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 69
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ANIEL MOSCHEL, a leading German farmer of Lincoln Township, owns and oc- cupies 160 acres of land, which he has brought to a good state of cultivation, and upon which he has erected a substantial set of frame buildings. A view of the homestead is presented on an adjoining page. In addition to general agri- culture he gives considerable attention to stock-rais- ing, keeping a goodly assortment of cattle, horses and swine. He possesses the true thrift and industry which are national characteristics of his race, and is one of the most peaceable and law-abiding citizens in this community.
Our subject came to this township in 1882, re- moving from the vicinity of Beatrice, where he had a farm of eighty acres which he improved from the raw prairie. Ile first set foot upon the soil of Ne-
braska in 1876, and the greater part of that time has been a resident of Gage County. A native of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, he was born on the 17th of March, 1854, and came to the United States with his mother, Margaret (Shantz) Moschel, his father, Christian Moschel, having died in his native Germany when Daniel was a child of eight- cen months. The widowed mother brought all her children with her, and they located first in Tazewell County, Ill., where they maintained themselves by farming, and where they lived until crossing the Mississippi.
The mother of our subject died near the city of Beatrice at the age of seventy-four years, Oct. 4, 1876. Both parents belonged to the Protestant Church. Daniel is the youngest of seven living children, and acquired his education chiefly in the schools of Tazewell County, Ill. He was early in life made acquainted with hard labor, and thus formed those habits of industry which have re- sulted in his ultimate success. After coming to this county he was married in Lincoln Township, Oct. 6, 1878, to Miss Sophia Knoche. Mrs. Moschel was born in Illinois, Jan. 5, 1860, and is the daugh- ter of Christopher Knoche, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Knoche left Illinois in 1870, and taking up his abode in this county engaged in farming. The parents are now residents of Gage County.
Mr. Moschel and his wife began the journey of life together in Midland Township, and worked in harmony to build up a homestead. Their union has been blessed by the birth of six children, one of whom died in infancy, and another, whom they named Clara, when two months old. The survivors are Christian, Caroline, Minnie and Elmer. The eldest is nine years of age and the youngest one year. Mr. Moschel as the native of an Empire having among its laws the admirable one of compulsory education, believes in securing to the young those advantages which will make of them worthy and intelligent citizens, and accordingly will give to his children the education which his means and station will jus- tify. He cast his first Presidential vote for Tilden, identifying himself with the Democratic party, of which he still remains a firm supporter. The home- stead which he has built up, adding greatly to its
RESIDENCE OF W. J. BURGESS, SEC. 27. GRANT TOWNSHIP
RESIDENCE OF DANIEL MOSCHEL, SEC. 2. LINCOLN TOWNSHIP.
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value since he came into possession of it, is recog- nized as that of an industrious and intelligent citizen, who is highly worthy of representation in this work.
W ILLIAM J. BURGESS, a general farmer and stock-raiser of Grant Township, owns real estate on section 27 to the extent of 160 acres of good land, which he homsteaded dur- ing the early settlement of Nebraska, Making his purchase directly from Uncle Sam, the spring of 1867 found him located where he has since lived, and where his most industrious efforts have been exerted in the building up of a homestead which will be for him a snug haven during his declining years.
Mr. Burgess came direct to this section of the country from Racine County, Wis., which was the home of his boyhood and youth, and where his birth took place in Dover Township, March 14, 1846. His parents were Nehemiah and Sophia (Woodman) Burges's, and he was their second son and child. Nehemiah Burgess was born in Ver- mont, and emigrated to Wisconsin while a single man. Securing a tract of land in the wilds of Dover Township, he transformed the uncultivated soil to a productive condition, and erected the build- ings necessary for the comfort of his family. Pre- vious to this, however, he had been united in mar- riage with one of the most estimable young women of that section, Miss Sophia Woodman, who was born in Palmyra, N. Y., and migrated with her parents to Wisconsin after attaining mature years.
The parents of our subject began life together in the most primitive fashion, making it a point to live within their income, and experienced all the hardships and difficulties of life in a new settle- ment. They continued residents of the Badger State until 1867, then crossing the Father of Waters, came to this county, and the father departed hence in the fall of 1877. The mother is still living, and makes her home with her children in Grant Town- ship.
Our subject was reared to manhood in his native county, and acquired his education in the district
schools. Ile came to Nebraska a single man, and was married in Grant Township to Miss, Alice A. Kinzie, who was born near Elkhart, Ind., Oct. 19, 1854. Her parents, Daniel and Mary ( Anderson) Kinzie, were natives of Virginia and Ohio respect- ively, and were married in Elkhart County, Ind. After the birth of several children they emigrated to Iowa County, Wis., their daughter, Alice A., being then a little child three years of age and the fourth in the family. The father had learned the miller's trade in early manhood, and followed it mostly until coming to Nebraska. Here they lo- cated in Grant Township about 1874, where the death of both parents occurred when they were ripe in years. Mrs. Kinzie was a most estimable lady, and a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. K., politically, was a stanch Democrat.
