USA > Nebraska > Adams County > Past and present of Adams County, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 12
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L. PHILLIPS.
L. Phillips, proprietor of the Bostwick Hotel at Hastings, con- ducted on the European plan, has in the course of his business career made steady advancement and the steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible. The faithful performance of each day's duties has Vol. II-8
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brought him strength and power for the labors of the succeeding day and his ability has grown through the exercise of effort. Thus it is that he has come to a place among the substantial business men of his adopted city. Mr. Phillips is a native of Nebraska, his birth having occurred in Furnas county on the 14th of December, 1879, his parents being Caliph and Sarah Phillips, who in the year 1866 came to this state and for a year resided in Plattsmouth before removing to Fur- nas county, where the father homesteaded land, securing both a pre- emption and a timber claim. Year after year he carefully tilled the soil until the once wild prairie was converted into a valuable farm, on which he continued to make his home until about seven years ago, when he retired from active business life. When he settled upon the old homestead he was surrounded by Indians, for the red men were then more numerous in that section of the country than the white settlers. There were many hardships and privations to be borne and dangers to be faced, but with resolute spirit the family faced the conditions of frontier life and lived to see a remarkable change and profit by the improved conditions. In the family were four sons and two daughters, of whom L. Phillips is the fourth in order of birth. The youngest son is now operating the old homestead. At the time of the Civil war the father joined the army, serving for four years and twenty days in the West Virginia Cavalry.
L. Phillips, whose name introduces this review, was reared amid the wild scenes and conditions of frontier life. His education was acquired in one of the primitive schoolhouses of Furnas county, it being partly a dugout and partly a sod structure. School was held only through the winter seasons, for during the remainder of the year the labors of the children were usually required in farm work. Mr. Phillips remained at home until he reached the age of sixteen years, but, thinking to find other pursuits more congenial than the work of the fields, he then began learning the barber's trade, which he followed for three years in the employ of others and afterward for several years on his own account. In 1903 he removed to Adams county, settling first at Juniata, where he engaged in business, and in Feb -. ruary, 1911, he removed to Hastings and took charge of the Bostwick Hotel, of which he has since been the proprietor. This hotel is con- ducted on the European plan and he furnishes employment to twenty people. He has made it a popular hostelry, liberally patronized, and his capable management is resulting in the attainment of success. He is also the owner of farm lands and of real estate in Hastings, having made judicious investments in property, which return to him a gratify- ing annual income.
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In religious faith Mr. Phillips is a Catholic. He belongs to the Travelers' Protective Association, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and to the Commercial Club. He enjoys hunting big game and makes long trips for this purpose. He has one of the finest collections of mounted big game to be seen in the west, having been offered thirty- thousand dollars for this collection, which, however, he refused. In politics he is independent, holding to men and measures rather than to party, and, while he does not seek nor desire office, he is never remiss in the duties of citizenship, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs, which are wisely and systematically directed. He has attractive social qualities which have won for him popularity and those who know him entertain for him high esteem.
CHARLES HENRY DIETRICH.
Distinguished among Nebraska's eminent sons is Charles Henry Dietrich, whose record reflects credit and honor upon the state which has honored him. In business circles he figured prominently for many years as a leading banker and in other connections he has left the impress of his individuality upon the history of the common- wealth, for he has been Nebraska's chief executive and has also been a member of the United States senate. His course in office, as in private life, has been creditable to himself and satisfactory to his constituents and his work has at all times been fraught with good for the com- munity at large. A native of Illinois, Mr. Dietrich was born in Aurora on the 26th of November, 1853, his parents being Leonard and Wilhelmina (Stein) Dietrich, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father, who was born in Darmstadt, died at the advanced age of eighty-six years, and the mother, whose birth occurred at Frankfort, passed away at the age of eighty years. He was a shoe manufacturer and followed that business in Germany until the time of the revolution of 1848. He belonged to the socialist party, joined the revolutionists and was driven from Germany. He then went to Canada, from which point he proceeded by slow stages down through the United States to St. Louis, where he met his wife and family, who had come by sailing vessel to the new world, arriving after a voyage of three months or in the year 1849. Mr. Dietrich then took his family to Aurora, Illinois, where he became connected with the shoe business. He was a well educated man and a most interesting conversationalist and he taught both German and French in the schools
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of Aurora, where he continued to reside throughout his remaining days, taking an active interest in the affairs of the city and enjoying the fruits of liberty as offered in the new world.
