USA > Nebraska > Platte County > Past and present of Platte County, Nebraska : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 42
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wife of August Olson, of Monroe township, by whom she has two sons; Ansel Ben- nett, who was born March 11, 1891, and was graduated from the Kearney State Nor- mal School in 1915, being now a teacher at Bridgeport, Nebraska; and Pearl May, who is a graduate of the high school at Grand Island, where she is now clerking in a store.
Mr. Clayburn has reared a large family, for whom he has made liberal provi- sion along educational and other lines and they are now a credit to his name. In his business career he has won success by earnest effort and well directed energy and aside from his farming interests he is a stockholder in the Monroe Farmers Elevator Association and in the Independent Telephone Company of Monroe.
Fraternally Mr. Clayburn is connected with Mystic Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Mon- roe, which society he joined more than thirty years ago, at Platte Center, and of which he has been an active representative. He also belongs to the local organization of the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Monroe. Both he and his wife are consistent and faithful members of the Baptist church, doing all in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence. In politics he is a democrat and has filled various township offices, while in 1914 he was chosen to represent his district in the state legislature, having the unusual distinction of securing the nomination on both the democratic and republican tickets. He served for the term of 1915, and fathered bill No. 185, known as the weed bill, which pro- vided that the road overseer can cut the weeds along the highway and charge to the land-its owner or its tenant. He is interested in all that pertains to the wel- fare of the county, seeks its benefit along many lines and is widely recognized as a public-spirited citizen whose efforts have been far-reaching and beneficial.
EDWARD D. JENKINSON.
Edward D. Jenkinson, engaged in general farming in Lost Creck township, his home being on section 31, was born in Grand Prairie township, June 22, 1879, a son of D. W. Jenkinson, who is mentioned at length on another page of this work. His education was acquired in the schools of Monroe and in a business college at Gal- veston, Texas. His youthful days were spent in the usual manner of farm lads and he early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He remained at home until he attained his majority and then started out in business life on his own account as a farmer on section 31, Lost Creek town- ship, where he has since resided. He now has one hundred and twenty acres of land which he has carefully and systematically cultivated, his labors rendering the soil very productive. He annually harvests good crops, raising the various cereals best adapted to soil and climate, and he also devotes considerable attention to the raising of Percheron horses, this branch of his business constituting an important source of revenue. He is this year beginning to feed cattle and if he finds it profit- able will continue it along with his other activities.
On the 5th of September, 1907, Mr. Jenkinson was united in marriage to Miss Belle Harris, who was born at St. Edward, Nebraska, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Wiley) Harris. Her father is a well known agriculturist of this state, having large land holdings in Boone county. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkinson have become the
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parents of two children, Edward David and Lloyd Thomas. The parents have a wide acquaintance in their part of the county and enjoy the warm regard and friend- ship of all with whom they have been brought in contact.
Mr. Jenkinson votes with the republican party but has no political aspirations, never seeking office as a reward for party fealty. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also holds membership in the Presbyterian church and in these associations are found the rules which govern his life. He ever holds to high principles and is recognized as a man of sterling personal worth throughout the com- munity in which he lives.
JAMES GREIG.
James Greig, living in St. Edward, is a retired farmer and stockman of Platte county and is also well known as a prominent figure in political circles, having previously represented his district in the state legislature. He was born in Ontario, Canada, March 29, 1846, and is a son of James and Catherine (Pim) Greig. The father was born in Banffshire, Scotland, while the mother's birth occurred in Ontario, Canada. James Greig, Sr., obtained a common-school education and when fifteen years of age left the land of hills and heather, coming with his parents to the new world. He engaged in business for a time as a nurseryman. In 1869 he went to Houston, Texas, where he conducted a nursery, and he was also active in public affairs of the community. He belonged to the Presbyterian church and his life was guided according to its teachings.
