USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume II > Part 71
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1906. His wife, who was born in Rockford, Illinois, is still living and makes her home in Lancaster county.
Tom Welton, who is the youngest of a family of eight children, of whom six survive, attended the common schools at Cambridge, Illinois, and later was a student in several preparatory schools, including the Culver Military Academy in Indiana. In 1908 he entered Cornell University and completed an agricultural course in that institution with the class of 1912. He made his home with his mother until after he had finished his education. In the summer of 1912 he came to Lancaster county and took charge of the farm on which he has since lived. The land has been in possession of the family for a number of years and is now owned by the mother. The farm comprises two hundred and eighty acres on section 12, Waverly precinct, and is one of the most valuable properties of the locality. The land is in a high state of cultivation, the improvements are thoroughly modern and everything is kept in excellent condition. Mr. Welton personally cultivates this place and specializes in the breeding of Duroc Jersey hogs. It is his intention to engage in the raising of pure bred Jersey cattle and Percheron horses in the near future and his progressiveness, his enterprise and his business acumen insure his success. He has given the management of his farm work careful thought and study, and although a young man, ranks among the most efficient agriculturists of the county.
Mr. Welton is a republican in politics but is not active in public affairs. Fraternally he is connected with Habasco Lodge, No. 716, A. F. & A. M., at Ithaca, New York, and with the Elks lodge at Lincoln. In religious faith he is an Episcopalian. He is highly respected throughout the county and his per- sonal friends are many.
ADAM BAX.
Adam Bax, one of Lincoln's pioneer settlers, was born in Germany on the 17th of December, 1828. He grew to manhood in his native country, received his education in the public schools and served in the army from 1848 to 1852. In the latter year, having heard much concerning the splendid opportunities offered to energetic young men in America, he emigrated to this country and located in New York. Later he removed to Missouri and at the time of the Civil war enlisted in the Twenty-first Missouri Volunteer Infantry for three months. Contrary to expectations, the war was not over at the end of that time and he reenlisted in the Seventh Missouri Cavalry, later becoming a member of the Fourtieth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of hostilities. During a battle he received a wound in the chest which caused him to lose the use of one of his lungs. When peace had been restored, he was discharged from the army at Memphis, Tennesse, where he maintained his residence for some time. Later he went to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he fol- lowed the shoemaker's trade until 1868, in which year, on the 16th of July, he arrived in Lincoln, driving from Missouri with a team. He devoted his time to his trade until about 1871, when he was sent by the state of Nebraska as emi- gration agent to Germany, where he remained for one year. He then returned
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MR. AND MRS. ADAM BAX
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to Lincoln and again turned his attention to the shoemaker's trade. At one time he was employed by C. B. Parker in connection with the tombstone business, and later engaged in selling sewing machines for W. A. Doggett, while at another period he represented Davison, Shamp & Company in the implement and machine business. About that time there was a syndicate of Lincoln men organized to give work to the convicts at the penitentiary, starting a shoe factory, and Mr. Bax was engaged to take charge of the shoe shop, in which connection he had twenty-three convicts working under his direction. He left that position to become one of the first six mail carriers of Lincoln, his work being to make two deliveries of mail each day as well as gather up the mail from the boxes over his district and bring it to the office before six o'clock in the morning. His route was bounded by Salt Creek on the West, Twentieth street on the cast and extended from G street to the city limits south beyond South street. As he would not work under a demo- cratic administration, he resigned his position following the election of President Cleveland. Afterward he was appointed the carrier of the mails between the state house and postoffice, which position he filled for ten years, and for seven years he efficiently and capably served as assessor in the fifth ward of Lincoln. He passed away here on his eighty-seventh birthday-the 17th of December, 1915- rich in years and in the honor of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Bax was married March 25. 1865, to Mrs. Louisa E. ( Lindsay) McDonald, who was born in Harrisburg, Mercer county, Kentucky, April 24, 1836, daughter of Jacob and Minerva ( Hally) Lindsay, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Kentucky. Her father engaged in contracting in Harrisburg, Kentucky, for many years and passed away there in 1854, while his wife survived until 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Bax became the parents of a child, Richard Thomas, who was born on the 19th of April, 1868, and who died in the following November. They also reared two children, nieces of Mrs. Bax, namely: Minerva M., who is the wife of A. M. Thomas, of Tacoma, Washing- ton, and has four children-Lulu M., Lydia R .. Richard E. and Louisa M .; and Mary E., who married J. W. French, a resident of Lincoln, and has a daughter, Muriel L., born in July, 1904. Mrs. Bax was first married to Jay McDonald, becoming his wife on the 27th of January, 1857, and to them were born two children, both of whom died in infancy. Mr. McDonald served in the Civil war and passed away in 1863 from disease contracted at the front. Mr. and Mrs. Bax lived to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary on the 25th of March, 1915, and occupied the same house from 1870 until their death.
