History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 128

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

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As noted above, Herman A. Fischer was but seven years of age when he came to this county with his parents in 1882 and he received his schooling in the local schools in the neighborhood of his new home, remaining at home and assisting his father in the work of the farm until he was twenty-six

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years of age, when he rented a tract of land and began farming on his own account. The next year, in 1903, he bought a quarter of a section of land from his father in the precinct of Liberty and began to improve and develop the same. After his marriage in the spring of 1902 he established his home there and continued to farm that place until 1913, when he sold it and bought his present farm of eighty acres in section 18 of the precinct of Jefferson, where he since has resided and where he and his family are very pleasantly situated. Mr. Fischer has erected on his place a handsome seven-room farm house, a substantial barn and a fourteen by twenty-eight hollow-tile silo, and in other ways has improved his farm in excellent shape, having now an admir- able farm plant. He also has some excellent live stock and is doing quite well in his operations.

On March 27, 1902, Herman A. Fischer was united in marriage to Marie Gaede, who also was born in Germany, January 5, 1875. and who came to this country in 1891 with her parents, Fred and Eliza ( Germer) Gaede. the family coming on out to Nebraska and settling in Richardson county. Mrs. Fischer's mother died here in 1898, at the age of forty-two years. Her father is still living in this county, past sixty-three years of age, the owner of a farm of one hundred and twelve acres in Jefferson precinct. Mr. and Mrs. Fischer have four children, Verna, Florence, Celesta and Reuben. They are members of the Evangelical church and take a proper interest in church work. Mr. Fischer is a Republican and gives a good citizen's attention to local political affairs.

HON. JOHN HENRY MOREHEAD.

Ex-Gov. John Henry Morehead began his career in southeastern Nebraska as a country school teacher and farm hand. From this humble beginning he worked his way upward and forward to a position of dis- tinction excelled by few men in this land of opportunity. Coming to Ne- braska in the early eighties, after having been seized with the "Western fever," his life has been one of ceaseless energy, finally resulting in having bestowed upon him the highest honor within the gift of the people of his adopted state, that of chief executive of the great state of Nebraska. While governor of the state his conduct of state administrative affairs was such as to reflect credit upon the people whose vote placed him in the office ; and his administration goes down in history as one of the ablest and best

Schut Morehead

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which the people of Nebraska have enjoyed since statehood was conferred upon then. His knowledge of men, his desire to give the people the best administration within his power, his proverbial honesty of purpose and pro- nounced ability of a high executive order, enabled him to make an enviable record as an able executive, whose every act indicated that he had the wel- fare of the commonwealth at heart. "From the Hills of Barada to the Gover- nor's Chair," might be made the title of an interesting story for the inspira- tion of future generations of Richardson county young men.

Governor Morehead was born on a farm in Lucas county, Iowa. Decem- ber 3, 1861, and is a son of Andrew and Frances (Cooper) Morehead, who were pioneer settlers in that section of the Hawkeye state. Andrew More- head was a native of the old Buckeye state, born in 1822. He was reared to young manhood in Ohio and soon after his marriage he migrated to Lucas county, Iowa, and purchased a farm, upon which he resided until 1864, after which he spent a year in Ohio, returning to Iowa in 1865 and residing upon his land there until his death in 1889. Andrew Morehead became a leader among his neighbors and the people of his section of Lucas county. and filled the office of justice of the peace during his long resi- dence in his adopted state. He was descended from old Scotch-Presbyterian stock. but upon locating in Iowa he became identified with the Christian Union denomination. In politics, Andrew Morehead was a Democrat. Seven children were born to Andrew and Frances Morehead, as follow: Charles, who is residing in the old home town of the family at Columbia, Iowa; Mrs. Elizabeth Dorrell, deceased; Ludlow Morehead, a retired farmer living at Barada, this county; William Morehead, a resident of Jefferson, Iowa; John Henry, the subject of this review; Mrs. Mary Duckworth, a widow living at Des Moines, Iowa, and Mrs. Lavina Smith, a resident of Garden Grove, Iowa. The mother of these children, Mrs. Frances Cooper More- head. was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, April 3, 1829, a daughter of Ludlow Cooper, a native of New York, and an early settler in Ohio, who fought in the War of 1812. She was descended from an old American family, her grandfather having fought in the army of independence during the Revolutionary War. Four brothers of Mrs. Frances Morehead fought in defense of the Union during the Civil War.

