USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II > Part 52
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Eugene Hallett was reared to the age of fifteen years in Nantucket, Massa- chusetts, and there attended school, but never afterward had the opportunity of continuing his education in the schoolroom. At that age he accompanied his parents on their removal to Milford, Massachusetts, and two and one-half years later he went to Providence, Rhode Island, where he remained for another period of two and one-half years. He began to learn the jeweler's trade in the former city and finished it in the latter. By the time he had attained his majority he was regarded as a finished workman in his chosen line and at that time, or in 1860, removed westward to Leavenworth, Kansas, where his parents had located a few years before. He embarked in the jewelry business in Leavenworth in 1861 and there remained for a decade before coming to Lincoln. He has there- fore been almost constantly engaged in the jewelry trade for fifty-six years, the only interruption being when he removed from Leavenworth to Lincoln in 1871. The Hallett jewelry store is now located at No. 1143 O street, and is still conducted under his name, although the burden of the management is now borne by his eldest son, Fred A. Hallett. Throughout the intervening years the business has grown steadily with the growth of Lincoln and along the legiti- mate lines of trade and commerce Mr. Hallett has won substantial success that places him among Lincoln's well-to-do citizens.
In Ottumwa, Iowa, on the 8th of January. 1866, Mr. Hallett was married to Miss Martha J. Brown, of that place, who was then eighteen years of age. She has been his faithful companion and helpmate for fifty years, their mutual love and confidence increasing as time has passed on. She is descended from Revolutionary stock and her only daughter, Margaret E. Hallett, is connected with the Daughters of the American Revolution. To Mr. and Mrs. Hallett were born four children : Fred A., Margaret E., Hugh B. and William Eugene Scott. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Hallett have three sons, Eugene Sheklen, Hugh Sherman and John Henry! Con the SSthiof January 1916fMR and Mrs. Eugene Hallett celebrated their golden wedding. a memorable occasion to their children, grand-
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children and the many friends who were present. The dining room on that occasion was decorated with golden rings suspended from bells over the table. The light came from yellow candles and the place cards were in the form of a golden slipper save those for the bride and groom, which represented two wedding rings united by little doves. For a half century this worthy couple have borne together the joys and sorrows, the adversity and prosperity which checker the careers of all, and they have come to the evening of life rich in each other's love and confidence.
In community affairs Mr. Hallett has ever been deeply and helpfully inter- ested. He was at one time a member of the old Union Club of Lincoln, which later was merged into the present Commercial Club, in which he still retains his membership. He is also a member of the Elks Club and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics he has been a stalwart republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and in earlier life took an active part in politics and was often importuned to become a candidate for local offices, but always declined, preferring to do his public duty as a private citizen. He has ever stood loyally by those interests which have promised to prove of greatest benefit in the city's substantial upbuilding and his influence has ever been on the side of progress and improvement, right, truth and justice.
JOHN MUNN.
John Munn, who is serving as mayor of Waverly, has made an excellent record in that office, doing much to promote the interests of the town. He owns valuable lands in Waverly precinct and is there engaged in farming and in the stock business. His birth occurred near Ashland, Saunders county, Nebraska, on the 2d of August, 1879, and he is a son of Everett W. and Mary M. ( Pygall ) Munn, natives respectively of Bradford, Vermont, and New York state. The father was in the government service for many years and during part of that time served as assistant postmaster at Cairo, Illinois. During the Civil war, however, he became a resident of Nebraska and about the time of the close of hostilities he settled in Cass county, whence he removed to Saunders county about 1882, taking up his residence upon a farm four miles west of Ashland. In 1890 he bought land four miles north of Waverly, and there fol- lowed agricultural pursuits until 1904, when he retired and removed to Lincoln, where he passed away in 1908. To him and his wife were born five children.
