USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 2
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Realizing the city's need along another line, he became one of the original five men who built the first motor railway in the city and remained an active factor in its management and operation until it was consolidated with the Omaha Street Railway Company, of which he became a director and a member of the executive committee. For many years he was a director and the vice president of the Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway & Bridge Company and then his public spirit again found expression in his untiring efforts to promote the Trans-Missis- sippi International Exposition, which was held in 1898. He was one of the organizers of the company and in fact the first meeting in which the plan was discussed was held at his home. He became one of the directors of the corporation and labored most effectively and untiringly to make the exposition what it was- an artistic gem as well as a financial success. In 1880 he was one of the ten men who purchased and equipped the fair grounds in the northern part of Omaha, where the state fairs were held and where the Omaha Fair & Exposition Associa- tion, of which he was an officer, gave yearly exhibitions. In 1882-83 he was treasurer of the Douglas County Agricultural Association and he became one of the organizers and the president of the Forest Lawn Cemetery Association, occupy- ing that office for a number of years.
On the Ist of March, 1865, in Florence, Nebraska, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Missouri Kennedy, a daughter of Captain George F. and Margaret (Wood- ney) Kennedy. The father came from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and was of Quaker parentage. He arrived in Nebraska in 1856 and removed with his family to Florence in 1857. For many years he remained a prominent and influential resident of that district. He was retired from active business but made extensive investments in property and real estate. There he passed away in 1869, while his wife died in March, 1901, having survived him for almost a third of a century. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Brown were six children, of whom three are yet living: Clara M., the wife of Henry F. Wyman; Randall K .; and Jennie D. Three sons, James J., Lewis and Charles H., have departed this life.
The husband and father was called to his final rest February 9, 1901, while in the seventieth year of his age. His early political allegiance was given to the democratic party from the time that age conferred upon him the right of franchise, but in 1856 he became an ally of the newly organized republican party, which in that year placed its first presidential candidate in the field. He voted for Fremont and was thereafter a stanch advocate of republican principles until called to his final rest. He had many sterling traits of character, not the least of which was
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his loyalty in all matters of citizenship, and his contributions to the upbuilding and development of Omaha were most valuable. He early had the prescience to discern something of what the future had in store for this great and growing western country, and acting in accordance with the dictates of his judgment, he garnered in the fullness of time the harvest of his labors and of his wisdom. He was always watchful of opportunities pointing to success and his labors were in large measure of a character that contributed not only to personal prosperity but also the public welfare.
LEWIS CLARK SHOLES.
Lewis Clark Sholes, a lifelong resident of Omaha, bearing a name which through four decades has been a synonym for business integrity as well as enterprise in the city, was here born November 25, 1878, a son of De Ver Sholes, the founder and promoter of an extensive real estate business which since the father's death has been taken over by the son. A record of the father, long a prominent and honored business man of Omaha, is given elsewhere in this work. Lewis C. Sholes, entering the public schools at the usual age, passed through consecutive grades and eventually became a student in the high school at Colorado Springs, Colorado, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897. In June of the following year he entered business circles as the asso- ciate of his father and since the death of the father has continued the business under the style of the De Ver Sholes Company, real estate and general insurance. His clientage is extensive and his negotiations have resulted in notable realty transfers.
On the 26th of December, 1901, in Omaha, Mr. Sholes was united in mar- riage to Miss Margaret Linn, a daughter of David Linn. They have three children, Margaret Lou, Dorothy Linn and De Ver. Mr. Sholes' military record covers service as a private with the Colorado Springs Militia for one year and six years with the Omaha Guards, of which he was orderly sergeant. He votes with the republican party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He belongs to the Commercial Club and his interest in the moral progress of the community is shown in his membership in the Methodist Epis- copal church. Throughout his life he has held to high and honorable principles that have governed him in every relation. He is a director of the Young Men's Christian Association and superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday school at Hanscom Park, Omaha.
