Portrait and biographical album of Gage County, Nebraska : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 17

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 17


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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Recognizing at once from the sale the impor-


tance of having property in the vicinity, our sub- ject in company with Mr. William Ashby purchased another 180 acres, laid it out in town lots, and held them for sale. Together they erected quite a num- ber of dwellings, and the sale of these largely in- fluenced that of lots in their neighborhood. From the commencement of the city's growth our subject has been prominent in every movement for its ad- vancement. Among the more promising of these might be known his efforts which were finally suc- cessful in procuring for the town the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, and this company sug- gested the name of the town and station after our subject. The street railroad, which was built in 1885, the erection and fitting of the Hotel Touzalin, were other matters in which he was very active. He also did much for the establishment of the Wy- more Building Association, and from the year 1884 to 1886 was President of the Blue Valley Bank, and at the time owned all the stock, but has since sold out. At present Mr. Wymore owns 500 acres and one half-section in Norton County, Kan., eighty acres in Greenwood County, of the same State, 160 acres in Hodgman County, and three-quarters of a section in what was formerly Hodgman County, likewise in Kansas; and 160 acres in Wichita County, a total of 1,800 acres.


To Mr. and Mrs. Wymore there have been born seven children, of whom three still live. These are Mary Scott. Matilda M. and Samuel, Jr. Those deceased were named Nancy Ann, Sallie, James H. and Somerfield. Mrs. Wymore was born in De Witt County, Ill .. Oct. 14, 1837. When about five years of age, her parents removed to Mahaska County, Iowa, but after a short residence returned to Illi- nois, where they remained about two years, and again went to Iowa, where they made their home until 1855, and theu with her mother and brothers she removed to Davis County, Mo. It was while living there that she met our subject, and was finally united with him. Her conrage, womanly


tact, enthusiasm and affection have been largely in- strumental in enabling our subject to make the brilliant success which he to-day enjoys, and kept him from giving up under the many trials and losses of his earlier history. She has lived to see ber children occupying honorable positions in society.


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Mary S. Wymore, the eldest daughter of our sub- ject, has become the wife of William O. Nicholls, of Sherman County, Kan .. and has become the mother of one child. Her brother and sister are still at home in Wymore.


Among the social fraternities of Wymore our subject is prominent only in one, the Masonic, and if his reputation and character attest anything. it is that he has not stood in the illumination of the lights beside its altar without having fully realized the mysteries inculcated, and having given them a place in his daily thought and practice. The monu- ments to his character, manhood and patriotism are all around him in Wymore, and will speak louder and more effectively than any mere complimentary notice. It is, perhaps, therefore preferable to leave them to voice these sentiments.


None of the portraits of the esteemed and well- known people presented in this volume will be re- ceived with greater favor than those of Mr. and Mrs. Wymore. which we give in connection with this sketch.


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G EORGE W. ZUVER, whose farm is situated on section 15 of Hooker Township, is one of the representative citizens of the county in all that goes to make the American gentleman, and not excluding that feature which is peculiarly incidental to this country, that is, the fact that he is a self-made man, having commenced life for him- self at the age of sixteen years, with nothing but his education as a fulcrum, and his ambitions, irre- pressible energy and good physique as the lever.


Our subject is the son of Solomon and Julia Zuver. (See sketch of B. P. Zuver). His father was a merchant in Canaan, Ohio, and was one of the prominent business men of the place, but by reason of an over confidence in the people among whom he lived he became financially embarrassed, and moved to Iowa in 1856, settled at Mason City, and there kept the Farmers' Hotel, which was liberally patronized, and also after a time was the owner of a valuable farm. Their family numbered five chil- dren, whose names are recorded as Byron P., Sarah S., John H. (deceased). our subject, and IIenry


(deceased). The wife and mother was laid away to her rest in Ohio, her death occurring when she was thirty years of age.


Mr. Zuver made his entrance npon the stage of the terrestrial on the 7th of December, 1846. at Ker- nan, Ohio, and began his schooling at the age of nine years, when his father had removed to Iowa. At fifteen years of age he began to work upon the farm, and remained on it for about one year, and then made his way to Idaho City in the Territory of that name. He erossed the plains in company with his father and several young men from Iowa, start- ing by the overland route in May, 1864, reaching Idaho City on Angust 15. He continued one year in the gold mines of that State, making 84 per diem. In the summer of 1866, with pick. shovel and fry- ing-pan, he started on a prospeeting tour through the mountains, and opened up a place known as Diamond Gulch, and here found that which repaid him for his toil, labor and danger. IIe remained here one year, and then returned to Waterloo, Iowa, with a harvest of $2,000.


