USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II > Part 20
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For two years after the war Mr. Diffendaffer engaged in farming in Musca- tine county, lowa, and then removed to Monroe county, that state, where he remained until 1873, when he settled in Otoe county, Nebraska, becoming a prosperous farmer of that locality. He brought his fields under a high state of cultivation, raising the crops best adapted to soil and climate, and annually gath- ering good harvests. Year after year he continued to till the soil until 1896, when he put aside active farm work and retired to Lincoln, making his home at No. 2345 Q street.
Mr. Diffendaffer was married October 17, 1866. in Rock Island, Illinois, to Miss America Chambliss, who was born in Hancock county. Indiana, August 31, 1841, a daughter of Benjamin and Julia Chambliss. Her parents were born in Virginia, becoming residents of Hancock County, Indiana, in 1840 and in 1850 removed to Muscatine county, Iowa, where through farming and specula- tion Mr. Chambliss attained considerable wealth. He made judicious investment in real estate, becoming the owner of a large amount of land in Iowa, Nebraska, and other sections of the country. Some of this land Mrs. Diffendaffer inher- ited, and she is still the owner of considerable property in Otoe and Lancaster counties, this state.
To Mr. and Mrs. Diffendaffer have been born three children: Algie, who died at the age of eight years; Orpha, who is the wife of Robert H. Reed, a farmer living near Lincoln, Nebraska, by whom she has two sons, Earl and Glenn; and Lillie, the wife of Theodore L. Phillips, a farmer living near Ray- mond, by whom she has five children, Fay, Dale, Lloyd, Forrest and Bernard. Mr. and Mrs. Diffendaffer believe in the thorough training of their children and taught their girls how to take care of all household duties.
This worthy couple occupy a comfortable home in Lincoln, in which city they are well known. They are worthy Christian people, although holding member- ship in no church. They enjoy many a pleasant social occasion with some old- time friends-Isaac Baldwin, W. B. Williams and Jacob Forsyth, all three of whom were comrades of Mr. Diffendaffer in the Twentieth Iowa Infantry, and they and their wives constitute a little group known as the "Jolly Eight." meet- ing occasionally to recall scenes that occurred on the battlefields of the south, as well as to discuss questions of later interest as regards the individual and the community.
ANDREW J. ANGELO.
Andrew J. Angelo gained a gratifying measure of success as a farmer of Lancaster county and at length retired from active life, taking up his residence in Bethany, where he died in 1913. A native of Illinois, he was born on the 2Ist of November. 1831, a songof Davidpand Mary Lastera )@Ingelo. They were born in Pennsylvania but became residents of Ilinois at an early day in the
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history of that state, and there the father engaged in farming during his active life. After retiring he came to Nebraska and made his home with our subject until his death on the 3d of March, 1903. He had survived his wife since 1899.
Andrew J. Angelo was reared in the Prairie state and was indebted to its public schools for his education. He gave his father the benefit of his labor until he was twenty-one years of age, when he began farming on his own account, so continuing in that state until 1878, when he came to Lancaster county, Ne- braska, and rented land which he operated for seventeen years. He seldom failed to harvest good crops and as he managed his business affairs well his resources steadily increased and at length he gave up the work of the farm and removed to Bethany, purchasing a nice home at No. 134 lloldredge street. After taking up his residence here he did some teaming as he found a life of inactivity very distasteful. His death occurred on the 9th of January, 1913, and his demise was recognized as a loss to his community.
Mr. Angelo was married in December, 1876, to Miss Melinda Hobson, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Cline) Hobson, who were born in North Carolina and Indiana respectively. Her father was a farmer by occupation and in early life removed to Illinois, where he followed agricultural pursuits until his demise in 1853. His wife was called to her final rest in 1857.
Mr. Angelo cast his ballot in support of the men and measures of the dem- ocratic party but was never an aspirant for office. He held membership in the Highlanders and the Knights and Ladies of Security, and his religious allegiance was given to the Christian church. In all the relations of life he discharged to the full the obligations resting upon him, and those who knew him best were his warmest and sincerest friends.
