USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II > Part 5
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George P. Tucker was four years of age when he lost his father. Ihis early. schooling was obtained in his native county and later he attended the public schools of Walworth. New York, remaining with his mother until he attained his majority. He afterward followed farming and stock raising in the east and in 1856 he traveled through some of the western states, visiting Nebraska. In the fall of that year he returned to New York in time to cast his first presiden- tial vote for John C. Fremont as standard bearer of the newly organized repub. lican party. In the spring of 1858 he came west again and settled at Helena. Johnson county, Nebraska, where he purchased land and engaged in farming and stock raising. He constructed a house entirely of walnut timber, in which he lived for a number of years. When the Second Nebraska Cavalry was organ- ized his patriotic spirit prompted his enlistment and on the 21st of October, 1862, he became a member of, Company F, of which he was made quartermaster sergeant. He Wagpromote RynHANKOSOMierR sergeant November 13.
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1862, and was mustered out of the regiment in 1863 with the rank of sergeant major. This company was sent to the frontier in Dakota to serve against the Indians, who, filled with the spirit of unrest, had gone upon the warpath. Mr. Tucker rendered valuable aid to his country at that time and returned home with a most creditable military record.
In company with Benjamin F. Lysbaugh and Charles G. Dorsey. Mr. Tucker owned the town site of Helena, Johnson county. Nebraska, which they surveyed and platted in 1867. In the fall of 1866 Mr. Tucker was elected to the first legislature of Nebraska and was one of the men whose vote assisted in moving the capital from Omaha to Lincoln. He took an active interest in all questions that came up for consideration and cast the weight of his influence on the side of all those measures which he believed to be for the benefit of the new com- monwealth. In 1870 he was again elected to represent Johnson county in the general assembly and served as senator during the stormy session of 1871. As a legislator he was sagacious, farsighted and thoroughly reliable. He was a ready debater, clearly presenting his ideas, and the logic and force of his utterances carried conviction to the minds of his bearers. He hated wrong in any form and his allegiance to the right was incorruptible. No reward of favor. no threat nor frown of displeasure could turn him from the course which he believed to be for the best interests of the state. He walked firmly in the path of duty and his career commanded the respect of even those who opposed him politically.
Mr. Tucker was appointed receiver of the United States Land Office at Lincoln about 1872, during Grant's administration, and in 1873 moved his family to Lincoln. During his incumbency in the office it probably did the greatest amount of business as the immigration to the state was the heaviest at that time. Subsequently he engaged in the real estate business in connection with John McManigal. In this he continued until his death and in his business was very successful, wisely and capably directing his interests. He was thoroughly in- formed concerning realty values, knew the property upon the market and wisely conducted all of his affairs. Again he was called to public office, serving as the first water commissioner of Lincoln, and in that capacity he saved to the city many thousands of dollars by his rigid inspection of water pipe.
Mr. Tucker was united in marriage March 10, 1864, to Miss Nancy J. Smith, who was born November 1. 1843, in Republic, Seneca county, Ohio. She had come to this state in 1863 and was a daughter of Gaylord G. and Ada Z. ( Covey) Smith, who were natives of New York, both born in 1803. The father was a carpenter and contractor and went to Garden Grove, Jowa, at an early day, there spending the remainder of his life. Both he and his wife are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Tucker were born nine children: Charles A., a jeweler of Lincoln : Luther G., who died in 1911 ; George P., a veterinary surgeon of Lin- coln : Ada, who conducts the St. George photographic studio at the corner of Fourteenth and M streets. in Lincoln; Frank H., a veterinarian of Lincoln ; William L., also a veterinary surgeon of Lincoln; Laura K., who died in 18-8: Winifred M., a physician by profession, who became the wife of Dr. A. W. Ward, of Hampton, Nebraska, and died March 6, 1916; and Robert .A .. a veteri- nary surgeon of Lincoln, who died February 13, 1910.
