USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II > Part 59
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In 1875, at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mr. Grady was united in marriage to Miss Harriett Isabelle Elliott, who was born in Fond du Lac county, August 2, 1857. Her school days were there passed and her entire life has been spent upon a farm. Her parents were Charles and Elizabeth (Getman) Elliott. Her father was born in England but when six and a half years of age was brought to the United States, the family home being established in Racine county, Wis- consin, where his father engaged in farming. Later a removal was made to Fond du Lac county, where Mr. Elliott again carried on general agricultural pursuits. In response to the country's call for troops he joined the Union army, with which he served from 1862 until 1864, being a member of Company B. Thirty-second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was killed as the result of being run over by artillery in the campaign in Tennessee, at which time he was driving the horses attached to an artillery piece. This occurred at Memphis. Tennessee, and his remains were brought back to Rosendale. Wisconsin, for burial. His wife, who was born in Albany, New York, was reared in that state to the age of fourteen years, when she went to Wisconsin with her parents and was there married. Her death occurred in Ripon, Wisconsin. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Elliott were six children, of whom three are now living; Mrs. Sarah Gould, a resident of Colorado; Mrs. Grady ; and Mrs. Mary Dooley, liv- ing at Sheldon. North Dakota.
Mr. and Mrs. Grady have become the parents of a son, Frank Ellsworth, who was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, August 18, 1876, and is a mail carrier on the rural route out of Raymond. Nebraska.
Mr. Grady follows general farming and stock raising and has also made a specialty of raising hogs, principally handling Duroc Jerseys. His farm pre- sents a neat and attractive appearance, indicating the careful supervision of the owner. The home, too, is an indication of the provident care of Mrs. Grady and the household is a most hospitable one. An interesting feature of the house is an old china platter which belonged to the grandmother of Mrs. Grady.
In politics Mr. Grady is a republican. He was a member of the school board in district No. 19 for six years. Fraternally he is connected with Raymond Camp, No. 1529, M. W. A., of which he is chief forester, and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. He is a public-spirited man. actively inter- ested in the welfare land, progress of his community He is widely known throughout the county and high regard is entertained for him by all with whom
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he has come in contact. His generous spirit, his high purpose, his regard for the rights of others and his progressiveness in business, all combine to make him one of the respected and valued residents of this part of the state.
HON. GEORGE W. BERGE.
Hon. George W. Berge, member of the Lincoln bar, came to Nebraska from Illinois in 1890. He was born upon a farm near Peoria, Illinois, July 21, 1864. His father, Andrew Berge, who devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, was born in Germany, December 31, 1838, and was there reared and educated. He was the son of Andrew Berge, who was a shepherd. Andrew Berge, Jr., was married to Mary Nuenstermann. For four years he worked as the driver of a milk wagon in the city of Kassel and in that manner managed to save enough money to bring him and his future wife to America, but it took what he had saved in the four years to pay their passage. The voyage was made in a sailing vessel which was thirteen weeks in reaching the harbor of New Orleans. They made the trip in 1860 and from the Crescent City proceeded up the Mississippi river on a steamboat, from which point they traveled to Peoria. He located on a farm near Peoria where he lived for a few years and then removed to Henry county, Illinois, and afterward to Bureau county, Illinois, where both he and his wife are still living on a farm, the former having reached the age of seventy-eight years, while his wife is now seventy-six years of age. They are both still enjoying good health and are well preserved. In their family were six sons and three daughters and theirs is a very notable record for the family circle remains unbroken by the hand of death. The five brothers and three sisters of George W. Berge are Theodore J., of Bureau county, Illinois; Mrs. Rosina Pierce, residing at Laporte, Minnesota ; Anna, the wife of Charles Siebel of Grand Junction, lowa; Louis A., residing in Walton, Nebraska; Frederick O., of Kansas City, Missouri; Henry, who is now deputy state treasurer and lives in Lincoln ; Edward C., residing near Tampico, Illinois; and Mrs. Bertha McNicol of Dallas, Oregon.
