History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 73

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

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The expedition followed up the Missouri river into Wyoming and Mon- tana, and returned by way of the Platte river, as far as Kearney, Nebraska. Mr. Jones was paid off at Kearney and then went to Leavenworth, Kansas, and stayed until he rejoined his father and his family at Omaha in 1864. He came to Richardson county with his father and brothers in 1866 and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land of the Indians, a few miles north of Rulo, and went to farming and he has lived there ever since. Mr. Jones was a member of the House of Representatives in the Nebraska state Legislature during the sessions of 1903 and 1907.

STONE STREET, FALLS CITY. 1866.

The picture is a drawing made from an old picture now in the posses- sion of Mrs. W. H. Keeling, of Falls City, who got it from her father, Anderson Miller, now deceased. The original was made on a tintype and was taken on Stone street in 1866. Every effort was made to secure a cut direct from the original tintype, and some very good copies were secured ; but owing to the faded condition, such copies could not be successfully used for making a newspaper or book cut. Consequently, the above drawing. prepared by David D. Reavis, was made and is here reproduced, and having (48)

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

compared the original tintype with the photographic copies of the same, which were made, it is claimed that the picture above is a perfect repro- duction of the original, but has the advantage of being much more distinct and is enlarged several times.

The building on the left is a view of the old Minnick Hotel, which was located where the present Richardson County Bank now stands, facing Stone street and directly south of the court house. The old hotel was for many years the political and social center of the little village. No old resi- dent of Falls City can speak of the "good old times" without repeated ref- erence to the old hotel. The building was erected by Jesse Crook in 1859 and was at first known as the "City Hotel." The building next to it was the old Joe Burbank store, whose chief clerk was George E. Dorrington, later a resident of Yuma. Arizona.

The first building on the opposite side of the street was the newspaper office of the old Broad .A.re, which had a somewhat precarious career and was edited at 'different times by Ned Burbank, Judge Dundy, L. B. Prouty, and others of the then prominent citizens. The old building was situated on the lots immediately south of the First National Bank and now, in 1917, occupied by the Tanner hardware store. The next is the little brick law office of Judge Dundy, afterwards United States district judge for Nebraska, these lots were later occupied by what was known as the Keim & Grable Bank and at the present time by Peter Kaiser's place of business. The first little brick law office was the only brick building in the city and was the pride of all the hardy pioneers who called Falls City their home. The next building, the chimney of which can be seen through the trees, was the home of David Dorrington, familiarly known as Squire Dorrington. This home- stead was situated where the building now occupied by the Falter clothing store, Charles P. Hargrave and Peter Bacaco's candy kitchen stand. The building adjoining the Dorrington homestead was the law office of Hon. Isham Reavis, and this building was jointly constructed by Isham Reavis and .Attorney August Schoenheit, and was considered very pretentious in those days. This building occupied the site across the street to the south, now occupied by the V. G. Lyford store on the corner of what is now Sixteenth and Stone streets. The old "White Saloon" comes next and immediately beyond the saloon is the residence of James R. Cain, Sr. The building farthest down the street was the palatial residence of Doctor Hanna. which stood on the corner of the next block to the south at present occupied by the Samuel Wahl mercantile establishment, Fifteenth and Stone streets. This residence was the finest in the state at the time and was pointed out to the occasional visitor as a sight of great interest.

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BIOGRAPHICAL

JOSEPH H. MILES.

Joseph H. Miles, president of the First National Bank of Falls City, president of the State Bank of Rulo, proprietor of the great Miles ranch in the vicinity of Dawson and the owner of much other land in this county. for years regarded as one of the leading bankers and stockmen in Nebraska, is a native of the old Keystone state, but has been a resident of Nebraska and of Richardson county since 1862, and spent his boyhood days in this county on the great ranges of the early days, having thus been a witness to and a participant in the development of this region since pioneer days. Mr. Miles was born at Delta, in York county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1850, and is a son of the late Stephen Boyd and Hannah ( Scarborough ) Miles, the former a native of that same county, and the latter a native of the state of Maryland. Extended mention is made of Stephen Boyd Miles elsewhere in this work.

