USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 33
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Wayne E. Sawtell was a youth of six years when the family removed from Hartwick to Des Moines, where he continued his education in the public schools and later entered Drake University of that city, from which he was graduated on the completion of the law course in 1910. He was then appointed private secretary to the Hon. Judge Smith McPherson and occupied that position for five months. He next located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and in November, 1912, removed to Omaha, where he has since practiced. He is a close student and fur- thermore recognizes the fact that indefatigable industry is just as essential in suc- cessful law practice as in the trades or in commercial life. He therefore prepares his cases with great thoroughness and care and this constitutes one of the strong elements of his growing success.
On the 18th of June, 1913, Mr. Sawtell was married in Council Bluffs to Miss Florence Harwood Keith, a daughter of Jonas Harwood Keith, who was born in Massachusetts. There is one daughter of this marriage, Jeanette Har- wood. The parents hold membership in the Congregational church and Mr. Sawtell gives his political support to the republican party, keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day.
ISAAC NEWTON VOGEL.
Isaac Newton Vogel, president and general manager of the Big 4 Realty Com- pany of Omaha, was born at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, in 1874. His father. Isaac Sylvester Vogel, was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and his parents came from Germany to the United States. The family home was estab- lished in Pennsylvania and the father was there residing at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. In full sympathy with the Union cause, he enlisted as a soldier of Company D, Fourth Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, with which he served from the outbreak of hostilities until the close. He was captured at Harpers Ferry and sent to Andersonville, where he was incarcerated for nine
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months, and on his release he was mustered out, the war having then been brought to a successful termination. He never recovered from the effects of his imprison- ment, however. From 1866 until 1884 he was engaged in the manufacture of lumber at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, and from the latter year until five years prior to his death continued in the same line of business at Port Allegany, Pennsylvania, his last years being spent in retirement. He married Miss Emma E. Parson, a native of the Keystone state.
It was in the schools of Port Allegany that Isaac N. Vogel pursued his educa- tion and in July, 1901, when a young man of twenty-seven years, he came to Omaha, where for seven years he was engaged in the life insurance business. In 1908 he turned his attention to the real estate and fire insurance business under the name of the Vogel Realty Agency and operated under that name, negotiating many important realty transfers and building up a business which reached large and profitable proportions. On December 1I, 1916, he organized the Big 4 Realty Company.
Mr. Vogel has been twice married. On the 26th of December, 1895, in Portville, New York, he wedded Miss Mittie Strang, who passed away December 29, 1900, leaving two children, Helen B. and Millard O. On the 22d of March, 1905, in Neligh, Nebraska, Mr. Vogel was again married, his second union being with Frances Elizabeth Myers, by whom he has three children: Sylvester .William, Georgianna E. and Gretchen R.
Mr. Vogel belongs to the Woodmen of the World and to the Fraternal Aid Union. Politically he maintains an independent course, casting his ballot accord- ing to the dictates of his judgment. He is interested in all matters of progressive citizenship and cooperates in well defined plans and measures for the public good.
ABRAHAM BURBANK.
A friend of Abraham Burbank characterized his life work in the following manner: "He started out with a shoestring and now owns a tannery." Back of this is the story of indefatigable effort, unfaltering perseverance and laudable ambition, which has brought him through the steps of an orderly progression to a prominent position in the business circles of Omaha, where he is now managing the Fontenelle Hotel. He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, February 4, 1878, a son of William Pomeroy and Harriett R. (Merrill) Burbank, the former a native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and the latter of New York. Both have now passed away, the father's death occurring in 1913, while the mother was called to her final rest in 1912.
