USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II > Part 39
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Alvin Leslie Magee has passed his entire life in Lancaster county and received his education in the district schools and in a business college at Lincoln. For thirty-four years he has resided upon the family homestead and for several years has had charge of its operation. lle is engaged in general farming, raising. not only grain, but also stock, including shorthorn cattle, horses and Poland China and Chester White hogs. He also gives some attention to dairying and all the branches of his work are well managed and yield him a good financial return. He keeps in touch with the newest methods and his progressiveness has been an important factor in his success. The house which his father first built upon the farm is still standing but is not now in use. His own residence is an attractive modern home and everything about the place is kept in excellent condition. Ile was the prime moyer in the organization of the Home Telephone Company, at Cheney, and is still a heavy stockholder in that concern.
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Mr. Magee was married at Omaha, Nebraska, on the 20th of June, 1903, to Miss Laura Cummings, who was born in Grant precinct, Lancaster county, on the 16th of June, 1886, and was reared and educated in this county. She is a daughter of Edward S. and Katherine ( Lewis) Cummings, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. To Mr. and Mrs. Magee have been born four children, namely: Edna Louisa, born on the oth of June, 1904: Harry Lee, born August 18, 1906; Jae Evans, born October 13, 1910; and Hugh Everett, born December 29, 1911.
Mr. Magee is independent in politics, voting for the candidate whom he deems best fitted for the office, rather than supporting any one party. He served for three years as a director of the school board in district No. 83, and is always willing to cooperate in movements for the public welfare. In religious faith he is a Baptist. In all relations of life he has measured up to high standards and his generosity and public spirit have gained him many warm friends. He is still a young man but through his industry and enterprise has gained a place among the most substantial residents of his precinct.
HARRY SMITH FREEMAN.
The business interests of Lincoln find a well known and prominent repre- sentative in Harry Smith Freeman, the vice president of the First National Bank, whose residence in this city dates from 1882. He was born at the home of his maternal grandfather in Taylor county, Virginia, October 29, 1861, his parents being William Howard and Mary Ellen ( Smith) Freeman, who resided at Grafton, West Virginia. The latter was a daughter of Abraham and Amy (Knott ) Smith, residents of Pruntytown, Taylor county, Virginia. William Howard Freeman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and belonged to one of the old families of that city. When the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was completed as far west as Grafton, West Virginia, in the '5os he was in the service of that company and during the Civil war period he acted as its agent at Grafton. Fol- lowing the close of hostilities the Baltimore & Ohio was completed as far west as Clarksburg, West Virginia, at which point he became agent. Soon afterward, however, he retired from the service of the railroad company and engaged in the banking business at Clarksburg, continuing active as one of the leading financiers of that place until the time of his death. For about thirty years prior thereto he was cashier of the West Virginia Bank of Clarksburg and he passed away in that city a few years ago at the age of seventy-two. His widow. Mrs. Mary Ellen Freeman, still occupies the old home at Clarksburg and is well preserved at the age of eighty-two. There were seven children in their family, three sons and four daughters, as follows: Amy, who passed away in 1877 at the age of twenty-one years ; Mollie, now Mrs. W. B. Osborn, of Clarksburg. West Virginia : Harry Smith, of this review ; Emma, who resides with her mother at the old home : Minnie, also at home: William H., who is also yet at home with his mother; and Joseph C., of Columbus, Ohio.
