History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 114

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

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Joseph Steele was a man of fine public spirit, but being of a very retiring disposition he would never permit his name to be put up for public office, preferring to lend his stanch support to the candidate he personally favored than to fill the office himself. He and his devoted wife worked hard for every good thing that would advance the interest of their home, city and community, and he contributed liberally to the building of all churches erected in Falls City during his life time, and was especially inter- ested in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Steele was a mem- ber. He experienced all of the hardships of pioneer life, including drouth periods and grasshopper scourges. He contributed generously to funds raised to defray the expense of the destruction of these insects and for the support of his less fortunate neighbors, who suffered because of drouth and loss of crops destroyed by grasshoppers. His heart and purse were ever open to the cry of the needy and his giving was as unostentatious as were all the good deeds of his life. He was a broadminded, generous-natured man. His donation of Steele Cemetery, a tract of thirty acres of land to be used as a public cemetery, stands as a splendid monument to his idea of public spirit and liberality. In all of the affairs of his life he maintained a very high sense of honor and integrity of purpose, and it was said of him that his word was as good as his bond.

Joseph Steele was married to Margaret Fisher at Beloit, Wisconsin .. January 15, 1855. To this union were born the following children: Edwin Ferris Steele, Joseph Charles Steele, Hannah F. Samuelson, Sarah Steele. and Margaret Steele, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood on the. home place. At this date there are seven grandchildren and one great-grand- child among his descendants.

Mrs. Joseph Steele was a daughter of Jacob Fisher, whose family were early settlers of New Jersey and among the first settlers to enter the Wyo- ming valley after the Revolutionary War. Her mother, Hannah Adams, was of New England birth and a member of the famous Adams family to. which John Adams, President of the United States, belonged. Mrs. Steele was born on December 23. 1821, and departed this life on December 14, 1901. She was a woman of strong character, devoted to her family and her home and loyal to her church. She endured the hardships of pioneer

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days with strength and fortitude, doing much kindly missionary work, and was well-known to the various tribes of Indians, who traveled the highway which led past the Steele home as, "White-Mother Good to Indian." Her heart was ever warm to those in need, whom she served with Christian love and tenderness.

Edwin Ferris Steele, eldest son of Joseph Steele, was born near Wilkes- barre, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, on September 5, 1857. He accom- panied his parents to Richardson county in 1865, residing with them in the first home, in section 14, and in the second home, in section 13. He attended the schools in Falls City until he entered the University of Ne- braska, in 1875. His earnest desire was to become a lawyer and he pur- sued his studies to that end, but through force of circumstances was com- pelled to abandon his idea of entering the legal profession and devote his attention to farming. He inherited the homestead from his father and em- barked upon a successful farming and stock-raising career. He maintained a keen interest in the political affairs of his day, and enlarged his intel- lectual horizon by continued wide reading, which made him a well-educated man. Edwin Ferris Steele was married in May, 1888, to Mary E. Abbey, daughter of W. W. Abbey, a prominent farmer and business man of Rich- ardson county. Their children are Robert Edwin and Mary Elizabeth Steele. Edwin F. Steele died at his home on October 17, 1903, honored and re- spected by all who knew him. Mrs. Mary E. Steele died on November 9, 1895. Following the death of his wife, E. F. Steele was married on April 14, 1896, to Katharine Diven, of Casey, Iowa, this union being without issue.

Robert Edwin Steele, third in line of the Steele family in Nebraska, was born on August 12, 1889, at the Steele homestead, where he now re- sides. He grew to manhood on the homestead, and after graduating from the Falls City high school he entered the University of Nebraska, in 1911, and there pursued the full agricultural course, graduating with honors in 1915. Immediately after the completion of his college course he engaged in cultivating the home farm and has followed faithfully in the footsteps of his forbears in this respect. The appearance of the Steele homestead is evidence of the thorough care which is bestowed upon it by the owner, who is engaged in general farming and stock raising, on a large scale, on the four hundred acres comprising this tract. Mr. Steele has turned his atten- tion to the breeding and raising of thoroughbred stock, with unqualified success, and has become widely known as a breeder of Duroc-Jersey swine, holding semi-annual public sales of his fine stock at his farm. He also

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handles large numbers of sheep, the output of which has topped the market at St. Joseph on several occasions.