James Greig, whose name introduces this review, acquired a common-school education and remained a resident of Canada until 1869, when at the age of twenty- three years he crossed the border into the United States, living on farms in Iowa and Illinois until 1871, when he came to Nebraska and homesteaded in Seward county. He had made the journey overland and lived in true pioneer style in the carly days, doing his farm work with oxen and occupying a dugout. Only here and there had settlement been made to show that the work of civilization had been begun and much of the land was still in its primitive condition. Mr. Greig had to perform the arduous task of breaking the sod and preparing the wild prairie for planting. In 1880 he took a timber claim and a preemption in Holt county and carried on general farming and stock-raising, becoming owner of three hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land which he brought to a high state of cultivation. In 1892 he purchased property on section 4, Woodville township, Platte county, and now has four hundred and twenty acres of valuable land. He has always engaged extensively in raising stock, handling full blooded Red Polled cattle, which he sells. all over Platte and also in adjoining counties. He likewise raises thoroughbred Duroc-Jersey hogs and his live-stock interests have ever constituted an important feature of his business.
In 1874 Mr. Greig was united in marriage to Miss Stella White, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of William and Alice (Smith) White, who passed away at the ages of eighty-two and fifty years respectively. The father came to Nebraska by ox-team in 1871 and took up a homestead claim in York county. In 1891 he took up his abode in Valley county, this state, where the remainder of his life was
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spent. He devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout his active business career and was a gentleman of retiring disposition whose worth, however, was widely recognized. Mr. and Mrs. Greig have become the parents of ten children, as follows: Paul, who operates the home farm, is married and has three children ; Bertha, the wife of Frank Nelson, of Valley county, by whom she has four children; Roy, an agriculturist residing in St. Edward; Mary, the wife of Allen . Bennett, who follows farming in Woodville township and by whom she has two children; Ruth, who gave her hand in marriage to Albin Pearson, of Woodville town- ship, and is now the mother of two children; Grace, who is a graduate of the Agricultural College and is now teaching school in Valley county ; and Jennie, Robert, Evelyn and Edgar, all at home.
Mr. Greig belongs to the Farmers Union and has been prominent and active in public affairs. His political allegiance is given the democratic party, which recog- nizes him as one of its local leaders. While in Holt county he served for six years as county supervisor, making a most creditable record in that office. In 1907 he was elected to represent Platte county, which is the twenty-fourth district, in the state legislature, where he was actively connected with much important work done during the session. In fact it has been said that no general assembly ever passed so many beneficial legislative measures. They put through the anti-pass and railroad legis- lation, the guaranty bank bill and the pure food laws, all of which Mr. Greig strongly favored. He gave careful consideration to each question which came up for settlement and his support of a measure was an indication of his honest convic- tion concerning its worth. He has always maintained a progressive attitude in citizenship as well as in business affairs and his value as a public official is widely acknowledged.
WILLIAM THOMAZIN.