Mr. Bax was a stanch advocate of republican principles and could be depended upon to further the success of the party in any way possible. In all of his official service he discharged his duties capably and conscientiously. Mr. Bax was always a stanch friend of Governor John M. Thayer, who was a member of the Bax household for five years following his term of office as governor and after the death of his wife. Mrs. Bax had the honor of making the first American flag which was unfurled to the breeze in Lincoln. The bunting from which the flag was made was furnished by the Grant and Tanner Club in the year 1868. The flag was twenty-one feet long and the stars were placed in such a way as to form one big star. Among her cherished possessions Mrs. Bax had a small paper called the Daily Citizen, bearing the dlate July 2. 1863. It was published at Vicks- burg during the war and recounted the news of the southern armies. It was
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printed on wall paper and on just one side of the sheet. Mr. Bax belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic and his wife to Appomattox Relief Corps. He was also identified with the Odd Fellows and both were members of Charity Lodge, No. 2, of the Rebekahs. Mr. Bax was instrumental in securing the estab- lishment of a German Methodist church in Lincoln, and took an active and help- ful part in its work. Mrs. Bax was likewise an earnest Christian, holding mem- bership in the Trinity Methodist church, and she was one of the most charitable women of the city. Her death occurred May 2, 1916. She never rallied from the shock of her husband's death in the previous December and gradually grew weaker until the end came. Her many admirable qualities and kindly spirit gained for her a large circle of warm friends who sincerely mourned her death. All who knew Mr. and Mrs. Bax held them in the highest esteem and in their passing Lincoln lost two of its most worthy and honored pioneer residents.
ALLEN BARBER.
Allen Barber, one of the prominent and successful dairymen of Nebraska, conducts his interests along scientific lines with splendid equipment for carrying on his work, the Barber farm being one of the highly improved properties of Lancaster county. He was born at Westerly, Rhode Island, June 12. 1841, a son of Thomas James and Roxcy A. (Lewis) Barber. The father was born at Hopkinton. Rhode Island, and the mother at Voluntown, Connecticut. His early life was devoted to farming but later he turned his attention to merchandising, establishing a hardware store in Westerly, Rhode Island, where he spent the residue of his days. His wife passed away in Nebraska.
Allen Barber was reared in his native state, acquiring a common school educa- tion, and he began farming on his own account near Hartford. Connecticut. where he lived for six years. He then settled in Knox county, Illinois, near Center Point, where he owned and cultivated land. and in 1872 he purchased land in North Bluff precinct, Lancaster county, Nebraska, taking up his abode there on the following year. For thirty-two years he engaged in farming and dairying. Pro- fessor Haecker of the Nebraska State University experiment farm pronounced Mr. Barber's the best dairy barn and his the best herd of Holstein cattle in the state. He was the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land which he converted into productive fields and rich pastures. Although distant from Lincoln only seven miles, in the early days he had to take a circuitous route of fifteen miles, having to follow the ridge, as there were no bridges across the streams, while many sloughs impeded progress. As the years passed on Mr. Barber gave undivided attention to the development of his dairy farm and for seven consecutive years he supplied the Lincoln Hotel with cream and butter, besides having many regular customers. He also raised vegetables, for which he found a ready market in Lincoln. When upon his larger farm he built there an extensive dairy barn which was erected with a view to sanitary conditions as well as the housing of the tstock @ He embodied @the most @practical and progressive ideas, for his business experience had brought him accurate knowledge of needs
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and necessities in connection with dairy farming. His barn was ninety by ninety feet, and thirty feet on each end of the barn was used for hay. In the center of the building was a sixteen foot drive into which the hay was taken for unloading into either end of the barn. On one side of the drive were two bins for ground feed and grain, and on the other side was found the separating and butter making room, with a cement floor. Extending from the main barn were three wings running parallel with each other and divided by walls. These wings were each sixty feet long by thirty feet wide, and the two outer ones were used for cows and other cattle, while the middle wing was used for housing farm tools and machinery and also contained a one thousand bushel corn erib, where the grinding was done by means of horse power. The dairy barn was built with a view to perfect sanitation, ventilation and cleanliness. Mr. Barber raised thoroughbred Holsteins and milked from thirty to forty cows. After success- fully managing his large dairy farm for a long period Mr. Barber sold that property and bought a smaller tract of land in Havelock upon which he has erected a fine residence and good barn. His son owns land adjoining his father's and is engaged in dairying.
