USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 42
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G. A. Meyer, the eldest of the family, attended the schools of Omaha and pursued a course in chemical engineering in the State University at Lincoln. He then went abroad and entered the University of Berlin as a student in the "sugar 'college." He was graduated therefrom in 1909, after thoroughly master- ing all the scientific phases of the business, subsequent to which time he spent
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four years in various parts of Germany as superintendent of sugar factories. After thorough training which he received under the strict methods employed in the German factories he returned to Omaha and established an office with the purpose of building sugar factories and drying plants. He has installed plants in Jamaica, the West Indies, Nebraska, California, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Canada, and many other districts throughout the length and breadth of the western hemisphere. His business is now in a very healthy and growing condition and he is considered one of the authorities on chemical engineering and especially anything relating to the sugar making industry.
In Chicago, on the 25th of May, 1916, Mr. Meyer was married to Mrs. Lucy (Gorc) Cotton, of Omaha, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Gore, of St. Joseph, Missouri. By her former marriage she had two children, Benja- min Wilbur and Lucy Virginia, twins, born in Omaha.
Mr. Meyers belongs to the Phi Kappa Psi, a college fraternity, also to the Omaha, University and Country Clubs. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, seeking through the exercise of his right of franchise to discharge the luties and obligations which devolve upon him in matters of citizenship. He is one of the best known young men of this city, representing an honored pioneer family, and he has personally attained prominence and honor that are most creditable.
GEORGE W. COOPER.
One of the highly respected and prominent attorneys of Omaha is George W. Cooper, a man deserving of great credit for what he has accomplished. His life is an illustration of the fact that it is under the pressure of adversity and the stimulus of opposition that the strongest and best in man is brought out and developed. At an age when most boys are in school he was fighting the battle of life, earning his own living by working as a farm hand. He possessed a vast amount of courage, however, combined with the determination to make some- thing of himself, and every spare hour he devoted to reading and study, recog- nizing that education is the basis of all substantial advancement. His friends speak of him as "one of the brightest minds of the legal profession in Omaha." When a few years ago, owing to overwork, he had a breakdown, when for a time it seemed as though he could not survive, he had the satisfaction of knowing that already he had accumulated a substantial property through various investments which would enable him to leave his family in very comfortable circumstances.
The life record of George W. Cooper, with its struggles and its ultimate victories, is indeed an interesting one. He was born in Switzerland county, Indiana, December 25, 1850, a son of Elias and Ellen (Dyer) Cooper, the former a native of Virginia. At an early period each became a resident of Indiana and they were married in that state. Mr. Cooper took up the occupation of farming in Switzerland county and devoted his remaining days to the further develop- ment of his fields, passing away in 1902, at the age of seventy-six years. His wife also died in Switzerland county, when seventy-two years of age.
George W. Cooper was the eldest in a family of six children. His educational opportunities were quite limited owing to the fact that in his youth his parents were in somewhat straitened financial circumstances, so that it was necessary for him to work for his father and for others as a farm hand. He was thus employed until he reached his twenty-first year, when he went to Jacksonville, Illinois, and after visiting a number of the lawyers of that place in search of employment he finally secured a position in the office of Judge Dummer, under whose direction he read law. He next went to Kirksville, Missouri, where he was admitted to the bar and began practice, remaining in that city for twelve
GEORGE W. COOPER
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years, during which period he was elected city attorney and by reelection was continued in the office for two terms. He formed a partnership with Prentiss & Leslie, distinguished members of the legal profession in Missouri, practicing at Bethany, Harrison county. The firm won a large and profitable practice and the partnership was continued for eight years. While the firm had offices at Bethany, Missouri, Mr. Leslie went to Kingman county, Kansas, and became dis- trict judge there. At length Mr. Cooper withdrew from the firm at Bethany and entered into partnership with John W. Lydecker in Kingman, Kansas, the new arrangement lasting for four years or until March, 1893, when Mr. Cooper came to Omaha, where he opened offices. His career as a lawyer of this city has been notably successful. Almost at once he came into prominence as one of the ablest members of the Omaha bar, capable of conducting litigation of a most important and complex character. He still has a large practice, although for a time he contemplated retirement owing to impaired health. For a long period he was in partnership with I. J. Dunn but is now alone in practice.
