USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 21
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DR. BURTON W. CHRISTIE
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Dr. Burton W. Christie was a youth of nine years when the family home was established in Omaha, where he continued his public school course until graduated from the high school with the class of 1895. He then entered the University of Nebraska and won the Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1899. He continued as a medical student in the State University and following his gradua- tion therefrom in 1902 entered upon practice in Omaha, becoming a worthy successor to his father. In 1902 and 1903 he took post graduate work in Rochester, Minnesota, and he also pursued a special graduate course on diseases of children at Harvard in 1915. He has made close study of that field of pro- fessional service and has displayed marked ability in treating children's diseases.
On the 23d of June, 1902, in Omaha, Dr. Christie was married to Miss Florence Lois Gridley and they have four children: Harlan Page, Barbara Whitford, Florence De Valon and Billie Burton. The family attend the Episcopal church. Dr. Christie's military record covers service with the Second Regiment of Nebraska Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American war. He went with his command to Chickamauga Park in 1898 and held the rank of corporal, but like many others, his regiment was disappointed in not being called upon for active field service. In politics the Doctor is an earnest republican and fraternally is a Master Mason. In club circles he is well known, having membership in the Commercial Club, the Rotary Club, the University Club and the Field Club. Along strictly professional lines his association is with the Omaha-Douglas County Medical Society, of which he was president in 1913, the Nebraska State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is most conscientious in the performance of his professional duties, never regarding lightly the responsibility that rests upon him, and his care and faithfulness have brought excellent results when judged from both the financial and the professional standpoints.
WILLIAM GODFREY CLEVELAND.
The life record of William Godfrey Cleveland is of unusual interest, for his experiences have given him first hand knowledge of conditions in the orient and in the occident, in the old countries of Europe and in the unde- veloped, lawless west of America that has now all but passed. Since 1904 he has resided in Omaha, with whose business interests he . is prominently identified as president of the W. G. Cleveland Company, dealers in surgical instruments and physicians' supplies. He was born in Brighton, England, in 1864, but in his infancy was taken by his parents to India, where his father, Henry Cleveland, filled with honor the important position of attorney general for England in Bombay. The maternal grandfather of our subject, General Sir Charles Malcolm Barrow, K. C. B., won distinction in the British army and was for years stationed in India with headquarters in Bombay. It was in that country that his daughter, Effie Madeline, was married in 1860 to Henry Cleveland, who was born in Yarmouth in 1828.
William G. Cleveland remained with his parents at Bombay, India, until he was six years of age, when he was sent to Europe for his education, attend- ing school in Germany for seven years and later studying for a year each in Lucerne, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium. He then entered the University of London with the expectation of taking a medical course, but hearing of the Riel rebellion in Canada, he was led by his adventurous spirit to go to that country and at once, in July, 1884, enlisted in the Northwest Mounted Police, a picked body of men famous the world over for their stamina, courage and resourcefulness. He remained in that service for about five years and rose from private to sergeant. Upon leaving the mounted police he went into the drug business at Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, where he remained until 1892, when he sold out and for the following six years he traveled throughout the
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Dominion and the States. In 1898 he located in Butte, Montana, where he was a member of a drug firm for about two years, but in 1901 he went to Detroit, Michigan, and became connected with Parke, Davis & Company, manufactur- ing chemists, representing them on the road. Three years later he was sent by the company to Omaha as their general representative for Nebraska, Iowa, Wyoming, South Dakota and Missouri and acted in that capacity until the Ist of June, 1910, when he bought out the H. J. Penfold Company, dealers in surgical instruments and physicians' supplies, and incorporated the business as the W. G. Cleveland Drug Company, later changed to the W. G. Cleveland Company, under which style the business is now conducted, with Mr. Cleve- land as president. In the management of his extensive business affairs he dis- plays the initiative, the daring spirit, combined with good judgment and a knowledge of men, that have characterized him in all other relations of life. It is but natural that he should have met with success and that he should be ranked among the leading men in commercial circles in Omaha.