In Connecticut Mr. Barber was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Ellen Brown, whose birth occurred at North Stonington, that state, in May, 1843. Her brother, Cyrus W. Brown, who is still alert and active at the advanced age of eighty-six years, has compiled a three-volume genealogy of the Brown family dating back to 1628. To Mr. and Mrs. Barber were born two children, one of whom died in infancy. The surviving son, A. L. Barber, lives on a farm adjoin- ing that of his father. He wedded Miss Minnie Wilhelm, a daughter of Levi Wilhelm, whose sketch appears on another page of this work, and they have three children, Henrietta Elizabeth, Margaret and Allen Levi.
Mr. and Mrs. Allen Barber have been members of the Baptist church for many years, loyal to its teachings and active in its work. In politics Mr. Barber is a republican but has never been an office seeker, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. Ile may be justly proud of his record as a successful farmer and dairyman, for at all times he was actuated by a progressive spirit that recognized the practical value of ideas set forth in dairy circles and utilized them for the benefit and improvement of his farm and his herd. He deserves great credit for what he accomplished and his work set a standard for other dairymen of the county and state.
FRANK FORD MILES.
Among the enterprising and successful financiers of Lancaster county is numbered Frank Ford Miles, who organized the Bank of Sprague in 1910 and has since served as cashier of that institution. He was born in Grafton, Fillmore county, Nebraska, February 8, 1875, and is a son of Charles C. and Eva (Wil- liams) Miles. The former, a native of Stow, Massachusetts, where he grew to manhood and received his education, engaged in the butcher business, but in 1861 put aside all personal interests and enlisted at Kewanee, Illinois, in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which command
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he served until the close of the Civil war. He participated in the siege of Vicks- burg and many other important engagements. After being mustered out he returned to Illinois and remained there until 1871, when he homesteaded land near Grafton, in Fillmore county, Nebraska. Ile engaged in farming there for many years, but in 1900 he retired from active life and took up his residence in Geneva, Nebraska, where he is still living. His wife, who also survives, was born near Toledo, Ohio, and was there reared. In early womanhood she became a resident of Kewanee, Illinois, and there her marriage occurred.
Frank F. Miles passed his boyhood and youth upon the home farm in Fill- more county, Nebraska, and in the acquirement of his education attended the dis- trict schools and the Grafton high school. For fourteen years he worked as a telegrapher for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, but in 1910 came to Sprague, and organized the Bank of Sprague, of which he has since served as cashier. He has proved very capable in that capacity, directing the affairs of the institution so as to protect the interests of the depositors and at the same time carn good dividends for the stockholders. He gives his entire time to the busi- ness of the bank and is making a highly creditable record in his professional capacity.
