Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II, Part 3

Author: Wakeley, Arthur Cooper, 1855- ed
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1028

USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 3

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

GEORGE C. TOWLE.

The year 1873 witnessed the arrival of George C. Towle in Omaha and to the time of his death he was identified with the fuel trade. Under his careful guidance his business interests assumed extensive proportions and his trade relations covered a wide territory. He removed to Nebraska from Iowa and had previously lived in New York, his birth having occurred in Rockford, Illi- nois, in 1841. On taking up his abode in the middle west he settled first in Ottumwa, Iowa, where for a short time he was engaged in the insurance business. Seeking another field of labor, he arrived in Omaha in 1873 and from the time of his arrival here was engaged in the coal trade. For a brief period he was iden-

OMAIIA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY

tified with the National Coal & Mining Company, which he organized, but which met with financial disaster, and later he became a member of the firm of Pratt & Towle, which association was maintained until Mr. Pratt sold out and removed elsewhere. They conducted the business along both wholesale and retail lines. His next association was with George Patterson in the organization of the Nebraska Fuel Company, which is today the oldest fuel company of the city, having been founded in 1882. Mr. Towle was chosen president and so continued until his death. He and Mr. Pratt built up a business of large and gratifying proportions and he remained active therein until three and a half years prior to his demise, when failing health obliged him to leave the management of his interests to others, although he continued as president of the company until his life's labors were ended. He was thoroughly reliable in all of his business transactions and was never known to take advantage of a fellowman. The com- pany furnished fuel to all the large concerns of the city and shipped coke cxten- sively to Leadville for a number of years, maintaining at the time a branch office and yards in Denver.

In Ottumwa, in 1870, Mr. Towle was married to Miss Eliza A. Blake, who was born in Bangor, Maine, and they became the parents of two children, Rossiter B., president of the O'Brien Candy Company of Omaha, and Bessie B. The fam- ily residence was for thirty years maintained at Twenty-fourth and Douglas streets and Mrs. Towle still owns that property.

It was on the 13th of December, 1905, that Mr. Towle passed away, when sixty-four years of age. His life measured up to high standards. He was an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity and was equally loyal as a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he was a repub- lican, but the honors and emoluments of office had no attraction for him. He lived in Omaha for a third of a century and those with whom he had business or social relations came to appreciate his true worth, recognizing in him a man of many sterling traits of character. Not only was he enterprising and successful in business, but was progressive and public-spirited in citizenship and was ever loyal to the ties of family and friends.

JUDGE GEORGE BAKER LAKE.

An enumeration of the men of Nebraska who have won honor and public recognition for themselves and at the same time honored the state to which they belong would be incomplete were there failure to make prominent reference to the late Judge George Baker lake. He held distinctive precedence as an eminent lawyer and jurist and as a statesman of ability and in every connection he bore himself with such signal dignity as to gain the respect of all. He has been regarded as one of the ablest men who have sat upon the bench of the court of last resort in Nebraska and at all times he was recognized as a man of well rounded character, finely balanced mind and splendid intellectual attainments.

Judge George Baker Lake was born September 15, 1827, at Greenfield, Sara- toga county, New York, a son of Walter C. and Nancy (Williams) Lake, the latter a lineal descendant of Roger Williams. George Baker Lake was the eldest of a family of six children. He received his early education in the country schools of New York and Ohio, his father having removed to the last named state in 1835, shortly before his death. George B. Lake spent his boyhood employed in farm work. At the age of twenty-one he entered Oberlin College where he spent two years.