Upon returning to Waterloo our subject bought an interest in the Valley House Ilotel, which was run under the firm name of Solomon Zuver & Son, then entered the Western College, Linn County, and attended there for a short time, but after his life in Idaho it became somewhat irksome, and in July of 1867 he once more started West, and stopped to prospect at Brownville in this State, in company with his brother Byron. The following August he came on to Gage County and filed a claim upon his present farm, and as soon as he at- tained his majority he homesteadcd it, and has since by continued labor marvelously improved it.


In 1870 our subject was united in marriage with Miss Martha J. Hildman, June 5. This lady is the daughter of John and Eliza Jane IIildman, and was born on the 5th of January, 1850, in the State of Pennsylvania. Her parents moved to Iowa when she was about five years of age, and she has obtained a fair education. She has presented her husband with five children, who have been named as follows : James Byron, Julia E., Phronia R., Sarah and Clarence.


Mr. Ilildman was born in New York State, and was a prosperous farmer there; he removed to Iowa


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in 1856, and three years latter settled in Nebraska, and upon his homestead in Gage County in 1861. His wife was a native of Pennsylvania, and was born about the year 1819, She became the mother of fourteen children, Mrs. Zuver being the seventh. She died in June, 1882, aged fifty-four years. Mr. Hildman, who is still living, is seventy-four years of age.


In 1884 our subject removed to Garden Plains, Sedgwick Co., Kan., and speculated there and in Missouri for a time. In Garden Plains he engaged in the livery business, which was afterward traded for a farm, which was presently exchanged for horses, and these later for the Avondale Hotel, and not long after this was exchanged for a farm in Harrison County, Mo. Thence he returned to his present home, in addition to which he owns the farm in Missouri, property valued at $2,000 in Wichita, and other real estate. Although quite a young man he is well-to-do, and takes his place among the leading citizens.


The School Treasurer's office has been filled by our subject for one term, to the satisfaction of all concerned. He is deeply interested in the political economy of the nation and all the questions arising therefrom, and is usually found with the Republican party in the campaigns. He is a man possessed of large reserve force, business push and enterprise, and continuously lends his heartiest assistance to those projects that promise the progress of affairs moral and temporal.


ALENTINE MEYERS belongs to that class of German citizens who have proved most loyal and enterprising, and an honor to any community. Asa boy he was full of life and vigor, and as a man he has won distinction by his well- applied energy and self-reliance. He is engaged in agricultural pursuits on section 22, Rockford Town- ship, and is widely and favorably known as a suc- cessful business man. His parents, Valentine and Catharine Meyers, were natives of Germany, the father having been born in Hesse-Darmstadt, and the mother in Weinheim. They were married in their native country, and lived there until the death


of the mother. In 1849 the father came to Amer- ica with his second wife and family, the mother of our subject having died in 1847, after having a fam- ily of seven children, named: Pitta, Philip, Len- hardt, Annie, Lizzie, Andrew and Valentine.


Our subject, the youngest of his father's family, was born on the 14th of June, 1825, in Weinheim, Germany, where he attended school from the age of six to fourteen years. He learned the black- smith's trade, and for a time engaged in work, but having long had a wish to come to America, he gratified it in 1842 by starting out on the long voy- age when but seventeen years old. He bade fare- well to his father, brothers and sisters, and sailed on the 15th of March, placing his foot on Ameri- can soil on the 2d of May. His destination was Lyons, III., and after he arrived in that city he started to work at his trade, which he continued for one year, and then went to Canada, where he worked for four years.


In 1847 our subject returned to the States, and made his home in Wisconsin, where he was married to Miss Rosina Schwartz, who was also a native of Germany, and was born on the 25th of November, 1827. She was twenty-two years old when she came to America with her brothers and sisters. Our subject followed blacksmithing, and was very com- fortably located in his home in Milwaukee when his parents came in 1849. The father made his home with him until the time of his death, which occurred in 1852, at the age of sixty-six years. In 1850 our subject removed eleven miles northwest of Milwaukee, where he purchased a farm and con- tinued his former vocation in connection with his farm work. He remained there until 1871, when he came to Nebraska, stopping at Nebraska City for three or four weeks, after which he came to his present farm. Hc bought 120 acres, of which only twenty acres had been broken, and beginning at once to make improvements, he worked industri- ously, and now has the whole farm in a splendid state of cultivation. He has built convenient and substantial farm buildings, all of which are in fair order.


