History of western Nebraska and its people, Vol. III, Part 53

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

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William DeBely was reared and educated in Switzerland. In 1888 he came to the United States and located in Scottsbluff county, Ne- braska, where he was variously employed until 1892, when he homesteaded. The hardships of early times in this section affected him to some extent, but he never became discouraged and now feels well repaid for his hard work in the development of his property. He carries on general farming and raises stock.

In 1887 Mr. DeBely was married to Eliza- beth Lowe, who was born August 4, 1859, and died May 16, 1901. Her parents never came to the United States. They have five children : Frederick, Pearl, Carl, Blanche, and Fannie. Mr. DeBely and his family belong to the Lu- theran church.

JOHN MATHSON. - Admirably has this sterling citizen demonstrated the forceful en- ergy and mature judgment that have made those of Scandinavian birth or lineage so po- tent a factor in connection with the industrial development of many of our western states, and in Scottsbluff county he has reclaimed and improved a fine farm property in the Mitchell vicinity. his home place being in section 5, township 23-55. As one of the substantial and highly respected men of the county he is entitled to recognition in this history.

Mr. Mathson is a native of Norway, where he was born in the year 1879, and he is a son of Mathiason and Emborg Mathson, the former of whom still resides in Norway and the latter of whom is deceased.

John Mathson was reared to maturity in his tages of the common schools, and in 1900 he

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native land, where he was given the advan- immigrated to America and established his residence in Wisconsin, where he found em- ployment at farm work, besides which he at- tended school at intervals during the years of his stay in the Badger state. Thence he went to Denver, Colorado, where he found em- ployment in connection with the manufactur- ing of brick, and from that state he continued his way westward and visited California and Nevada. In 1906 he came to Nebraska and took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Scottsbluff county, and this place has since continued the stage of his energetic and well directed enterprise as a successful agri- culturist and stock-grower. He has made ex- cellent improvements on the farm, which has good buildings that were erected by him per- sonally, as he is a skilled workman at the carpenter trade. For eight years he was identified with the government reclamation service. In politics Mr. Mathson is an in- dependent voter and he has served efficiently as school director of his district. He had supervision of the construction of the consoli- dated school building in his locality, and he and his wife attend and support the Union church organization. He is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World. Mr. Mathson is progressive and wide awake as an exemplar of farm enterprise, and his valuable farm property has been provided with excellent ir- rigation facilities.

In 1905 occurred the marriage of Mr. Math- son to Miss Hannah Mundel, who likewise is a native of Norway, and their pleasant home is brightened by the presence of their five children : Erling, Judith, Helen, Lloyd and Ruth.

WILLIAM B. SWINDELL is one of those valiant souls who braved the hardships of the frontier in western Nebraska and became a pioneer of pioneers in that part of Cheyenne county that is now included in Scottsbluff county. He has reclaimed one of the large and valuable farm properties in this section of the state and his well improved estate is situated four and one-half miles north of the village of Minatare. In a general way as well as an individual way he has been an artificer of development and progress, and he is known and valued as a sterling citizen to whom the highest pioneer honors are due.

Mr. Swindell was born at Silver Creek, Delaware county, Iowa, on the 26th of Oc- tober, 1857, and is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of that section

of the Hawkeye state, where his parents, Wil- liam and Isabel Swindell, settled in the year 1851 and where they passed the remainder of their lives, secure in the high regard of all who knew them. He whose name introduces this review acquired his youthful education in the district schools of his native state, where he was reared under the influences of the pio- neer days, and at the age of twenty years he be- came a clerk in a general store at Manchester, Iowa. In 1885 he came to what is now Scotts- buff county, Nebraska, and entered a pre-emp- tion claim four and one-half miles north of Minatare, which now a thriving village then had no semblance of communal dignity. He perfect- ed his title to his original claim, as did he also to adjoining homestead and tree claims, and un- der his vigorous and well ordered direction this property has been developed into one of the fine landed estates of this locality, the improve- ments being of the most approved modern type. Mr. Swindell has been somewhat of a leader in community affairs and has held three commissions as postmaster at Minatare -two under President Taft and one under President Cleveland. He is a Republican in his political adherence and has long maintained affiliation with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, in which he served twelve years as recorder, besides which he has passed the official chairs not only in this organization but also in that of the Modern Woodmen of America, in which latter he held for six years the office of clerk of his camp.