THOMAS J. O'CONNOR.
Thomas J. O'Connor, prominent in democratic circles in Omaha, having for a number of years been an active worker in party ranks, is now filling the position of city clerk, to which he was appointed on the 15th of August, 1915. He is a native son of the city, born April 27, 1884. The surname indicates the Irish lineage, the grandfather being a native of Ireland, whence he emmigrated to Canada, where his remaining days were passed. His son, Patrick O'Connor, was born in Quebec, Canada, in 1856, and in 1876 became a resident of Omaha, where subsequently he wedded Mary E. Knight. They still make their home in Omaha and while spending his youthful days under the parental roof their son Thomas attended the public schools and Creighton University, leaving the latter institution when a youth of fifteen years. He then went to work for Armour & Company in the position of messenger, remaining with that corporation for six years, having in the meantime become rate clerk in the traffic department. Later he
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entered the freight department of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, with which he was associated for four years, and was then called to public office in 1909 by appointment to the position of deputy state oil inspector, in which capacity he served for two years. At the end of that period he returned to the Missouri Pacific and again spent two years in the freight department, but in 1912 was appointed clerk of the police court, which position he occupied for three and a half years, or until the 15th of August, 1915, when he received appointment to the office of city clerk. He has long been an earnest and active worker in democratic circles and has served as secretary of the democratic central com- mittee of Douglas county.
On the 7th of October, 1913, in Omaha, Mr. O'Connor was united in marriage to Miss Kathryn Nora, a daughter of James Grace, of this city. Their religious faith is that of the Catholic church and Mr. O'Connor holds membership with the Knights of Columbus, the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is the secretary of the Dahlman Democracy Club. He has a wide acquaintance in Omaha, where his entire life has been passed, and many of those who have been witnesses of his entire career are numbered among his stanchest friends, a fact which indicates a well spent life.
RALPH W. BRECKENRIDGE.
Ralph W. Breckenridge, whose distinguished position in legal circles is indicated in the fact that he was honored with the presidency of the Nebraska State Bar Association and was also a prominent member of the American Bar Association, was born in Carlisle, Ohio, on the 14th of March, 1860, and was a son of Charles Foote Breckenridge, a well known lawyer, and of Dr. Mary J. Breckenridge, his wife, who for a quarter of a century successfully practiced medicine in Omaha. The family lived for a time in Iowa before removing to Omaha, where for some time the firm of Breckenridge & Breckenridge occupied a commanding position at the bar of eastern Nebraska. The father passed away on the 9th of October, 1911.
Ralph W. Breckenridge was but a young lad at the time of the removal of the family to Cresco, Iowa, where he pursued a public school education and later took up the study of law under the direction of his father, being admitted to the bar there in 1881. The following year he removed to Omaha, where he entered upon practice in connection with Charles J. Greene, and with the exception of but a brief interval that association was continued until the death of Mr. Breckenridge. In the meantime, however, others had been admitted to the firm, which became Greene, Breckenridge, Gurley & Woodruff. In his practice Mr. Breckenridge made a specialty of insurance law and there were indeed few who were better versed in that department of jurisprudence, his opinions coming to be regarded as authority upon that subject. In 1905 he was chosen to the presidency of the Nebraska State Bar Association and he likewise became a leading member of the American Bar Association, which made him chairman of the insurance com- mittee at the time the great insurance companies of the country were undergoing authoritative inquiry and investigation. Subsequently he became a member of the executive committee of the American Bar Association. He wrote many articles and delivered many lectures on the subject of insurance law and both his spoken and written word elicited wide attention and awakened keen interest.
On the 19th of September, 1888, Mr. Breckenridge was united in marriage in Burlington, Vermont, to Miss Harriet A. Allen, a native of that state, and they became the parents of three children: Almyra Morton, now the wife of Alfred W. Gordon, by whom she has a daughter, Katherine Breckenridge; Warren Allen, who graduated from Amherst College in 1915, and is a member of the
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class of 1917 at the Harvard Law School; and Katherine, who died at the age of eight years.
