History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 98

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

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On May 13, 1914, John C. Mullen was united in marriage to Helen Majerus, who was born in Falls City, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Wilker) Majerus, the former of whom is now deceased, and to this union one child has been born, a son, Gerald, born on August 13, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Mullen are members of the Catholic church and take a proper interest in parish affairs, as well as in the general good works of their home town and in the general social and cultural activities of the same. Mr. Mullen is the present exalted ruler of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks and is the financial secretary of the local council of the Knights of Columbus, in the affairs of both of which organizations he takes a warm and active interest.

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WILLIARD M. SHUBERT.

Williard M. Shubert, retired farmer now living in the village of Shu- bert, was born in Mason county, Illinois, January 17, 1851, a son of John and Rebecca (Shrout) Shubert, who came to Nebraska in 1877 and settled in this county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. John Shubert was born in Kentucky on September 4, 1807, and his wife was born in that same state on June 11, 1810. After their marriage they located on a farm in Mason county, Illinois, where they remained until 1877, when they came ont to Nebraska and became pioneers in the northern part of this county. their last days being spent there. John Shubert dying on January 1,. 1880, and his widow surviving until April 27, 1885. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom nine grew to maturity, those besides the subject of this sketch being as follow: Mrs. Rachel Harmon, deceased; Mrs. Eliz- aleth Vallandingham, deceased: Henry W., on whose land the village of Shubert was laid out and a memorial sketch of whom is presented else- where in this volume; Mrs. Mary Anne Vallandingham, deceased; Eliza Jane, deceased : James, deceased ; John W., now a resident of Canada, and Mrs. Rebecca Anne Pond, of Shubert.

Reared on the home farm in Mason county, Illinois, Willard M. Shu- bert remained there until he was eighteen years of age, when he came to this state with C. A. Pond, arriving here on October 20, 1869. He became engaged at farm labor, helping to break and clear land, and after awhile rented a farm from his elder brother, James M. Shubert, and was thus engaged until the time of his marriage in 1883, when he bought a quarter of a section of improved land three and one-half miles northeast of Shubert. paying for the same forty-five dollars an acre, and there established his home, he and his wife remaining on that place for about fifteen years, or until their retirement from the farm on October 9, 1897, and removal to Shubert, where they have since made their home, owning there the hand- somest residence in the town and one of the finest in the county. During his active farming Mr. Shubert farmed five hundred acres and did very well, gradually increasing his holdings by the purchase of an adjoining "eighty" and the purchase of a section of land over in the western part of the state. Since his retirement Mr. Shubert has sold all his land, in 1915. having received one hundred and fifty dollars an acre for his original quarter section that he bought for forty-five dollars an acre, and has invested his money in approved securities, including stock in the Citizens Bank of Shu-

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bert and the State Bank of Stella. He and his wife are extensive travelers and are living in comfortable enjoyment of the rewards of their years of industry on the farm. They spend their winters in Florida or at Hot Springs and make frequent trips to the coast, enjoying life to the utmost. Mr. Shubert is a Republican and he and his wife are members of the local lodge of the Degree of Honor.

On April 16, 1883, Willard M. Shubert was united in marriage to Mary Ankrom, who was born in Blackford county, Indiana, April 16. 1863, and who was not yet three years of age when her parents, Rhinehart and Elizabeth (Bugh) \nkrom, left Indiana with their family and came to Nebraska, settling in this county in March, 1866. Rhinehart Ankrom was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1827, and his wife was born in February 4, 1832, in Perry county, Ohio. After their marriage on February 15, 1850, they settled on a farm in Blackford county, Indiana, and there remained until they came to Richardson county in the spring of 1866. Upon coming here Mr. Ankrom bought a tract of land in the half- breed country in the precinct of Barada, four and one-half miles east of the present town of Shubert, and there established his home, he and his wife spending the remainder of their lives there, her death occurring on Jan- uary 17, 1912, and his on October 5 of that same year. Twelve years before they had celebrated their golden-wedding anniversary at their old home in Barada precinct, all their children and grandchildren in Nebraska being present, there being at that time eighteen grandchildren. Rhinehart Ankrom and his wife were the parents of eleven children, eight of whom grew to maturity, namely: William, who died on February 17, 1912; Rob- ert, of Barada precinct : Barney, also a farmer in that same precinct; Jesse, also a Barada farmer; Mary, wife of Mr. Shubert; Mrs. Elizabeth Shafer, of Barada precinct; Mrs. Lydia Bucholz, of Falls City, and Mrs. Cloella Slagal, a widow, of Shubert.