Spending his youthful days in his native city, Abraham Burbank attended the public schools and afterward became a student in the Friends' school at Provi- dence, Rhode Island. His father and grandfather were both hotel men and when in 1896 Abraham Burbank started out in the business world he entered the employ of Swift & Company, remaining with that corporation until 1904 at Chicago, Boston and New York, occupying the position of traveling auditor, but his early experience and environment undoubtedly influenced his later business activity. He was as it were "to the manner born," and in 1905 he turned to the business of hotel management, going to Moosehead Lake, Maine, as manager of the Mount Kineo Hotel. Since that time he has successively managed the W. E. Woods System of Restaurant Hotels, the Whitcomb Hotel at Rochester, New York, the Ten Eyck Hotel at Albany, New York, the Virginia Hotel at Columbus, Ohio, the Hotel Vermont at Burlington, Vermont, and the Hotel Broezel at Buffalo, New York. He afterward joined with his brother, William R. Burbank, who died April 10, 1915, in the management of the Fontenelle Hotel in Omaha, of which he has since had charge, and he has made this a popular hostelry, con-
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ducted according to the most modern methods of hotel management. He is acquainted with every detail of the business, thoroughly studies every point connected with its control and gives to the public a service that ensures a continued patronage.
Mr. Burbank attends the Congregational church and he belongs to the Omaha Field Club and to the Commercial Club. His political support is given to the republican party, but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. He enjoys the well merited reputation of being one of the most alert, keen-sighted and discriminating business men in Omaha and his success is the legitimate and deserved reward of persistent and intelligently directed effort.
MRS. MARY MANNING H. CORMACK.
Since 1862 Mrs. Mary Cormack has been a resident of Omaha. On the Ist of June of that year she arrived in this city with her mother, who brought her family of seven children to Nebraska, making the trip by boat from Dubuque, lowa, to Omaha. They were three weeks en route owing to the fact that the boat was continually getting stuck on sand bars. They came to make their home with Mrs. Cormack's uncle, Joseph D. Manning, who had made the trip from Indianapolis by wagon in May, 1854. He was employed as watchman in the First National Bank and while serving in that capacity successfully frustrated an attempt at bank robbery. He made judicious investment of his savings in real estate and afterward became very active in real estate dealings. He took over most of the Mitchell estate at Florence and at one time there were few men in Omaha whose property interests exceeded his. He owned land where Forest Lawn cemetery is now situated and he was the first owner of the property at Fifteenth and Farnam streets, where the World-Herald building now stands. In many ways he contributed to the progress and improvement of the city. He removed buildings many from Florence to Omaha and with ox teams moved one to his property at Fifteenth and Farnam streets. He also brought a building from Bellevue, Nebraska, and established it at Eleventh and Jackson streets. His activities were of a most modern character, contributing in substantial measure to the upbuilding of the city, and Mr. Manning remained an honored and valued resident of Omaha to the time of his death, which occurred in 1893, when he was about ninety years of age.
Mrs. Cormack was one of the first pupils of the Omaha high school, which she entered in 1872. This was a most notable year in the history of the school, as there were many in the class who became prominent in later years, among the number being Mr. and Mrs. Henry D. Easterbrook, Arthur Huntington, Blanche Deuel, Mrs. Bertha I. McConnell, Stacia Crowley, Addie Gladstone, Esther . Jacobs, Wilber Hawes, Alfred Ramsey, Charles L. Saunders, and Dr. Philip Hall, of Lincoln.
Mrs. Cormack took up the profession of teaching and for many years was a principal in the Omaha schools. She possessed marked ability as an educator, imparting clearly and readily to others the knowledge that she had acquired, and she was continually studying in order to make her work more effective. Her cooperation has always been sought as an element of strength in promoting any interest with which she has become connected. She is now secretary of the Douglas County Pioneers Association, a position she has occupied for three years. and she is also a member of the Territorial Memorial Association.
It was in 1877 that Mary Manning became the wife of William Hay, superin- tendent of bridges and building for the Union Pacific Railroad Company, in which connection he built much of the road. Mr. Hay was a very active republi- can and was a prominent representative of the Masonic fraternity. He attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and was also a member of the
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Mystic Shrine. He was also an officer in the Brotherhood of Railway Train- men from its organization until his death. He died November 28, 1900, leaving a daughter, Anna D., now the wife of George F. Krelle. They are parents of two children, Marie F. and William Hay Krelle. In 1903 Mrs. Hay became the wife of Captain Thomas Cormack, who arrived in Omaha in 1878, removing to this city from Boston. For years he was connected with the police depart- ment as captain and later he organized the Cormack Detective Agency, with which he remained in active association until his death, which occurred on the 15th of April, 1913, when he was only fifty-six years of age.