August 27, 1882, recorded the marriage of Mr. Swindell to Miss Ida Johnston, of Man- chester, Delaware county, Iowa, and they have two fine sons: Earl J., who was born Decem- ber 27, 1887, married Miss Clara Smith and they reside at Hot Springs, South Dakota; Donald W., who was born January 18, 1889, was afforded the advantages of the University of Nebraska, and when the nation became in- volved in the great world war he entered the military service, in the officers' training camp at Fort Sheridan, Chicago. His command was not called into active service over sea and hè gained therein the rank of sergeant ; he is now residing at Minatare.

EDWARD F. VANDERBERG has shown marked energy, enterprise and good judgment in his various business operations during the period of his residence in Scottsbluff county, and he is now the owner of valuable real estate in the city of Scottsbluff, where he is success- fully established in the barber business, be- sides which he is the owner of property in

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the state of Wyoming .. His advancement has come as the result of his own energy and ability and he is one of the well known and popular citizens of his home city and county.

Mr. Vanderberg was born at Rock Island, Illinois, on the 25th of August, 1867, and is a son of Leo and Mary Ann (Marshall) Van- derberg, both of whom were residents of Ne- braska at the time of their death. Leo Van- derberg came from Belgium, in 1848, and was a young man when he came to America. He resided in various states of the Union prior to coming to Nebraska, and the major part of his active life was devoted to agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Vanderberg was born in Ken- tucky, where her father was an agriculturist and slave-owner of no little importance prior to the Civil War, and she developed her talents in such a way as to become a woman of su- perior education and high intellectuality.

Edward F. Vanderberg was about seven- teen years old at the time of the family re- moval to Nebraska, his early education having been gained principally in the public schools of Illinois, where also he acquired his initial experience in connection with farm enterprise. At the age of seventeen years he was found independently engaged in farming and stock- growing in Frontier county, Nebraska, where he thus continued operation eleven years. He then removed to Maywood, that county, where he learned the trade of barber, which he there followed three years. On the 15th of August, 1901, he established himself in the barber busi- ness at Scottsbluff, and he began operations with but one chair. He eventually developed a large and representative trade, with a well equipped shop, and in 1909 he further mani- fested his progressive spirit by establishing and equipping the first thoroughly modern laundry in the city. He sold this latter business after successfully conducting the same about two years and thereafter he again gave his atten- tion largely to his barbering business. In 1906, Mr. Vanderberg took up homestead and pre- emption claims in Funston precinct, ten miles northeast of Scottsbluff, and the same year he sold his rights to this property for $400. It is worthy of special mention that on Angust 15, 1919, the west eighty acres of this tract sold for $18,000. The four hundred dollars which he received for his claims Mr. Vander- berg invested in his business operations and since that time he has made substantial ad- vancement, as shown in his ownership of his business property, his attractive residence in Scottsbluff and a farm at Goshen Hole, Wy- oming. June 13, 1903, his barber shop was

destroyed by fire, but he promptly erected a new and modern building on the site.

In politics Mr. Vanderberg maintains an independent attitude, and his popularity is indicated alike by his affiliation, as a charter member, with the local organizations of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Mod- ern Woodmen of America, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Knights of Pythias. He has passed all of the official chairs in his Odd Fellows lodge and is also a valued member of the Scottsbluff Country Club.

At Maywood, Frontier county, on the 27th of May, 1900, Mr. Vanderberg wedded Miss Emma J. Schnase, a daughter of Gustave and Rose (Meyers) Schnase, both natives of Ger- marry. Mr. Schnase came to the United States in 1865, and he and his wife eventually became pioneers in Frontier county, Nebraska, where he became a prosperous farmer near May- wood. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderberg have four children, all of whom remain at the parental home, - Doris S., Elsie May, George Edward and Rosemary Ann. The eldest daughter was graduated in the Scottsbluff high school as a member of the class of 1919.

