History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 111

Author: Edwards, Lewis C
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1742

USA > Nebraska > Richardson County > History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions > Part 111

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

On December 27, 1897, Mr. Davis was married to Lorena Kline, who was born October 10, 1865, in Perry county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Stephen and Olive (Steele) Kline, and who was three years old when her father died in 1868. Mrs. Kline later came to Nebraska and settled in Richardson county in 1872, joining the Steele family, she being a niece of Charles, Joseph and John Steele. She taught school at Falls City for a period of twelve years, and taught for two years at Stella, and two years at Humboldt. She at one time made a long visit in Pennsylvania among old home friends and scenes. She spent her last days in Humboldt with Mr. and Mrs. Davis. Her death occurring in August. 1912. Two chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kline: Lorena, wife of Mr. Davis, and Charles, who died in youth.

During Mr. Davis's incumbency as mayor of Humboldt he did much for the general improvement of the town. It was then that the splendid concrete band stand and fountain in the city park was built. It was erected in honor of O. J. Tinker, who gave the park to the city. During his adminis- tration the waterworks plant was connected with the springs two and one-

I125

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

half miles northeast of Humboldt, which furnish what is regarded as pos- sibly the best water in the state, its analysis showing that it is ninety-nine per cent pure, and which provides an unfailing water supply for the town. The splendid sewer system which Humboldt possesses was installed during his administration, through Mr. Davis's energy and persistence. This sys- tem is unique, inasmuch as it was built by private subscription.

WILLIAM W. JAMES.

William W. James, one of the best-known and most substantial retired farmers of the northern part of this county and. the proprietor of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in the precinct of East Muddy, who since 1907 has been making his home at Shubert, where he and his wife are very comfortably situated, is a native of Wales, but has been a resident of this country since he was five years of age and of Nebraska since he was nineteen. He was born in South Wales, January 1, 1848, son of Evan and Mary Ann (Thomas) Watkins, the former of whom died in 1849, the subject of this sketch then being but an infant. The Widow Watkins later married John T. James and her son by her first marriage has ever since been known by the name of James instead of Watkins.

In 1854 John T. James left his native Wales with his family and came to the United States, proceeding to Pottsville, Pennsylvania, a short time later moving to Pomeroy, in Meigs county, Ohio, where he remained until 1865, in the spring of which year he came out to the then Territory of Nebraska and bought a tract of land in the precinct of East Muddy, in this county, returning then to his home in Chicago with a view to bringing his family out here to settle on the farm. Before these plans could be carried into effect his wife died in December, 1865, and was buried in Ohio. Not long afterward, in 1866, Mr. James brought his children out here to the farm he had bought the year before and there established his home. In 1867 he married Margaret Griffith, who died in December, 1868, and in 1871 he married Elizabeth Jenkins, who remained his helpmate until death, both dying in the same month, in February, 1906. John T. James developed a good farm in East Muddy precinct, becoming the owner of three hundred acres of excellent land, and there spent his last days. By his first wife, mother of the subject of this sketch, he was the father of five children, namely : Mrs. Elizabeth Higgins, who died in 1914; Jacob T., who died in 1913;

1126

RICIIARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

Mrs. Helen Matthews, also deceased; Benjamin, of Sunnyside, Washing- ton, and John, who was killed by a horse in his youth.

Upon coming out to Nebraska with his stepfather in 1866 William W. James entered heartily upon the labors of helping to develop and improve the home place and there remained until after his marriage, when, in 1870, he began farming for himself, investing the proceeds of his share of the sale of his father's old farm back in Wales in the purchase of a farm of three hundred and seventeen acres adjoining that of his stepfather in East Muddy precinct, paying for the same four dollars and fifty cents an acre, land now worth from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars an acre. On that place he established his home and there he and his wife continued to reside, prospering in their operations, until 1907, when they retired from the farm and moved to Shubert, where they have since made their residence. Formerly Mr. James was a Republican but later became a Democrat and on local issues has long voted independently. For some time he served as assessor of his home precinct and in other ways has contributed of his time and energies to the public service.

