Portrait and biographical album of Gage County, Nebraska : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 16

Author: Chapman Brothers (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Brothers
Number of Pages: 794

USA > Nebraska > Gage County > Portrait and biographical album of Gage County, Nebraska : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 16

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In 1887 our subject was elected Road Supervisor, and the following year Clerk of the township and School Director ; at the same time he is by no means an office-seeker. In his political tendencies our subject is a decided Democrat, but always gives his vote to the candidate in his judgment best quali- fied to fill the office, without regard to party lines. Socially, he is connected with the I. O. O. F., and is regarded as one of its most faithful and praise- worthy members.

Our subject is an illustration of American West- ern life and success. Owing, perhaps, to the en- thusiasm and far-sight of certain lecturers who are interested in schemes of immigration, the idea seems to have got abroad that in the West nothing is required excepting to take up land and supervise the work of Nature, who almost supplies the capital and raises the crop; the actual facts in the matter are diametrically opposite ; Western farming requires just as much or more intelligence, energy, irre-

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pressible courage aud patient enthusiasm, as any other place on earth, and wherever there is success these qualities must be possessed. Whether our subject would have been as successful, or in any such measure prosperous, without the companionship of his estimable wife, is questionable. Ile who said "It is not good for man to be alone," knew the creature He had formed better than the creature could possibly know himself, and He had so ar- ranged His plans and effected His work as to make the wife the complement of her husband, and those lives are the most beautifully complete and happily successful that are in harmony with this law of being, as in the case before us.

S AMUEL KIESS is a son of Leonard and Elizabeth Kiess, both natives of Williams- port, Pa., at which place they were reared, married, and gathered about them a family, and at which place they died. The father was en- gaged in farming, and he died in the year 1858, at the age of fifty-one years. The mother died in June, 1863, she and her husband having been mem- bers of the Allbright Church. There were nine children in their family, seven of whom are still living, our subject being the third child. The grandparents of our subject were natives of Ger- many, his paternal grandparents having come to America in about the year 1790, and located in Ly- coming County, Pa., when that country was an un- broken forest. They remained in Pennsylvania until their death, and at the death of the grand- father there was a posterity of sixty-three grand- children living, six others being deceased.

The maternal grandparents of our subject were also natives of Germany, who came to America about the year 1790, and located in Lycoming County, Pa. They were among the earliest settlers, and took an active part in developing that country, Williamsport at that time consisting of only a few log houses, a little log house doing duty for a court-house. Almost a century of years has passed since that time, and could the formerinhabitants of that section of the country be permitted to visit their old home, they would doubiless be astonished

beyond all measure at the appearance which it now presents. ·

On the 17th of November, 1863, the subject of our sketch was married to Miss Sallie Burkard, of Crawford County, Ohio, a daughter of Tobias and Christina (Kiess) Burkard. The parents came from Pennsylvania in 1848, and lived in Ohio until their death, that of the father ocenrring in Angust, 1876, at the age of eighty-one years, and that of the mother taking place on the 11th of January, 1887, at the age of eighty-three years. They had a family of seven children, of whom six survive, Mrs. Kiess being the fourth child. To our subject and wife have been given a family of six children, namely : Daniel W .; Jacob, who died on the 3d of August. 1869, at the age of two years; David T., Edward T., Thomas S. and Elizabeth R.

Mr. Kiess came to Nebraska on the 1st of May, 1833, and located in Richardson County, where he remained about twenty months, and then came to the farm on which he now lives. Ilis farm consists of 160 acres of well-improved land on section 27, Sicily Township, on which there is a good house, barn and other buildings. The farm is well fenced into fields, and is in a high state of cultivation, and on it is a nice fish pond and plenty of running water for the stock. Our subject has a beautiful home and is in every way admirably situated. He is a member of no political party, but invariably votes for the man whom he thinks to be best qualified for office. regardless of the party to which he belongs. Mrs. Kiess is an esteemed member of the Evangeli- cal Church.