Mr. Miles was married, at Germantown, Nebraska, November 17, 1902, to Miss Myra Gibbs, who was born in Kingston, Illinois, on the Ist of March, 1872. Her father, Dwight Gibbs, was a brick-mason by trade and was living at Topeka, Kansas, when his death occurred. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Brown, is still residing in that city. Mrs. Miles graduated from the Topeka high school and taught school in Seward county, Nebraska, for some time before her marriage. She is a woman of excellent judgment and is now serving as vice president of the Bank of Sprague. She is a member of Rosemary Chapter, No. 240, O. E. S., at Hickman, in which she has held some offices, and her religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Miles is also a member of that church and fraternally he is connected with Hickman Lodge, No. 256, A. F. & A. M., of which he has been secretary and has held other offices; Rosemary Chapter, No. 240, O. E. S., at Hickman ; Damocles Lodge, No. 94, K. P., at Hickman ; and Sprague Camp, No. 1577, M. W. A., in which he has filled all of the chairs. He was formerly identified with the Order of Railroad Telegraphers, Division No. 130, and held the office of local chairman. Since his removal to Sprague he has gained the confidence of all who have had dealings with him and personally is popular.
JOHN ROBERTSON.
John Robertson, a retired agriculturist living in Panama precinct, has resided upon his present farm for forty years. He was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the 13th of February, 1845, a son of Gilbert Douglas and Elizabeth (David- son ) Robertson, both natives of Lanarkshire, the former born in May, 1813, and the latter in 1817. The father served an apprenticeship for seven years to the stonemason's trade after completing a common school education and worked at his trade in his native country until 1849. He then crossed the Atlantic to the
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United States with his wife and four children and spent six months in Brooklyn, New York, but at the end of that time went to Cannelton, Perry county, Indiana. He was employed on the construction of a cotton factory there and remained in that town for two years. He next went to Clayton county, Iowa, where he bought eighty acres of timber land for a dollar and a quarter per acre. He at once erected a log house and set about clearing his land, which he cultivated for fifteen years, but at the end of that time, in the spring of 1806, he removed to Colony township, Delaware county, Iowa. He rented land on the prairie there for two years, but in 1868 he sold his farm in Clayton county and pur- chased eighty acres in New Vienna township, Dubuque county, Iowa, part prai- rie and part timber land. The place was improved with a log house and a few other rude buildings, and the family took up their residence there. In the fall of the following year, however, Mr. Robertson sold the farm and came with his family to Panama precinct, Lancaster township, Nebraska, homesteading eighty acres on section 12, Panama precinct. He soon had the prairie sod broken and under cultivation, and he erected a substantial frame house and other build- ings upon the place and made other improvements which greatly increased the value of the farm. After operating it for a few years he retired and turned the farm over to our subject. He continued to reside on the homestead, how- ever, until called by death on the 4th of February, 1890. His wife survived until July, 1893, and both are buried in the Panama cemetery.
John Robertson has passed the greater part of his life in this country as he was but three and a half years of age at the time of the emigration of the family to the United States. During his boyhood and youth his time was taken up with attending the public schools and assisting his father with the farm work, and he thus received training which well fitted him for the duties and responsibilities of life. He has been a resident of Lancaster county since February, 1870, and concentrated his energies upon the operation of the family homestead on section 12, Panama precinct, until 1883, when he removed to his own farm of two hun- dred acres in the same precinct, which he had purchased in 1876. The place comprises one hundred and twenty acres on section II and eighty acres on section I and was raw prairie land when he purchased it from the railroad but is now one of the most highly developed farms of the township. He has oper- ated that place continuously for thirty-three years and has seldom failed to harvest good crops. He also has given considerable attention to the raising of Poland China hogs and a good grade of cattle and horses. His residence, which is an attracitve farm home, is on section 11. He likewise owns considerable property in the town of Panama.
In Panama township, on the 2d of December, 1880, Mr. Robertson was united in marriage to Miss Isabella Dickson, who was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the 19th of February, 1849. Her parents, John and Isabella ( Rogers) Dick- son, were born respectively in Hamilton and Larkhall, Lanarkshire. The father's natal day was July 28. 1815, and he was educated in the schools of his native city. He followed the miller's trade in Scotland until 1871. when he came to America and settled near Earlville, Delaware county, Iowa. He purchased forty acres of raw land, which he improved and farmed until his demise. His wife also passed away upon the homestead. Mrs. Robertson came to Lancaster county, Nebraska, in 1879, and was married in the following spring. Mr. and Vol. 11-35
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Mrs. Robertson have had two children: Douglas Gilbert, who was born upon the homestead September 14, 1882, and died in infancy; and Gilbert Douglas, who was born June 21, 1884, and is now operating that place.
