USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 25
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HARRY E. MAHAFFEY.
Harry E. Mahaffey, whose efforts have materially increased the volume of insurance business done in Omaha during almost a quarter of a century, was born in Oquawka, Illinois, in 1864, a son of Joseph C. and Mary Elizabeth (Kitchen) Mahaffey. His paternal grandfather was a native of Ohio, while the maternal grandfather, John Kitchen, was a native of North Carolina. The Mahaffey family is of Scotch-Irish descent, while the maternal grandmother of Harry E. Mahaffey came from Holland. Joseph C. Mahaffey was born on a farm in Brown county, Ohio, in 1838 and took up the occupation of farming as a life work but at the time of the Civil war responded to the country's call for troops in October, 1861, enlisting as a member of Company I, Fiftieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He participated in the engagement of Fort Donelson, was
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wounded twice in the battle of Shiloh April 6, 1862, and took part in a number of hotly contested engagements which contributed to the victory that finally crowned the Union arms. He was mustered out in August, 1862. In 1886 he became a resident of Tingley, Iowa, where he passed away in April, 1907, and his widow is now a resident of Fort Morgan, Colorado.
In the schools of Little York, Illinois, Harry E. Mahaffey pursued his educa- tion and never had the advantage of a college course. In 1887 he arrived in Omaha, then a young man of twenty-three years, and for two years thereafter was employed in a grocery store. He next entered the employ of the Philadelphia Publishing House as city agent in Omaha and spent six months in that connec- tion, at the end of which time he secured a position with T. S. Grigor, coffee and tea merchant, while later he engaged in clerking in a grocery store again, so continuing from 1890 until the spring of 1893. On the expiration of that period he entered the employ of the Pacific Mutual Life & Accident Insurance Company of San Francisco and six years afterward became a representative of the Standard Accident Insurance Company of Detroit, Michigan. In 1900 he was made superintendent of agents for the state of Iowa and a year later his jurisdiction was extended to Nebraska, northern Missouri and South Dakota. He retained his headquarters at Des Moines, Iowa, until July 1, 1910, when he was transferred to Omaha as general manager of Nebraska, which position he now fills. He thoroughly understands every phase of the insurance business and his administrative direction and executive force constitute a very potent clement in the upbuilding of the business of the company in this state.
On the 24th of April, 1895, in Omaha, Mr. Mahaffey was united in marriage to Miss Jessie May Monteith, her parents being Lavinus and Margaret (Patter- son) Monteith. The father, who was born in the Mohawk valley of New York in 1802, passed away in 1895, while the mother, a native of Scotland, died in 1885, when fifty-five years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Mahaffey are the parents of four children, namely: Edith Fern, Helen Grace, Donald Monteith and Margaret Elizabeth.
The parents hold membership in the Lowe Avenue Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Mahaffey is a trustee. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and he has membership in the Concord Club, the Ad Club and the Ak-Sar-Ben. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and he stands at all times for those forces which he believes to be of vital worth in the upbuilding and progress of his city and state. He is never willing to choose the second best but looks for those things which are of greatest value to the community in its material, intellectual, social and moral development.
CLARENCE B. FOLTZ, M. D.
Dr. Clarence B. Foltz, an intelligent, progressive and popular young medical practitioner of Omaha, recognizing fully the responsibilities and obligations devolving upon him, was born in Clare, Illinois, November 9, 1885, a son of Jonathan and Nancy (Barlow) Foltz and a grandson of B. M. Foltz, a native of Germany, who was brought to the United States by his parents in his child- hood days, the family home being established first in Pennsylvania. He after- ward removed to Illinois and passed away in Farmington, that state. His son Jonathan was born in Pennsylvania in 1858 and was married in Farmington, Illi- nois, to Nancy Barlow, a native of that state, who passed away in 1913. The father is still living.
Dr. Foltz accompanied his parents on their removal to Osceola, Iowa, acquired his education in the public schools there and was graduated in 1914 from the medical department of Creighton University at Omaha. He then opened an office in this city and already has built up a practice which many an older member
DR. CLARENCE B. FOLTZ
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of the profession might well envy. He is thoroughly conversant with all the inodern methods of treatment and is deeply interested in everything that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life.