Harry Smith Freeman was reared in Clarksburg and obtained his early educa- tion in the schools of that face, whicharey w/MarinGehtfitof instruction in
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the University of West Virginia at Morgantown. continuing his studies there until he reached the age of nineteen years, when he made his initial step in the business world, spending one year as clerk in a shoe store in Clarksburg. In 1882, when twenty years of age, he came to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he has since maintained his residence, covering a period of more than a third of a cen- tury. For two years he was employed as bookkeeper for the grain firm of S. W. Little & Company and for a year thereafter he was bookkeeper for the grain merchant, T. W. Lowry. In the fall of 1885 he became bookkeeper in the State National Bank of Lincoln, which then stood on the southwest corner of Tenth and O streets, on the site of the present Terminal building. At that time Erastus E. Brown was president and Kent K. Hayden cashier of the bank. Various pro- motions came to Mr. Freeman and in 1892 he was made assistant cashier. Late in 1892 he accepted the position of assistant cashier in the First National Bank and has since been closely connected with the latter institution. In 1897 he was advanced to the position of cashier and served as such until 1914, since which time he has been the active vice president, aiding largely in shaping the policy and directing the interests of the bank, which is one of the substantial institu- tions of Lincoln, carefully safeguarding the interests of its depositors and con- ducting its business along legitimate and progressive lines. Mr. Freeman is also vice president of the First Trust Company of Lincoln and of the First Savings Bank of Lincoln.
On the 11th of November, 1893, in Lincoln, Mr. Freeman was united in mar- riage to Miss Maude Smith, of Lincoln, by whom he has three children, namely : William Howard, a young man of twenty-one, who is a graduate of the Culver Military Academy of Indiana and is now a bookkeeper in the First National Bank; Margaret, who is now a student in the Martha Washington Seminary of Washington, D. C .; and Morton, a youth of thirteen who is a public school student in Lincoln.
Fraternally Mr. Freeman is a Mason and he belongs to the Commercial Club and the Country Club. In politics he is a republican well versed on the questions and issues of the day, but he has never consented to become a candidate for public office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, in which he has met with substantial and gratifying success. His advancement is the merited reward of ability intelligently directed and a wise use of his time, talents and opportunities.
ZALMON NICOLA.
Zalmon Nicola, who is living retired in College View, was formerly engaged in farming and gained gratifying success in that occupation. His birth occurred in West Virginia on the 18th of March, 1836, and he is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Cress) Nicola, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Virginia. The father, who was a farmer and blacksmith, went with his family to Ohio, where he remained until 1854, when he removed to Washington county, Iowa, where he purchased land which he operated until his death, on the 11th of February, 1876. His wife diedfini 1872. by Microsoft ®
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Zalmon Nicola received his education in the public schools of Ohio and Iowa and remained with his parents until he attained his majority. Ile then rented land for a year, after which he purchased a farm in Washington county, which he cultivated for about twenty-five years. At the end of that time, or in 1890, he removed to College View, and was for two years engaged in general merchandising. Subsequently he was appointed postmaster, in which capacity he served for sixteen years, his long continuance in the office indicating the acceptability of his services. He is now living retired, enjoying a leisure made possible by his well directed labor in former years. He owns a fine home in College View, two blocks east of the Seventh Day Adventist church, and also holds title to valuable business property.
Mr. Nicola was united in marriage, in June, 1859, to Miss Mary A. Kinsey, a daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Long) Kinsey, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania. Her father was a tailor and also engaged in merchandising for a time and was likewise identified with agricultural pursuits. In the spring of 1854 he removed with his family to Washington county, Iowa, and there pur- chased land which he operated for eight years. . At the end of that time he returned to New York and lived there until his demise in March, 1885. He had survived his wife for almost six years, her death having occurred on the 8th of April, 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Nicola have become the parents of four children, namely : Amos, who was born on the 12th of October, 1860, and lives in Scotts Bluff county, this state ; Benjamin, who was born on the 12th of June, 1865, and is living in Massachusetts; Charles C., who was born January 20, 1867, and for many years practiced medicine in Attleboro, Massachusetts, where he passed away February 6, 1911 ; and Daniel, who was born on the 10th of March, 1874, and is now manager of a sanitarium at Attleboro, Massachusetts.
Mr. Nicola has supported the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He served for some time on the town council and was honored by being elected the second mayor of College View. He has always regarded a public office as a public trust and his record as an official is a highly creditable one. For fifty-six years he has been a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church and his life has at all times been guided by the highest stand- ards of morality. He has done well the duties that lay closest at hand and has been recognized as a valued citizen of the communities in which he has lived. He has made his home in College View for many years and has won and held the friendship of those who have been closely associated with him.
HENRY NAHLEY ..