Mrs. Burgess received an excellent education in her native county, where she continued at home with her parents, and accompanied them to Ne- braska when a young woman. Of her union with our subject there have been born four children- Dora M., Cora A., William E. and Mande. The home and its surroundings present a pleasant pic- ture of rural life in the midst of peace and plenty, and surrounded by a community where the inmates are held in the highest respect. Mr. Burgess cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, and uni- formly supports the Republican party. He has al- ways taken a warm interest in local affairs, and under the new law was elected second Supervisor of Grant Township, the duties of which office he discharged in a manner highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to the people. During the late war he served as a soldier in the Union Army, en- listing in Company G, 2d Wisconsin Cavalry, his regiment being assigned to the Western and South- western divisions of the army.
After twenty-one mouths of honorable service, during which time our subject met the enemy in various skirmishes and endured inany hardships and privations, he received his honorable discharge, returning home unharmed, with the exception of the natural results of privation and exposure. There were times when the soldiers suffered severely for the want of wholesome food and water, and they were often obliged to go long periods without any -
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thing at all to eat or drink. Mr. B., socially, be- longs to the G. A. R. Post, at De Witt. Among the views of many of the excellent farms presented in this volume may be found that of Mr. Burgess' place.
C HARLES E. TUCK. Logan Township con- tains few citizens more enterprising, honor- able and patriotic to the institutions of the State and country than the subject of this sketch. In earlier life he traveled the rough road of ex- perience, to reach the position of his present snc- ecss in life, and has often found in the compan- ionship which it has been his privilege to enjoy, the stimulus, inspiration and help to prosecute his journey toward this most-to-be-desired goal. His beautiful farm, which, thanks to his intimate knowl- edge of agriculture and his physical ability to util- ize the same, has been brought to an almost perfect state of agricultural efficiency, is 160 acres in ex- tent, and contains within its borders some of the most fertile and tillable land in the county.
Our subject is the son of Edward and Mary A. (Fry) Tuck, natives of New Hampshire and Massa- chusetts respectively. His father, whose chosen occupation in life was that of a farmer and drover, was born in the year 1817. In 1856 he went to Henderson County, Ill., where he continued in hus- bandry until he died, in 1864. His wife was born in 1827. and is at present residing in Woodland, Cal. Their union was completed by the birth of eight children, whose names are as follows: Lyman P .; Charles E., our subject; Ella T., Elma A., Mary E., Mercy A., Harold W. S. and Albert F. The grandfather of our subject on his father's side was Col. Edward Tuck, of the United States Army in 1812. Mr. Tuck's great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution, and died in the mountains while returning from the war.
Grafton, N. H., is the place of the birth of our subject, which took place upon the 31st of Decem- ber, 1849. His education was that common to the times, and was the best the schools of the district afforded. At the age of seventeen he began farm- ing for himself.
In 1880 our subject removed to Logan Township, Gage County, and settled upon the farm at present
occupied by him, which, however, owes all its im- provements, everything that distinguishes it from its primitive condition, to his intelligent efforts. His house occupies one of the best sites on the farm, is substantially built and well designed; although not what would be called a grand house, it is to our subject grander than the grandest; better than the best could be, were the faces of those who make this home what it is absent. Besides the residence he has put up a good barn and windmill, has put out groves and orchard, and his well-tilled fields are all well fenced or hedged. In 1885 our subject went to California, but not being satisfied with the outlook he returned here the same year.
Upon the 8th of October, 1875, in Washington County, Iowa, our subject was united in marriage with Phebe Walker. This lady was born in Vinton County, Ohio, on the 23d of September, 1850. She is well educated, attended the Washington County (Iowa) High School, and has taught school for three terms, in which she manifested an ability and power not usual excepting among older and far more ex- perienced educators. Her father, John Walker, was born in England, in the sixth year of the present century, and was brought to the United States in 1818, when his parents removed hither. His first home in the New World was near Muskingum, Ohio, in the days when the State was first being opened up. and when it was in the beginning of its pioneer experience. He removed to Washington County, Iowa, in 1867, and there made his home until his death, in 1883. Her mother, whose maiden name was Susan Ellis, was born in Ohio in 1809, and now resides with her son. Mrs. Tuck has become the mother of three children: Minnie A., who was born on the 18th of July, 1877; also Susan Stella and Mary Ella, twins, who were born on the 25th of July, 1881.