The family of our subject and his wife comprises twelve children, bearing the names-Philip, Eliza, John, Carrie, Charlie, Teressa, Lizzie, Annie, Susie,


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This Rule


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William, Hattie and Barbara. In 1875 the father, accompanied by John and Teressa, visited Califor- nia, and during the time of their visit the father engaged in work at his trade, by which they not only paid the expenses of the visit, but cleared $174 in six months. In 1877 the father, accompanied by his son John, made a trip to Oregon for the purpose of looking up a location, but came back satisfied to remain in Gage County. In 1887 our subject made a visit to Colorado, where his daughter Teressa is living. He has long been identified with the Re- publican party, and voted for John C. Fremont. He and his estimable wife belong to the Evangelical Church, of Holmesville, and are the center of a host of warm and admiring friends.


HOMAS YULE, a gentleman in comfortable circumstances and a resident of the city of Beatrice, makes a specialty of abstracts and loans, while at the same time he is prominently iden- tified with its other leading business interests. lIe was born in Northumberland County, England, on the 20th of October, 1832, and ten or twelve years later his parents, George and Elizabeth (Huggett) Yule, removed from his native village and there- after lived in different places in England. The father was a civil engineer by profession, and for some time occupied a responsible position with the Northeastern Railroad Company, of England.


In 1853 our subject, accompanied by his parents and his young wife, emigrated to America, and all took up their abode in Columbia County, Wis. The father and son engaged in farming, and the family made their home there until the death of the former, which occurred in 1871, at the age of sixty-seven years. The mother survived her hus- band six years, and died at the age of seventy-three, after having seen four of her children well launched into life, the two others having died in infancy.


Our subject was the fourth child of his father's family, and as he grew to manhood was educated in the schools of his native England. When twenty- one years old he was married, March 15, 1853, to Miss Mary Todd, of his native county, and who was the daughter of John and Mary Todd, also


natives of Northumberland. Soon afterward Mr. Yule and his young bride emigrated, as above stated, to America with his parents. Thomas for a time farmed with his father, but later removed to the village of Lodi, Wis., where he engaged as a contractor and builder until the outbreak of the Civil War.


Our subject now left his pleasant home and fam- ily to engage in the service of his adopted country, enlisting on the 15th of August, 1862, in the 23d Wisconsin Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the West under Gen. A. J. Smith, this being the 14th Army Corps, under command of Gen. Sher- man. Mr. Yule with his comrades traveled through Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and participated in the first battle of Vicksburg in 1862. In the engagement at Arkansas Post on the 11th of January, 1863, he received a wound which resulted in the loss of his right leg, that useful member be- ing carried away by a solid shot. Ile was then placed in Lawson Hospital at St. Louis, where he remained until March following, when he was honor- ably discharged and returned to his home in Lodi, Wis. Afterward in recognition of his service as a sol- dier he was appointed Provost Marshal for that dis- trict. He was also elected Justice of the Peace and Town Treasurer, which offices he held until January, 1867, when he was elected Recorder of Deeds of Co- lumbia County. For eight successive years he held that office, which speaks well for his efficiency. Previous to his retirement he purchased a complete set of abstract books of that county, and subse- quently became associated with Miles T. Alverson in the abstract and loan business, which they con- tinued until April, 1879.


In the year above mentioned Mr. Yule sold out. and coming to Nebraska established himself in Bea- trice and engaged in money loaning, while at the same time he began writing up, in company with his son John T., a set of abstract books from the original records of this county. They now do a large business in this line in the States of Nebraska and Kansas; they have a fine office in the First National Bank building, which is well equipped with all the appur- tenances of a thriving business. Our subject has served one term as Mayor of Beatrice, and one term as City Treasurer, in both of which offices he gave


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general satisfaction to the public. He is now serv- ing his third term as Supervisor of the city and his second term as Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors. He is also one of the Directors of the canning factory, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Beatrice Street Railway.