Henry Nahley, who was engaged in farming in Saltillo precinct at the time of his demise, was born near Buffalo, New York, on the 27th of July. 1846. a son of Henry and Catherine Nahley. The father was born in Germany and remained there for a number of years after reaching maturity but at length emigrated to the United States and located near Buffalo, New York. Ile engaged in farming there until he decided to try his fortune in the middle west and removed to Stanton, Iowa. He devoted his attention to farming in that locality
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and passed away upon his homestead. His wife, who was also born in the father- land, made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Catherine Brown at Hickman, Nebraska, until her death.
llenry Nahley grew to manhood in New York and attended the common schools in the acquirement of his education. He assisted his father in the work of the farm in New York and also gave him the benefit of his services for a time after the removal of the family to the middle west. In 1869, however, he was married and began his independent career. Fifteen years later, in 1884, he came to Lancaster county, Nebraska, and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land two miles east of Hickman. The place was under cultivation and was well improved when it came into his possession, but as the years passed he brought it to a still higher degree of development. He carried on general farming, raising both grain and stock, and both branches of his business returned him a good profit. He also purchased a half section near Blayden, which was a valu- able and well improved tract of land. He passed away in a hospital at Lincoln in May, 1903, at the comparatively early age of fifty-six years.
In 1869, at Chenoa, Illinois, occurred the marriage of Mr. Nahley and Miss Anna Liesveld. She was born in New York city on the 27th of October, 1850, and is a daughter of Richard and Martha ( Fandertams) Liesveld. Her father was a native of Holland but when a young man of about twenty-five years crossed the Atlantic to America and located in New York city, whence he subsequently removed to Chicago. Still later he lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and on leaving that city engaged in farming near Rockville, Grant county, Wisconsin. His next removal was to the vicinity of Malvern, Iowa, where he was overseer of a large farm. He passed away there and was buried at Malvern, although his body was later removed to Holland, Nebraska, and interred by that of his wife. She survived him for a number of years and came with her children to Lancaster county, Nebraska, locating on land which he had purchased near Hol- land several years before his demise. Her sons farm that place and she made her home there until 1879, when she was called to her reward. She was also buried at Holland.
Mr. and Mrs. Nahley became the parents of twelve children, as follows: Wil- liam Louis, who is farming in Grant county, Wisconsin ; Martha Elizabeth, who is at home with her mother; Hattie May, the wife of Ernest Krouse, a black- smith of Grant county, Wisconsin ; Lydia, deceased: Frank Edward, a farmer residing at Hickman ; Sarah, the wife of Carl Ewing, of Panama ; Lydia Johanna, the wife of August Berkemeyer, a farmer of Blayden; George Thomas, a car- penter residing at Malvern; Henry Andrew, who is farming in the vicinity of Ilickman : Julia, at home with her mother: Ida Dreka, who married Earl Lock- hart, a farmer of Blayden ; and Carrie, the wife of B. E. J. Garner, who is farming near Hickman.
Mr. Nahley supported the republican party and kept well informed as to the issues before the people but was not an aspirant for public office. He held membership in the German Lutheran church in his early life but later identified himself with the Dutch Reformed church. He measured up to the highest standards of manhood, and his friends still cherish his memory. He was suc- cessful in his chosen, occupation, gaining a gratifying measure of prosperity through his industry and good management. In 1914 his widow removed to
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Hickman and built a commodious two story home with all modern improvements in Garner's addition and there she now resides. She has a wide acquaintance and is respected by all who know her.
HENRY CHRISTIAN TIEDEMANN.
Henry Christian Tiedemann, who engaged in farming on section 6, South Pass precinct, was not only respected because of his ability and energy but was also held in warm regard because of his many excellent qualities of character. native of Germany, he was born in Schleswig-Holstein, on the 4th of April, 1847. and his parents were John Peter and Annie ( Kohrn ) Tiedemann, also natives of that country. The father devoted his life to farming and passed away in Ger- many in 1885. He had long survived his wife, whose demise occurred in 1804.
