USA > Nebraska > Adams County > Past and present of Adams County, Nebraska, Vol. II > Part 21
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In the spring of 1865 Mr. Alexander came to Nebraska, settling near Nebraska City, where he lived for a short time, after which he returned to Iowa. On the 4th of June, 1874, he arrived in Hastings and two years later was joined by his family, at which time Hastings was a little village. He engaged in buying and selling horses and has always been in that business. In 1875 he established the Hast- ings Bus Company and conducted a successful business until June 11, 1913, when he retired.
Mr. Alexander has long been active in politics as a supporter of the republican party and he served upon the county board of super- visors for ten years. He was elected state senator from the twenty-ninth district and thus became active in shaping the laws of the commonwealth. For eight years he filled the position of city. councilman and is still active in politics, doing everything in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party, for he believes its principles are the strongest elements in good govern- ment.
Mr. Alexander married Miss Harriett Caldwell, of Wayne county, Iowa, a daughter of Nicholas and Abigail Caldwell, natives of Ohio, whence they removed to Michigan and afterward made the trip across the country to Iowa, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Wayne county in 1854. The father became an extensive landowner and converted a tract of raw prairie into a valuable and productive farm, which he continued to develop until his death. To Mr. and Mrs. Alexander have been born three children. Harl Morris, who is married and has two children, is a traveling salesman
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. for a music company and makes his home in Hastings. Margaret is the wife of J. T. Welch, attorney for the Moneyweight Scales Com- pany of Chicago, and they have one child, Gail. Abigail, the young- est of the family, is at home.
Mr. Alexander was made a Mason in Hastings and has taken the degrees of the chapter, the commandery and the consistory, becom- ing a Scottish Rite Mason in Omaha in 1883. He was chosen chief of the staff of the Grand Knights Templar at the conclave in Den- ver, Colorado, in 1913. He became a charter member of the Elks Lodge, No. 149, at Hastings and he has many friends in these organ- izations. There is no phase of pioneer life in the west with which Mr. Alexander is not familiar and the events which to most people are matters of hearsay or history are matters of personal experience to him. For seven years he was associated with Buffalo Bill as Indian scout and cowpuncher, and has a picture of him bearing the autograph "To My Prairie Pard. W. F. Cody." Many people think that Mr. Alexander greatly resembles Buffalo Bill. He has all kinds of interesting Indian weapons given to him by the red men whom he knew when he was doing scout duty. If one wishes to know anything concerning early experiences in the west or the history of pioneer development in Adams county they have but to ask Mr. Alexander to gain reliable information.
CHARLES B. BIGELOW.
Charles B. Bigelow is now living retired at Hastings but derives a gratifying annual income from his farming interests. He long figured prominently in public affairs and made an excellent record as an official but is now leaving office holding to others, while he is enjoying the rest that is the legitimate reward of earnest and intel- ligently directed effort. He was born in Erie county, New York, on the 7th of May, 1852, and is a son of Reynolds and Harriet (Darling) Bigelow, both of whom were natives of Erie county. The father, who was born in 1822, and the mother, who was born in 1825, both passed away at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. Bigelow was a sailor on the Great Lakes in early manhood and in 1864 established his home in Illinois, where he engaged in farming, carrying on gen- eral agricultural pursuits there until 1872, when he traveled overland to Nebraska and secured a homestead claim in Verona township, Adams county. At that time there was not a house in sight of his
.
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claim and the work of progress and development in the county seemed scarcely begun. His first home was a combination dugout and sod house. He dug down to a depth of three feet and the sod superstructure rose to a height of four feet. He lived in a wagon till this primitive home was completed and then he bent his energies to the development and improvement of his farm, which he converted into rich fields, annually gathering therefrom substantial harvests. He was also active in public affairs and was a leading representative of the democratic party. He served as justice of the peace in Verona township.