Mrs. Shubert recalls vividly the privations which she and the mem- bers of the Ankrom family underwent during the early pioneer days. They had few luxuries; sorghum was used for sweetening instead of sugar; wheat bread was served on the table on Sundays and when company were present. The daughters of the .\nkrom family learned to cut wood and work in the fields when necessary. They spun and wove their own wool for the gar- ments worn by members of the large family and also made their own clothes. Mrs. Shubert could harness and drive a team as well as hier brothers and made a good "hand" on occasion. When the family would

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go visiting they would all crowd into a big wagon and go jolting across country via the nearest direct route to their destination and the "visit" would probably last over night, the family returning the next day. "Going to church" was an occasion and required the whole day to go and return home, the family taking along their lunches in baskets. The Ankrom boys would cut wood which they hauled to Falls City and traded for the winter's supply of shoes ; hats, etc., were obtained in similar manner. Of spending money such as the youth of the present day is supplied with unstintedly, the chil- dren of this pioneer household had little or none. On holiday occasions such as the Fourth of July, if they had a "nickle" or twenty-cent piece to spend, it was deemed a great plenty.

REUBEN J. HILL.

The Hill family have been represented in Richardson county since that sturdy old pioneer, Elijah C. Hill, Sr., came to this part of Nebraska in 1865 and here laid the foundations of the future fortunes of himself and the members of his family, among whom is the subject of this sketch. In a biographical notice of Elijah C. Hill, Jr., in another part of this work. there is set out in detail an account of the father who came from Ontario, Canada, and settled on a homestead tract in this county, and to that account the reader is referred for further particulars in that connection.

Reuben J. Hill, the subject of this sketch, was born on July 10, 1860, in Ontario, Canada, and is the son of Elijah C. and Arcosh (Kallerstine) Hill, also natives of the same country. They were the parents of twelve children, six of whom are deceased, the others being Roland, who lives at Greeley, this state; Reuben J., of Porter township; Marshall N., a farmer and stockman, who lives in Porter precinct; Elijah C., Jr .; Mrs. Martha Van Vleet, of Crete, this state, and Grant, who lives in Cameron, Montana.

Reuben J. Hill was reared amidst pioneer conditions on his father's farm, which the latter settled on in 1865, when he came to this county. R. J. Hill was educated in the district schools of his home neighborhood and when still a boy, he learned the barber trade. In 1882 he opened a barber shop in Stella and in 1883 established another branch of the same business in Humboldt and continued to operate there for some years. In 1908 he settled in Porter precinct, where he is the owner of one hundred and thirty acres of prime farming land and also rents one hundred and ten acres

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of land, making two hundred and forty in all. On this land he is actively engaged in general farming and has met with considerable success.

Mr. Hill was married in 1883 to Nora Belle Harper, who was born in Metcalfe county, Kentucky, the daughter of Wilson Harper and wife, also natives of Kentucky. To Mr. and Mrs. Hill two children have been born, namely : John M., who lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and who is an expert window dresser and show-card writer, and Mrs. Hulda Arcosh Williamson. who is the mother of two children, George Samuel and Lois. Mr. Hill is a supporter of the Republican party, but has never sought public office. -

JOSEPH W. SPICKLER.

Joseph W. Spickler, of Shubert, former member of the board of county supervisors for Richardson county, a well-known and well-to-do farmer, owner of a fine farm of four hundred acres in the precinct of East Muddy, and formerly and for years extensively engaged in the live-stock business at Shubert, is a native of the neighboring state of Iowa, but has been a resident of this county since he was eleven years of age, having come here with his parents back in pioneer days. He was born at Daven- port, Iowa, May 29, 1856, son of Samuel and Sabina (Selvert) Spickler, natives of Pennsylvania, who became pioneers in Iowa, later moved to Illinois and thence to Nebraska, settling in this county in 1867, spending the remainder of their lives here, the former dying less than ten years after coming here and the latter surviving for many years thereafter.