After a short illness, Mr. Tucker passed away July 22, 1802. Since his demise Mrs. Tucker has managed the large estate
MAGihnTi Grief and has edu- Vol. 11-3
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cated her children, who have become honorable men and women, occupying a prominent position in the different localities in which they reside. Mrs. Tucker is a woman of innate culture and refinement, of gentle manner and yet of excel- lent business ability. It is well known that she has ever exerted a strong influ- ence for good in the community in which she lives and her life has been an effective force for right among her many friends and among her children. She possesses wide sympathy and love for all mankind and has ever been willing to extend a helping hand wherever it is needed.
In his political faith Mr. Tucker was an earnest republican and fraternally was an exemplary member of Lincoln Lodge. No. 54. F. & A. M .. in which he held all of the offices, becoming master. He belonged to the Congregational church and guided his life according to its teachings. He possessed many sterling characteristics but none were stronger than his irreproachable honesty. Wherever known he was held in the highest regard and most of all where he was best known. He had a circle of friends coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances and of him it may well be said :
"He was a man. - Take him for all in all I shall not look upon his like again."
WILLIAM P. PHILLIPS.
William P. Phillips, who was engaged in the loan and brokerage business at Lincoln, also owned a good farm and engaged in raising and selling stock on an extensive scale. His birth occurred in Cadiz, Ohio, on the 7th of August, 1842, and his parents were John and Eliza ( Gilmore) Phillips. The father was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, but the mother was born in Cadiz, Ohio. John Phillips followed the shoemaker's trade for a number of years at Cadiz and there both he and his wife passed away, her demise occurring in 1873. He died in 1859. They were married in 1828.
William P'. Phillips grew to manhood in his native state. lle learned the shoemaker's trade and when sixteen years of age began providing for his own support. Subsequently he became a clerk and later a partner in a book store in Cadiz, Ohio, but in 1871 decided to try his fortune in the west and canie to Lincoln, Nebraska. Ile secured a position as paying teller in the First National Bank and served in that capacity for three years. At the end of that time he was compelled to resign his position on account of ill health, but later he became vice president of the bank. Thinking that outdoor work would be beneficial, he purchased eleven hundred acres of land in Grant precinct, Lancaster county, and made many improvements upon the place. For a time he operated his farm per- sonally, but when he had recovered his health he hired others to do the actual work, although he continued to give the place his supervision. He fed a large number of stock annually and as he watched the market carefully was able to sell advantageously. During this time he lived in Lincoln and carried on a large loan and brokerage business. , Hlis residence was always on the corner of M and Seventeenth streets, and there he passed away on the 20th of May, 1893.
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Mr. Phillips was united in marriage on the 30th of October, 1867, to Miss Mary E. Craig, a daughter of William and Elizabeth ( Wallace) Craig, natives of Harrison county, Ohio. Her father, who was born March 15, 1816, removed to Fulton county, Illinois, in early manhood and devoted his time and energy to farming there until he passed away February 8, 1872. He had long survived his wife, who died in August, 1847. Mrs. Phillips was born in Lewiston, Illinois, on the 17th of February, 1847, and became the mother of five children, namely : William C., who was born in Cadiz, Ohio, on the 10th of November, 1868, was for two terms clerk of the district court at Lincoln and died on the moth of September, 1910; John G., who was born in Cadiz, Ohio, on the 17th of November, 1870, became assistant agent at Lincoln for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and died in September, 1902; Lucy E., who was born in Lincoln on the 17th of August, 1872, died on the 25th of May, 1895: C. Fred. born October 5. 1875, is residing in Lincoln ; and Frank T., born April 5, 1885, is a merchant living in San Benito, Texas.
Mr. Phillips cast his ballot in support of the men and measures of the repub- lican party and served as a member of the city council of Lincoln at the same time that A. J. Sawyer and J. Z. Briscoe were members of that body. He belonged to the Masonic order, and also to the Grand Army of the Republic, having enlisted in the Union army while a resident of Ohio and served at the front for one hundred days. Ilis religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, and he could be depended upon to further movements looking toward the moral growth of his community. He gained a gratifying measure of success in his business undertakings and also won the high esteem and warm regard of those who were associated with him for his salient characteristics were ad- mirable. Mrs. Phillips still owns the residence which he erected in 1871 but lives in a smaller house at 1641 M street, which she built. There are few in the city who have resided in Lincoln for as long a period and she is widely and favorably known here.