Charles B. Bigelow is the younger of two children. He com- pleted his education in the high school at Beloit, Wisconsin, and on attaining his majority secured a homestead claim in Verona town- ship, where he lived in a sod house during pioneer times. For many years he continued his residence in Verona township, his labors being devoted to the development and improvement of a farm. He was also active in public affairs and was a recognized leader in the ranks of the republican party. He served as township clerk and in 1892 was elected county clerk, which position he acceptably filled for two terms. He removed to Hastings in 1892 and remained in office until 1896, since which time he has lived retired. He has, however, two hundred and forty acres of rich and productive land from which he derives a gratifying annual income. A part of his farm constitutes an old homestead claim which was entered from the government by its former owner, who, however, lived in Nebraska for only a few years and then returned to the east, Mr. Bigelow purchasing the property for six hundred dollars. It was once owned by James S. Carson, who was born in Ontario county, New York, and in 1873 arrived in Verona township, where he homesteaded the northwest quarter of section 22, township 8, range 11. He remained thereon for a few years and then sold his farm for six hundred dollars, return- ing to his native place.
In 1874 Mr. Bigelow was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Pease, a native of Erie county, New York, and a daughter of Orson and Maria Pease, who were also born in the Empire state. The father followed blacksmithing in New York and after removing westward to Illinois continued work as a blacksmith in the latter state. In 1873 he took up a homestead claim in Verona township, Adams ยท county, Nebraska, on which there has never been a mortgage and which is still in possession of Mrs. Bigelow. In this county Orson Pease carried on agricultural pursuits and also conducted a black- smith shop on his farm. He was a man of quiet and retiring disposi-
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tion but recognized nevertheless as a citizen of enterprise and sterling worth. Mrs. Bigelow is the younger of his two children. Her sister, Mrs. Eleanor M. Ohlheiser, was born in Erie county, New York, in 1846, came to Nebraska in 1873 and for many years engaged in teaching school, after which she became the wife of Joseph Ohl- heiser, now deceased. She took up a homestead which comprised the north half of the northeast quarter of section 10, township 8, range 11, and still owns that property, although she now resides at No. 912 North Lincoln avenue in Hastings.
Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow have become the parents of two children. Grace B. is the wife of A. B. Hopper, a practicing dentist of Hast- ings, by whom she has a daughter, Harriet. Harriet gave her hand in marriage to T. P. Shively, cashier of the Citizens Bank of Fair- field, Nebraska, by whom she has three children, Francis, Charles and Thornton. Such in brief is the life history of Charles B. Bige- low, now living retired in Hastings. His residence in the county covers a period of forty-three years and therefore he has been a wit- ness of the changes which have occurred since pioneer times.
CHARLES F. MOREY.
Charles F. Morey, who is one of the leading attorneys of Hast- ings, has engaged in practice in this city since 1886 and is a member of the well known firm of Tibbets, Morey, Fuller & Tibbets. His birth occurred in Wyoming, New York, on the 17th of November, 1854, and he is a son of Reuben and Abby C. (Bogman) Morey, natives respectively of New York and Rhode Island. The paternal grandfather, Samuel Morey, was also born in the Empire state and the family is of English extraction. Reuben Morey was born in 1805, became a minister of the Baptist church and in 1865 removed with his family to Illinois, whence six years later he went to Wiscon- sin. He passed away in that state in 1880 but his wife died there in 1871.
Charles F. Morey attended the public schools in Illinois and after the removal of the family to Wisconsin continued his education in Beaver Dam, that state. Still later he became a student in the Uni- versity of Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1879 with the degree of A. B., and he then began his preparation for the bar, read- ing law in Chicago. He was admitted to the bar in that city in 1884 and engaged in practice there until 1886, when he came to Hastings,
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Nebraska, and formed a partnership with George W. Tibbets, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. This connection has since been maintained. Other partners have been admitted to the firm, which is now Tibbets, Morey, Fuller & Tibbets, and it figures in practically all of the important litigation tried in the courts of this district. Mr. Morey has long been recognized as an attorney pos- sessing a comprehensive knowledge of the law and a keen and analyt- ical mind which enables him to determine at once which are the essential and which the nonessential factors in a case.
