USA > Nebraska > Adams County > Past and present of Adams County, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 15
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Mr. Smith is a democrat in his political belief and served for a number of years as school treasurer and township assessor and treas- urer. He is a member of Silas A. Strickland Post, No. 13, Civil War
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Veterans, and has held all of the offices, including that of commander, in which he is now serving. The Methodist Episcopal church profits by his support and all measures seeking the moral advancement of his community receive his cooperation. The success which he has gained is the direct result of his enterprise and careful management and his many friends are glad that he is now able to enjoy a period of leisure.
J. F. GANGWISH.
J. F. Gangwish, who carries on general farming in Juniata town- ship, was born in Baden, Germany, on the 31st of May, 1855, his parents being J. F. and Mary (Barth) Gangwish, who were also natives of the fatherland, where they spent their entire lives, Mr. Gangwish devoting his attention to general farming. In the family were five children, namely: J. F., of this review; Victor E., a resi- dent of Adams county, Nebraska; Karl, who is deceased; Bernhardt, living in New York city; and Mary, who is still in Germany.
J. F. Gangwish obtained his education in the common schools of Germany, where he also attended high school. He came to the United States in 1871, settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in that sec- tion of the country worked in the coal mines and also engaged in railroad work. There he remained until 1879, when he came to Nebraska, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Adams county. He took up his abode on section 27, township 7, range 11, and under- took the task of converting the wild land into productive fields. As the years went on his labors were attended with good results and his farm became a valuable property. He added many fine modern im- provements, erected an attractive residence, a substantial barn, and also a silo and has built a fine elevator thirty by forty feet with twenty- one-foot studding. He now owns three hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land and his farm is one of the most thoroughly modern in its equipment and accessories. He has given much atten- tion to the raising of high grade stock, which has constituted an im- portant feature of his business. He is also a director of the Farmers Elevator Company of Juniata, with which he has been officially con- nected for twelve years.
In 1885 Mr. Gangwish was united in marriage to Miss Rosalia Mecham and to them have been born thirteen children, as follows: Elmer, who lives a mile north of his father's farm; Harrison, who
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J. F. GANGWISH AND FAMILY
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lives two miles south of the home place; Carl and Earl, twins, the latter living a mile southwest of Juniata; Bertha, who gave her hand in marriage to C. W. Leopold; Albert, Rebecca and Ralph, who are still under the parental roof; Letha and Retha, twins, also at home; Meton, at home; Afton, who is deceased; and Fern.
In his political views Mr. Gangwish is now a democrat but for- merly gave his allegiance to the republican party. He has served as justice of the peace and as road boss and is always interested in plans and measures for the public good. He was reared in the faith of the Catholic church and fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for in this country he found the opportunities which he sought and in their improvement has advanced steadily, becoming one of the substantial and prosperous farmers of the district in which he lives. Wherever known he is held in high esteem and most of all where he is best known.
COLONEL H. HANSELL.
Mercantile interests find a worthy representative in Colonel H. Hansell of the Vastine Hansell Clothing Company, conducting busi- ness on West Second street in Hastings. He is wide-awake, alert and enterprising and his well defined plans have carried him steadily forward to success. He was born in one of the oldtime log cabins of Franklin county, Iowa, on the 26th of December, 1871, his par- ents being George W. and Laura B. (Smith) Hansell. The father was born in Pennsylvania in the year 1830 and passed away in 1887, while the mother, who was born in Rhode Island in 1836, is still liv- ing at Hampton, Iowa, and has almost reached the eightieth mile- stone on life's journey. The father was a farmer by occupation and on making his way westward to Iowa settled in Franklin county. IIe had made the journey on horseback and after reaching his destina- tion traded his horse for oxen, with which he did his farm work, hitch- ing the team to a breaking plow with which he turned the first fur- rows in the fields. He lived in a log house and continued to spend his remaining days in that district. He took an active part in all the affairs of the community, filled the position of county supervisor, gave his political allegiance to the republican party and was a con- sistent and helpful member of the Methodist church, aiding in organ- Vol. 11-10
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izing the church near his home. His business affairs were carefully and conscientiously conducted and success attended his labors. He became the owner of considerable land and won a place among the extensive stockmen of the district, raising shorthorn cattle and Ches- ter White hogs. His efforts did not a little to improve the grade of stock raised in his part of the state.
