History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 87

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 87

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).

886

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

man of influence of his community. He was twice married. His first wife, Anna Brennaman, a native of Germany, who had come to this country with her parents when a girl, the family settling in Pennsylvania, bore him six children, three sons and three daughters, Mary, Catherine and Enoch, de- ceased; Samuel, a resident of Pennsylvania and of Florida; Joel, who con- tinues to live near the old homestead, and Anna, wife of Jonas J. Beachey, living near Grantsville, Maryland. The mother of these children died and Daniel Yutzy then married his deceased wife's sister, Magdalena Brenna- man, who was born in 1816 and who was but six years of age when her family came to this country, and to that union also were born six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being as follow: Jeremiah, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Lydia, deceased; Mrs. Barbara Beall, of Sandpatch, Pennsylvania, and Dr. Simon M. Yutzy, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a former instructor in the medical department of the University of Michigan at that place. The mother of these children died in 1863, at the age of forty-seven years. The father survived until 1882, he being eighty years of age at the time of his death.

Joseph C. Yutzy grew up on the home farm in Somerset county, Penn- sylvania, a valued aid in the work of improving and developing the same, and was living there when the Civil War broke out. On August 1, 1862, he then being nineteen years of age, he enlisted for service in Company C. Fifty-fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and with that command went to the front and remained in the service until mustered out at the close of the war. He participated in the battle of Gettysburg and at the battle of New Market, Virginia, May 15, 1864, was seriously wounded, being shot through the right arm and the left leg, and while thus disabled was taken prisoner by the enemy. In the July following, his wounds then being far from healed, he was transferred to Libby Prison and thence, after a while, to Belle Island and thence, in the fall, to Salisbury Prison, where he remained, still suffering terribly, until his exchange on February 22, 1865. Upon his exchange he was taken to Wilmington, North Carolina, and thence by transport to Annapolis, where he was given a berth in the barracks and where he was cleaned up, trimmed up and made well again and given proper clothing. He was then given a thirty-day furlough and arrived home on March 18, 1865. There he suffered a relapse, due to his weakened condition, as a consequence of the terrible suffering he had under- gone, and for a time it was thought he could not recover. His furlough was extended for thirty days and while he was thus laid up his regiment

887

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

was captured by the enemy and held prisoners until the surrender of Lee not long afterward. He presently joined his regiment at Annapolis and there received his honorable discharge, the command being mustered out of the service at that point. Upon the completion of his military service he returned home and resumed his studies in school, later beginning to teach school, and was thus engaged for two years, spending his summer vacations in the study of dentistry under the preceptorship of Dr. W. C. Hicks, at Myersdale, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1867 he married and settled down to the practice of his profession at Myersdale.

For twelve years Doctor Yutzy remained in practice at Myersdale and then, in 1878, he came West looking for a likely place to locate in this then new country. Among the places he investigated was Falls City and so well pleased was he with the outlook here that he decided to remain, a decision he never has had cause to regret. Upon taking this decision the Doctor returned East for his family and without loss of time established his home in Falls City, continuing there in active practice until a stroke of paralysis on November 26, 1915, compelled his retirement. Doctor Yutzy built up an extensive practice, having been one of the real pioneers in his profession in this part of the state and is widely known throughout this whole section. The Doctor is a Republican of the "standpat" type and from the very be- ginning of his residence in this county took an active part in local civic affairs. He represented this county in the Nebraska state Legislature for two terms, served one term as mayor of Falls City and for twenty years was a member of the local school board, in all his service in behalf of the public giving of the best that was in him for the common good.