In 1888 George W. Cooper was united in marriage to Miss Clara B. Cooper, of Rising Sun, Indiana, who died in Omaha in 1908. She was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Cooper, well known and prosperous farming people of Rising Sun.
In politics Mr. Cooper is a stalwart democrat and was at one time candidate of his party for the office of supreme court commissioner but was defeated. He belongs to the Omaha and the Douglas County Bar Associations and has the high regard of his professional brethren, who recognize in him one of the ablest attorneys of the city. He has ever been faithful to his clients, fair to his adversaries and candid to the court. In many cases with which he has been con- nected he has exhibited the possession of every faculty of which a lawyer may be proud-skill in presentation of his own evidence, extraordinary ability in cross-examination, persuasiveness before the jury, strong grasp of every feature of the case, unusual familiarity with human nature and untiring industry.
CHARLES CAMPBELL MORISON; M. D.
Dr. Charles Campbell Morison, an Omaha physician specializing in surgery, was born in Sherbrooke, Canada, February 28, 1875, a son of William and Katherine (Campbell) Morison, both of whom were natives of Scotland, born, reared and married in Aberdeen. They crossed the Atlantic to Canada in 1866 and were early settlers of that section in which they lived. The father was a cabinetmaker by trade. In 1881 he came to Omaha and for many years was in the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad Company but is now living retired. His wife passed away in this city in 1896, at the age of fifty-nine years.
Dr. Morison was the sixth in their family of seven children and the public and high schools of Omaha provided him his preliminary educational training, while later he entered the University of Nebraska, from which he was gradu- ated in 1898 with the Bachelor of Science degree. In 1903 he completed a medical course and for several years thereafter was assistant to Dr. A. F. Jonas. He next entered practice on his own account and devotes his attention to professional duties. He is serving now on the staff of the Methodist Hos- pital and in addition has a large general private practice, devoting his attention to surgery, in which branch he has attained marked proficiency. He is also medical director of the Omaha Life Insurance Company.
On the 6th of November, 1906, in Parker, South Dakota, Dr. Morison was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Howard, a native of that place, representing a family of early settlers in South Dakota. They have a daughter, Louise Catherine.
Dr. Morison is a member of the North Presbyterian church and his political Vol. II-18
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allegiance is given to the republican party. The elemental strength of his char- acter is indicated in the fact that he worked his way through the university and since that time he has been actuated by a spirit of progress and determina- tion that has made him one of the capable and successful physicians and surgeons of Omaha. He belongs to the Douglas County Medical Society, the Nebraska State Medical Association, the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons and thus he keeps in close touch with the trend of modern professional thought and with the researches and discoveries of the profession. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to St. Johns Lodge, No. 25, A. F. & A. M., of Omaha, and he is likewise a member of the Clan Gordon and the University and Commercial Clubs.
JOSEPH G. PFLUG.
Joseph G. Pflug, president of the Wagner Brothers Company of Omaha, was born in Douglas county, Nebraska, December 4, 1863, his parents being Jacob and Margaret (Baiers) Pflug. The father was born in Alsace, France, while the mother was a native of Bavaria. On coming to America in 1856 they settled in Wisconsin, where they were married, and immediately afterward they removed to Douglas county, Nebraska, which was then a pioneer district. The father took up government land and engaged in farming, and subsequently he removed with his family to Sarpy. county, Nebraska, where he still continues in agricultural life, being yet active although now more than eighty years of age. During the period of the Civil war he was a member of the Home Guard and participated in several conflicts with the Indians in this state. His wife passed away in Sarpy county in 1896, when fifty-two years of age. In their family were seven sons and two daughters, all of whom are yet living: Jacob, Jr .; Joseph G .; Amelia, who is now Mrs. William C. Wagner, of Omaha; Charles ; Alma, who married Bert Spearman, of Omaha ; Arthur ; Albert ; George ; and Oscar.