Colonel H. Hansell was the youngest in a family of four children. He attended the district schools of Franklin county and also the Highland Park Business College at Des Moines, Iowa. He spent his boyhood days upon the home farm and after becoming familiar with all the duties incident to the work of the fields engaged in mer- chandising at Hansell, Iowa, a town founded by his father. In that field of activity he continued active until he removed westward to York county, Nebraska, in 1894, at which time he became the cash- ier and a stockholder and director of the First State Bank of Lush- ton, Nebraska. In 1897 he removed to Bradshaw, where he accepted a similar position in the Bank of Bradshaw, and in April, 1898, he arrived in Hastings, where he became connected with the cold storage business as a member of the Hastings Produce Company. That business was eventually merged into the Beatrice Creamery Com- pany, of which Mr. Hansell became a stockholder and the local mana- ger, continuing his activity in that field through eighteen years. He became connected with the Vastine Hansell Clothing Company when he withdrew from the creamery business and he is also president of the Hastings Brewing Company, of which he was one of the original stockholders. The clothing business is now growing steadily and their patronage is well deserved, for their methods measure up to the highest commercial standards.
In 1893 Mr. Hansell was united in marriage to Miss Ora M. Gib- son, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Alexander J. and Hannah Gibson, both natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Gibson partici- pated in the Civil war as a gunner in an artillery regiment from 1861 until 1865 and after the close of hostilities removed from Illinois to Iowa. In the latter state he successfully carried on general agricul- tural pursuits until 1891, when he embarked in the mercantile busi- ness at Hansell, Iowa. He is a man of retiring disposition but recog- nized worth and is now living with his wife at Hampton, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Hansell have a son, Paul G., who was born on the 27th of July, 1906.
Mr. Hansell belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks but otherwise has no membership connections with lodge, church or club and he is without political aspiration, preferring to concentrate
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his undivided attention upon his business interests, which are wisely directed and which have resulted in the attainment of a gratifying measure of prosperity.
WILLIAM C. HINES, D. V. M.
Dr. William C. Hines, of Kenesaw, has gained a large and profitable practice as a veterinarian and has won high standing pro- fessionally. He was born on the 10th of May, 1880, in Science Hill, Pulaski county, Kentucky, a son of Shelton and Nancy (De Board) Hines. The mother, who was born near Bethel, Casey county, Ken- tucky, in 1847, died in 1882 and the father subsequently married Miss Siotha Carson, a daughter of George and Polly (Girdler) Carson, who spent their entire lives in Kentucky. Mrs. Hines is still living and makes her home with the Doctor.
Shelton Hines, the Doctor's father, was born in Pulaski county, Kentucky, December 22, 1845, and at the time of the Civil war .en- listed on the 4th of August, 1863, as a private of Company D, Thirteenth Kentucky Cavalry, which fought on the Union side, serv- ing two years and two months. At the battle of King Saltville, Vir- ginia, he was wounded in the hand and thigh by the same bullet and later in the battle was captured by the Confederates. He was con- fined in Libby prison for seven months and seventeen days and during that time was almost starved. The privations which he endured there so weakened him that he was almost helpless for two years after his release as for twenty-one months after he was wounded he was unable to walk. He was honorably discharged October 23, 1865, on the sur- geon's certificate of disability. At length he regained his strength and about 1870 purchased a farm, which he operated until 1903. In that year he retired and removed to Kenesaw, Nebraska, where he resided until his demise on the 10th of November, 1908. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and his religious belief was that of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Dr. Hines received a common school education in Kentucky and after leaving school worked on the home farm for a time and also partially learned the carpenter's trade. In June, 1898, he removed to Kenesaw, Nebraska, and for two years thereafter was employed as a farm hand. The next two years were spent as a fireman on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, during which time he made his home in McCook, Nebraska. Later he went to Marshall, Texas,
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and for six weeks worked for the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Dur- ing the following ten years he was in the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad as fireman, engineer and brakeman. Hav- ing determined to enter the veterinary profession, he next spent three years at the MeKillip Veterinary College in Chicago and was gradu- ated from that institution in April, 1912, with the degree of D. V. M. He at once located at Kenesaw, Nebraska, where he has since engaged in the active practice of his profession. He has demonstrated his ability and although he has only been in practice for about four years he has secured a patronage that would be a credit to a man of much longer experience.
