USA > Nebraska > Richardson County > History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions > Part 103
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In March, 1910, Josiah F. Relf was united in marriage to Ida May Stevenson, of Lincoln, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Relf have a pleasant home at Falls City and take a proper part in the general social and cultural activities of their home town. They are members of the Presbyterian church and take an earnest part in church work and in the general good works of the com- munity. Mr. Relf is a Republican and has given his thoughtful attention to local political affairs since the days of his boyhood.
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CHARLES F. WEICK.
Charles F. Weick, former treasurer of the precinct of Arago, this county, and one of the best-known farmers and stock breeders in that part of the county, owner of a fine farm in section 5 of Arago precinct, where he and his family are very comfortably situated, is a native of Germany, but has been a resident of Richardson county since he was eleven years of age. He was born in Baden, Germany, on March 14, 1869, son of Karl and Elizabeth (Dast) Weick, also natives of Baden, the former born in 1838. who came to this country with their family in 1880 and proceeded on out to Nebraska and settled on a farm in the precinct of Arago, later moving up into the pre- cinct of Barada, where Karl Weick bought a farm and established his home, but did not live long to take part in the development of the place, his death occurring there in 1883. His widow is now living in Cheyenne, Wyoming. in the seventy-eighth year of her age. Karl Weick and wife were the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being Louise, who married J. Werner and is living near Salem, this county ; Albert, now a resident of Laramie, Wyoming; Max, also of Laramie ; Emma, wife of H. Ahlers, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Henry, deceased.
As noted above, Charles F. Weick was but eleven years of age when he came to this country with his parents and settled in this county. He com- pleted his schooling here and on account of the death of his father so soon after locating here, much of the responsibility of looking after the affairs of the farm early fell upon his youthful shoulders, he being the eldest of the children. After a time he rented a farm and began farming on his own account and in 1900 bought his first farm. the well-kept tract of ninety acres in section 5 of Arago precinct on which he is now living and where he has made extensive improvements. This farm has the advantage of having on it fifteen acres of natural timber and is one of the desirable tracts in that section. In 1911 Mr. Weick began breeding horses and has done very well. He makes a specialty of Percherons and has done much to improve the strain of horse flesh throughout the county. He paid seven hundred and fifty dollars for one of his stallions, the three-year-old "Champion 110978". bred in Iowa, and has won several first prizes at one time and another at the Falls City horse shows. He also is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs and his herd leaders are registered animals. Mr. Weick is a Republican and for four years served as treasurer of his home precinct.
On October 18, 1894, Charles W. Weick was united in marriage to Min-
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nie Ruegge, who was born in this county on May 23, 1871, daughter of Fred W. and Dora (Hoose) Ruegge, natives of Germany, who are now living in the precinct of Arago, this county, and to this union four children have been born, Fred, Edith, Elmer and Laura, all of whom are at home. The Weicks are members of the Lutheran church and take a proper part in church work and in the general social activities of their home community. Mr. Weick is a member of the local lodge of the Woodmen of the World at Barada and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
JOHN O'GRADY.
John O'Grady, one of Richardson county's best-known and most pro- gressive farmers and the proprietor of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in the Dawson neighborhood in Grant precinct, is a New Englander by birth, but has been a resident of this county since he was six years of age, his parents having settled here-in 1870. He was born in Connecticut on April 27, 1864, son of Hugh and Margaret (Connor) O'Grady, natives of Ireland, who had come to this country with their respective parents in the days of their youth, both the O'Gradys and the Connors settling in Con- necticut. Hugh O'Grady became a sailor and followed the sea for twelve years. Hugh O'Grady and Margaret Connor were married in Connecticut and after their marriage continued living in that state until 1870, when they came to Nebraska and settled on a farm in the neighborhood of that on which the subject of this sketch now lives. Hugh O'Grady was a good farmer and developed a fine piece of property out of the uncultivated tract he bought upon coming out here. His wife, who was born in 1839, died in 1899 and he still survives her, now making his home at Dawson. He was born in 1838. He and his wife were the parents of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, four of whom were born in Connecticut and the remainder in this county, namely: John, the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; Frank, of Dawson; James, who is in business in Dawson; Hugh, who is farm- ing over the line in the neighboring county of Brown, Kansas; Mary, deceased; Mrs. Kate Riley, of Dawson; Patrick, a farmer, of Grant precinct ; Daniel, deceased; Nellie, deceased; Joseph, a farmer, living at Dawson; Margaret, also of Dawson, and Dominick, a farmer, also living in Grant precinct.
