USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 68
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In August, 1874, Mr. Hamann was married to Miss Agatha M. Stahl, whose parents were natives of Germany. They also came to Omaha in 1881, both having since passed away. Nine children have been born of this marriage, but six of these, as also a son-in-law, have passed away. Those still living are as follows : Henrietta H., who was born at Omaha in 1878, was married in 1904 to Rev. Henry J. C. Gerland, a Lutheran minister at Pueblo, Colorado. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Gerland, were residents of Chicago, where the father was assistant roadmaster of the Lake Shore Railroad. Rev. and Mrs. Gerland became the parents of a son, Herbert Henry, who is now a pupil in the German Lutheran school at Twenty-fifth and Evans streets, in Omaha. Mrs. Gerland and her son have resided in Omaha since the death of the husband and father, which occurred in 1905. The second daughter, Mayme, born in 1884, resided in Omaha up to the time of her marriage with George A. Meyer, of Birmingham, Alabama. They are at present making their home at Dallas, Texas. The son. Martin L. Hamann, who was born in 1890, attended the German Lutheran school of Omaha, as did his sister, and following his graduation therefrom attended the Omaha high school, where he completed a course, since which time he has been associated with his father in business.
The family are communicants of the German Lutheran church and are people of genuine worth, enjoying the high regard of many with whom they are asso- ciated. Henry F. Hamann has worked his way upward from a humble start and is now the head of a growing and profitable business which figures prominently among the industries of the city.
WILLIAM HENRY INDOE.
William Henry Indoe, working his way upward in insurance circles, has since 1905 been general agent for the State Mutual Life Assurance Company in Omaha. He was born in Granger, Ohio, on April 12, 1874, a son of John H. Indoe, who was born in Somersetshire, England, on the 17th of July, 1850. His father died in England, after which the widowed mother came with her son John to the United States in 1868, the family home being established in Granger. Ohio, where Mr. Indoe still makes his home. He has long devoted his time and energies to agricultural pursuits and he gives his political allegiance to the pro- hibition party, being a stalwart advocate of the cause of temperance. He mar- ried Elizabeth H. Hoddinott, a native of England, whose father died on the ocean while en route to the United States about 1865. She survives and is with her husband at Granger.
It was in the schools of that city that William Henry Indoe pursued his early
WILLIAM H. INDOE
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education, while later he was graduated from Baldwin University at Berea, Ohio, in 1898. He afterward spent a year in Detroit, Michigan, and then went to Akron, Ohio, where he became agent for the State Mutual Life Assurance Com- pany of Worcester, Massachusetts. Since that time he has gradually advanced in the insurance business and in 1905 was made general agent for the company at Omaha. During the intervening period of twelve years he has thoroughly organized the business in the territory over which he has jurisdiction and has developed the patronage of the company to large proportions.
On the 28th of June, 1900, in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Indoe was united in marriage to Miss Faith W. Watson, her father being David Watson, who was a soldier in the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Indoe have two daughters, Kathryn E. and Alice F. Mr. and Mrs. Indoe hold membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which they are actively and helpfully interested, Mr. Indoe serving now on the official board. He votes with the republican party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and with the Elks and he belongs also to the Commercial Club. He has been honored with office in the first named organization and is a past commander of Nebraska Lodge, No. I, K. P., at Omaha. His life has been one of earnest and untiring effort in the field of business and at the same time he stands for everything that is for the good of the community, his cooperation being a salient force in general advancement and improvement.
NEWTON L. GRUBBS.
Thrown on his own resources at the early age of thirteen years and coming to an early realization of the fact that industry, determination and perseverance are invincible factors in the struggle to obtain success, Newton L. Grubbs, of the firm of Grubbs & Co., wagon manufacturers, machinists and horseshoers, has ad- vanced step by step until he stands today as one of the leaders in his line of business in South Omaha. He started out in his present undertaking twenty years ago in a very modest way, and as his trade grew and developed he sought larger quarters, at first purchasing a lot on L street, off the main thoroughfare, on which a small shed stood. In that place he continued to do business for a short time but his thorough methods and reliability brought about a constant increase in his trade, rendering his quarters too small for the requirements of the business. He accord- ingly sought more space and purchased an additional lot on which he erected a substantial two-story building one hundred by one hundred and fifty feet. In this he is now carrying on his business, but already he feels the demand for larger quarters and is now contemplating additional improvements that will give him more room. His business at the present writing is the third largest in Greater Omaha and o'ertops all the others of a similar character in South Omaha combined.