Joseph H. Miles was reared on the Miles ranch and from boyhood was accustomed to the free life of the range. During the Civil War period he was in attendance at St. Benedict's College at Atchison, Kansas, and in 1865 pursued his studies in Highland University, later ( 1866-1868) attending the school at Peru, Nebraska, in the neighboring county of Nemaha, which school was raised to the rank of a normal school in 1867. Upon the com- pletion of his education he returned to the home ranch and was there actively engaged with his father in the cattle business until 1872, when he went to . St. Louis and perfected himself as a telegraph operator, a vocation in which he then engaged, finally becoming a train dispatcher, and was continually engaged in railroad service until 1880. He then embarked in the mercantile business in Rulo, this county, where he married in 1882. Two years later. in 1884, he became engaged in connection with his mercantile business, in the banking business at Rulo in association with his father. In 1888 he sold his store and devoted his attention to the bank and his live-stock interests on the ranch and was thus occupied until 1890. In that year he went back

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with his father to his birthplace at Delta, Pennsylvania, and they organized the Miles National Bank of Delta. In 1891 he became cashier of the First National Bank of Falls City, with which institution he has been connected, as a member of the board. of directors, from the time his father, Stephen Boyd Miles, established the bank in 1882, and was elected president of this bank in 1903. He is also interested in the State Bank of Rulo and in addi- tion to his banking interests continues to give much of his personal attention to his extensive land interests. He operates the original Miles ranch of six thousand acres in the neighborhood of Dawson; besides which he owns other valuable tracts in Salem, Speiser, Nemaha and Grant townships, a total of about ten thousand acres in all, his sons, Stephen B. and Warren C., assisting him in the management of his various land holdings.

After the death of his father in 1898, Mr. Miles was made executor of the large estate left by the old banker and ranchman and considerable time was consumed in finally and definitely closing the trust. A vast amount of litigation ensued as a result of relatives and heirs-at-law starting a contest to break the will left by Stephen Boyd Miles, which provided for the disposi- tion of an estate valued at over one million dollars. Attracted by the possi- bilities of rich fees, lawyers from St. Louis, Omaha, Lincoln, Kansas City and Falls City, took part in the effort to break the will, being actuated by a desire to win a contingent fee of forty per cent. of the amount secured if they succeeded in breaking the will. The celebrated Miles will contest was begun in 1899 and occupied a period of twelve years. A host of lawyers took part in the contest only to meet with disappointment in the final outcome. The case was brought up in the supreme court of Nebraska five times and was finally disposed of in 1911, the validity of the will made by Stephen Boyd Miles being upheld in the final decision given in favor of Joseph H. Miles and other beneficiaries whom the father recognized in his will.

Mr. Miles has ever taken a warm interest in the growth and development of his home town and county, and among his numerous acts of public spirit was his presentation to the city of the ground occupied by the public library of Falls City. He is a Democrat, as was his father, and has for years taken an active and influential interest in county and state politics. He has been interested in county politics to the extent of assisting his friends to elec- tion to public office, an assistance which has always been given whole heartedly and without stint. He attended the Democratic national convention which nominated William Jennings Bryan for the presidency in Chicago in 1896, and was also a delegate to the succeeding convention of his party held at Kansas City in 1900. To local civic affairs Mr. Miles has been equally attentive and has served two terms a mayor of Falls City, occupying the

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executive chair in 1893 and again in 1897. Fraternally, Mr. Miles is affili- ated with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Royal Highlanders, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He became affiliated with the Knights of Pythias in 1875 and is a member of the grand lodge.of that order for the state of Missouri.

On January 31, 1882, at Rulo, Mr. Miles was married to Sue A. Easley, who was born at Rulo, this county, a daughter of Drury T. and Mary (Thomas) Easley, natives of Virginia and pioneers of this county, the father of Mary (Thomas) Easley having been one of the early Baptist ministers at Rulo. To this union six children have been born, namely: Mrs. Mabel Meyer, of Los Angeles, California; Stephen B., of Falls City, who is man- aging the Miles ranch; Joseph T., who died in 1912; Warren C., who is living on a section of the Miles land in Nemaha township: Edna, who is at home with her parents, and Mrs. Sue .Adele Dulin, of Los Angeles.

