History of western Nebraska and its people, Vol. III, Part 42

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

USA > Nebraska > History of western Nebraska and its people, Vol. III > Part 42

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).

214

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

break the virgin sod in order to put in a crop, today waving fields of grain are seen for miles where in 1886 there was nothing but wild grasses and prairie flowers. Mr. Brashear has no communion with apathy or idleness, has been a productive worker and has been found busy at all stages of his career. Es- sentially a business man, he has had neither time nor desire to enter the turbulence of prac- tical politics or to seek public office, though he is liberal and public spirited in his civic attitude and gives staunch support to the prin- ciples of the Republican party and is able to give sound logical reasons for his adherence to its tenets. Widely known throughout this sec- tion of the state, he has by his earnest endeav- ors entrenched himself firmly in popular con- fidence and esteem, and this has contributed to his success as a cattle man and farmer.

Mr. Brashear was married in 1884 to Miss Lenora Golden, a native of Pennsylvania, the daughter of John Golden, and two children have been born to this union: R. A. who is married and lives on one of his father's farms, and J. W. who still lives at home associated with his father in business.

A. C. DAVIS. - Practical industry wisely and vigorously applied seldom fail of attain- ing success, and the career of the man whose name heads this review, now one of the pro- gressive farmers of Scottsbluff county, is but added truth of the statement. When he start- ed out in life he had but few advantages to assist him along the road to success, but his diligence and judicious management have brought him ample reward for his labors.

Mr. Davis was born in Tennessee, June 16, 1876, the son of J. A. and Margaret (Ar- rowood) Davis who had eight children : John, who lives in Colorado ; Laura, also a resident of that state; the subject of this sketch; Flor- ence, the wife of A. P. Jones, lives in Utah ; S. J., of Morrill, Nebraska ; Elizabeth, the wife of Frank B. Kelly, lives in Colorado; and M. F., also a resident of Morrill. When Mr. Davis was but a young child his parents re- moved to Colorado, in 1879, where the boy spent his youth and early manhood, attended the excellent public schools of his district and while a little lad began to assume many duties around the home farm. As his age and strength increased he assisted more and more in the labor incident to the operation of a farm and under the guidance of his father learned the best methods of planting and harvesting. so that when he reached manhood he was well equipped with the practical experience to en-

able him to became a farmer on his own ac- count. He started out for himself at an early age, operating land in Colorado for some years before coming to Nebraska. It is nine years since he purchased his present fine, one hun- dred and fifty acre tract in Scottsbluff county, which since 1910 he has brought to a high state of cultivation and by the erection of suitable buldings he, today, has a very valuable prop- erty all of which is under irrigation. General farming and stock-raising form the basis of the enterprise carried on by the owner who makes the proud boast that "There is nearly everything on the farm but weeds and a mort- gage." In politics he votes as an independent, while his fraternal associations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World.

In 1907, Mr. Davis married Alice Brown, a southern woman born in Alabama, and to them have been born five children: Ruth, Arthur, Margaret, Ellen and Mart, all of whom are at home under the careful training and guidance of their parents.

SHERIDAN GUMMERE. - The pioneer families of Scottsbluff county who played their parts in the vital drama that has turned this section of Nebraska into a paradise for the homeseeker, developing the unbroken prairie into a garden spot of the earth. where thriving communities have grown up, have reason to hold themselves responsible for much of the present day progressiveness. While many of those who actually experienced the actual hard- ships of the early days have passed away, there still remain many who, through sheer force of will and energy, brought out of primeval condi- tions what have become twentieth century ac- tualities. Among these is found in Sheridan Gummere, who was a homsteader of the year 1897. A member of such a family is Sheridan Gummere who came to Scottsbluff county near- ly a quarter of a century ago and took up a homestead on the virgin prairie.