William Thomazin, busily engaged in general farming, his efforts resulting in the winning of substantial success, makes his home on section 4, Joliet township, where he owns and cultivates one hundred and sixty acres of land known as the Fairview Stock Farm. He was born near Joliet, in Will county, Illinois, June 22, 1869, and is a son of Thomas and Mary A. (Roberts) Thomazin, both of whom were natives of Lincolnshire, England. The father was a wagon maker and followed his trade in his native country until 1863, when he sailed for the new world, thinking that he might better his financial condition by utilizing the business opportunities offered on this side the Atlantic. He made his way to Will county, Illinois, where he became the owner of a farm of forty acres, thereon residing for a decade, or until 1873, when he came to Platte county and secured a homestead on section 4 in what is now Joliet township, which he aided in organizing. In early days he did his farming with oxen and his first home was a sod and .frame house. He afterward erected the first frame house in the township. He found pioneer conditions here. at the time of his arrival, for Platte county was then upon the western frontier and gave little evidence of the changes that were soon to occur and make it a pros- perous and populous district. All around was wild prairie and undeveloped land and in early days the grasshoppers greatly devastated the crops which the settlers
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raised. In addition to farming his land Mr. Thomazin aided in building many of the early homes of the district. He was a very progressive and enterprising man and his well directed business affairs brought him a measure of success that made him in time the owner of six hundred acres of land in Joliet township. He was also active and prominent in its public affairs, serving as its first assessor and aiding in organizing school district No. 64. In politics he was an earnest democrat, giving unfaltering allegiance to the party and doing all in his power to advance its interests and secure its success. In the later years of his life he lived retired upon the home farm, enjoying a period of well earned rest. He had planted many trees upon his place and converted the raw prairie into a beautiful farm property, upon which he con- tinued his residence until death called him in 1893, when he was sixty-seven years of age. His wife survived him for two decades and passed away March 3, 1913, at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
William Thomazin, whose name introduces this record, is the fifth in order of birth in a family of seven children and was the first born in the United States. He attended the district school which his father assisted in organizing and spent his boyhood days upon the farm in the usual manner of farm lads, carly becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. In 1893 he began farming on his own account on the old home place. He has lived continu- onsly on section 4, Joliet township, since 1873, or for a period of forty-two years, and there owns and cultivates one hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land. He also owns land in Banner county, Nebraska. His home place is known as Fairview Stock Farm and there he raises shorthorn cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs, for which he finds a ready market in the neighborhood in which he lives. He is well known as a good stockman, being an excellent judge of stock and believing in raising high-grade animals. In addition to his farming interests he aided in organizing the Farmers Elevator Company of Lindsay, of which he was one of the first directors and the second president.
In 1896 Mr. Thomazin was married to Miss Matilda Born, whose birth occurred in Schoenwalde, Pomerania, Germany, a daughter of Gottlieb and Charlotte (Loyck) Born, who were likewise natives of Germany. The father was a tailor by trade and engaged in that business in the fatherland but in 1878 he emigrated to the new world and took up a homestead in St. Bernard township, Platte county, which constitutes the present site of the town of St. Bernard. He is active in all public affairs and has become a well-to-do citizen, his land holdings aggregating two hundred acres. In religious faith he is a Lutheran and assisted in organizing the church of that denomination in St. Bernard township. To Mr. and Mrs. Thomazin have been born six children: Laverna, who is engaged in teaching in the district schools of Platte county; Odetta, a high-school student in Lindsay; and Edgar, Charlotte, Earl and John Robert, all at home.
Fraternally Mr. Thomazin is connected with the Modern Woodmen camp of Lindsay and has filled all of its offices. In his political views he is a democrat and is recognized as a local party leader. In 1901 he was appointed to the office of county supervisor for district No. 3 and filled that position for two years. He has served as a member of the democratic central committee in his locality and does everything in his power to insure the growth and success of his party. He has also been a member of the school board and he is interested in various movements for advancing the welfare and upbuilding of the district in which he lives. He has
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many substantial traits of character and his dominant qualities are those which have won for him warm regard among all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact.
JOHN ALLEN ABART, D. O. M.
Dr. John Allen Abart, engaged in the practice of veterinary surgery in Colum- bus, was born February 5, 1887, near Schuyler. Nebraska, a son of Henry and Pauline Abart, who were farming people, living a few miles southeast of Schuyler. The father died in the year 1888. In the public schools of Schuyler the son pursued his education, passing through the consecutive grades to the high school and then, de- ciding to make the practice of veterinary surgery a life work, he entered the Chicago Veterinary College, from which he was graduated with the degree of D. O. M. in 1912. As soon as he was old enough to begin work in the fields he aided his mother upon the home farm until he went to college. Following his graduation he bought out the practice and hospital of Dr. L. P. Carstenson, of Columbus, the hospital being located at Nos. 201 to 205 West Eleventh street. There he enjoys a liberal patronage which comes to him from the surrounding country. He is a conscientious worker in his profession and keeps in touch with the advancement that is being made in veterinary practice and the discoveries which scientific investigation are bringing to light.
