E. Newton, filling the position of assistant postmaster of Aurora, was born in Stark county, Illinois, October 28, 1860. His parents were Oliver R. and Abbie (Pettee) Newton and were natives of New England, the former born in New Hampshire and the latter in Massachusetts. They were married in Stark county, Illinois, the father having become a resident of that state in the '50s while the Pettee family was established there about the same time. Mr. Newton followed the oc- cupation of farming in the Prairie state for a number of years and in 1872 re- moved to Saline county, Nebraska. In this state he was connected with railroad service, being employed as an engineer. He passed away in California and his widow still survives, making hier home in Salina, Kansas. The Newton family is of English lineage and was established in America during the early part of the seven- teenth century. In his political views Oliver R. Newton was a republican but never sought nor desired office as a reward for party fealty. To him and his wife were born six children, five of whom are living: H. E. of this review : Jennie, the wife of O. G. Smith, who is a retired farmer and the president of the National Farm Congress and makes his home in Kearney, Nebraska ; Ernest, of California, who was formerly engaged in the newspaper business but is now living retired; Vonnie, the wife of Albert Guy, a railroad man of Denver, Colorado; and Oliver G., an express messenger living at Salina, Kansas.
H. E. Newton largely acquired his education in the country schools of Stark
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county, Illinois, and later attended the Doan Academy at Crete, Nebraska. He has also learned many valuable lessons in the school of experience. After his textbooks were put aside he became station agent on the Burlington Railroad, serving in that capacity in various places, his last position being that of station agent at Aurora, where he occupied the office from 1890 until 1906. IIe was a most capable official, courteous and obliging, rendering every possible assistance to the patrons of the road and at all times proving loyal to the interests of the corporation which he represented. On the 1st of June, 1908, he was appointed to the position of assistant postmaster at Aurora and is now acting in this capacity.
In 1883 Mr. Newton was married at Verdon, Nebraska, to Miss Mila A. Peeples, a native of Indiana, and they have become parents of three children : Clyde A., who is engaged in the printing business in Chicago; Alice, the wife of Dr. A. A. Bald, practicing physician of Platte Center, Nebraska; and Edwin, who is part owner of the Aurora Republican and works in the office. Edwin was a musician in the three hundred and thirty-third H. F. A. and went overseas.
Mr. and Mrs. Newton are members of the Congregational church and take an active part in its work while to its support they contribute generously. Mr. Newton was superintendent of the Sunday school for a year and was secretary of the county Sunday School Association for a number of years. In a word, his aid and in- fluence are ever given where it is possible to promote the intellectual and moral prog- ress of the community. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and with the Masons and both he and his wife are members of the order of the Eastern Star. He served as chancellor commander in the Knights of Pythias Lodge and has been keeper of the record and seal for a number of years. He also belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution for he had three ancestors who fought in the war for independence and he is a direct descendant of Governer Carver, one of the early governors of Massachusetts. Politically Mr. Newton is an earnest republican and aside from serving as assistant postmaster at the present time to the duties of which he is giving his entire attention, he has been mayor of Aurora, occupying the position of chief executive of the city in 1889. His duties have ever been discharged with promptness and fidelity and he is numbered among those men who are laying a broad and deep foundation upon which to build the city's future prosperity and greatness.
JACOB BENDER
Among the prominent business men of Sutton, Clay county, is Jacob Bender, who for many years has been connected with the implement business. He was born in northern Russia in 1854, his parents being Henry and Susanna (Iedt) Bender, both of whom passed away in that country, where they spent their entire lives. The father was a well-to-do cotton merchant in Russia and was of German parentage, his father and mother having come to Russia from Germany in 1767. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bender, only two of whom are living : Jacob, whose name initiates this review; and Amelia, who is residing in Russia. Mr. Bender was active in the civic affairs of Russia, having been a member of the
JACOB BENDER
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law-making body of that country, and both he and his wife were consistent members of the German Reformed church.