Doctor Yutzy has been twice married. It was in October, 1867, in Penn- sylvania, that he was united in marriage to Sarah E. Beane, to which union seven children were born, namely: Charles, a skilled musician, who is now operating a moving-picture theater at Lebanon, Indiana ; Grace, wife of D. D. Reavis, of Falls City; Henry Clay, who is engaged in the railroad service at Albert Lea, Minnesota; Anna Dickinson, who died at the age of six years; Elizabeth, who also died at the age of six; Nellie, wife of Frank Uhlig, a farmer of this county, and Philena, wife of Frank R. Wilson, of Wash- ington, D. C. The mother of these children died in 1886 and on May 24. 1888, Doctor Yutzy married Mrs. Kate (Quinn) Boyle, widow of Basil Boyle and the mother of three sons, Langdon E. Boyle, now a resident of San Francisco, California; Basil T. Boyle, of St. Louis, a traveling sales- man, and Walter S. Boyle, of Memphis, Tennessee. Mrs. Yutzy was born

888

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

at Leavenworth, Kansas, a daughter of Andrew and Maria Quinn, natives of Ireland and early settlers at Leavenworth. Doctor and Mrs. Yutzy have a pleasant home at 1609 Lane street, Falls City, and have ever taken a proper part in the general social and cultural activities of their home town. The Doctor is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, in the affairs of which patriotic organization he ever has taken a warm interest and is past commander of the local post, having been the first commander of the same. He became an Odd Fellow back in Pennsylvania in 1871 and is past grand marshal of the grand lodge of that order in this state, having been a representative to the grand lodge from his local lodge for ten years. He also is a Mason and a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and in the affairs of all these organizations took a warm interest and still continues that interest, though now unable to continue the active participation in the affairs of the organizations that he delighted in during his years of physical activity.

JAMES M. WHEELER.

The late James M. Wheeler, of Shubert, who for many years was one of Richardson county's best-known pioneer farmers, an honored veteran of the Civil War, former treasurer of the precinct of Barada and former mayor of Shubert, who died in the fall of 1903 while returning home from the national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic at San Francisco, was a native of the great Empire state, but had been a Westerner from the days of his childhood, his parents having moved to Wisconsin when he was about five years of age, and had been a resident of Nebraska and of Rich- ardson county since 1866, having settled here in the spring following his discharge from the army in the fall of 1865. He was born in the state of New York on September 1, 1839, son of Cargill and Abigail (Webster) Wheeler, natives of that same state and representatives of old colonial fam- ilies, who came West in 1845 and settled in Wisconsin, where they spent the remainder of their lives, influential pioneer residents of Greene county, that state.

Having been but a child when his parents moved from New York to Wisconsin, James M. Wheeler grew to manhood in the latter state, familiar with pioneer conditions in a new country, and was living there when the Civil War broke out. At the first call to arms in April, 1861, he enlisted

JAMES M. WHEELER AND FAMILY.

889

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

the First Wisconsin Cavalry, with which command he served for more his services in behalf of the Union and went to the front as a member of than four years, or for some months after the close of the war, being finally mustered out in the fall of 1865. During this long period of service Mr. Wheeler saw much active service, was a participant in many of the bloodiest and important engagements of the war and was a member of the squad that captured Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, at the close of the war. He was mustered out with the rank of sergeant. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Wheeler re- turned to his home in Wisconsin and early the next spring came over into the then Territory of Nebraska with an army comrade, John Spencer, and bought a quarter of a section of land in the half-breed strip in the precinct of Barada, in this county, paying for the same one dollar and fifty cents an acre. Upon establishing his ownership to the tract he returned to his home in Wisconsin and in November was married, returning straightway with his bride and their small worldly possessions to this county. There was. no house on the tract, which was wholly unimproved, and during their first winter here Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler made their home in a little old aban- doned blacksmith shop. In the meantime Mr. Wheeler bought twenty acres. of timber land and during that winter cut out logs with which to construct a log house and in the spring his neighbors helped him put up a dwelling place, fourteen by sixteen feet in dimensions, built of these logs. This rude cabin had a dirt floor and the roof was of such loose construction that the moonbeams shone through and the rain poured in, but the occupants of this rude abode had high faith in the outcome of their pioneering and looked with cheerful hearts to the future when they should have a better home and all the comforts of life. Mrs. Wheeler had been a school teacher back in her old home and after coming here taught school for some time, in order to help things along, at the same time keeping up her simple household tasks-for housekeeping was not a greatly complicated undertaking in the homes of the pioneers-and with the proceeds from her first term of school bought the first cow and calf the Wheelers owned. There were few white people in that neighborhood at that time, but what were there were good and kind and the young couple did not feel entirely isolated from the world. In that little log cabin, which gradually was made more secure against the invasion of the elements, their children were born and they lived there for quite a number of years, or until they finally erected a more commodious and comfortable dwelling. Mr. Wheeler was a good farmer and as he prospered in his operations added to his holdings until he became the owner

