USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 23
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ALFRED CONKLING KENNEDY, SR.
Alfred Conkling Kennedy, Sr., deceased, was an Omaha citizen honored and respected by all not only on account of the success which he achieved but also owing to the straightforward business policy which he ever followed. He was practically a lifelong resident of this city, although his birth occurred in New Lebanon, New York, April 7, 1862. In 1866 his father, Howard Kennedy, who had previously lived for a brief period in Nebraska and was the first superintend- ent of the Omaha schools, returned with his family to the west and settled at Nebraska City. That was in the year 1866, when Alfred C. Kennedy was a little lad of but four years. The family also lived for a time in Lincoln but in 1869 the family home was established in Omaha, where he was reared and educated. When his textbooks were put aside he entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad Company in Omaha and afterward became assistant secretary of the South Omaha Land Company, in which connection he had charge of its selling operations. It was this company which platted the original town site of South Omaha. Later his father admitted him to a partnership in the real estate, loan and insurance business which he had established, the firm then becoming known as Howard Kennedy & Son. Upon the death of his father in 1905 he conducted business under his own name until in 1915, when it was incorporated, Alfred C. Kennedy, Jr., at that time becoming a member of the firm. In July of the same year Alfred C. Kennedy, Sr., passed away. Like his father before him, he had occupied an enviable and honorable position in the business circles of the city. He was a most alert and enterprising man, watchful of every opportunity pointing to legitimate success, and his energies carried him into fields where pros- perity was assured.
Mr. Kennedy was married twice. In Omaha, on the 24th of February, 1884, he wedded Elizabeth H. Leisenring, a daughter of Dr. P. S. Leisenring, who was long a prominent and distinguished citizen of Omaha, where he settled in pioneer times. He was a leading and active member of the Kountze Memorial Lutheran church and of the Young Men's Christian Association. He was also one of the faculty of the Omaha Medical School and served for a time as city physician. Following the death of his first wife Alfred C. Kennedy was married in Omaha, September 8, 1897, to Jessie C. Godso. His children are six in number : Donald L., Margaret, Alfred C., Gilbert V., Jean G. and George L. The elder daughter is now the wife of Charles L. Brome.
Mr. Kennedy followed in the political footsteps of his father, giving stalwart support to the republican party, but he never sought office of a strictly political nature. He served, however, as a member of the library board of Omaha from 1898 until 1903 and in the latter year was made a member of the school board, so continuing until his death. Socially he was connected with the University, Happy Hollow and Omaha Clubs and he also belonged to the Commercial Club. He was a Master Mason, attained the Knights Templar degree of the York Rite,
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the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and was also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He also was an elder of the First Presbyterian church of Omaha and guided his life according to its teachings. He was open-handed and open- hearted, while his strong intellect enabled him to maintain an even balance between unbridled generosity and justice. His life at all times proved the soundness of the Emersonian philosophy that "the way to win a friend is to be one."
FREDERICK WILLIAMS LAKE, M. D.
The old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country does not find verification in the life record of Dr. Frederick Williams Lake, for in Omaha, his native city, he has won a most creditable position as a medical practitioner. Dr. Lake was born in 1876, son of the late Judge George Baker Lake, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this publication.
Reared in Omaha, Dr. Lake there began his education and subsequently entered St. Paul's school at Concord, New Hampshire, from which he was graduated in 1894. He next entered Harvard and is among its alumni of 1898. He then began specific preparation for a professional career as a medical student in the University of Pennsylvania and won his diploma and degree in 1901. He received, moreover, thorough practical training and broad valuable experience in two years' hospital work in Philadelphia, after which he returned to Omaha for the practice of internal medicine and diagnosis and in that field has gained notable success.
On the 24th of July, 1903, Dr. Lake was united in marriage to Miss Katherine W. Wright, her father being Arthur Justin Wright, formerly of Omaha. They have two children, Lawrence W. and Katherine. Dr. and Mrs. Lake hold mem- bership in the Episcopal church and his political endorsement is given to the democratic party. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and in club circles his membership extends to the Commercial, Omaha and Omaha Country Clubs. Along strictly professional lines he is identified with the Omaha-Douglas County Medical Society, the Missouri Valley Medical Society, the Nebraska State Medical Association and the American Medical Association and through the proceedings of those societies he keeps in close touch with the onward trend of modern thought and progress in the field of medical science.