Mr. Breckenridge gave his political support to the republican party, while his religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was an exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliated with the Knights Templar Com- mandery, and a prominent representative of various other societies and organ- izations. He belonged to the Connecticut Society of Mayflower Descendants and at one time was president of the Nebraska Society of Sons of the American Revolution. He became a charter member of the Omaha Club and a member of the Field Club, the Happy Hollow Club and the Dome Lake Club. His social qualities were greatly appreciated by all who came into contact with him and none met him but speedily recognized him at his true worth. Nature endowed him with keen mentality and he used his powers not only for the attainment of pro- fessional success but for the benefit of his fellowmen in support of many plans and measures having a direct bearing upon the betterment of the individual and the community. He passed away August 8, 1913, at the comparatively early age of fifty-three years and deep regret was felt at his passing by his colleagues and contemporaries in the profession and by all with whom he had been associated in other relations of life. He had many sterling traits of character which were manifest in his association with his friends, but his best traits were reserved for his own fireside.
GURDON WALLACE WATTLES.
Said a trenchant modern writer: "Opportunity is universal, not local. Suc- cess is not dependent upon the map or the time-table." It is the recognition of this fact that has brought Gurdon Wallace Wattles to the place of leadership which he occupies in the business and financial circles of Omaha and his career furthermore illustrates the principle that activity does not tire -- it hardens- gives resisting power, and the exercise of effort is keeping him alert. Anyone ineeting him face to face would know at once that he is an individual embodying all the elements of what in this country we term a "square" man-one in whom to have confidence, a dependable man in any relation and any emergency. The story of his life is the record of untiring endeavor and today there is scarcely a resident of Omaha who has equal influence in controlling the mammoth business interests which constitute the basis of the city's present development and prosperity. He is perhaps best known as banker and street car magnate, yet he has been equally prominent in managing various interests of a semi- public character which have largely been an element in public progress and improvement.
Mr. Wattles was born on a farm in Tioga county, New York, May 12, 1855, and traces his ancestral line back to 1652, when John McWattles came from the liighlands of Scotland and settled at Norwich Landing, Connecticut. Some time afterward the Mc was dropped from the name. Nathaniel Wattles, the great- grandfather of Gurdon W. Wattles, was born at Lebanon, New London county, Connecticut, in 1749, and his second son was Jehiel Wattles, who was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1776 but for many years lived at Virgil, Cort- land county, New York. It was his son, James Wattles, who, born in Virgil in 1820, wedded Betsy Ann Whiting, who was also of Scotch descent. Her father, John Whiting, was born in Connecticut, was graduated from Harvard College and devoted his life to the practice of medicine. In 1821 he removed to New York, where he met an accidental death in 1845. At the time of the Civil war James Wattles became a lieutenant of Company B, One Hundred and Ninth New York Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded in the service. In 1865 he removed to Illinois and the following year went to Carroll county, Iowa, where
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GURDON W. WATTLES
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he settled upon a farm. Subsequently he took up his abode in the city of Carroll and there passed away in June, 1907, having for more than a decade survived his wife, who died in Carroll in 1896.
In the common schools of New York Gurdon W. Wattles began his educa- tion, which he continued in the district schools of Carroll county, Iowa, in the high school at Glidden, Iowa, and in the Iowa State College at Ames, which he entered in 1876, but was obliged to leave there during his junior year on account of ill health. In June, 1906, that institution conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Philosophy.
