USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 76
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On the 15th of February, 1875, at Waterloo, Iowa, Dr. Gibbs was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary E. Mclaughlin, daughter of Dr. James and Isabelle (McCready) McLaughlin, both of whom are deceased. Her father became a prominent pioneer physician of Iowa and both he and his wife were descended from old Pennsylvania families of Scotch descent. Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs occupy a beautiful home at Dundee, one of the suburbs of Omaha.
Fraternally he is a Mason and is a member of the First Presbyterian church. of which for the past twenty years he has served as an elder, taking an active and
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helpful part in all the church work. He likewise stands for progress and improve- ment in community affairs and served for one term as a member of the Omaha school board, while in other connections he has stood loyally and stanchly in support of those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. He belongs to the Phi Chi, a medical fraternity, and he has membership in the Omaha-Douglas County Medical Society, the Nebraska State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He is a man of very charitable nature, a student and a philosopher. He has never had any desire to acquire riches, feeling that to be comfortable was all that one should wish. Beyond this he has dispensed his earnings generously to the poor and needy and is ever ready to extend a help- ing hand where assistance is required. He does not do this from any constrained sense of duty but from a deep interest in his fellowmen, recognizing the brother- hood of the race. His career, most honorable in purpose and kindly in its spirit, has made him one of the most valuable and respected citizens of Omaha, while in point of connection with the profession he is the oldest of the practitioners of the city.
RAYMOND T. COFFEY.
Raymond T. Coffey, attorney at law in Omaha, was born in Polo, Illinois, in 1887 and is of Irish lineage, his paternal grandfather having been born on the Emerald isle. His father, Theodore Coffey, was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1850 but during his infancy was taken by his parents to Illinois and in that state, after arriving at years of maturity, wedded Nellie W. Graham. They are now residing in Greenfield, Iowa, where Mr. Coffey is conducting the largest retail implement business in the United States.
Raymond T. Coffey completed his more specifically literary education by graduation from the Notre Dame University near South Bend, Indiana, with the class of 1910:' He then began preparation for the bar and is a law graduate of Creighton College of Omaha of the class of 1912. Immediately afterward he opened an office in Omaha and for a time was associated with F. A. Brogan but is now alone in practice. He has a good clientage that has connected him with much important litigation and his ability is manifest in the capable and resourceful manner in which he handles his cases.
On the 10th of June, 1913, in Omaha, Mr. Coffey was married to Miss Elizabeth Nields, a daughter of Albert Nields, who was one of the founders of the firm of M. E. Smith & Company, wholesale dry goods dealers of Omaha. They have two sons, Robert Nields and William Raymond. The parents are members of the Catholic church, and in his political views Mr. Coffey is a republican, well informed concerning the political conditions and situation of the country but without ambition for office, as he prefers to concentrate his attention upon his law practice, which has grown steadily in volume and in importance. He belongs to the Barristers Club, the Omaha Bar Association and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
RAY C. GODDARD.
Among the younger men of Omaha who are fast coming to the front in business and social circles of the city and are making their impress on the life of this growing community is Ray C. Goddard, president of the Peoples Coal Company, which he aided in organizing. He was born in East Dubuque, Illinois, June 19, 1884, a son of Edwin C. and Jennie L. (Walker) Goddard, both natives of Iowa. In 1912 they removed to Omaha, where they are still living.
RAYMOND T. COFFEY
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Ray C. Goddard is the oldest in a family of four children, and his education was largely acquired in the public and high schools of McPherson, Kansas. He prepared for business life through a course in business college at Quincy, Illinois. In 1902 he entered the employ of the Burlington Railroad at Hannibal, Missouri, but in 1903 he was transferred to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he remained for a year, being sent to Omaha in 1904. He retained his connection with the Burling- ton road until 1905, when he entered the service of the Union Pacific Coal Company of Omaha, with which he remained until 1907, when he became an employe of the Central Coal Company, also of Omaha. In a comparatively short time he rose from a minor position to that of president. On the Ist of May, 1916, however, he organized a new company known as the Peoples Coal Company, of which he has since served continuously as president and he is recognized as the dominant factor in the management of the concern, which has enjoyed a steady and rapid growth. His associates in the company are all wide- awake, energetic young men, and there is every reason to believe that in time the company will be one of the largest in its line in the city.