Samuel Spickler was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1812, and there grew to manhood. He married Sabina Selvert, who was born in that same county on January 28, 1818, and continued to make his home there until 1852, when he moved to Davenport, Iowa, later moving to Rock Island county, Illinois, where he remained until the fall of 1867, when he came to Nebraska with his family, arriving here on October 4 of that year, and settled on a farm one and one-half miles south of the present village of Barada, the nearest trading point at that time having been St. Deroin. When the Spicklers settled on that pioneer farm there was but one house between their place and Falls City and that was the old Ralph Anderson place. Previous to bringing his family out here Samuel Spickler and two of his sons had created "bachelor quarters" on the place and had a house and some other improvements in readiness before returning to Illinois for the

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rest of the family. They drove across country in a covered wagon and crossed the river at Brownville. The first crop raised on the place con- sisted of three acres of corn, one acre of potatoes and one acre of cabbage. The potatoes sold for one dollar and twenty-five cents a bushel and the cabbage at ten cents a head. Samuel Spickler was a good farmer and an earnest pioneer citizen. He helped to organize the local congregation of the Church of God at Barada and he and his wife did much toward the early success of that church. He was a Republican and took a proper part in the early civic activities of the community during pioneer days. Samuel Spickler died at his home in the vicinity of Barada in 1875, less than ten years after settling in this county, and his widow survived him many years, her death occurring on November 16, 1907, she then being past eighty-nine years of age. They were the parents of nine children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the seventh in order of birth, the others being as follow: Charles, deceased; Elizabeth, wife of Theodore Harris, of Rosa- lie, this state: Mrs. Sarah Dilenbeck, of Geneseo, Illinois; Mary E., who married A. Franklin and is now deceased; Ann Martha, who married M. Davis and is now deceased; John S., of Ft. Calhoun, this state; Mrs. Alice .Allen, of Rosalie, and one who died in infancy.

.As noted above, Joseph W. Spickler was eleven years of age when he came to this county with his parents and he grew to manhood on the home farm in the vicinity of Barada, remaining there until he was twenty-one years of age, when, in 1877. he rented a tract of land and began farming on his own account, remaining thus engaged until 1882, in which year he bought a farmi one mile south of Barada, in section 12, and there built a house and barn and set out a grove of cottonwoods and an orchard, and after his marriage in the summer of the year following established his home there and continued farming that place for nine years, completing his payments on the same in six years. In 1891 he sold that farm and imoved to Shubert, where for four years he was engaged in the live-stock business. In the meantime. in 1892, Mr. Spickler had bought a tract of land in western Nebraska, but later traded the same for a part of the fine farm of four hundred acres in sections I and 12 of the precinct of East Muddy, which he now owns, and which he operates from his home in Shubert. Mr. Spickler is a Republican and in 1891 was elected a member of the board of county supervisors from his district. He later was elected to the same office and served a second term, 1901-02, ever giving his thoughtful atten- tion to the consideration of public affairs.

On July 30. 1883. Joseph W. Spickler was united in marriage to

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Henrietta Gaston, who was born in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, November 11, 1861, daughter of Merriman and Mary (Wheaton) Gaston, natives of Indiana and of Pennsylvania, respectively, who later moved to Iowa and thence to Missouri, where the former died, the latter some time later moving to Rapid City, South Dakota, where her last days were spent. To this union three children have been born, Effie, who is at home with her parents; Beulah, who married T. Hill, a Shubert druggist, and Joseph Creath Spickler, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Spickler are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have ever taken a proper part in church work, as well as in the general good works and social activities of their home town and of the community at large, and have been helpful in many ways in promoting movements designed to advance the common welfare thereabout.

DANIEL D. LEWIS.

Daniel D. Lewis, farmer of Barada precinct, Richardson county, was born on March 8. 1871, in Nemaha county, Nebraska. He is a son of John M. and Margaret ( Hopkins) Lewis. The father was born in Wales, Decem- ber 25, 1816, and died August 27, 1904. The mother was born on August 15, 1831, and died September 25, 1915, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. These parents were married in Ohio and they came to Nebraska in 1866, settling in Nemaha county, where they engaged in farming until late in life when they retired from active work and moved to the town of Shu- bert, where they died. They were parents of the following children : David lives in Nemaha county; John lives in Kansas; Mrs. Anna McGechie lives in Oklahoma; Joseph lives near Verdon, Richardson county; Thomas lives in Kearney, Nebraska ; Margaret and Louis live in Peru, Nebraska; Daniel D., of this sketch, and Nellie, deceased.

