History of western Nebraska and its people, Vol. III, Part 122

Author: Shumway, Grant Lee, 1865-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., The Western publishing & engraving co.
Number of Pages: 1056

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George Schindler attended the common schools in Ohio and remained in his native

state until he was thirty-five years old. Then, with wife and children, he came to Nebraska and lived in Cass county for three years but did not feel satisfied there. Therefore, in the spring of 1888, Mr. Schindler and his family boarded emigrant cars at Weeping Water and by that means reached Kimball, and from there came to his present homestead in section ten, town eighteen, at the same time securing a tree claim, and he still owns all this property. It would be foolish to declare that Mr. and Mrs. Schindler had no hardships to face for these were the portion of every settler of that date and were of such a nature that no foresight or excellence of judgment, could have prevented them. During the first ten years in Banner county the family lived in a dugout, and for some of these years had to haul all their water, for family use, for stock and crop irri- gation, a distance of nine miles. Mr. Schind- ler provided himself with a span of strong miles as water carriers, but even then four barrels was the limit that the team could haul up a very steep cliff.

Mr. Schindler devoted himself to the devel- opment of his land and found that in spite of climatic conditions, he could make it very productive. He has sown as little as two pecks of wheat to the acre and harvested forty bushels of grain. In early days lack of farm machinery was a great handcap, but Mr. Schindler was resourceful and ingenious and did better in this way than many of his neigh- bors. In early days he paid considerable at- tention to raising mules and had the reputation of having the best animals in the county. Later he became more interested in Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs and during his active years raised many head annually. He has practically retired and has turned the form industries, to a large extent, over to his son, who is a capable and successful farmer much interested in every line of farm development.

In Putnam county, Ohio, September 27, 1874, Schindler was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Chandler, a daughter of Truman and Ruth (Gillett) Chandler, the former of whom was born in New York and the latter in Ver- mont and both are now deceased. Of their six children three survive, Mrs. Schindler being the only one in Nebraska. The following chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schindler: Charles F., who was accidentally killed in 1907, by a runaway team, married Rachel Van Pelt, who lives at Wheatland, Wyoming; Truman, who lives in Colorado, married Alma Cox ; Ed- "rard. who lives in Banner county, married Pansy Humphrey; Grace, who lives in Wy- oming, is the wife of John Adcock ; Ruel, who

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manages his father's properties, married Hazel Green ; and Myrtle, who is the wife of Maurise Sandberg, of Banner county, all well known and highly respected in their several commun- ities.

In addition to his large estate of seventeen hundred acres of finely developed land, well improved, Mr. Schindler has additional assets, being a stockholder in the Harrisburg State Bank; a stockholder in the Farmers Union Store at Bushnell ; a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company at Pine Bluffs, and own a block of stock in the proposed Farmers Union store soon to be established at Flowerfield. Mr. Schindler has always voted the Democratic ticket. He is a member of the Farmers Union. In his neighborhood no other citizen has done more to further the establishment of schools and churches nor to advance the best interests of the county generally. In a visit back in Ohio, he was led to make comparisons that convinced him that in the matter of agricultural opportunity, this section far exceeds the older portions of the country. He has always maintained a home of hospitality and some- times is led to believe that the old days, in their general friendliness and somewhat crude meth- ods of enjoyment, were more wholesome and satisfying than is social life in many commun- ities at the present time.

JOHN T. WOOD, president of the First State Bank of Oshkosh, the oldest bank in Garden county, had for years been identi- fied with banking interests in Custer county. In 1919 he bought the controlling interest in the First State Bank and came to Oshkosh as president and manager of the institution.

John T. Wood, son of Thomas J. and Bet- sey J. (Deans) Wood, was born in Greenville, Montcalm county, Michigan. June 19, 1868, and was still a lad when he accompanied his father to Nebraska. He completed his edu- cation in the public schools of Custer county and commenced his independent career on the home farm near Ansley, but subsequent- ly went to the depot of the Chicago, Burling- ton & Quincy Railroad, where he learned telegraphy. Later he was transferred to the station at Edgemont, South Dakota, where he worked for six months, and in all was con- nected with railroad offices for two years. In 1891, he came to Mason City, where, with his father, he started a general store business, which was conducted until 1895, at which time he returned to farming. Mr. Wood was identified with various enterprises, one of which was the poultry business, in which he