To Thomas and Mary (Todd) Yule there were born four children, two sons and two daughters, of whom we have the following record: Bessie J. is the wife of L. E. Walker. of Beatrice; John T. is in partnership with his father; Albert G. died in 1866; Mary Grace is now a student in Brownell Hall at Omaha. The mother of these children died in 1881. Mr. Yule in 1884 married his present wife, who was Mary H. Burke, a native of Canada, but at the time of her marriage a resident of Bea- trice. The family residence, pleasantly situated, is a neat and comfortable structure, occupying No. 803 North Seventh street.


Mr. Yule has been a member of the Masonic fra- ternity since 1858, and as a man who has given much of his time to the service of the public, he is entitled to more than a passing notice. In politics he has been a stanch Republican since the formation of the party, and his influence is sensibly felt in the ranks of his party, not only in the county, but in this part of the State. His portrait, in connection with this sketch, will be looked upon with interest by a large number of his friends and compeers as that of a man closely identified with the best inter- ests not only of the city of Beatrice, but the entire county.


HADDEUS WILLIAMS is the present enter- prising and energetic Supervisor of Logan Township, who has distinguished himself by his ardent efforts in behalf of the public. His father, William Williams, was born in Nelson County, Ky., in 1812, and was a contractor, a mer- chant and a farmer. In 1853 he moved to Illinois, thence, in 1873, to Hamburg, lowa, where he now resides. The mother of our subject is Elizabeth (Blunt) Williams, who was born in Gallatin County, Ky., in 1819, and is also living, having reared a family of six children, of whom our subject is the


second. Ile was born in Gallatin County, Ky., on the 26th of January, 1843, and spent his youth under his father's roof, receiving a good common- school education. In 1863 he crossed the plains, stopping at Idaho City, where he followed mining for two years, thence to California, and returning to Sangamon County, Ill., by way of New York City, taking a steamer from the Pacific Coast.


Our subject was engaged in farming, which work he varied by a period of three years devoted to the mercantile business, and in 1880 he removed to Logan Township, this county, and settled on his present farm on section 28. He made all the in- provements that have been made, set out a fine fruit orchard and groves of native timber, and in various ways increased the value of his farm by labor and industry. On the 21st of December, 1870, he was united in marriage, in Sangamon County, Ill., to Miss Mary L. Koscialowski, who was born in Jacksonville. Ill., on the 8th of August, 1848. Iler father, Napoleon Koscialowski, was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1812, and was a mili- tary man, his private profession being that of an architect. In 1834, at the breaking out of the Polish insurrection, he was exiled, and came to this country, making his home in Jacksonville, Ill., his death afterward occurring in Washington City. Her mother, Mary (Chenowethi) Koscialowski, was born in Nicholasville, Ky., in 1821, and after be- coming the mother of six children, she died in Jacksonville, Il1.


By their marriage our subject and his wife are the parents of six children, on whom they have bestowed the names of Leon W., Robert Hitt, Edith C., Edward T., Roy T. and Ilarry D. Our subject has taken an active part in public enterprises, chief among which was his assistance in the build- ing of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Prairie Chapel, for which he gave a great deal of his valu- able time in soliciting money as well as contributing his share toward the funds. His wife is a member of that church, and is a well-educated and talented lady, displaying her love for the beautiful, and her refined and exquisite taste in the adornments of her pleasant home. Our subject has held his present office of Supervisor for three years, and has been for a like period the School Director of his town-


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ship. While living in Illinois he filled the office of Assessor for three years, with much eredit to him- self and general satisfaction to the public. Hle is a member of the order of the A. F. & A. M., Blue Lodge No. 29. of Beatrice, and is a warm and able advocate of the Democratic party in politics. To the labors of such men as our subjeet is the town- ship indebted for its rapid progress, and the ample strides which it has made toward perfection.


G EORGE B. PHELPS, proprietor of one of the leading haek lines of Beatrice, is of New England birth and parentage, having first opened his eyes to the light in Monroe, Franklin Co., Mass., Jan. 5, 1838. The eldest of ten chil- dren, three sons and seven daughters, he is the son of Francis and Abigail (Fosgate) Phelps, who were also natives of the Bay State. Of their family only five are now living. The paternal grandfather, Daniel Phelps, was of English ancestry, and a na- tive of Vermont. He spent his last years in Mon- roe, Mass., dying about 1850. The Fosgates were of English and Irish extraction.