Charles Henry Dietrich attended school in Aurora to the age of ten years, when he ran away from home, possessing the venturesome spirit that many a boy manifests. The following year he returned home and then went to school until he reached the age of twelve. Again leaving Aurora, he made his way to St. Joseph, Missouri, and for three years occupied a position as clerk in the hardware store of W. M. Wyeth. In 1868 he went to Chicago, where he engaged with the Hayden Kay Saddlery & Hardware Company until their business was destroyed by the great fire of 1871. He then entered the service of the Chicago City Railroad Company as inspector but after having trouble with a conductor went to St. Louis, where he worked as a conductor on the street railroad for a short time. Later he was at Memphis, Tennessee, where he drove a horse car until quarantined with yellow fever. After his release he made his way to Laconia Circle, Arkansas, with the intention of going into business there on his own account, but he was robbed of his money. Returning to Aurora, he worked at the blacksmith's trade until 1875, when he made his way to the Black Hills. At that time the city of Deadwood was not laid out and the district was still an Indian reservation. He cut logs used in the building of the first store there and, working for a pioneer firm, he delivered goods on pack mules all over the Black Hills. One of the party located in Spearfish, South Dakota, and traded his interest in the town site for a gold watch. Mr. Dietrich located the Aurora mine in Hidden Treasure Gulch and worked the mine for a short time, after which he sold out to a syndicate composed of United States Senators George E. Spencer, Thomas Platt and Roscoe Conkling. He then returned to Aurora and in 1878 made his way to Texas, where he had a big herd of sheep near San Antonio.
In the fall of 1878 Mr. Dietrich came to Hastings, where he en- gaged in general merchandising with John Wood, the first mayor of the city. In 1880 he turned his attention to the hardware business, forming a partnership with J. B. Dallas, with whom he remained for a year. In 1881 he opened a loan and insurance office as senior partner in the firm of Dietrich & Slaker, their relation being maintained for about six years or until 1887, when Mr. Dietrich organized the Ger- man National Bank, remaining as its president for eighteen years or until July, 1905. He placed that institution upon a safe, substantial basis, inaugurated a progressive policy that worked for the upbuilding of the bank and at the same time carefully safeguarded the interests
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of depositors. Throughout the long years of his residence in Hast- ings Mr. Dietrich has taken a most active and helpful part in promot- ing the upbuilding of the city and advancing its interests in many ways. For several years he was the president of the Board of Trade and he took an active part in inducing the Northwestern and Missouri Pacific Railroads to build their lines through Hastings. He has ever been a leader in movements for the benefit of the city and surrounding country. He it was who planted the first timothy and clover field in the county and also the first alfalfa field, and at one time he was the owner of large farm holdings in Adams county. He recognized the opportunity for judicious investment and so placed his capital that excellent results accrued.