Our subject has quite a rare collection of bric-a- brac, which is of very great value to a lover of relies as he is. lle has a Bible, the former property of a German in New York, that was printed in the year 1668, and for which he has been offered $3,000, re- fusing to take that amount. It is about seventeen inches long, ten and a half inches wide, and six inches thick, and is bound in what is supposed to be leather made from the skin of a hog, with heavy brass corners and elasps, and was printed in Frank- fort, Germany. Our subject also has a fine col- lection of ancient coins and currency, among which is a three cent piece issued by the West Branch Bank of Williamsport, Pa .. on the 1st of January, 1863;

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a ten-cent piece from Williams County, Ohio, and also some from the State Bank of Ohio, bearing an early date.

Another of the valuable relies owned by our sub- ject is a badge worn by some one who fought in the battle of Waterloo, when Napoleon I was conquered, for which he has been offered $100. He has trav- eled over a great extent of the country, making a distance of at least 22,000 miles by rail through the States of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Dela- ware, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Indian Territory, Kansas and Nebraska, and has taken two trips to Canada. He has had ample opportunity to indulge in his love of relic hunting. and has made good use of the oppor- tunity thus afforded, besides making the acquaint- ance of a large part of the country.

R EV. GERHART PENNER has for a num- ber of years been closely identified with the Mennonite Church, which was also the church of his father, and in which both of them have been ordained ministers. The Mennon- ite Church derived its name from Menno Symons, who was born in Friesland in 1496. Menno was a Boman Catholic priest, and a man of studious char- acter and great learning, but he left his mother church and devoted himself to theological studies, publishing his book of doctrine in 1539. The 'fol- lowers of his teachings are sometimes called the later school of Anabaptists. After the taking of Muenster and the execution of the leaders of the Anabaptists, Menno Symons gave himself to the winning of the remnants of those deluded people from the lawless fanaticism into which they had fallen, or had been led, and with older and purer elements united them in the Netherlands and in North Germany, and these adherents of his views were known henceforth as Mennonites. They were carefully organized after what was regarded as the primitive congregational model, having ministers and deacons, and following a very strict discipline. They take the Scripture as their only rule of faith, think that the terms person and trinity ought not to be applied to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, that

there is no original sin, and that infants ought not to be baptized. They maintain also that Chris- tians should not take oaths or serve as soldiers.

In 1867 they lost their privilege from military service, and the alternative was given them be- tween conscription and emigration, and they were allowed ten years to decide. They chose the latter, and in 1873 their first body left Prussia, and from there proceeded to New York, whence they went to Kansas and Nebraska and made a settlement. The exodus became so great that the Emperor was com- pelled to change his order to stop the movement. Before this time, however, many Mennonites had emigrated to the United States, and thrifty societies had been established. Upon the invitation of Will- iam Penn in 1683, many came over and founded a settlement at Germantown, near Philadelphia, They have since made their homes in many States, and there are now six of their ministers in this county. They have but one church, but sometimes they hold services in the city of Beatrice. There are sixty- nine families, which form a membership of 320 in this church. No better citizens are to be found in any community than those connected with this de- voted religious body. Fidelity to promises and obligations. coupled with ceaseless industry, strict honesty, the quiet and gentle spirit, and the highly commendable disposition to leave the business of others alone, make them desirable neighbors and profitable and worthy citizens. Among these people our subject has been engaged in the spreading of religious truths and principles, and he is a gentle- man worthy to be admired.

Mr. Penner resides on section 29, Midland Town- ship, where he has a farm of 750 acres, and owns besides another farm of 400 acres, both of which are devoted to farming and stock-raising. He is a native of Prussia, Germany, and was born on the 14th of July, 1836 ; his parents, Gerhart and Agatha Penner, were also natives of the same country. The family were engaged in agricultural pursuits, and the father was also a brewer and the owner of a mill. The mother died in 1875 in her native country, and two years later the father came to the United States and made his home in Nebraska, where he died in the following year. There were three chil- dren in their family, of whom Henry still resides in

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Prussia, and owns the brewery which formerly be- longed to his father; Gerhart and John are resi- dents of this county.