He was born in Champaign county, Illinois, June 3, 1870, the son of Jack and Elizabeth Gummere to whom were born ten children: William, living in Oklahoma ; Sheridan ; Lottie, deceased; Anna, the wife of Arthur Draper, lives in Idaho; Otto, who for some years has been in Alaska; Daisy, the wife of Oskar De- partee, also lives in Idaho; Ira, a resident of Montana ; Nellie, who married Frank Frazer; Leonard, who now lives in the state of Wash- ington; and Ida, who also is married. The father of this sturdy family was a farmer in Illinois who learned of the fine public domain

215

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

in the middle west and decided to avail him- self of a farm with the idea of giving his boys and girls greater opportunities than could be afforded in a more settled country east of the Mississippi river, and with this end in view came to Nebraska in 1897, pre-empted a claim in Scottsbluff county, established a home and engaged in general farming. That he met with success goes without saying when we know that today he has retired from active participation in work to enjoy his sunset years in well earned and well deserved ease and comfort.

Sheridan Gummere received his education in the public schools, attending during the winter when the exigencies of farm work permitted and while but a lad of thirteen became a prac- tical farmer himself at an age when most youths are thinking more of sports than mak- ing a living, for he has supported himself by his own unaided efforts since that period, a thing which few men of this day can boast. When the Gummere family came west, Sheri- dan had already decided to establish himself independently as soon as possible. As soon as his age permitted he took up a homestead and began operations as a farmer and stock- raiser, and through making the most of his opportunities, working industriously, manag- ing his affars carefully, and applying all his knowledge to his daily labor, he has succeed- ed in accumulating a great agricultural estate of a thousand and eighty-five acres, so that today he is surrounded by the comforts and conveniences that serve in some measure to compensate him for the numerous hardships which he experienced during his early days in this section. He has fine improvements on all his property, excellent farm buildings. Mr. Gummere is accounted one of the energetic and progressive men of his community and belongs to one of the families which is well known in the county. His long experience in agricultural pursuits has made him more or less of an authority in western Nebraska, and he is frequently called upon by his associates for counsel and advice. Politically he is a Re- publican but politics and public affairs have had small share in his career. but his actions have always shown him to be a public spirited citizen, ready to support good measures, and a man who owns such a vast property with five hundred acres under irrigation has ample means to give liberally.

In June, 1899, Mr. Gummere married Miss Della Pense, and to this union one child was born, Mildred, who lived a happy. joyous childhood until her thirteenth year when she

was taken away, leaving a saddened home and sorrowing parents.

For years Mr. Gummere has been a leading factor in every important, public-spirited movement for the promulgation of high stan- dards in business circles, intensive and modern methods in farming and his influence is a valuable and valued one.

HENRY M. SPRINGER. - The business career of Henry M. Springer has been signifi- cantly characterized by courage, progressive- ness, as well as by dynamic initiative and ex- ecutive ability that brings normally in its train a full measure of success. His resolute pur- pose and integrity have begotten the popular confidence and esteem that are so essential in the furtherance of success in the important lines of enterprise along which he has directed his attention and energies, and through the medium of which he has gained secure status as one of the representative figures in the fi- nancial circles of western Nebraska, and stock- men of the Northwest. During practically his entire business career Mr. Springer has been closely associated with the live-stock industry and there is needed no further voucher for the precedence he has gained than the state- ment that today he is vice-president of the First National Bank of Mitchell, the oldest banking institution of the city. It has a capi- tal stock of $25,000; surplus of $25,000 and deposits of about $727,000. Mr. Springer has shown special constructive talent, and through his effective policies and efforts he has further- ed the success of every financial enterprise with which he has been associated. As one of the representative business and stock men and progressive and public spirited citizens of Scottsbluff county he merits specific recogni- tion in this publication.