Mr. Morey was married on the 27th of June, 1883, to Miss Anna M. Riordan, by whom he has a son, Clive, an electrical engineer. Mrs. Morey is descended from an old American family and belongs to the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Mr. Morey believes that the policies of the republican party are based upon sound principles of government, and supports its candi- dates and measures at the polls but has never sought office. He affiliates with the Protestant Episcopal church and supports move- ments seeking the moral advancement of his community. He is held in the highest esteem not only as an attorney but also as a citizen and as a man, his dominant qualities being such as have always com- manded respect and regard.
CHRISTIAN NISSEN, SR.
Christian Nissen, Sr., who is living in honorable retirement from active life in Roseland, was for many years engaged in farming and still owns the south half of section 19, Roseland township. He was born in Denmark on the 16th of October, 1839, a son of Nicholas and Mattie (Christensen) Nissen, who passed their entire lives in that country, where the father engaged in farming. They were the parents of three children, those besides our subject being Mary and Martha, both of whom died in their native land.
Christian Nissen, Sr., received good educational advantages, at- tending the common and high schools of Denmark, and subsequently he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed in that country until he was twenty-one years of age. He then came to the United States, crossing on a vessel which sailed from Hamburg to New York. He made his way westward to Milwaukee, but soon afterward went to Madison, Wisconsin, and there he followed his trade until Septem- ber, 1861, when he enlisted in Company B, Fifteenth Wisconsin
CHRISTIAN NISSEN, SR., AND FAMILY
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Volunteer Infantry, for three years, or during the war. He took part in the battles of Stone River, Island No. 10, Shiloh and Nashville, and was discharged at Atlanta at the end of his term of enlistment. He returned to Madison, Wisconsin, and farmed in that locality until 1872, when he took up his residence on section 22, Hanover township, Adams county, Nebraska. For twenty-two years he cultivated that place but at the end of that time purchased land on section 19, Roseland township, where he resided until 1913. In that year he removed to Roseland, where he had erected a fine home, and here he has since lived, enjoying well earned leisure. He made many im- provements upon his farm and took justifiable pride in keeping every- thing in excellent condition. He owns a half section in Roseland township and receives a good financial return from his land.
In 1861 Mr. Nissen was united in marriage to Miss Marie Teresa Holzer, by whom he has had the following children: August, a resi- dent of Rawlins county, Kansas; Mattie, deceased; Joseph, who is living in Silver Lake township, this county ; Nicholas, deceased; Louise, the wife of David Rhodes, of Franklin county, Nebraska; Mary, who married Clark Capra, also of that county; Christian, Jr., who is on the home place; Jennie, the wife of John Stromer, of White River, South Dakota; Martha, deceased; John, who is living on sec- tion 19, Roseland township; and Minnie, the wife of Lloyd Tracy, of Rawlins county, Kansas.
Mr. Nissen has supported the republican party since becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States and has taken considerable interest in public affairs. He served as school director and moderator for years and did much in that time to advance the interests of the county. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Danish Luth- eran church and support its various activities. He is also identified with the Grand Army of the Republic. Since beginning his inde- pendent career he has depended entirely upon his own resources and the large measure of success which he has gained testifies to his industry and his good management.
P. L. JOHNSON.
P. L. Johnson, who is interested in farming and engineering work makes his home in Hastings, although his practice has covered a wide territory. He was born in Cincinnati, Appanoose county, Iowa, on the 12th of October, 1860, and is the youngest of the three Vol. II~14
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sons in a family of five children, whose parents were Walter Samuel and Sarah B. (Gibson) Johnson. The father was an attorney of Centerville and served as clerk of the district court. He also gave part of his time to merchandising. In 1895 he removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, where his remaining days were spent. His widow, how- ever, yet survives.