Mrs. Cormack has reared several nieces, among whom are Helen, the wife of E. R. Stilphen, and Miss Hester Olive Lane, both of whom were born and reared in Omaha, where they have always resided. They were daughters of Edmund Lane, who was a civil engineer and chief of the engineering corps of the Union Pacific Railway from the time of its construction until his death in 1888. Their mother was a sister of Mrs. Cormack. Miss Hester O. Lane is following the profession of teaching, the same as that of her aunt, and is a teacher in the Omaha schools.
Mrs. Cormack is the only surviving member of her mother's family of seven children, who came to Omaha in an early day. She is past senior vice president of the Woman's Relief Corps and for years has been very active in that organization. She is now treasurer of the Omaha Suffrage City Central Com- mittee and has been very prominent in the movement for many years. In a word, she has taken a helpful part in many interests which have been promoted for the benefit of the community or for philanthropic purposes. She has labored along the lines of social service and her work has brought good results. There are few of Omaha's residents who can claim longer connection with the city, for through fifty-five years she has here resided and there is no phase of the city's development and progress with which she is not familiar.
HARRY ORED STEEL.
Harry Ored Steel, general agent for the Union Central Life Insurance Company, was born February 8, 1876, in the city of Omaha, where he still makes his home, and has always resided here. The name of Steel has been a synonym of activity and progressiveness in insurance circles in Omaha for many years. His father, John Steel, was born in Sweden in 1848 but came to Omaha in early manhood, arriving about 1868. Here he was married to Hannah Pierson, who died in July, 1914, but Mr. Steel now makes his home in Parma, Idaho, and is the owner of a fruit ranch in that state. While living in Omaha he served in 1892 and 1893 as a member of the city council from the seventh ward. Attracted by the opportunities of the growing northwest, he went to Idaho in the spring of 1912 and there now owns a large ranch on which he is raising apples and prunes. To him and his wife were born three children: Lillian A., the wife of George A. Loveland, of Lincoln, Nebraska, who there occupies the position of United States weather observer; Harry O .; and Alvin Arthur, who has a fruit ranch in Idaho and who married Ethel Kiefer, of Colon, Nebraska.
Harry O. Steel pursued his education in the Omaha schools and in 1896, when twenty years of age, became connected with the life insurance business, in which he has since engaged. In this respect he is following in the footsteps of his father, who for thirty-five years was state agent for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee. Harry O. Steel has put forth every possible effort to develop his business, with the result that he has created a large and profitable agency at this point for The Union Central Life Insurance Com- pany, this agency being one of their largest and ranking among the largest of its kind in Nebraska.
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On the 24th of January, 1911, in Omaha, Mr. Steel was united in marriage to Miss Frances Weber, her father being Anthony Weber, a native of Alsace- Lorraine. They have a daughter, Janc. In 1896, two years previous to the Spanish-American war, Mr. Steel joined Company G of the Second Regiment of Nebraska National Guard. He served that command for two years and with it went to Chickamauga, Tennessee, in the spring of 1898. He returned in October of that year and was mustered out in December, and in the meantime he suffered an attack of typhoid fever. Mr. Steel votes with the republican party, believing firmly in its principles as effective factors in good government. He is a Knights Templar Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine and is also con- nected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Along more strictly recreative lines he belongs to the Omaha Field Club, the Omaha Auto Club, the Athletic Club of Omaha and the Noon-Day Club and he has membership in the Commercial Club. Mr. Steel's life has its worth in the community as a factor in that substantial progress which results from the efforts of the reliable and enter- prising business men who recognize and meet their duties of citizenship while successfully controlling individual interests.
KELSO A. MORGAN.