Henry M. Springer is a Missourian, born in Sullivan county, March 3. 1860, the son of E. F. and Hollie A. (Jones) Springer, both na- tives of Illinois and to this union five children were born, but two of whom are living. The family consisted of Henry ; John M., who lives in Goshen county, Wyoming ; William A., de- ceased ; Flora, the wife of Edgar M. Sanders, a resident of North Powder, Oregon, is de- ceased. The father of the family was a suc- cessful farmer in Illinois who removed to Mis- souri at an early day locating in that state in 1852, where he again followed agricultural pursuits until he felt the call of the great west and in 1879 fitted out a praire schooner and with the members of his family either in the wagon or on horseback, made the long over-

216

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

land trip to Idaho, where he engaged in stock- raising and general farming for five years. He then returned to the eastern part of Ne- braska, traveling through the Panhandle on the trip but the spirit of the west had entered into his blood and not contented in the more thickly settled sections he again turned his face toward the setting sun and came to Scottsbluff county. Here he entered actively into the civic and business life of the community, soon became a figure in public and municipal affairs, gained the confidence of his associates which was demonstrated when they elected him to represent this district in the state legislature. Mr. Springer was active in the local councils of the Republican party ; his fraternal relations were with the Masonic order while he and his wife were members and supporters of the Methodist church. In 1910 he passed from life having been a successful business man, loving and devoted father and husband, leaving a sorrowing wife and family. Mrs. Springer still resides on the old home farm south of Mitchell.

Henry Springer attended school in Missouri during his youth, then accompanied the family on their long and interesting wagon trip across the plains to Idaho and today he can recount many of the thrilling and interesting events which happened during the journey. While in the west he was engaged to some extent in agricultural pursuits but had a natural love for horses and devoted more of his time to that branch of industry as he was a youthful cowboy, loving the free, open life of the range, even its loneliness and hardships could not dampen his enthusiasm. In 1884 he, his father and brothers drove a herd of four hundred head of horses clear from Idaho to Bridgeport, old Camp Clark at that time, where he dis- posed of them and then determined to locate here permanently, took up a tree claim in 1885, making his home in Wyoming. set out the re- quired trees to secure the land and in 1889 took up his residence. He at once engaged actively in agricultural pursuits and stock-raising which has been given his greatest attention and time. Soon after coming here he began improving his property, put his previous ex- periences to good use by buying horses to stock his farm and soon developed a prosper- ous business. Mr. Springer has for a long term of years been recognized as the most progressive and substantial farmer, stock-rais- er, feeder, and shipper in this section of the state. When the First National Bank was or- ganized it was but natural that such a man should be chosen to guide the financial policies

of the institution. Under his careful and pro- gressive regime the First National Bank has made a wonderful advancement in the volume of its business ; it is regarded as the soundest bank in the west, doing a volume of business almost incredible for a banking house for its years. While taking an active part in the Re- publican party Mr. Springer has served as county commissioner when the county was young and is again serving in the same office at the present time. He is an active member of the Masonic fraternity and belongs to the East- ern Star and Modern Woodmen.

In 1882 Mr. Springer married Miss Alice Boltenberg, who was born and reared until her marriage in Illinois. Their family num- bered five, three of whom are living: Odessa, married to Edward B. Deering, lives in Tor- rington, Wyoming; Ruby, is the wife of Lon D. Merchant of Goshen county, Wyoming, and Vera, who is at home. Two chidren died in infancy.

THOMAS H. YOUNG, rancher and busi- ness man is a Pennsylvanian who transferred his activities to the middle west when this sec- tion was still called "The Great American Desert." where he has made a record of which any man might be proud. For forty-three busy years Thomas Young has been known in the Panhandle and today he is one of the best known farmers and stock-raisers of this sec- tion. He has seen wonderful changes of all kinds since first coming here and has done his fair share in the development of the county's agricultural resources and in establishing such necessities of civilization as good roads, schools and churches. When a community can claim a majority of such stable and dependable men as Mr. Young its permanence and progress are assured.