Mr. Cleveland was married in Sioux City, Iowa, March 6, 1901, to Miss Margaret L. Bacon, a daughter of Edward F. Bacon, a resident of Frankfort, Kentucky, who, however, served as a Union soldier during the Civil war as he was convinced of the justice of the northern cause.
Mr. Cleveland is a republican in politics and in religious faith is an Episco- palian. He holds membership in the University Club and in the Carter Lake Club, which latter connection indicates his favorite recreation, fly fishing. Through his connection with the Commercial Club he cooperates with other enterprising and public-spirited business men in many plans and projects cal- culated to promote the general advancement of Omaha. His broad-minded- ness, his force and decision of character and his capacity for deep friendship have bound to him by strong ties of respect and regard those with whom he has been closely associated. In the course of his life he has known and worked with men of every class and condition and there are few who have a better understanding of human nature.
BEN B. WOOD.
Ben B. Wood was a pioneer banker of Omaha, in which city he arrived in 1867. From that date until his death he was continuously and prominently con- nected with financial interests here and his ability constituted an important element in placing the banking interests of Omaha upon a most substantial foundation. He was born in Cayuta, Schuyler county, New York, May 15, 1843, and after mastering the branches of learning taught in the public schools of his home town he continued his education in Union College of New York. His business train- ing was received in the banking house of Charles Cook, of Havana, New York, and in 1867, when a young man of twenty-four years, he arrived in Omaha to enter the bank of J. A. Ware & Company, then located at Thirteenth and Farnam streets. He held the position of teller until 1870, when the institution was con- verted into the State Bank of Nebraska with Alvin Saunders as president and Ben B. Wood as cashier. From the beginning of his residence in Omaha Mr. Wood was continuously and prominently connected with the development of its banking interests. On the Ist of October, 1882, he was associated with Frank Murphy, S. E. Rogers and John F. Coad in organizing and establishing the Merchants National Bank, of which Mr. Murphy became the president, Mr. Rogers vice president and Mr. Wood cashier. He continued active in the management of the business and on the 11th of January, 1898, he was elected vice president of the bank, in which capacity he continued to serve until his death. He was also a member of the Omaha Gas Manufacturing Company and in business circles his worth was widely recognized and attested. He was spoken
BEN B. WOOD
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of as a man of few words but a very careful, conservative and thoroughgoing business man whose transactions were always wisely directed. He gave the most careful thought to the settlement of involved and complex problems of banking and at all times was eminently just and most loyal to any trust reposed in him.
On the 7th of June, 1882, Mr. Wood wedded Miss Daisy B. Barkalow, a daughter of Benjamin B. Barkalow, an Omaha pioneer. To them were born four children : Le Roy, now living in Salt Lake City, Utah ; Ben Brown and Robert Livingstone, of Omaha ; and Margaret, the wife of William H. H. Cranmer, of Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Wood was devoted to his family, counting no effort or sacrifice on his part too great if it would promote the welfare and happiness of his wife and children. He belonged to the Omaha Club and to the Country Club and his fellow members in those organizations entertained for him the highest regard. He was most charitable and gave freely of his self-acquired wealth for the bene- fit of the needy and for the assistance of benevolent institutions. He was always active for Omaha and its interests and cooperated heartily in every movement for the general good. In a word he was never remiss in the obligations of citizenship nor failed to perform his duty in any relation of life. His career was actuated by high principles and worthy motives and his entire life measured up to lofty standards of manhood. He passed away June 19, 1904.
HERBERT B. WALDRON.
·Herbert B. Waldron, an Omaha capitalist whose investments in farm prop- erty are extensive and who is now giving his attention solely to the supervision of his agricultural interests, was born on a farm in Cass county, Nebraska, in 1870. His paternal grandfather, Jacob Waldron, was probably a native of Pennsylvania and the immigrant ancestor came from Holland. The father, Harvey R. Waldron, was born in New York in 1846 and throughout his active life was engaged in farming. He was married in the Empire state to Lottie Russell and in 1869 they came to Nebraska, homesteading in Cass county, where they resided until 1900, when they removed to Waterloo, Douglas county, where the father passed away in 1910. The mother, however, is yet living.