Having been but a child when he came to this county from his native
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Connecticut with his parents, John O'Grady grew to manhood on the home farm in the vicinity of Dawson, receiving his schooling in the local schools, and remained on the home farm, a valuable assistant to his father and brothers in the labors of developing and improving the same, until his marriage in 1888, when he rented a farm and began farming on his own account, remain- ing on that place until 1898, when he bought a quarter of a section of prac- tically unimproved land, part of his father's place, in that same neighborhood and there established his home and has ever since made that his place of resi- dence. As he prospered in his undertakings he added an adjoining "eighty" and now has a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres and one of the best farm plants in the Dawson neighborhood, the excellent manner in which the place is kept up testifying to the progressive and up-to-date methods adopted by the owner. Mr. O'Grady has erected a handsome, modern residence on his place and his ample barns and other farm buildings are in keeping with the same.
On April 23, 1888, John O'Grady was united in marriage to Johanna Clancy, who was born on a farm in the immediate neighborhood of Dawson, this county, May 2, 1871, a daughter of Patrick and Johanna Clancy, natives of Ireland, who upon coming to this country located at Salem, New Jersey, where they remained until in January, 1871, when they came to Nebraska and settled on a farm in this county, pioneers of the Dawson settlement, and developed a fine piece of property there. Mrs. Clancy, who was born in 1843, died on that farm in September, 1903, and Mr. Clancy, who was born in 1840, survived until in March, 1913. They were the parents of eight children, those besides Mrs. O'Grady, the third in order of birth, being as follow: Mrs. Margaret Zimmerman, of Lincoln, this state; Mrs. Mary O'Grady, of Dawson; Mrs. Kate O'Connell, living on a farm near Dawson; Michael, deceased; Mrs. Nora Cummings, of Grant precinct ; Alice, deceased. and Nellie, deceased.
To John and Johanna (Clancy) O'Grady ten children have been born, namely : Mary, who died at the age of eighteen months; Anastacia, wife of Michael Tiehen, a farmer, living south of Dawson; Hugh, a farmer of Grant precinct ; Josephine, a teacher in the public schools of this county, now teaching a district school south of Salem, and Patrick, Michael, Margaret, Daniel and Bernard, who are still at home. The O'Gradys are earnest mem- bers of the Catholic church and take an interested part in parish affairs, as well as in the general good works and social activities of their home com- munity. Mr. O'Grady is a Democrat and takes a proper interest in political
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affairs, but has not been an office seeker. He is a member of the local council of the Knights of Columbus at Falls City and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
LOUIS W. NOFSGER.
Louis W. Nofsger, one of the careful tillers of the soil in Nemaha precinct, was born in Speiser precinct, this county, May 6, 1888, a son of Jacob and Rosa (Spahr) Nofsger. Jacob Nofsger was born near Spring- field, Ohio, December 25, 1860, and there he grew to manhood and attended school. He came to Nebraska about 1882, and bought a farm in Speiser precinct, Richardson county, which he operated until his death in 1905, during which period of nearly a quarter of a century he was ranked among the leading general farmers of his vicinity. He was a Democrat, a member of the German Reformed church, and belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America. His widow, also a native of Ohio, was born on January 15, 1862, is still living, now making her home at Humboldt, this county. The following children were born to Jacob and Rosa Nofsger: John, who lives in Humboldt, Nebraska; Emma, who married Otto Gergelman, and is now deceased; Fred, who lives in Humboldt; Louis W., the subject of this sketch; Samuel, who is farming in Speiser township, and Elizabeth of Hum- boldt.
Louis W. Nofsger was reared on the home farm and received his education in the district schools. He began farming for himself in 1912 on rented land and, in 1915, he bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section 1, Nemaha precinct and has become well launched in his life work while yet a young man, giving promise of eventually ranking among the best farmers of the county. He has made a number of improve- ments on his place, including the erection of a modern home and a good barn. In connection with general farming he raises graded Shorthorn cattle.