The gentleman whose name forms the caption of this sketch was reared on the home farm in Nemaha county and there he attended the district schools. He began life for himself in 1893, and farmed on his own account, but on the home farm for two years; then engaged in mercantile pursuits at Shubert for one year, and then moved to his present farm of two hundred acres in Barada precinct, Richardson county. He has made many improve- ments and has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser. He has sixty acres of timber. His home in is the midst of attractive sur-

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DANIEL D. LEWIS AND FAMILY.

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roundings, being almost in the center of a quarter section. He also has an excellent young orchard. He raises a good grade of live stock for the market.

Mr. Lewis was married on February 21, 1894, to Effie Lundy, who was born April 8, 1875, in Barada precinct, this county, and here she grew to womanhood and attended the common schools. She is a daughter of Ebenezer Lundy and wife, mentioned in the sketch of J. W. Lundy, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.

To Mr. and Mrs. Lewis eight children have been born, namely; Guy Sutton, born on February 20, 1896, is at home; Dewey Ebenezer, July 14. 1898; Daniel D., October 6, 1900; Effie Marie, October 18, 1904; John Samuel, April 28, 1909; Opal, October 19, 1911; Lela May, May 29, 1914, and Nola Belle, October 25. 1916. Guy Sutton and Dewey E. Lewis are members of Company E, Sixth Nebraska Infantry Regiment, enlisted for service in the great war. This company was organized in Richardson county.

Politically, Mr. Lewis is a Republican. He served as township clerk in Barada township for two years. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Christian church.

EMERY E. BOLEJACK.

Emery E. Bolejack, cashier of the Barada State Bank of Barada and the proprietor of a fine farm of two hundred acres in section 14 of the precinct of Barada, this county, was born in that precinct and has lived in this county all his life with the exception of some years spent as a tele- graph operator in the service of the Burlington railroad and later as a rancher in Blaine county. He was born on February 23, 1870, son of James .\. and Lucinda (Barker) Bolejack, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Missouri, who became pioneers of Richardson county and the latter of whom is still living, now a resident of Shubert.

The Bolejacks are an old family in America and have been represented in the Carolinas since Colonial days, the first of the name in this country having been a Frenchman of the name of Bolejacque, who settled in North Carolina and there established his family, the family name later being Angli- cized to its present form. James A. Bolejack was born at Moravian Falls.

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in Wilkes county, North Carolina, July 19, 1832, son of William Bolejack and wife, the latter of whom was a Doss, natives of that same state, who were the parents of ten children, of whom James A. was the third in order of birth. In 1852 William Bolejack came West with his family and set- tled on a farm in the vicinity of Lexington, Missouri, where he died in 1858. He was born in 1798. His widow, who also was born in 1798, sur- vived him about two years, her death occurring in 1860. James A. Bole- jack was about twenty years of age when he came West with his parents in 1852 and he helped develop the home farm in Missouri and during the years 1856 and 1857 was engaged as a freighter on the old trail between St. Joseph and Sante Fe. In 1856 he married and in 1862 came over into the then Territory of Nebraska with his family and settled on a farm in the precinct of Barada, this county, where he made his home for forty years, or until his retirement and removal to Shubert, where his last days were spent, his death occurring there on August 4, 1902. For years during the earlier period of his residence in this county he maintained a black- smith's forge on his place and did much accommodation work for his neighbors in that line, the work of the farm largely being carried on by his sons. He and his wife were among the organizers of the Christian church in Barada precinct and in the village of Shubert and he was an elder of the church. His widow, who still survives him, now a resident of Shu- bert, was born Lucinda Barker, on a pioneer farm in Lafayette county, Missouri, December 14, 1832, a daughter of William and Mary (Barker) Barker, natives of Kentucky, the former born in 1804 and the latter in 1805, who were married in that state and then moved to Missouri, where they established their home and where they spent the remainder of their lives, William Barker dying in 1878 and his widow surviving until 1890. They were the parents of ten children, of whom Mrs. Bolejack was the fourth in order of birth. To James A. and Lucinda ( Barker) Bolejack five children were born, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last-born, the others being William H., deceased; Mary, deceased; Mrs. Belle Harper. of Shubert, and Lee Bolejack, a well-known farmer living in the precinct of Barada, near Shubert.