Mr. Goddard was married January 5, 1910, to Miss Grace I. Barstow, a daughter of Mrs. Mary E. Barstow of this city. To this union has been born one son, Edwin Clark. Mr. Goddard votes for the man rather than the party and gives careful study to the questions of the day, believing it is every citizen's duty to take an interest in public affairs. He belongs to the Omaha Athletic Club, the Field Club, the Concord Club and a number of other social organizations. He is also identified with the Commercial Club and the Ad Club. He is quick to recognize an opportunity and prompt in devising and carrying out plans to utilize it to the best advantage, and the result of his initiative and insight is seen in the prosperity of the company of which he is the head.
ARTHUR C. STOKES, M. D.
Dr. Arthur C. Stokes, a surgeon of Omaha, was born in Canada in 1870, a son of Charles H. and Mary (Chapman) Stokes, the former a native of Canada and the latter of England. The family is of English lineage, the ancestral line being traced back to the time of Cromwell, prior to which period the progenitors of the family lived near Dublin, Ireland. Charles H. Stokes, his father, was reared in Canada, where he resided from 1844 until 1885, when he removed with his family to Rock Rapids, Iowa, and later became a resident of Flandreau, South Dakota, where he and his wife are now living.
Dr. Stokes attended public schools of Canada to the age of fifteen years and afterward became a high school pupil at Rock Rapids, Iowa. He next entered the Iowa State College at Ames, from which he was graduated in 1892, and after completing his more specifically literary education he began preparation for the practice of medicine and surgery, matriculating in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago, in which he remained for two years. He also spent two years in the medical department of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and was graduated in 1899. For seven years he taught chemistry in that school. For a year he was interne in the Methodist Episcopal Hospital of this city and after- ward took post graduate work in the Roosevelt Hospital of New York. Subse- quently he spent two years. in study in Halle, Kiel and Berlin in Germany and London, England, receiving instruction under most eminent surgeons. Since 1904 he has concentrated his efforts upon the practice of surgery in Omaha and is now surgeon for the Wise Memorial Hospital and associate professor of surgery in the Nebraska State University. He is medical director of the Guarantee Life Insurance Company, has a good private surgical practice and is also consulting surgeon to the Missouri Pacific Railroad and a lieutenant in the medical reserve corps of the United States army.
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On the 17th of December, 1910, in Omaha, Dr. Stokes was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Shackleford, daughter of Clark Shackleford, of Omaha. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church. He is a Scottish Rite Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine and a Knight of Pythias. He belongs to the Com- mercial Club, the Omaha Club and the Happy Hollow Club. In politics the prin- ciples of the man rather than of a party attract his vote. His military record is limited to service as captain of a cadet company at Ames, Iowa, during his college days. He has professional connections as a member of the Nebraska State Medi- cal Association, of which he has been vice president and librarian, the Omaha- Douglas County Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Western Surgical Association and the American Urological Association. Through the proceedings of these societies as well as through private study and research he keeps in touch with the latest professional thought and discovery. He is a mem- ber of three Greek letter societies.
GEORGE RASMUSSEN.
George Rasmussen, vice president of the Nebraska Bridge Supply & Lumber Company, was born June 2, 1884, at Idaho Falls, Idaho, then known as Eagle Rock. His father, John Rasmussen, a native of Denmark came to America in 1881 and while en route to the west stopped at Omaha for a short period. He became one of the pioneer settlers of Idaho and was there engaged as foreman of the Oregon Short Line. He next entered the general contracting business in connection with railroad construction and was very successful. He became a resi- dent of Omaha about 1886 and spent the greater part of his remaining days in this city here passing away January 29, 1902, when forty-one years of age. He had married Caroline Petersen, also a native of Denmark, whence she came to America in early womanhood, arriving about 1882. They were married in San Francisco, California, and Mrs. Rasmussen is now living in Omaha. She became the mother of four children : George; Harry; August F .; and Helga, the wife of Stuart Gould, of Omaha.