In the year 1876 eighteen families emigrated from Prussia to the United States, and cast about for a pleasant location in which they could make their future home. They stopped for awhile at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, but after looking farther they chose this county as one offering the greatest in- ducements, and thus, in 1877. they all came to this place. Our subject spent his early life on a farm. and when he grew to manhood he and his brother Henry were engaged in buying and selling grain. On his arrival in this county he purchased about 600 acres of land but slightly improved, paying $25 per acre for 280 acres, and $12.50 per acre for the remainder. He has erected a good residence and farm buildings, and has made many improvements on the home place now containing 750 acres.

Our subject was married, on the 13th of June, 1867, to Miss Anna Froese, who was also from Prussia, and was born on the 13th of December, 1846. They became the parents of eight children, two of whom are deceased. and the remaining six are named Cornelius. Henry, Louis, Agathe, Anna and Marie. The father of our subject was a min- ister of the Mennonite Church. and for twenty-eight years he was engaged in spreading the truths and principles of that religion. Our subject grew up under that religious influence, and as he had re- ceived a very good education, he also consecrated his life to the work of the church, and after coming to the United States he became a minister. He is an intelligent, enterprising gentleman, surrounded in his home by the refinement of wealth; is pleas- ing and affable in manner, and the center of a circle of warm and admiring friends.

Z IBA S. YARNALL, EsQ., is a representative citizen of Highland Township, residing on section 4. He was born in Harrison County, Ohio, Aug. 28, 1841, and is a son of Aaron and Har- riet Yarnall, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The paternal ancestors came to America from Scotland previous

to the Revolutionary War. and the maternal ances. tors were from Wales. Our subject was the second son and third child in his father's family, and he spent his early life on a farm, engaged in the various duties of a rural life, and received a good academic education. The time passed quickly until he be- came about twenty years old, at which time the war began, and he enlisted, on the 19th of Decem- ber. 1861, in the 6th Ohio Independent Light Artillery. He participated in the battles of Farm- ington, Mo., Island No. 10, New Madrid, the bat- tle of Farmington near Corinth, Miss., Stone River, McMinnville, Tenn., and Chickamauga, where he received a wound in the left leg, which disabled him so much that he was obliged to have it ampul- tated in 1882. He was honorably discharged on the 18th of November, 1864, after having given proof of a valiant and courageous spirit.

After his release from the service of his country, our subjeet returned to Harrison County, Ohio, where he was married, on the 6th of September, 1866, to Miss Martha Logan, a daughter of Samuel and Eliza Logan, who was born in Pennsylvania ou the 28th of May, 1830. By their marriage they have become the parents of four children, of whom we have the following record : Mary is the wife of Henry M. Heustis, of Chase County, this State: John B. and Hattie N. are at home; William T. is deceased. In the spring of 1867 our subject re- moved to Marion County, Iowa, where he resided until the fall of 1871, when he removed to Powe- shiek County. There he remained until the fall of 1883, when he once more changed his residence and came to Gage County, making his home on his present farm on section 4. The home farm con- tains eighty acres of land, which has been well im- proved and yields abundant harvests of cereals and general farm produce.

Our subject is prominently connected with the G. A. R., Monitor Post No. 184, of Cortland, and is now serving as Senior Vice Commander. his honora- ble war record entitling him to a prominent place in the order. Ile and his wife and family are men- bers of the Congregational Church, and are active members of society, respected by all who know them. During his residence in Poweshiek County he served for three years as Justice of the Peace,

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and is now serving his third term of the same office in Highland Township. He has served as a School Director. and is now serving his second year as Treasurer of his school district. In recompense for his service in behalf of the country he receives from the Government a pension of $30 per montb, which, although it by no means compensates him for the loss of so valuable a member of the body, is yet a mark of appreciation which should not be withheld from any wounded soldier. He is a Re- publican in politics, and one of the leading citizens of his township.