Mr. Robertson casts his ballot in support of the men and measures of the republican party and for fifteen years served on the school board of district 28. He is identified with Panama Lodge, No. 220, I. O. O. F., and has been very active in the affairs of that organization, having passed through all the chairs and having served as a delegate to the Grand Lodge of Nebraska. He is widely known throughout the county, and his integrity and enterprise have won him a high place in the estimation of all who know him.
HON. WILLIAM FOSTER.
William Foster, who has resided in Lincoln for eight years, has been holding an important position with the State Fair since 1909 and has made an excellent record in that connection. He is also a member of the state legislature and his service during his first term received indorsement in his nomination for a second term at the party primaries in the spring of 1916. Ile engaged in farming previous to his removal to Lincoln and also met with a gratifying degree of suc- cess in that occupation. His birth occurred in Iowa City, Johnson county, Iowa, on the 20th of May, 1865, and he is a son of William Henry and Darcena (Cam- bridge ) Foster, the former a native of Erie, Ohio. They settled in Iowa in the carly history of that state and the father concentrated his energies upon farming there.
William Foster remained in Iowa City until he was twelve years of age, but in 1877 came with his parents, by wagon, to Lancaster county, leaving lowa City on the Ist of October and arriving in Lancaster county on the 28th of that month. The family home was established on one hundred and sixty acres of raw land on sections t and 2, Centerville precinct, which William Foster assisted his father in operating. He received thorough training in agricultural pursuits during his youth and on reaching mature years decided to follow the occupation to which he had been reared. He continued upon the homestead and for many years engaged in farming and stock raising. He kept in touch with the latest methods in agricultural work and his enterprise and progressiveness enabled him to gain a gratifying return from his labor. In 1908 he rented his land and removed to Lincoln in order to give his daughter the advantages of the excellent schools here. Ile has since lived at No. 2011 South Eighteenth street and is one of the most valued residents of the town. In 1901, while still living on the farm, he was appointed general superintendent of the Nebraska State Fair at Lincoln and in 1900 was made superintendent of the state fair grounds and superintendent of construction. His duties in these connections required a great deal of his time and attention and the success of the fair, which has become an important factor in the advancement of the agricultural and stock raising interests of theDatei fiszdue/ largelyMo chis energeti Rand careful attention to details. He is also Secretary of the Lancaster County Farmers' Mutual Insurance
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Company and his business acumen and sound judgment have been important factors in the management of that corporation.
Mr. Foster was married on the 24th of November, 1886, at Saltillo, Lan- caster county, to Miss Mary E. Damrow, who was born in La Fayette, Indiana, on the 24th of June, 1867, and is a daughter of John and Catherine (Geyer) Damrow. Mrs. Foster became a resident of this county in 1881 and has since resided here. By her marriage she has become the mother of a daughter, Wilma, who was born in Yankee Hill precinct, on the 2d of December, 1900, and is now a student in the Lincoln high school.
Mr. Foster is one of the leaders of the democratic party in eastern Nebraska and has been honored by election to the state legislature. He served during the session of 1915 and 1916 and proved an able working member of the house. He was on the committee on state institutions, on the miscellaneous committee, on the committee on agriculture and on the sifting committee, which has as its functions the sifting of the various bills before the house. Mr. Foster not only did efficient work in the committee room, but also gained a reputation as a force- ful worker. He introduced a number of bills pertaining to agricultural matters and was also the author of the bill which provided for buying the site for the Home for Dependent Children. His course in the legislature has met with the approval of his constituents and in the primaries in 1916 he was nominated for reelection. In 1900 he was appointed steward of the State Hospital, at Lincoln, by Governor Poynter and held that important office until 1902. He is also well known through his connection with the Knights of Pythias, as he has not only held all of the chairs in the local lodge at Hickman, but has also rep- resented the lodge of Roca, with which he is now identified, in the grand lodge and is now serving as a member of the finance committee of the grand lodge. He is also affiliated with Rokeby Lodge, No. 1955, M. W. A., and with Jamaica Lodge, No. 292, A. O. U. W., in which he has filled all the offices Ilis religious faith is that of the Methodist church and its teachings are the guiding principles of his life.
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