HON. EDWIN JEARY.
Hon. Edwin Jeary is a member of the state legislature from the thirtieth district of Nebraska and not only is his name associated with the political his- tory of the state but it is also prominently connected with the material develop- ment of Lincoln, where he has resided since 1888, being prominently recognized as one of its leading men of affairs. Mr. Jeary is a native of England, his birth having occurred at Stalham, in the county of Norfolk, March 6, 1850, his par- ents being John and Alice ( Mack) Jeary, who were also natives of that county and there spent their entire lives. Four of their children, however, are now residents of the United States, namely: William, living at Greenwood, Ne- braska ; Robert J., a resident of Seward, Nebraska; Edwin, of Lincoln; and Elizabeth, now the wife of John Stanton, of Waverly, Nebraska.
Edwin Jeary acquired a common school education in England and in 1872, when twenty-one years of age, came to the United States, making his way at once to Lincoln, where he arrived on the 16th of May. He did not tarry at that period, however, for at the railroad station he hired out to a farmer who lived sixteen miles east of Lincoln, just over the line in Cass county. He had never had any experience in farm work, having spent his youthful days in an English village, and he did not know the difference between a neck yoke and a double-
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tree. He was willing, however, to learn and he soon became proficient in all the duties that devolved upon him. He says that a well drilled old horse which he was given to drive in cultivating the fields taught him how to plow corn. lle spent the summer of 1872 on farms in Cass county and in the fall of that year began teaching school, which profession he followed for about three years. Ile taught his first term in Seward county and the remainder of the time was in Cass county. He began the work of instruction in a little sod schoolhouse twelve by fourteen feet, receiving the munificent sum of twenty dollars per month and boarding around among the parents of the pupils. There were but five children enrolled and the average attendance was only three during his first term. While teaching school in Cass county he read law and later was admitted to the bar at Plattsmouth, Nebraska. He afterward practiced at Greenwood, Cass county, for a few years and then, retiring from the field of law, embarked in the banking business at Greenwood, having organized the Salt Creek Valley Bank, of which he became the cashier. Later he sold his interest in that institution and went to Staplehurst, Nebraska, where he organized the Bank of Staplehurst, of which he became president. A year afterward he sold out there and founded the Bank of Elmwood at Elmwood, Cass county, continuing as its president for a quarter of a century. In the meantime, however, the name of the institution was changed to the State Bank of Elmwood and finally took the name of the First National Bank of Elmwood. It was the only banking institution of the town. It was not until 1911 that Mr. Jeary disposed of his interest there. In the meantime, however, he had changed his residence to Lincoln, where he has remained continuously since 1888. Since retiring from the banking busi- ness he has given his attention to the supervision of private interests. He has much valuable residence property in the city of Lincoln and also in Elmwood. At the corner of Sixteenth and L streets in Lincoln he has two splendid modern frame two story residences, fronting on L street, and a cement block apartment house, also modern in every particular, containing four apartments, fronting on Sixteenth street,. This is some of the choice property for rental in Lincoln. Among his first property interests in Nebraska was a homestead which he entered as a claim in 1873. This place was in Seward county but he spent ouly one night upon it, as the wolves frightened him away. A little later he disposed of his holdings.
On the 22d of October, 1876, Mr. Jeary was married to Miss Keturah Samp- son, who had formerly been one of his pupils in Cass county, to which place she had removed from Henry county, lowa, in 1865, when her parents with their family journeyed westward in a covered wagon drawn by two yoke of oxen. Mrs. Jeary was then six years of age, having been born in Keokuk county, Iowa, in 1859. By her marriage she has become the mother of three children who are yet living : May, now the wife of Dr. A. J. Coats, of Fairbury, Ne- braska; Lena, a teacher in the Lincoln public schools; and Clark, who is a graduate of the law department of the University of Nebraska and is now practicing.