On the 11th of November, 1907, in Osceola, Iowa, Dr. Foltz was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Adelia Cady, a daughter of Judson Cady, of Vancouver, Washington, and they have become the parents of four children, Mary C., Alice A., Ethel A. and Elizabeth.
Dr. Foltz votes with the republican party and he holds membership with the Commercial Club, thus cooperating in interests and activities that have for their object the benefit and upbuilding of the city. He has membership in the Christian church and the rules that govern his conduct are further indicated in his association with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the commandery and consistory degrees, and has also become a member of the Mystic Shrine. His life already indicates the progressive spirit and laudable ambition which have prompted him in his professional career and which promise well for success in the future.
ELLIS U. GRAFF.
It is a recognized fact that Omaha holds to and maintains high educational standards, not alone in her colleges and universities but in her public schools and therefore she demands that those in charge of her public institutions of learning shall be people of marked ability and of superior qualifications in their chosen field. Thorough preliminary training and broad experience well prepared Pro- fessor Ellis U. Graff for the position which he now occupies as superintendent of schools in Omaha. He was born March 9, 1875, in Red Oak, Iowa, a son of David Graff, a native of Pennsylvania, and a grandson of Joseph Graff, whose birth occurred in Germany. David Graff was born in 1840 and removing to Illinois in early life, he there married Lucy White, coming to Iowa subsequent to the Civil war. He had served as a defender of the Union cause for three years, enlisting in an Illinois cavalry regiment, with which he was in active duty at Shiloh, in the siege of Vicksburg and in other important engagements. Both he and his wife are still living, their home being in Sac City, Iowa.
Ellis U. Graff was reared in Sac City, Iowa, whither his parents removed in his early boyhood, and after attending the public schools there he became a student in the Lake Forest College at Lake Forest, Illinois, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897, winning the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Later he pursued post graduate work in the University of Chicago and in 1915 the Master of Arts degree was conferred upon him by his alma mater. He took up the profession of teaching as instructor in Latin and Greek in the high school at Clinton, Iowa, there remaining through the scholastic year of 1897-8. He then returned to his native city as principal of the high school, which position he occupied for three years, and for a similar period he was principal of the high school at Marshalltown, Iowa. He later spent four years as high school principal at Rockford, Illinois, and in 1908 accepted the position of principal of the high school of Omaha, in which connection he was retained for three years, and was then in 1911 chosen superintendent of schools, in which capacity he has now served for five years. His work has been highly satisfactory to the public, especially to those who give thoughtful and earnest consideration to the question of public education. He keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought and progress and is continually seeking out and employing new methods which will advance the efficiency of the schools.
At Clinton, Iowa, on the 18th of August, 1897, Mr. Graff was united in mar- riage to Miss Margaret Conger, a daughter of John S. Conger, who was a veteran
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of the Civil war, enlisting from Wisconsin. Two children have been born of this marriage, Esther and Mary Elizabeth.
Professor and Mrs. Graff are communicants of the Presbyterian church and in political faith he is a republican, well versed in the principles of the party yet without ambition or desire for public office. His interest in community affairs finds expression in his membership in the Commercial Club and he enjoys pleasant social relations through his membership in the Rotary, University and Palimpsest Clubs. It would be tautological in this connection to enter into any series of statements showing him to be a man of broad scholarly attainments, for this has been shadowed forth between the lines of this review. He is recognized, however, as a man of kindly sympathy, generous in his opinion of others and yet never deviating from the high standards which he has set up as the course of his own conduct.
EDWARD WOOD. SIMERAL.