On February 28, 1912, Louis W. Nofsger was married to Pearl Seitz, who was born on October 21, 1887, at Humboldt. She grew to womanhood and was educated in the common schools of Humboldt, and in the Peru State Normal, after which she taught school. She is a daughter of Samuel and Arminda (Holder) Nofsger, natives of Illinois and early settlers of Richardson county, who are both now deceased. Two children have been
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born to Mr. and Mrs. Nofsger, Howard Louis, deceased, and Wilma R .. whose birth occurred on May 14, 1915.
Mr. Nofsger is a Republican, but is not a biased partisan, being inclined to vote independently. He and Mrs. Nofsger are members of the United Brethren church.
ELIJAH T. LIBBEE.
Elijah T. Libbee, one of the real "old-timers" of Richardson county, an honored veteran of the Civil War and a substantial farmer, proprietor of a well-kept farm of one hundred and thirty acres south of Dawson, in the precinct of Grant, where he has made his home for more than half a cen- tury, is a native of the great Empire state and was reared in Illinois, but has been a resident of this county since 1865, having come out here in terri- torial days. He was born on a farm in Allegany county, New York, February 27, 1842, son of Truman L. and Martha Amelia (Angel) Libbee, natives, respectively, of Vermont and England, who were married in Steuben county, New York, and later moved to Allegany county, same state, where they remained until 1855, in which year they moved to Illinois and settled on a farm in Schuyler county, that state.
Truman L. Libbee remained in Illinois until 1864, in which year he moved with his father and mother to Utah, but two years later left that ter- ritory and came to Nebraska, settling in this county. He pre-empted a tract of land in section 22 of the precinct of Grant and proceeded to improve and develop the same, remaining there until 1876, in which year his father died and he returned to Utah, where he remained with his widowed mother until her death. He then returned to this county, but after a sometime further residence here, retired from the farm and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he spent his last days. He and his wife were the parents of four children, the subject of this sketch having had two brothers, Marshall, a veteran of the Civil War, now deceased, and Albert, now living at Lansing,. Michigan, and a sister, Mrs. Martha White-Berry, who died in 1915. Mar- shall Libbee also was a pioneer of Richardson county and his last days were spent at Dawson.
Elijah T. Libbee was about thirteen years of age when his parents moved from New York to Illinois and in their state he grew to manhood, receiv- ing his schooling in the schools of Schuyler county, and was living there when the Civil War broke out. On October 14, 1861, he enlisted for service
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ELIJAH T. LIBBEE.
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as a member of Company D, First Regiment, Missouri Volunteer Infantry, the engineering regiment of the Army of the West, and served with that command until his discharge, on a physician's certificate of disability, in a hospital at St. Louis in May, 1863. Mr. Libbee was in the engineering service and served in Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi, during that period of service having participated in the siege of Island No. 10, the battle of New Madrid, the siege of Corinth and in the campaign through Mississippi. At Memphis he was taken ill with lung fever and for five months was con- fined to hospital there, later being transferred to the hospital at St. Louis, where he presently received his discharge.
Upon the completion of his military service Elijah T. Libbee returned to Illinois, where he was married in the spring of 1864. He continued to make his home there until 1865, when he and his wife came to the then Ter- ritory of Nebraska and settled on a farin on the north side of the Nemaha river, in the neighborhood of the present town of Dawson, this county. A year later Mr. Libbee moved down to the south side of the river, entered there the tract of land on which he is now living and has ever since lived there, a period of more than fifty-two years, during which time he has seen this region develop from its wilderness state to its present highly-organized and prosperous condition as one of the most thriving agricultural regions in the West. It did not take Mr. Libbee long to get his land under cultiva- tion and he had a good start there before the days of the grasshopper visita- tions that discouraged so many of the later settlers. He has continually added to the improvements on his home place and has long had one of the well- kept farms in that part of the county, though his active participation in the labors of the farm in recent years have been mainly confined to a directing capacity. Though now well past seventy-five years of age Mr. Libbee retains his physical vigor to a remarkable degree and still reads without the artificial aid of glasses. He is a Republican, his first vote having been cast for Abra- ham Lincoln, and ever since coming to this county has taken an earnest interest in local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office. He is an active member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Dawson, taking a warm interest in the affairs of that patriotic organization, and is also affiliated with the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at that place, one of the oldest Odd Fellows in that part of the county.