On December 7, 1869, William W. James was united in marriage to Elizabeth Jones, also a native of Wales, born on August 17, 1849, daughter of Jonas and Mary Ann (Evans) Jones, who came to the United States in 1853 and settled at Pomeroy, Meigs county, Ohio, remaining there until 1869, when they came to Nebraska and settled in Aspinwall precinct over the line in the county of Nemaha, not far from the James place. Jonas Jones, who was born in 1837, died in February, 1903. His wife, who was born in 1826, had preceded him to the grave about nine years, her death having occurred in 1894. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom seven are still living, those besides Mrs. James being as follow: Mrs. Sarah Taggart, of Trout Lake, Washington; Lance, of Shubert, this county ; John, who is farming in Nemaha county; Morgan, also a Nemaha county farmer; Mrs. Margaret Lambert, of Kearney, this state, and Mrs. Anna Williams, of Nemaha county.

To William W. and Elizabeth (Jones) James seven children have been born, namely : Mrs. Mary Gillilan, of 'Auburn, this state, who has one child, a son, James; Edward, of Stella, who married Laura Armstrong; Arthur W., who married Anna Hellwig, formerly of New York, and is now located at Prescott, Arizona; Mrs. Ella Holines, of Lincoln, this state; John, who died at the age of ten years; Ella, who died at the age of six years, and Lela, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. James are members of the Bap-

II27

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

tist church and have ever taken an interested part in church work, as well as in other neighborhood good works. Mr. James is a member of the local lodge of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and takes an active interest in Masonic affairs.

JOSEPH WINDLE.

There are, naturally, in a great grain country like southeastern Nebraska, a large number of elevators, and one of the best known in Richardson county is that owned and conducted by Joseph Windle at Salem, where he is also engaged in farming and the live-stock business.

Mr. Windle was born on October 1,- 1847, in Shenandoah county, Vir- ginia, a son of William and Mary (Kretzsinger) Windle, both natives of Virginia, the father born in 1807 and the mother, in 1810. They grew up in their native state and were married there, establishing the family home on a farm in Shenandoah county. In 1855 they removed to Ogle county, Illinois, where they spent the rest of their lives on a farm, the father dying in 1878 and the mother in 1874. They were members of the Lutheran church. Ten children were born to them, two of whom are now deceased, Joseph Windle being the seventh in order of birth.

Joseph Windle was eight years old when his parents moved to Ogle county, Illinois, and there he grew to manhood on the farm and attended the public schools. In the fall of 1872 he came to Nebraska and for a num- ber of years rented land in Liberty precinct, Richardson county, where, in 1883, he bought a farm of eighty acres, which he operated until 1892, when he sold out and moved to Salem, where he has since resided. He had bought the Salem grain elevator in 1890 and has conducted the same ever since. He also has bought and shipped live stock in large numbers from Salem during the past twenty-five years. Although during this period he has been busy with his elevator and live stock business, he has also continued farming, owning a valuable place of seventy-two and one-half acres near the Burling- ton depot at Salem.

Mr. Windle was married on March 2, 1872, to Anna Belle Price, who was born in Pennsylvania on July 2, 1850, a daughter of George and Rebecca Jane (Cornelius) Price, the latter a native of Pennsylvania and the former of Germany, from which country he came to Pennsylvania when a child and there spent the rest of his life. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Windle, namely: Mrs. Hattie A. Mettz, deceased; Fred R., who is

II28

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

engaged in the grain commission business at St. Joseph, with the Garnell- Windle Grain Company; Oliver P., who is engaged in the live-stock com- mission business in St. Joseph, Missouri; Grace, deceased; Joseph E., who is engaged in the lumber business in Salem, this county; Dean K., who is connected with the bank at Wymore, this state, and Wayne, who is oper- ating an elevator at Fortescue, Missouri. Mr. Windle is a Democrat and has served as a member of the school board. He and Mrs. Windle belong to the Congregational church.

EDMOND J. DURFEE.

Among the real "old-timers" of Richardson county there are few who are better known throughout the county than is Edmond J. Durfee, a retired pioneer farmer of the precinct of Rulo, who is now living at Falls City, where he and his wife are very comfortably situated in their pleasant home at 2012 North Fulton street. Mr. Durfee has been a resident of Nebraska since the spring of 1859 and has consequently been a witness to and a participant in the development of this region since territorial days. few men now living in the county having a more thorough acquaintance with the conditions that confronted the pioneers here back in the latter fifties and early sixties than has he, and when in a reminiscent mood he is a verit- able "mine of information" on matters relating to the early settlement of this part of the state.