Dr. Hines supports the republican party at the polls and is now serving acceptably as a member of the town board. He holds mem- bership in the Methodist Episcopal church and casts his influence on the side of righteousness and justice. He is well known in fraternal circles, belonging to the Masonic order, in which he has taken thirty- two degrees, to the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Alpha Sigma, a college fraternity. He is also a member of the Brother- hood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers. He has made many warm friends in Kenesaw since his arrival here and is one of the most highly esteemed and respected residents of the town.
ALFRED METCALFE CLARK.
Alfred Metcalfe Clark is now the oldest druggist in Hastings in years of continuous connection with the trade. His name is insepa- rably associated with the commercial activity of the city, as enterprise and industry have brought him to a foremost position in the ranks of the leading business men of Adams county. He was born in Cass county, Illinois, March 16, 1862, his parents being Alfred M. and Nancy M. (Troutman) Clark. The father, who was a native of Wales, was bound out at the age of seven years and learned the tailor's trade. In the early '50s he became a resident of Illinois, removing from Kentucky to Jacksonville. He became the owner of farm lands in the latter state and at different periods he lived in Cass, Coles and Piatt counties, always following the occupation of farming and always taking an active and helpful interest in public affairs. He died in March, 1880, at the age of sixty-five years and was long
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survived by his widow, who passed away in February, 1912, at the age of eighty-six years.
Alfred M. Clark pursued his education in the district schools of Cass county, in a private school at Charleston, Illinois, and in the high school of that place. He received his professional training in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, in which he completed a course in January, 1880. He sawed wood at night and performed other humble labor that would enable him to earn money wherewith he met the expenses of his pharmaceutical course. In 1880 he clerked in a drug store at Charleston, Illinois, and in 1882 removed to Arcola, that state, where he had charge of a drug business until 1885, when be removed to Hastings. Here he continued in the drug business and in 1892 formed a partnership with A. H. Farrens, that connect- tion being maintained until June, 1893, since which time Mr. Clark has been alone in business. He has been associated with the trade longer than any other druggist of the city and he has a well appointed store on Second street, where he is accorded a liberal patronage. He has seen wonderful changes in the city, witnessing its growth along all lines of substantial improvement and development whereby it has become the attractive modern city of today. He is likewise interested in several other business enterprises of Hastings aside from his drug store and his activities have at all times been wisely and carefully directed.
In 1893 Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Florence Trout, of Arcola, Illinois, a daughter of D. S. Trout, a wagonmaker of that place and an active business man and public-spirited citizen of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have become parents of two children: Alfreda, who is attending Downer College at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Alfred Metcalfe, who is also in school.
Mr. Clark belongs to various fraternal organizations. He is an active member of the Knights of Pythias lodge of Hastings and became a charter member of the Dramatic Order of the Knights of Khorassan. He is well known in Masonic circles, having attained the Knights Templar degree of the York Rite, and in the commandery he is an active worker, serving now as senior warden. He has also taken the Scottish Rite degrees and has held office in that branch of Masonry. He belongs also to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Mystic Legion of the Orient, in the organization of which he was a prime mover and in which he has been an active worker. He votes with the republican party but has never held political office. He has served as a member of the school board, however, and is interested in plans and movements for the public good, cooperating heartily and
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earnestly along lines leading to public benefit. The history of Hastings is largely familiar to him, for his mind bears the impress of its early historic annals, while with the passing years he has taken an active part in shaping the material development and progress of this portion of the state.