It was in the public schools of Cass county and of Omaha that Herbert B. Waldron pursued his education and in 1891 he was graduated from the Omaha Business College. In 1902 he took up his abode at Bennington, Douglas county, and assisted in organizing the Mangold & Glandt Bank, of which he became the cashier, remaining with that institution for exactly ten years. He then resigned and organized the Citizens State Bank of Waterloo, in which project he was connected with Gurdon W. Wattles. Mr. Waldron became the first cashier and some time afterward was elected to the presidency. Later he became sole owner of the bank and in 1913 he sold out. He for several years owned a controlling interest in the Security State Bank of Washington, Nebraska, and also in the Union State Bank of Murdock, Nebraska. On disposing of his interests in the Citizens State Bank of Waterloo he came to Omaha and has since directed his attention only to the supervision of his invested interests. He is the owner of a valuable farm of five hundred acres in Cass county, Iowa, and five hundred and sixty acres in Douglas county, Nebraska, and the development of the lat- ter is carried on under his direct management. He also has a quarter section of land in Kimball county, Nebraska, and one hundred and twenty acres in Cameron county, Texas. All are rented to tenants except the farm in Douglas county, on which he raises corn, alfalfa, hogs and cattle. He thoroughly under- stands every phase of agricultural life and keeps in touch with the trend of progress and improvement along that line.
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In Fairmont, Nebraska, in 1897, Mr. Waldron was united in marriage to Miss Florence G. Magee, a daughter of the late James Magee, and they have two daughters, Mildred E. and Helen. The parents attend the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Waldron gives his political support to the republican party. He holds membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also is a member of the Omaha Club and the Commercial Club, cooperating heartily with the plans and purposes of the latter organization for the upbuilding and development of the city and the extension of its trade connections.
RODNEY WALDO BLISS, M. D.
Dr. Rodney Waldo Bliss, a prominent member of the medical profession of Omaha and assistant professor of physical diagnosis and internal medicine in the University of Nebraska, was born in York, this state in 1878. His father, David Cleveland Bliss, a native of the state of New York, was born in 1843 and on removing to the west became a resident of Wisconsin. During the last year of the Civil war he served as a member of the Thirty-seventh Wiscon- sin Volunteer Cavalry. In 1874 he removed to Nebraska, establishing his home at York, and he is now living at Minden, where he is engaged in the nursery business. In La Salle county, Illinois, he married Sophia Hart, who is also living.
Following the removal of the family, to Minden, Nebraska, Rodney W. Bliss acquired his early education in the public schools there and later entered the University of Nebraska, from which he was graduated with the class of 1901. For professional training he matriculated in Rush Medical College of Chicago and completed his course there by graduation with the class of 1904. In 1906 he removed to Omaha, where he has since devoted his attention to internal medicine, and his ability in that direction is pronounced. He belongs to the Omaha-Douglas County Medical Society, the Elkhorn Valley Medical Society, the Nebraska State Medical Society and the Missouri Valley Med- ical Society.
On the 25th of April, 1907, in Chicago, Dr. Bliss was united in marriage to Miss Clara J. Dimmick, a daughter of the late William O. Dimmick, and they have become the parents of three children, Jane, Rodney and Esther.
Dr. and Mrs. Bliss hold membership in the Presbyterian church. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and he is a Master Mason and belongs also to the University Club and to the Happy Hollow Club. Social interests, however, are ever made subservient to his professional duties, which are performed with a sense of conscientious obligation that represents the utilization of his native and acquired powers.
GEORGE ANTHES.
George Anthes, a man of ability and high character who has filled many positions of trust connecting him in various ways with civic interests, is now serving as county auditor. He was born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, in 1856. His father, Christopher Anthes, also a native of that place, was born in 1833. He there married . Margaret Dauth, who passed away in 1859, and later he married again. In 1867 they brought their family to the United States, settling first in St. Louis, where the father died in 1875. His widow still survives.