Because of what he has accomplished through individual effort, the life record of Newton L. Grubbs is an interesting one. He was born in Tama county, Iowa, July 6, 1873, a son of Isaac L. and Mary Jane (Grubbs) Grubbs. His parents, though of the same name, were not related, although both were born near La Fay- ette, Indiana, and in that locality were reared, educated and married. When they were at the age of twenty-one and twenty-two years respectively they removed to Carroll county, Iowa, where the father became connected with the bee industry, raising and selling colonies of bees and also dealing in honey. He was one of the first to engage in that line in his section of the country and so capably and success- fully did he manage his interests that he accumulated a very gratifying and desir- able competency, remaining a resident of Carroll county until his death, which occurred in February, 1910, when he had reached the age of eighty years. His wife died in Carroll county in 1881, at the age of forty-five years.
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In their family were ten children, of whom Newton L. Grubbs was the young- est. He attended the public schools of Carroll county until his thirteenth year, when he started out to provide for his own support, working along various lines until he reached his nineteenth year. Being strong and of powerful physique, he concluded to learn the machinist's and blacksmith's trade and horseshoeing and after completing his apprenticeship continued to work along those lines in Iowa until 1897, when he came to Douglas county and secured employment with Watson Brothers of Omaha. He remained with that firm for a time and then secured a more remunerative position with John S. Cooper & Company of Chicago, who were conducting business in South Omaha as dealers at the horse market at the National Stock Yards. He represented that firm for three and one-half years but 1904 de- cided to start in business for himself and secured a location on Twenty-fifth street, where he rented property. He there remained until 1909, when, as previously stated, he purchased a lot on L street, on which was the small building that was the predecessor of his present large establishment. From the beginning his pat- ronage has steadily grown and today his business interests are in a highly flourish- ing condition, the volume of his trade enabling him to employ eleven expert work- men, mechanics and horseshoers, more than all the other firms of a similar line in the entire city of South Omaha.
On the 29th of July, 1903, at Council Bluffs, Mr. Grubbs was married to Miss Anna Comstock, who was born in Peru, Nebraska, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Comstock. Her mother died in 1900, but her father is still living at the age of seventy. He came to Nebraska when fifteen years old and cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers, purchasing a farm near Peru, which he operated many years. He is now living retired at Peru and his residence in the state covers 55 years, having been one of the early settlers.
Mr. and Mrs. Grubbs hold membership in the Presbyterian church and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party. He holds to high standards in mat- ters of citizenship. He is a splendid specimen of physical manhood and fond of all kinds of athletics, in connection with which he has attended some of the notable athletic events in this part of the country. He has a wide acquaintance and high regard is entertained for him by all who know him.
BURT B. BLANCHARD.
Burt B. Blanchard, secretary of the Lee Live Stock Commission Company of South Omaha, was born at Stuart, Adair county, Iowa, April 5, 1874. His father, M. F. Blanchard, a native of Vermont, belonged to one of the old families of that state of English descent. He became a resident of Omaha in October, 1886, and for fifteen years was extensively engaged in the live stock commission business. being among the leading stock dealers of the city at that time. For the past ten years, however, he has lived retired and is now a resident of St. Joseph, Missouri. In politics a republican, he was active in political circles in South Omaha and at one time served as a member of the city council. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Davis, is a native of Maryland and of Scotch lineage. By her mar- riage she became the mother of three children : Lute, now a live stock commission merchant of St. Joseph, Missouri; Anna, the wife of A. E. Anderson, engaged in the live stock commission business in Omaha ; and Burt B.