MARTIN DUNHAM.
Martin Dunham, who was active in various business lines at Omaha until his death on the 18th of February, 1915, was born in Clarksville, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1836. In early life he made his way to the middle west, going first to Spragueville, Iowa, while in 1859 he arrived in Omaha. He did not tarry long at that time, however, but continued his journey westward to what is now Denver, there remaining for a year. On the expiration of that period he returned and entered the employ of A. J. Simpson, a carriage trimmer for Ryan & Swingle, harness makers. In 1863 he established a harness shop of his own where the Paxton Hotel now stands and there he conducted business until 1878, when he moved across the street to the present site of the World-Herald building, having previously purchased that lot. At length he sold that property and bought 011 Nineteenth and Farnam streets, where he erected the Dufrane building, which he rented. He also built where the public market is now located and he was identified in large measure with the early development of the city. He turned his attention to the hide and leather business, becoming a member of the firm
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of MeDonald, Oberg, Hozek & Dunham. That firm was organized in Chicago and suffered heavy losses at the time of the great Chicago fire in 1871, at which time Mr. Dunham withdrew from connection with the business. For two years he was in the railway mail service, making the run between Omaha and Ogden, Utah, as railway mail clerk. He was also engaged in the ice business in connec- tion with Richard Kimball for several years and after selling out lived practically retired although operating to some extent in the field of real estate.
In Omaha, July 13, 1863, Mr. Dunham was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Winship, a daughter of Jabez L. Winship, who with his family traveled by wagon from Indiana to Nebraska in 1857. Her parents were both natives of New York and her father passed away in Omaha June 1, 1858, being permitted to enjoy his western home for only a brief period. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. To Mr. and Mrs. Dunham were born three children : Charles A., now of Boston, who mar- ried Prudence Pearman, of Nebraska City, daughter of Major Pearman; Bessie Clare, the wife of Captain L. La Vergne Gregg. U. S. A., who is in command of Schofield barracks in the Hawaiian islands; and Daniel H., a resident of Omaha, who married Florence Finch, of Newton, Iowa.
Mr. Dunham belonged to the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he gave his political allegiance to the republican party. He served as a member of the state legislature, the city council of Omaha and the school board and took a leading part in establishing the present school system in Omaha. At the time of the massacre at Plum creek he responded to Governor Saunders' call for troops to put down the Indians. For twenty-eight years he served on the state board of agriculture and thus his activities were broad and varied, connecting him with many features of development and progress bearing upon the public welfare.
JOSEPH BARKER.
Joseph Barker, a prominent figure in insurance circles in Omaha and actively connected with other business interests of importance, was born in this city February 19, 1877, his parents, Joseph and Eliza E. Barker, having been among the earliest settlers of Omaha. They arrived in the year 1856 and were married in 1875. For six decades, therefore, the name of Barker has been closely asso- ciated with the city, its development and upbuilding.
After attending the local schools Joseph Barker of this review continued his education in St. Paul's school at Concord, New Hampshire, and started out upon his business career in connection with railroading. He has been closely associated with insurance interests since 1907 and is now representing the Home Insurance Company of New York, the Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York, the London Guarantee & Accident Company and other companies. In this connection he has built up a business of large and gratifying proportions and, also extending his efforts and investments into other fields, he has become con- nected with the Omaha Loan & Building Association and with the Omaha Electric Light & Power Company.
