USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 66
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In the family were five children and Thomas B. McPherson, the eldest, devoted his boyhood to the acquirement of an education by attending public schools and Nebraska College at Nebraska City, where he graduated in 1870. He came to this state in 1868 and completed his college course in 1870, after which he returned to New York city, where he engaged for nine years in the school book publishing business. He developed a trade of large proportions and won a substantial measure of success during the years of his connection there- with. In 1880 he returned to the west, making his way to Omaha, where he became connected with the grain business under the name of the Omaha Elevator Company. His attention was directed along that line until 1884, when he organized a bank at Arapahoe, Nebraska, where he continued in the banking business until 1891. He then returned to Omaha and organized the Union Stock Yards National Bank, of which he was chosen cashier. In that con- nection he remained until 1906, when he decided to enter upon private business enterprises. The Union Stock Yards National Bank has grown to large pro- portions until it is today one of the leading financial institutions of South Omaha and is in a thriving condition. He has been very successful and has become one of the best known men of his community. He is now a member and director of the Union Stock Yards Company of South Omaha and he has a wide acquaintance among the live stock commission men, who respect and admire him as one of their colleagues.
In 1876. Mr. McPherson was married to Miss Louise Niven, of Roselle, New Jersey, and they now have four children: William S. and Thomas B .. Jr., twins, living at Masters, Colorado; Louise, of Thurmont, Maryland ; and Mar- garet, the wife of C. E. Gardiner, of Garden City, Long Island.
Mr. McPherson is a prominent member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, also of Tangier Temple, Omaha. His religious belief is indicated by his membership in the Episcopal church and his political support is given to the democratic party. Readily recognizing opportunities that have been presented, he has utilized them for the good of the community as well as for individual benefit and he has attained a most creditable position as a business man and as a citizen.
WILLIAM J. FOYE.
William J. Foye, president of the W. J. Foye Lumber Company, has through- out the entire period of his business career been connected with the lumber trade, operating in this line in Omaha since 1887. For two years before he was a resi- dent of the city but railroad business claimed his attention. Since making his initial step in the lumber trade his advancement has been continuous. One of the great causes of failure in business life is a lack of genuine interest, but from the beginning Mr. Foye has enjoyed his work and made it his purpose to thor- oughly acquaint himself with every phase of the lumber industry. Today he can speak with authority upon questions relating thereto and his interests are wisely and profitably conducted.
A native of Wisconsin, Mr. Foye was born in Mount Vernon in 1867 and in the paternal line is a representative of an old New England family of French descent, his grandfather being Stephen Foye, who was born in Vermont, March 9, 1800, and who spent his last days in Mount Vernon, Wisconsin. In the ma- ternal line he comes of the De Golyer family, of Scotch extraction. His father. Stephen Foye, was born in Canada in 1833 but much of his life was spent in the United States. At Eagle, Wisconsin, on the 29th of August, 1855, he married Hannah Dillon, whose ancestors were Scotch Highlanders. At the time of the Civil war Stephen Foye offered his services to the country and went to the front
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with a Wisconsin regiment to defend the Union cause. He was a lifelong member of the Baptist church and a consistent Christian man.
William J. Foye supplemented his public school training, received in Mount Vernon, by study at Madison, Wisconsin, and in a business college of that city and was a youth of eighteen years when in 1885 he came to Omaha, being employed at the headquarters of the Union Pacific Railroad Company for two years. He then entered the service of George A. Hoagland, a lumber dealer, with whom he continued until 1902, and then spent three years in Kansas City with the W. R. Pickering Lumber Company as sales manager. He returned to Omaha in 1905 to become general manager of the McShane Lumber Company. Since December, 1912, he has been in business on his own account as a dealer in lumber, specializing in railroad ties and grain doors. On the Ist of July, 1916, the business was incorporated under the name of the W. J. Foye Lumber Com- pany. Long connection with the trade has acquainted him thoroughly with the business in principle and detail and he is thoroughly informed concerning conditions of the lumber market so that his operations have been intelligently directed and have been fruitful of substantial results. His success is further- more indicated in the fact that he has been able to extend his business outside of the United States into Canada and other countries. He has branch offices in Columbia, Mississippi, Jacksonville, Florida, and New York city.