The last named, following the removal of the family to South Omaha, became a pupil in the public schools and when fourteen years of age started out to provide for his own support. He was first employed in connection with the business of his father and his uncle, J. B. Blanchard, thus serving his apprenticeship and thor- oughly acquainting himself with every phase of the live stock business. He also served for ten years as yard man for the Omaha stock yards and since has been actively engaged in the line with which he is still connected. In 1908 he became
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a member of the Lee Live Stock Commission Company and in 1915 was elected to the office of secretary, which position he has since successfully and capably filled, his previous thorough experience and training well qualifying him for the conduct of the important duties which now devolve upon him.
At South Omaha, on the 28th of November, 1902, Mr. Blanchard was married to Miss Laura Murphy, a native of Omaha and a daughter of Mrs. Ann Murphy, who is one of the pioneer residents, having made her home in Omaha for the past fifty years. Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard have two children, Mark and Pauline. In politics he maintains an independent course and fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Dependent upon his own resources from the age of fourteen years, he has justly earned the proud American title of a self-made man and his creditable business record may well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others.
FRED A. CASTLE.
Fred A. Castle, proprietor of Hotel Castle at Omaha, one of the large and well appointed hostelries of the city, which he opened on the 15th of March, 1915, has for a number of years been identified with hotel interests. He was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, April 4, 1869. His father, Henry B. Castle, also a native of Ashtabula, was born in 1825 and at the time of the Civil war he served in the navy for three years. In his native city he wedded Christy Morrison, who was born in Scotland and who survives, but the father passed away in 1906.
In the schools of Ashtabula Fred A. Castle pursued his education from the age of six to that of sixteen years and he also attended Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio. For a time he was a student in the Western Reserve Medical College at Cleveland, Ohio, but did not complete his course there. In 1898 he came to Omaha, where he was engaged in the life insurance business until 1909, when he leased the Iler Grand Hotel, which he conducted for five years. He then began the erection of the Castle Hotel, which he opened on the 15th of March, 1915, and such has been its success that on the first of October, 1916, an addition containing one hundred and fifty rooms was opened. This is the second largest hotel in the state of Nebraska and is very popular with the traveling public, Mr. Castle's experience teaching him what is demanded in hotel service, and many of these demands he anticipates.
In Franklin, Indiana, on the 10th of August, 1907, Mr. Castle was united in marriage to Miss Georgia Shryock and to them has been born a son, Frederick A. Fraternally Mr. Castle is a York and a Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Elks lodge and he has membership connections with the Athletic Club of Omaha and with the Commercial Club. He is a very progressive business man, a typical representative of the spirit of the age, and his well directed powers have brought him into prominent connections.
PETER MELCHIORS.
Peter Melchiors began his independent career without capital and without influential friends, and, moreover, was handicapped by the fact that he was in a strange land. However, he was quick to recognize and utilize the opportunities offered to an enterprising young man in this country, and he has built up a large trade as the owner of a machine shop and garage, which is now being managed by his son. A native of Germany he was born in Trier, in the Rhine Province of Prussia, on the 13th of June, 1858. He received his education in the fatherland and remained there until he was twenty-two years old, when in
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18So, he came to America and at once made his way to Omaha. He was employed as a machinist for various firms until 1891, when he established a business of that character of his own. As time passed his trade increased so that he had to enlarge his shop, and removal was made from the first location at Fourteenth and Leavenworth streets to Fourteenth and Howard. He was asso- ciated in business for some time with Joseph Davis and Robert Sanderson, but in 1898 severed that connection and, in partnership with his son, established a shop on the corner of Thirteenth and Howard. Later he erected a building around the corner on Howard street, and there the business is still being carried on. The equipment is complete and thoroughly modern and machine work of all kinds is done. There is also a garage department and this is likewise well patronized. Employment is furnished to fifteen men continuously and the shop is one of the modern enterprises of its character in the city. Mr. Melchiors is now leaving its active management to his son.