The male members of the Phelps family for sev- eral generations were farmers by occupation, and Francis Phelps, the father of our subject, was no exception to the rule. Both he and his estimable wife lived and died in Massachusetts. George B., our subject, spent his boyhood and youth in his native town, attending the public schools and work- ing on the farms adjacent to the city. In this manner he gained a good insight into the general methods of agriculture, and when twenty-one years of age started out for himself, commanding good wages both at farming and teaming.


Young Phelps about 1869 left the Bay State and went South into Tennessee, where he carried on farming in the vicinity of Howard Springs for a period of six years. The spring of 1875 found him west of the Mississippi, and he was for two years thereafter employed on a farm in this county. eight miles south of Beatrice. Finally he took up his residence in the city, establishing an omnibus and transfer line, and was thus occupied until 1885,


when he sold out his transfer business, but con- tinued his back line. Ile keeps several horses and vehicles, and gives employment to quite a number of men. The public are pleased with his prompt- ness in answering their demands, and extend to him a generous patronage.


George B. Phelps was united in marriage to Edna C. Dunham Nov. 2, 1867, the fall before his thir- tieth birthday, at Florida, Mass. Mrs. Phelps was born Feb. 20, 1848, in Adams, Mass., and is the daughter of Charles and Caroline Dunham, and the niece of Jarvis N. Dunham, President of the Spring- field Fire Insurance Company of Massachusetts; also of Henry J. Dunham, a prominent lawyer of Stockbridge, Mass. Of this union there have been born five children, two daughters and three sons, three of whom survive-Gertrude L., Russell A. and Charley A. One daughter and a son died in infancy. Mr. Phelps, politically, is a stanch Re- publican. During the late war he enlisted in Com- pany H. 2d Vermont United States Sharpshooters, and shortly after going to the front was taken ill with measles, which settled in his system, produc- ing rheumatism, which practically ended his career as a soldier, he being obliged to accept his discharge after being confined in the hospital at Brattleboro, Vt., with no prospect of immediate recovery.


OHN B. LYONS, of Adams Township, al- though one of the youngest pioneers of this county, has probably passed through as many thrilling experiences as any of its older men. Ile came to this region with his parents when but a little lad of seven years, but has had his encounters with Indians and other wild "game," and is not afraid to say that he came out "first best" and master of the field. When about eight years of age he assisted his father to release a whole herd of cattle from the thieving redskins without the shed- ding of blood-accomplished mainly by that firm- ness of nerve which is often more potent than firearms. He has also fought grasshoppers and the drouth, together with the various other scourges


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that were years ago apportioned to one of the most beautiful sections of the United States, and has lived to see this great commonwealth come out victorious over all her foes, and transformed into the abode of a peaceful and prosperous people.


The Lyons family have borne no unimportant part in the task of bringing success to this part of Nebraska especially, having been represented here during the period of its earliest settlement. John and Almira (Shaw) Lyons, the parents of our sub- ject, were natives of Massachusetts and New York State respectively. A sketch of them will be found on another page of this volume. After marriage they settled in Litchfield County, Conn., where their son, our subject, was born in Canaan Town- ship, Nov. 8, 1850. When he was a child of eight- een months they emigrated from New England to Kenosha County, Wis., where they sojourned for a period of six years. Then they once more changed their location, this time to the Territory of Ne- braska.


The journey from the Badger State to this region was performed after the manner of those days, overland with a wagon drawn by two yoke of oxen. They cooked and camped by the wayside wherever night overtook them, and had some cows along, whose milk, never "watered," was in that respect better than that afforded in the civilized luxury of to-day. The sister of our subject, now Mrs. Homer J. Merrick, written of elsewhere in this work, was then a little girl of five years. The family landed in Nebraska City, or the beginning of it, on the 22d of November, 1857, and settling in Adams Township, lived there a year, then returned to the "city" and staid five years, until the country should be better settled up, and agriculture more profitable. John B., in the meantime, improved his opportunities for schooling, and was quite well advanced in his studies for a boy of thirteen when the family returned to the farm. The father home- steaded land on section 28, and our subject made himself useful in assisting to till the soil and tend the cattle, of which his father kept a herd sometimes of 300 head.




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