George Rasmussen acquired his early education in the public schools of Omaha and in the school of experience has learned many of life's practical and valuable lessons. He has been dependent upon his own labors for a livelihood since reach- ing the age of fourteen years. His first position was that of office boy for several physicians who occupied a suite of rooms jointly. During that period he im- proved his education by attending night school and became proficient in stenog- raphy, after which he accepted a position as a stenographer. On the Ist of July, 1899, in that capacity, he entered the employ of the Nebraska Bridge Supply & Lumber Company. He acted in that capacity for a year and then won promotion, being advanced through all branches of the business. He was made one of the officers of the company in 1906, when he was chosen secretary, so remaining until 1911. He was then elected to the position of vice president and general man- ager and has so continued to the present time. This firm conducts the largest business of the kind in the state and in fact its operations cover twenty states. It manufactures and sells at wholesale lumber of all kinds as well as bridge sup- plies, operating mills and yards throughout various sections of the south and west, and also operating retail lumber yards. Mr. Rasmussen is also president of the National Cypress Pole & Piling Company, of Bucoda, Missouri, and is a director of the Independent Lumber Company of Omaha and the Garner-Towle Company of Brinkley, Arkansas. His business connections are thus important and exten- sive. Gradually he has widened the scope of his activities, which have also be- come more and more important in character, and the extent of his interests place him as one of the most prominent business men of the city.
On the 9th of June, 1909, in Omaha, Mr. Rasmussen was married to Miss
GEORGE RASMUSSEN
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Irma Springer, of Beatrice, Nebraska, a daughter of Paul and Georgene (Dargatz) Springer, who were pioneer settlers of this state, prominent in the business and social life of Beatrice. Mr. and Mrs. Rasmussen have two children : Irma Geor- gene, born in Omaha, March 19, 1910; and George Paul, July 14, 1914.
Mr. Rasmussen is independent in his political connection, voting according to the dictates of his judgment. He belongs to St. John's Lodge, No. 25, F. & A. M,, and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Nebraska Con- sistory, No. I, A. A. S. R. He is also connected with the Mystic Shrine and he has membership in the Omaha Athletic Club, the Happy Hollow Club and the Commercial Club. He likewise belongs to the Kountze Memorial Lutheran church and in its teachings has found the rules which have governed his conduct in all of his relations. He has never deviated from what he has believed to be right between himself and his fellowmen and his course has embodied those principles which in every land and clime awaken confidence, respect and regard. He has made wise use of his time and opportunities not only in the achievement of busi- ness success but also in his cooperation with those forces which work for good citizenship and for individual betterment.
ANDREW BARTHOLOMEW SOMERS, M. D.
Dr. Andrew Bartholomew Somers, engaged in the general practice of medicine in Omaha since 1887, was born in Orleans county, Vermont, in 1847, and is of Scotch descent, the family having been founded in America by his grandpar- ents, all four of whom came to the United States from Scotland soon after the Revolutionary war. His father, John Somers, was born in Caledonia county, Vermont, in 1815, and devoted his life to the occupation of farming. He married Margaret C. Lindsay and both passed away in 1870.
While spending his youthful days under the parental roof Dr. Andrew B. Somers pursued his education in the public schools and academies of the Green Mountain state. He also spent a year as a medical student in the University of Vermont and then entered Columbia College of New York, where he com- pleted his medical course by graduation with the class of 1872. Immediately afterward he located for practice in Chittenden county, Vermont, where he remained for fifteen years, when, believing that the growing west offered better professional opportunities, he came to Omaha and opened an office. Through the intervening period of thirty years he has continued in active practice and almost from the beginning has occupied a leading position as one of the foremost physicians of the city. He has remained a continuous student of medical science and keeps in touch with the most modern research and investigation, using those advanced methods which sound judgment and long experience sanction.
Dr. Somers was married on the 6th of August, 1872, to Miss Amelia Han- nalı Capron, a daughter of John P. Capron. They had one son, Gerald, who was born in 1875 and passed away in 1899.
