History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 123

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 123

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).

1246

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

a stout heart and it was not long until he began to see his way clear to the development of a fine piece of property here. For his first "eighty" he paid four dollars and seven dollars an acre, one portion of it being held to be more valuable than the other, and in due time he became a con- siderable landowner, continuing to make his home on his original tract until his retirement from the farm in 1902 and removal to Falls City, where he and his wife are now living in comfort in their old age. It was after coming to this county that William F. Rieschick married, his wife being a member of one of the pioneer families of Richardson county. She was born, Verena Hunzeker, in the republic of Switzerland, June 10, 1843, and came with her parents to this country, the family first locating in Ohio and then coming over into the then Territory .of Nebraska and .settling in the neighborhood of Humboldt, this county. To William F. and Verena (Hun- zeker ) Rieschick were born six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order of birth, the others being as follow: August, deceased; Emil, who died in infancy; John, who is living four miles north of Falls City; Albert, who is living on the old home farm place in Arago precinct, and Amelia, who is living with her aged parents in Falls City.

Reared on the home farm in Arago precinct, the junior William F. Rieschick received his early schooling in the district schools of that neigh- borhood and supplemented the same by attendance at the Western Normal at Lincoln and in the normal school at Shenandoah, Iowa, and for two years taught school, being engaged as principal of schools at Nodaway, Iowa. In 1897 he began farming, in association with his father, and in 1906 bought the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in section 2 of the precinct of Falls City, on which he since has made his home and where he and his family are very comfortably situated. - Mr. Rieschick has his-place improved in admirable shape and has long been regarded as one of the leading farm- ers and stock breeders in that part of the county. He has for years given his particular attention to the breeding of Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs and is a member of the Poland China Breeders Association. He frequently has exhibited his hogs at the state fair and in 1907 won second in the spring-pig class. Mr. Rieschick is a Democrat and has for years given his thoughtful and earnest attention to local civic affairs. In 1914 he was elected to represent this district in the Legislature and thus served the district in the thirty-fourh session of the Nebraska General Assembly, during that session presenting a bill and securing the passage of the first law on the Nebraska statute books regulating the growth of hedges along the public highways of the state. In 1916 Mr. Rieschick was re-elected to

1247

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

, represent the first district and served with distinction in the House during the thirty-fifth session. For twelve years he has served as a member of his local school board and has served as a member of the township board in the precincts of Ohio and Falls City, for six years his attention having been thus occupied.

On March 6, 1899, William F. Rieschick was united in marriage to Catherine Werner, who also was born in the precinct of Arago, this county, in October, 1879, a daughter of Martin and Sophia (Hofer) Werner, natives of the republic of Switzerland, and pioneers of Richardson county, the former of whom is now a guard at the state penitentiary at Lincoln, and to this union four children have been born, Earl, born in 1900, who died in September, 1901; Daurena, born in August, 1902; Ruth, 1906, and Cathe- rine, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Rieschick have a very pleasant home and take a proper part in the general social activities of their home community. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Rieschick is a member of the board of trustees of the same.

MARTIN KELLY.

Martin Kelly, one of Richardson county's best-known farmers, pro- prietor of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in section 19 of the precinct of Barada, and one of the leading swine breeders in this part of the state, is a native son of Richardson county and has lived here all his life. He was born on the farm on which he now lives on January 14, 1879, son of Miles and Mary (Holloran) Kelly, prominent pioneers of that section of the county and further and fitting mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. .

Reared on the farm on which he was born, Martin Kelly received his early schooling in the school in district No. 88 and supplemented the same by a course in a business college at Falls City. When twenty-one years of age he began farming for himself in association with his brother, Daniel and, in 1905, he bought from the heirs of the family estate the quarter section of the old home place on which he is now making his home and which he has greatly improved since taking possession of the same, having built several new and substantial farm buildings, erected a silo, re- modeled the house and barn and set out an orchard. For some years Mr. Kelly has made a specialty of the raising of registered Duroc-Jersey hogs

I248

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

and is an active member of the National Breeders' Association in the affairs of which he takes a warm interest. His hogs are of the "Defender" type of Duroc-Jerseys and all are registered, his frequent public sales of hogs attracting much attention throughout this part of the state, and he has done much to improve the strain of swine raised hereabout, many farms having been profitably stocked from his well-known herd.