John Munn, the third in order of birth, received his education in the district school and in the schools of Waverly, and during his boyhood and youth also gave much time to assisting his father. When eighteen years of age he began farming on his own account and has never seen occasion to change his occupa- tion. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Waverly precinct in 1008, an devotes his time and attention to the operation of that farm and to the stock business. He keeps from forty to fifty head of horses and mules on hand. and not only ships large numbers himself. but also buys extensively for other shippers. He is/an excellent fudge ofGodSanatathe watches the markets closely he has found that business very profitable.
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Mr. Munn was married, on the Ist of February, 1900, to Miss Belle Healey, who was born at Crete, Nebraska, and is a daughter of Edward and Jennie ( Reeve) Healey, the former born in Canada in 1837, and the mother in New York state in 1844. The family removed from Wisconsin to Nebraska by wagon in early days and located at Camden, near Crete. There the father engaged in teaching school, for ten years was principal of the Crete schools and later taught in the Lexington schools. For four years he held the office of superintendent of school of Seward county, and subsequently he taught in Milford, during which time his wife had charge of the primary room there. She died in 1895 and he passed away in 1908. He. was a man of marked public spirit and at the time of the Civil war enlisted in the Union army, at Kenosha, and gained promotion to the rank of first lieutenant. To him and his wife were born three children, of whom Mrs. Munn is the youngest. She has become the mother of two daughters and a son, namely : Kathryn Louise, Marian Frances, and Everett Edward.
Mr. Munn is a republican where national issues are at stake, but otherwise votes independently and is now serving as mayor of Waverly, and for four years has been a member of the board of education. He erected a commodious and attractive residence in 1915 and is one of the substantial men of Waverly. Wher- ever known he is highly esteemed and those who have been most closely asso- ciated with hin are his warmest friends, which indicates the genuine worth of his character.
J. WILLIAM NORDSTROM.
J. William Nordstrom, a successful and well known farmer of Mill precinct, was born in Östergötland. Sweden, on the 11th of June, 1846. His father died when he was but a year old, and as a boy he took the name of Nordstrom instead of his father's name, Peterson, in order to avoid being confused with numer- ous others who bore the name of Peterson. His mother is still living in Sweden and has almost reached the century mark.
William J. Nordstrom, who is the younger of two children, received a some- what limited education in Sweden as he was early compelled to go to work, and after his removal to the United States attended school in Henderson county, Illinois, for a short time. When only six years old he left his mother's home and went to live with another family, doing whatever he could to earn his board. Later, when he was a little stronger, he worked as a farm hand for wages, but in 1869 came to America. After living in Burlington, Iowa, for two months he removed to Henderson county, Illinois, whence he went to Warren county, that state. He was employed in a stone quarry for a time and later worked as a farm hand. In 1879 he removed to Jowa and followed agri- cultural pursuits on his own account for a year, but in 1880 came to Lancaster county, Nebraska, and purchased from the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad his home farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres in Mill precinct. Ile has since been/numbered among the progressivefagriculturists of this county and has invested in additional land, owning two hundred and forty acres in Rock
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Creek precinct, besides his homestead. He operates part of the farm and rents the remainder. In addition to raising the usual crops he is engaged in breeding cattle, hogs and horses. 111 1900 he erected a modern and attractive residence and has otherwise improved the farm.
Mr. Nordstrom was married in March, 1878, to Miss Selma Christine Ander- son, who was born in Kalmar, Sweden, where her parents passed their entire lives. In 1872 she emigrated to the United States and worked for others until her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Nordstrom have been born six children, Hulda Christine, Oscar William, Jolin Arthur, Esther, Alvin George, and Elvera.
Mr. Nordstrom indorses the principles of the republican party, but often votes a nonpartisan ticket, believing the qualifications of a candidate to be of greater importance than his political allegiance. He belongs to the Swedish Mis- sion church and has conformed his conduct to high ethical standards. The suc- cess which he has gained is doubly creditable in that it is the direct result of his own industry and wise management, for he has been dependent upon his own resources since early childhood.
GEORGE W. STABLER.