On the 22d of October, 1902, in Omaha, Mr. Foye was married to Miss Mary McShane, a daughter of the late Edward McShane, and they have three chil- dren, Marion, Alice and Catherine. He is a member of the Congregational church, while Mrs. Foye is a communicant of the Catholic church, and they take a helpful interest in promoting the moral progress of the community.
Mr. Foye's military record in the Nebraska National Guard covers five or six years' service with the Omaha Guards, in which he rose to the rank of first lieutenant, while later he spent four or five years with the Thurston Rifles and won the rank of captain. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. He is a York Rite Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine and he belongs to the Ak-Sar-Ben and the Elks. Along more strictly social lines his connection is with the Omaha Club, the Omaha Country Club, the Omaha Field Club and the Omaha Athletic Club. His personal characteristics and social qualities are pro- nounced and he is an acceptable companion in any society in which intelligence is a necessary attribute to agreeableness.
GEORGE E. HAVERSTICK.
It is a long step from the position of bank messenger to that of vice president, but in the period of his active business career George E. Haverstick has accom- plished this in connection with the United States National Bank, one of the foremost financial institutions of Nebraska and the middle west.' The steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible, for he has followed the path of industry and perseverance, guided at all times by creditable ambition. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in Carlisle in 1870, his parents being Joseph B. and Mary C. (Ege) Haverstick, the former born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1840. while the latter is a native of Maryland. Throughout the period of the Civil war the father served as a hospital steward with the Union army, going to the front from Pennsylvania. Following the close of hostilities he returned to Carlisle, where for many years he engaged in business as a druggist, his life's labors being ended in death in 1898. His widow, still surviving, yet makes her home in Carlisle.
Educated in the schools of his native city. George E. Haverstick came to Omaha when eighteen years of age and, believing that he would find banking
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GEORGE E. HAVERSTICK
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a congenial pursuit, he obtained the position of messenger in the United States National Bank, then situated at the corner of Twelfth and Farnam streets. He applied himself with thoroughness and carnestness to the mastery of the (luties entrusted to him and his fidelity won the attention of the bank officers. who promoted him frem time to time, so that he gained comprehensive knowledge of the business in principle and detail. At length election to office rewarded his service and in 1916 he was chosen vice president of the institution which he had entered in a most humble capacity twenty-eight years before. Into other fields his efforts have also been extended and he is now treasurer and a director of the Nebraska Savings & Loan Association of Omaha.
Mr. Haverstick was married September 17, 1902, in Penn Yan, New York, to Caroline Belle, daughter of John L. Dinturff. They are members of the Episcopal church and are well known socially. In fact Mr. Haverstick is a very prominent figure in club circles, holding membership in the Omaha, Uni- versity, Omaha Country, Omaha Field and Commercial Clubs, of the latter two of which he has served as president. He is likewise a member of the Elks lodge and of the Woodmen of the World. Ilis political endorsement has always been given to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He is interested in affairs of a semi-public character and is now treasurer and a member of the board of governors of the Ak-Sar-Ben. The spirit of western enterprise which has led to the rapid and substantial develop- inent of this section of the country is manifest in his career. While he has never consented to become a candidate for high political or other public office. there are few men of large private interests in the city who have felt a more hearty concern for the public welfare or have been more helpful in bringing about those purifying and wholesome reforms which have been gradually grow- ing up in the political, municipal and social life of Omaha. It is true that his chief life work has been that of a successful banker, but the range of his activ- ities and the scope of his influence have reached far beyond that special field.
FRANK R. KEEGAN.