On September 5, 1896, Martin Kelly was united in marriage to Mary McMahon, who was born in Marshall county, Kansas, a daughter of Peter and Rachel (Huff) McMahon, who are now living at Beattie, Kansas, and to this union have been born six children, Catherine, Lillian, Margaret, Lucile, Florence and Miles Paul, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly are members of the Catholic church and take a proper interest in parish affairs. Mr. Kelly is an active member of the local council of the Knights of Columbus and takes a warm interest in the affairs of tliat organization.

ORRIN ALONZO COOPER.

Orrin Alonzo Cooper, miller and grain buyer of Humboldt, this county, having been a resident of Nebraska since the days of his young manhood, or since 1869, can rightly be classed as one of the "real old settlers" of his neighborhood. Like scores and hundreds of others who are now leaders in the commercial and industrial life of southeastern Nebraska, he began his career in Nebraska, with no capital other than his own strength and ambition to get ahead. Mr. Cooper has succeeded in carving out for himself a leading place among the commercial men of Richardson county and is an undoubted leader in this section of the state. The large establishment oper- ated by him at Humboldt, consisting of a flourishing flouring-mill, an exten- sive grain and live-stock business, an electric-light and power company, and an automobile business, are in themselves substantial evidences of ability, energy, and shrewd business capacity of a high order.

O. A. Cooper was born at Conquest, Cayuga county, New York, Novem- ber 18, 1849, and 'is a descendant of German ancestry. He is a son of Henry Cooper, born in New York, of German parents, on May 3, 1827, who moved to Branch county, Michigan, in 1853, and who came to Nebraska in 1869. and made a settlement on a farm north and west of Table Rock. in Pawnee county. He died at his home in Table Rock on April 18, 1900. The mother of O. A. Cooper was Phoebe Jane Wendover before her mar-

Quin a looper

I249

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

riage with Henry Cooper, and was born in Cayuga county, New York, April 5, 1829, and departed this life on Stepember 15, 1912. Henry and Phoebe Cooper were the parents of the following children: Orrin Alonzo, the subject of this review; Mrs. Clara Lane, of Table Rock, Nebraska; William, a resident of Wymore, Nebraska; Bernard H., of Beaver City, Nebraska; Lafayette, of St. Joseph, Missouri, and Mrs. Sadie Redman, of Denver, Colorado.

Orrin A. Cooper received his education in the country schools of Branch county, Michigan, whither his parents had removed in the year 1853. After the removal of the family to Nebraska in 1869, he attended school in his home neighborhood in Pawnee county for a time and assisted his father in the development of the home farm near Table Rock for a period of four years, after which he began his own career as a grain buyer, in the employ of I. M. Norton, at Table Rock. Mr. Cooper was the first live stock and grain buyer at Table Rock after the Atchison & Nebraska railroad was built to that city. He was in Mr. Norton's employ for about two years and then purchased the business and operated it for one year, under the firm name of Cooper & Norton. After this he operated the business under his own name for one year and then formed a partnership with J. L. Linn. The new firm of Cooper & Linn bought grain and established a lumber yard at Table Rock and continued to operate the same for two years. During this period Mr. Cooper made a trip to the Indian Territory as a partner with William McClure and for one season he and Mr. McClure were buying cattle from the Indians of the territory and shipping them northward. Mc- Clure & Cooper were the first authorized buyers of cattle in the Indian territory, receiving their authority direct from the federal government. After one season's operations among the Indians, Mr. Cooper disposed of his interest in the business to Mr. McClure and returned to Table Rock. Shortly after his return home, he and Mr. Linn purchased the Hulsey elevator at Humboldt and, in 1876 he took up his permanent residence in that city and took charge of the elevator business. A company was formed under the firm name of Linn, Cooper & Fellers, and a lumber yard was established and operated for two years, in connection with the grain and live stock busi- ness. At the end of this time, Messrs Linn and Cooper bought out Mr. Fellers and a partnership was formed with Mr. L. B. Brinson, in the grain business, and the new firm proceeded to erect a two-hundred-barrel flouring- mill. This mill was run under the name of Linn, Cooper & Brinson for about a year, at the end of which time Linn and Cooper purchased Mr. (79)