Mr. Dietrich has been twice married. On the 4th of May, 1878, he wedded Miss Elizabeth Slaker, of Aurora, who passed away in February, 1887. Their daughter, Gertrude E., is the wife of Herbert Knox Smith, a well known supporter of Theodore Roosevelt who served as commissioner of corporations at Washington from 1907 to 1912, has been a member of the Connecticut house of representatives, was a candidate for United States senator and has also been candidate for governor on the progressive ticket. In 1909 Mr. Dietrich was again married, his second union being with Miss Margretta S. Stewart, of Philadelphia, a daughter of William Shaw and Delia (Allman) Stewart. The Stewarts were of an old Scotch family established in the United States in 1749. Her father was a leading physician of Philadelphia who was graduated from the Jefferson Medical College there. In 1861 he enlisted in the army and served throughout the Civil war. Following the close of hostilities he returned to Philadel- phia and began practice, being recognized as a prominent and honored representative of the profession in that city. He was one of the most prominent members of the Philadelphia Medical Society and he was the one who introduced the four years' course in the Philadelphia College of Medicine. He was dean of its medical department and in that connection maintained the highest standard of professional ethics. Three times he was sent as a delegate to the International Medical Society. Mrs. Dietrich is very active in all civic and social affairs of Hastings. She is president of "Sunnyside," an institution for the care of the old, the destitute and the needy, was one of the organizers and the president of the Adams County Woman's Suffrage Associa- tion and is a member of the state board of the Suffrage Association.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Dietrich is a prominent Mason, having taken the consistory degrees of the Scottish Rite. He also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he
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has ever been an earnest republican and has come more and more into prominence with the passing years as his opinions have carried weight in party councils and his efforts have proven effective in promoting political successes. He was elected governor of Nebraska in 1900 after the state had been under democratic and populistic rule for eight years. He was chosen on the 28th of March, 1901, to fill out the unexpired term of Senator Hayward and therefore resigned his position as governor on the 1st of May following, after which he con- tinued to represent the state in the United States senate from Decem- ber 21, 1901, until March 4, 1905. In the latter year he retired from all activity, business, political and otherwise, but the state is still enjoying the benefits of his public service and of his business activity, for he set in motion the wheels of progress and the results have not vet reached their full fruition. His record is an indication of what may be accomplished through the employment of opportunities when laudable ambition and determination point out the way, and his life history should have its inspirational effect upon the lives of others, encouraging them to continued effort toward the attainment of high ideals.
FREDERICK J. HALLER.
During the later years of his life Frederick J. Haller was a resi- dent of Kenesaw and enjoyed the respect, confidence and goodwill of all who knew him there, as he had in various other localities in which he had made his home. He was of foreign birth but America had no more loyal nor devoted citizen among her native sons. It sometimes seems that men born under monarchial rule have an even higher appre- ciation of the opportunities and privileges afforded under a republican form of government than those who have always enjoyed them, as they judge their condition in contrast to what they have formerly known, and Mr. Haller was among those who proved his patriotic devotion to America by valiant service in the Civil war.
He was born in Bavaria, Germany, December 11, 1832, a son of John and Eva Catherine (Frone) Haller. The father, a man of great intelligence, devoted his life to the profession of teaching. Frederick J. Haller was reared in his native country to the age of seventeen years and was liberally educated, displaying particular skill in mathematics. Crossing the Atlantic in 1849, he landed at New York, where he made his home for two years, after which he removed
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westward to Wisconsin and later to Michigan, where he engaged in farming and lumbering. Subsequently he removed to Huron county, Ohio, where he was living at the outbreak of the Civil war. In re- sponse to the country's call for troops he offered his services to the government, enlisting as a private of Company A, One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He left a wife and small children to go to the front, feeling that he owed a duty to his adopted country in aiding in her preservation. He took part in a number of hotly contested engagements and with his command entered the field at Chickamauga, where he was shot on the 19th of September, 1863. On the 13th of November the first lieutenant of his company, Ben- jamin F. Bryant, then commanding the regiment, wrote Mrs. Haller: "Our regiment went into action on Saturday, September 19th, at about 11 o'clock A. M. At first we lay down in front of the battery, placed on an eminence behind us, which shelled the woods in our imme- diate front where the enemy were. Then we rose up and advanced to the edge of the woods where we became engaged. It was almost noon, and while we were engaged near the edge of the woods your husband was shot through the body by a musket ball and fell dead. We were driven from the first position and never regained it. At sundown the fighting had ceased. Our skirmishers were full forty rods from the place of which I speak and we could not get beyond there as the rebels were in the woods and shooting at every one who approached. On Sunday the fighting was near Chattanooga and as we left the field Sunday night and fell back to Rossville, and Monday night went to Chattanooga, we know nothing of those who fell in the fight. Every- thing your husband had was about his person and of course lost. I most sincerely sympathize with you in your irreparable loss. I bear testimony to the good conduct of your husband as a soldier under all circumstances. I am, Yours very truly, Benjamin F. Bryant, 1st Lieut. Comdg. Company A, 101st O. V. I."