George Anthes was a youth of eleven years when he accompanied his father to the new world, and in the schools of St. Louis he pursued his educa-
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tion. He was a young man of twenty-two years when in 1878 he came to Omaha, where he engaged in clerking for several years. In 1888 he became connected with public duties at the courthouse in Omaha and in 1901 was appointed deputy state auditor, the duties of that position keeping him in Lincoln from 1901 until 1907. He had previously been connected with the Festner Printing Company, with the tax department in the county clerk's office of Douglas county, had served as chief clerk in the county treasurer's office and was deputy county treasurer until the year 1900, when he was appointed deputy auditor of the state. He was special accountant in the county clerk's office from 1906 until January, 1912, and is now filling the position of county auditor of Douglas county. His official record has been endorsed by the consensus of public opinion on the part of his fellowmen and he has rendered valuable aid in various connections.
· On the 21st of March, 1880, in Omaha, Mr. Anthes was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Getzschmann, daughter of the late Amandus Getzschmann, who came from Germany to America in 1858 and traveled west from Pittsburgh by boat to St. Mary's, Iowa, and in the following year settled in the Bellevue Bottoms in Nebraska. The next year he removed to La Platte, Nebraska, where the family lost all their possessions by a prairie fire. He was engaged at farming there until 1876, when he retired and moved to Omaha, where he died at the age of eighty-three years. He was married in Germany to Hermine Dietrich, who survived him and died in Omaha at the age of seventy-six years. Their two eldest children were born in Germany, one of whom was Mrs. Anthes, who was two years old when her parents came to America. Mr. and Mrs. Anthes are the parents of three children, namely: Ellen Elizabeth; Paul Jacob; and Gertrude P. Paul Jacob wedded Miss Ollie Burnett, daughter of Oliver Burnett, and they have two children, Paul Oliver and Robert George. The family attend the Lutheran church and Mr. Anthes has membership in the Omaha Music Society and in the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is a republican and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, supporting those principles and measures which he deems of vital worth to the community and to the nation at large.
JOHN M. GILCHRIST.
John M. Gilchrist, certified public accountant of Omaha, was born in Glas- gow, Scotland, March 9, 1862, his parents being Andrew and Margaret (Gil- christ) Gilchrist, who, though of the same name, were not related. The father was born in Scotland in 1834 and passed away there in 1867, being still survived by his widow, who yet remains a resident of the land of hills and heather.
John M. Gilchrist attended the schools of Glasgow and was graduated from the Hutcheson grammar school of that city. He had passed the twentieth mile- stone on life's journey when in 1882 he bade adieu to friends and native land and came to the United States, establishing his home in Chicago. In 1892 he removed to Nebraska City, Nebraska, and in 1901 he came to Omaha. Here he established business as a certified public accountant and has since carried on his activities along that line. He began in a small way with but one assistant and he now employs a large office force and has several high-class assistants constantly on the road.
In 1893, in Nebraska City, Nebraska, Mr. Gilchrist was united in marriage to Miss Anna Boydston, a native of this state, by whom he has one child, Frances Myrne. Their religious faith is indicated by their membership in the Presby- terian church. In politics Mr. Gilchrist is a democrat where national questions are involved but casts an independent ballot at local elections. In 1896 he was appointed county treasurer examiner for Nebraska and held that office until
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1901. He belongs to the Athletic Club of Omaha and to the Happy Hollow Club, of which he is a director and secretary. He has made good in his profession, reaching a place of prominence through his accuracy and skill, and he enjoys the high regard of business men throughout the city.
ALEXANDER McAUSLAND.
When Omaha was scarcely more than a straggling village Alexander McAus- land came to this city from Kentucky, May 5, 1857. He was a native of Scot- land and was there reared and educated. After attaining man's estate he was married in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Miss Agnes Ritchie and soon afterward they sailed for the new world, making their way at once to Cloverport, Ken- tucky, where he resided for several years and then came to Omaha. Here Mr. McAusland engaged in the gun and ammunition business, opening a store at the corner of Harney and Fourteenth streets, while later he removed to Douglas and Fourteenth streets, where he remained until his death. At that corner he erected a business block and following his death his sons carried on the business for several years but afterward sold out and both removed to Montana. Later in the same building the daughters Agnes and Jennie conducted a millinery and dry goods store for a number of years, but they, too, sold their interests several years ago.