Mr. Jeary has made five trips back to England, his wife accompanying him on four of them. They were in that country on a visit when the present war broke out August 1, 191; Onfons of his visits he brought home with him an crosoft ® old "grandfather's clock" which has been in the Mont family for more than
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two hundred years, having been purchased directly from the factory in Stalham, England, by his great-grandfather. William Jeary. It is hand made and is a wonderful piece of mechanism, keeping perfect time despite its two hundred years of constant use. Mr. and Mrs. Jeary are members of the First Christian church of Lincoln and he is serving on its board of elders. He belongs to the Lincoln Commercial Club and is interested in all of its plans and projects for the city's development and improvement. Fraternally he is a Mason and a Mod- ern Woodman. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party and he is now serving for the third term as a representative in the general assembly. He was first elected in 1886 from Cass county and was again elected in 1912 and in 1914 from Lancaster county, receiving in 1912 the highest vote among the republican legislators of the state. He has given thoughtful and earnest consideration to all questions which have come up for settlement and is well versed on the vital and significant problems of the day. He has sought to further the interests of the state in every possible way, exercising his official prerogatives for the public good rather than for self benefit and placing the general welfare before partisanship.
AMOS GREENAMYRE.
Amos Greenamyre. the period of whose residence in Lancaster county covers thirty-six years, was long and successfully identified with agricultural pursuits here but is now living retired in Lincoln at No. 1730 D street. His birth occurred in the town of Milton, Mahoning county, Ohio, on the 17th of March, 1840, his parents being Solomon and Mary Ann (Best) Greenamyre, the father born in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1812 and the mother in Allegheny county, Penn- sylvania, in 1815. The latter passed away in Ohio in 1845 and in 1856 Solomon Greenamyre removed to Bureau county, Illinois, where he devoted his attention to farming with success. For his second wife he chose Mrs. Sarah Grimes, whose (lemise occurred in that county in 1882. Solomon Greenamyre was called to his final rest in 1887, when a resident of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Amos Greenamyre was sixteen years of age when his father removed to Bureau county. Illinois, and in 1863, when twenty-three years of age, started out as an agriculturist on his own account. A younger brother joined the Union army but our subject was needed at home. He continued farming in Bureau county until 1880, when he came to Lancaster county, purchasing three hundred and twenty acres of land in Grant precinct, the farm now known as South Side. He made a specialty of horticulture, raising small fruit and peaches, and also raised and fed cattle, meeting with much success in both branches of his busi- ness. In 1900 he retired and has since made his home in Lincoln. He helped organize and for sixteen years was treasurer of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Nebraska, now one of the largest in the state, but failing eyesight compelled him to give up all work about six years ago. He still owns two hun- dred and eighty acres of his old farm, however, and has long been numbered among the esteemed, substantial and representative citizens of the community.
On the 25th of August, 1864, in Bureau county, Illinois, Mr. Greenamyre was
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MR. AND MRS. AMOS GREENAMYRE Taken on the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage Digitized by Microsoft ®
Digitized by Microsoft ®
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joined in wedlock to Miss Margaret S. Sisler, who was born in that county June II, 1845, her parents being George and Nancy ( Perkins) Sisler, the former a native of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Saratoga Springs, New York. Mr. Sisler became an early settler of Illinois in 1838 and both he and his wife passed away in Bureau county, that state. Mr. and Mrs. Green- amyre are the parents of eleven children, all of whom are living, as follows : George W., married Lillian B. Gibson, and they reside on the home farm in Grant precinct. Margaret is the wife of Edson E. Landis, of Kansas City, Missouri. Myrtle is the widow of Albert E. Butler, and resides in Lincoln. Howard A. resides in Fort Collins, Colorado. He first wedded Ida Collins, who passed away in 1912, and in 1914 he was united in marriage to Mrs. Helen Willard. Daisy N. has been married twice. She first wedded Walter E. Williams and after his death became the wife of Benjamin F. Parmley, and they reside at La Junta, Colorado. Lillian is the wife of Ira Talbot and they reside near Cheney, Lancaster county, Nebraska. Solomon married Susan Gregg and their home is in Antelope county, Nebraska. Katherine married Frank Cummings and after his demise became the wife of Arthur Schmitt, their residence being in Lewistown, Montana. Rose married Perry Snow and they are residents of Independence, lowa. Sue E. is the wife of Dr. Arthur D. Closson, of Kansas City, Missouri. Harold married Marion Franklin and makes his home at Indian Head, Saskatchewan, Canada, where he is employed in the Dominion forestry service. The parents of these children celebrated their golden wedding August 25, 1914, at South Side, and on this occasion nine children and twenty-two grand- children were present.