The family of which the wife of our subject was a member comprised besides the parents thirteen children, whose names are here appended : Edward, William M., Thomas, Naomi, Anna and Elizabeth (both of whom are deceased), George W., Fletcher, Samuel, Leonard, Mary, Phebe and James W. Edward enlisted in the 18th Ohio Infantry, in the year 1861, for a term of three years, and served throughout that period, and not without commenda -
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tion for .distinguished conduct; William M. en- listed as a 100-days man in the Ohio Ilome Guards. in 1864; he was slightly affected in his leg, but not sufficient to hinder such service as might be de- manded of him in this connection, but he was taken into actual service in the South at a time when there was special demand for men; there he be- came rapidly worse, and is now helpless and de- pendent. Fletcher enlisted in the 43d Ohio Infantry in 1861. was taken sick, and died at Corinth; George enlisted in the 118th Illinois Infantry, and during his service contracted disease from which he has never recovered; he received an honorable discharge and returned to his home. Thomas en- listed in the Home Guards and was taken into actual service, and served bis full term; Leonard enlisted in 1863 in the 114th Ohio Infantry; he received a wound in the bead, and while in the hos- pital was taken siek with measles and died.
The wife of our subject is a very devout member of the Methodist Church, and attends at Prairie Chapel; she is looked upon as one of the most de- vout and earnest of its members, and is universally respected. Mr. Tuck is at present Treasurer and one of the Trustees of the said church. He is also now in his third consecutive term as Township Treasurer, besides which he has been School Treas- urer for one term. In each of these offices the manner of his conduct of affairs has been most sat- isfactory in every regard. Socially, he is promi- nently connected with the Masonic fraternity, and has been adjudged worthy of being raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason, and of being advanced to the eminent degree of a Knight Templar. He is affiliated with the order in Beatrice, where he holds his membership in lodge. Chapter and Commandery. The politics of our subject are along the line of the principles of the Republican party, of which he is an old member, and has al- ways been considered a firm friend and supporter.
E VAN J. RODERICK, Treasurer of Gage County, was born in the Principality of Wales, at the modest home of his parents in the little village of Taliesin, on the 21st of June,
1856. When a lad twelve years of age, his parents, Evan and Ann (Jones) Roderick, who were of the same nativity and nationality as their son. emi- grated to America, settling first in Wilkesbarre, Luzerne Co., Pa. There his father engaged in the boot and shoe business, and there both parents spent the remainder of their lives.
To the parents of our subject there were born four children, three sons and one daughter, of whom Evan was the youngest. His brother Ed- ward is in partnership with him, the firm name being Roderick Bros., dealers in general merchan- dise, at Blue Springs; his sister is deceased; the other brother, George, is a farmer in Sicily Town- ship, this county. Evan completed his education in the commercial department of Wyoming Seminary, at Kingston, Pa., and began his business experi- ence as a clerk in a dry-goods store at Wilkesbarre, with John Roderick. His next engagement was with the firm of Schofield and Riley, of whose busi- ness he assumed the management until the year 1876. Thence he migrated to New York City, and engaged as traveling salesman for the commission firm of Mooretingue & Co., dealers in dry-goods. principally dress fabrics. Ile was next located in Utica, N. Y., and employed as head salesman with the firm of Shepherd & Co., with whom he remained two and one-half years.
At the expiration of this time Mr. Roderick es- tablished himself in business on his own account in a store of general merchandise at Floyd Corners, Oneida Co., N. Y .; later he formed a partnership with his brother, and they continued together until our subject came to the West. Upon his arrival in this county he located in Blue Springs, where he still earries on mercantile business in partnership with his brother. They have built up a good busi- ness, and as the result of a liberal patronage put up a neat storehouse covering an area of 24x90 feet, built of brick and two stories in height. In 1885 he became interested in the breeding of horses, including both fast trotting stock and draft animals. Ile had previously to this secured a tract of land which is now devoted to his stock operations.
In the fall of 1885 Mr. Roderick, who had long been recognized as a valued addition to both the
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business and social circles of this county, was chosen as the nominee of the Republican party for Treasurer of Gage County, and soon after his elec- tion assumed the duties of his office, in January, 1886. The result of the election was one of which he has reason to be proud, as his opponent was a prominent member of the community, as well as of the Democratic party. Mr. R. was the first Repub- lican candidate elected to any important office outside of the city of Beatrice, and such was the effi- ciency with which he fulfilled his duties that he was re-elected to the same office in November, 1887, and is now (1888) approaching the completion of the first year of his second term. He was re- elected by a much larger majority than at first, and appears to be in all respects the right man in the right place.