On New Year's Day, 1882, in Omaha, occurred the marriage of Mr. Melchiors and Miss Katherine Marx, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Baptiste Marx, pioneers of Omaha, both of whom have passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Melchiors have been born two children. The son, Ferdinand J., was born in Omaha, October 10, 1883, attended the public schools and later took a course in night school. When fourteen years old he began learning the machinist's trade and has devoted his life to work of that kind, being now vice president of the firm of Peter Melchiors & Son, and the manager of the machine shop and garage. He was married in Omaha, May 15, 1908, to Miss Elizabeth Fruehwirth, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Fruehwirth, now resi- dents of Omaha. To this union has been born a son, Ferdinand Peter, whose birth occurred in Omaha March 13, 1910, and who is now attending school. Mr. Melchiors' only daughter, Charlotte, was born in Omaha in 1888 and received her education in her native city.
Mr. Melchiors supports the candidates of the Republican party at the polls, but his business interests have never left him sufficient time to take an active part in politics. Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Elks, and both within and without these organizations ·he is deservedly popular. His salient qualities are determination, industry and sound common sense, characteristics which go far toward insuring success in any line of endeavor.
ARTHUR REGISTER WELLS.
Arthur Register Wells, a member of the Omaha bar practicing as a partner in the firm of Stout, Rose & Wells, was born in Corning, Iowa, December 1, 1873. His ancestry is traced back in direct line to Thomas Welles, who came from England and settled in Connecticut in 1636. Anson Wells, grandfather of Arthur R. Wells, was born in Madison county, New York, and passed away in Cattaraugus county, that state, in 1888. The father, Arthur Lee Wells, was born in Madison county, New York, in 1838, and in 1867 removed westward to lowa, settling in Adams county, where he married Lucina Register, whose father was Dr. Joseph Hatfield Register, a pioneer Iowa physician who settled in that state in 1859. Arthur Lee Wells was an attorney who practiced law at Corning, Iowa, to the time of his death in 1901, when he was sixty-three years of age. He was a grad- vate of the Hillsdale ( Mich.) College and he gained a prominent position at the Iowa bar.
In the acquirement of his education Arthur Register Wells attended suc- cessively the public schools of Corning, Princeton College, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1895, and the Iowa State Univer- sity. in which he became a law student. He was admitted to the bar in May, 1896,
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ARTHUR R. WELLS
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upon examination before the supreme court of Iowa and located for practice in Corning, where he remained until 1907. He then came to Omaha and was con- nected with the law department of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company until March, 1913, when he resumed private practice as a member of the firm of Stout, Rose & Wells. This firm is regarded as one of the strongest and most capable at the Omaha bar and during his connection therewith Mr. Wells has demonstrated his ability to successfully handle important and complex litigation.
On the 28th of April, 1897, in Corning, Iowa, Mr. Wells was united in mar- riage to Miss Helen Wilson, a daughter of the late John Bruce Wilson. They have one son, Theodore Arthur, born March 12, 1907. Politically Mr. Wells is a republican but without ambition in the line of office holding. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and he is identified with several fraternal and social organizations. In Masonry he has become a Knight Templar and mem- ber of the Mystic Shrine. He holds membership with the Sons of the Revolution, with the Commercial Club, the University Club and the Happy Hollow Club. 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 qualification that he has attained a most creditable position at the Omaha bar.
FRED W. ANHEUSER.