John H. Morehead was reared to young manhood on his father's farm in Lucas county, Iowa. In common with the children of the neighborhood, he attended the district school, walking a distance of two miles, the length of the school term varying during the winter from four to six months.

(82)

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The little frame school house which the future governor attended was typical of the times and was furnished with slab benches fitted with pegs for support and no desks such as came at a later day. To this school he trudged daily during the cold winter months and secured such education as was obtainable in the primitive educational mill. After the district school, in keeping with the desires of his ambitious parents, he attended a select school at Knox- ville, Iowa, until he attained the age of seventeen years, then attended a business college at Shenandoah, Iowa. Thus equipped and blessed with a good, strong constitution and body he set out for the West in search of fortune and imbued with the desire to make his own way in the world. His original intention had been to locate in western Nebraska, but having friends in Nemaha county, he tarried there for a while in order to make them a visit. His visit lengthened into a protracted stay and he obtained employ- ment, teaching school in winter for a time and working as a farm hand in summer for a few years, in Nemaha county, the adjoining county to the north. After his marriage in 1885, he located in the town of Barada, in Richardson county, and engaged in the mercantile business with a small stock of goods and plenty of energy to make a success of the business. This town proved to be a splendid location for the store and, during the ten years in which Mr. Morehead was engaged in conducting his general store at that place the business grew and he managed to lay the foundation for his subsequent considerable fortune. He invested his surplus in farın land and branched out into the handling of live stock-a business in which he is still engaged, his first modest investments in land having been increased to a total of several hundred acres of land in Richardson county. His farm, just west of Barada, and which has Governor Morehead's personal supervision, is one of the most productive farming plants in Richardson county. The love of the soil and of mother nature having been deeply im- bedded in his soul when a youth he maintains a keen and abiding interest in agricultural affairs and devotes the greater part of his time and energy to agriculture and stock raising since retiring from the governor's chair, early in 1917. Governor Morehead is interested in banking, having been one of the organizers of the Barada State Bank, of which concern he is presi- dent, and he is also a director of the First National Bank of Falls City.

Governor Morehead became interested in politics not long after his advent into Richardson county and the first civic office which he held in the county was that of town clerk of Barada, which he filled, as well as serving as town treasurer. He was elected county treasurer on the Demo- cratic ticket in the fall of 1895, and was re-elected to this office in 1897.

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In the year 1899 he became cashier of the First National Bank of Falls City, and while filling this position he served one term as mayor of the city. His entrance into state politics was signalized by his election, in 1910, as state senator from the first district. His colleagues gave definite recogni- tion to his ability by placing him in the position of president pro-tem of the Senate Upon the death of the lieutenant-governor of Nebraska, in 1911, he became lieutenant-governor of the state, in accordance with a provision of the state constitution. In November, 1912, Mr. Morehead was the candi- date of his party for the governorship, and was elected to the office by a substantial majority. So popular with the people, was his conduct of the affairs of his high office that he was re-elected to the governorship in 1914. Upon the near expiration of his second term of office, in 1916, he was peti- tioned by twenty thousand citizens of the state to become a candidate for a third term, but he declined. Very few men have been twice elected gov- ernor of the state and Governor Morehead was the first executive in many years to succeed himself-a fact which is the most substantial proof extant of his successful administration. During his administration the board of control for state institutions was established and was placed in, working oper- ation with splendid success.

Governor Morehead's ability to judge men and their qualifications came in good stead while performing his duties as chief executive of Nebraska, and he made a record for appointing men of pronounced ability as heads of the different state institutions, which excels that of any preceding gov- ernor. The men whom he has appointed to state positions have, in prac- tically every instance, proved their fitness and ability by zealously attending to their duties in the interests of the whole people. His record as governor of Nebraska speaks for itself and future historians will place stress upon the fact that John H. Morehead gave his state an able and conscientious administration, and that he proved himself worthy of the great trust placed in hini by his fellow citizens.