HENRY W. SHUBERT.

Among the early pioneers of the northern part of Richardson county few, if any, are held in better remembrance than is the late Henry W. Shubert. who was one of the first settlers in that part of this county and on whose land the town of Shubert was laid out when the railroad was surveyed through that section. He not only was one of the first settlers in northern Richard- son county, but he became one of the substantial farmers and stockmen thereabout and an extensive landowner, owning lands in this county and in the neighboring county of Nemaha. He was the pioneer orchardist of Rich- ardson county and set out the first commercial fruit orchard in the state of Nebraska. He built up a fine homestead place in the Shubert neighborhood and his children and grandchildren are worthily carrying on the work he started so admirably here back in pioneer days.

Henry W. Shubert was a Kentuckian, born in Bath county in the old Blue Grass state. June 2, 1834, son of John and Rebecca ( Shrout ) Shubert. also natives of Kentucky, the former born in 1806 and the latter in 1810. John Shubert was the son of Nicholas and Elizabeth ( Meyer ) Shubert, natives of Germany, the former horn in 1780 and the latter in 1785. who were pioneers in Kentucky and whose last days were spent in Mason county, Illi- nois, the latter dying there in 1860 and the former in 1870. There were four brothers who came from Germany about the same period. of whom John

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Shubert was one, Louis Shubert was another who was the ancestor of the Shuberts of theatrical fame. John Shubert was trained as an iron moulder in his youth and worked at the trade for a number of years. He was mar- ried in 1828 and in 1835 built a flatboat at the headwaters of the Licking river in Kentucky and with his family and household goods floated down that stream into the Ohio and thence to the landing at Madison, Indiana, where he disembarked and then pushed on eighteen miles into the wilderness, where he hewed out a home in the woods, started a farm and presently also started a country store. There he remained until 1843. when he disposed of his interests there and moved by covered wagon over into Illinois, where he set- tled on a farm in Macon county, remaining there until 1873. when he and his wife joined their sons, who had meanwhile settled in Nebraska, and spent their last days on a farm in the neighborhood of Shubert, in this county, John Shubert dying there in 1879 and his widow in 1883. They were the parents of eleven children. of whom nine grew to maturity, those besides the subject of this memorial sketch being as follow: Rachel, widow of T. Harmon, of this county: Elizabeth, wife of George Vanlandingham, of the neighboring county of Nemaha ; Mrs. Mary A. Vanlandingham, deceased ; Eliza Jane, who (lied at the age of eighteen years ; James M., who became a substantial pioneer farmer of this county and who met a tragic death in March, 1882, by being thrown from a wagon when his team of horses ran away in the vicinity of Brownville: John W., who also became a pioneer of this county and who is now living retired at Spokane, Washington ; William M., another Richard- son county pioneer, now living retired at Shubert, and Rebecca, also living at Shubert, wife of Charles Pond, a veteran of the Civil War and one of the pioneers of this county.

Henry W. Shubert was but a babe in arms when his parents moved down the river, changing their place of residence from Kentucky to Indiana, and he was but nine years of age when they moved from the latter state over into Illinois and settled on a farm in Macon county, where he grew to manhood. He had little schooling when a boy. He helped to build the first school house in the neighborhood of his home and was a good student, becoming a very well-informed man through wide reading and much study at home. From 1856 to 1860 he operated a grain separator and corn-sheller in connection with his general farming. In the meantime. in the spring of 1858, he mar- ried and in 1865, attracted by the possibilities then opening to settlers in the then Territory of Nebraska, came out here and bought the northeast quarter of section 5 in the precinct of Barada, in Richardson county, that tract then being a part of the Half-breed Reservation, paying two dollars and fifty cents

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an acre for the same. The next year he put out a crop on that place, but range cattle ate the crop and he then spent the next year splitting rails with which to fence the place. In the meantime he had taken up additional land, over the line in Nemaha county and on this latter tract had erected a log cabin in preparation for the removal of his family to the new home in the wilderness. He then returned to Illinois and settling up his affairs there returned here with his family and established his home in this state, where he spent the remainder of his life, one of the active and influential pioneers of the northern part of Richardson county." When the Burlington railroad was surveyed through this county a station was located on Mr. Shubert's land and was given his name, which it still bears, the thriving village of Shubert hav- ing grown up there. As he prospered in his farming and stock-raising opera- tions Mr. Shubert added to his holdings until he became the owner of seven hundred acres of fine land and was accounted one of the most substantial residents of that part of the county. He brought his father and mother out here in 1873 and gave them forty acres, on which they spent their last days. His brothers also became well established and the Shubert family thus came to have a most important part in the development of that region.