Kelso A. Morgan, an attorney practicing at the Omaha bar, was born in Lewis, Cass county, Iowa, November 11, 1883, and began his education in the schools of his native city and completed a high school course by graduation with the class of 1902 when he was eighteen years of age. He afterward spent nearly four years as a student in the University of Nebraska and later entered the University of Michigan as a law student, being there graduated with the class of 1909. Immediately afterward he came to Omaha for the practice of law and for one year was in the office of F. A. Brogan but since that time has continued alone in the general practice of his profession.
On the 24th of April, 1915, in Omaha, Mr. Morgan was united in marriage to Miss Beatrice Mary Louise Tancock, a daughter of Dean James A. Tancock, of Trinity Cathedral. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan are Episcopalians in religious faith, holding membership in Trinity Cathedral. His political support is given to the republican party and the only office that he has held has been in the path of his profession, for he became city attorney of Florence, Douglas county, on the Ist of May, 1913. At the outset of his career he recognized the truth of the old maxim, "There is no success without labor," and was willing to win success at the price of earnest, self-denying effort. Closely applying himself to his chosen calling, he has ever thoroughly prepared his cases and his devotion to his clients' interests has become proverbial.
JOHN ABRAHAM HORBACH.
The trend of development and modern progress in Omaha was largely shaped and colored by the efforts of John Abraham Horbach and his name deserves a prominent place on the pages of the city's history. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born near Greensburg, in Westmoreland county, on the 9th of November, 1831, and his life record compassed the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten, for he passed away on the 26th of November, 1901. His parents were Abraham and Catharine (Lobengier) Horbach, and in the conduct of his business of farming the father won a substantial measure of success. Through the period of his early boyhood John A. Horbach attended the public schools of his native county and afterward matriculated in Greensburg College. Early in his
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business career he spent three years in a clerical position in the United States land office in Omaha, which he opened before the arrival of his superior, Colonel Addison R. Gilmore. He thus early became identified with the development of this city and for many years was a prominent factor in its business circles. Later he opened a forwarding and commission business in Omaha, which was then one of the important points for the transfer of freight destined for the interior, from the steamboat to the wagon train. At that period Omaha was still a frontier town, an outpost of civilization, and with the subsequent development and upbuilding of the city Mr. Horbach was closely associated. Soon after taking up his abode here he entered a claim of one hundred and sixty acres lying immediately north of the original city limits, and as the population of the city increased and he saw that its growth would furnish a demand for his property, he platted his claim as Horbach's first and second additions to Omaha. The additions began north of Nicholas street, extended a quarter of a mile north, and from Twenty-fourth street on the west to a point near Eleventh street on the east.
In 1866 and 1867 Mr. Horbach filled the position of local agent with the Merchants Union Express Company, the predecessor of the American Express Company. He eagerly welcomed every enterprise that would contribute to the welfare and progress of the community and cooperated in many plans for general improvement. He became one of the stockholders on the organization of the Omaha & Northwestern Railway Company and was elected vice president and general manager, continuing to serve in those capacities until the road was taken over by the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Company in 1880. He fully realized the value of railroad building in the development of a new district and he thus became an active factor in the promotion of transportation interests. At one time he was a director of the Merchants National Bank before its reorganization under the present name. In 1888 he became identified with the Omaha Motor Railway Company as a stockholder and he likewise aided in the or- ganization of the Omaha & Grant Smelting Company, now operating under the name of the American Smelting & Refining Company. The spirit of initiative and enterprise which he manifested, combined with his keen insight into the pos- sibilities of business situations, caused his cooperation to be eagerly sought in the conduct of important commercial and industrial concerns. He was also extensively connected with cattle raising in the west, beginning operations along that line in 1874, and at one time he had extensive ranch interests in southwestern Kansas.
It was before he left Pennsylvania that Mr. Horbach was married in Alle- gheny, that state, on the 12th of December, 1854, to Miss Sarah Wallace. They began their domestic life in the east but in April, 1856, removed to Omaha. They became parents of a son and a daughter: Paul W., a well known resident of Omaha ; and Mary F., the widow of Captain John G. Bourke, of the United States army. Mr. Horbach was in Wyoming at the time of his demise. His widow survived him until October 18, 1911. From the time when she came from Pennsylvania with her husband in 1856 she took a prominent part in the social life of the community. In this connection the Omaha Excelsior, following her death, said: "Her bright, cheerful disposition and a keen sense of humor made her a charming companion who was always missed at any social gathering from which she was absent, a disposition that endeared her to many a woman in the early days of Omaha when life was not easy and a laugh and a light heart were valuable assets in the community." Both Mr. and Mrs. Horbach greatly endeared themselves to the community in which they lived and had a very extensive circle of friends.