Mr. Greenamyre is a republican in his political views and while living on the farm served as a member of the school board and also in the capacity of assessor. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Church, to which his wife also belongs. He has now passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey and has witnessed the progress and development of this district during the past third of a century, while his career has ever been such as to win the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has been brought in contact.
H. ARCHIE ENSIGN.
H. Archie Ensign, engaged in the omnibus and transfer business in Lincoln, was born in Wyoming, Iowa, in 1857. a son of Granville Ensign, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. With his parents he removed to Lincoln and supplemented his public school education by a course in the State University but was taken ill six months before the time of graduation. His business train- ing was received under the direction of his father, in whose omnibus and trans- fer business he became interested, inheriting the same upon his father's death. This is now incorporated under the name of the Ensign Omnbins & Transfer Company and that it is a mammoth concern of the kind is indicated by the fact that he employs forty-five men and utilizes thirty teams and four automobiles in the conduct of the business. " His liberal patronage has been won through close application, through indefatigable en Zea. V. GSOIT ®) and through carfest effort to please
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his patrons. Ile is always prompt and reliable and his business methods are such as will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. His location is at No. 221 South Eleventh street, where the business has been carried on for forty-six years. He owns his own building and a large number of cabs and omnibuses, together with trucks for the transfer of baggage. Ilis interests exceed in volume those of any other business of similar character in the city.
In 1893 Mr. Ensign was united in marriage to Miss Irene James, a native of Arkansas, by whom he has two children, Pauline B. and James W. In his political views Mr. Ensign is a republican and fraternally is connected with Lancaster Lodge, No. 54, F. & A. M., and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Ile is also a member of the Commercial Club and of the Rotary Club and in these organizations is popular. He has a large circle of warm friends through- out the city in which the greater part of his life has been passed. He is num- bered among the early pioneers of Lancaster county, having for many years been a witness of the growth and development of this part of the state, so that its history is largely familiar to him.
AMOS H. ADEN.
Amos H. Aden is at the head of the Aden Grain, Feed & Coal Company at Havelock, in which connection he is conducting a business of large and gratify- ing proportions that is bringing to him deserved success. He was born in Ger- many, May 18, 1863, a son of Habbe L. and Tobke ( Frerrich) Aden, who were likewise natives of that country, where they remained until 1869 when they came to the United States. After a year spent at Bentley, now Golden, Illinois, they removed to the vicinity of Carthage, Illinois, and a year later, or in 1871, came to Nebraska, where Mr. Aden homesteaded a claim in Butler county, the place being situated about twenty miles from Columbus, which was their nearest trading point and to reach which they had to ford the Platte river. Their first home was a sod house and they experienced all of the hardships and privations incident to settlement upon the frontier. Through his claim Mr. Alden became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres and afterward obtained a tree claim of eighty acres, while subsequently he purchased a forty acre tract of land. As the years passed he carefully developed and improved his farm and became one of the prosperous and substantial agriculturists of the district. At length he retired to Columbus and his competence was sufficient to enable him to enjoy all the comforts and some of the luxuries of life. There both he and his wife spent their remaining days.