In his youthful days Joseph G. Pflug was a pupil in the public schools of Sarpy county and afterward attended the Rathbun Business College in Omaha. He then turned his attention to merchandising and was thus engaged in Omaha and Sarpy county for ten years. At length he sold out his interests and bought a fine farm in Sarpy county, where for seventeen years he followed agricultural pursuits, but in 1910 he disposed of his land and bought an interest in the Wag- ner Borthers Company of Omaha. In this connection he has been steadily advanced from one position to another until at the last election of officers he was chosen president of the company. This concern, which is one of the important business institutions of Omaha, was established in 1885 by Charles and William Wagner, who rented a little place in which they sold the smaller farm imple- ments to the retail trade. Soon their business outgrew the building and they secured larger quarters. Seeing the possibilities in this line, they soon started on a larger scale and confined their attention to the retail and transfer trade. The company now handles all kinds of farm implements and needed farm sup- plies, from a nail up to the largest tractors and automobiles. Their plant covers a quarter of a block at No. 1215 Leavenworth street and they are considered among the largest individual dealers in farm implements in the state. Mr. Pflug's previous practical experience as a farmer well acquainted him with the needs, wishes and demands of the agriculturist and this knowledge has proven of immense value in the conduct of his present business. He possesses as well marked executive ability, keen sagacity and unfailing enterprise and his domi- nant qualities are contributing much to the success of the company of which he is now the active head.
On the 4th of August, 1887, in Sarpy county, Mr. Pflug was married to Miss
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Lena C. Mauss, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Mauss, who were pioneers of that county. The father has passed away but Mrs. Mauss is now residing at Murray, Utah. Mr. and Mrs. Pflug have become parents of three daughters and a son: Mabel, who was born in Sarpy county in 1888, married Calvin Leaders, a farmer residing in Mendon, Iowa, and they have four children, Vernon, Lloyd, Gladys and Eileen. Byron who was born in 1890 is a resident of Omaha and secretary of the Wagner Brothers Company. He married Mar- garet Doyle and they have two children, Katherine and Gregory. Grace, who was born in 1891, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska. Hazel. born in 1903, is attending school.
Mr. Pflug is an earnest advocate of republican principles and while a resi- dent of Sarpy county was elected county commissioner in 1911 for a three years' term. He belongs to the Kountze Memorial Lutheran church and in Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and became a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is never neglectful of the outside interests, duties and obligations of life, while at the same time he concentrates his atten- tion largely upon his business affairs and through his close application and inde- fatigable energy he has attained the creditable place which he now occupies.
HARVEY W. MORROW.
Harvey W. Morrow, a member of the Omaha bar, was born January 9, 1862, in New Lisbon, Ohio. His father, the late Henry Morrow, was a native of Pennsylvania and a representative of one of the old families of that state of Scotch lineage. Three brothers of the name came to America, one settling in New England, one in Pennsylvania and one in the south. Harvey W. Morrow is a direct descendant of Hugh Morrow, who was an agriculturist and came to America prior to the Revolutionary war. Henry Morrow became a successful manufacturer and farmer. When a boy he crossed the Alleghany mountains at a time when such a trip was considered quite an undertaking. He became a resident of Columbiana county, Ohio, and for many years was identified with commercial and agricultural life in that state. ,At the time of the Civil war, however, he put aside all business and personal consideration joining the army as a private of Company K, Fifty-fourth Ohio Infantry, with which he served for eighteen months, his regiment being on duty with the Eastern Army. He died in 1900 at the age of seventy-three years and was survived for about five years by his widow who passed away at the age of seventy-six. She bore the maiden name of Rebecca Clunk and was born in Ohio. She represented an old Maryland family of German descent. 'Mr. and Mrs. Morrow became the parents of twelve children, of whom Harvey W. was the seventh.