George W. Stabler has gained financial independence through his well directed activities as a farmer and stock raiser and now owns the Pleasant View Stock Farm, which comprises five hundred and sixty acres. He rents part of the land to others but with the assistance of his sons is operating the home quarter section. A native of Illinois, he was born in Bureau county, near Kewance, on the 4th of December. 1862, of the marriage of John and Emma ( Berch) Stabler. The father was born in England on the Ist of July, 1833, and in 1854 came to the United States and settled in Bureau county, where he became a landowner. After farming there for many years he retired to Kewanee, where he is now living. His wife, who was a native of Illinois, passed away when their son George W. was only seven years old. He is the second in a family of five children.
He attended district school in Henry county and also the schools of Kewa- nee. He remained upon the home farm until he was twenty-one years of age and then began operating a farm in Bureau county, Illinois. After two years, however, in the spring of 1887. he came to Nebraska, and for a year maintained his home in Waverly but at the end of that time, having completed his resi- dence and other farm buildings, he removed to his place in North Bluff pre- cinct, where he has since resided. He now holds title to five hundred and sixty acres of fertile and well improved land, which is known as the Pleasant View Stock Farm, and he personally operates the home quarter section with the aid of his sons although the remainder of the farm is rented out. He raises both grain and shorthorn cattle and at the time of his sale in 1916 had on hand about seventy head, of which fifty were registered. Ile expects to continue in the stockraising business but not so extensively as heretofore. The success which he has gained has been duei corthe@refuRattention which he has given to all of his work, his willingness to follow improved methods
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and his careful management of the business phase of farming and stock raising.
Mr. Stabler was united in marriage, December 27, 1883, to Miss Lucy Lyle, who was born in Henry county, Illinois, December 4, 1858. Her parents, William and Margaret (McCreath) Lyle, were both natives of Scotland but became early settlers of Illinois, where the father followed agricultural pursuits. Both have been called from this life. To Mr. and Mrs. Stabler have been born five chil- dren, namely: Pearl L., who married Laura Blodgett and who is farming land belonging to his father; Percy, who is also engaged in farming his father's land and who married Blanche Lafler; Gertrude, the wife of Paul Jerome Trumble, a farmer of North Bluff precinct ; Fannie E., a stenographer employed in Lincoln ; and Mabel L., who died at the age of four years.
Mr. Stabler is a stanch democrat in politics but has never sought office as a reward for his loyalty. He has contributed to the agricultural development of his locality and has taken an interest in the advancement of his community along other lines as well. His dominant qualities are those that invariably win respect and his friends are many.
JOHN B. GOCHNAUR.
Jolın B. Gochnaur, a highly esteemed retired farmer residing in Nemaha pre- cinet, was born in Wooster, Ohio, on the 6th of January, 1850. His father, Andrew Gochnaur, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on the 23d of August, 1823, a son of Jacob Gochnaur, who was a descendant of pioneer Ger- man settlers in the Keystone state. Andrew Gochnaur engaged in farming in his native county until 1851, when he removed by wagon and boat to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He only remained there a very short time, however, and then went to Richland, Green county, Wisconsin, where he worked in a sawmill for six months. He removed to Stephenson county, Illinois, purchasing a farin of eighty acres, eighteen miles from Freeport. He later added eighty acres and in time brought his entire quarter section of raw land to a high state of develop- ment. After farming that tract for thirty-five years he retired and removed to Rock Grove, Illinois, where he resided for a long time, after which he removed to Freeport, Illinois, in 1906. He was married to Miss Mary Anne Brenizer, who was born on the 14th of December, 1823, in Ohio, and was a descendant of early German settlers in that state. He passed away on the Ioth of June, 1907.