On April 3, 1864, in Schuyler county, Illinois, Elijah T. Libbee was united in marriage to Mrs. Nancy Emily Davis, who died in 1895, at the age of fifty-three years. To that union eleven children were born, as follow : Mrs.
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Mina Warren, who lives east of Barada in this county; Mrs. Adella Hogue, who lives south of her father's place in Grant precinct ; Mrs. 'Amanda Pool, living east of Barada; Levi, who is now living in the state of Wyoming; Marion, a resident of the state of Washington ; Mrs. Emma Ingram, who, with her husband, continues to live on the old home place ; Willis, deceased; Fred, who is at home; Burt, of Elkhorn, this state, and two who died in infancy. Marion Libbee, now living in Washington, was a member of Colonel Bryan's regiment, the famous Third Nebraska, during the Spanish-American War and with that regiment saw service in Cuba.
FREDERICK WITTWER.
The late Frederick Wittwer, an honored veteran of the Civil War and at the time of his death at his fine farm home on Spring creek, in the precinct of Nemaha, in 1909, one of the most extensive landowners in Richardson county, was a native of the republic of Switzerland, but had been a resident of this country since he was eleven years of age and of the West since the days of his young manhood, having come out here before the days of the Civil War, he and his brother, Gottlieb, having been among the earliest set- tlers in the precinct of Nemaha in this county. After serving for more than three years as a soldier of the Union during the Civil War Frederick Wittwer returned to this county and after his marriage in 1868 established his perman- ent home on Spring creek. Since his death his widow has been making her home at Salem, where she is very comfortably situated.
Frederick Wittwer was born on April 3, 1840, and was eleven years of age when his parents, John Wittwer and wife, left their home in Wermiss, Switzerland, and came with their family to this country in 1851, locating in Tuscarawas county. Ohio. There Frederick Wittwer grew to young man- hood, remaining there until the late fifties, when he and his brother, Gott- lieb Wittwer, came West with a view to establishing themselves as farmers in the then Territory of Nebraska, which at that time comprised all the former Indian country from the Territory of Kansas north to the Dominion line and west to the Rockies. They liked the appearance of things in this county and took over a quarter of a section of land on Spring creek, in the precinct of Nemaha, paying down on the purchase price of the same the not extravagant sum of fifty dollars and assuming obligations for the balance, and were engaged in improving and developing the place when the Civil War broke
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out. On April 5, 1862, Frederick Wittwer enlisted for service in the Union army as a private in Company G, Thirteenth Regiment, Kansas Volunteer Infantry, and with that command went to the front, serving until the close of the war, and received his final discharge at Little Rock on June 26, 1865, a period of service covering something more than three years and two months, during a part of which time he was attached to the commissary and transport service as a mule driver. Mr. Wittwer participated in the chase of Price's command through Missouri and Arkansas and he was in several of the most notable engagements of the campaign in the Southwest, including the battles of Westport and Cape Girardeau. His brother, Christian Wittwer, also was a soldier of the Union, serving in an Ohio regiment, and was a participant in the great battle of Shiloh.
Upon the completion of his military service in the summer of 1865 Frederick Wittwer returned to this county and here resumed the pursuits of peace, engaging actively in the work of developing his land on Spring creek. After his marriage in the spring of 1868 he established his home on Spring creek and as he prospered gradually added largely to his holdings until he presently came to be recognized as one of the leading land speculators in this county and a citizen of much substantial worth, at the time of his death he and his wife owning four hundred and eleven acres in their home farm, five hundred and forty acres four and one-half miles west of Salem and three thousand one hundred and thirteen acres in Greeley county, this state, besides other interests of a valuable character. Mr. Wittwer was originally a Repub- lican, but later espoused the cause of the Democrats and for years took an active part in local politics, for some time serving as assessor of the precinct of Nemaha, as a school director and in other local capacities, ever doing his duty as a good citizen. He was a member of the German Reformed church, as is his widow, and was an active participant in local good works. He was an active member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and ever took a warm interest in the affairs of that patriotic organization. Dur- ing the great land rush into Oklahoma in 1889 Mr. Wittwer joined the "race" and came out with a fine quarter-section claim. He died at his home on Spring creek on January 1, 1909, being then in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and not long after his death his widow moved to Salem, where she is now living. In the spring of 1916 she sold one of her farms and then divided the estate among her children, though retaining in her own right five hundred and forty acres of land. Mrs. Wittwer is a very capable manager and is quite well circumstanced.