E. W. ROWE, M. D.
Di. E. W. Rowe, devoting his attention to the practice of medicine and surgery in Lincoln, was born in Roberts, Illinois, in 1880. Five years later his father, a Methodist minister, removed with his family to Nebraska, where Dr. Rowe attended the public schools in the various towns in which his father held pastorates. At the early age of sixteen years he was graduated from the high school at Palmyra and later entered the University of Nebraska, which institu- tion conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Science at the conclusion of his four years' course of study. Ile then took up the profession of teaching. which he followed for a time, and in Igot he was principal of the Randolph ( Nebraska ) high school. In the meantime he had received a scholarship from the Northwestern University of Chicago and with this he entered the medical department of that school in the autumn of 1001, being graduated therefrom with the class of 1905, at which time the M. D. degree was conferred upon hin. Periods of the years 1904/GHd /rowery sucionGitti@ in a Chicago
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hospital, whereby he gained a broad and valuable training and experience that can be obtained in no other way as readily and as thoroughly as in hospital practice. Following his graduation he returned to Nebraska, settling at Wood River, where he remained in active practice for three years. In 1908 he removed to Lincoln and during the intervening period he has risen steadily until he now stands in the front rank of the profession in the capital. He is practicing as a member of the firm of Welch, Rowe & Lehnhoff.
For five years Dr. Rowe served as a councillor of the Nebraska State Medical Association and for three years of that time was secretary of the council. His high standing in his profession is further indicated in the fact that in 1915 he was elected president of the state organization, being one of, if not the youngest, physician ever honored with the presidency of the Nebraska State Medical Association, an honor which has been accorded him in recognition not only of his marked ability as a member of the profession and the efficiency which he has displayed in practice, but also of his sterling personal qualities and of the high principles which actuate him in every relation of life. Dr. Rowe likewise belongs to the Lancaster County Medical Society and the Missouri Valley Medical Society, and is a fellow of the American Medical Association.
In 1905 Dr. Rowe was united in marriage to Miss Belle Harper, of Randolphi, Nebraska, and they have a daughter. Grace Gertrude. The breadth of his interests and activities is indicated by the fact that he is a member of the Lincoln Social Service Club, the Open Forum of Lincoln, the Lincoln Commercial Club, Wood River Lodge, No. 158, I. O. O. F., the Young Men's Christian Association and the Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is now serving on the official board. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is well versed in the vital and significant problems of the age, but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. He has always preferred to concentrate his energies upon his professional duties and he is now serving as a member of the surgical staff of St. Elizabeth's Hospital in addition to caring for a large private practice.
ROLLIN HARRIS GEORGE.
Rollin Harris George, the junior partner in the firm of George Brothers, printers, engravers and stationers of Lincoln, was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, June 14, 1873. He is a brother of Burton A. George, in connection with whose sketch mention is made of the family history. Ilis early boyhood was spent chiefly in Hartford, Wisconsin, and Exeter, Nebraska, and in both states he attended the public schools but was obliged to put aside his textbooks when quite young and go to work in order to provide for his own support. His residence in Lincoln dates from 1887. At that time he was fourteen years of age. Here he at once began learning the printer's trade and when he had mas- tered it he worked as a journeyman until 1894, when he and his brother Burton organized the present firm of George Brothers, now one of the best known printing and stationery firms in the state. Their total cash capital when they began business was fivezdollarsand/seventy.cents, which they possessed jointly.
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When Rollin George resigned his position to join his brother in partnership he was earning only nine and a half dollars a week. Both brothers worked diligently after launching their own business and in fact until within a few years they did practically all of the hard work in connection with the conduct of their business. As time passed on their patronage grew and the excellence of the work commended them to further public support. They ever realize that satisfied customers are the best advertisement and they put forth their effort to please. They are thoroughly acquainted with every phase of the printing business and today they have a patronage that is both extensive and important, their business having become one of the profitable industries of the city.