Jacob Bender received his education in Russia and became an able German linguist. In 1875 he was married and soon afterward came to America. On arriving in the United States he went direct to Clay county, where he bought a farm, having brought sufficient funds with him on his journey. For eight years he resided on this farm, which he brought to a high state of cultivation, and at the end of that time removing to Sutton, where he entered an implement store in the capacity of clerk in order to gain thorough knowledge of every phase of the business. In due time he entered that line of business in partnership with a Mr. Zimbelman, conducting the establishment for fourteen years under the firm name of Bender and Zimbelman. At the termination of that period Mr. Bender bought out his partner's interest and conducted the business under the name of Jacob Bender. Recently, however, he has taken his son into the firm, which is now known by the name of Bender & Son. Mr. Bender has the distinction of being one of the oldest, if not the oldest, of the implement dealers in the state of Nebraska and his business has so increased that his trade now covers a large portion of the county. He is in possession of some Oregon land, in the cultivation of which he takes an active interest, and he also owns some property in Texas. In the financial circles of Sutton Mr. Bender is also prominent, being one of the stockholders in the City State Bank.
Before coming to America, in 1875, Mr. Bender was married to Eugenia Rice, whose father was until the time of his death a school teacher in Russia. To them six children have been born: Henry, who is an auctioneer and makes his home in Sutton; he is married and has two children: Wilferd, who served one year in the World war, and Leota, who is at home; Emma, who is the wife of E. E. Trabert, D. V. S., at Davenport, Iowa; Theresa, who is the widow of Dr. H. Benning and makes her home at Eustis; John; N. G .; and Irmengard, who is practicing at Oroville, California, she having graduated from the Palmer School of Chiropractors at Davenport, Iowa. John Bender is living in Knoxville Tennessee, where he is a director in the State University. While he was a student at the State University of Nebraska he was a star football player and was captain of the football team for two years. After graduating from the University he took a law course in St. Louis, but has never engaged in active practice. He was in service during the World war, receiving a captain's com- mission. N. G. Bender received his education in the schools of Sutton and at- tended Nebraska University during the years 1905 and 1906. He then took a trip around the world, representing Parlin and Orendorff Plow Company of Canton, Illinois, in Europe. He married Miss Clara Landsmann and they have two children : Gretchen, seven years of age; and Paul, four years of age. Mr. Bender recently became a member of his father's firm. He is prominent in Masonic circles, being an Ancient Free and Accepted Mason and having taken the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is a Knight Templar and Shriner and for two years was master of the blue lodge of Sutton, Nebraska, and served as a member of the grievance committee of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska.
The political allegiance of Mr. Jacob Bender is given to the republican party and for six terms he served his fellow townsmen as mayor. The religious faith
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of the entire family is that of the First Reformed church of Sutton. Fraternally Mr. Jacob Bender is an Ancient Free and Accepted Mason and has taken the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. He is one of the foremost citizens of his community, his general efficiency and business sagacity making him a leader in every progressive movement, while his upright principles and integrity have won for him the esteem of all with whom he has had transactions.
RASMUS PETERSON
Among the residents of Aurora who formerly were identified with agricultural interests and by reason of the success which they won from the soil are now living retired without the necessity for further recourse to labor, is Rasmus Peterson who was born in Denmark, February 9, 1850, his parents being Peter and Kersten Rasmussen who were likewise natives of that country, where they always resided until called to their final rest. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are residents of Hamilton county, the daughter being Mary, the wife of John Peterson, now a retired farmer.
Rasmus Peterson of this review pursued his education in the schools of his native land and was reared to farm life, early acquainting himself with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. In late years he kept in touch with the progressive methods which revolutionized farming and by reason of his enterprise and industry, won success. He came alone to the United States in 1870 and settled first in Illinois where he worked as a farm hand by the month, con- tinuing a resident of that state until 1883, when he sought the opportunities of the growing west and became a resident of Hamilton county. He had cultivated rented land in Illinois and following his arrival in Nebraska in 1883 located with his family upon an eighty-acre tract of land which he had purchased the previous year. Their original home was a sod house and their experiences were those that usually fall to the lot of the pioneer settlers. Later Mr. Peterson bought more land and erected a frame house upon his place. After a time he sold his first farm and became owner of two hundred and forty acres two miles east of Aurora. This he still has and it today constitutes one of the valuable and improved properties of this section of the state. He started out in life empty handed but he possessed resolute purpose and his hard work and discrimination have been salient features in bringing to him his present day prosperity.