was engaged during 1894 and 1895, during which time he made a trip to New York with a car of poultry. In the fall of 1910, Mr. Wood went to Mason City to become an or- ganizer of the Farmers State Bank, which at the outset had a capital of $10,000, but which later increased to $20,000. A beautiful bank building has been erected, and the institution, having shown itself substantial, safe and con- servative, has attracted a large patronage, and now has average deposits of $125,000. Mr. Wood acted in the capacity of cashier and manager, and a member of the board of di- rectors, and proved himself capable, energetic and courteous, so that he accomplished the dual purpose of gaining the friendship and confidence of the depositors, and attained a place for himself among the capable bankers of Custer county. In 1918, Mr. Wood dis- posed of his banking interests in Custer county and bought the controlling interest in the First State Bank of Oshkosh, Garden county, taking charge of the institution March 1, 1919, and today is recognized as a leading financier here. Mr. Wood is a Thirty-second degree Mason and a Shriner, and was secretary and treasurer of his lodge at Mason City; he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, and also holds membership in the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past grand. Like his father, he has long been interested and actively prominent in Re- publican politics. For eight years, from April 1902 to 1910, he served acceptably as deputy register and register of deeds of Custer coun- ty, and was his party's candidate for the Ne- braska Legislature. His work as a citizen has always been of a progressive and constructive order. With his family, he belongs to the Christian church.

John T. Wood was married April 6, 1892, to Belle Bryan, who was born at Taylorville, Christian county, Illinois, the daughter of Joseph Bryan who fought as a Union soldier during the Civil War and came to Lincoln county, Nebraska. then to Custer county in 1879. Mr. Bryan homesteaded, nine miles north of Mason City, where he died in 1892, and where his widow still resides. Five chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wood, of whom three are living: Iowa, who married William A Runyan, who engages in real estate and insurance business in Oshkosh, and they have one son, - Roger Wood Runyan ; Marie, the wife of Leslie Airhood, manager for the Nebraska Telephone Company, at Farnum, Nebraska, died January 9, 1919, leaving one son, John Pershing Airhood; and George

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Clark, a graduate of the Mason City high school, where he established a creditable rec- ord both in his studies and in athletics, assist- ing his school to win several competitive cups, and now assisting his father in the bank. He enlisted in October, 1918, in the Reserve Of- ficers Training Corps at Lincoln, Nebraska.

John T. Wood took an active part in all war work after the United States declared war on Germany, being chairman of the Field Committee in all the Liberty Bond drives in both Custer and Garden counties. Today he stands high in the financial circles of the Panhandle, as a progressive and substantial banker, who has won and holds the confidence of the public.

MRS. LOUISA HEWITT, one of the brave and courageous pioneer : women of the Panhandle who took up a homestead here in 1887, has run the full gamut of frontier ex- periences and her reminiscences of the early days are graphic and interesting. The final steps of her journey to this section were made on a train, though railroads were far apart in that early day. Girded with undauntable purpose and the valor which are necessary to succeed under the conditions existing in a new country just opening to civilization and prog- ress she established a home on the frontier, proved up on her land and became one of the well known residents of the Lodgepole district.

Louisa Saddington Hewitt was born in Ap- pleby-Magna, Leicestershire, England, April 7, 1846, the daughter of Edward and Eliza Sad- dington. She was reared and educated in her native village and lived there until her mar- riage. Mrs. Hewitt grew up self reliant and with marked executive ability. March 1, 1877, was solemnized her marriage with Walter Hewitt, the service being red in the cathedral at Manchester. Walter Hewitt was born at Edgefield, England, June 1, 1853, the son of William and Fanny Hewitt, and he died at Chicago, Ilinois, August 1, 1885. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt remained in England until 1884, when they came to the United States. Soon after landing on our shores they came west and the next year Mr. Hewitt died in Chicago, leaving his wife with the one child Henrietta.