Mrs. Yarnall is a native of Allegheny County. Pa., of which State her parents, Samuel and Eliza Logan, are also natives. Her paternal grandfather, John Logan, was a native of North Ireland, of Scottish descent, who came to America and settled in Kentucky about the time Daniel Boone made his residence there. He was one of a military com- pany who went out with the intention of driving away the Indians who had proved very troublesome, but unfortunately all the company were killed with the exception of two men, one of whom was the grandfather of Mrs. Yarnall. He subsequently re- moved to Pennsylvania, and to him does this branch of the Logan family trace their ancestry. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Yarnall, James Ful- ton, was a native of the United States, but his father was a native of Ireland and of Scotch de- scent. Her mother's uncle, William Fulton, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and was killed in the battle in which Gen. Harmer was defeated. Her mother's brother, Samuel Fulton, was a soldier in the War of 1812. and yet still farther has this fam- ily been distinguished by the possession of military heroes, her great-great-great-grandfather having been a soldier under William, Prince of Orange, and fought at the battle of the Boyne (so tradition says), and was a Scotchman by birth. Her brothers, Harvey and Bennington Logan, were soldiers in the late War of the Rebellion, as were also two brothers of Mr. Yarnall, named James and John.

When she was about twelve years old Mrs. Yar- nall, with her parents, moved to Harrison County, Ohio, where they remained until their death, that of the father occurring in 1865, at the age of sixty- three years, and that of the mother in the year 1877,

when she was seventy-four years old. Of ten chil- dren born in their family seven survive, and of them we have the following record : Alexander re- mains in Harrison County, Ohio; Martha, the wife of our subject: Lucinda, wife of J. M. Ross, of Smith County, Kan .; William D., of Tuscarawas County, Ohio; Harvey, of Cowley County, Kan. ; Bennington T., of Muskingum County, Ohio, and Sarah, also in Tuscarawas County. The three mem- bers of the family who are deceased bore the names James, John and Thompson.

UGUST STRUCKMEIER, one of the ear- liest settlers of Clatonia Township, is pleas- antly located on section 24, where he owns a fine body of land which he developed from the primitive soil into one of the most desir- able farms of this region. A native of Germany, he was born Sept. 5, 1843, and is the son of Henry and Sophia Struckmeier, who were also of pure Ger- man ancestry.

Our subject was the third son of his parents, and received the excellent education usually bestowed upon the German yonth. He lived amid the scenes of his boyhood until a man about twenty-eight years old, then resolving upon a change, took pass- age on a steamer bound from the port of Bremen to New York City. After an ocean voyage of thirteen days he set foot on American soil, and pro- ceeding directly westward, came into Otoe County, this State, and secured employment as a farm la- borer. He worked thus about two years, in the meantime saving what he could of his earnings, and in 1873 pre-empted 160 acres of land on section 30, in Highland Township, this connty. This was in a wild, uncultivated state, a furrow never having been turned, and not the least indication of any improvement whatever. Upon this Mr. Struck- meier labored until 1883, when he sold out to a good advantage, and secured his present property in Clatonia Township. His farm now comprises 240 acres, all of which he has brought to a good state of cultivation. In his labors he has been ably assisted for the last fifteen years by the lady who became his wife in 1873. The maiden name of

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Samuel gommone.

Isabella if you ymou.

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Mrs. Strnekmeier was Katie Albert, and she is the sister of Eberhart Albert, a well-to-do farmer of Clatonia Township. a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume.

To our subject and his wife there have been born eight children, seven living, namely : Ella, Minnie, Henry, Otto. Anne, Lydia and a babe unnamed. Mr. Struekmeier many years ago identified himself with the Republican party. which he still supports, and he is a member in good standing of the German Methodist Church. As an agriculturist he has been thorough and skillful. and as a member of the com- munity. is numbered among its most valued men. He takes a genuine interest in everything pertain- ing to the progress of his adopted country, appre- ciating her free institutions and being proud to be numbered among her worthy and valued representa- tives. None are more worthy of a place in a work of this kind than the German pioneers who have contributed so largely to the development and prosperity of the Great West.