George W. Berge was reared on a farm in Bureau county, Illinois, and con- tinned thereon until he reached the age of twenty-one. In the meantime he took up the profession of teaching and between the ages of sixteen and twenty- one he both taught and attended school and also spent some time in studying law, while in the summer months he assisted in the work of the home farm. In 1887 he entered a law office in Dixon, Illinois, where he pursued his studies for three years and in 1890 he was admitted to the bar at Ottawa, Illinois, being one of fourteen who took the same examination, in which he made the highest grades.
Immediately afterward Mr. Berge came to Lincoln where he arrived in 1890. His collegiate training had been received in the Valparaiso University of Indiana and Dixon, Illinois, and after being well equipped by a thorough professional training he entered upon the active practice of his profession. Advancement at the bar, however, is proverbially slow and in order to bridge over the time when his practice was limited and his fees were small, he taught school at College
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View for six months. Since 1891, however, he has devoted his entire attention to his law business and is one of Lincoln's leading attorneys, possessing one of the finest law libraries of the city, with the contents of which he is thoroughly familiar. He is notable among lawyers for the wide research and provident care with which he prepares his cases and also for the correctness with which he applies the principles of jurisprudence to the points in controversy.
On the 23d of July, 1893, Mr. Berge was married to Miss Cora Ott, of Audubon, Iowa, and they have two children : Wendell, born April 24, 1903, and Eleanor, born February 19, 1909.
A democrat in politics, Mr. Berge in 1900, was the candidate of his party for congress in the first district, which, however, is overwhelmingly republican so that he was defeated. In 1904 he was the democratic candidate for governor, but the republican landslide of that year on the Roosevelt ticket defeated him. The chief plank in his platform that year was the anti-railway pass idea, and his agitation of the question resulted largely in the passage of the law bringing about desired conditions. Mr. Berge has been the choice of a large portion of his party for candidate for governor on two different occasions since 1904, and he is today recognized as one of the foremost democrats of Nebraska. He regards the pursuits of private life, however, as abundantly worthy of his best efforts and takes keen joy in legal combat in which connection he has won many notable victories. He is a member of the Nebraska State Bar Association and the Lancaster County Bar Association. He belongs as well to the Lincoln Commercial Club, the Lincoln Country Club, the Elks lodge and the Modern Woodmen camp, while in connection with the efforts put forward to promote moral progress, he is active as a member of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal church and the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a man who would attract attention anywhere, being of distinguished personal appearance, appearing more as a clergyman or bishop of eminence rather than as a lawyer. He is a man of broad scholarly attainments, a deep thinker and logical reasoner, not only in his profession but upon all vital questions of general interest and such is his ability that association with him means expansion and elevation.
SAMUEL SYLVESTER GRIFFIN.
Samuel Sylvester Griffin has resided in Lancaster county since pioneer days and is one of the three men of Centerville precinct who still own the farms which they took up from the government as homesteads. In 1900 he purchased the land on which the town of Martel is located and still owns the greater part of the town site. He not only established the town, but has also been a most important factor in its development. He rebuilt the grain elevator, which he still owns and operates, and in 1910 he purchased a general store which he is now conducting under the name of the Martel Mercantile Store. Ile has been very successful in his business ventures and is a man of independent means.
Mr. Griffin was born near Colesburg, Delaware county, Iowa, on the 8th of September, 1850, /ofZthe marriage of Edwin and-Harriet (Lewis) Griffin, natives, respectively, of Franklin, New York, and of Sangamon county, Illinois.
MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL S. GRIFFIN
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The paternal grandfather, Sylvester Griffin, was born on the 28th of Septem- ber, 1800, and served in both the Mexican and Civil wars. During the latter conflict he was a member of Company F, Twelfth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and his death occurred on the 26th of May, 1862, as the result of a wound received in the battle of Shiloh. He was one of the men who went to Cali- fornia in the search for gold, walking from Davenport, Iowa, to the gold- fields, but he returned by the water route. While in Utah he worked for three weeks in the employ of Brigham Young. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Matilda Austin, was born in Vermont, on the 14th of October, 1800, and died on the 7th of May, 1857. Their son Edwin Griffin was born on the 24th of September, 1828, and received his education in the Empire state, but in 1842 accompanied his parents to Jackson county, Iowa, where he devoted his time to agricultural pursuits until 1846, when he enlisted in an Iowa regiment for service in the Mexican war. He was at the front until the close of hostilities, and then returned to Iowa where he continued to farm for a number of years. In 1865 he took up his residence in Gentry county, Missouri, and subsequently removed to Nodaway county, Missouri, and still later to Jasper county. After he retired from farming he still maintained his home in Jasper county, but his death occurred at Shelton, Buffalo county, Nebraska, in 1908, when he was visiting a son and he is buried at Grand Island, Nebraska. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Harriet Lewis, was born in Sangamon county, Illi- nois, on the Ist of May, 1831, a daughter of Samuel Lewis, whose birthi occurred in Pennsylvania, in February, 1766. He left the Keystone state in early manhood and became a pioneer settler of Sangamon county, Illinois. At the time of the War of 1812 he enlisted for service in the American army and at the close of hostilities was discharged in New Orleans and walked from that city to St. Louis. He was a man of splendid physique and lived to be more than one hundred years old, passing away in July, 1866, in Delaware county, Iowa. Mrs. Griffin, the mother of S. S. Griffin, was reared in Sanga- mon county, Illinois, but was married in Delaware county, Iowa, where she continued to reside until her death on the 4th of July, 1857.
Samuel Sylvester Griffin was reared upon the home farm in Delaware county, Iowa, and as a boy divided his time between attending the district schools and assisting his father, with whom, in 1865 he went to Tecumseh, Nebraska, making the journey with ox team and wagon. Later in that year he hauled government freight from Nebraska City to Fort Kearney, which was then upon the western frontier. He arrived in Lancaster county, Nebraska, in April, 1869, and homesteaded eighty acres of raw land on section 4, Center- ville precinct. He erected a frame house, twelve by fourteen feet, and at once started to bring his land under cultivation, farming there for thirty-one years, or until 1900, when he rented the place. He still owns the farm, how- ever, and derives therefrom a gratifying income. In 1900 he purchased a tract of land in Centerville precinct and founded the town of Martel, which is now a growing village. He still owns the greater part of the town site and also owns and operates the grain elevator, a harness store and the general store, which is conducted under the name of the Martel Mercantile Store. He is the leading citizen of Martel and Csupports /heartilySany project calculated to advance community interests. Vol. 11-29
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Mr. Griffin was married on the 2d of September, 1869, at Savannah, Mis- souri, to Mary Emma Walker, whose birth occurred in Iowa, on the IIth of March, 1848. Iler father, John Staman Walker, was a native of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and for many years followed the harnessmakers' trade in Savannah, Missouri. In 1869 he came to Lancaster county, Nebraska, and passed his remaining years here, dying in the vicinity of Martel in 1905. He married Miss Margaret Wadley, a native of Iowa. Mrs. Griffin died March 2, 1892, leaving five children: John Edwin; Samuel Henry; Frederick Earl; Wil- liam Lewis, now deceased ; and Emma Mae. On the 14th of February, 1893, Mr. Griffin was married, at Martel, to Miss Selina Livingston, who was born in Ohio. She is a second cousin of Dr. David Livingston, the great African explorer. Mrs. Griffin is a lady of refinement and high character, whom it is a pleasure to meet.
Mr. Griffin is a stanch advocate of democratic principles and for twenty years was a member of the school board of district 29, and for eight years held the office of justice of the peace. He was a charter member of the Knights of Pythias lodge of Sprague, in which he filled all the chairs, but is now affiliated with Damocles Lodge, No. 60, at Hickman. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in all relations of life he has conformed his conduct to high moral standards. In all of his business deal- ings he has been scrupulously honest and the large measure of prosperity which has come to him is the result of his keen insight, his enterprise and initiative. There are few men more widely known in the county and none who are held in higher esteem.
JOSEPH BLAKEWELL.
Joseph Blakewell, who has lived retired in Lincoln since 1900, has been a resident of Lancaster county for almost three decades and for a number of years was actively identified with agricultural pursuits, owning and cultivating an excellent farm of eighty acres in Grant precinct. His birth occurred in Eng- land, March 26, 1849, his parents being William and Elizabeth Blakewell, the former a native of England in which country they were married. In 1853 they crossed the Atlantic to the United States, taking up their abode in Brimfield, Peoria county. Illinois. In 1867 they located in Valley township. Stark county, Illinois, where they spent the remainder of their lives. The father was a farmer by occupation and successfully followed that pursuit throughout his active business career.