P. L. Johnson was educated in the public schools and was grad- uated from the University of Iowa with the class of 1883, on the completion of a classicial course. He afterward entered upon a pro- fessional career as a teacher in the high school of Council Bluffs, and in 1886 his alma mater conferred upon him the Master's degree. In August, 1885, he located in Hastings and turned his attention to the banking and investment business, becoming manager of a branch office for Burnham Tulleys & Company, and later was with the First National Bank of Hastings. He severed his connection with that business in order to enter upon the position of secretary and treas- urer of Hastings College and raise an endowment fund for the institution. He succeeded in securing fifty thousand dollars for the buildings in addition to the endowment fund and he still remains as secretary and treasurer. He served, for the most part, without a salary and his labors resulted in the erection of four buildings and the acquirement of one hundred thousand dollars, which was added to the invested funds. Since then another one hundred thousand dollars has been added. The grounds cover thirty acres and there is a row of substantial buildings across the front of the campus. This institution certainly owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. Johnson for his untiring efforts, which have placed the school upon a splendid basis, equipped with the most substantial property and provided with an excellent income from the endowment fund.
On the 21st of December, 1887, Mr. Johnson was united in mar- riage to Miss Marie Louise Brown, a daughter of Robert Brown, who settled in Nebraska in 1885 and became a very prominent banker and landowner, occupying the position of vice president and one of the directors of the Exchange National Bank of Hastings. His activity did not a little to shape the business history of the city and county and the high regard in which he was ever held was widely expressed when death called him on the 20th of March, 1905. His widow survives and now makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. John- son, who are the parents of a son, Walter Bedford, who is now prin- cipal of the high school at Gothenburg, Nebraska.
The religious faith of the parents is that of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Johnson is serving as one of the elders in the church
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at Hastings. In politics he is a republican prohibitionist and his first ballot was cast in support of the prohibition amendment in Iowa. He has ever been deeply interested in the cause of temperance and does everything in his power to prevent the sale and use of intoxicants. He takes a great interest in amateur athletics and during his college days was a member of the varsity teams. He is also much interested in the athletics of Hastings College and the Johnson Gymnasium was established through his efforts and the work of the students. Hastings has no more public-spirited citizen. He has long been particularly active in educational and religious circles, putting forth time, money and effort to further advancement along those lines. He always holds to high ideals, looking to the advancement and ben- efit of the community in which he resides, and his labors have been far-reaching, effective and resultant.
ADAM BREEDE.
Adam Breede, editor of the Tribune published at Hastings, was born in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, a son of Mr. and Mrs. William Breede, who were among Nebraska's early pioneers and were prom- inently identified with the development of the state, residing at different times at Plattsmouth, Lincoln, Sutton and Hastings. Adam Breede pursued his early education in the Hastings public schools and afterward attended Hastings College. Turning his attention to the field of journalism, he acquainted himself with every phase of the business and has become editor and proprietor of the Hastings Daily Tribune, one of the leading papers of the state. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has done not a little through the cohimns of his paper to mold public thought and action.
W. G. SADDLER.
W. G. Saddler is now living retired in Hastings, but for a long period was numbered among the active business men of the county, especially well known because of his important farming and stock raising interests. He was born in Pulaski county, Kentucky, on the 15th of August, 1844, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth Saddler, both of whom have now passed away. They were farming people
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and enjoyed the good will and respect of all with whom they came in contact.
W. G. Saddler was educated in the public schools and when his textbooks were put aside turned his attention to the occupation of farming. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted for active military service, becoming a member of Company G, Thirty-second Kentucky Infantry. He was afterward honorably discharged and reenlisted as a member of Company D, Thirteenth Kentucky Cavalry, with which he remained until the 10th of January, 1865, when he was again honorably discharged. He then took up the occupation of farming in the employ of others and on the 3d of May, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Susan C. Hail. He afterward continued in active connection with farm work and also taught in the common schools until 1875, when he removed to Indiana, where he resided until 1883. In that year he came to Adams county, Nebraska, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1905. In that year he retired to make his home in Hastings, where he has since remained. He is still the owner of farm lands and he was formerly known as a very prominent breeder of shorthorn cattle and was president and secretary of the State Association of Shorthorn Breeders. He has sold some of the highest priced shorthorn cattle ever sold in this county. These were bred by him and his efforts did much to improve the grade of stock raised in this section of the state. On leaving the farm he closed out his livestock interests in order to enjoy a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. He was the first to sow winter wheat in this part of the state and his experience proved that it was the wheat to raise in this section. He ranked with the most prominent and progressive farmers and stock raisers and his labors set the standard which many others followed.