890

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

of a half section of land in this county, a quarter of a section in Oklahoma and a couple of building lots in Shubert. In January, 1899, Mr. Wheeler retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Shubert, where they erected a beautiful cottage and where Mrs. Wheeler is still living. Mr. Wheeler was a Republican and for some years during his residence on the farm served as treasurer of Barada precinct and later served as mayor of Shubert. He was a Mason and a member of the Grange and for years was one of the most active members of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1903 he and his wife went to the coast on a visit to their daughter, at Eugene, Oregon, and to attend the national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic at San Francisco. Upon returning from San Francisco Mr. Wheeler got off the train at Granger, Wyoming, to buy some refreshments and without premonition dropped dead on the station platform, his heart apparently having suddenly succumbed to the strain which the long trip and the variation of his ordinary routine of life had exerted upon it. That was on September 4, 1903, and the body was brought back to this county for interment. Wr. Wheeler and Mr. King broke the ground for the soldiers' monument at Prairie Union and their names headed the list of subscribers to the fund for the erection of the same, and in 1912 Mrs. Wheeler and Mrs. King continued the work and finally secured the erection of the monument.

It was on November 16, 1866, in Green county, Wisconsin, that James M. Wheeler was united in marriage to Almira A. Foote, who was born in Erie county, New York, April 2, 1845, daughter of Charles Giles and Caroline (Pyncheon) Foote, the former of whom was born in that same county and the latter at Attica, in Genesee county, same state. Charles Giles Foote was a son of Lewis Foote. In 1855 he left New York state with his family and moved to Green county, Wisconsin, where he estab- lished his home, the family being joined there the next year by the daughter. Almira, who had remained behind at her old home in Erie county to teach school for another term there. In the fall after her arrival in Wisconsin she was married to Mr. Wheeler and came out to this county, where she ever since has lived, one of the best-known and most highly respected pion- eers of the northern part of the county. To Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler three children were born, Flora Belle, Charles Cargill and Mary Maude. Flora Belle Wheeler has been twice married and is now living on the old home place in the precinct of Barada, which her husband, Henry Fishburn, is operating. By her first marriage she had one son, Guy O. Smith, who was reared by Mrs. Wheeler and who at the age of seventeen years enlisted in

891

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

the navy, received his discharge four years later as an electrician and is now a railroader in Kansas. Charles Cargill Wheeler was accidentally drowned in the brook that flows through the Wheeler farm when he was but a toddler, one year and seven months of age. Mary Maude Wheeler, who married Curtis Downs and is now living at Los Angeles, California, has three children, Mrs. Madge Myrtle Hart-Pendleton, who has one son, Byron Hart, by her first marriage; Mrs. Zenith Frisbie, who has two chil- dren, Lavelle and Adelbert, and Mrs. Lois Albertson, who has one child, a son, Harry.

WILLIAM R. HOLT.

William R. Holt, one of the best-known and most influential business men at Falls City, proprietor of an extensive hardware, plumbing and heat- ing establishment in that city and formerly and for years one of the best- known breeders of high-grade live stock in Nebraska, is a native son of Richardson county and has lived here all his life. He was born at the vil- lage of Salem, in the precinct of that name, December 7, 1876, son of the late Hon. John W. and Amanda M. (Oliver) Holt, who were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of this sketch, the last-born, is now the only survivor, the others having been Amanda, Nellie and George. A memorial sketch of the Hon. John W. Holt appears in this volume.