PARVIN E. GILBERT, who resides in the city of Scottsbluff and who is the owner of a well improved and irrigated ranch estate in the county, has here been prominently identified with mercantile and industrial in- terests for nearly a score of years, and he is now serving as salesman for a leading whole- sale grocery house. He has been active in progressive movements that have inured to the advancement of Scottsbluff county and is a citizen who is well entitled to recognition in this history. Parvin Edson Gilbert was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, July 18, 1879, and has been a resident of Nebraska since his boyhood. He is a son of David L. and Minnie J. (Stout) Gilbert, whose mar- riage was solemnized November 22, 1877, and who were residents of this state, at the time of the father's death, on the 6th of May, 1887. On the 1st of November. 1895, Mrs. Minnie J. Gilbert contracted a second marriage, by becoming the wife of William M. Garrison, and she passed to the life eternal on the 17th of January, 1904.

Parvin E. Gilbert was afforded the advan- tages of the excellent public schools of Ogal- lala. Keith county, Nebraska, where he was graduated in the high school, and he early gained business experience of practical and valuable order. In 1901 he engaged in the

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general merchandise business in Scottsbluff, as successor of Mr. Kirkpatrick, who opened the first store in the new town. Mr. Gilbert was the first to initiate a free-delivery system in connection wth retail mercantile enterprise in Scottsbluff and in order to meet the demands placed upon his establishment by a constant- ly expanding trade he removed from the origi- nal store to larger quarters, on the present site of the First National Bank. In August, 1905 he sold his substantial business to the firm of William Rice & Company and turned his attention to the reclamation and improve- ment of his landed estate in Scottsbluff coun- ty. On the 14th of June, 1904, under the pro- visions of the reclamation act, Mr. Gilbert filed entry on a homestead, and to this place he removed with his family in January, 1906. He assisted actively in the building of the gov- ernment irrigation canal and laterals and con- tinued his service until the work was completed to Lake Alice. Through this medium he gained for his land excellent irrigation facil- ities, and he made excellent improvements on the tract, the most of which is seeded to al- falfa. He erected good buildings and brought the place to a status that marked it as one of the valuable properties of the county. In the autumn of 1910, Mr. Gilbert returned with his family to the city of Scottsbluff, and since 1911 he has given specially effective service as traveling salesman for a wholesale grocery house, the while he continued to give a gen- eral supervision to his ranch property.

The Democratic party finds Mr. Gilbert aligned as one of its loyal supporters, he is an, appreciative and valued member of the Scotts- bluff Commercial Club, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

July 14, 1904, recorded the marriage of Mr. Gilbert to Miss Golda Agnes Westervelt, daughter of James H. and Luranie A. Wester- velt, well known citizens of Scottsbluff county. Mrs. Gilbert completed a course in the Scotts- bluff high school in 1903, and she is a popular 'factor in the representative social activities of her home city. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert have four children, and their names and respective dates of birth are here noted: Adelaide Ber- nice, November 5, 1905 ; Lucile Marie, Feb- ruary 29, 1908; Howard James, March 4, 1910; and Charles L., January 16, 1914.

THOMAS E. CHAMBERS. - More than thirty years ago, when Scottsbluff county was still an integral part of Cheyenne county, Thomas E. Chambers and his wife became

pioneer settlers near Minatare, though that now thriving village was at that time not to be found "on the map." They lived up 'to the full tension that marked the pioneer per- iod in the annals of Scottsbluff county, and in addition to reclaiming one of the excellent farms of the county Mr. Chambers long held precedence as one of the leading merchants at Minatare, where he is now living retired, in the enjoyment of the rewards of former years of earnest and successful endeavor. As one of the representative citizens and pioneers of the county he is consistently accorded recogni- tion in this history.