Mr. Steele is a Republican in his political views, but is inclined to vote independently. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

HENRY STITZER.

Henry Stitzer, former member of the board of county commissioners for Richardson county and one of the best-known and most substantial farmers in the precinct of Salem, where he has a fine home, is a native of the old Keystone state, from which so many of the sterling pioneer citizens of Richardson county came, but has been a resident of this county since 1886, he and his wife having come here immediately after their marriage in that year. He was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1858, son of Augustus and Catherine (Bridechum) Stitzer, both of Dutch stock and members of old families in the Pennsylvania-Dutch settlement, who spent all their lives in their native state, substantial and well-to-do farming people in Berks county. Augustus Stitzer and his wife were the parents of fourteen children, of whom ten grew to maturity and of whom nine are still living, four having died in infancy, those besides the subject of this sketch being as follow: Augustus, who still lives in Pennsylvania, Mrs. Catherine Nunemocher, also of Pennsylvania; John, who is engaged in the retail meat business at Falls City, this county; Mrs. Rachel Conrad, of Pennsylvania; Emmet, who died in 1916; James, of Pennsylvania; Mrs. Sarah Diehl, of Pennsylvania, and Charles and Mary, of that same state.

Reared on the home farm in Berks county. Pennsylvania, Henry Stitzer received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, when, in 1879, he went to Illinois and was for seven or eight years thereafter engaged in farming in Ogle county, that state. There he was married in the spring of 1885 and he and his wife straightway came to Nebraska, in 1886, and settled in Richardson county, the first winter of their residence here being spent on the Conklin place. They then spent a year on the Dowell place and were afterward located on the Miles ranch for eleven years, at the end of which time Mr. Stitzer sold his farming equipment and moved to Salem, where for four years he was engaged in the hardware business. He then bought a quarter

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of a section of land in the precinct of Salem and moved onto the same, resuming the life of a farmer, and there made his home for a year, at the end of which time he bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in that same precinct and has ever since made his home there, with the exception of three years spent in the automobile business at Salem, returning to his home farm on February 1, 1914. In addition to his well- improved farm in Salem precinct Mr. Stitzer is the owner of a quarter of a section of land in Texas and a tract of five acres in California. He has an excellent farm plant and one of the pleasantest home places in his neigh- borhood, the house being surrounded by a fine grove and ornamented with numerous evergreens of old growth. Mr. Stitzer is a Democrat, though inclined to independence of party on local issues, and has served the county as a member of the board of county commissioners from his district for two terms, 1908-10 and 1912-14. He also served for ten years as school director in his district and has served as town clerk and in other local public capacities.

On March 5, 1886, in Ogle county, Illinois, Henry Stitzer was united in marriage to Martha Snyder, who was born in Pennsylvania, April 10, 1861, a daughter of Jacob and Rebecca (Kesselring) Snyder, natives of that same state, who moved to Illinois in 1864 and in April, 1893, moved from that state to Nebraska and settled on the farm now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Stitzer, in Salem precinct, this county, where they spent the re- mainder of their lives, Mr. Snyder dying there in October, 1903, he then being eighty-two years of age, and his widow surviving until in February, 1910, she being eighty-five years of age at the time of her death. In her younger days Mrs. Snyder had been accustomed to ride in .ox-wagons. but in her latter years found a much better mode of transportation in the automobile of her son-in-law, Mr. Stitzer, enjoying greatly the swift and comfortable motion of the modern car as in contrast with the lumbering and comfortless ox-wagons of her earlier days. Jacob Snyder and his wife were the parents of ten children, of whom: Mrs. Stitzer was the eighth in order of birth, the others being as follow: George, who is now living in Caldwell, Idaho; John, of Kansas City, Missouri; Mary, now deceased, who was the wife of E. R. Grush; Fannie, who died at the age of twenty years: Edward, now a resident of California: Mrs. Sarah Grush, of Falls City, this county ; Charles, now a resident of Texas; James, of Edgar, this state, and G. Lee, of Texas. Both the Snyders and the Kesselrings are of Swiss stock, both of Mrs. Stitzer's grandfathers having been born in Switzer- land.