William R. Holt's youth was spent in Falls City, and his schooling in the public schools was completed in the schools of this city, to which place his parents had moved from Salem in 1878. He supplemented that course by a year's schooling at St. Benedict's College at Atchison and a two-years' course in a business college at Lincoln, after which, in 1896, he entered his father's bank, the First National Bank of Falls City, and for eighteen months thereafter was engaged as a clerk in that institution. In 1898, some months after his marriage, he bought a farm one mile west of Falls City and there established his home, being engaged in general farming and stock breeding until his retirement from the farm in 1912 and removal to Falls City, where he has since been engaged in business. During his residence on the farm Mr. Holt gave particular attention to the breeding of Berkshire hogs, in which phase of farming he had been interested from the days of his boyhood, and soon became recognized as one of the leading stockmen in that line in the state. He was equally successful in breeding pure-bred

892

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

Shorthorn cattle and his exhibits at numerous county and state fairs ever attracted much attention among breeders. In 1903 he made an exhibit of his stock at the Iowa state fair at Des Moines and in that same year exhib- ited at Lincoln, Topeka, Hutchinson and St. Louis. The next year he showed at Des Moines, Sedalia, Lincoln, Topeka, Hutchison and Kansas City, and in 1905-08 continued this circuit, with St. Joseph included, while in 1906 he took the prize for the best-bred sow exhibited at the Tennessee state fair at Memphis. Mr. Holt is a member of the Berkshire Association and though not now giving so much of his personal attention to the stock business continues to take a warm interest in the affairs of that association. Upon moving to Falls City in 1912 he engaged there in the hardware, plumbing and heating business and has a well-equipped establishment in that line. He owns a farm of one hundred and sixty-three acres north of Falls City and has a half interest in a farm of two hundred and eighty acres in the northwestern part of the county and has not abandoned his interest in agricultural matters. Politically, Mr. Holt is a Republican and takes a good citizen's interest in local civic affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office.

It was on June 1, 1897, that William R. Holt was united in marriage to Eva Giannini, of Falls City, who was born in Atchison county, Missouri, daughter of Marion and Linda (Seymour) Giannini, natives, respectively of Virginia and Missouri, who came to this state from Missouri in 1884 and located at Falls City, where Mr. Giannini was engaged in the bus and bag- gage transfer business until his death in 1915, he then being past sixty years of age, and where his widow is still living. To this union one child has been born, a daughter, Nellie Lee, born on February 1, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Holt are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Holt is an elder of the local congregation. They have a very pleasant home at Falls City and take a proper part in the general social and cultural activities of their home town, Mrs. Holt being a member of several of the leading clubs of the town, in the affairs of which she has long taken a warm interest. Mr. Holt is a Mason and a member of the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Royal Arca- num and in the affairs of these several organizations takes an active interest. As one of the leading merchants of Falls City he gives his earnest attention to the general business affairs of that city and has long been helpful in pro- moting such movements as are designed to advance the common welfare hereabout.

893

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

WILLIAM RUDOLPH BOOSE, M. D.

Dr. William Rudolph Boose, one of the best-known physicians and surgeons in this county, a practitioner at Falls City since 1905, is a native of the old Keystone state, but has been a resident of Falls City since he was two years of age. He was born at Salisbury, Pennsylvania, April 11, 1874, son of William and Margaret (Turner) Boose, both natives of that same state, of sterling old Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, the former born in 1846 and the latter in 1845, who are now living at Falls City, where they cele- brated their golden-wedding anniversary on January 17, 1917, the occasion having been made one of much felicitation and congratulation on the part of their many friends in that city and throughout the county, where they have resided since pioneer days.

William Boose was about thirty years of age when he came out to Nebraska with his family with a view to establishing his home in this the rapidly developing section. That was in 1876, and he established his home on a farm six miles southwest of Falls City, where he remained until he was forty-nine years of age, when he retired from the active labors of the farr and removed to Falls City, where he and his wife are still living. To them eight children have been born, of whom the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the others being as follow: Louis A., deceased; Mrs. Dr. Emma J. Tucker, a missionary, now stationed at Technow, China; the Rev. John H. Boose, a Presbyterian clergyman, now engaged in the min- istry at Marinette, Wisconsin; Mrs. Florence Holferty, of Pontiac, Illinois ; Clara, of Banning, California; Mrs. Elta B. Young, of Montclaire, New Jersey, and Frank, deceased.