Thomas E. Chambers was born in County Kent, England, on the 18th of December, 1858, and his early education was obtained in the schools of his native land. On the 18th of December, 1871, - his thirteenth birthday an- niversary - Mr. Chambers landed in New York City. He proceeded to Wapello county, Iowa, and for thirteen years he was employed in connection wth coal-mining industry in the Hawkeye state. In 1884 he removed to Hamil- ton county, Nebraska, where for three years he was a coal merchant, and he then moved and numbered himself among the pioneer settlers of that part of Cheyenne county that is now included in Scottsbluff county. He ar- rived on the 23d of March, 1887, and settled on a homestead claim two and one-half miles northeast of Minatare. He made improve- ments on the land and in due time perfected his title to the property, which he eventually sold to advantage. It is but fitting to state that when Mr. Chambers came to Nebraska his re- sources were very limited, his equipment when he arrived at Sidney having comprised one hundred pounds of flour, one hundred pounds of corn meal (which was later stolen from him), one dozen chickens, two cows, and a few household effects. Upon arriving at the Camp Clark bridge he had no money to pay the toll, and he borrowed one dollar from L. C. Marquis to meet this emergency. He thus depended entirely upon his own exer- tions in making his way to prosperity in the new country, and it is needless to say that he and his loyal wife endured their full share of the hardships and trials that marked the pioneer epoch in the history of Scottsbluff county, while they pressed forward to the goal of definite success which should ever attend honest and earnest endeavor.

Mr. Chambers has always stood ready to do all in his power to further the advancement and prosperity of his chosen county and state and he has been influential in community af-

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fairs. In 1890 he was elected assessor of Tabor precinct, an office of which he was the incumbent two years. In politics he has ever been unfaltering in his allegiance to the Demo- cratic party, and he is well fortified in his opin- ions concerning public affairs. Mr. Chambers helped organize school district No. 2 and was a director for eight consecutive years.

In 1905, Mr. Chambers established a gen- eral store at Minatare and he built up a large and prosperous business, to the conducting of which he continued to give his attention un- til impaired health led him, in 1915, to sell the business and stock to his son-in-law, E. H. Johnson. He still owns the building in which this store is located and he also owns and occupies one of the attractive residences in the village of Minatare.

June 22, 1880, recorded the marriage of Mr. Chambers to Miss Jennie Wicks, of Des Moines, Iowa, where she was reared and edu- cated. In conclusion is given brief record con- cerning the children of this sterling pioneer couple : Alfred B., who was born April 15, 1883, and who is a successful farmer in Mon- tana, married Miss Olga Dalquist, of that state : Frederick R., born May 18, 1888, mar- ried Miss Selma Dalquist, of Montana, and they reside in Valley county, that state; Laura Belle, born December 4, 1890, is the wife of E. H. Johnson, a leading merchant at Mina- tare; and Leo L., born September 14, 1893, married Miss Estella Duncan and they now re- side at San Diego, California.

ROBERT J. HARSHMAN is a popular representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Scottsbluff county, and the name which he bears has been prominently and worthily linked with the development of the Minatare vicinity, where he himself has done much to foster civic and industrial progress.

Robert James Harshman was born in Tama county, Iowa, March 22, 1865, this date in- dicating beyond peradventure that his parents were numbered among the pioneer settlers of that section of the Hawkeye state. He is a son of Theodore and Rebecca (Thompson) Harsh- man, both natives of Fayette, county, Pennsyl- vania, where the former was born in 1841 and the latter in 1844, their marriage having been solemnized in 1861. About the year 1864 Theodore Harshman and his wife estab- lished their home on a pioneer farm in Tama county, Iowa, and this property he effectively reclaimed and developed. There he contin- ued to reside until 1885, when he sold the farm and came with his family to what is

now Scottsbluff county, Nebraska. One-half mile north of the present village of Minatare he took up homestead and tree claims, to both of which he perfected his title in 1892. In the meanwhile he had made excellent improve- ments on the property and in addition to his activities as a pioneer agriculturist he had also found much demand for his services as a blacksmith. He established the first black- smith shop in the valley, also in the village of Minatare and in the building was maintained also the local postoffice, he himself having served as the postmaster. He and his wife were honored pioneers of this locality, where they ever commanded the fullest measure of popular esteem and where they continued to reside until their death.