Emery E. Bolejack was reared on the home farm in the precinct of Barada, receiving his schooling in the schools of district No. 4. and when twenty-one years of age went to Nemaha City, where he learned the art of telegraphy. In 1892 he was placed in charge of the station at Hemming ford. in the employ of the Burlington railroad, and remained as telegrapher there

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until in September. 1893, when he was made agent for the same company at Dunning and while thus engaged there became the owner of a ranch of four hundred and eighty acres in that vicinity, in Blaine county, and engaged extensively in the raising of cattle, having as many as two hundred and fifty head of cattle on his ranch. In 1903 Mr. Bolejack resigned his position as agent for the railway company at Dunning, sold his ranch and returned to Richardson county, shortly afterward entering the Verdon State Bank at Verdon, as assistant cashier. In May, 1906, meanwhile having acquired an excellent working knowledge of the banking business, he left Verdon and moved to Barada, where he organized the Barada State Bank, was made cashier of the same, built the building in which the bank is now located and has ever since been cashier of the bank, one of the best-known bankers in Richardson county. The Barada State Bank, of which John Moorehead is the president. has but ten stockholders, was organized with a capital of $6.500 and now has a surplus of $3,000. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Bolejack is the owner of a fine farm of two hundred acres in section 14 of the precinct of Barada and gives his personal atten- tion to the management of the same. He gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock on the place and has an excellent farm plant there. all the operations of the farm being carried on in accordance with up-to- date methods. Mr. Bolejack is a Republican and has ever given earnest attention to local civic affairs. During his residence at Verdon he served as treasurer of the precinct and since taking up his residence at Barada lias served as a member of the local school board.

On July 17, 1893, Emery E. Bolejack was united in marriage to Ella Murphy, who was born at Marysville, Kansas, December 13, 1871, a daugh- ter of Thomas T. and Nellie (Quinn) Murphy, natives of the Dominion of Canada, who after their marriage located in Kansas, but later came up into Richardson county, where their daughter, Ella, was reared. Mr. and Mrs. Bolejack have seven children, Harold, Raymond. Dale, Marvin, Ralph, Pearl and John. Dale Bolejack, the third son, is now a student at St. Ben- edict's College at Atchison, Kansas, where he is studying with a view to entering the priesthood of the Catholic church. The Bolejacks are mem- bers of the Catholic church and take a proper part in parish affairs. Mr. Bolejack is a member of the local council of the Knights of Columbus and of the local lodge of the Woodmen of the World and in the affairs of both of these organizations takes a warm interest.

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LENA DEWEESE.

Miss Lena Deweese, owner of one of the model small- farms in the precinct of Grant, this county, and one of the progressive leaders of the social activities of that community, was born in Prairie City, Iowa, daughter of the Hon. Joel W. and Rebecca (Ryan) Deweese, who later became resi- dents of Lincoln, the capital of this state, where their last days were spent.

The Hon. Joel W. Deweese, an honored veteran of the Civil War, a former member of the Iowa state Legislature and for years one of the best-known and most influential lawyers at Lincoln, in which city he died in 1907, was a native of the state of Illinois, born on a farm there on Septem- ber 17, 1843, son of James M. and Anna (Wyne) Deweese, natives of Kentucky, who moved from Illinois to Iowa in March, 1844, becoming pioneers in the latter state, where they maintained their residence until 1863, in which year they came over into the then Territory of Nebraska and settled on a farm a mile west of the present site of the town of Daw- son, becoming useful and influential pioneers of that community. On that pioneer farm James MI. Deweese made his home until late in life, when he retired and moved to Humboldt, where he spent his last days in comfort- able retirement, his death occurring there in 1896. This branch of the Deweese family is one of the oldest families in America and is descended from a Deweese of Huguenot stock who came to this side from Holland in 1689, locating in New York and going thence, in 1690, over into Penn- sylvania, where he established his home. He had three sons, two of whom remained in Pennsylvania, the other settling in Virginia. From this Vir- ginia branch the Deweeses in this county are descended, members of that family having made their way from Virginia into Kentucky following the Revolutionary period, and in Kentucky James M. Deweese was born.

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History of Richardson County, Nebraska : its people, industries and institutions, Part 98

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