In 1884 Henry W. Shubert became associated with the Lincoln Land Company and in that connection did much valuable development work here- about. On his home place he set out extensive fruit orchards and was the pioneer orchardist of Nebraska and was the first apple grower to use a spray- ing machine and also the first grower to pack apples in barrels for shipment. Mr. Shubert's career was not always favored with successes, however, as he had many vicissitudes during his active life in this county. During 1886 he suffered the loss of practically all of his hogs and cattle because of hydro- phobia contracted from a shepherd dog, which was afflicted with the dread disease. In later years he lost a considerable fortune because of a bank failure wherein he had served as bondsman for the bank officers.

This noted pioneer gave away to his children practically all of his estate, when old age crept upon him, and was widely known for his great liberality to his friends and acquaintances. He was known· never to have forced a col- lection in instances where he had loaned money or given assistance to his neighbors in time of needi. He took a pride in assisting new comers to his neighbors in gaining a foothold and many settlers have cause to bless his kindness of heart and generosity. For a period of thirty-five years prior to his death, Henry W. Shubert suffered from an incurable cancer, but uncomplainingly and smilingly pursued his way and did the things which he (leemed were just and right in the eyes of the world. He was a member of

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the Christian church, a Free Mason, and a Republican in politics, ever taking a warm interest in church, lodge and political affairs, as became a man of position and standing. He died at his home in this county on April 19, 1909.

Henry W. Shubert was twice married. On May 7, 1858, in Illinois he was united in marriage to Mary Griffin and to that union seven children were born, namely: John D., of Shubert; M. Fannie, wife of E. F. Burson, of Shubert; M. Etta, wife of J. L. Speece, of Falls City; Arthur M., a farmer and orchardist, of Shubert; J. Franklin Shubert, banker and orchardist, of Shubert ; Henry Walter, a merchant of Ottawa, Kansas; Austin Grant, a well- known real estate dealer and farmer of Falls City. The mother of these chil- dren died suddenly while riding in a carriage on the highway between her home and that of J. P. King. on New Years Day, 1881, her last born child, Austin Grant, less than two years of age, being held in her arms at that time. In 1883, Mr. Shubert married, secondly, Mary Skeen, daughter of Squire A. D. Skeen, one of the pioneers of Nebraska and a former resident of Neb- raska City, and to that union was born one son, Leon Willard, whose mother died on January 1, 1917.

HON. ISHAM REAVIS.

It has been given to but few men to have left behind them an imperish- able record such as that of the late Judge Isham Reavis, who was one of the pioneers of Falls City, a jurist of exceptional ability and renown; a lawyer of profound learning, a pleader of exceptional force, and a strong man who lived and carved out a career during an age when strong and sturdy characters were necessary to create a state. Judge Reavis was a member of the first Legislative assembly of the new state of Nebraska and distinguished himself and reflected credit upon his constituency by his able service in behalf of his adopted state ; and further distinguished himself as an associate justice of the supreme court of the Territory of. Arizona. As a practitioner in the courts of Nebraska and in the supreme court of the nation; he was for years a prominent figure in legal circles ; being a man of exceptional learning. he was likewise endowed with literary ability of a very high order and, had he so chosen. could have gained renown as a writer and essayist. While a versatile individual and blessed with superior mental endowment which caused those who knew him best to class him as a genius, Judge Reavis attained high rank as an attorney and jurist; he was for many years the clean of the Richardson county bar, and was universally recognized as a

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Isham Reais

Pirmie Doring tou Reavis

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peer among that famous group of lawyers which shed luster and fame upon Richardson county during the formative and creative period of this county's history. It is probable that in the whole state of Nebraska he had no superior as a legal light, and his high standing at the bar was maintained during a period of time extending over half a century.