Dr. and Mrs. Somers hold membership in the Congregational church and he is also a York Rite Mason, having taken all the degrees including those of the commandery. Furthermore he is identified with the Happy Hollow Club and the University Club of Omaha and he became a charter member of the Com- mercial Club, being in hearty sympathy with its plans and purposes to upbuild and develop the city. His political support is given to the republican party, but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him as he has ever preferred to concentrate his undivided thought and attention upon his profes- sional duties, which he has ever discharged with a sense of conscientious obli- gation.
In 1895 he became associate professor of medicine in Creighton Medical Col- lege and held the position until 1900 when he was given the position of pro-
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fessor of obstetrics in Omaha Medical College, now the medical department of the University of Nebraska. He still holds this position. He is a charter mem- ber and an ex-president of the Missouri Valley Medical Society; joined the Nebraska State Medical Society in 1889 and has been actively connected with that organization until now. He was one of the organizers of Omaha-Douglas County Medical Society and an ex-president; also a member of the American Medical Association. He has been contract surgeon for the Omaha & Grant and the American Smelting & Refining Companies for thirty years. He held the position of health commissioner of Omaha, 1892-3; was a member of the State Board of Health, 1900-5. He is life insurance examiner for several com- panies and was consulting surgeon of the Union Pacific Railway for several years or until the position was abolished under restrictions of the interstate commission, under which appointment he had the opportunity of making the acquaintance of E. H. Harriman while attending him from Grand Island to New York during an attack of appendicitis.
F. C. BLISS.
F. C. Bliss, a member of the firm of Bliss & Wellman, live stock commission merchants of South Omaha, was born December 18, 1857, in Franklin county, Vermont, a son of Charles and Catherine (Corliss) Bliss, who represented old families of the Green Mountain state. The father was engaged as a dealer in cattle, horses and merchandise.
F. C. Bliss attended the public schools of Richford, Vermont, until he reached the age of seventeen years. He then spent two years as an employe of Charles Richards in a lumber business at Springfield, Massachusetts, and then engaged in farming and stock raising near Richford upon rented land. He prospered in the undertaking and a few years later purchased one hundred acres, which he continued to cultivate until 1885. He then came west to Colfax county, Nebraska, where his uncle resided, and there he entered into the stock business on his own account at Howell. After twelve years spent at that place he came to South Omaha in 1897 and entered the commission business with his uncle, Joseph Bliss. That partnership was continued for a decade or until 1907, when F. C. Bliss became associated with F. F. A. Wellman, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. The firm of Bliss & Wellman was organized and has since become well known on the Exchange, for they do a large business annually, dealing in cattle, hogs and sheep.
In 1879 Mr. Bliss was married to Miss Ada M. Pattee, a native of Franklin county, Vermont, and a daughter of Ami and Mary Jane (Heath) Pattee. They have two sons, namely : Howard B., who was born in 1889 and is associated with his father in business; and Walter C., whose birth occurred in 1891 and who is an agriculturist of Fremont, Nebraska. In his political views Mr. Bliss is a republican and is thoroughly conversant with the questions and issues of the day, but he does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, which have become of an important character owing to the liberal patronage which he has won.
ALBERT C. HEDBERG.
Albert C. Hedberg, of Valley, editor and publisher of the West End Advo- cate, was born in Chicago, February 2, 1874, a son of Fred J. and Nellie J. (Nelsen) Hedberg. The father was born in Sweden and in early manhood came to the new world, arriving in Chicago in 1857. There he followed the tailor's
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trade until 1861, when he responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting in the Union army as a member of Logan's cavalry, with which he served through- out the entire period of the war. With the close of hostilities he returned to Chicago, where he resumed work at the tailor's trade and later he engaged in the manufacture of clothing, carrying on that business quite extensively. At the present time he is living retired in Chicago. His wife was born in Rome, New York, and became an opera singer, being connected with the Abbey Grand Opera Company. While on a tour of Europe she met and married Mr. Hedberg in Sweden, at which time he was a musician in an opera house of that country. They returned to America and, as indicated, established their home in Chicago, where many years afterward Mrs. Hedberg passed away.