To the public schools of Iowa, Robert J. Harshman is indebted for his youthful educa- tion and he was there graduated in the Col- lins high school as a member of the class of 1886. He then came with his parents to Ne- braska, where he likewise gained pioneer hon- ors in the settlement of the portion of Chey- enne county that is now included in Scotts- bluff county. In 1886 he took up a homestead claim four and one-half miles northwest of Minatare, and upon this he established his residence. Later he entered a timber claim adjoining, and he proved up on his claims in 1892. On his homestead he continued to re- side fourteen years, successfully engaged in agricultural and stock-growing enterprise, and he then sold the property, after which he re- moved to Nine-mile Canyon, where he was engaged in raising cattle during the ensuing nine years. He then located in the village of Minatare, where he was engaged in the hard- ware and implement business for five years. After disposing of this business he was for five years a traveling representative for the In- ternational Harvester Company, and for some time after severing this relation he sold thresh- ing machines for the great factory of M. Rumely Company. At the present time he is giving his attention principally to the restaur- ant and soft drink business, and is one of the representative citizens of Minatare.

At intervals Mr. Harshman has been active- ly concerned in the construction of irrigation ditches in his home county. He and his fath- er and brothers built about fifty per cent. of the Minatare ditch, and he was identified also with the construction of the Winter Creek ditch. He has been loyal and vigorous in the support of public enterprises, including the building of churches and school-houses, such undertakings in the early days having depended

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entirely upon popular subscriptions for their carrying out. Mr. Harshman and his brothers, with the co-operation of a few neighbors, built the first schoolhouse at Minatare. He was for five years treasurer of the Minatare irrigation ditch and for several years was sec- retary of the Winter Creek ditch. In politics he is a Democrat, and fraternally he is ac- tively affiliated with the local organizations of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias, in each of which he has passed the various official chairs.

At Wellsville, Cheyenne county, in 1892, Mr. Harshman wedded Miss Mary Rosen- brook, and concerning their children brief rec- ord is given in conclusion of this review : Roy T. conducts a men's furnishing store at Bridge- port; Estelle, bookeeper in a hardware store in this village; Fred W., who is now at the parental home, served eleven months in the national army during the period of the World War, and at Jacksonville, Florida, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant of his com- pany ; Alice and Leone, remain at the parental home, the former having been graduated in the Minatare high school as a member of the class of 1919.

ARMENAG SIMONIAN is one of the comparatively few Armenians who can claim pioneer distinction in Scottsbluff county, and here he acheved a large measure of success in connection with the development and opera- tion of one of the pioneer ranch properties of the county. He is now living virtually retired at Gering and is a citizen eminently entitled to recognition in this history.

Mr. Simonian was born at Bitlis, Armenia, on the 19th of March, 1868, and he acquired his rudimentary education in the far distant country of his nativity. At the age of twelve years, in company with a younger brother, Hi- ram, he came to America and joined an older brother, Isaac, who was then living at Ludlow- ville, New York. There the two younger brothers were enabled to attend school at in- tervals, and there Armenag initiated his prac- tical service by working on a farm, for eight dollars a month. In 1885 he came to Nebraska and after remaining one year with his brother Isaac in Lincoln county he made the overland trip to Cheyenne county, with horses and wagon. He and his older brother, Isaac, set- tled in the vicinity of Scottsbluff, where they engaged in farming and stock-growing. Final- ly he made entry on a pre-emption claim, be- sides purchasing a relinquishment on a tree claim. To make the requisite payments he

borrowed money from the bank at Gering and paid interest at the rate of four per cent a month. With unremitting energy he applied himself to the development and improvement of his land, and with the passing years abun- dant success attended his efforts as an agri- culturist and stock-raiser, so that definite pros- perity came as his just reward. He perfected his title to both claims and retained the prop- erty in his possession for many years, special attention having been given to the raising of horses and cattle. He still owns a well im- proved tract of seventy acres, northwest of Gering, and is now living practically retired. His brother Isaac, who died in 1897, was one of the well known pioneers of what is now Scottsbluff county and commanded unqualified popular confidence and esteem. Mr. Simonian is a Republican in politics, is affiliated with the Modern Brotherhood of America and is an active member of the Presbyterian church.

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History of western Nebraska and its people, Vol. III, Part 53

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