Fred W. Anheuser, city prosecutor of Omaha, and one of Omaha's most prominent young attorneys, was born at St. Augustine, Florida, April 16, 1884, and is a son of Julius and Ellen (McCotter) Anheuser, the former a native of Germany and the latter a native of South Carolina, representing an old South Carolina family of Scotch-Irish descent. The paternal relatives were the founders of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association, of St. Louis, Missouri. To the same family belongs Lieutenant General August Anheuser, one of the leading officers of the German army, now in charge of the Baden troops. To this family also belongs Marie Anheuser, who became the wife of Dr. Paul Zache, one of the court physicians at Berlin, and Lilly Anheuser the wife of Judge Otto Mangelsdorf, a noted jurist holding a life position at Cologne, Ger- many. Julius Anheuser came to America in 1863 settling first in St. Louis, Mis- souri, where he engaged in the banking business until 1878. He then removed to Savannah, Georgia, where he took up general merchandising and also entered the cotton business. In 1882 he removed to Florida, where he again carried on general merchandising, and in 1898 he became a resident of Baltimore, Maryland. where he was associated with the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association, of St. Louis, Missouri. In 1904, he arrived in Omaha, where the family have since made their home, he being with the Anheuser-Busch Company of Nebraska. During his residence in Florida he was active in politics and is a stanch democrat. His wife died in Omaha, April 5, 1913, at the age of forty-nine years. In the family were ten children, of whom four are yet living: Fred W .; Amalia, a teacher of German in the Omaha schools; Julie, who is vice principal of the high school at Hubbard, Nebraska; and Anna, who is attending the Sacred Heart school.
Fred W. Anheuser was educated in the public and high schools of St. Augustine, Florida, from which he graduated in 1898, and in the Franklin University of Baltimore, Maryland, also the University of Maryland and Creigh- ton University of Omaha, in which he pursued his last year's work in prepara- tion for the bar. He was admitted to practice in June, 1905, at which time he was the youngest attorney in the United States, being barely twenty-one years of age. He at once entered upon the active work of the profession, which he
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has since continued, with increasing success. He has given his attention to general practice and is accorded a liberal clientage. In June, 1916, Mr. Anheuser was appointed city prosecutor of Omaha by Mayor Dahlman and is now serving his second term in this capacity.
On the 30th of June, 1914, in Omaha, Nebraska, Mr. Anheuser was united in marriage to Miss Kathryn Van Lome, a native of Butler county, Nebraska, and a daughter of the late Andrew and Margaret (Wolf) Van Lome, who were among the earliest settlers of Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Anheuser are well known in Omaha, where he has lived since his student days, and in the practice of his profession his advancement has been continuous. He chose as a life work a calling in which progress depends entirely upon individual effort and merit and he has now gained a creditable place as an able lawyer.
JOSEPH HAYDEN.
Joseph Hayden spent his early life in Wisconsin, where his parents settled in the pioncer days of that state, amid the scenes and circumstances incident to frontier life.
After leaving school, he engaged in the mercantile business, first in Wis- consin and later going to Chicago, where he acquired a knowledge of business affairs, which later contributed to his success. In 1887, he came to Omaha, where he is the head of an establishment known beyond state lines.
He early acquired a taste for travel, making three trips around the world. which has made him an eye witness of the ways of life and the manners and cus- tons of men of all classes and in every clime.
He has never sought nor accepted a political position, and recently he has refused to consider an appointment on the federal tariff commission, which is regarded among the most desirable of federal appointments, and for which his extensive travels and knowledge of merchandise qualifies him.
Few have enjoyed the confidence of their friends more than he and few have better deserved such confidence.
F. F. A. WELLMAN.
F. F. A. Wellman is junior partner in the firm of Bliss & Wellman, a live stock commission company with offices in the Exchange building in South Omaha. Actuated by a spirit of laudable ambition, he has persistently and consecutively worked his way upward, utilizing his opportunities to the best possible advantage. He was born at Magnolia, Iowa, on the Ist of March, 1874, and is a son of Luke E. and Hulda (Jarvis) Wellman, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Iowa. At an early period in the settlement and development of the latter state Luke E. Wellman removed from New England to the middle west, taking up his abode near Waterloo, Iowa, where he engaged in farming. In the latter part of 1874 he removed to Colfax county, Nebraska, and there homesteaded, after which he converted a tract of virgin prairie into richly developed fields to which he added many modern improvements. Complying with the laws concerning occupancy and cultivation, he at length secured his title and for many years remained a resident of Colfax. Later, however, he took up his abode in Schuyler, Nebraska, where he has since been actively engaged in the live stock business, building up a business of substantial and gratifying proportions. He is now sixty-seven years of age, while his wife has reached the age of sixty-six. She was born, educated and married in Iowa and she has become the mother of three children: F. F. A .; Nellie, now the
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