It was on April 19, 1868, that Frederick Wittwer was united in mar-
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riage to Mary Ann Stalder, who was born in Fulton county, Ohio, on July 30. 1851, a daughter of Jacob and Mary Ann (Fankhauser ) Stalder, natives of the republic of Switzerland, who left their home in Bern and came to this country, settling in Ohio, where they remained until in March, 1865, when they came to Nebraska with their family and settled on a farm ten miles west of Salem, where they spent the remainder of their lives, substantial pioneers of that community. To Frederick and Mary Ann (Stalder ) Wittwer were born fourteen children, namely: Edward, a substantial farmer of the pre- cinct of Nemaha: William, of Las Lunas, New Mexico; Charles, of Nemaha precinct : Mrs. Rosa Porr, of that same precinct; Henry, now a resident of Kansas: Joseph, of the precinct of Nemaha; Hiram, of that same precinct; Peter, a resident of Greeley county, this state ; Isaac, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Louis, of the precinct of Nemaha ; Elizabeth, a professional musician, who is now making her home at Los Angeles, California; Rachel, a teacher in the schools of North Platte, this state; Salome, who is at home with her mother at Salem, and Viola, who received her education at Brownell Hall College at Omaha and is also at home.
FREDRICK BUCHER, SR.
Fredrick Bucher, Sr., one of Richardson county's most substantial ranchmen and the proprietor of a fine place of more than six hundred acres in the old Middleburg section of Speiser township, is a native of the republic of Switzerland, but has been a resident of this country and of this county since 1881 and has done exceedingly well since entering upon his farming operations here. He was born in the canton of Bern on August 23, 1849, son of Fredrick and Mary Bucher, also natives of Switzerland, who spent all their lives in their native land. Fredrick Bucher was a miller, as was his father before him, and the old mill is still being operated there, now under the direction of his other son, John.
Reared in his native Switzerland, Fredrick Bucher grew up to the life of the mill and became an expert miller. In 1871 he married Louise Mar- mett, also a native of Switzerland, born in 1847, and after his marriage con- tinued working in the mill and presently became manager of the same, operat- ing it for five years, at the end of which time it became necessary for him to give way to his brother, who is still operating the mill, and look for another place. Seeing no opening there to his liking he decided to come to
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the United States and make a new home in the West, regarding which he had heard much as the land of opportunity. Disposing of his interests in Switzerland he came to this country in 1881, arriving here with about four thousand dollars, and six months later bought the place on which he is now living and where he has lived ever since, never having had cause to regret the decision that prompted him to come to Nebraska.
Upon coming to this county Mr. Bucher looked about a bit and on December 9, 1881, bought two hundred and forty acres of land owned by George Gerdes, who was then keeping the postoffice at "Middleburg", in Speiser township and who had erected on the place a small frame house. In that house Mr. Bucher and his family settled down and proceeded to develop the farm. It was necessary for Mr. Bucher to assume somewhat of a debt on taking possession of the place, but he had a stout heart and had no doubt of his ability to discharge the obligation. From the very beginning of his operations there he was successful and it was not long until he was able to begin enlarging his land holdings, and this he kept up until now he is the owner of six hundred and twenty-two acres, one of the best-kept ranches in that part of the county, his eldest son, Frederick, now being the practical manager of the ranch, Mr. Bucher some time ago having practically retired from the active labors of the place .. He has a fine eleven-room house on the place, a great improvement over the little postoffice building in which he first had his home there, and his great barn and extensive hay and cattle sheds, together with the other improvements of the place are in keeping. In 1898 Mr. Bucher made a trip back to his old home in Switzerland on a visit to his brother and sisters, but was quite content to return to his home in Richard- son county and is equally content to spend the rest of his life in this country.
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