Such was the account which reached Mrs. Haller but fate had not been thus unkind to the family, for many years more of active and useful life remained to Mr. Haller. As his commander had stated, he was struck by a musket ball which entered just below the left eye, passed through it and came out the back of the neck but though left for dead, life was not extinct. He lay all night on the battlefield, was captured and kept in the open. He was afterward for fifteen months in prisons at Richmond, Danville, Andersonville and Florence and was paroled in December, 1864. He then rejoined his regiment and was mustered out with his command.
When his military service was over Mr. Haller returned to Huron
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county, Ohio, and in 1865 went to Michigan, where he engaged in farming until 1888. He then went to Clarke county, Iowa, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1905, when he became a resident of Kenesaw, Nebraska, there spending his remaining days.
It was on the 17th of March, 1856, that Mr. Haller was married to Miss Frances L. Stevens, of Berrien county, Michigan. She was born in Huron county, Ohio, September 4, 1837, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John M. Stevens. She traces her ancestry back to the Revolutionary war period, her great-grandfather having served as a captain in the conflict to establish American independence. On the paternal side the family was represented in the War of 1812. To Mr. and Mrs. Haller were born seven children: Mary H., the wife of J. M. Russell, of Kenesaw; Emma F., who is deceased; Martha B., who has also passed away; Almeria G., who died at the age of nineteen months; John F., who is in the general offices of the Union Pacific Railroad Company at Omaha; Ernest L., deceased; and Romaine W., who is engaged in farming at Elk Head, Colorado.
The family are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church, to which Mr. Haller belonged, and he guided his life by its teachings. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and he held membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. He died August 9, 1915, and in passing on left a memory honored and revered by all who knew him. Once more from B. F. Bryant came a word of sym- pathy and condolence, such as he had written when, more than a half century before, he believed he was sending to the widow the news of her husband's death upon a southern battlefield. Mrs. Haller was sent a Resolution of Respect, reading:
"When sounds the last assembly And the guard has gone the round, May we pitch our tents together on Some happier camping ground.
"It becomes our duty as members of the One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, to record the death of Comrade Frederick J. Haller, a member of Company A, who entered the service of his country August 4, 1862. He was wounded in the battle of Chicka- mauga, Georgia, September 19, 1863, was captured and spent fifteen months in Confederate prisons, paroled and rejoined his command, December, 1864, served to the close of the war, and was mustered out with his company, June 12, 1865.
"Resolved, That in the death of Comrade Haller we have lost out
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of our ranks a noble hero, loyal, brave and true; his country a peace- able, law-abiding citizen and a good man; his family, to whom we tender the love and sympathy of all our comrades, a devoted husband and father.
"Resolved, That a copy of these Resolutions be forwarded to his family at Kenesaw, Nebraska; also, a copy filed with the Association records.
"A. C. KNAPP "B. F. BRYANT Committee."
"MILES E. CARTWRIGHT -
For ten years Mr. Haller had been a resident of Kenesaw and during that period had gained a firm hold upon the affectionate regard and goodwill of his fellow townsmen who appreciated his sterling worth and his fidelity to principle. He held friendship inviolable and was a devoted husband and father, counting it his greatest happiness to provide for his wife and children and in every way promote their interests.
LEOPOLD HEMBERGER.
Leopold Hemberger, who has gained success as a farmer and now owns two hundred and forty acres of good land in Juniata township, was born in Baden, Germany, on the 5th of December, 1863. His parents, Constantin and Agnes (Hemberger) Hemberger, were also born in that country, where they passed their entire lives. The father died when our subject was but three years of age and the mother when he was a young man of twenty-five years. They were the par- ents of eleven children: Sigmond, who is living in Sangamon county, Illinois; Gallus, a resident of Adams county, Nebraska; Emil, a resi- dent of White Lake, South Dakota; Edward and August, both of whom are deceased; Katie and Bertha, both of whom are residing in Germany; Charlotte, Amelia and Mary, all of whom are deceased; and Leopold, the youngest of the family.