On the 31st of October, 1899, in Omaha, Nebraska, Mr. Barker was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth A. Peck, a daughter of E. P. Peck. Their children are three in number, namely: Elizabeth E., Virginia and Joseph, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Barker hold membership in the Episcopal church and in the social circles of the city occupy a prominent position. He has attained high rank in Masonry, having taken the degrees of the York Rite, while in the Scottish Rite he has attained the thirty-second degree. He also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is a well known figure in the Omaha, Country, University and Commercial Clubs. In the last named he has at various times served as a member
JOSEPH BARKER
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of the executive committee. He has also been a director of the Young Men's Christian Association, a trustee of the University of Omaha and a governor of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, associations which indicate much concerning the breadth of his interests and activities and which tell as well the story of his public spirit and devotion to all that pertains to the growth and best interests of Omaha. He has never allowed private business interests. to so monopolize his attention that he could not find time for public service but on the contrary has cooperated with all those forces that work for the material, intellectual, social and moral progress of the community.
NATHAN E. ADAMS.
For a third of a century Nathan E. Adams was a resident of Omaha, and at the time of his death, which occurred January 31, 1917, had important and exten- sive real estate holdings in the city. He came here from Missouri but was a native son of New England, his birth having occurred at West Brookfield, Massachusetts, in 1839. He was about twenty-nine years of age when in 1868 he came to the middle west, settling first in Audrain county, Missouri, where he began selling goods for an eastern boot company and also carried on farming. There he resided for about sixteen years or until 1884, when he disposed of his business interests there and came to Omaha. Here he turned his attention to the real estate business and to operations on the Board of Trade but withdrew from the latter line a number of years ago. In the real estate field his activities contributed to public progress as well as to individual success, for he improved much property, transforming unsightly vacancies into attractive residence districts. He improved much property in North Omaha and he also carried on his real estate activities outside of Nebraska, having large holdings in Texas and elsewhere.
In 1872 Mr. Adams was united in marriage in Massachusetts to Miss Charlotte M. Edmunds, of that state, who died in 1908. In November 1915, Mr. Adams was married to Margaret Ellen Giles, a native of Monmouth, Illinois, and a graduate of Monmouth College. She is a member of the Central United Presbyterian church. He was a member of the Plymouth Congregational church, in the work of which he took a very active and helpful interest, and his political allegiance was given to the republican party. From 1884 he was identified with Omaha, residing at Miami and Twenty-second streets, and he became num- bered among the capitalists of the city, owing his success and prosperity to his judicious investments, his keen sagacity and unfaltering enterprise.
EDWARD JOSEPH MCARDLE.
Edward Joseph McArdle, connected with manufacturing interests of Omaha as the organizer and head of the Western Stamp & Stencil Company, was born on a farm in Douglas county, Nebraska, March 24, 1878. The name indicates his Irish lineage. His grandfather, Patrick McArdle, and his father, James Hugh McArdle, are both natives of County Armagh, Ireland, the latter born in 1825, and in the year 1848 they crossed the Atlantic to America, Patrick McArdle afterward taking up government land in Douglas county, Nebraska, whereon he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1887. On his arrival in the new world James H. McArdle made his way to Philadelphia and in 1854 arrived in Douglas county, which was then largely an undeveloped and unimproved district. He at once turned his attention to the occupation of farming, in which he con- tinued to engage for many years. He also filled the office of county commissioner
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for twenty years and in the '6os he was appointed territorial governor of Nebraska but declined to fill the position. He was, however, always an active democrat in politics and did all in his power to promote the growth and ensure the success of his party. In Douglas county he wedded Fidelia Allen, whose ancestors were among the defenders of American liberty in the Revolutionary war, so that Edward J. McArdle is eligible to membership in the Sons of the Revolution. Mrs. McArdle, a native of New York, survives her husband and yet resides on the old home farm.
Reared under the paternal roof, Edward J. McArdle supplemented his public school education by two years' study in Creighton College of Omaha and in 1891 he secured a position on the Omaha Bee in connection with the mailing depart- ment. He was continuously with the Bee for eight years, or until 1899, when he became an employe of the Sovereign Visitor, a monthly publication issued by the Woodmen of the World, and there he remained for five years. He next established a stamp and stencil business, which he is now conducting under the name of the Western Stamp & Stencil Company. He is also a member of the Advance Manufacturing & Supply Company, a Chicago corporation, and he is the president of the International Stamp & Stencil Association.