Frank R. Keegan, of the firm of Baldwin & Keegan, is recognized as one of the most capable and successful of the younger lawyers practicing at the Omaha bar. He was born in Spalding, Nebraska, October 31, 1885. a son of John and Jane (Roch) Keegan, both of whom are natives of Ireland but became pioneer settlers of Illinois, casting in their lot with the early residents of Iroquois county, where the father engaged in farming. Later he was in the employ of the gov- ernment and afterward became a ranchman in Nebraska, while eventually he retired from active business life. He came to this state in 1884 and settled on a farm in Greeley county, where he continued to reside until he removed to Boone county. In 1889 he brought his family to South Omaha, where he has since made his home, although from 1904 until 1909 he was prominently connected with ranching and cattle raising in Lyman county, South Dakota. At the present time he is located in South Omaha, enjoying a rest which he has justly earned and richly deserves. His wife, whom he married in Iroquois county, Illinois, also survives. In their family were seven children, of whom two are now de- ceased, Jennie and Elizabeth having passed away. The others are John, Mary, Daniel, Arthur and Frank R., all residing in Omaha.
The last named, who was the youngest child of the family, attended the St. Agnes parochial school of South Omaha to the age of nine years and afterward spent six years as a pupil in Creighton University, in which he pursued the literary and arts courses. He next attended the St. Thomas Military Academy in St. Paul and won the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1904. For three years he was a student in the Fribourg University of Switzerland and upon his return to his
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native state in 1907 he secured a position in the clerical department of the Cudahy Packing Company of South Omaha. There he remained until 1911, when he again entered Creighton University, winning the LL. B. degree. In 1914 he began the practice of law in South Omaha and has been one of the most success- ful young attorneys of this section of the state. On the Ist of December, 1916, he formed a partnership with John N. Baldwin, mentioned elsewhere in this work, and they now maintain a fine suite of offices in the World-Herald building and constitute a strong combination of legal advisers.
Mr. Keegan votes with the democratic party and on the 7th of November, 1916, he was elected a member of the state legislature. He has marked ability in his profession, a fact recognized by public opinion, and he is well known and popular both in his social and professional connections.
WILLIAM B. CHEEK.
William B. Cheek, a well known representative of insurance interests in South Omaha, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, November 22, 1862, a son of O. T. and Mary (Robeson) Cheek, the former a native of Virginia, while the latter was born in England and came to America when a little maiden of ten summers, first becoming a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, where she was reared and edu- cated. O. T. Cheek became a resident of Indiana at an early period and in early life engaged in railroad work, being connected with the train service in Indiana as an employe of the Big Four system. In later life he removed to Kansas City, Missouri, where his last days were spent, his death occurring in 1911, when he was seventy-four years of age. His wife died at the home of her son William in Omaha in 1912 at the age of seventy-three.
William B. Cheek was an only child. In his early youth he entered the schools of Indianapolis and continued his education in Wabash College, from which he was graduated in 1882. He later became connected with the telegraph department of the Milwaukee Railroad at Chicago and remained in that connec- tion for two and a half years. In 1884 he removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he occupied the position of train dispatcher with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, continuing with that company until 1914, during which period he was advanced from one position to another. In 1887 he became live stock agent at the South Omaha Stock Yards and thus represented the railroad com- pany until 1914, when he resigned to accept the western management of the Hartford Insurance Company in the live stock department. He therefore estab- lished his present business, which he has since successfully conducted, with offices in the Exchange building at the Union Stock Yards. In this connection he has gained a large and growing clientage and is today justly accounted one of the foremost insurance men of the city.
On the 25th of March, 1885, Mr. Cheek was united in marriage to Miss Mary Murray, of Chicago, a daughter of James and Elizabeth Murray, who were natives of Scotland and became early residents of Chicago. Her father died at the age of eighty-nine years. To Mr. and Mrs. Cheek were born two chil- dren. Mrs. E. A. Rose, who was born at Milford, Nebraska, in 1886, was gradu- ated from the South Omaha high school and Bellevue College. She has become the mother of two children, Marion and Elizabeth. William H., who was born in South Omaha in 1888, was graduated from the high school and from the State University and afterward wedded Miss Merle Cooper, of Fort Madison, Iowa. He is now engaged in the live stock business in South Omaha. The family home is maintained in South Omaha.