After leaving college Dr. Abart was united in marriage to Miss Rosa Leavy, a daughter of L. H. Leavy, a druggist of Columbus. Mrs. Abart is a registered phar- macist, working with her father in the drug store. She is well informed along general as well as professional lines and is very successful in her chosen life work. Both Dr. and Mrs. Abart have a wide acquaintance in the city where they reside and goodwill is entertained for them by all who know them.
REV. RICHARD NEUMAERKER, D. D.
The Rev. Richard Neumaerker, whose full name is John Richard William Neumaerker, is pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran church at Columbus and is one of the prominent divines of that faith in the state. He was born November 6, 1814, at Sprottan, Saxe-Weimar, Germany, a son of Pastor William and Ottilie (Carl) Neumaerker, of Blankenhain, Saxe-Weimar. His education was acquired in the schools of Blankenhain and also under private instruction from his father. He afterward became a student in the gymnasium at Weimar, where he pursued his studies from 1860 until 1865, being graduated at Easter time with highest honors. He studied theology at the Universities of Jena and Halle from the spring of 1865 until the fall of 1868 and passed his examination as a candidate in theology at the latter date. From that time until the summer of 1870 he was assistant professor at the gymnasium at Meiningen, in the duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, and was the tutor of Prince Karl, of Hesse-Phillippsthal. During the German-French war he was field deacon in the service of the Red Cross on the battlefields at Metz, Sedan and
REV. RICHARD W. NEUMAERKER
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Strassburg, and in October, 1870, was called back and ordained as vicar of the court church at Weimar and assistant professor at the gymnasium. In 1872 he was called as pastor of the Evangelical congregation of the grand duchy of Luxemburg and from 1882 until 1885 was pastor of the church at Mihla, in Saxe-Weimar.
In the spring of the latter year the Rev. Neumaerker was called to America as pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran St. Peter's congregation at Barada, Richardson county, Nebraska. From 1894 until 1899 he was pastor of St. John's Evangelical church in St. Joseph, Missouri, and in the latter year was called to Columbus, Nebraska, as pastor of the German Evangelical Protestant church there. He is a member of the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Nebraska, which is a district synod of the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. For eight years he acted as president of the synod and recognition of his splendid work in behalf of his church came to him when Midland College of Atchison, Kansas, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
The Rev. Neumaerker was married in 1875, at Lissa, Posen, to Miss Elizabeth Roth, a daughter of Pastor Carl August Roth, of Sonnenburg, in the province of Brandenburg, Germany. Their children are: William, who is now a practicing physician of Columbus, Nebraska; John, who is a teacher in the Stuyvesant high school at New York; and Emmy, the wife of A. C. Platow, of Fontanelle, Nebraska. Liberal education as well as a clearly defined purpose qualify the Rev. Neumaerker for the holy calling to which he has devoted his life and in which he has made steady progress, his consecration, his zeal and the effectiveness of his service winning him a place among the foremost representatives of the ministry in his part of the state.
ANDERS ANDERSON.
Anders Anderson has been engaged in merchandising at Rosenburg in Walker township for several years. He is a native of Jylland, Denmark, born November 11, 1867, and is a son of Lauritz and Hannah (Terkelson) Anderson. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, served with the infantry troops in the war of 1861 and never came to the new world, spending his entire life in Denmark.
Anders Anderson pursued his education in the schools of his native country and worked upon the home farm until he reached the age of sixteen years, after which he learned the painting trade. He served for nine months in the army while still a resident of Denmark and in 1890 when a young man of twenty-three years made the long voyage to the new world with Platte county as his destination. Following his arrival in Nebraska he worked as a farm hand, after which he began farming on his own account on rented land. He then bought eighty acres in Joliet township, which he cultivated for five years and then sold, buying twenty acres in Rosenburg. He has divided that tract into lots, which he is selling to people who wished to live near the church and storc. In 1909 Mr. Anderson and Mr. Buhl purchased the Rosenburg store of Eske Petersen, conducting it under the style of Petersen & Buhl. Mr. Anderson, however, became sole proprietor and carried on the business successfully for about six years. Although he is still in charge he has made arrange- ments to sell his store and expects to turn his attention to other pursuits in the spring of 1916.