Mrs. Hewitt learned of the good land to be obtained in Nebraska for a small sum and determined to have a farm of her own. In 1887, she came to this state and filed on a homestead in the Lodgepole district and today is the owner of a quarter section in 30-15-45. She was brave and had a great ambition which helped tide over the terribly hard early years

when the first settlers in the Panhandle suffered from drought and the winter blizzards, but she had determined to succeed and did so. By sticking to her land in time crops were raised, the railroad came through this section and she is now the owner of a valuable farm. It was through her ability and well organized energies that she was enabled to withstand the hard- ships and privations incident to life on the frontier - a woman whose strength has been as the number of her days and who has had a demarkable share in pioneer experiences in the great west. For more than thirty years she has viewed the many changes and the rapid de- velopment of a country that was virgin prairie when she first viewed it and has been known far and wide for her kindness and good deeds.

HERMAN KUEHNE, pioneer ranchman and successful farmer of Deuel county, is one of the men who came into the Panhandle in the early days, believed in the future of this section and has lived here to see his faith jus- tified and profited by the many changes and development of the Big Springs section. He was born in Germany, November 14, 1858, the son of Frederick and Wilhelmina (Opfer- man) Kuehne, both natives of that country, where the father was shipper and sailor on the river boats plying between Saxony and Hamburg. He died in 1864 and his wife in 1910; they never left their native land.

Herinan Kuehne was educated in Germany and then learned the roofing business, made slate roofs, built chimneys and allied work. In 1883, he came to the United States and while in Cumberland, Maryland, contracted malaria fever. His doctor ordered him to a higher altitude and learning of the fine oppor- tunities to secure cheap land in western Ne- braska, Mr. Kuehne came to Deuel county in April, 1885. His first home was a sod house with sod roof. He put in crops and says that in all the hard early years they never had an entire failure ; some product was always rais- ed and when there was not enough of one commodity they ate others, such as oats or any grain that had done well. Mr. Kuehne says men did not farm then to make a fortune but a living. With the passing years he has adopted modern farm methods and machinery and has a finely equipped farm. He has been a Democrat many years ; served as road over- seer, is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Big Springs and now fills the office of Noble Grand.

July 8, 1884, Mr. Kuehne married Miss Wil- helmina Hemken, the daughter of Frank and Wilhelmina (Loeneker) Hemken, natives and

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residents of Germany. Eight children form the family: Fred, at home; Wallie, of Deuel county ; Hattie, the wife of John Leff, of Colorado; Frank, lives in Wyoming; Carl, William also live there; Marie, the wife of Ernest Koberstein, of Nebraska ; and Herman, at home.

When Mr. Kuehne first came to this section he hauled water from Big Springs and Ash Hollow for family use and the stock, a distance of twelve miles, which shows what persistance he had. The nearest neighbor was five miles away, when visiting people cut across the open prairie. Soon after he located here other set- tlers came, though wild antelope were com- mon and deer were to be found in the hills. Mr. Kuehne recalls the fraudulent county seat election and tells of many other pioneer ex- periences. He and his family have warm friends and are highly respected here.

SYVER JOHNSON, pioneer settler of the Panhandle who has worked hard and over- come all the trial and privations of life on the frontier and today is one of the pros- perous farmers of the Big Spring district, was born in Norway, May 12, 1848, the son of John Erickson and Carolina Olson, both natives of Norway. The father came to this country and located in Hamilton county, but remained only five years and then returned to Norway where he spent the remainder of his life. There were eight children in the fam- ily, six sons and two daughters, four of whom reside in this country.

Miss Martha Kardesen, daughter of Kar- desen Peterson and Gjoren Jensen was born in Norway, February 15, 1852. Her parents were both natives of Norway. There were six children in the family, one daughter and five sons, all of whom reside in this country and Canada.

On October 3, 1875, Mr. Johnson and Miss Kardesen were united in marriage in the old country, where they had grown to manhood and womanhood, both having been educated in the excellent public schools of that coun- try.

During their residence in Norway Mr. Johnson worked at the mason trade but de- siring to own land of his own he migrated with his family to the United States in 1881, locating in Hamilton county, Nebraska, in May, remaining there three years before com- ing farther west to take up a homestead in Deuel county. In 1884, Mr. Johnson broke a little of his land but did not bring his family out until the following year. When he came to the Panhandle, Mr. Johnson drove across

coutry with a team and wagon behind which were hitched two cows.