I250

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

Brinson's interest and the milling, grain and lumber business was run after that by Linn & Cooper for five years. The firm of Linn & Cooper extended their operations and built a chain of elevators to care for their rapidly increas- ing business and this partnership continued until 1890, when it was dissolved, Mr. Linn taking over the lumber business and Mr. Cooper taking the milling, grain and live-stock business. Mr. Cooper then conducted the entire busi- ness under his own name until 1893, in which year he formed a partner- ship with C. M. Linn, a son of his former partner. They operated the flouring-mill and a chain of fourteen grain elevators until 1907 under the firm name of Cooper & Linn. This partnership was then dissolved, Mr. Linn taking charge of the grain elevators located outside of Humboldt and Mr. Cooper taking over the mill and other Humboldt property. Since that time he has been running the business under the name of O. A. Cooper & Son. The Industrial concerns under Mr. Cooper's management at the present time are the Humboldt steam mills, an electric-light and power plant, which supplies the cities of Humboldt, Dawson and Table Rock with light and power; an artificial ice manufacturing plant, and an automobile business, including the agency for the Buick automobiles. The average number of men employed in these various industries is fifteen. Their importance to the city of Humboldt and the western part of Richardson county cannot be overestimated, and the various industries themselves serve as monuments. to the tireless energy and excellent business management of the owner and manager. Mr. Cooper is a director in the electric-light plants located at Table Rock and at Dawson. Mr. Cooper is also an extensive farmer, owning several hundred acres of land in Nebraska and Kansas, and is personally farming one hundred acres adjoining Humboldt; in fact, he has been a farmer all his life.

Mr. Cooper has been twice married. On July 4, 1875, at Table Rock, Nebraska, he was united in marriage to Calista Ellen Merrifield, and to this union the following children were born: Mrs. Grace (Cooper) Mac- Murray, deceased; Cary K., of El Centro, California; Mrs. Eva (Cooper) Stanley, of Coronado, California; Guy L., of Humboldt, and Mrs. Ena (Cooper) Seabury, of Omaha, Nebraska. The mother of the foregoing children was born in Benton county, Iowa, September 25, 1858, a daughter of W. P. Olive (Spracklin) Merrifield, who were parents of two children, Lydia and Calista Ellen. Mrs. Calista Ellen Cooper died on October 20, 1905, and on June 18. 1907, Mr. Cooper married Mrs. Minnie Akers, a daughter of Solomon G. and Louisa J. (Avitts) Spracklin.

Mr. Cooper is politically aligned with the Republican party and served

1251

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

as mayor of Humboldt for a period of seven years. For a period of forty years he has been a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, hav- ing joined the order in 1877. He is affiliated with the Presbyterian church.

MERRICK W. HARDING.

Merrick W. Harding, of Humboldt, one of the best-known and most successful live-stock auctioneers in Nebraska, a well-to-do retired farmer and stockman of Richardson county and the proprietor of an extensive garage at Humboldt, where he also is engaged in the sale of automobiles and where he has extensive real-estate and banking interests, former vice-president of the First National Bank of that city and for years one of the most progres- sive and public-spirited "boosters" of that place, is a New Englander by birth and grew to manhood in Illinois, but has been a resident of this county since the spring of 1878 and has consequently been a witness to and a par- ticipant in the wonderful development that has marked this region during the past forty years. He was born at Lime, Grassy Hill, Connecticut, April 3, 1857, son of Christopher and Maria (Edison) Harding, both members of old New England families, who in 1872 left their native state and moved to Belvidere, Illinois, where Christopher Harding engaged in the grain busi- ness and where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring there in 1915.

When Merrick W. Harding was but a child his parents moved from Lime to Saybrook, Connecticut, and there he was attending a military school when they moved to Illinois. His schooling was completed at Belvidere and upon completing the course in the high school there he began teaching school and was for three years thus engaged. When he reached his majority, in 1878, Mr. Harding came to Nebraska with a view to "growing up with the country," and in May of that year he bought a quarter of a section of land at the north edge of the village of Humboldt, paying twenty-three dollars an acre for one "eighty" and thirty dollars an acre for the other. He straight- way set about improving and developing that place and after his marriage in 1880 established his home there and further proceeded to beautify and improve the tract until he presently came to have one of the real show places in Richardson county, every tree and shrub on the place having been set out by his own hand. As he prospered in his operations Mr. Harding grad- ually added to his farm until he had a fine farm of two hundred and eighty