KARL D. BEGHTOL.
Karl D. Beghtol attorney at law at Hastings now serving as police judge, was born in Shenandoah, Iowa, on the 22d of March, 1876, a son of James V. and Edith (McCoy) Beghtol. The father is a physician and in the year 1882 removed with his family to Lin- coln, Nebraska. He afterward came to Hastings, where he is still engaged in the active practice of medicine and surgery, occupying a prominent and enviable position in that connection.
Karl D. Beghtol was educated in the public schools and in the high school of Friends, Nebraska, where he was graduated. He afterward took up the profession of teaching and became assistant principal of the Nebraska Institute for the Blind at Nebraska City, remaining there for a year. During his school work he specialized in the teaching of Latin and history. He afterward took the classical course at the University of Nebraska, specializing in languages for four years, and again he taught school, spending three years in that connection at Ogden, Utah. Later he devoted a year to teaching in the schools of Anaconda, Montana, and on the expiration of that period retired from the profession and became credit man for the Copper City Commercial Company of Anaconda.
In 1905 Mr. Beghtol reentered the University of Nebraska for the study of law and on the completion of his professional course was graduated with the class of 1908. He then returned to Hastings, opened his office and is enjoying a good practice. He holds a teach- er's life certificate in Nebraska but expects henceforth to concen- trate his energies upon his law practice, which is becoming continu- ally more extensive and of a more important character. His legal learning, his analytical mind, the readiness with which he grasps the points in an argument all combine to make him a strong and capable lawyer, rendering him a formidable adversary in legal combat.
On the 12th of October, 1910, Mr. Beghtol was united in mar- riage to Miss Ena Brach, a daughter of William Brach, of Hastings. They have one child, Karl D., Jr. Mr. Beghtol gives his political
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allegiance to the republican party and was a candidate for the office of county attorney in 1912, but was defeated by a small vote, the Wilson ticket carrying everything with it. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally he is connected with Acacia Lodge, No. 233, A. F. & A. M., also with the Royal Arch chapter of Anaconda, Montana, and with Anaconda Lodge, No. 239, B. P. O. E. He likewise belongs to a university fraternity, the Betha Theta Pi, and to the Pan Hellenic, T. N. E., the Phi Delta Phi and the the Theta Kappa Nu. Upon examination he won an honorary membership in an honorary legal fraternity. In the line of his profession he has membership with the Bar Association and in November, 1914, was elected police judge. He turns for recreation to fishing, hunting and various phases of outdoor life, which he greatly enjoys. Laudable ambition prompts his activity in his professional career and leads to his thorough preparation of cases. At no time has his reading ever been confined to the limitations of the questions at issue. It has gone beyond and compassed every contingency and provided not alone for the expected but for the unexpected, which happens quite as frequently in the courts as out of them.
WILLIAM M. LOWMAN.
William M. Lowman, a prominent real estate dealer and capital- ist of Hastings, is now giving his attention to his private business affairs, although for a considerable period he figured prominently in financial circles as the president of the Bank of Commerce. A native of Illinois, he was born in Toulon in 1856, and was there reared and educated. In 1878 he arrived in Hastings and with his father, Davis Lowman, engaged in the real estate business under the firm style of D. Lowman & Son, opening their office on the 1st of January, 1879. The relation between them was maintained until January 1, 1886, when William M. Lowman succeeded to the business of the firm and has since been widely known as one of the most prominent real estate dealers of this part of Nebraska. He has negotiated many impor- tant realty transfers, is thoroughly conversant with property values and has utilized his opportunity for judicious investment, adding to his holdings from time to time until he now has important and exten- sive interests of that character. IIe also extended his activities into other fields, becoming a well known figure in banking circles as the president of the Bank of Commerce. He remained at the head of
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the institution for an extended period, wisely and capably directing its activities and shaping its policy and making it one of the foremost financial concerns of this part of the state. He continued as presi- dent until 1915, when he resigned, and has since concentrated his efforts upon his individual interests.