John B. Gochnaur received his education in public schools and in the high school at Davis, Stephenson county, which he attended for one year. He then taught school for some time in the Hickory Grove district, after which he went to Chicago, where he followed commercial pursuits for four or five years. In 1878 he went to Jewell county, Kansas, and homesteaded a quarter section of land four miles southeast of Jewell City. He remained upon that place for four years, during which time he brought the land under cultivation and received the patent from the government Several years later The disposed of it, but did not make a great deal of profit on the transaction, as he received less than
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ten dollars per acre. In 1882 he went to Chicago, but after six months returned to the homestead in Stephenson county, Illinois, and engaged in farming there until the spring of 1886, when he came to Nebraska. He located on section 34, Stockton precinct, where his father owned a half section, and here gained a start by purchasing thirty-four acres from his father. He added to his hold- ings subsequently and became the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres, which he operated until August, 1905, when he sold out and removed to Bennet, where he owns several lots and a handsome residence which he built. He also purchased two hundred and forty acres on section 4, Nemaha precinct, which was formerly owned by his father for twenty years and from the rent of which he derives a gratifying income.
Mr. Gochnaur was united in marriage at Chicago on the 12th of February, 1879, to Miss Adelaide Barney, a daughter of Sylvanus M. and Harriet ( Bris- bin ) Barney. Her father was born in Jefferson county, New York, and passed away in Illinois on the 28th of February, 1894. He became a resident of the Prairie state in early life and for many years engaged in farming in Will and Lake counties. The mother was born in Canada and died in Chicago in 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Gochnaur are the parents of five children, namely: Mary Edith, the wife of Samuel Hall, a farmer of Nemaha precinct ; Andrew Garfield, also farming in that township; Arletta Viola, who gave her hand in marriage to Silas Hall, a farmer of Nemaha precinct; Alice Amelia, who married Ward Potter, a farmer of Franklin county, this state; and Leo Gladys, at home.
Mr. Gochnaur is a stanch republican. He has served as a member of the district school board at intervals for the past twenty-five years and is now chairman of that body and also chairman of the Bennet high school. Within a year after his removal to Bennet he was appointed clerk of the town board and the following year was elected chairman of the board, which office cor- responds to that of mayor. In the discharge of his official duties he has always sought to promote the best interests of his community and as a private citizen he has manifested a marked public spirit, cooperating with all movements cal- culated to further the general welfare. He is connected with Altamaha Camp, No. 1276, M. W. A., in which he has served through all the chairs and in which he has been honored by election as venerable consul three or four times. The principles which have governed his life are found in the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he belongs. He was one of the early settlers of this county and through the many years that he has resided here has always been progressive, energetic and willing to subordinate his personal inter- ests to the good of his community.
JAMES SCHEE.
James Schee, president of the Bank of College View, which he aided in organizing, is a man of enterprise and sound judgment and has made that institution an important factor in the financial circles of Lancaster county. He was born in Harrison county, Ohio on the 3d of (February, 1813, of the mar- riage of Alexander and Alice ( Bimdley ) Schee, natives of Ohio. The father,
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who was a blacksmith, followed that trade in his native state for eighteen years, but in 1850 went to Van Buren county, Iowa, and in 1852 removed to Marion county, that state, where he turned his attention to farming. Later he settled in Warren county and there he passed away in 1893. He was survived by his wife until 1906.
James Schee was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the public schools. In 1864, at the age of nineteen years, he enlisted in Company I, Thirty-third Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the Civil war, proving at all times a valued soldier. After receiving his honorable discharge he returned home, and in 1866 he and his parents removed to Warren county, lowa, where he purchased land for five dollars an acre, now worth one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. He engaged in farming there until 1894, then came to College View, Nebraska, but after living here for three years he returned to Iowa. He remained there for five years, and at the end of that time again come to College View. He still owns his fine two hundred acre farm in the Hawkeye state, but is con- centrating his energies upon the affairs of the Bank of College View, which he and Professor Morrison organized in 1906 and of which he has been president ever since. He has followed a progressive policy but has never failed to provide ample security for the funds of stockholders and depositors, and the bank has the confidence of the community. He is also interested in three banks in Warren county, and one in Marion county, lowa, and holds title to one hundred and ten acres of land inside the corporation limits of College View.
Mr. Schee was married on the 29th of October, 1874, to Miss Angeline Starr, a daughter of Isaiah and Mary Starr, the former of whom died in 1907, while the latter is residing with Mr. and Mrs. Schee. Four children have been born to this union, namely : Charles E., who is farming in Colorado; Nora, at home; Edna, the wife of Albert Smith, of Chicago; and Josephine, who gave her hand in marriage to Curtis Rentfro, a student in a Chicago medical college.