Edward Wood Simeral was the first county attorney of Douglas county and is yet an active practitioner at the Omaha bar. He was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1853, a son of James Montgomery Simeral, who was born in Smithfield, Ohio, March 12, 1821, and was there married in 1852 to Martha Wood, a daughter of Edward Wood, a native of England. In April, 1861, James M. Simeral responded to the country's call for troops to aid in quelling the rebellion in the south. He joined the First Iowa Cavalry, going to the front as a private, but was soon afterward made lieutenant and rose to the rank of captain of Company L of the First Iowa Cavalry. On being mustered out at Austin, Texas, in August, 1866, he held the rank of major. Following the close of the war he purchased a plantation in Texas and there remained for two years. He brought his family to Omaha in 1870 and for many years he was actively engaged in the real estate business in this city, passing away in 1902, while his widow survived him until 1906.
During the period of the Civil war Edward W. Simeral was a pupil in Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio, pursuing his studies in that institution until 1866. He had previously been a pupil in the high school at Terre Haute, Indiana, for a year. In 1870 he came with his parents to Omaha and the following year entered the employ of the Omaha Bee, with which he was con- nected until December, 1903. It was soon after his arrival in this city that he took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1876, after which he served as attorney for the Bee from that date until 1903. He now concentrates his attention upon the private practice of law and his clientage is extensive and important. In January, 1886, he became the first county attorney of Douglas county and so continued for two years.
Mr. Simeral votes with the republican party. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church and he belongs to the Knights of Columbus and is master of the fourth or patriotic degree for the district comprising Nebraska and South Dakota.
HARRY B. FLEHARTY.
Harry B. Fleharty, city solicitor of Omaha, to which position he was appointed in June, 1915, has long been regarded as an active factor in democratic circles in eastern Nebraska and has been an untiring worker in support of the principles in which he believes. He was born in Windsor, Illinois, on the Ist of July, 1872, and comes of a family of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His father, Henry C. Fleharty,
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a farmer by occupation, was born in Maryland in 1833 and had a twin brother, the late Rev. John Quincy Adams Fleharty, who passed away in Omaha in 1916. Henry C. Fleharty was united in marriage to Margaret Cullison, a native of Virginia, who passed away in 1909, but Mr. Fleharty continues a resident of Omaha.
It was in the year 1880 that the parents removed to Ogallala, Nebraska, and there Harry B. Fleharty attended the public schools, while later he studied at Fullerton. He likewise spent two years in the Nebraska Wesleyan College at Lincoln and later entered upon the study of law, being admitted to the bar in 1893 at Stockville, Nebraska. He there began practice but after eighteen months removed to Larned, Kansas, where he continued for a year. In 1896 he was appointed private secretary by Governor John W. Leedy and occupied that posi- tion for two years. In 1899 he opened an office in South Omaha, where he continued in the private practice of law until 1906, when he was elected to the office of city attorney. Two years later he was nominated for the position of attorney general of the state on the democratic ticket, but met defeat, as did the entire ticket save the candidate for governor. In 1908 he removed to Omaha and in 1910 he was defeated by only ninety votes for the nomination for congress. In June, 1915, he was appointed city solicitor of Omaha, which position he is now acceptably and creditably filling. For a long period he has been an active leader in the democratic party and his opinions carry weight in its councils. He has ever closely studied the vital and significant problems before the country and his position is the result of a firm belief in the principles which he advocates.
On the 22d of October, 1912, in Kansas City, Missouri, Mr. Fleharty was united in marriage to Miss Maud Doersam. They attend the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Fleharty also holds membership with the Woodmen of the World, the Eagles and the Stags. His interest in and support of measures of civic virtue and civic pride is indicated in his identification with the Commercial Club.
EDWARD MORRIS MARTIN.
Edward Morris Martin, vice president of the Guarantee Fund Life Associa- tion, was born in Delafield, Wisconsin, September 23, 1871. His father, the Rev. John Martin, was born in Ripley, Ohio, in 1825 and was the grandson of Alexander Martin, who enlisted from Staunton, Virginia, as a soldier in the Revolutionary war and was wounded at the battle of Brandywine. The Rev. John Martin became a Presbyterian minister and served as chaplain of an Ohio regiment in the Civil war. He was married in his native state to Miss Elizabeth King, who was born in Ohio, and in 1865 they went to Wisconsin, while in 1880 they came to Nebraska, settling in Cedar county, where the father passed away in 1891 and the mother in 1896.