Fraternally Mr. Cheek is connected with the Benovelent Protective Order of Elks. He is a director and vice president of the Omaha Automobile Club and is a director of the Seymour Lake Chib. He also belongs to the Commercial
WILLIAM B. CHEEK
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Club and is prominently identified with the good roads movement. His life his- tory would be incomplete were there failure to make reference to the prominent part which he has taken in public affairs. In the early days of South Omaha he was elected a member of the school board and served for seven years of his connection with the board as .its president, during which period eleven of the schoolhouses which are a credit to the educational development of the city were erected. He also assisted in building the Carnegie Library and has been a mem- ber of its board of directors. He was likewise chairman of the building com- mittee of the Wheeler Memorial church and is officially connected with the South Omaha Hospital Association. There is no movement which tends to uplift the individual or promote the welfare of the community that does not receive his endorsement and his aid and his influence are always given on the side of material, intellectual and moral progress.
FREDERICK MITCHELL GRAHAM.
The entire life of Frederick Mitchell Graham has been passed in Nebraska and for many years he has resided in Omaha where he is successfully engaged in the real estate business. One feature of his success has been his thorough knowledge of conditions in this section of the state, as there are few men who are better judges of property values than he. He was born in Sarpy county, February 3, 1873, and is a son of John and Martha Ellen (Mitchell) Graham. His father was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, but when fourteen years of age became a resident of Canada, where he remained for a considerable period, but about the close of the Civil war he removed to Omaha. As he had at that time but seventy-five cents, it was imperative that he secure work at once, and he hired out as a wood chopper. He was a man of literary tastes and had prepared for teaching in Canada, where he followed that profession for a period. As soon as he had saved sufficient money he purchased eighty acres of land three miles from Papillion, Nebraska, and thereon erected a frame house, although at that time frame houses were uncommon. Misfortune overtook him, how- ever, as in July, 1872, just when the growing crop was at its best, a hail storm destroyed the entire crop and this resulted in the loss of his farm. He then removed to another farm in the same township, paying an annual rental for six years. At the end of that time he sold his stock and with the money that he gained in that way, added to the capital he had previously saved, he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of the Lawman Miller estate, paying therefor eleven hundred dollars. Still later he bought an eighty acre tract, retaining pos- session of his fine two hundred acre farm until his death, which occurred Sep- tember 12, 1904, when he was sixty-five years old.
The mother of Frederick M. Graham was in her maidenhood Martha Ellen Mitchell, and was born in Frankfort, Kentucky. Her parents, Jonas and Mary Mitchell, removed to Iowa and thence to Nebraska, which was then upon the western frontier. In fact Mrs. Mitchell was among the first white women to settle in this state. Mr. Mitchell under appointment by the government became blacksmith for the Omaha and Pawnee Indians, and served in that capacity for a long time. He read and spoke the native tongue fluently, and came to know the leading chiefs well. He was on friendly terms with them and more than once was able to avert trouble between the Indians and the whites. Some idea of the ever present danger which surrounded the pioneer settlers may be gained from the following incident. One day a drunken Pawnee squaw was about to brain one of Mrs. Mitchell's small daughters who had been playing in a new wagon owned by Peter A. Sarpy but just in time James Mitchell violently pushed the squaw to one side, thus saving the life of the child. Jonas Mitchell died in 1887. His daughter, Mrs. Graham, is still living upon the homestead in
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Sarpy county. All of her seven children survive, namely : May, who is the wife of Harry Z. Wedgwood, of Enid, Oklahoma; Frederick M., of this review ; Carric, the wife of Edward Bottorff, of Omaha: Frank C., who is a real estate dealer of Springfield, Nebraska ; Adam, who resides on the home farm in Sarpy county ; John, also living on the home farm; and Blanche, who married William Krull, of Sprague, Nebraska, where they reside.