When eighteen years of age Mr. Wattles began teaching in the common schools of Carroll county, following that profession for two years before taking up his college course. In 1878 he was elected county superintendent of schools in Carroll county and thus served for two years, during which period he devoted his leisure hours to the study of law, and in 1881 was admitted to the bar. He located for practice at Carroll, where he followed his profession for a year, but in 1882 entered the field of banking by organizing the Farmers Bank of Carroll. of which he was chosen cashier. Five years later the bank was reorganized under the name of the First National Bank of Carroll, and of that institution Mr. Wattles was the president for several years. His career may very properly be divided into three parts: first, his career in connection with banking institu- tions ; second, his association with other than banking corporations; and third. his public service in connection with the semi-public enterprises which he has promoted.
Continuing the record of the first division, it will be noted that his indentifica- tion with Omaha and her interests dates from 1892, when he removed to this city and became vice president of the Union National Bank, while later he was advanced to the presidency and so remained until the United States National Bank of Omaha, the Union National Bank and the Commercial National Bank were consolidated in the year 1905 under the name of the United States National Bank, of which he became first vice president. He continued to occupy that position until January, 1916, when he was made chairman of the board of directors, which position he now fills. As a' banker he began with a private bank, capitalized at twenty thousand dollars, in 1882; he now holds the highest office in the United States National Bank of Omaha, one of the two largest financial concerns in the state of Nebraska, with a capital and surplus of about two million dollars and deposits of eighteen million dollars.
Turning to the second important division of his life record, it is seen that in the year 1885 he organized the Rochester Loan & Banking Company of Rochester, New Hampshire, and became western manager, which position he has since held. This has grown to be one of the largest financial institutions of New England and has purchased millions of western securities, its interests having ever been controlled by Mr. Wattles, whose keen sagacity and marked discrimination have been the salient features in the notable success attained. One of the elements of his power and prosperity as a business man is the fact that he has ever seemed to realize the full value of any business situation or opportunity and, moreover, he possesses the ability to coordinate seemingly diverse interests into a unified and harmonious whole. Taking an interest in the ques- tion of urban transportation, he made investment in the Omaha Street Railway Company, of which he was elected a director in 1902, and in 1905 he was chosen vice president of the Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway Company, in which connection he continued until 1908, when he was elected to the presi- dency of that corporation. A review of his career aside from his banking interests indicates that as a business man he commenced with a capital of a few dollars earned in teaching school and is now interested in many of the large and profitable enterprises of the city and state. Aside from his connection with urban and interurban transportation he is a director in the Chicago Great Western Railroad Company and is financially interested in many other man-
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moth business enterprises which have profited by his sound and discriminating judgment.
Into various fields where his efforts have constituted a source of public progress and improvement as well as of individual success he has extended his activities. He became one of the organizers of the Omaha Grain Exchange in 1904 and served as its president until 1910. Its membership was drawn from among the business men and grain men of the city. Against great opposition the Exchange was built up and has proven to be of great value to Omaha and the state. The original five hundred dollar memberships are now valued at five thousand dollars. He was one of the organizers and president of the Trans- Mississippi and International Exposition, held in Omaha in 1898, which was in many ways the most successful exposition ever held in America. Artistically it was a gem and it was also a great financial success, having paid back to its stockholders ninety-two and a half per cent on their investment. In 1909 and 1910 Mr. Wattles occupied the presidency of the National Corn Exposition and he was president of the Nebraska state commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in the year 1904. An appropriation of thirty-five thou- sand dollars was made by the state and an equal amount was secured by private subscriptions. A very unique and attractive exhibit was made of the resources of the state, motion pictures being used to illustrate the business and the prin- cipal resources, and at the close of the exposition fifteen thousand dollars was returned to the state treasurer out of the appropriation of thirty-five thousand dollars. Mr. Wattles was the organizer and president of the Douglas Hotel Company, which was capitalized for one million dollars and erected the Hotel Fontenelle of Omaha at a total cost of more than one million dollars. This hotel has proven of great benefit to the city and promises to be a safe and profit- able investment to its stockholders. In fact every public enterprise with which Mr. Wattles has been associated has proven successful and no question has ever been raised concerning the disbursement of the large funds which have been placed in his hands by the public. His business honor and integrity stand as an unquestioned fact in his business career and the value of his service is acknowledged by all who know aught of the history of the city.