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To Henry and Martha (Snyder) Stitzer three children have been born, Maynard, assistant cashier of the bank at Salem, who married Ethel Thomp- son, daughter of Amos Thompson and wife, and has one child, a son, Glen ; Clarence, a farmer of Salem precinct, who married Hazel McDowell, daugh- ter of George McDowell and wife, and has one child, a daughter, Dorman Lee, and Vincent, born on October 7, 1899, who is at home. The Stitzers are members of the Congregational church at Salem and take a proper part in church work, as well as in the general good works and social activities of the community in which they live.

HON. AUGUSTUS H. FELLERS.

One of the best-known business firms of the western part of Richard- son county is the furniture and undertaking establishment in the town of Humboldt, of which the Hon. Augustus H. Fellers, former mayor of that city and former representative from this district to the state Legislature, is a member. Mr. Fellers was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, June 27. 1851, and is a son of Philip and Catherine (Plulver) Fellers, who were the parents of nine children, only two of whom are now living. Augustus A. Fellers having a sister, Mrs. Parmelia Campbell.

Philip Fellers was born at Upper Red Hood, Dutchess county, New York and was a son of Philip Fellers, also a native of the state of New York. In an early day the family moved to Pennsylvania, and in 1877 part of the family came to Nebraska, the parents of the subject of this review settling on a farm in Pawnee county. Before leaving Pennsylvania Philip Fellers had followed teaming, but he devoted the latter part of his life to general farming, becoming the owner of one hundred and sixty acres in Pawnee county. His death occurred in 1879, at the age of fifty-one years. His wife, Catherine Plulver, was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, December 25, 1829. She is still living, in her eighty-eighth year, making her home with her daughter, Mrs. Parmelia Campbell, at Humboldt.

Augustus H. Fellers was reared on a farm and when a boy worked hard during the crop seasons, attending the public schools during the winter months, in Pennsylvania. Remaining in his native state until 1877. he came with the rest of the family to Nehraska and purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres two miles west of the town of Humboldt. in this county. The place was slightly improved and a log cabin had been erected on it.

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Mr. Fellers began improving at once in a general way and the cabin gave way to a comfortable five-room, story and one-half frame dwelling; out- buildings and fences were also put up and he soon had the land under an excellent state of cultivation. He dealt in live stock to some extent and in those days bought hogs as low as two cents a pound. Mr. Fellers con- tinued farming with success until 1882, when he sold out and moved to the town of Humboldt, where he bought out a furniture store and has since been in partnership with J. C. Segrist, their partnership continuing with mutual pleasure and success for a period of thirty-five years and is, there- fore, not only well-established, but widely known in the southeastern part of the state. They have built up a large trade with the surrounding coun- try and carry a stock of general furniture that would do credit to a town much larger than Humboldt. The fact that they have dealt with their scores of customers in a uniformly honest and courteous manner is indicated from the fact that many of their present customers have been trading with them for a quarter of a century or more.

Mr. Fellers is a skilled embalmer, having been graduated from the Lin- coln Embalming School at Lincoln, and the firm has for years been doing an extensive undertaking business. Mr. Fellers is owner of forty acres of good land one mile north of Humboldt. Credit is due him for promoting the present excellent telephone system of Humboldt. It was he who called the first meeting for the purpose of organizing a telephone company and he remained a leader in the some, becoming one of the largest shareholders of the company, and very ably and satisfactorily filled the offices of man- ager, treasurer and director until the organizers and first stockholders sold out to the present owners.

On July 4, 1874, Mr. Fellers was married to Mary J. Banks, of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, where she was born, reared and attended school, a daughter of James Banks and wife, the former of whom was born in Ireland, from which country he emigrated to the United States in early life, and located in Pennsylvania, where he married a native of that state. To Mr. and Mrs. Fellers three children have been born, namely: John, who lives in Elk Creek, Nebraska; Miss Jennie, at home, and Mae, the wife of C. K. Cooper, of El Centro, California.