On February 14, 1885, John H. Morehead was united in marriage to Minnie Weisenreder, and to this union have been born two children, Dorothy Lee Morehead, a graduate of the University of Nebraska and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Edwin J. Morehead, a student in the law department of the State University. Mrs. Minnie More- head was born in Aspinwall, Nemaha county, Nebraska, and is a daughter of Edward and Minnie Weisenreder, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter, in Missouri, a daughter of German parents. The members of the family worship at the Presbyterian church in Falls City.

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Governor Morehead is affiliated fraternally with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, being a members also of the local commandery, Knights Templar, and of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Governor Morehead takes a keen interest in local civic affairs, and is ever ready to lend his support to any movement having the welfare of the people and their advancement for its object.

JOHN WEBSTER TOWLE.

Signal achievement on the part of the individual is worthy of specific and honorable mention; when that achievement is the life work of a native son of Richardson county of pioneer stock it is well worthy of inscription in the annals of this county. John Webster Towle, civil engineer and suc- cessful business man and captain of industry, of Omaha, Nebraska, was born and reared in Richardson county and received his inspiration for accomplislı- ment far beyond the ordinary during his boyhood days spent here, while this county and country were developing into the present prosperous section of the great Middle West. Mr. Towle has made a name for himself in the most difficult of vocations and is recognized as an engineer of pronounced ability and attainments. He has become a notable figure in the business world of his adopted city. Through all of his successes however, he has never lost his regard and affection for home folks and his native city and county, and still considers Richardson county as his home.

John W. Towle was born at Falls City, Nebraska, August 28, 1872, and is a son of Edwin Sargent Towle, dean of the Richardson county bar and one of the best-known pioneer residents of Falls City. Elsewhere in this volume a complete_biography of Edwin Sargent Towle is given. The paternal grandparents of John W. Towle were Samuel S. and Marie (Steph- ens) Towle, natives of New York state. The Towle family is a very old American family, the early records showing that one Reverend Batchielder. a minister, founded the town of Hampton, New Hampshire, as early as 1632. Philip Towle, a direct ancestor, who was from England, settled in Hampton, New Hampshire, in 1640. Members of the Towle family lived for many years in the towns of Hampton, Chester, and Candia. New Hamp- shire. They emigrated from New Hampshire to Clarkson, New York, where

JOHN W. TOWLE EDWIN S. TOWLE

F. H. TOWLE MRS. E. S. TOWLE

JOHN W. TOWLE.

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the grandparents of John W. Towle were born. Edwin S. Towle, father of the subject of this review, was born on March 13, 1843, at Mishawaka, Indiana, whither his parents had emigrated from New York and had become substantial residents of the community. From Indiana he came to Nebraska and has since been closely identified with the growth and up-building of Falls City, one of the honored and respected pioneer citizens of the commun- ity and for years actively engaged in the practice of law in the courts of Richardson county and Nebraska. Edwin S. Towle here married Kittie Love Dorrington, daughter of David and Ann B. (Wood) Dorrington, natives of Watton, England, who immigrated to America and first settled in New York where Mrs. Kittie L. Towle was born on January 27, 1849, at Whites- town. David Dorrington was likewise a pioneer settler of Richardson county, and further and fitting mention of him and Mrs. Dorrington is made else- where in this volume. Edwin S. and Kittie L. Towle are the parents of two sons, namely: Edwin H. Towle, of Falls City, concerning whom a biography is herein presented, and John Webster Towle, subject of this review.