Mr. Schee is an ardent supporter of the republican party but has never sought nor desired office. Ilis religious faith is that of the Seventh Day Adventist church, to whose teachings he is loyal. He is a member of a Grand Army post in lowa, and finds much satisfaction in the knowledge that he went to the defense of the Union at the time of its need. He has been successful in all that he has undertaken and is justly esteemed for his ability, and, moreover, his per- sonal qualities are such that he has gained the warm friendship of many.
ERNEST CAPRON AMES.
Ernest Capron Ames, lawyer and referee in bankruptcy in Lincoln, is a native of this city, in which he has spent his entire life. His birth occurred June 14, 1875, in the family residence then situated at the corner of Thirteenth and G streets, and he is the only child of the late Judge John Henry Ames, a lawyer by profession and commissioner of the Nebraska supreme court for several years. lle became a resident of-Lincoln in 1868 and here remained until his demise in IGHI. He was born in the state of New York in 1847, was reared and educated
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ERNEST C. AMES
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there and was admitted to the bar at Buffalo. New York, when twenty-one years of age. Immediately after, or in 1868, he came to Lincoln to enter upon the practice of law in the middle west, hoping to find here a favorable field for his labors. Only a year before had Lincoln been designated the capital of Nebraska. Judge Ames entered upon law practice in this city and for a third of a century or more occupied a most conspicuous and enviable position at the bar, becoming recognized as one of Lincoln's best known lawyers. For a considerable period he was a member of the law firm of Harwood, Ames & Kelly, which occupied a place in the foremost rank among the distinguished members of the Nebraska bar. He witnessed practically the entire growth of the capital city and contributed largely to its upbuilding. For several years he served as commissioner of the state supreme court, and he also assisted in revising the Nebraska legal statutes in 1875. He wrote the first history of Lincoln that was ever published in book form, it appearing in the form of a pamphlet in 1870. Many copies of it are still in existence.
It was in the year 1870 that Judge Ames was married to Miss Lydia Capron, a native of Ohio, who survives him and yet makes her home in Lincoln with her son, Ernest C. She was born in 1840 and therefore is now in her seventy- sixth year, but is still quite vigorous and well preserved. It was in 1911 that Judge Ames passed away and in his death the community lost one of its most honored and representative citizens and distinguished lawyers and jurists.
Ernest Capron Ames, the only surviving child of Judge Ames, began his edu- cation in the Lincoln public schools and passed through consecutive grades to the high school, from which he was graduated in 1892. He then continued his studies in the University of Nebraska and won the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1806. He continued there as a law student and in 1898 the LL. B. degree was conferred upon him, at which time he was twenty-three years of age. He then entered upon the practice of law in Lincoln and in the same year was appointed referee in bankruptcy for that part of the state which lies south of the Platte river. He has since continued to serve in that capacity, but since 1903 his chief business has been that of actuary of the Bankers Life Insurance Company of Lincoln. In 1915 he became a fellow in the American Institute of Actuaries. Since 1911 he has had his offices in the fine new Bankers Life building.
On the 3d of October. 1907, Mr. Ames was united in marriage to Miss Grace Andrews, of Fairbury. Nebraska. She belongs to the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution and is a 1901 graduate of the University of Nebraska. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children, Margaret Capron and John Henry, who are seven and five years of age respectively.
Mr. Ames is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and in politics he is a republican, as was his father before him. He is identified with the Lincoln Commercial Club, the Lincoln Country Club, the Lincoln Automobile Club and is one of the directors of the Bankers Life Insurance Company of Lincoln. He is also entitled to membership with the Sons of the American Revolution, as the Capron family was represented in the war for independence. He is interested in all those forces which work for the develop- ment and improvement of the districtin which he lives and his activity has been intelligently directed along lines which have advanced the general good as Vol. II-26
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