In 1881 Mr. Lowman was married to Miss Florence M. Garrett, of Sterling, Illinois, and to them have been born two children: Mrs. Vera G. McCleery and William M. Thirty-eight years have come and gone since Mr. Lowman arrived in Hastings, which was then a small town giving little promise of future greatness. With its development he has been closely associated and as the years have passed on his work has been directly beneficial to the community. He can tell the story of the changes in Adams county, not as a matter of hearsay but as a matter of actual experience, and he has a wide acquaintance which includes all of the pioneer settlers as well as the majority of the more prominent later arrivals.
BALTHAUSER GRUENER.
Balthauser Gruener, deceased, was one of the well known far- mers of Juniata township and in his death the community lost a worthy and substantial citizen. He was a native of Germany, born July 23, 1849, and in the fatherland spent the days of his boyhood and youth. He was one of a family of six children and he received the usual advantages of boys of the middle class. He came to the United States in 1871, taking up his abode at Mendota, Illinois, where he resided for a few years, devoting his attention to farm work there. He afterward removed to Arkansas, purchasing eighty acres of land near Little Rock, and upon that place he continued for a number of years. He afterward became a resident of Iowa and purchased eighty acres of land near Muscatine, devoting his time and ener- gies to the further cultivation and improvement of that tract until 1888, when he came to Nebraska and bought a farm on section 25, Juniata township. With characteristic energy he began the further development of this place and added to it many substan- tial modern improvements He owned one hundred and sixty acres of land at the time of his death and was regarded as one of the enter- prising and progressive agriculturists of his community, devoting his attention to the work of the fields until his life's labors were
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ended on the 10th of July, 1899, when he had reached the age of forty- nine years.
Mr. Gruener left a family to mourn his loss. He had wedded Miss Louisa Shaber, who was born in Oberfullbach in Coburg- Gotha, Germany. They were married in Mendota, Illinois, and to them were born seven children, as follows: Freda, who is the wife of Albert Shultz, of Denver township, Adams county, Nebraska; Edward, who is a resident of Roseland township, Adams county, Nebraska; May, who is the wife of Glen Christwell and lives near Hansen, this county; Emma, who gave her hand in marriage to Wil- liam Wright, of Denver township, this county; and Frederick, Wil- liam and Ludwig, all at home.
Since the death of her husband Mrs. Gruener has remained upon the home farm and has extended its boundaries by the purchase of an additional tract of forty acres. She is cultivating the farm with the aid of her younger sons and has made many substantial improve- ments upon the place. It is a fine tract of land devoted to general agricultural pursuits and she is a successful business woman. Mr. Gruener was a supporter of the republican party and his sons have followed in his political footsteps. He belonged to the German Lutheran church, in which his wife and children also hold member- ship, and the family is one of prominence and worth in the community. Mr. Gruener was a very substantial and progressive business man, thoroughly reliable in his dealings and having many good qualities which endeared him to his fellow citizens.
LOUIS HADDEN.
Louis Hadden, who owns a valuable farm in Blaine township, was born in Kendall county, Illinois, on the 28th of October, 1854, and attended the common schools there until he was sixteen years of age. Subsequently he was a student in the Jennings Seminary at Aurora, Illinois, and after completing his education worked for his father until 1880. In that year he came westward, settling in Seward county, Nebraska, where he purchased a farm which he operated for two years. At the end of that time he sold that place and removed to Illinois, devoting two years to farming his father's land. In 1885 he came to Adams county, Nebraska, and for two years rented a farm three miles southwest of Hastings. He saved his money with the intention of buying land and in 1887 purchased his present farm in
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