Mr. Young was born in the Keystone state July 2, 1860, the son of William and Melissa Jane (Logan) Young, both natives of Penn- sylvania. To them were born five children but two of whom are living: Margaret, deceased ; Emma, deceased ; Jerry, also deceased ; James, who lives at Butler, Pennsylvania, and Thomas, the youngest. The father was a carpenter and builder, being regarded as a master workman of his trade in the locality where he lived. He was accidentally drowned in 1864. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and in poli- tics a staunch Republican. It was a hard strug- gle for the mother left alone with a growing family on her hands and in 1870 the battle proved too much for this fragile but loving mother and she passed from life leaving her

217

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

little son to the care of his elder sister and brother-in-law. He attended the public schools in his native state gaining a good rudimental education, but at an early age was forced to begin earning a living, first as a newsboy, so that he may be accounted among the self made men of his locality as he started out in life with only the equipment of ambition and ability as capital, and what he has achieved has been by his own unaided efforts. He has reared a family of children all of whom are splendid citizens, prominent in present day affairs, re- flecting great credit upon their parents and the home from which they come, also constituting a valued asset to the community of which they are a part.

As a youth in the east Mr. Young read of the life on the western prairies and determined that he would go west to seek and make his fortune and when only seventeen years of age started across the country. reaching Fremont in 1876, but a few years after Nebraska Ter- ritory had been admitted to statehood. Those were the days of the great cattle barons who owned vast herds of cattle that ranged free over the prairies, and after working on a farm for two years the young man joined a cattle outfit and became a cowboy, in Custer county for the Olive operators and was there when the famous desperados, Mitchell and Ketchum, were hung. For eight years he followed the life of the range, gaining invaluable know !- edge of cattle, feeding, buying, and marketing, which induced him to decide upon a ranch for himself, and with this end in view he came to Scottsbluff county in 1886, took up a home- stead and today is the owner and manager of his one hundred and fifty acre tract of highly improved land, where he has been engaged in farming and horse-rasing. Mr. Young has not confined his activities entirely to agriculture, but has branched out into other commercial lines, being the first man in the United States to erect a concrete ice house for storage pur- poses. This initial adventure received country wide notice for its unqualified success, being written up in Popular Mechanics magazine and other technical and scientific publications. The United States government sent to him information concerning plans, specifications and materials used in the construction of the building. Mr. Young also gained a small for- tune by his keen business qualities, as what he plans, he executes and the success that has come to him is the result of good judgment and years of persistent labor.

In 1884, Mr. Young was married in Grand Island, Hall county, to Miss Ella M. Turpin,

who was a native of Minnesota, who had been reared out on the Pacific coast. Her father was surveyor general of Minnesota, himself and wife both natives of Pennsylvania. There are three children in the family : Rex, who has chosen agriculture as a pursuit and is on one of the home farms ; James, who is in business in Denver, Colorado; and Daniel, who also is at home, in the law business. Mr. Young takes an interest in public affairs, keeps himself well informed and generally votes the Democratic ticket, while fraternal affiliations are with the Modern Woodmen.

AMOS ELQUIST, one of America's adopt- ed sons whose enegry and well directed ef- forts have within recent years in Mitchell re- sulted in the building up and development of a prosperous implement house and the plac- ing of its founder in a position of financial independence. Mr. Elquist was one of the pioneer settlers of Cheyenne county where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years before coming to Scottsbluff coun- ty and later locating in the city of Mitchell.

The subject of this review is a native of Sweden, born February 19, 1853, the son of Christian and Anna Elquist, who had a fam- ily of four children: Amos, John, Andrew, deceased, and Joahanna, who lives in Sweden. The father was a farmer in the old country, a vocation he followed all his life, passing away in 1909, the mother surviving him but two years. Amos received an excellent educa- tion in his native country where the schools are supervised by the government. He at- tained his majority before severing home ties and embarking for the new world to seek and make his fortune, landing in the United State in 1875. He came west with no definite idea of the country and first located in Rose- ville, Illinois, obtaining employment in a mine, but he had not come to this golden land of promise to spend his life away from the light and sunshine and determined to come still far- ther west and obtain land by government grant. With this in mind he came to Nebraska, set- ling in Cheyenne county on a homestead. He had a cheerful outlook on life, an inherent faith in his own ability to accomplish anything, a faith that no discouragement could dim and it was as well for this carried him through the years of hardship caused by the drought. This self confidence has been more than justified, for today Mr. Elquist is one of the leading business men of Mitchell, the owner of a hard- ware house and the possessor of a valuable farm which pays substantial dividends.