Mr. Fellers is a Democrat and has long been regarded as one of the leaders in his party in southeastern Nebraska, where his influence for the good of his party has been potent. He has been elected to the city council of Humboldt three times, serving six years in all, and was mayor for two terms. He has done much for the general good of his home town, both

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in a business and civic way, ever being alert to its best interests and general welfare. In 1901 he was his party's choice for representative to the state Legislature and was easily elected. Serving as a member of the twenty- seventh General Assembly, he made a most commendable record, winning alike the plaudits of his constituents and members of other political parties, for he labored toward the general good of his county and vicinity. One of his more conspicuous acts was to introduce a "contest bill" for the benefit of the Legislature, the provisions of which have discouraged defeated candidates from contesting elections. Fraternally, Mr. Fellers is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a member of the Methodist church and a liberal supporter of the same. He is a well informed man on current topics and keeps well abreast of the times.

JOHN HARRISON RICHARDSON.

One of the old settlers of Barada precinct, Richardson county, is John Harrison Richardson, now living in retirement. He was born on October 24, 1840, in Yorkshire, England. He is a son of William Richardson, who was a miller by profession, and who left England in 1842, immigrating with his family to Toronto, Canada, where he operated a wind-mill, the only one in Toronto at that time, and there he spent the rest of his life, dying there in 1859. His wife was Mary Morly, a Scotch lady, whose death occurred at the home of the subject of this sketch in 1903.

John H. Richardson went to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1854, and worked at the carpenter's trade for nine months, then returned to Toronto, Canada, where he continued his trade, following the same there until the spring of 1861; then located in Chicago, where he continued at carpenter work until 1870. During the Civil War he worked for the United States government at Mound City, Illinois, as a ship builder. In 1870 he came to Nebraska and bought a farm. After the great fire in Chicago in the fall of 1871 he returned to that city and resumed his trade, obtaining eight dollars per day as foreman for a contractor. He is a highly skilled mechanic, one of the best carpenters ever known in this county. Besides a carpenter, he is a millwright and machinist, and built his own home and barns. He has invented a steam engine, which provides for a cylinder twenty-eight inches in diameter by thirty-two inches in length, which can be cut in half and yet give the same power, the friction thus being reduced. He has had his

JOHN H. RICHARDSON.

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engine patented and is getting his appliances under way at this writing, confidently expecting to revolutionize steam power. He is building an engine along these lines, which he will use on his own farm. It is a fifty-horse- power machine and will weigh about three hundred pounds. Mr. Richard- son is owner of two hundred and sixty-three and one-third acres in Barada precinct and has lived on this place continuously since coming to Richard- son county in 1870, with the exception of nearly three years spent in Chicago, which city he left on account of his health. He has brought his farm place up to a high state of improvement and cultivation. He first lived in a cabin there, but later built his present commodious and attractive home. Only twenty acres of his land had been broken when he took pos- session. Two-thirds of the land is now in grass and hay land. Owing to his advanced years he does not raise as large grain crops as formerly.

Mr. Richardson was married on November 12, 1864, to Lucy A. Howe, who was born on March 18, 1841, in New York. She is a daughter of John L. and Cynthia ( Delano) Howe, natives of New York, where they grew up and married, and from there they moved to Illinois in 1855, living on a farm near Chicago for two years. They came to Nebraska in 1870, locating on a farm in this county, where they remained until 1894, when they moved to California, and there Mr. Howe died in 1899. His wife died there in 1896. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Richardson: Herbert, who is at home; Goldie, the wife of John M. Evans, a banker, of Shubert; Mrs. Nellie Gibson, who now lives at home, and has one daughter, Gladys, and Blanche, who died when fourteen years of age. I blitically, Mr. Richardson is a Republican. He belongs to the Congre- gational church.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN REVELLE.

Contented to remain in his own locality, Benjamin Franklin Revelle, of Humboldt precinct, this county, has succeeded as a general farmer and stockman because he has understood local conditions from the first and thereby has not been delayed in adjusting himself to his surroundings, like a man is who takes up farming in a new country.