On the 25th of May, 1899, in Omaha, Mr. McArdle was married to Miss Katherine O'Hanlon, a daughter of James P. O'Hanlon, of Omaha, and they have two children, William James and Katherine Mercedes. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. McArdle is identified also with the Knights of Columbus, the Woodmen of the World, the Loyal Order of Moose and the Eagles. He also belongs to the Avocation Club of Omaha and to the Commercial Club. In politics he has been a stalwart democrat since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he is now a member of both the Douglas county and Nebraska state democratic central committees. While at Benson he served as a member of the city council and in 191I was elected to the state legislature, in which he served for one term. His opinions carry weight in the local and state councils of his party and he is regarded as one of the prom- inent democratic leaders of Nebraska.
JOHN MARTIN DAUGHERTY.
In the world of business John Martin Daugherty has steadily worked his way toward success by indefatigable industry and perseverance. His start was not unlike that of many other American boys of his day. Of humble parentage, he soon realized the necessity of work and all that it entailed, but with an indomitable will he kept to his purpose, being guided at all times by a spirit of enterprise and laudable ambition.
His father, Martin Daugherty, a native of Ireland, accompanied by his wife, a daughter of Mitchell Greene, reached Canada in the year 1852, and it was here in the town of Blenheim, Oxford county, Ontario, in the year 1859, that John M. Daugherty was born. At the close of the Civil war in 1865 the family located in Trumbull county, Ohio, where Martin Daugherty died in the following year. Some years later his widow removed to northern Iowa, whence she afterward came to Omaha to live with her son, John M., passing away while visiting at the home of another son June 2, 1899.
John Martin Daugherty as a lad attended the public schools, in Ohio. He was a youth of fifteen years when in 1874 he started out to earn his own living, securing a clerkship in a general merchandise store in Vienna, Ohio, where he remained for two years, thence going to West Jersey, Illinois, he engaged in the same line of work for more than a year, after which he saw a chance to go on with his education. From there he went to Crete, Nebraska, where he entered Doane College and studied for two years. Coming to Omaha in 1881, he was employed
JOHN M. DAUGHERTY
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by McShane & Schroeder, wholesale produce merchants, for a short time, after which he was given a position in the office of the late John A. Creighton, with whom he was connected until the time of Mr. Creighton's death in February, 1907. He rose from a humble position in Mr. Creighton's service until he became his right hand confidential adviser. He found in each day's work courage and inspiration enough to carry him on through the succeeding day, and his life record is proof of the fact that activity does not tire, that it hardens and gives resisting power. His energies have ever been carefully and wisely directed, he thus advancing step by step, each step bringing him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He is today the president of the J. M. Daugherty Land & Cattle Company, controlling extensive interests, and he is also financially and officially connected with many other business concerns of importance.
On the 27th of February, 1889, in Omaha, Mr. Daugherty was united in marriage to Miss Clara, a daughter of John D. Creighton and a niece of the late John A. Creighton. Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty's family consists of five children, John Creighton, Frederick Charles, Edward Allison, Claire and George Martin.
The family are communicants of the Catholic church, and in political faith Mr. Daugherty is a democrat. He holds menibership with the Elks and is also a member of the Omaha Club and Country Club. The sterling worth of his character has been recognized and appreciated by his associates and contem- poraries, and during the thirty-five years of his residence in Omaha he has gained the confidence, goodwill and high respect of those with whom he has been associated, while at the same time his business ability has made for success.
DE VER SHOLES.