While Mr. Horbach was never an active political worker, his fellow townsmen called upon him to represent his ward in the city council in 1870 and 1871, at which time the construction of a system of city waterworks was under considera- tion. He was appointed a member of the committee selected by the council to
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visit eastern cities and examine and report upon the water systems in use in different localities. While not a politician, he was a most public-spirited citizen and his endorsement of any measure drew to it a large following, for people recognized his devotion to the general good and the soundness of his judgment in business affairs, whether of a private nature or of moment to the municipality. In a review of the history of Omaha it is readily seen that Mr. Horbach played an important part in promoting the development of the city. He had qualities of leadership and his business discernment and initiative placed him in the foremost rank.
EDWARD LEONIDAS BRADLEY.
Edward Leonidas Bradley, who won second honors on graduating from the law department of the University of Omaha in 1896, since which time he has practiced his profession in Omaha, being now a partner in the firm of Bradley & Brandley, was born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1870. His father, Leonidas H. Bradley, was a native of Patriot, Ohio, born in 1841, and married Abigail Manley, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Judge Uri Manley of eastern Illinois, who during his early days was associated with Abraham Lincoln in the trial of many cases. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley resided in Illinois for a number of years but in 1886 came to Omaha, where the father spent his remaining days, passing away in 1913. The mother is still living.
At the usual age Edward Leonidas Bradley became a public school pupil in Springfield, Illinois, and eventually entered the high school at Omaha, from which he was graduated with the class of 1891. He acquired his legal educa- tion in the University of Pennsylvania and in the law department of the Uni- versity of Omaha, from which he was graduated in 1896. He began practice as a member of the law firm of Bradley & De Lamatre and upon its dissolution became a member of the firm of Bradley & Bradley. He now has a good clientage and in his law practice has proven his ability to cope with intricate and involved legal problems. Few lawyers have made a more lasting impres- sion upon the bar of Omaha, both for legal ability of a high order and for the individuality of a personal character which impresses itself upon a community. Of a family conspicuous for strong intellects, indomitable courage and energy, he entered upon his career as a lawyer and such is his force of character and natural qualifications that he has carved his name high on the legal arch.
On the 17th of June, 1903, in Omaha, Mr. Bradley wedded Luna May Powell, a daughter of the late George S. Powell, and their children are George H. and Edward L. Mr. Bradley belongs to the Episcopal church and he is a York Rite and a Mystic Shrine Mason. He is also identified with the Moose and is a member of the Omaha Athletic Club. His political support is given to the republican party but he is not active along that line. His interest concen- trates rather in fraternal insurance societies and he became chairman of the law committee of the Fraternal Aid Union and a justice of the supreme forum of the Loyal Order of Moose.
CLINTON JOY SUTPHEN.
Clinton Joy Sutphen, well known in theatrical circles as business manager of the Brandeis theatre of Omaha, was born November 2, 1884, in the city in which he now resides. His paternal grandfather, DeWitt Clinton Sutphen, was one of Omaha's pioneer residents, arriving in 1854, when the Nebraska metropolis was but a tiny hamlet on the western frontier. He served as a sutler with the
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Fifth Iowa Volunteer Cavalry during the Civil war and for many years he was proprietor of a gun store on Farnam, near Thirteenth street, in Omaha, but his last days were passed in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, where he departed this life in 1908. His son, Charles De Witt Sutphen, a native of Omaha, dealt in real estate in early life and subsequently engaged in the manufacture and sale of carriages. Afterward he again concentrated his efforts upon the real estate business and at the present time he is conducting two moving picture theatres in Waynesville, North Carolina. He was married in Omaha to Miss Ollie Rasmussen, who died in June, 1903.
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