On the 20th of November, 1900, Mr. George was married to Miss Pluma MeMechan, of Lincoln. Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to East Lincoln Lodge, No. 210,. F. & A. M., in which he has filled all the offices, having for the past six years occupied the position of secretary. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp at Lincoln, No. 266, of which he is the present clerk, this being the largest camp in the state outside of the one at Omaha. Ile likewise has member- ship with the Elks, the Royal Highlanders, the Ancient Order of United Work- men, the Odd Fellows, the Royal Neighbors and the Eastern Star. lle is a supporter and communicant of the Christian Science church and he belongs to the Lincoln Commercial Club and the Lincoln Rotary Club. These different associations indicate much of the nature of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct. In politics Mr. George is a republican and is active in support of all those movements which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride but would never consent to become a candidate for office. Concentration upon business and cooperation in public affairs constitute the motto of his life and have brought him to an enviable position in the regard of his fellow citizens.
JUDGE CHARLES L. HALL.
From 1891 to 1808 Judge Charles L. Hall occupied the bench of the district court and his record as a jurist was highly creditable to the thoroughness of his legal learning, to his impartiality and to his understanding of the motives of human conduct. A native of Ohio, he was born in Jefferson on the 14th of December, 1855, a son of Albert S. and Cybelia ( St. John ) Hall, who were also born in that state. The father practiced law in Ohio previous to the Civil war, but on the outbreak of the conflict between the north and south he put aside all personal ambitions and enlisted in the Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry. Fle was wounded while in action and passed away on the ioth of July, 1863, from the effects of the wound. His wife survived until October, 1881.
Charles L. Hall grew to manhood in the Buckeye state and received good educational advantages, completing a course at Hiram College in Iliram, Ohio. Later he studied law and in January, 1882, was admitted to the bar at Columbus, that state. In the same year he removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, and opened an office here for the practice of his profession and the real estate business. In 1801 he was appointed judge of the district c Rd to that office.
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serving in that position until his death on the 24th of August, 1898. In his rulings and in his decisions he was notably just, allowing no considerations of privileges or favoritism to influence him, but determining his course solely on the facts in the case and the law applicable thereto. He held the sincere respect of the bar, and the people of his district realized that he was a jurist whose sole purpose it was to administer the law impartially.
Judge Hall was married on the 6th of May, 1880. to Miss Clara L. Stanhope, a daughter of Reddington and Mary E. ( Baker ) Stanhope. Her father was born in Lorain county, Ohio, and was a physician, practicing in Ohio until 1882, when he came to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he followed his profession until 1908. In that year he retired and he is still living in Lincoln, enjoying a period of well earned leisure. He has reached the advanced age of seventy-nine years. He has long survived his wife, whose demise occurred on the 14th of March, 1892. Judge and Mrs. Hall had two children : Burke S., who was born on the 16th of September, 1881, at Hiram, Ohio, and died on the 26th of January, 1906: and Mary C., born July 19, 1886, who is the wife of Ellery 1. Davis, an architect residing in Lincoln, and has two children, Ellery Hall, born December 23, 1912. and Mary Helen, born June 3, 1915.
Judge Hall was an advocate of republican principles and in 1889 represented his district in the state legislature. In religious faith he was a Unitarian and fraternally he was connected with the Masons. He was interested in the advance- ment of his community along all lines and through his membership in what is now the Commercial Club kept in touch with other public-spirited, progressive citizens. He was justly held in high honor by all who knew him, and his death was the occasion of much sincere grief.
LOYAL BURTIS HOWEY.
Loyal Burtis Howey, president of the City National Bank at Lincoln, was born in the village of Hannasville, Venango county, Pennsylvania, November 20, 1805, son of the Rev. John D. and Angeline ( Bowman ) Howey. Rev. John D. Howey, a Presbyterian minister, devoted his entire life to that calling. He was born in Pennsylvania of Scotch-Irish descent. He entered the ministry of the Presbyterian church in early manhood and at different intervals in his life was pastor of churches in Pennsylvania. Ohio, Illinois and Nebraska. He arrived in this state in 1882 and engaged in preaching at both Raymond and Fairmont. llis last years were spent in Hastings, Nebraska, but his death, however, occurred in Lincoln in 1895, his remains being interred in Wyuka cemetery. His widow is a resident of Beatrice, Nebraska. They were parents of six children, all of whom survive: Willis Clement and Loyal B., of Lincoln, Nebraska : Frederick Hamilton, of Beatrice, Nebraska : Clyde Glenn, of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania ; Marie Tenena, of Los Angeles, California ; and Ivy Belle, now the wife of W. C. Black, of Beatrice, Nebraska.