Isham Reavis was born on January 28, 1836, on a farm near Beards- town, Illinois. He was the youngest son of a large family born to Ishan and Mahala Reavis, both of whom were members of old Southern families, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Virginia, but reared in Kentucky, members of whose families fought in the Revolution. Judge Reavis came of the old stock of pioneers who were home builders and creators of new communities in the Middle West and Western country, so that it was entirely natural that he. himself, should decide to cast his fortunes in · the newer country to the westward of his birthplace. He remained on the farm until his father's deatlı, when he was a lad of but nine years. He attended the common schools and the Beardstown schools and was a student in Illinois College at Jacksonville until compelled to leave the college on account of his mother's death. He then returned to Beardstown and began the study of law in the office of Abraham Lincoln. Apropos of this venture, a letter from Mr. Lincoln to Isham Reavis is one of the valued relics on exhibition in the Nebraska Historical Society's exhibit. This letter is in reply to one regarding Mr. Reavis's contemplated study of law, written by Mr. Lincoln in 1855, and is full of characteristic advice given to the young man by the great emancipator. Isham Reavis applied himself dili- gently to the study of law until 1858, when he was admitted to the bar in Illinois. His ambitions and an inherent craving for the life of the frontier led him to the West and in May. 1858, he came to the little settlement. surrounded on all sides by open prairie. the one-year-old Falls City, and while his life's labors were centered here for fifty-six years, he watched the hamlet develop into a thriving little city in one of the richest districts of the Missouri valley. The story of the hardships and privations of those early days, of the ambitions, the hopes, the disappointments, the achievements of those who laid the foundation of this later-day prosperity, are told in this volume: and through it all Isham Reavis was in the thickest of the fight and he lived to see the visions of his earlier years materialize. Nothing more fittingly describes the appearance of the frontier country of sixty years ago than the first installment of Judge Reavis's "Reminiscences of a Way- farer," which appears in this work.

Judge Reavis immediately began the practice of law in the little prairie village and took an active and influential part in the political matters of

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the day, his influence being felt in the community and state in all matters affecting the public welfare. In the year 1867 he was appointed district attorney for the first judicial district of the new state of Nebraska and served in this capacity for two years. He was elected a member of the state Senate in 1868 and served in the first state Legislature during the ensuing winter and spring. In 1867 he was elected to the post of district judge and, in 1869, he was appointed by President Grant to the position of justice of the supreme court of the territory of Arizona, which position he filled for four years, at the end of which time he resigned and again resumed his law practice at Falls City. Judge Reavis practiced in practically all the courts of Nebraska and was frequently a pleader before the United States supreme court at Washington. During his day, it is probable that no man was better known over the state than Judge Reavis and perhaps no other lawyer has figured in more remarkable or celebrated cases. The death of this esteemed .

pioneer citizen occurred on May 8, 1914.

At the November election of 1868, Isham Reavis was elected senator from what was then called the third senatorial district. That Senate was the first one elected in the state after the adoption of the state constitution and was composed among others of such capable man as Guy C. Barton, Wil- liam F. Chapin, E. E. Cunningham, Charles H. Gore and Thomas J. Majors. The city of Lincoln at that time contained about one thousand souls and was about one third the size of Brownville. During the session of 1869 the senatorial contest between Tipton, McCann, Marquette and David Butler was the absorbing interest and passion. The great heat engendered by the contest thrust all else aside and involved the entire state. Town lots in the city of Lincoln as well as other considerations were freely offered as pay for the support of some of the candidates. It seemed that it was the desire of the powers that were to make Butler senator if possible, at any cost. He had been the successful Republican candidate for governor the fall before the meeting of the Legislature, against no less formidable a candidate offered by the Democrats, than J. Sterling Morton, and was ambitious to follow his star of destiny to greater places of honor and trust. He seemed to be the likely and logical man for the honor. He was also from Pawnee county and these many considerations were urged upon the Richardson county dele- gates for votes for Butler. The Richardson county men, however, were instructed by their county conventions to vote for Tipton and in spite of all temptations and contrary personal predilections, voted for and helped make Thomas W. Tipton, the first United States senator from the new state of Nebraska.

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History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 73

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