218

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

Mr. Elquist is a tireless worker and from the day he became the proprietor of land be- gan its improvement, at first in a primitive way as did all the pioneers, but he never let up; each year saw some new ground broken. some new cattle bought or some new building erected so that in less than a decade, from 1887 to 1893, he sold his homestead for $200 an acre, having brought it to a high state of cultivation.

The latter year he came to Scottsbluff coun- ty, bought land which he still owns on which he for a time carried on farming and stock- raising before he opened his present mercantile establishment in Mitchell, where he conducts a general hardware and implement business, in which line he has shown himself equally as good a manager as on the farm. He built up a good trade, in the development of which his pleasant personality has played a large part. The family belongs to the Federated church. Mr. Elquist is a Republican in politics, and while he takes an active part in communal af- fairs has never desired to hold office but is interested in all civic improvements and gives liberally to their support.

In 1875 occurred the marriage of Amos Elquist and Miss Anna Andersen, and eight children have joined the family circle : Charles, living at Torrington, Wyoming; George, also a resident of that state; Theodore, of Torring- ton; Alvin, all in the hardware business in that city; Reuben, a soldier who served with the American Epeditionary Force in France; Fred, associated with his father in the imple- ment business in Mitchell ; Anna, married Les- ter Morgan of Livermore, California; and Aneti, married, living in Lingo, Wyoming.

JOHN E. KEEBAUGH has been a resi- dent of Nebraska since his early childhood and his father was not only a pioneer of this state but had also previosly gained pioneer experi- ence in the state of Minnesota, where he was identified with large lumbering operations for several years. He whose name initiates this paragraph is the owner and active manager of the Rexall drug store at Mitchell, Scottsbluff county, and this has the distinction of being the largest and best equipped establishment of the kind in any town of not more than a thousand population in the entire state. In ad- dition to being one of the representative busi- ness men and influential citizens of Mitchell Mr Keebaugh is also the owner of a well im- proved farm property near this village.

John E. Keebaugh was born in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, on the 15th of May, 1868,

and is a son of George W. and Sarah (Ward) Keebaugh, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in Illinois, from which latter state they removed to Minnesota in the pioneer period of the history of that common- wealth. Of their six children four are living : William, resides near Portland, Oregon; Ida, lives in Oklahoma; Mrs. Mary Wood, resides in Oregon ; and the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth of these surviving children. George W. Keebaugh continued to be identified with the lumber industry in Min- nesota until 1871, when he came with his fam- ily to Nebraska and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, in Butler county, He reclaimed this land from the virgin prairie and developed it into one of the productive farms of that county. He had given valiant service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war, as a member of Company C Forty-second Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, a regiment comprised of pioneers in the Gopher state. In later years Mr. Keebaugh vitalized the asso- ciations of his military career by maintaining affiliation with the Grand Army of the Re- public. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party and he and his wife, both of whom died in the year 1908, were earnest members of the Christian church. Their names merit enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Nebraska.

John E. Keebaugh was about three years old when the family home was established on the pioneer farm in Butler county, Nebraska, and there he was reared to adult age, was af- forded the advantages of the public schools of the locality and period and supplemented this educational training by a course in the school of pharmacy of Northwestern Univer- sity, in the city of Chicago. After completing this technical course he returned to Nebraska, and for about three years thereafter he was employed as a drug clerk in Butler county. He then opened a drug store of his own, at Shelby, Polk county, and there he remained five years. He conducted a drug store at Surprise, Butler county, during the ensuing five years, and he then went to David City, the judicial center of that county, where he was manager of the office and business of a local telephone company in which he had be- come a stockholder. There he remained until 1906, when he removed to Scotsbluff county and took up a homestead, besides which he purchased the Rexall drug store at Mitchell, which well ordered establishment he has since conducted most successfully, as shown by the large and representative patronage which it

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 western Nebraska and its people, Vol. III, Part 42

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