The news of the death of De Ver Sholes came with a shock to many of Omaha's citizens and carried with it a sense of personal bereavement, for during the thirty-eight years of his residence here his life record had become strongly interwoven with the history of the city and his many sterling traits of character had endeared him to his acquaintances and business colleagues. He was born upon a farm in Oneida county, New York, in 1855, a son of Lewis Miller Sholes, also a native of the Empire state, who removed to Butler county, Iowa, during the boyhood of his son De Ver. The latter obtained a public school education and in 1877, when a young man of twenty-two years, removed to Omaha, main- taining his residence here until called to his final rest. For a number of years he was associated with the Pacific Express Company but his desire to engage in business on his own account led him in 1887 to open a real estate office as a member of the firm of Sholes & Crum. Not long afterward he organized the D. V. Sholes Company and throughout the intervening years until his death his firm figured prominently in the real estate interests of the city, handling some of the largest realty transfers known in Omaha. Less than a year prior to his death he promoted the sale of the Schlitz corner, which was sold by the First National Bank to George Joslyn for six hundred thousand dollars. Not long before his demise he disposed of property at the corner of Twenty-fourth and Farnam streets to Elmer Neville for one hundred thousand dollars, and he handled the Northwestern railroad purchase of its freight depot property, for which three hundred and eighty thousand dollars was paid. Only a few days before his last illness he sold the George Payne residence in Fairacres to J. A. Sunderland for forty thousand dollars. While he thus handled some of the largest real estate deals in Omaha, he did not become a wealthy man, although he was in comfortable financial circumstances. He was one of the very few among Omaha's real estate men to act exclusively as an agent, doing no personal speculation. It was a recognized fact that his word was as good as his signature and his colleagues and contemporaries bear testimony to his irreproachable business honesty.
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In 1877, in Farley, Iowa, Mr. Sholes was married to Miss Delphina Clark and they became parents of a son and a daughter: Lewis Clark, who is his father's successor in business; and Helen S., of Omaha. These children, together with the mother, survive the husband and father, who was a man ever devoted to the welfare of his family and found his greatest happiness in promot- ing their interests.
His political allegiance was given the republican party, and while he never sought nor desired office, he served as a member of the school board of Omaha and was ever interested in the welfare of the public school system. He belonged to the Field and Commercial Clubs and all who were associated with him learned to value him speedily at his worth. His traits of character were indeed sterling and at all times he valued his own self-respect as of infinitely more worth than wealth, fame or position. He passed away on the 15th day of October, 1915, after thirty-eight years' connection with the interests of Omaha, leaving behind him a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance. If a pen picture could accurately delineate his business characteristics it might be given in these words: A progressive spirit ruled by more than ordinary intelli- gence and good judgment ; a deep earnestness impelled and fostered by indomi- table perseverance; a native justice expressing itself in correct principle and practice.
GEORGE WALTER LOOMIS.
George Walter Loomis, president of the Omaha Loan & Building Association and for a quarter of a century assistant to the general manager and chief clerk of the Burlington Railroad, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, March 4, 1857. His father, George Gilbert Loomis, also a native of Windsor, was born in 1820 and was a son of George Loomis, whose entire life was spent at Windsor. George W. Loomis is a representative in the ninth generation of the Loomis family in America and is the first in his direct line of descent to leave the old home at Windsor, where the immigrant ancestor, Joseph Loomis, settled with his five sons on coming from England to the new world in 1638. George G. Loomis, in response to the country's call for aid, enlisted in 1862 for duty with the Twenty- second Regiment of Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, remaining with that com- mand until the termination of its period of service, when he was mustered out with the rank of corporal. He married Abigail M. Loomis, a distant relative, and he devoted his entire life to farming, passing away in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1884, while his wife survived until 1889.
George W. Loomis pursued his education in the public schools of Windsor and in a preparatory college at Hartford, Connecticut, where he completed his course. At the age of eighteeen years he secured a clerkship in a store in his native village, there remaining until 1879, when, attracted by the opportunities of the rapidly developing middle west, he made his way to Corning, Iowa, and there accepted a clerkship in the private bank of Frank & Darrow. He continued in that position for a year and then went to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he became stenographer in the land office of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad, a part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy System. He remained in the capital city until January, 1881, when he was transferred to the office of the general super- intendent of the Burlington at Omaha and later was transferred to the general manager's office, in which for the past quarter of a century he has been assistant to the general manager and chief clerk, having responsible duties in this con- nection. Since 1890 he has been president of the Omaha Loan & Building Association, of which he is an incorporator, and he is likewise president of the Prospect Hill Cemetery Association.
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