On the 20th of October, 1882, at Clarksville, Iowa, Mr. Wattles was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Leete, a daughter of Allen N. Leete. She was descended from Governor William Leete, colonial governor of Connecticut, and held membership with the Colonial Danies of America and after her removal to Omaha she became very prominent in the social life of the city. Going to Chicago in May, 1916, to meet her husband, who was returning from a trip to New York, she visited the Presbyterian Hospital for a diagnosis, for she had for some time been in ill health, and at the hospital she passed away on the 25th of May, 1916. The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Wattles was a son, Fred- erick Leete, who was born May 23, 1884, and passed away November 23. 1887. Their two adopted daughters are: Margaret Elizabeth, born January 2, 1902; and Mary Louise, born March 4, 1904.
In his political views Mr. Wattles has always been a republican since casting his first presidential ballot and has been an active worker in party ranks, serv- ing for many years as president of the Nebraska Republican State League, while in 1904 he was a delegate to the republican national convention. He is a vestry- man of All Saints' Episcopal church of Omaha and fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In club circles throughout the country he is widely known, belonging to the Omaha, Omaha Country, Uni- versity, Commercial, Palimpsest, Happy Hollow and Ad Clubs of Omaha, the Los Angeles Country Club and the Bankers Club of New York. The breadth of his. interests is further indicated by his membership in the Nebraska State Ilistorical Society and the Mississippi Valley Historical Association. In a review of his life one must come to the conclusion that progress is a cumulative process and that where there is no advancement there has been no effort. Every day
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has marked off a full faithed attempt to know more and to do more and even in his business affairs he has united the intensely practical with a high ideality. Elbert Hubbard has said: "The man who is worthy to become a leader of men will not complain of the stupidity of his helpers, the ingratitude of mankind, the inappreciation of the public. These things are a part of the great game of life. To meet them and not go down before them in discouragement and defeat is the final proof of power." Throughout his entire career Mr. Wattles has kept his attention fixed on his purpose, never allowing incidental or accidental cir- cumstances to divert him, and thus he has attained successful accomplishment.
FELIX JEROME McSHANE, JR.
Felix Jerome McShane, Jr., sheriff of Douglas county, is a native son of Omaha, born July 10, 1882. His father, Felix J. McShane, Sr., was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1852 and was a young man of twenty years when in 1872 he arrived in Omaha, where he married Agnes O'Connor. He has now retired from business but both he and his wife are still residents of Omaha. At one time he was a member of the city school board.
Felix J. McShane, Jr., attended the Omaha city schools and also Creighton College, followed by study in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. At the age of twenty years he entered the employ of an iron company in Omaha, with which he remained for a year, and then became the active assistant of his father, who was a railroad contractor and with whom he remained until 1908. He after- ward spent two years with a lumber company in Omaha and in 1910 he entered the automobile supply business on his own account. In September, 1915, he dis- continued the supply department but is still agent for the Mercer and Hupmobile cars, in which connection he has built up a business of substantial proportions, conducted under the name of the McShane Motor Company, of which he is the president. However, at the present time his attention is given to the duties of his office, for in 1911 he was elected sheriff of Douglas county and in 1914 was re- elected, so that when his present term expires in January, 1917, he will have filled the position for six years. His political allegiance has always been given to the democratic party.
At Crown Point, Indiana, Mr. McShane was married to Miss Irma L. Con- len, and they have two children, Charles Jerome and Irma Marie. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. McShane is a member of the Phi Delta Theta, a college fraternity, and also of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Woodmen of the World. He likewise belongs to the Commercial Club and gives active aid to its well defined measures for the public good. His name is on the membership roll of the Omaha Field Club and he has many friends both within and without that organization.
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