Edmond J. Durfee is a native of the neighboring state of Iowa, born at Black Hawk on March 7, 1849. a son of Edmond and Caroline E. (Clark) Durfee, both natives of the state of New York, who became pioneers of this section of Nebraska back in territorial days and here spent the remainder of their lives, honored and useful pioneers of Richardson county; though the former did not live long to continue the useful work upon which he had entered upon coming to this region, his death occurring at Winnebago on January 19, 1861, but a few years after coming here from the state of Iowa. He was born in New York on September 3, 1815, and was therefore but forty-five years of age at the time of his death. His widow survived him many years. She continued to make her home in this county after her husband's death and died at Salem on January 20, 1901. She was born, also in the state of New York, on August 12, 1822, and was therefore in the seventy-ninth year of her age at the time of her death. Edmond

EDMOND J. DURFEE.

II29

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

Durfee and his wife were the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others having been Russell K., Mary A., Celia and Louis. Russell K. Durfee was born in Missouri, September 1, 1836, and died at his home at Winnebago. this state, June 25, 1917. Mary A. Durfee was born at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa, March 27, 1851, and was but a child when she came to Nebraska with her parents, in 1859. She married J. R. Babbitt and was the mother of four children, James Babbitt, Sylvia Babbitt, Mrs. Gay Sisco, of Burchard, and Charles Babbitt. Mrs. Babbitt died at her home in Rulo on February 26, 1890. Celia Durfee was born in Iowa on October 28, 1856, and was about three years of age when her parents came to Nebraska. She married Jefferson Gentry, of Salem, this county, and has four children, Daniel, Clarence, Albert and Lloyd. Louis Durfee was born at Winnebago, this state, October 14, 1860, and is now living in the state of Minnesota.

The senior Edmond Durfee was a millwright and builder by vocation and for some years after moving from New York state to Iowa followed that vocation in the latter state. In 1857 he and Louis Darvean, Jarvis Durfee, his brother, and E. H. Johnson came over from Iowa to the then Territory of Nebraska to build a mill for Charles Rulo and erected the first mill to be built on the Muddy. That pioneer mill, which occupied the site of the present mill at that place, was successfully operated for a time and then was accidentally destroyed by fire. Upon completing the Rulo mill Mr. Durfee, accompanied by Lonis Darvean and Bruno Cornearry, went to Winnebago on the Missouri river, where they erected a mill for a man of the name of Pecot, who was doing an extensive business there, and at that place Mr. Durfee died in 1861, as noted above. In 1859, two years after he came to Nebraska, Edmond Durfee moved his family from Iowa to Nebraska, driving through from Iowa in a covered wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, and arrived at Winnebago on May 10 of that year. After his death the family home was established in Richardson county and, as noted above, here his widow spent her last days.

Edmond J. Durfee was but ten years of age when he came to Ne- braska with his parents in 1859 and he completed his schooling in the primi- tive schools of Richardson county. He was reared on a farm and early became a practical farmer. After his marriage, in 1871, he for four years made his home on a bottoms-land farm in the precinct of Rulo, where he had a rather disastrous experience. He improved that bottom-land farm, spending upwards of sixteen hundred dollars upon the same, and then traded it for a span of horses and two pigs, because of the fact that the treacherous

II30

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

and ever-hungry Missouri river was encroaching on the land and carrying the soil away. It began to look as though the river would carry away all of the farm, so Mr. Durfee traded it off for what he could get. In 1874 he "hired out" to John R. Smith and worked for Mr. Smith for three years, at the end of which time he rented the Smith farm and farmed the same for one year. He next rented a place three miles north of Rulo, for three years, and used his savings to buy a farm eight miles northeast of Falls City, in the precinct of Arago. That place, a tract of three hundred and forty acres, he brought up to a high state of cultivation and development. He also engaged quite extensively in the raising of cattle and soon became recognized as one of the most progressive and substantial farmers in the eastern part of the county. In 1904 Mr. Durfee retired from the farm and moved to Falls City, but afterward returned to the farm and there con- tinned to make his home until 1911, in which year he returned to Falls City, where he has since made his home, having a tidy bit of property there in addition to his valuable farming interests. Mr. Durfee is a Democrat and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs, having for years served as a member of the school district in his old home district in Arago.