In 1849 he began the study of law in the office of William F. Lockwood at Elyria, Ohio, and in the next year became a student in the law office of Clark & Burk, in the same place. In the fall of 1851 he was admitted to the bar before Judges Hitchcock and Spaulding of the supreme court of Ohio. In the spring

George Baker Lake

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENTY AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY

of 1852 he formed a partnership with Mr. Burk, junior member of the firm of Clark & Burk, which continued for two years. He then formed a partnership with Lionel A. Sheldon, later member of congress from Louisiana. This part- nership continued until his removal to Nebraska in November, 1856. He had various professional partnerships here, being at first associated with A. J. Popple- ton under the firm name of Poppleton & Lake. He afterward became the associate of George I. Gilbert, under the style of Lake & Gilbert, and next was with Charles H. Brown in the firm of Lake & Brown. In January, 1888, he entered into partnership with James W. Hamilton and afterward they were joined by a third partner under the style of Lake, Hamilton & Maxwell. He continued thus a distinguished member of the bar to the time of his death and upon the admission of Nebraska to the Union he was elected one of the associate justices of the supreme court and became the first chief justice. The state was originally divided into three judicial districts and Judge Lake was given jurisdiction over Douglas and nine other counties. In this connection, in April, 1867, he held the first term of court in Nebraska under state government. In 1870 he was elected chief justice for a term of four years and was reelected to the bench, drawing by lot the short term of two years, as the result of which he became chief justice for that period. In 1877 he was elected associate justice for a term of six years under the constitution of 1873, and during the last two years of that term he was the presiding judge. In 1883 he declined renomination and on the Ist of January, 1884, resumed the private practice of law in Omaha. He always took a most active and helpful interest in matters of public concern and for years he did important service in behalf of the educational interests of the city as a member of the school board. He was elected a regent of the high school in 1871 and put forth every possible effort to uphold teaching standards. He was four times elected a member of the territorial legislature and he represented Douglas county in the constitutional convention of 871. Judge Lake was a democrat in politics until the beginning of the Civil war, when he became a republican upon the issue of slavery.

He was married at Belleville, Ohio, in December, 1851, to Miss D. A. Popple- ton, by whom he had one son, George E., now a resident of San Diego, California. Mrs. Lake died in 1854 and he was married in 1856 to Miss Zada Jane Poppleton, a sister of Andrew J. Poppleton, and a cousin of his first wife. Of this union there was born one daughter, Carrie Jane, who became the wife of Joy Morton, eldest son of the late J. Sterling Morton. His second wife died in 1860, and he was married in 1861 to Miss Abbie G. Hayes of Omaha, who survives him and is a resident of this city. Two children were born of this marriage, Mary, who became the wife of Charles L. Deuel, and Dr. Frederick W. Lake, of Omaha. Judge Lake passed away on July 27, 1910, in the eighty-third year of his age.

CHARLES BRACY McDONALD.

Charles Bracy McDonald, serving for the second term as city comptroller of Omaha, was born September 26, 1882, and his life record, which has won him official honors, stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is never without honor save in his own country. He is of Scotch descent, being a grandson of John McDonald, who was born in Scotland and came to the United States soon after the arrival of his son, John Wright McDonald. His remaining days were passed in Omaha, where he was known as a respected and valued citizen. John W. McDonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland, October 1, 1854, and in early manhood left the land of hills and heather with the intention of try- ing his fortune in the United States. He made his way to Cumberland, Maryland, and afterward became a resident of Omaha, where he wedded Alice May King. From 1896 until 1899 inclusive and again from 1905 until 1907 he filled the office Vol. TI-2

OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY

of sheriff of Douglas county. He was also a man of prominence in business circles and his activities constituted an important element in the advancement of commercial interests. He was vice president of the W. J. Broatch Iron & Steel Company, vice president of the Lion Bonding & Surety Company and the presi- dent of the McDonald Brothers Foundry. The careful management and control of his business interests brought him success long ere death called him on the 27th of June, 1908.

Reared in his native city, Charles B. McDonald attended its public schools and on attaining his majority in 1903 he was elected to the position of secretary of the WV. J. Broatch Iron & Steel Company, of which his father was the vice president. He left that company in January, 1906, and entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad Company in connection with the land department. Soon after- ward he was appointed to the position of cashier in the office of the county treasurer of Douglas county and there continued for four and a half years, after which he resigned. He then turned his attention to the real estate and insurance brokerage business, in which he engaged for two years, and in February, 1911, he was appointed deputy city comptroller to fill a vacancy, serving as such until May, 1912, when he was made comptroller. At the close of his first three years' term he was reappointed to the office in May, 1915, so that his present incumbency will continue until 1918, making his entire connection with the office a period of seven years. His previous experience along business lines well qualified him for his duties in this connection and he is prompt, faithful and reliable in the discharge of every task that devolves upon him.