Doctor Boose was well prepared by preliminary study for the practice of his profession. Upon completing the course in the Falls City high school he entered the University of Nebraska and was graduated from that insti- tution, with the degree of Bachelor of Science, in 1899. He then entered Rush Medical College at Chicago, and was graduated from that institution in 1904, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Upon receiving his diploma he was appointed an interne in the Englewood Hospital at Chicago and after a year of very valuable practical experience returned home and opened an office for the practice of his profession in his home city and has since been thus engaged in that city. The Doctor has well-appointed offices in the Richardson County Bank building and has built up an extensive practice. On the occasion of Falls City being made a railroad division point in 1911

894

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

he was appointed a division surgeon for the Missouri-Pacific railway system and is still serving in that capacity. He served for one year as city physi- cian and in 1906 was appointed to the position of county physician, and served for eight years. Politically, the Doctor is a Democrat and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local public affairs.

In June, 1908, Dr. William R. Boose was united in marriage to Mabel F. Wilson, of Falls City, daughter of Robert P. and Adaline Wilson, old residents of that city, and to this union two children have been born, Helen Adaline and William Rudolph. The Doctor and Mrs. Boose are members of the Presbyterian church and take'a proper part in church work and in the general social and cultural activities of their home town, helpful in many ways in promoting such movements as are designed to advance the common welfare. The Doctor is a member of the local Masonic lodge and takes an active interest in Masonic affairs. He also is affiliated with several fraternal insurance organizations and gives his helpful attention to the same.

CHARLES F. SCHNEIDER.

Charles F. Schneider, one of the well-known and substantial farmers in the southwestern part of this county and the proprietor of a well-improved and profitably cultivated farm of ninety acres in the precinct of Nemaha, is a native of the old Buckeye state, but has been a resident of this county since the days of his infancy, with the exception of three years spent in the railway service in Ohio and the time spent in college in Indiana. He was born on a farm in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, July 20, 1873, son of George and Mary (Kate) Schneider, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Ohio, born of German parents, who later became pioneer residents of this county and here spent their last days.

George Schneider, born in 1833, was a blacksmith in Ohio and in 1866, at the time lands in this part of the country were beginning to attract set- tlers in large numbers, he came out to Nebraska and bought a tract of land in. the precinct of Nemaha, in this county, believing the same to be an excel- lent investment, but without the expectation of making his residence on the same. In 1874 his health began to fail and under advice to seek a different climate he moved with his family to his land in this county and here estab- lished his liome, becoming early recognized as one of the influential farmers of that section. There he spent his last days, his death occurring on Decem-

895

RICHARDSON COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

ber 26, 1910, he then being seventy-seven years of age. His widow sur- vived for about four years, her death occurring in 1914, she then being sixty-seven years of age. They were the parents of five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order of birth, the others being as follow: Rev. Jacob U. Schneider, a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran church, now stationed at Evansville, Indiana; George E. Schneider, former clerk of Richardson county, now a resident of Hemingford, this state; Mrs. George E. Garver, who lives on the state line in Nemaha precinct, and Mrs. Katie Windrum, of that same precinct.

As noted above, Charles F. Schneider was but an infant when his par- ents came to this county and he grew to manhood on the home farm in the precinct of Nemaha, receiving his early schooling in the district schools of that neighborhood. This schooling he supplemented by a course in Val- paraiso University at Valparaiso, Indiana, after which, when twenty-one years of age, he became a telegraph operator and was thus employed for three years in the service of the Cleveland, Lorain & Western Railroad in Ohio. Under the close confinement of that form of service his health began to fail and he abandoned telegraphing and returned to the freer life of the farm and has since continued to occupy the old home place, where he and his family are very comfortably and very pleasantly situated. In addition to his general farming Mr. Schneider has given considerable attention to the raising of high-grade live stock and has done very well. In his political affiliation he is a Democrat and gives a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office.

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 87

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