Edward M. Martin acquired a country school education in Cedar county and later attended Hastings College at Hastings, Nebraska, and Grinnell College at Grinnell, Iowa, being graduated from the latter with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1893. He completed a course in the law department of the Nebraska State University in 1895 and the same year was admitted to the bar. He at once located in Omaha, where he has since practiced law, and from 1912 to the present he has devoted his attention to insurance litigation and is vice president of and counsel for the Guarantee Fund Life Association. He is likewise president of the Home Casualty Company of Omaha and for years he has been counsel for the Nebraska State Bankers Association.
On the Ist of January, 1900, in Yankton, South Dakota, Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Louisa Felber, her father being John J. Felber, who has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Martin hold membership in the West-
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minster Presbyterian church and he belongs also to the Omaha Club and the University Club, to the Sons of the American Revolution and to the Commercial Club. His political endorsement is given to the republican party. He earned the money with which to pay his way through college, as his father was unable to help him. He devotes his time and attention to his family and to his business rather than to clubs and social organizations and he has a beautiful country home about four miles from Omaha, where he spends much of the time not occupied with his legal and financial interests.
FRANK J. BIRSS.
Frank J. Birss stands at the head of one of the most important industrial enterprises of Omaha, being president of the Western Bridge & Construction Company, and his history is a story of earnest endeavor. When in the battle of life the city boy crosses swords with the country lad the odds are against him. The early rising, the daily tasks, the economic habits of the country boy prepare him for the struggle that must precede ascendancy. His early training was that of the farm and the habits of industry and close application which he there developed have constituted the foundation of his present success. He was born in 1862 upon a farm in Cedar county, Iowa. His father, John Birss, who followed agricultural pursuits throughout his entire life, was born in Scotland in 1818 and came alone to the United States in 1847, his arrival on the Atlantic coast terminating a voyage of fourteen weeks in one of the old-time sailing vessels. He made his way to Cedar county, Iowa, where a Scotch settlement had been planted, and there he married Ann Yule, their remaining days being spent in that county.
Reared on the home farm in the usual manner of boys of that locality and period, Frank J. Birss attended the country schools and also pursued a course in a business college in Omaha. In 1883 he located on a farm in Thayer county, Nebraska, devoting the succeeding four years to the work of tilling the soil. In 1887 he entered the live stock and grain business in Belvidere, Thayer county, operating along that line until 1891, when he accepted the position of manager of a large elevator in Belvidere, so continuing until 1898. In 1894-5 there was a crop failure and to bridge over the interval Mr. Birss sold accident insurance, which was hard work, for money was scarce, but the experience proved of value to him and taught him self-confidence. He persevered and the second winter had a surplus over his expenses. It was in 1902 that he became connected with the enterprise of which he is now the head, having in that year entered the employ of John W. Towle, bridge builder, being connected with road work until 1906, when he was advanced to the position of manager and so continued until November of that year, when the Western Bridge & Construction Company was organized by Mr. Towle, Mr. Birss becoming secretary with Mr. Towle as president. This proved a growing and profitable undertaking and in November, 1914, Mr. Birss became president, Mr. Towle having withdrawn from the business. A local paper said :
"One of the chiefest of Omaha's many industries is the Western Bridge & Construction Company. This concern specializes in the smaller bridges, making it a policy to accept only such contracts as it can finish to the complete satisfac- tion of the patron, and in thus specializing it has created a field for its endeavors that places it in the position of being a dominant factor in the pioneer work of trail blazing. This idea of specialization is carried further in that the company does not maintain its own shops, but purchases the material used in its construc- tion work from other shops that have the equipment to produce the best material. At the offices of the company, No. 648 Bee building, its engineers are constantly engaged in working out plans for defeating the obstacles of nature in spanning
FRANK J. BIRSS
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rivers, creeks and valleys. The company's work has proved one of the big factors in improvement of country roads, as the viaducts and bridges it erects are the acme of safety and service. One of the big things done by the company, which best illustrates its ability to perform acts that are in the nature of miracles, was the building of the intake for the Omaha Electric Light & Power Company's big generating plant on the banks of the Missouri river. This contract involved forty thousand dollars and is one of the most important engineering contracts ever completed in Omaha. The company's operations include the building of bridges in all parts of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. This work in every instance may be considered in the light of pioneering, for it makes pos- sible the march of progress. Bridges spanning the rivers and valleys of the west mean the shortening of distance, the annihilation of time, and the building of new cities on the new routes of travel provided by these bridges. This company means an important element in the upbuilding of the city, for in every piece of work it completes another tribute to the enterprise and ingenuity of Omaha is added. F. J. Birss, president of the company, is one of the experts and authori- ties of the country on bridge building."