Henry C. Tiedemann received his education in the public schools of his native land and during his boyhood and youth was trained to agricultural work. In 1871 he served in the German army, seeing active service throughout the entire Franco-Prussian war. In 1873 he emigrated to America, having heard much concerning the splendid opportunities offered to the ambitious young men in this comparatively new country, and he at once came west locating in Chicago. He found employment as teamster for a wholesale feed company and remained with that firm for seven years. At the end of that time he determined to again engage in farming and accordingly came to Lancaster county, Nebraska, and bought eighty acres on section 6, South Pass precinct, and forty acres across the road in Buda township. His land was partly improved when it came into his posses- sion, and he at once began to still further develop the place. In 1889 he remod- eled the house, and from time to time he added to the farm buildings. In 1892 he purchased an additional eighty acres on section 7, and later he acquired title to a hundred and sixty acres on section 36, Centerville precinct. In 1912 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Buda precinct, which is now farmed by his son, Edward J. He kept all of his land in a high state of cultivation and derived a gratifying income from his farming operations. He was practical and thorough in all that he did and was also progressive, being willing to discard old methods for new when the latter had proved their value. He gained a gratifying measure of financial success and was recognized as one of the leading agricul- turists of his township.
Mr. Tiedemann was married on the 28th of June, 1874, in Chicago, Illinois, to Miss Magdelena Buhmann, who was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. on the 15th of October, 1848. She received her education in that country and remained there until 1873, when she came to America and located in Chicago. Her paternal grandfather, John Jacob Buhmann, was born in Schleswig-Holstein, where he passed his entire life and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Matilda Johnsen, died there in 1881. She too was a native of that country. Their son, John Jacob Buhmann, was born there on the 17th of June, 1817, and after completing his education engaged in farming. Ilis demise occurred in his native land on the 7th of Januarzesseb vielmuriel lift Margaret Schuh- macher, who passed away in Schleswig-Holstein on the 22d of October, 1802.
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Among their children is Mrs. Tiedemann, who has become the mother of six children, namely: Edward Johannes, who is farming near Princeton, Lancaster county ; Otto Peter, also a resident of this county ; Clara Catherina. the wife of Henry H. Schnutte, who is farming in Lancaster county ; Emma Matilda, the wife of Leon Egger, a farmer of this county; Emil Henry, who is farming the home place ; and Frieda Magdalena, the wife of Henry Leosing, a farmer of this county.
Mr. Tiedemann supported the republican party at the polls but was not an aspirant for public office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his farm work. He held a membership in the Lutheran church and its teachings guided his life. He passed away August 25, 1915. lle measured up to the highest standards of manhood, and his memory is held in honor by all who came in con- tact with him. His wife still resides upon the homestead and is a woman of many fine qualities, having a host of sincere friends.
CORNELIUS PORTER BECK.
Lancaster county is primarily an agricultural county and its rich soil is the chef source of its wealth. Among those who are successfully engaged in farming is Cornelius Porter Beck of Panama precinct. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born near Latrobe, Westmoreland county, on the 6th of August, 1860. His parents, Peter and Sarah ( Moore) Beck, were both born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, the former on the 16th of November, 1827. After completing his common school education, the father worked in the coal mines for a time and later farmed for Peter Socksman in Westmoreland county. In 1861, however, he came west, locating in Grant county, Wisconsin, where he operated rented lands until the spring of 1869. He then removed by wagon to Lancaster county, Nebraska, and settled on a homestead on Salt Creek in Saltillo township, which he had taken up in the fall of the preceding year. His place comprised eighty acres on section 23, Saltillo township, and he at once began to break the prairie sod. During the first summer the family lived in a tent, but in the fall he built a sod house and in the spring of 1870 erected the first frame house built on a hill in Lancaster county, all of the other frame houses having been built in the valleys. He engaged in farming his homestead until 1893 when he retired and took up his residence in Hickman where he built a substantial frame dwelling. Hle still lives there and is highly esteemed by his fellow citizens. In addition to his homestead, he owns eighty acres east of that place.