I252

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

acres, all but forty acres of which he sold in the spring of 1917 for fifty thousand dollars, and has since been making his home in Humboldt, where he has one of the handsomest homes in the city. Not long after beginning his farming operations here Mr. Harding began the breeding of pure-bred Shorthorn cattle and continued that line for fifteen years, after which he took up the breeding of Angus cattle and for twenty-one years continued that line, during that time coming to be known as one of the best stockmen in the state. Not long after he took up the cattle line he became engaged as a live-stock auctioneer and has ever since answered the growing demands upon liis time in that direction, for years having been recognized as one of the most successful live-stock auctioneers in the West, conducting sales at Omaha, Kansas City and at many points throughout this state. During the more than thirty-three years in which Mr. Harding has been engaged as an auctioneer he has missed but three engagements and these on account of unavoidable circumstances. In addition to his extensive farming and live- stock interests, Mr. Harding also has been for years actively identified with the business interests of his home town and has been one of the most potent factors in the development of Humboldt. Upon the organization of the First National Bank of that city he was the principal stockholder and for some years acted as vice-president of the concern and owned the building in which the bank was located. He also was one of the prime movers in the organiza- tion of the State Bank. Besides the First National Bank building he has erected seven other business buildings in the city and as one of the promoters of the Odd Fellow building was able to insure the construction of that building on the admirable site it occupies. Mr. Harding years ago bought a tract of eighty-four acres on the eastern edge of town and successfully subdivided the same. He also has laid out other additions to the town and in other ways has proved himself one of the most progressive and public-spirited "boosters" in Richardson county. He has done much in the real-estate way, having bought and sold a great deal of land hereabout, and sold the first tract that ever brought two hundred dollars an acre in that part of the county. During the past six or seven years Mr. Harding has traveled extensively and has thus seen the majority of the most interesting points in this country. In the spring of 1917 he erected a large brick garage, fifty by one hundred and ten feet in dimensions and with a large storage capacity, at Humboldt, and thus has been able to extend his flourishing automobile business, he hay- ing for some time held the local agency for four of the country's best-known cars. Mr. Harding is a Republican, with "independent" leanings, but has

I253

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

never been a seeker after public office, his own extensive private affairs hav- ing kept him too busy for that form of service.

On January 14. 1880, in Illinois, Merrick W. Harding was united in marriage to Medora L. Bridgeford, who was born at Millersburg, that state, daughter of Oliver and Eliza (McLane) Bridgeford, natives, respectively, of Indiana, and to this union three children have been born, Grace, who died on June 16, 1904, at the age of twenty-four years; Edna, who died on August 17. 1905, at the age of twenty years, and Brooks B. Harding, born on August 9. 1896, who is now a student at the Nebraska State University at Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs. Harding have a very pleasant home at Hum- boldt and have ever taken an interested part in the general social and cultural activities of their home town and of the community at large, helpful in many ways in prompting movements having to do with the advancement of the common welfare. Mr. Harding is a member of the local lodges of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of America and in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest.

HENRY DAESCHNER.

Henry Daeschner one of Richardson county's best-known and most substantial retired farmers and stockmen, and the proprietor of a fine farm of two hundred acres in sections 28 and 29 of the precinct of Jefferson, now living at Preston, is of European birth, a native of the grand duchy of Baden, but has been a resident of this country since the days of his infancy and of Richardson county- since -he was about fifteen years of age, hence may be very properly regarded as one of the real "old settlers" of this county. He was born on July 1, 1851, and was about a year old when his parents, Charles and Susanna (Dauchler) Daeschner, left their native Baden with their family and came to the United States, settling in the vicinity of Dundee, in Kane county, Illinois, where they established their home on a farm and where they remained until the year 1865 when they came to the then Territory of Nebraska and located in this county, where they spent the remainder of their lives, useful and influential pioneers of Richardson county.