On the 28th of September, 1892, in Belvidere, Nebraska, Mr. Birss wedded Carrie A. Allen. They attend the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Birss is a York Rite Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, to the Commercial Club and to the Ak-Sar- Ben and in the midst of a very busy life he finds time to do his part in every civic enterprise that has for its aim the building of a bigger and better Omaha. In 1897, he was elected county clerk of Thayer county, and later he received . endorsement of his first term's service in reelection. At the close of his second term he refused the nomination for county treasurer, for his ambition is not along the line of office seeking, as he has ever regarded the pursuits of private life as in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts.
CHARLES B. RUSTIN.
Charles B. Rustin, who during the years of his residence in Omaha was identified with mining and allied interests, arrived in this city in 1864 and it was his place of residence until his final summons came. He was born in Vermont, March 29, 1836, and was a youth of sixteen years when in March, 1852, he removed to Ohio, spending the succeeding year with a civil engineering corps. He then went to Denmark, Iowa, and in 1856 took up his abode at Sioux City. He was living there at the time of the Indian uprising and massacre, in which connection he did a notable service for the settlers. News reached the locality that the red men were approaching and all knew what might be expected if they were allowed to carry out their designs. Mr. Rustin, then a young man of twenty-five years, volunteered to ride to Council Bluffs and inform the military force there of the situation. He left Sioux City at seven o'clock at night on horseback and reached Council Bluffs at nine o'clock the following morning after fourteen hours spent in the saddle, having changed horses at the mail stations. There was then no telegraph communication between Council Bluffs and Sioux City and when Mr. Rustin volunteered it was believed that he would never reach there alive, for the Indians were supposed at that time to be in force, south of the city. With undaunted bravery and determination, however, he started, riding on through the long hours of the night, urging his horse to its utmost speed until he rode into Council Bluffs and gave the warning. Governor Kirkwood was telegraphed of the alarming conditions in the northwest. An order was tele- graphed back by the Governor that the regiment which was in marching order to go to the south should start at once for Sioux City, and accordingly the troops departed for the north. Mr. Rustin became adjutant to Colonel James A.
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Sawyer of the Northern Border Brigade, with which he did active service in protecting the frontier during the Indian uprising.
It was in the year 1864 that Mr. Rustin took up his permanent abode in Omaha. He had previously been engaged in the real estate business at Sioux City and following his arrival in Nebraska was for a time identified with ferry interests across the river as an owner of the Omaha Ferry Company. He was also freight agent with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company until arrangements were.made to pool their interests, after which he represented the pooled lines until the completion of the bridge across the Missouri river. Later he resigned in order to devote his entire attention to his duties as president of the Omaha Smelting Company, continuing in that position until 1880. He then severed his connection with the company, after which he was individually inter- ested in mining at Leadville. He had at different times operated mines in Nevada, Utah, old Mexico and Idaho. He was one of the incorporators of the Cable Tramway Company of Omaha in 1884 and also one of its reorganizers in 1888, when it became the Omaha Cable Tramway Company. He took a most active and helpful part in promoting the early transportation interests and facilities of the city. In a word, he contributed much to the upbuilding of the district and his name thus became inseparably interwoven with its annals.
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