Cornelius Porter Beck began his education in Grant county, Wisconsin, and continued it in the public schools of Lancaster county, as he was but nine years of age when the family removed here. As a boy he also assisted his father with the farm work and after obtaining his majority remained at home for a number of years, aiding in the operation of the farm. Following his marriage in 1889 he rented a farm in Saltillo township and for eleven years he cultivated land belonging to others. In 1899, however, he bought eighty-three acres in the north- east corner of section. 4, Panama, township. That place was improved when it came into his possession, but he has brought it to a still higher state of develop-
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ment and gives his entire attention to its operation. He raises both grain and stock and derives a good return from both branches of his business.
Mr. Beck was married on the 13th of March, 1889, at Holland, this county, to Miss Louisa Theade, who was born near Muscoda, Grant county, Wisconsin, on the 22d of August, 1870. When she was twelve years of age she came to Nebraska with her parents, August and Minnie ( Krouse) Theade. Her father was born in Germany, on the 18th of September, 1840, but when still a boy emigrated to the United States and located in Grant county, Wisconsin, where he farmed for many years. After removing to this county, he followed agricul- tural pursuits here for four years, but in 1886 homesteaded land on Yellow Stone river, in Custer county, Montana, where he is still living. Ilis wife is a native of Wisconsin and her birth occurred in 1850. Mr. and Mrs. Beck have four children. Earl Clifton, who was born on the 7th of April, 1891, is a graduate of the State University of Nebraska, and is now completing his work for the degree of Master of Arts in that institution. Ray Porter was born on the 10th of March, 1893, and is farming with his father. Hazel Lura was born on Christmas day of 1899, was educated in the public schools and is at home. Floyd Pierce, the youngest of the family, was born on the 23d of February, 1910.
Mr. Beck supports the republican party at the polls, but has never been an aspirant for political office. He concentrates his energies upon the operation of his farm and his well directed labors are rewarded with a gratifying measure of success. He is recognized as a progressive and efficient agriculturist and his personal characteristics are such that he has gained many warm friends.
WILLIAM H. BIRDSALL.
William H. Birdsall was formerly a hardware dealer in Waverly but is now concentrating his energies upon the real estate and insurance business. He was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, on the 4th of January, 1865, a son of Henry C. and Harriet M. ( Park) Birdsall, also natives of the Dominion, the former born in 1829 and the latter in 1833. The father came to Lancaster county, Nebraska, in 1882 and located upon a farm, which he at once began to develop and improve. In 1884 he was joined by his family and engaged in farming in Mill precinct until his death, which occurred in 1911. Ilis home- stead was located on the old Mormon trail near the old Graham mill which was for many years a landmark in that section of the county. The mother still sur- vives and resides upon the home farm.
William H. Birdsall, who is the second in order of birth in a family of nine children, received his education in Canada and remained at home until he was twenty-three years of age. He then began farming in Mill precinct, but after a number of years devoted to agricultural pursuits removed to Waverly and engaged in the hardware business. He was successful in that connection and in 1914 and 1915 erected a modern and substantial business block, in which he con- ducted his store until he disposed of the property in the spring of 1916. He is now devoting his entire time to insurance and real estate audi building up a large business along those lines. He is thoroughly informed as to realty values
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and as to the property upon the market and has negotiated many important sales. He has also written a large number of insurance policies and represents only thoroughly reliable concerns. He owns city property in University Place and in Waverly and also holds title to farm lands in western Nebraska.
In February, 1897, Mr. Birdsall was married to Miss Minnie S. Hall, who was born in McGregor, Clayton county, lowa, and is a daughter of Cyrus S. and Lucina ( Rowen ) Hall, natives respectively of New York and New Hampshire. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, removed with his family to Red Oak, Iowa, and later to Greenwood, Nebraska, where he passed away in 1912, at the age of eighty-one years. His wife died in August, 1915, when seventy- eight years old. Mir. Hall was an enthusiastic Mason and was a charter member of the lodge at Greenwood, where he served as worthy master. He was also identified with the commandery at Red Oak and held the office of eminent com- mander. Mr. and Mrs. Birdsall have two children: Henry C., who was born on the 22d of July, 1902 ; and Adeline E., born on the 19th of December, 1905.
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