Amos H. Aden, who was one of a family of four sons and three daugh- ters, was reared on the old homestead farm in Butler county and shared in the hardships of pioneer life. His educational opportunities were limited to the advantages offered in the district schools and when twenty-one years of age he went to Quincy, Illinois, where he attended the Gent City Business College. Being thus trained for commercial work he embarked in the hardware business at Garrison, Nebraska having af the tinie a capital of ten dollars. However, he borrowed four hundred dollars from his father and thus secured his stock. For
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twelve years he remained in business there, during which period he built up a good trade. During the succeeding year he traveled for the Osborn Hardware Company and then, turning his attention to the grain business, devoted fourteen years to buying grain at David City and at Garrison. Later he spent five years on a ranch in Greeley county, Nebraska, and then because of failing health engaged in no business for a year. Learning that there was an elevator and coal business for sale in Havelock, he came to this city and made purchase of the same in June, 1912. The property was in a dilapidated condition but he rebuilt the elevator and infused into the business his own determination and enthusiasm. It was not long before he made his business a market for the grain raisers of the district and because of the continued growth of his under- taking he admitted his nephew to a partnership on the ist of March, 1915, under the style of Aden Grain, Feed & Coal Company. Their elevator is situated on the Rock Island track and they are now controlling an ever growing trade.
Mr. Aden is happily situated in his home life. He wedded Flora Curry, who was born at Postville, Iowa, and they have become .the parents of three children : Ruben, who is married and lives on a farm in Howard county, Nebraska; and Wesley A. and Harold F., both at home. Mr. and Mrs. Aden now reside at University Place. She is a member of the Methodist church, while Mr. Aden belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Garrison. Ilis political allegiance is given to the republican party and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, but he does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs which are carefully man- aged and are bringing to him gratifying success. He deserves much credit for what he has undertaken and accomplished for he had no special chances at the outset of his career and through laudable ambition, close application and inde- fatigable energy has worked his way steadily upward.
JOSEPH MCKAIN.
Joseph McKain, residing at No. 417 South Twenty-sixth street in Lincoln, is familiarly known as "Kearney Joe." Ile lived in this section of the state during pioneer times-days when mutual hardships and privations and the spirit of mutual helpfulness drew men together in strong ties of friendship and led to the adoption of such names as that by which Mr. MeKain is known to all the early settlers. There is no phase of life on the Nebraska frontier with which he is not familiar and his stories of the early days are accurate and most inter esting. Mr. McKain was born March 15. 1841, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and was there reared in the home of his parents, James and Adeline (Kirwin ) McKain, who were natives of the Keystone state, where they spent their entire lives, the father there engaging in business as a florist.
It was during the period of Joseph MeKain's early manhood that the Civil war occurred and for nine months he served as a member of Company B. One HIundred and Twenty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, participating in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorssintosoit ®) od in the better part of the engagement at Antietam. He was never wounded hor takeif prisoner and after
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his term of service had expired he returned to Pittsburg, where he engaged in market gardening. Still later he became fireman on the okl Cleveland, Pittsburg & Wheeling Railroad in Ohio and subsequently was promoted to the position of engineer.
While still residing in Pittsburg, Mr. McKain was married in 1865 to Miss Maggie J. Calhoun, who was there born July 4. 1842, a daughter of Alex and Eliza (McCammon ) Calhoun. The father, a native of Ireland, came to the United States at the age of nine years. His wife was a native of Pennsylvania and in 1873 they removed westward to Nebraska, the remains of both being now interred at Kearney. Mr. and Mrs. McKain .began their domestic life in Pittsburg and after the birth of two of their children came to this state, arriving in Lincoln on the 30th of May, 1872. at which time the city was but a small town. The Burlington & Missouri Railroad Company had erected a large shed equipped with beds, stoves, etc., where the emigrants coukl remain for a time, cook their food and do necessary washing, and there Mr. MeKain and his family remained until he could make arrangements for a home of his own. In February, 1873, he secured a preemption claim in Buffalo county, south of what is now the city of Kearney, then called Kearney Junction. The old Fort Kearney still stood, although the soldiers had been withdrawn. Mr. McKain lived on this land on the bank of the Platte river for three years, his home being a sod house, his family experiencing all of the hardships brought on through the grasshopper scourge and other privations of frontier life. At length he removed to Kearney and secured a position with the Burlington & Missouri Railroad Company, soon after being promoted to engineer on the run from Kearney to Hastings and Aurora. When the Black Hills division was built from Kearney to Callaway he assisted in its construction and pulled the throttle of the first engine that went over that line.
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