The first home was a sod dugout with a brush roof and when it rained out it also rain- ed in. The first two years were exceptionally rainy and everything thrived without but not so well within. There was no water on the place and it was hauled for ten years for family and stock.

Having but a small acreage broken the first year it was planted to melons, crooked neck squash and gourds, the seed having been brought from the east. These grew in abun- dance and were of enormous size and were stored in cellars or caves, forming the chief forage crop for the stock the first winter.

Prospects were soon blighted by the dry years that followed. Crops were very poor and Mr. Johnson went east to look for work in order that the family might have the ne- cessities of life. He worked at the mason trade in Hamilton county, also in Omaha and Lincoln. He would often be gone several months at a time while Mrs. Johnson and the children stayed on the homestead and fought against fate for sustenance. Mrs. Johnson also worked for her neighbors whenever she could. She would walk two and one-half miles to town, carying one youngster and lead- ing another, do a hard day's work, washing clothes or cleaning house and then walk back at night. Often after her return she would have to go a mile and a half to the spring for water. She had nothing to drive except a runaway team hitched to a wagon, and the way they traveled over the black-root knolls wasn't slow. One night when she reached home there was but one spoke left in one wagon wheel.

For years the forage crops had to be cut with a scythe and raked with a hand rake. The brunt of this fell on Mrs. Johnson and the children, as Mr. Johnson was often away in search of work at the harvest time. Many were the times when there was nothing left in the house to eat. Mrs. Johnson would take a muzzle-loading shot gun (which many men wouldn't understand the loading of these days) and go hunting rabbits. Often she would have to walk for miles over the sand hills before she would be able to scare one up, but when bunny made a move he was a dead rabbit. The meal for the bread was ground in a coffee mill which was a long and tedious task.

The rattle snakes were quite a menace in the early days. It was not an uncommon sight to see them disapear into the walls of the sod house or find them basking in the sun- light on the door step. The older boys would

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go snake hunting and a trophy of two dozen rattles wasn't an unusual day's hunt. A snake spear was used for killing them, which con- sisted of a spearhead on a long handle. None of the family was ever bitten by a snake, but the oldest daughter was one time bitten by a tarantula. The forethought and quick action of the father saved her life. Centipedes were very numerous and would often drop from the ceiling to the floor.

During the drought years of 1893, 1894 and 1898 the family suffered severely; the father became discouraged but the mother never did. Provisions were sent from the east for the relief of suffering humanity, but through mismanagement very little of it ever reached the places where it was most needed. Many of the old timers left during the drought years, but through the courage and industry of the mother the Johnson family stuck it out and today are in comfortable circumstances.

For the past ten years Mr. Johnson has raised cattle; but with the loss of the open range finds farming profitable.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson raised a large fam- ily, there being eleven children in all, eight of whom are living; Lena, the wife of James Brown, former Commissioner of Deuel coun- ty; Johann, deceased; Charles, a farmer of Deuel county ; Fred, a farmer of Deuel coun- ty; Selma, the wife of Dan Trolan, ranch- man of Oregon; John, a merchant of Big Spring; Joseph, a farmer, of Deuel county ; Edward, deceased; Nora, postmistress, Big Spring ; Morton, ex-service man, Oregon, and George, who gave his life on the battle fields of France in the recent war.

Mr. Johnson is a Republican, his wife is a Presbyterian, and they are both members of the Farmers' Union.

JOHN ELMQUIST, old settler, well known farmer and successful cattleman, has well demonstrated that a man who came to the Panhandle in the early days could succeed if he had the grit and perseverance. He was born in Sweden May 8, 1858, the son of Peter and Sarah Elmquist, natives of Sweden. The father was a farmer who came to the United States with his family in 1883; settled in Polk county, Nebraska ; lived there over three years and then came to Deuel county, both the father and son John taking up homesteads here. When the mother died in 1906, the father returned to Sweden to pass the remain- der of his days and died there in 1917. They were the parents of four children, but John is the only one here. Mr. and Mrs. Elinquist helped to organize the South Swedish Church

nine miles northeast of Chappell and school district No. 24. The father was a Republican and a member of the Swedish Lutheran Church.