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Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Anna Christensen, daughter of Jens and Jensine (Michaelsen) Christensen, and they have become the parents of five children: Laurina, Alma Ethel, Sophia Amelia, Otto Valdmar and Agnes Elizabeth. The family are Danish Lutherans in religious faith and are loyal to the teachings of the church and its purposes. Mr. Anderson gives his political allegiance to the republi- can party and for the past three years has served as road overseer. There is nothing spectacular in his career. He has lived a quiet life but has manifested those sub- stantial qualities of manhood and citizenship which constitute the bulwark of Ameri- can life. He is diligent, energetic and upright in all his dealings and connections.
HENRY LATTIMER SMITH.
More than a century ago George Washington said: "Agriculture is the most useful as well as the most honorable occupation of man," and the truth of this state- ment has found verification in all of the ages. Until his death, which occurred October 19, 1915, after a few hours' illness, Henry Lattimer Smith was actively identified with farming in Oconee township, his home being on section 36, where he owned and cultivated an excellent tract of land. He had altogether one hundred and sixty-five acres-a five acre tract on which he resides and a quarter section elsewhere.
Mr. Smith was born in Syracuse, New York, April 25, 1856, a son of James R. and Martha (Jones) Smith, both of whom were natives of Ireland, the former born in County Fermanagh and the latter in County Cavan. Their last days, however, were spent in Platte county, Nebraska. In early life the father engaged in farming in Ireland but in the early '50s came to the United States and settled in New York. In the '60s he removed westward to Illinois, where he spent a few years, living during that period in Mercer and Rock Island counties. In 1880, however, he left Illinois and came to Nebraska, establishing his home in Platte county. He purchased land in Lost Creek township, where he met pioneer conditions. The town of Monroe had not been laid out and a branch of the railroad was just being built through the district. He began farming on his land and with characteristic energy carried on the work of the fields, adding to his place many substantial modern improvements and accessories. In time he became the owner of considerable land and he engaged in the raising of a good grade of Hereford cattle. He was a member of the Monroe Farmers Association. He continued to occupy the old homestead to the time of his death and in his passing the community lost one of its representative citizens. He was very active in church work and was ever willing to help any denomination and thus further the moral development of the community. He helped to build and always held office in the Episcopal church in Monroe, and he was also somewhat active in politics as a supporter of the republican party. High manly qualities won him enduring regard and his memory is yet cherished by all with whom he came in contact.
Henry L. Smith was the fifth in order of birth in a family of eight children, three of whom are yet living in Platte county. He acquired his education in the public schools of Mercer and of Rock Island counties, Illinois, and he was. trained to farm labor, all of the sons working together with their father on the old home-
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stead. After attaining his majority he began farming on his own account in Lost Creek township, where he lived until 1910, when he removed to the five acre tract near Monroe, where he was living at the time of his death. However, he still farmed his one hundred and sixty acres in the old home place, carrying on general agricultural pursuits. Ever greatly interested in the cause of education, he removed to the vicinity of the town in order that his children might have better school oppor- tunities. In addition to his other business affairs he was a stockholder in the Monroe Farmers Association and in the Farmers Coal Company.
Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Irene Sloss, who was born in Dodge county, Nebraska, and is a daughter of John and Susan (Kelley) Sloss, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Ohio. Mr. Sloss became one of the pioneers of Dodge county, Nebraska, and was active there in early day affairs. He also owned land and became one of the representative farmers of the district. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born three children: Susan, a graduate of the Normal School at Peru, Nebraska, and now a teacher in the public schools of McCook, this state; Anna K., who attended the Normal School at Kearney, Nebraska, and is now teach- ing in Monroe; and Lois, a pupil in the high school of Monroe.
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