After attending the public schools of Lisbon, Ohio, Harvey W. Morrow entered the State University at Columbus and there completed his education. His early life to the age of fifteen years was spent upon the home farm. He took up the profession of teaching in his native county when seventeen years of age and with the money thus earned met the expenses of his college training. He taught school for five winters after which he read and studied law in the office of Robert W. Tayler, who afterward became federal judge at Cleveland and who was prominent afterward in the Cleveland street car tangle but at that time was a leading lawyer of Lisbon, Ohio. In 1888 Mr. Morrow passed the bar examination and was admitted to practice, following his profession for two years. He then accepted a position in Washington, D. C., in 1890, doing legal work in the pension office of the United States government. He con- tinued in the government service for twenty-one years and in July, 1897, removed to Omaha in the official capacity of special examiner for the bureau of pensions. He acted in that capacity until February 1, 1911, when he resigned and began
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private practice, in which he has since been actively and successfully engaged. His desire in boyhood and manhood was to enter upon a life work that would enable him to live out-of-doors but his parents insisted that he become a lawyer, which he did contrary to his own wishes. He was always pronounced in his ideas and of an investigating turn of mind, always wishing to know the whys and the wherefores of everything to which he turned his attention. This habit, wisely developed, has made him a student, a reader and a thinker and he delves to the bottom of every subject in which he becomes interested. This constitutes one of the strong elements of his professional success, for he thoroughly analyzes every case, reasoning back from effect to cause and gaining intimate knowledge of every point that has bearing upon his litigation. He is now conducting a successful general practice and he is a member of the Omaha and Nebraska State Bar Associations.
In 1888, at Lisbon, Ohio, Mr. Morrow was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Britton, a native of Ohio and a representative of an old family of that state of Irish descent. Mrs. Morrow passed away at Colorado Springs, Colorado, in July, 1905, at the age of thirty-nine years, leaving one child, Mabel L., a kinder- garten teacher in Omaha.
In politics Mr. Morrow is a progessive republican. He is secretary of the Ohio Society of Omaha, an organization in which he has taken an active interest ; is president of the Economic League and is interested in all those questions which are to the statesman and the man of affairs of deepest import, studying closely the economic, political and sociological problems of the country. His interest in community affairs is indicated in his membership in the Commercial Club. He has always retained his love for outdoor life and never misses an opportunity to avail himself of the enjoyments to be had in the open. He is also a lover of outdoor sports, his chief recreation is golf and he is regarded as one of the best players of the Happy Hollow Club.
EDWARD PARSONS SMITH.
Edward Parsons Smith, practicing at the Omaha bar since 1890, has long been accorded a position of prominence in a profession where advancement and ·success depend entirely upon individual merit and ability. He was born on a farm near Mount Pleasant, in Henry county, Iowa, in 1860 and is a son of Edward and Celia (Schockley) Smith. The father was born in New York in 1820 and with his father, Sylvester Smith, and five brothers went to Henry county, Iowa, in 1838. There he established his home and later was married. He followed farming throughout his entire active life and passed away in 1882 at the age of sixty-two years, having long survived his wife, whose death occurred in 1865.
At the usual age Edward P. Smith became a pupil in the district schools of his native county and later attended Howe's Academy at Mount Pleasant. Sub- sequently he entered the law department of the State University of Iowa, from which he was graduated with the class of 1885. He was immediately afterward admitted to the bar and in July of that year he opened an office in Seward, Nebraska, where he followed his profession until November, 1890, when he came to Omaha, where he has since remained. Almost from the beginning of his residence here he has enjoyed a good clientage and his devotion to the interests of his clients is proverbial, yet he never forgets that he owes a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the law. From January. 1901, until January, 1910, he practiced as a member of the firm of Smyth & Smith and later was a partner in the firm of Smyth, Smith & Schall, but since January, 1916, has practiced independently, specializing in the field of interstate commerce law. His practice has covered a wide territory. He was attorney for the millers of Nebraska when
EDWARD P. SMITH
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the federal authorities made an effort to prevent the bleaching of flour and in the trial of the case won a victory for his clients in the United States court of appeals and also in the supreme court of the United States. He is attorney for the Omaha Grain Exchange and his practice is now largely before the interstate commerce commission and relates to matters incident to transportation. He is likewise a director of the Grain Exchange and is the vice president and one of the directors of the Omaha Cooperage Company. His words are ever clear-cut and the trend of his mind is analytical and logical.