The family numbered nine children, of whom five survive: Agnes, now living in Omaha; John and Alexander, who reside in Miles City, Montana; Jen- nie, whose home is in Omaha; and Catherine, who is Mrs. J. R. Manchester, also of Omaha.
In politics Mr. McAusland was a republican, active in the work of the party, and on one occasion he was a candidate for the legislature but failing health compelled him to withdraw from the race ere the election was held. He was a public-spirited man in an eminent degree and was active in all that pertained to the welfare and upbuilding of his adopted city. He passed away in 1867 at the age of fifty-six years, while his widow survived until 1901 and had reached the notable old age of ninety-four years at the time of her demise. They attended the First Congregational church and Mr. McAusland was a Mason, loyal to the teachings of the craft. In a word his was a well spent life in which industry, determination, integrity and rectitude of character were salient features.
BYRON GEORGE BURBANK.
Byron George Burbank, since 1885 a member of the Omaha bar, long maintain- ing a position of prominence among his colleagues and contemporaries in practice, was born near Northfield, Minnesota, August 26, 1860. He is the youngest child of Edy and Sarah (Richardson) Mulcahie. The former was born in Eastport, Maine, in 1837 and the latter in Illinois in 1839. They were married at Marengo in that state in 1855. Mrs. Mulcahie was a direct descendant of Amos Richardson, who came from England in 1634 and established his home in Boston, where he lived and died. About 1858 Mr. and Mrs. Edy Mulcahie removed to Minnesota and there the latter passed away in 1861. Three children were born to them, Clark, Mary and Byron George, who was taken, upon his inother's death, by her sister and husband, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Burbank, of Genoa, Illinois, with whom he lived and whose surname was given him and which he has ever since retained.
In 1861, Mr. Mulcahie, in response to the country's call for aid, joined Com-
BYRON G. BURBANK
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pany K of the Sixty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry and served throughout the period of the Civil war. He was with Sherman on the memorable march to the. sea and participated in the grand review at Washington, D. C., where the vic- torious Union army marched through the streets of the capital under a banner emblazoned with the words: "The only debt which the country owes that she cannot pay is the debt she owes to her soldiers." In early life Mr. Mulcahie devoted his attention to teaching but after the war became a farmer of Missouri and passed away at Stony Point, that state, in 1884.
Byron George Burbank attended the country schools of De Kalb county, Illinois. He afterward took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for three years in the winter seasons, and in the fall and spring months he attended the Elgin (Ill.) Academy, from which he was graduated in 1880, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. For three years afterward he was principal of the high school at Byron, Illinois, and in the fourth year, he became principal of the high school at Mount Morris, Illinois. He then went abroad for study and travel, spending the scholastic year 1884-5 in Heidelberg University in Germany, where he pursued the Roman law and special work. Following his return to the United States upon examination in the appellate court in Chicago, in the fall of 1885, he was admitted to practice law in Illinois and on the 20th of October of the same year came to Omaha. He at once began to practice in the office of the Hon. John L. Webster, with whom he continued for five years. Since then he has practiced alone and his developing powers have gained him a large and distinctively representative clientage. The assiduous and unrelaxing attention which he gives to the interests of his clients and the thoroughness with which he prepares his cases have been strong elements in his growing success.
On the 26th of November, 1881, at Rockford, Illinois, Mr. Burbank was married, and the children of that union are Byron M. and Wayne. On the 6th of June, 1906, in Omaha, Mr. Burbank wedded . Jane B. Browne, a daughter of the late William J. Browne, who was a Union soldier, going to the front from Missouri. By the second marriage there is one child, Forrest.
Mr. Burbank attends the Methodist Episcopal Church and he is a member of the Omaha Club and of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the York and Scottish Rite degrees. His political support is given to the republican party but beyond the exercise of his right of franchise he does not take an active interest in party work because of a desire to give his attention to his professional duties.
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