Joseph Blakewell, who was a lad of four years when brought to the new world by his parents, was reared and educated in Peoria and Stark counties, of Illinois, and after putting aside his textbooks turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits, which claimed his attention throughout his entire business career. In the year 1888 he came from Pottawattamie county, Iowa, to Lan- caster county, Nebraska, purchasing a farm of eighty acres in Grant precinct, in the operation of which he was busily engaged for a number of years the well tilled fields annually yielding golden harvests as a reward for the care and
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labor which he bestowed upon them. In 1900 he put aside the active work of the fields and took up his abode at No. 902 C street, in Lincoln, where he has since lived retired in the enjoyment of well earned rest.
In Stark county, Illinois, Mr. Blakewell was united in marriage to Miss Lina Breese, a native of Peoria county, that state, by whom he has two chil- dren : Ray, who is married and lives in Lincoln ; and Alma, at home. The par- ents attend the services of the Methodist church, and Mr. Blakewell gives his political allegiance to the democracy, while fraternally he is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His life has been upright and honorable in every relation and he well merits the esteem and regard which are uniformly accorded him.
HENRY WAALVOORD.
Henry Walvoord, who is devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits and is one of the highly esteemed residents of Nemaha precinct, was born in Valden, the Netherlands, on the 23d of March, 1851. His father, Garret John Walvoord. was born near the town of Winterswijk, the Netherlands, in 1818. He remained in his native land until 1870, in which year he came to America and located in Sonth Pass precinct, Lancaster county. Later he bought a relinquishment to a homestead comprising eighty acres on section 31, Nemaha precinct, built a good farm house and made his home there until 1890, when he retired from farming and took up his residence in Holland. Nebraska, where he passed away in 1898. His wife, who was also a native of Winterswijk and bore the maiden name of Berendina Princen, died there in 1904.
Henry Walvoord was reared in the Netherlands and in early manhood engaged in farming there, but in 1871 emigrated to the United States. After living in Kenosha county, Wisconsin, for a few months he came to Lancaster county and took up forty acres on section 31, Nemaha precinet, under the home- stead act. lle built a dugout on his place and began to cultivate his farm, but at the same time worked out by the month. In 1872 he bought additional land on section 31, bringing his holdings up to one hundred and sixty acres. He still resides upon his farm and in 1905 erected a fine modern residence. He is a general farmer and stock raiser and seldom fails to harvest good crops, while he receives gratifying profit from the sale of his stock.
Mr. Walvoord was married, on the 13th of November, 1874. at Holland, Nebraska, to Miss Everdina Tenhulzen, a daughter of John William and Johanna ( Sarens ) Tenhulzen both natives of the Netherlands. The father was born in 1816 and on coming to the United States in early manhood located in Sheboygan county, Wisconsin. Subsequently he came to Lancaster county, where he engaged in farming until his death in 1880. His wife died in Holland, this county, three years later, and both are buried in the cemetery there. Their marriage occurred in the Netherlands. Their daughter, Mrs. Walvoord, was born March 26, 1853, in Qestburg, Sherman county. Wisconsin, where she resided until 1870 when she dametto I anica tef counterCfr. and Mrs. Walvoord have become the parents of twelve children, namely: Garret John, who died in
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infancy ; Garret Jolin, the second of the name, who is engaged in the automobile business in Hickman; Hannah, the wife of Albert Te Selle, a farmer of this county ; John William, who followed agricultural pursuits in this county but passed away in 1914; Benjamin, who is in the automobile business in Hickman; John Henry, a farmer of this county; Derk, who is also farming in Lancaster county ; Dellie, the wife of Jacob Johnson, a stock buyer of Panama; Abraham, who is a mechanic and lives in Havelock; Jane Gertrude, wife of Ralph A. Moy, a farmer of Nemaha precinct; Isaac, who is assisting his father; and Rachel, at home.
Mr. Walvoord supports the republican party at the polls but has never been an aspirant for office. He and his family hold membership in the Reformed church of America at Holland, and his wife and children are active in the work of that organization. He is highly esteemed by all who know him and is a valued citizen of his community.