Frederick M. Graham attended the pioneer schools of Sarpy county for two months in the winter during his boyhood, and supplemented. the education so acquired by study in the Western Normal College at Lincoln, Nebraska. Upon leaving that institution he returned home and for some time assisted his father with the farm work. When twenty-four years old he removed to Omaha and has since engaged in the real estate business, specializing in handling farm lands in Sarpy and Douglas counties. Ile has given a great deal of his time to the careful study of the various soils of this section, knows for what each is best adapted and is recognized as an expert in the valuation of farms. He has handled a great deal of property and has contributed not a little to the develop- ment of this part of the state.
Mr. Graham was married November 25, 1909, to Miss Anastasia Brennan of Omaha, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Brennan, who are residents of Ackley, Iowa. To this union have been born three children: Claire, whose birth occurred December 9, 1910; Fred D., born February 9, 1912; and Helen, born November 21, 1915. All are natives of Omaha.
In the exercise of his right of franchise Mr. Graham is somewhat independ- ent, but, other things being equal, supports the republican party, as he believes in its basic principles. He has a large circle of acquaintances, and it is high testimony to his worth that, almost without exception, all who have been brought in contact with him are his friends. From the earliest pioneer days the Graham family has been identified with Nebraska, and the name is recognized as a synonym for integrity and public spirit.
JOHN T. OCHILTREE.
John T. Ochiltree, deceased, was for a number of years connected with building operations in Omaha, mostly confining his attention to residence prop- erty. He came to this city in 1886 from Burlington, Iowa, but was a native of Missouri, his birth having occurred at Ashley in 1840. In early life he took up the carpenter's trade and eventually began contracting and building on his own account. To that pursuit he turned his attention following his arrival in Omaha and the excellence of his work soon secured him a liberal patronage, so that he became closely associated with the improvement of the city through its build- ing operations. He was thus active for many years and erected many of the attractive and substantial residences of Omaha. He thoroughly understood every phase of building both in principle and detail and his houses combined utility and convenience with beauty. He continued actively in business until 1908, when he retired on account of ill health and for two years thereafter engaged in no labor.
. In Iowa, in 1863. Mr. Ochiltree was united in marriage to Miss Joanna Spalding, a native of Pennsylvania, and to them were born five children: Herman B., now living in Omaha ; Mrs. Hattie Hunter, of this city ; Howard, a resident of New York ; Carl, whose home is in Omaha ; and Mrs. Pearl Hungate.
The family circle was broken by the hand of death when on the 22d of October, 1910, Mr. Ochiltree was called to his final rest. He was a democrat in his political views and kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day and to public interests he gave earnest and active support whenever he deemed that a project or movement would in any way benefit the community. He was
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always public-spirited, had great faith in the city and was interested in its growth. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church and he guided his life according to its teachings. He was devoted to the welfare of his family and found his greatest happiness at his own fireside, but he also had many warm personal friends who esteemed him highly for his genuine worth, while those whom he met in business relations entertained for him the highest respect because of his fidelity to honorable principles.
CHARLES N. ROBINSON.
Omaha has gradually developed into a great center of trade, sending out its products into all sections of the country, so that the development of its wholesale business has been rapid and substantial. It has been regarded as a source of supply since the early days when it was a frontier trading point on the outposts of civilization. Gradually there have grown up the great wholesale interests of the city, with one of which Charles N. Robinson is closely connected as the secre- tary and treasurer of the Byrne & Hammer Dry Goods Company. Thoroughly familiar with every phase of a business of this complex character, he is thus qualified to wisely direct its interests and further development.
Mr. Robinson was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, September 19, 1862. His father, John M. Robinson, was a native of New York and a representative of an old Pennsylvania family of English descent, the ancestral line being traced back to John Robinson, who came to the new world when this country was still numbered among the Colonial possessions of Great Britain. The family home was established at Montpelier, Vermont. The great-grandfather, also John Robinson, was born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, in 1736, and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The grandfather, Andrew Robinson, was born in Lewiston, New York, in 1802. The father, John M. Robinson, was born in the Empire state and became a successful lumberman of Michigan. He wedded Emily B. Hildreth, who was born at Lockport, New York, and was of English and French descent. She passed away, leaving three children, of whom Charles N. is the youngest.
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