Upon coming to this county, in 1865, Charles Daeschner bought a tract of unbroken land in the precinct of Jefferson and with the aid of his

1254

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

sons proceeded to develop and improve the same, it not being long until he came to be regarded as one of the best-established farmers in that seç- tion. On that pioneer farm he and his wife continued to make their home until about 1900, when they retired from the farm and moved to Preston. where they spent their last days, occupying the house now owned and occupied by Richard Daeschner, Charles Daeschner dying there in 1905, at the ad- vanced age of eighty-four years, his widow surviving him about three years, her death occurring in 1908. She was born in 1825. Charles Daeschner and wife were members of the church of the Evangelical Association, the local congregation of which they helped to organize, and their children were reared in that faith. They were, the parents of eighteen children, of whom thirteen grew to maturity, namely: Mrs. Nannie Myers, of San Antonio, Texas; Charles, now deceased; Jacob, who served as a soldier of the Union, a member of an Illinois regiment, during the Civil War and who is now deceased; Christian, deceased; Henry, the subject of this biographical sketch; John, deceased; William, a minister of the Evangelical Association, now stationed at Post Oak, Texas; Frederika, of Jefferson precinct, this county ; Katherine, wife of William Zoellers, of Jefferson precinct; Frank, of Hia- watha, Kansas; Mrs. Sophia Schirmer, of Holton, Kansas; Mrs. Mary Kaiser, of Weiser, Idaho; August, present superintendent of schools at Del Norte, Colorado; Edward, a blacksmith at Falls City, this county, and Gideon," of Coffeyville, Kansas. The Daeschners in America maintain a regularly organized family association and keep the family history up-to-date. current revisions and additions to the genealogical record being made at the annual reunions of the family which are largely attended, the league being represented by numerous families in this state and in Texas, Colorado and Idaho, there also being corresponding members in some of the other states.

As noted above, Henry Daeschner was little more than an infant when his parents came to this country from Baden and his youth was spent on the home farin in the neighborhood of Dundee, in Illinois, his schooling being received in the schools of that place. He was about fifteen years of age when he came with the family to Richardson county in 1865, and he grew to manhood on the home farm in Jefferson precinct, thoroughly fa- miliar with pioneer conditions hereabout. When twenty-one years of age he began farming on his own account, renting a farm, and shortly after his marriage in the fall of 1875, bought his first land, an "eighty" in Jefferson precinct, where he established his home. He was living there when ' the scourge of grasshoppers swept over this region. During that

I255

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

period Mr. Daeschner, in common with other pioneers of this section, saw some pretty hard times and still retains recollections of having to pay fifty per cent. interest on money borrowed to tide him over the critical period, but he persevered and presently began to see his way clear. As he prospered Mr. Daeschner .gradually added to his land holdings until he became the owner of a well-improved and profitably cultivated farm of two hundred acres in sections 28 and 29 of Jefferson precinct, which he still owns, and on which he continued to make his home until in 1916, when he retired from the farm, his wife having died in 1908, and moved to Preston, where he is now living with his son, the Rev. Richard T. Daeschner.

On October 5, 1875, Henry Daeschner was united in marriage to Eliza Kaiser, who was born in the neighborhood of Chicago, in Cook county, Illinois, September 11, 1856, and who was about eight years of age when - her parents, Christopher and Eliza (Jahn) Kaiser, came to the then Terri- tory of Nebraska, in 1864, and settled in Richardson county. Christopher Kaiser and his wife were natives of Germany and .upon coming to this country first settled at Dundee, Illinois, later moving to Cook county, that same state, where they remained until they came to this county and cast in their lot with the pioneers of this section of Nebraska. To Henry and Eliza (Kaiser) Daeschner five children were born, Richard T., Edwin G., deceased; Tosia, deceased; Alma L., wife of the Rev. A. E. Kurth, a minister of the gospel now stationed at Weatherford, Oklahoma, and Sadie S., wife of the Rev. E. D. Riebel, also a minister of the gospel, now stationed at Buchanan, Michigan. The Rev. Richard T. Daescliner, first- born of the children of Henry Daeschner was born on the home farm in the vicinity of Rulo on August 20, 1877, and on September 7, 1910, was united in marriage to Elma Beckenhauer, who was born at West Point, this state, January 15, 1886. He was graduated from Northwestern Col- lege at Naperville, Illinois, with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, and was later ordained as a minister of the Evangelical Association and is now engaged in special work in the service of that association. Mrs. Eliza K. Daeschner died at her home in the neighborhood of Rulo on May 12, 1908. She was an earnest member of the Evangelical Association, as is her husband, and was ever faithful in local good works. Mr. Daeschner is a Republican and formerly and for years was a member of the school board in his old home district, ever giving a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs and helpful in many ways in promoting movements having to do with the advancement of the common welfare.

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 123

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