To Mr. and Mrs. Saddler were born seven sons and a daughter: John, Thomas, James, Farmer, Clay, Leonard, Harrison, and Mary, the wife of G. Morr. Several of the sons are married and there are eleven grandchildren. The religious faith of the family is that of the Methodist church, to which the parents loyally adhere, being devoted members of that organization. In his political belief Mr. Saddler is an earnest republican, keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day and supporting his position by intel- ligent argument. In 1903 he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature, and made so creditable a record in that connec- tion that he was reelected for a second term. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he
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has crossed the sands of the desert. He likewise maintains pleasant relationship with his old army comrades through his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, and he finds it a pleasure to recall with them events which occurred upon the tented fields. His life has been an active and useful one well spent. He has given liberally to church work and has taken a prominent part in religious activities, doing everything in his power to further the moral development of the community in which he makes his home. His own life has ever been an honorable and upright one, conforming to high standards of manhood and citizenship, and constitutes an example which others might profitably emulate.
ASHLEY T. SHATTUCK.
Well directed activity along business lines in former years has brought Ashley T. Shattuck to a position where he can now live retired, spending his time in those ways which afford him interest and pleasure and relieve him of necessity for further labor. He was born in Jefferson county, New York, August 19, 1848, his parents being Abel and Sally (Hastings) Shattuck, both of whom were natives of Massachusetts. The father was a clothier who made cloth in the mills of New England and was also a colorer, dyeing the wool used in cloth manufacture. Removing to New York, he settled upon a farm of one hundred acres in Jefferson county, where he lived a quiet, unassuming life, devoting his attention to general farming. He was very thorough, systematic and methodical in all that he did and by a vote of the county fair commissioners his farm was pro- claimed the cleanest and best kept of any in Jefferson county. His sterling worth was widely recognized. Everybody liked him and he was known as Uncle Abel throughout the entire community-a term which is only applied when friendliness and geniality constitute salient characteristics of the individual. He died October 12, 1876, at the age of eighty-three years, two months and twenty-one days, and his widow survived him until 1881, when she, too, passed away. He was twice married and A. T. Shattuck is the youngest of the three children who were born of the second marriage. His political alle- giance was given to the democratic party but he never sought nor desired public office.
Ashley T. Shattuck acquired his education in the district schools of Jefferson county, New York, but his opportunities went little
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beyond the three R's. In the spring of 1873 he arrived in Adams county, Nebraska, which was then a frontier district in which the work of development and improvement seemed scarcely begun. IIe had to face all of the conditions of frontier life with its hardships and privations. He located on section 10, township 8, range 11, now known as Verona township, and resided there for over thirty years. He performed the arduous task of breaking the sod and preparing the fields for cultivation, and when he took up his abode upon the place the only building in sight was the schoolhouse. He built a frame dwelling and made all of the improvements upon the farm. At first he used oxen to till the fields but with the passing of years he was able to introduce more modern methods. He had a fine resi- dence, substantial barns and outbuildings and four hundred acres of land when he retired and his place had been converted into a valuable property from which he annually gathered rich harvests that brought him substantial financial return. He still owns one hundred and sixty acres of land and from that tract derives a good income. In the later years of his residence upon the farm he engaged in raising Poland China hogs, which he shipped all over the country. He had a very large number of fine bred hogs of that kind and won prizes upon his stock at the county fair, securing the major prizes in the only year that he exhibited. He continued to occupy the farm until 1903, when he retired and removed to Hastings, where he has since made his home.
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