WILLIAM W. KRULL.
William W. Krull, a representative citizen of Lancaster county, alert, enter- prising and progressive, is now serving as assistant cashier of the Bank of Sprague. He represents one of the old families of the county, his birth having occurred in Centerville precinct, April 8, 1875, his parents being Frederick and Dora ( Haas) Krull, both of whom were natives of Germany. They came to the United States in young manhood and womanhood and were married in La Porte, Indiana. The father was a horseshoer and worked at his trade for a number of years. In 1861 he arrived in this state and spent two years in farm- ing at Nebraska City, after which he removed to Lancaster county. He home- steaded one hundred and sixty acres on sections 23 and 26, Centerville precinct, on which he resided until the time of his death, which occurred May 4, 1888, while his wife, long surviving him, died October 8, 1908. At the time of their arrivai this entire section was a frontier region, and it required great courage to meet the hardships which must be endured. The country was a wilderness in which deer, antelope, wild cats and catamounts were to be seen in abundance and the Sioux Indians outnumbered the white settlers. Most of the homes were dugouts, save here and there a log cabin. Mr. Krull constructed his dugout in the middle of December but did not have it finished, when on Christmas Day, a heavy shower filled it with water to the depth of a foot. That night it turned bitter cold and in a short time the water was frozen solid so that there was no opportunity of finishing the digging until the following spring. The family, however, occupied the dugout as it was, covering the ice with hay and a few old blankets, on which they spent their first night. The following day a fire place was built in the corner and by keeping a good fire they managed to get the ice thawed out sufficiently so that it could be broken up in chunks and car- ried out. The following spring the dugout was completed and served as the family home for seven years, when they began the construction of the present residence, which wastbuilt entirely /offlinestone, fquarried near Roca. All the lime used in the construction of the building was burned by Mr. Krull. Money
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was scarce and he had no thought of buying anything which he could make himself. All building material was hauled from Nebraska City, nearly sixty miles distant, and there were only two loads of lumber in the entire building. About twice a year a trip was made to Nebraska City for supplies and for the mail, for at that time it was their nearest postoffice. It was not considered safe for one or two men to attempt the trip alone because of fear of Indian attacks, and vet all hated to leave home because it exposed the wives and children to danger.
William W. Krull, reared on the old homestead farm, was educated in the district schools and at the Lincoln Business College. He then returned home and for twenty years was engaged in the raising of Duroc Jersey hogs, short- horn cattle and Percheron horses. In 1912 he removed to Sprague and pur- chased an interest in the Bank of Sprague, since which time he has given his attention to duties in that connection.
On the 17th of November, 1911, Mr. William W. Krull was united in marriage to Miss Blanche Graham, of Sarpy county, Nebraska. In politics he maintains an independent attitude, nor has he ever been an office seeker. He possesses considerable native musical talent, which has found expression in both vocal and instrumental music and which renders him popular in social circles. Mrs. Krull is a talented pianist, having pursued her studies under capable masters, including Professor Jones of Omaha, Professor Menzendorff of Lin- coln, and Professor Frank Nagel of Des Moines. She is studying at the present time under Professor Menzendorff. Mr. Krull belongs to Hickman Lodge, No. 256, A. F. & A. M., and Damocles Lodge, K. P. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church in which he is serving on the official board, and both are members of Rosemary Chapter, O. E. S. Their musical taste and talent are among the strong points of congeniality between them and they have been able to add much to the enjoyment of social occasions through their gifts in this direction.
ANTON KNOPP.
Anton Knopp, a general farmer of Stockton precinct, efficient and widely known, was born in Muscatine, lowa, on the 18th of June, 1856. His parents, John and Margaret ( Schmidt) Knopp, were born in Hesse, Germany. In 1846 the father emigrated to the United States and made his way at once to Musca- tine, where he resided for over fifty years. For ten years he followed the stone- mason's trade, but in 1856 opened a grocery store in Muscatine which he conducted until 1871, when he retired, dying there on the 28th of February, 1899. His wife passed away on the 16th of January, 1892. They were the par- ents of eight children, of whom four are living : George, John. Kate and Anton.
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