John W. Towle practically grew up with the village and town of Falls City and he received his primary education in the public schools of his native city, graduating from the high school in 1889. He then spent a year in preparatory studies at the Highland (Kansas) University and entered Cor- nell University, Ithaca, New York, from which famous seat of learning he was graduated with the degree of Civil Engineer in 1894. After his gradua- tion he returned to his home city and remained here until 1897. On July I of that year he took up his residence in Omaha where he has become actively identified with the business interests of the city. He served as city engineer of Falls City from 1894 to 1897 and was acting county surveyor of Richardson county from 1895 to 1897. He became general western agent for the Canton Bridge Company in 1897, and remained with that concern until 1900. He then embarked as bridge contractor and builder on his own account and was thus engaged until 1906 at which time he organized and became president of the Western Bridge and Construction Company, serving in that capacity until 1911. In the meantime, Mr. Towle had extended his activi- ties and had become connected with various industrial corporations, being an official and stockholder of the following important concerns: President of the Omaha Steel Structural Works; president of the Nebraska Bridge, Supply and Lumber Company; vice-president of the Concrete Engineering Company; vice-president of the Independent Lumber Company; president

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of the Omaha Structural Steel Bridge Company and president of the Towle Realty Company. After the great cyclone of 1913, which devastated a large portion of the' residential section of the city of Omaha, Mr. Towle was selected by the relief committee and placed in charge of all reconstruction and rebuilding operations necessary to restore the devastated sections of the city. He had supervision of the erection of over seven hundred buildings.

On September 3, 1894, John W. Towle was married to Naomi F. Everts of Geneva, Illinois, and this union has been blessed with three children as follow: Marion Ruth Towle, born on July 5, 1895; Naomi Everts Towle, October 6, 1896, and Everts Sargent Towle, April 23, 1903, who died on April 11, 1904. The mother of these children was born at Geneva, Illinois, March 19, 1873, and is a daughter of James S. and Meta (Warner) Everts, the former of whom was born in 1844 and died in 1908, the latter having been born in 1848 and departed this life in 1900. They were the parents of two children, Ruth M. Everts, born on May 6, 1871, at Geneva, Illinois, and Naomi F., wife of John W. Towle. James S. Everts organized and developed the famous "Louieland Farm," which was located southwest of Falls City and was noted the country over. Further and appropriate men- tion of Mr .. Everts is made elsewhere in this history.

Mr. Towle takes an active and influential interest in affairs political and is aligned with the Progressive Republicans. He served as a delegate to the national conventions of his party held in 1912 and in 1916. He is affiliated fraternally with the Omaha Lodge of Elks and the Alpha Tau Omega-his college fraternity-and is a member of the following professional societies : The Omaha Technical Society; the Nebraska State Society of Engineers, and the Cornell Civil Engineering Society of New York. He is a member of the First Methodist church of Omaha and is at present serving on the board of trustees of that church.

Although the activities and career of this successful native son of Rich- ardson county has called him to the Nebraska metropolis, his heart and mind is still with Richardson county, where he has farming interests which occupy his attention, and he has always considered this as his permanent home. His recreations are mainly confined to tennis and golf, and during his college days at Cornell played on the 'Varsity baseball team and took considerable interest in other college athletics. Mr. Towle has given evidence of his patriotism and deep love of country by offering his services to his country as an officer in the Engineering Corps, for active service in the great World War, and is expecting a call to Washington at any time.

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JOHN R. SHELLY.

John R. Shelly, postmaster at Preston and for years a well-known mer- chant in that thriving village, is a native of the old Keystone state, but has been a resident of this part of the country since the days of his boyhood, he having come out here with his parents when he was about nine years of age. He was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, July 7, 1867, son of Philip and Lavina (Shutt) Shelly, both natives of that same state, who later became pioneers of Richardson county and both of whom are still living.

Philip Shelly was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in December, 1843, a son of Christian Shelly, also a native of Pennsylvania, a farmer, who spent all his life in his native state. Philip Shelly grew up in Pennsylvania and there married Lavina Shutt who was born in Montgomery county, that same state. In 1876 he came West with his family and was for some time thereafter engaged as a farmer and stockbuyer at Hamlin, Kansas, remaining there until 1880, in which year he came up into Nebraska and started the townsite at Preston, in the precinct of Jefferson, this county, building the first store building in that village, and also bought a farm at that site. Mr. Shelly was made the first postmaster of Preston and continued holding that office, engaged at the same time in the general merchandise and drug busi- ness and in the buying and selling of live stock, until his retirement from business in 1896. He is now living at Sterling, this state, and his wife is making her home with her youngest daughter at Denver, in Miami county, Indiana. To Philip Shelly and wife were born nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth and the first-born of whom died in infancy, the others being as follow: Katherine, deceased; Martha, wife of Henry C. Zoeller, a well-known and substantial farmer and stockman of Jefferson precinct and further and fitting mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume; Christian, of Boise, Idaho; Fred, of Gordon, this state; Robert, deceased; Lillie, deceased, and Mrs. Lavina Myers, of Denver, Indiana.