S AMUEL WYMORE. The gentleman whose life is herein sketched is the founder of the city bearing his name, and has done more for its advancement than any other one in- dividual, and in recognition of his service in that regard, unsought for by him, the city received its name in his honor. He is the owner of a large farm adjacent to the city, which is operated npon the line of general farming and stock-raising. The residence of our subject overlooks the city, and is a very fine modern building erected as recently as 1883, one in every way worthy the founder of so beautiful and prosperous a place. In addition to his farm and residence he is the owner of a large amount of improved property, over 100 city lots, and has a large interest in the Touzalin Hotel, the finest in the State ontside of Lincoln and Omaha. He was one of the leading promoters of the eity railroad, and was the first to drive a car over the newly laid track. He has owned and subdivided about 340 aeres into town lots, all of which, with the ex-

ception of those above mentioned, have been sold and occupied.

Our subject was born on the 20th of November, 1835, on Cole Creek Prairie, near the line between Park and Montgomery Counties, Ind. Not very long after his birth his parents removed down to Sugar Creek in the same State. There he lived un- til 1844, when his parents went to Mahaska County, Iowa, and lived there until the spring of 1855, then he went to Ateliison County, Kan .. and remained for about one year. By this time he had reached his majority and made his preparations to start in the world for himself. With this in view he went to Davis County, Mo., and there was married to Isabella L. Scott. upon the 6th of August, 1856, then returned home and worked with his father for another year.

Upon Sunday evening. April 24, 1858, our sub- ject and wife drove to Johnson Creek near Paw- nee, in Pawnee County, Neb., took up land, and pressed forward with the improvements as rapidly as possible. Their log cabin was built within a week, during which time they lived in their wagon. His wife was busy putting in the garden while our subject was erecting their dwelling. During the first year he worked out sufficiently to enable him to purchase his breaking-plow, with which he broke about twelve aeres, and had everything ready by fall to allow them to return to Missouri and winter. In coming out to Johnson Creek he had driven an ox-team, a team of Texas steers and stag, also a drove of yearling heifers, a cow, and a pair of two-year-old steers, all hitched ahead of one wagon. These he took back with him to win- ter in Missouri.

Upon returning to his claim in the spring Mr. Wymore found trouble, for where his house had stood and his hay had been stacked, was nothing but black, charred, fire-consumed heaps. He then purchased a house of his uncle and put it up. and about one week after he began to occupy it this was also burned, and with it all the property of our subject contained therein. These losses made their circumstances very complicated, and but for their mutual companionship and encouragement would probably have overwhelmed them, but although hampered and straitened, our subject was not dis-

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heartened; inspired and aided by his faithful wife he gave battle to adversity and became victor over all. Among the great trials of life is that of en- forced loneliness, and her sisters will be enabled to sympathize with Mrs. Wymore in the loneliness of her life at this time. so far as the companionship of her own sex is concerned, for while upon the claim she did not see the face of a white woman for seven months. In 1861 our subject sold this farm and went down to Kansas to assist his father, his brothers having gone into the army. There he re- mained one year, then returned to the vicinity of his former property, and bought land upon the west branch of the Pawnee, improved this and lived upon it for a little over two years, and then sold it and removed to Missouri, but first came to this place, purchasing 270 acres of land now covered by the city of Blue Springs, with the exception of seventy acres that lie half a mile east of Wymore. Upon returning to Missouri he purchased a farm and lived upon it for about two years, then came back to Wymore and became the owner of the southwest quarter of section 21, and lived upon the same for one year, then took up a homestead where Wymore now stands. This was in the year 1868. There were then but three houses this side of Bills Creek. Our subject lived upon this home- stead for eight years, occupying himself with the usual farm work and necessary improvements; then he removed and went to his land in what was then Wymore Township. About that time he bought sufficient land to bring the total of his possessions up to 4383 acres. This he kept until 1877, when he sold thirty-eight and a half acres that had cost him $3 per acre, and received in exchange 900 acres. The remaining 400 of his original property he now made his home, and improved until the year 1880. When the town of Wymore was platted our subject owned 160 acres, all of which was within the city limits, and was of course laid out with the rest. In this is included about three quarters of a mile of Main street, running north and south, upon which stands the Touzalin Hotel, and both railroad depots. There was quite a large demand for town lots, and our subject, of course, increased his wealth by the demand.

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Portrait and biographical album of Gage County, Nebraska : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 16

Author: Chapman Brothers (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Brothers Number of Pages: 794

Author: Chapman Brothers (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Brothers
Number of Pages: 794