Loyal B. Ilowey in the acquirement of his education attended school in the towns of Vermont, Prairie Gity, Altoona and Kewanee. Illinois, putting aside his textbooks at the age of sixteen, after which he spent two years in farm work
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in Kankakee county, Illinois. At the age of eighteen he became a clerk in a general store at Knoxville, Illinois, where he spent one year, and in 1884, at the age of nineteen years, he came to Lincoln, Nebraska, and maintained his residence here until 1895. lle was first employed as a clerk in Lincoln in the dry goods store of Ashley & Millspaugh, then the leading store of the kind in the city. His ambition during these years was to engage in the banking business, but despite all of his efforts to secure an opening where a knowledge of the business might be obtained, none presented itself. Finally, however, he was offered the position of collector in the State National Bank of Lincoln at a salary of twenty dollars per month. He promptly accepted this, resigning his position with Ashley & Millspaugh, which was then paying him one thousand dollars per annum. He established himself in the confidence of the bank officials and was rapidly pro- moted until he was filling the position of bookkeeper. It will be interesting to note in this connection that four of the men then on the force of the State National Bank now hold high positions in the banking work. Its assistant cashier, Charles G. Waite, is now president of the Drovers National Bank at Kansas City, Missouri; the bookkeeper, Daniel G. Wing, is president of the First National Bank of Boston, Massachusetts ; the teller, II. S. Freeman, is now one of the vice presidents of the First National Bank of Lincoln, while Mr. Howey is president of the City National Bank of Lincoln.
Mr. Howey remained with the State National Bank from 1888 until 1891, when it was consolidated with the American Exchange National Bank, which then occupied the site of the present City National Bank on the northeast corner of O and Eleventh streets. Mr. Howey continued with the American Exchange National Bank for two years as bookkeeper and in 1893 was appointed to the position of national bank examiner for the state of Nebraska by James 1I. Eckels, then comptroller of currency, receiving the appointment strictly on his merit and fitness for the position, no political influence being used. He served for five years and in 1898 resigned to become cashier of the First National Bank of Beatrice, Nebraska. He and some of his friends had purchased a controlling interest in this bank, the doors of which had been closed previously due to the fact that the institution had been one of the victims of the widespread financial panic of 1893. It remained for Mr. Howey to revive the bank and again restore it to public confidence and public favor-a work which he splendidly accom- plished during his fourteen years' connection with it as its cashier and president, holding the latter position during the last five years of his relation to the bank. During this period he took an active part in the work of the Nebraska Bankers Association, which organization includes within its membership practically all of the banks in Nebraska, serving as president of that organization in 1907. In December, 1911, he sold his interest in the First National Bank at Beatrice to his brother. Frederick H. Howey, who succeeded him as president and so continues. Returning to Lincoln, L. B. Howey purchased a controlling interest in the City National Bank, becoming its president and assuming control on the Ist of January, 1912. This institution under his management has rapidly grown in public favor until today it is one of Lincoln's leading financial concerns. Its quarters have been more than doubled and the interior of the bank has been converted into one of the handsomest in the west, being planned along the most modern lines of bank interiorsitWhen Mr. HoweyyookschaffeThe City National
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ranked fourth among Lincoln's banks as to the amount of deposits and today ranks second, its growth being unsurpassed by any financial institution in the city. He is also president of the Platte Valley State Bank, of Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, and of the Nebraska State Bank of Bridgeport, Nebraska, is vice president of the Platte Valley Land & Investment Company of Scotts Bluff, is president of the National Accident Insurance Company of Lincoln and has other financial interests as a stockholder in other banks.
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