On the 30th of November, 1909, at Madison, Nebraska, Mr. McDonald was united in marriage to Miss Roxy J. Wills, a daughter of William L. Wills, who was a soldier of the Civil war and a native of Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald have become the parents of two daughters, Alice Jean and Phoebe.

The family attends the Presbyterian church and Mr. McDonald is a Scottish Rite Mason and Mystic Shriner. He is also identified with the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks. He has always voted with the republican party since attaining his majority and his efforts in its behalf have been far-reaching and effective. There is no phase of the city's development in which he is not interested and no plan or measure for the general good seeks his endorsement and support in vain.

MICHAEL J. CURRAN.

On the roster of city officials in Omaha appears the name of Michael J. Curran, now holding the office of city electrician, his previous business training and experience thoroughly qualifying him for the responsibilities of his present position. He is recognized as an active worker in republican ranks and has done much to further the interests of his party in Douglas county. His birth occurred in County Queens, Ireland, June 3, 1873, his parents being Michael M. and Catharine (McKenna) Curran, who were also natives of the Emerald isle, where they were reared, educated and married. In 1873 the father crossed the Atlantic to the United States and after making preparations for a home for his family was joined by his wife and children in 1874. They became residents of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and in 1883 removed to Omaha, where the father conducted a hotel up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1889. While in Cass county he had filled the office of deputy sheriff for one term. His widow survived him for only three years, passing away in 1892.

Michael J. Curran pursued his education in the public schools of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and in the public and parochial schools of Omaha. Upon his father's death, which occurred when the son was sixteen years of age, he had to assume the responsibility of providing not only for his own support but for that of his

OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY

two younger brothers and two sisters. In 1893 he entered the employ of an electrical company, then known as the Thomson-Houston Electric Light Com- pany of Omaha and during this period was for six years the theatrical electrician at the Boyd Theater. He applied himself thoroughly to the mastery of every branch of the business. During his journeyman days he was very active in the ranks of organized labor and was one of the officers of the union most of the time. He continued in active connection with electrical work and in June, 1913, recognition of his ability in that line came to him in his appointment as city electrician, which office he is now filling.

Mr. Curran took a very active part in politics as a republican delegate from Douglas county to the state convention which was held in Lincoln in 1912 and was one of the "bolters" for Taft.

Mr. Curran is a Royal Arch Mason, also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben. He likewise has membership in the Omaha Electric Club and he is widely and favorably known in this city, in which he has now resided for a third of a century or from the age of ten years. His course is familiar to many of his fellow townsmen and their warm friendship places the stamp of their approval upon the policy which he has followed.

FRANK DEWEY.

Frank Dewey, the county clerk of Douglas county, is a splendid type of American manhood, exemplifying in his life those qualities which the American public holds in the highest regard. He has been continuously connected with the courts in Omaha since December, 1897, and his record in office has been characterized by the prompt and faithful discharge of his duties. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, June 27, 1862, and is descended from early New England ancestry, the family having been represented in every war in the country from early in 1700 down to the present time, a fact which indicates that patriotism is one of the marked family characteristics. His great-grandfather, his grandfather and his father, Josiah Allen Dewey, were all cabinetmakers. The last named was born in Maine in 1808 and was united in marriage to Emma Parr, also a native of the Pine Tree state. Removing to the west, Josiah A. Dewey became the founder of the town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and there continued his residence until his death, which occurred in 1863. His widow survived for about seventeen years and passed away in 1880.