John R. Shelly was about thirteen years of age when his parents settled at Preston and he finished his schooling there and there grew to manhood, working on the home farm and clerking in his father's store. When twenty- one years of age he began farming on his own account and after his mar- riage in 1893 established his home on the farm and there continued to reside until 1910, when he retired and moved to Preston, where he since has been successfully engaged in the general merchandise business, one of the best-

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known merchants in that part of the county. In 1910 Mr. Shelly was com- missioned postmaster of Preston and has since held that office, an office his father formerly and for years occupied. He is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs.

On August 15, 1893, John R. Shelly was united in marriage to Louisa Pyle, who was born on a pioneer farm in the neighborhood of Falls City, this county, August 2, 1870, daughter of Elbridge and Mary (Painter) Pyle, natives of Illinois, who came to Nebraska in 1870 and settled in this county, becoming pioneers of the precinct of Jefferson, where Mrs. Pyle spent her last days. Mr. Pyle is now living at Preston. Mr. and Mrs. Shelly have four children, Evelyn, who is at home; Lucile, wife of G. L. Waggoner, of Wymore, this state, and Irvin and Byron, at home. The Shellys have a very pleasant home at Preston and take an interested part in the general social activities of the village and of the community at large. Mr. Shelly is a mem- ber of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Rulo and of the Falls City lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in the affairs of both of these organizations takes a warm interest. In addi- tion to his mercantile interests at Preston, Mr. Shelly is the owner of a quar- ter of a section of well-improved land in Blaine county, this state, and is quite well circumstanced.

BREVET SIMANTON.

To succeed as a floriculturist requires not only infinite care and study, but also peculiar natural ability. As a rule it is only those with aesthetic tastes who follow this delightful occupation. Such a man is Brevet Siman- ton, now living in honorable retirement in Falls City, this county. He was born on February 16, 1847, in Erie county, New York, a son of Robert and Eunice (Wing) Simanton, whose family consisted of eight children, the subject of this sketch being now the only survivor. The father was born about 1800. His parents were natives of Holland, from which country they immigrated to America in an early day, settling in Pennsylvania. Robert Simanton was a tanner by trade, also a harness-maker and trunkmaker, but he was operating a saw-mill near Buffalo, New York, at the time of his death, which occurred in 1851. His wife, Eunice Wing, was born at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1808 and died in 1892. She was a daughter of Andrew M. and Betsey (Hatch) Wing, both natives of Massachusetts.

Brevet Simanton went with his mother to St. Joseph county, Indiana,

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in 1855, and there attended school. In 1868 he came to Nebraska and located at Falls City, where he followed the painter's trade, which he had learned before leaving Indiana. He became quite expert and continued his trade in Falls City until 1887, when he turned his attention to horticul- ture, raising fruits and vegetables ; later starting a greenhouse as a side line, on a small scale, his first building being only eleven by twenty feet. As his business prospered he later built an addition twenty by thirty-six feet, then another of forty by eighty feet dimensions. He made a pronounced success. in this line of endeavor and enjoyed a trade for a distance of one hundred miles on both sides of the railroad, each way from Falls City. Having by his thrift and good management accumulated a comfortable competency he retired from active life in 1915. When he first landed in Falls City he had but two dollars and fifty cents in money. He was succeeded in business by his son, John R. Simanton, to whom he sold out. in partnership with the latter's brother-in-law, Harry A. Pence, and these two gentlemen are now carrying on the business on a more extensive scale than it was formerly conducted, under the firm name of Simanton & Pence, "Sunnyside Green- houses."

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History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 128

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