Albert C. Hedberg was reared and educated in Chicago, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, after which he became a student in Notre Dame College in Indiana. He also attended Augustana College at Rock Island, Illinois. Later he went upon the road as musical director of an opera company, to which work he devoted eight years, and eventually he became a representa- tive of musical interests in Denver, Colorado. In 1901 he came to Valley, Douglas county, Nebraska, where he engaged in newspaper work on the Enter- prise, there continuing until 1915, when he established the West End Advocate, which is today a thriving and progressive newspaper of Valley. He has a well equipped plant, thoroughly modern in every particular, and the paper has gained a wide circulation in the period of its existence.
In 1915, at Valley, Nebraska, Mr. Hedberg was united in marriage to Mrs. Martha (Zwiebel) Steele, who was born in Ohio and passed away in Valley, this state, on the 22d of February, 1916. By her first husband she had two sons, Russell L. and Ernest C. Steele, whom Mr. Hedberg is rearing.
In politics Mr. Hedberg is a democrat and has served as village clerk but prefers activities outside of office holding. He belongs to the Episcopal church and he is a prominent member of the Masonic lodge of Waterloo, Nebraska, having served for three terms as its master. He is alert, progressive, wide- awake and enterprising, standing for all that is progressive in citizenship, and at the same time he is a capable and successful business man.
WILLIAM G. WHITMORE.
William G. Whitmore, owner and manager of the stock yards at Valley and thus extensively and actively connected with the live stock industry in Douglas county, was born in Sunderland, Massachusetts, June 23, 1849, and is a brother of Frank Whitmore, mentioned elsewhere in this work. He spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the state of his nativity and after attaining his ma- jority was there married to Miss Clara Ely, of that state, who passed away three years later. Mr. Whitmore next married Miss Ida Knowlton at Omaha, Nebraska. She is a native of Gardenplain, Illinois, and a daughter of D. H. Knowlton, a building contractor of that place. By his second wife Mr. Whit- more had nine children, two of whom are deceased. The surviving members of the family are as follows: Kate, the wife of C. H. Webb, who is master mechanic at the Valley Stock Yards; Jesse D., who is manager of the stock yards at Grand Island, Nebraska ; Jennie G., the wife of N. H. Barnes, of Lin- coln, Nebraska; Nell P., the wife of N. E. Johnson, who is engaged in the hardware business at Valley, Nebraska; Burton C., who is associated with his father in the conduct of the Valley Stock Yards & Grain Company at Valley. Nebraska; and Ruth and Frances, both at home.
It was in the year 1878 that William G. and Frank Whitmore came to Nebraska, establishing their home on land at Valley, Douglas county. They first purchased a half section, at which time almost the entire tract was unde-
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veloped and unimproved. They began farming together and also stock raising and from time to time added to their holdings until their property possessions aggregated eleven hundred acres. To the further development and improve- ment of this farm they gave their attention until 1901, when they established the Valley Stock Yards & Grain Company at Valley and built the stock yards along the railroad for the purpose of feeding live stock in transit. The plant is very extensive, having ample accommodation for ninety thousand head of sheep. WV. G. Whitmore is still connected with the stock yards, although his brother has retired from the business. His interests are extensive and important, con- stituting one of the valuable business enterprises of the western section of Dongias county. There is no feature of farming or stock raising with which William G. Whitmore is not thoroughly familiar. In addition to being president and treasurer of the Valley Stock Yards & Grain Company he became one of the organizers of the Valley State Bank, and is still an officer of the Whitmore Brothers Company, Incorporated. What he undertakes he accomplishes, never stopping short of the successful execution of his plans. He has been the presi- dent of the Nebraska Improved Live Stock Association and president of the Nebraska Dairymen's Association, in both of which he has done much to advance the stock raising and dairying interests of the community through the dissemi- nation of scientific knowledge having to do with those things which further the interests of farmer, stock raiser and dairyman.
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