In the town which his father had founded Frank Dewey spent his youthful days to the age of sixteen years and during that period attended the public schools and a business college. In 1878 he removed to Omaha and began clerking in a newsstand at the old union depot, remaining in that position for several years. When the Paxton Hotel was opened he established a cigar stand in that hostelry for another man but six months later returned to his old position and after two years went to Denver for the same people, his employers being the firm of Barkalow Brothers. He spent five or six years as their representative in Denver in various capacities and in December, 1897, returned to Omaha, where he entered the office of the tax clerk, and has since been continuously connected with the county clerk's office. In 1912 he was elected county clerk and in 1914 was reelected for a two years' term. He is also ex-officio county comptroller, superin- tendent of the county and city tax office and member of the board of equalization. His duties are manifold and important and are discharged with the utmost capability and fidelity, for he has ever regarded a public office as a public trust, and it is well known that no trust reposed in Frank Dewey is ever betrayed. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party.

In November, 1896, in Salt Lake City, Utah, Mr. Dewey was united in mar-

OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY

riage to Miss Jessie Ellen Burch and they now have three sons, William Frederick, Frank Clement and Harry Burch. Mr. Dewey was reared in the Episcopal faith. His belief is perhaps best expressed in his Masonic connection, for the craft finds in him an exemplary representative. He has taken the degrees of the Scottish Rite and the Mystic Shrine and he is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Loyal Order of Moose. He has qualities which render him popular and the circle of his friends in Omaha is almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances.

HON. JOHN IRVIN REDICK.

Among those men who figured prominently in the professional, business, financial, public and social life of Omaha during the first half century of the city's existence, none was any better known than John Irvin Redick. He was born on a farm near Wooster, in Wayne county, Ohio, July 29, 1828, a son of John H. and Eliza (Forbes) Redick. On the paternal side the family is of Scotch (lescent, while the mother's ancestors were of English extraction. The grand- father of John Irvin Redick was a judge of the court of common pleas in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, while John H. Redick, the father, was an accountant in the War of 1812 under General Bell. Later he engaged in farming and he also served for a number of years as deputy treasurer of Wayne county, Ohio. He (lied when his son, John I, was but a boy and the latter left home at the age of fifteen years, apprenticing himself to a tinsmith of Delaware, Ohio, for his board and lodging. There he remained for nearly a year, at the end of which time, having manufactured during his leisure hours a dozen or two lard-oil lamps, then in common use, he started forth with his stock in a basket on his arm and worked his way to Wooster, Ohio, where he found employment as a helper in a black- smith shop. Not long afterward he opened a smithy on his own account on the old homestead, but his ambition prompted him to put forth effort along other lines. He began to study law under the tutelage of Professor Parott at Wooster, Ohio, and when twenty-one years of age was able to enter Delaware College, now the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, where he remained as a student for two years. During that time he also gave some attention to the study of law and he continued his reading in a lawyer's office for almost a year after leaving school. Upon his admission to the Ohio bar in 1852 he removed to Lansing, Michigan, where he opened a law and real estate office.

In the fall of 1855 Mr. Redick wedded Miss Mary E. Higby, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who accompanied him to Lansing, and in the fall of 1856 they came to Omaha, bringing with them about two thousand dollars in cash, the savings of Mr. Redick's four years' work in Lansing. In the spring of 1857 he became the law partner of James G. Chapman, who was elected prosecuting attorney soon afterward. In 1859 Mr. Redick formed a partnership with Clinton Briggs, under the name of Redick & Briggs, and for ten years this firm enjoyed a large practice, being retained in nearly every important case in the courts of Douglas county and vicinity during that period. Mr. Redick enjoyed wide distinction as a jury lawyer and was a shrewd cross examiner. In 1870 he was chief counsel for the defense in the impeachment trial of David Butler, governor of Nebraska, who was ac- quitted on all the fifteen counts but one, and the conviction on that one was subsequently expunged from the record by the legislature of 1876-77. In 1869 the firm of Redick & Briggs was dissolved and for three years Mr. Redick continued in practice alone, having John D. Howe, who later became one of the well known and successful lawyers of Omaha, as his salaried law clerk. In 1872 he formed a partnership with Arthur N. Ferguson, afterward judge of the district court, which continued for two years. In 1877 he went to live in Denver, where