Mr. Durfee has been thrice married. On June 2, 1871, he was united in marriage to Cordelia A. Carr, who was born in 1855 and who was but eleven years of age when her parents, Eli and Catherine Carr, came to Nebraska and settled at Rulo in 1866. To that union were born two chil- dren, Edmond, who died in infancy, and Mark J., born on January 12. 1874, near Rulo, and who is now residing on a farm eight miles north- east of Falls City. The mother of these children died in 1879 and on June 8, 1880, at Rulo, Mr. Durfee married Maria L. Montgomery, who was born at White Pigeon, Illinois, October 4, 1849, and who came to Nebraska with her parents, Charles and Elizabeth (Jones) Montgomery, in 1863. To that union were born two children, Edward E., born on Jan- uary II, 1882, on the farm eight miles northeast of Falls City, where he still resides, and Amantha, who died in infancy. On March 1, 1906, Mr. and Mrs. Durfee left the farm and moved to Falls City, where Mrs. Durfee shortly afterward was taken ill and where she died on the 27th of that same month. After this bereavement Mr. Durfee returned to the farm and there made his home with his son. Edward E. Durfee and family, until November 28, 1910, on which date he was united in marriage to Isabelle Elshire, who came to this county with her parents. Ephraim and Maria Elshire, in 1860, the family settling at Rulo. After his last marriage Mr.

II31

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

Durfee again established his home in Falls City, where he and his wife are now living:

Edward E. Durfee, who is now managing his father's place in Arago precinct, where he makes his home, was united in marriage on August 26. 1903, to Jessie L. Waggoner, who was born on a farm twelve miles north- east of Falls City, in this county, March 9, 1883, where her parents. Riley D. and Martha J. (Anderson) Waggoner, still reside. To this union six children have been born, Maryee, Opal, Agnes, Blanche. Edward and Martha. The first-named of these children, Maryee, born on June 17, 1904. died on March 1, 1914.

RALPH R. PHILPOT.

One of the most enterprising of the younger generation of business men of western Richardson county is Ralph R. Philpot, a lumber and coal dealer in Humboldt, where he was born, February 14. 1884, and he has been content to spend his life in his native town. He is a son of Samuel M. and Winnie A. (Moon) Philpot, an old and highly esteemed pioneer family of this section of Nebraska. The father, Samuel Morrow Philpot. was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, January 22. 1851, and died on November 22, 1916, when nearly sixty-six years old. He came to Nebraska in 1868, first locating at Omaha, where he resided for about a year. He then went to Rulo and for two years he held a position in a bank and general store, later taking a position with a lumber company at Salem, where he lived until 1874, when he moved to Humboldt. Mr. Philpot brought with him into the West a rugged and strong physique, indomitable energy and full measure of honesty, industry and courage, and was thus well fitted for the hardships that confront the pioneer. During these early years he laid the foundation upon which he builded a business of considerable magnitude.

Samuel M. Philpot was a son of Robert and Susan (West) Philpot. The mother was born August 5, 1826, in Carroll county, Ohio, and she and Robert Philpot were married in 1847. Soon thereafter they moved to Nebraska and settled on a farm one and one-half miles south of Humboldt, where they spent the rest of their lives, his death occurring on February 28, 1897. She passed away on April 2, 1915, at an advanced age. They were parents of the following children, namely: James W., Samuel M. (father of the subject of this sketch), Mrs. Belle Adams, of Lisbon, Ohio ; Mrs. Tina Crawford, Hugh D., John R., William H., Mrs. E. S. Cope and Charles P. Seven of the nine children survive, and all live in Hum-

II32

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

boldt, except Mrs. Adams, and Mrs. Tina Crawford, the last named making her home in Montana.