On the 29th of November, 1883, in Greenfield, Iowa, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Wertman and they now have three children, Ida B., Lisle W. and Edward Esher. The family attend the Congregational church and upon all questions of significance in the public life of the community Mr. Smith takes a decided stand, his influence being ever on the side of progress and improvement. He is a member of the Ak-Sar-Ben and of the Commercial Club, organizations which have been established largely for Omaha's benefit and upbuilding, and he belongs also to the Omaha Field Club and the University Club, while the democratic party receives his stalwart allegiance at the polls. These are but side interests, however, to the main issue of his life, which is the practice of law, and the ability which he has displayed at the bar is manifest in the court records, which bear evidence to the fact that he has been retained in many of the most important civil cases heard in the Nebraska courts.
HENRY MONSKY
Henry Monsky, one of the representative young members of the Douglas county bar, was born in Omaha, February 15, 1890. His parents, Abraham and Bessie Monsky, are natives of Russia but in childhood crossed the Atlantic, the mother coming to Omaha in 1876 and the father in 1881. They were married in this city, where Mr. Monsky engaged in the wholesale and retail fish business for a considerable period, capably and wisely directing his interests until he is now able to live retired and is enjoying well earned rest at the age of fifty- eight years. His wife has reached the age of sixty-five years. They are the parents of four children: Philip, who is connected with the film business in Omaha; Mayer, in the same line; Bessie; and Henry.
The last named, the eldest of the family, attended the public and high schools, being graduated therefrom in 1907. His law course was pursued in Creighton University and he completed his course by graduation in 1912 as an honor man of his class, receiving the degree of LL. B., cum laude. He at once began practice in Omaha and is a member of the Omaha, Douglas County and Nebraska State Bar Associations. He now has a large practice for one whose identifica- tion with the profession covers less than five years and his increasing ability is manifest in his growing clientage.
On the 2d of May, 1915, Mr. Monsky was married to Miss Sadie Lesser, of Omaha, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Lesser, who were pioneers of this city and are now residents of San Francisco, where the father is engaged in the provision business. Mr. and Mrs. Monsky have one child, Joy, born in Omaha in February, 1916.
Mr. Monsky is a Scottish Rite Mason and also has membership with the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, in all of which he is active. He likewise belongs to the Commercial Club and to the Omaha Athletic Club. He is very active in Jewish charities and is secretary of the Associated Jewish Charities. He is also a men- ber of the executive committee of the local council of the Boy Scouts of America. His political allegiance is given to the republican party. His interests are wide and varied and touch those questions which are of vital importance to the com-
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minity and to the commonwealth. He is one of the best known among the younger attorneys of his city, practicing in the state and federal courts, and his large clientage connects him with much important litigation, which he ably handles, always presenting his cause in the light of strong reasoning, while his application of legal principles shows his thorough mastery of the law.
G. SAMUEL ROGERS.
The name of Rogers has figured in connection with real estate operations in Omaha for more than sixty years and G. Samuel Rogers has carried on business along that line for an extended period. He was born August 13, 1866, in the city in which he still resides, a son of Samuel Evan Rogers, mentioned at length on another page of this work. When he had mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools he entered the Merchants National Bank, where he was employed for six or eight years, rising to the position of second receiving teller. He spent the succeeding five years in Florida and upon his return to Omaha embarked in the real estate business, in which field he is now active, con- trolling extensive interests of that character as president of the Rogers Real Estate Company, which has negotiated and conducted many important property transfers. He is likewise a director of the Merchants National Bank.
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