Before leaving Illinois Mr. Peterson was married in 1879 to Miss Christina Peterson, who was born in Denmark, a daughter of Peter and Carrie (Nelson) Peterson who came to America in 1863 and to Illinois in 1865. The father was a blacksmith and followed his trade in that state for a number of years, but his last days were spent on a farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were born four chil- dren : Clara, the wife of Frank Rowley, a resident farmer of Box Butte coutuy, Nebraska; Charles E., who is occupying and cultivating his father's farm in this county ; Ida, the wife of Paul Holdgraf, a resident farmer of Hamilton county ; and Howard, who is now a junior in the State University. He enlisted in the World war in April, 1917, at which time he was a University student. He was
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trained in Camp Cody and was sent across in August, 1918, reaching the scene of action in October, but the armistice was signed before he got into any engagement. The family residence is at No. 1113 Fifteenth street, where they have a modern home. Mr. Peterson is a republican in his political belief and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. His present position is in marked contrast to his condition and environment when he came to this country, for he was then without capital save a stout heart and willing hand. His record is another illustration of the fact that courage and industry are the worth-while factors in the business life and by reason of these qualities he is today occupying a place among those men who are comfortably situated and constitute a substantial element in the citizenship of Aurora.
GEORGE M. WHITE
Virtually half a century has passed since the parents of George M. White numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of Hamilton county, Nebraska, about four years after the admission of the state to the Union and it was in their bleak and isolated little sod house in Union precinct, that in the following year, on the 7th of December, 1872, their son, George M., was born. The latter thus has the distinction of being not only a representative of an honored pioneer family of this county but is also a native son and today is numbered among the substantial citizens and prosperous farmers of the township and county in which he was born and reared, his well improved homestead farm being situated in section 13, Union township. He is a son of Warren P. and Anna M. (McGill) White, the former of whom was born at Whitehall, New York, and the latter in the city of London, England, their marriage having taken place in the old Empire state and the father having been an early settler in Dane county, Wisconsin, where he not only became actively associated with farm enterprise but also proved a successful and popular teacher in the local schools. In 1871 Warren P. White set forth with his family for the new state of Nebraska, the overland journey being made with a team and covered wagon, in which vehicle were transported the little stock of household effects and also a few requisite farm implements. In the wake of the wagon plodded the cow, which was brought along as a valuable asset of the farm to be established on the prairie wilds of Hamilton county. Mr. White entered claim to a home- stead of eighty acres in what is now section 24, Union township, and here he pro- vided as the first habitation for his family a sod house of the primitive type com- mon to the period. Later he erected a small frame house, but in the early days it required courage and fortitude on the part of this sterling pioneer and his wife to withstand the adverse conditions and lonely life which fell to those who thus essayed the initial work of development and progress. They met with losses through grasshoppers and droughts, had to go to distant points for provisions and had the experience of being snowbound in the memorable Easter blizzard of 1873 that is re- called as one of the worst storms ever recorded in this section of the state. The parents remained on their old homestead until their death and were granted the prosperity that was a just reward for all they had suffered and endured in the pioneer days.
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Mrs. White passed to eternal rest in 1904 and her husband was venerable in years at the time of his death, in 1916, the names of both having high place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Hamilton county. Both were earnest members of the Presbyterian church, Mr. White was independent in politics and was affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Of the five children John and Owen died young; George M., of this review, was the next in order of birth ; Ernest died in childhood ; and Perry is a prosperous farmer in the state of Idaho.
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