Sanmel M. Philpot was married on February 22, 1875, to Winnie A. Moon, to whom four children were born, one of whom died in infancy. The second son, Gurney, was accidentally drowned in Maloney lake near Humboldt, on Decoration Day, 1892. Ralph R., the subject of this sketch, has a brother, Harry, who now lives at Circle City, Montana. The mother of these children is living in Lincoln, Nebraska. Samuel M. Philpot was a Presbyterian, as were his parents before him. He joined the church at Hum- boldt, February 18, 1875, and was made an elder in the same, January 26, 1890, which position he filled most efficiently until his death. Broadminded on the questions of municipal report, he was called upon to serve the city of his residence both as its mayor and as a member of the council at differ- ent times, and he was almost a life member of the school board and of the library board, in the affairs of which he always took a deep interest. He was also a member of the Masonic lodge, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Degree of Honor and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

Ralph R. Philpot was educated in the Humboldt schools, later attending a business college in Lincoln, Nebraska. When but a boy he began working with his father in the lumber business, becoming a partner with him in 1910, and upon the death of the elder Philpot the son, with his brother Harry and their mother, took full charge of the business which has since been con- tinued with ever-growing success, under the active management of the broth- ers, Ralph R. looking more specifically after the management of the lumber yard at Humboldt. They also own a yard at Burchand, this state. Their yard at Humboldt is the largest in southeastern Nebraska. A stock of lumber. and coal is carried there aggregating. in .value nearly. twenty - thousand dollars on an average, and a large territory is supplied from this yard. Ralph R. Philpot is also a shareholder and vice-president of the Home State Bank.

On December 7, 1909, Ralph R. Philpot, of this review, was married to Edith Finch, who was born in Arapahoe, Nebraska, a daughter of R. J. Finch, a banker and merchant and one of the leading men of affairs of that place. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Philpot, namely : Robert F., Adelaide, and Samuel G.

Mr. Philpot is a Republican and is now serving as a member of the local school board and city council. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Presbyterian church. He is a man of sound judgment and business acumen, public spirited and of unquestioned integrity.

I133

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

WILLIAM M. BRANDOW.

William M. Brandow, one of the real "old settlers" of Humboldt pre- cinct, the proprietor of a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres in the neighborhood of Humboldt, is a native of the Dominion of Canada, but has been a resident of Richardson county since he was twenty years of age, having come here in the spring of 1869, and has consequently been a witness to and a participant in the development of this county since pioneer days. He was born on October 16, 1849, son of Moses and Phoebe Brandow, who became pioneers of this county and here spent their last days, the former dying in 1891 and the latter in 1892.

Moses Brandow was born in Canada, in 1814, and was one of three sons born to his parents, who left the Catskill region of New York state and moved over into the Dominion. There Moses Brandow grew up and married, later moving to Illinois and thence, in 1865, to Iowa, where he remained until after his children had grown up and had come out here and established a home, when he and his wife rejoined them and here spent the remainder of their lives. Moses Brandon was a carpenter and did much carpenter work in the western part of the county. He and his wife were the parents of four children, the subject of this sketch having had three sisters, Harriet, who married John Lynch and came to this county from Iowa in 1868 and died here in 1892; Mrs. Angeline Elliot, a widow, now living in Denver, and Mrs. Emma Ray, now living in California. John Lynch, referred to above, was the son of Thomas H. Lynch, the pioneer postmaster at Lynchburg, on the old Revelle place in this county.

William M. Brandow was but an infant when his parents moved from Canada to Illinois in 1850 and he was about fifteen years of age when the family moved from that state to Iowa. He grew up in the latter state, living there until the spring of 1869, when he and his two sisters, Mrs. Elliot and Emma, and the former's husband, Frank Elliot, drove over into Nebraska, arriving in this county at ten o'clock in the morning on May I, eight days from Prairie City, Iowa, with a load of two thousand pounds of household and other goods on their wagon. On September I following, Mr. Brandow made his location on his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Humboldt precinct and was shortly afterward joined there by his parents, who made their home with him thereafter, and he did not marry until some time after the death of his parents. Mr. Brandow built his first substantial house in 1872 and rebuilt the same in

1134

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

1901. He has improved his farm in excellent shape and has long been looked upon as one of the substantial farmers of that neighborhood. He is a Republican in his political views and has held township offices, doing well his part in the public service.

On December 25, 1894, William M. Brandow was united in marriage to Nellie Madden, who was born in this county on October 8, 1872, daugh- ter of David Madden and wife, pioneers of Richardson county. Mr. and Mrs. Brandow are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take a proper interest in church work and in other local good works. Mr. Brandow is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Humboldt and a member of the Knights and Ladies of Security, in the affairs of which organizations he takes a warm interest.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 111

Author: Edwards, Lewis C Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1742

Author: Edwards, Lewis C
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1742