Leopold Hemberger attended school in Germany for eight years and received a most thorough training. As is customary there he went to school on Saturday as well as on the other week days and had only six weeks' vacation in the entire year. As a youth he learned the shoemaker's trade and subsequently when seventeen years of age emi- grated to the United States, making his way at once to Springfield, Illinois. He there found work as a farm hand and was so employed
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for three and a half years, after which he came to Adams county, Nebraska. He had saved his money carefully and was able to pur- chase a farm in Cottonwood township, which he operated successfully until 1904. In that year he removed to his present place on section 7, Juniata township, and in the intervening twelve years has made many improvements upon the farm, which comprises two hundred and forty acres of excellent land. He understands thoroughly the various phases of agriculture and derives a good financial return from his labors.
When twenty-three years of age Mr. Hemberger was united in marriage in Hastings, Nebraska, to Miss Elizabeth Fabry, by whom he has ten children, namely: John, who is farming in Cottonwood township, this county; Henry, an agriculturist of Roseland township; Anna, the wife of Charles Kaiser, of Roseland township; Leo, at home; Teresa, who is keeping house for her brother Henry; and Ehardt, Francis, Frank, Joseph and Albert, all of whom are at home.
Mr. Hemberger supports the democratic party at the polls but has never taken a very active part in political affairs. He and his family are members of the Roman Catholic church, to the support of which they contribute. He began his career without capital other than his energy, good judgment and determination to succeed and these quali- ties have enabled him to gain a competence and have also won him the respect and esteem of those with whom he has been brought in contact.
STEPHEN FABER.
Stephen Faber has made many improvements upon his farm on section 28, Juniata township, and is recognized as a substantial citizen of his community. He was born in the grand duchy of Luxemburg on the 13th of May, 1865, of the marriage of Peter and Elizabeth (Kertz) Faber, who passed their entire lives in that country. They were the parents of six children, namely: John Peter, a resident of Luxemburg; Peter, deceased; Harry and Elizabeth, both of whom are living in Luxemburg; Stephen; and Susan, a resident of Paris, France.
Stephen Faber received a good education in the schools of his native land and remained at home until he was seventeen years of age. He then began working for others and so continued in Luxemburg for six years. At the end of that time he emigrated to the United States as he desired to take advantage of the opportunities offered
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by a comparatively new country. He located at Maryville, Missouri, where he worked for a few months, after which he removed to Holdredge, Nebraska. Not long afterward he arrived in Hastings and for three years worked as a farm hand in that vicinity. During the ten years following he operated rented land and carefully saved his money with the view of purchasing a farm. At length his ambi- tion was realized and he bought a good tract of land in Ayr township, on which he lived for nine years and during that time brought the place to a high state of development. He next purchased his present farm of one hundred and forty acres on section 28, Juniata township, and is devoting his energies to its operation. He seldom fails to harvest good crops and also gives some attention to raising high grade stock and finds both branches of his business profitable.
In 1890 Mr. Faber was united in marriage to Miss Susanna David and they have become the parents of nine children, namely: John, Anna C., Mary M., Pauline S., Peter N., William N., Albert P., Gertrude A. and Irena A., all at home.
The democratic party has a stalwart supporter and advocate in Mr. Faber but he has been too busy with his business interests to take an active part in politics. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Columbus at Hastings and he and his wife are communicants of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Faber deserves much credit for what he has accomplished as when he came to this country a young man of twenty-three years he was practically empty-handed and, moreover, did not understand the customs of the people. He has always worked hard and has managed his affairs well and is now the owner of a good farm and also a stockholder in the Roseland Elevator. He has not only won financial success but he has also gained the sincere respect of those with whom he has had dealings and there are many who are his warm friends.
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