John Elmquist was educated in the public schools of his native land and has been a farmer all his life. He came to the United States in 1882; lived in Polk county until the fall of 1886 and that year took up a home- stead here which he still owns. The first seven years he hauled water, lived in a sod house, pastured cattle and had a team of mules with which to farm. In 1889, he returned to Polk county to work and make money, later went to Wyoming while his wife remained on the farm with the children, though the nearest neighbor was two miles away. They burned buffalo chips for fuel as that was all they could get, and sold calves for their provisions. Con- ditions were bad and it was hard to get along but the Elmquists were not to be discouraged and today can hardly realize the changed con- ditions, for they now own three sections of land, have three tractors, a well improved farm and breed white faced cattle for the stock market. Mr. Elmquist also breeds high grade horses and enough hogs for his own use.

June 6, 1885, Mr. Elmquist married Miss Anna Anderson, the daughter of John and Johanna Anderson. She was born in Sweden in 1886 and came to this country when a child of less than three years of age, and after her marriage became the mother of thirteen chil- dren, twelve of whom survive: Joseph, at home; Oscar, on the old homestead; August, at home ; Emilie, the wife of Charles Carlson, of Deuel county ; Harry, deceased; Frank, Fred, Selvia, Ruth, Arthur, Elvin, Annie and Arvid, all at home.

Mr. Elmquist is a Republican, for years has been director in school district No. 24; helped organize and build the Celia Swedish Church and is now helping to organize and build the Abreva Swedish Church north of his home. He is a stock holder in the Farmers Elevator at Chappell and one of the well known and highly respected men of the district.

GODFREY M. ZALMAN, one of the large landholders and substantial farmers of Deuel county who came to the Panhandle with little and today is a well to do and progressive busi- ness man, was born in Cook county, Illinois, April 8, 1860, the son of Henry and Eunice ( Bower) Zalman, both natives of Bavaria, the former born in 1819, died in 1900, the latter born in 1828, died in 1918. The father was a farmer who came to the United States about 1841, settled in New York where he lived for

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some years then moved to Illinois in 1860, lo- cating an a farm in Shelby county. He had been in Cook county, over the site of the pres- ent city of Chicago, then far from a great city. There were ten children in the Zalman family, eight of whom survive, but Godfrey, of this review, is the only one in Deuel county. The parents were members of the Lutheran Church.

Mr. Zalman was educated in the public schools of Illinois, and learned farm business under his father. When only twenty-two years of age he began his independent finan- cial career as an agriculturist, a vocation he has followed all his life. November 15, 1882, Mr. Zalman married Miss Anna Barth in Shelby county, Illinois ; she was the daughter of John and Margaret (Hauk) Barth, resi- dents of Illinois, now deceased. Six children were born to this union, of whom five live: Bertha, the wife of Jack Bottles, of Oshkosh, Nebraska; Louis, of Deuel county ; Myrtle, the wife of Nicholas Kollsen, of Denver, Colo- rado; Maggie, the wife of Martin Wendt, of Garden county, and Edna, at home.

Mr. Zalman came to Deuel county in the fall of 1893, took up the homestead where he still lives near Big Springs, starting with little equipment. There was a small shack on the place and a well, which was important. He says that he started farm life with a team and old wagon; one horse soon died and he later bought a span of mules. He admits that he is self-made, had practically nothing to start with and today has a well equipped farm with good buildings, is comfortably situated finan- cially, and all is due to his own good work and determination to succeed. The first years were hard; then came a few years of good crops, but he had to work during haying time to help buy supplies in the poor years. Their fuel was buffalo chips and all had to work hard. They milked cows and sold butter at ten cents a pound, which shows what the times were. Today Mr. Zalman operates a farm of sixteen hundred and eighty acres, mostly range land, but he has the latest machinery for that farmed. He is a Democrat, has been moder- ator of his school district for many years, is a member of the Farmers Elevator Company in which he holds stock, at Big Springs, and with his wife is a member of the Lutheran Church.

CHARLES P. CHAMBERS. - There is no man more widely known and no man more closely concerned with educational and public affairs and county developments than the man whose name is announced by this title line.

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History of western Nebraska and its people, Vol. III, Part 122

Author: Shumway, Grant Lee, 1865- Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., The Western publishing & engraving co. Number of Pages: 1056

Author: Shumway, Grant Lee, 1865-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., The Western publishing & engraving co.
Number of Pages: 1056