Mr. Revelle was born on the old Revelle homestead, three miles west of his present farm, April 2, 1869, son of John E. and Mary E. (Arendell) Revelle. early residents of Humboldt precinct .. The father was born on December 23. 1830, at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He devoted his early life to farming and

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later engaged in mercantile pursuits in St. Louis. He went to Christian county. Illinois, about 1862, and in 1865 came to Brownsville, Nebraska. In the spring of 1866 he took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Union army, but never saw service. The homestead which he selected in section 17, Humboldt precinct, is now owned by Jacob Schultz. John E. Revelle began life here in typical pioneer fashion. His first house was built of cottonwood timber, hauled from Browns- ville. He had made the trip here from Illinois in a covered wagon. In due course of time he had good crops growing on what was wild prairie sod when he came here, and he remained on the place the rest of his life. dying in 1904. He became one of the influential men of his neighborhood and played well his part of the early drama of civilization here. He helped organize the Methodist church in his vicinity.

On May 8, 1856, John E. Revelle was married to Mary E. Arendell. who was born in Alabama, February 12, 1838. Her death occurred in 1894. To this union twelve children were born, namely: Henry T., deceased: John A., who lives at Webber, Kansas; Mary J., deceased; James M .. who lives in Canada; Mrs. Pearle E. Albin, who lives on a farm near Dawson; Benjamin F., the subject of this sketch: Mrs. Sarah E. Trimble, a widow. who lives at Humboldt and has one child, J. Mildred: Mrs. Lucinda E. Carsh, who lives at Humboldt; Elijah, deceased; Mrs. Susan I. Nelson, who lives at Mankato, Kansas: Celia B., who lives in Los Angeles, California. and Lewis W., deceased.

Benjamin F. Revelle was reared on the home farm and he attended the rural schools, later the Humboldt high school, from which he was gradu- ated with the class of 1891, after which he was a student in an Omaha business college. He taught in the district schools in southeastern Nebraska for a period of eight years. In 1899 he abandoned the school room and turned his attention to farming, having previously purchased forty acres. to which he later added more land, all of which he operated until 1903. when he sold out. In 1907 he bought his present farmi of one hundred and sixty acres in section 24, Humboldt precinct. He has made many important improvements on the place, which was first homesteaded in 1867 by Thomas S. Lynch, who built a good stone house, utilizing for that purpose the rocks on the place, and also built a barn of the native timber in 1870. The Lynchburg school house was first built on this farm, and formerly a postoffice stood on the place. One acre was set aside for the community cemetery. Mr. Revelle raises a large number of live stock, specializing on high-grade Short-

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horn cattle and Poland China hogs. He is unmarried. He votes the Republi- can ticket, but has never been active in public affairs. He is a member of the Farmers Union and of the Modern Woodmen of America.

JOHN OGLE.

One of the painstaking farmers of Richardson county is John Ogle, of Nemaha township. He was born in Grant township, this county, October 3, 1875, on a farm west of the village of Dawson. He is a son of Joseph Ogle, who was born, in 1852, in Illinois, where he spent his earlier years, removing with his family to Nebraska in 1873 and locating on a farm in Grant township, this county, where he has since resided, making a success as a general farmer. He purchased his present farm north of Dawson in 1877. Joseph Ogle was married to Luretta Swisegood, who was born in Illinois in 1853. Her death occurred in November, 1906. To Joseph Ogle and wife seven children were born, namely: John, the subject of this sketch; Anna, wife of Walter Cross, living in southern Kansas; Susie, deceased; Lena, wife of A. N. Rusco, of Clay Center, Kansas ; Stella. deceased; Ray, who lives in Kimball county, Nebraska, and Mary, deceased.

John Ogle was reared on the home farm, where he worked hard when a boy, and received his education in the district schools of Grant precinct. He remained with his parents on the farm until he was twenty-three years old, when he began farming for himself, renting a farm from his father from 1898 to 1905, in which latter year he bought eighty acres, which he improved. He purchased another eighty in the fall of 1916, and now owns the old home place and another place just south of the road. He is a suc- cessful general farmer and stock raiser, and his land is all well improved and under a high state of cultivation. He has a pleasant home, which is located on a high knoll overlooking the beautiful Nemaha valley. . \ good orchard adjoins the home on the north. He has two large barns, one of them a large, modern structure, built in 1915. Mr. Ogle is a breeder of Short- horn cattle and has a fine herd. He also operates a dairy and milks on an average of ten cows, shipping his cream to St. Joseph. He also handles on an average of two hundred and fifty head of Duroc-Jersey hogs, and ships two carloads of hogs to market each year.

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History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 114

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