HON. JOHN I. REDICK

OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY

he served for about a year as attorney for the Union Pacific Railway Company, at the end of which time he again came to Omaha and entered into partnership with William J. Connell. After two years this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Redick was joined by his eldest son, Charles R. Redick. In 1882 they were joined by his second son, William A. Redick, and in 1884 Charles removed to Fargo, North Dakota, and from that time the father gradually retired from active prac- tice, withdrawing from the firm in 1885. In 1887 he removed to Los Angeles, California, where he was president of the Southern California National Bank, later known as the Merchants National Bank, until the fall of 1889, when he again returned to Omaha. From that time until his death, which occurred April 2, 1906, he devoted his attention to the management of his extensive private affairs, being a large holder of real estate and also having other interests outside of his profession. No man at the Omaha bar ever enjoyed a more prominent place as a jury lawyer than Mr. Redick, who followed original methods in the trial of cases, displayed great tact in presenting facts to the jury and generally was successful.

In politics Mr. Redick was a democrat until the outbreak of the Civil war. In 1860 he was a member of the lower house of the state legislature and received the votes of the democratic members for speaker. In 1861 he was commissioned first lieutenant of Company C of the Omaha Home Guards, First Brigade of the Nebraska Militia, by Governor Alvin Saunders. In 1862, being heartily in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war and disapproving strongly of the attitude of the democratic party on that issue, he became a republican and was in 1864 chairman of the delegation from Nebraska to; the Baltimore convention that nominated Lincoln and Johnson. In announcing the vote of his state Mr. Redick said: "Nebraska casts her seven votes for Abraham Lincoln, the second savior of the world." In the republican congressional convention of 1866 he received all but one of the votes of the section of the state north of the Platte river for nomination as delegate to congress. In 1872 he was chairman of the Nebraska delegation to the republican national convention in Philadelphia and on the 22d of May, 1876, he was appointed associate justice of New Mexico by President Grant. In 1880 he was disappointed and indignant at the defeat of Grant for renomination and in 1884 he announced his return to the democratic party, voting for Hancock that year. In 1882 he was the democratic candidate for member of congress and was defeated by Weaver of Richardson county, who had about half the usual republican majority. In 1896 Judge Redick again became a republican on the issues of protection and sound money. He voted for President Mckinley and approved his policy on all important questions.

Not only in the field of law practice and in politics was Mr. Redick a recog- nized leader but also in many other lines. In 1874 he was president of the Omaha Merchants Club, the pioneer organization of the kind, comprising about eighty of the best business men of the city. In 1875 he was president of a delegation from Nebraska and Iowa to Galveston, having in view the improvement of com- mercial relations with the south, and he was also one of the committee of five sent to Boston about that time to negotiate for the location of a railroad bridge at Omaha. He was one of the original promoters and stockholders of the Grand Central Hotel Company, which on the present site of the Paxton Hotel erected a hostelry that was at that time the finest west of Chicago. He was a large stock- holder and one of the incorporators of the Omaha & Northwestern Railroad. which built and equipped about fifty miles of road to Blair and beyond. This · road is now a part of the Northwestern system. Judge Redick was for some time general counsel for the road. He was also much interested in religious work, having membership in the Trinity Protestant Episcopal church, of which he served for several years as vestryman.

Judge Redick was married three times. His first wife was Mary E. Higby, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whom he wedded on November 5, 1855, and to them were born four daughters and three sons, of whom Charles Robinson was a lawyer at Oklahoma City and died in 1910 and William Armstrong is a district

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II, Part 3

Author: Wakeley, Arthur Cooper, 1855- ed Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke publishing co. Number of Pages: 1028

Author: Wakeley, Arthur Cooper, 1855- ed
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago, The S.J. Clarke publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1028