Mr. Roderick was married in Princeton, Bureau Co., Ill., in October, 1885, to Miss Mollie B. Crossley, who was of Princeton, Ill., and is the daughter of Dr. George W. and Mary C. (Shugart) Crossley. Dr. Crossley was a native of Princeton, Ill., and was one of the most prominent and popu- lar physicians of that part of the Prairie State. He and his wife are both deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Roderick there has been born one child, a daughter, Gwendolen. The farm of Mr. Roderick embraces 160 acres of valuable land, adjacent to the town of Blue Springs. It is hardly necessary to state that he is an active Republican. Socially, he belongs to the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Blue Lodge, at Blue Springs. He is also a Knight Tem- plar, a member of Mt. Herman Commandery, at Beatrice.
AMES TAYLOR is a son of Jacob and Alice Taylor, whose biography appears in this work. He was born on the 15th of Febru- ary, 1853, in England, and when a child he was brought by his parents to America. He was reared in Illinois, receiving his education in the district schools, and afterward he took a course of study in the Davenport (Iowa) Business College.
On the 23d of January, 1881, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Massey, of this county, she having come from England, her
native country, in the spring of 1880. Her parents, George and Selina Massey, are natives of England, in which country the father still lives.
To brigliten their home and add a charm to their lives, there have been given four children to our subject and his wife, viz: Charles E., Arthur G., Lillian M. and John Sherman, Mrs. Taylor is a member of the Church of England.
Mr. Taylor is the owner of a fine farm of 160 acres, located on section 24, Sicily Township, on which he lives. He has his farm in a good state of cultivation and splendidly improved. Besides giving particular attention to the growing of grain, he has been interested in the raising of live stock, of which he raises enough to use all the grain grown on his farm, He is also the owner of another farm consisting of 142 acres on section 28. He is an energetic and enterprising young farmer, and has met with success, as his present prosperous condi- tion indicates. He is a Republican in politics, and is interested in the advancement of all educational, business and social movements. He enjoys the confidence and esteem of his neighbors, and is al- ways pleased to know of their success.
R EUBEN CAVETT. Upon section 26 of Rockford Township is the farm of our sub- ject, which is some 200 acres in extent, and exhibits in every department most unmis- takable signs of enterprise, thrift, progress, success and ability, all the more praiseworthy because Mr. Cavett is even now only in the full vigor of his manhood. He is the son of James and Lucy A. (Barnes) Cavett, who were born, the father in Pennsylvania, the mother in Ohio. James Cavett, the grandfather of our subject, came from Scotland and settled in the Keystoue State in an early day. As a young man the father of our subject settled in Ohio. Thence, in 1846, he migrated to Ogle County, III., and died there at the age of thirty- eight years, in 1855, having for several years by his industry been in quite easy circumstances. His wife, who is seventy-one years of age, resides witlı our subject. The family circle included four chil- dren, two of whom survive. Their names are re
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corded as follows: Cynthia A., who died in child- hood, as did also her brother, John D. Besides these are Reuben, our subject, and his sister Eliza- beth, who is now Mrs. H. C. Colburn, and lives at Blue Springs, this county.
Onr subject was born Sept. 21, 1841, upon the old farm in Van Wert County, Ohio. He was five years of age when the family removed to Illinois, and fourteen when he lost his father. Owing to the newness of the country his education was received in a private school, and in consequence of his father's death was confined within far narrower limits than had been designed. From a youth until the year 1862 he took charge of and managed the farm, but in response to the call for men in that year he enlisted for a term of 100 days in Company 1, 140th Illinois Infantry, was mustered into the service at Springfield, Ill., and almost immediately departed for Memphis, where the regiment was em- ployed in guarding the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. At the expiration of the 100 days, he received an honorable discharge at Chicago, and returned home and resumed farming.
In 1865.Mr. Cavett was happily wedded to Miss Calesta Todd, a daughter of Wilkenson and Aletha Todd, a lady whose home and school education has both tended to fit her for a position in either domestic or social circle whenever she should be called upon to occupy them. She has without doubt brought into the life and home of our sub- ject influences that have given to it tone, color and completeness. She is the youngest, of a family of six children, and was born at Findlay, Ohio, on the 16th of September, 1844. When but three years of age she was left fatherless, and was just prepared to enter into her teens when her mother also was re- moved by death, and she was left in the most awful loneliness, that of the orphan. A consin, Mrs. J. Bixby, of Findlay. was deeply moved by this sad be- reavement, and adopted her into her family, which was her home until her marriage.
After their union our subject and his wife con- tinued upon the farm in Ogle County, year by year increasing in prosperity. In 1880 this property was sold, and they removed to Nebraska, and in the fall of the following year their present farm was purchased. If a well-built, roomy house,
beautifully furnished and pleasantly situated, make a home, then our subject has a home; but without doubt these things, however beautiful, and much to be desired, would lose their attraction were it not for those who are its brightness, the family circle, which, besides the wife and mother, includes three children, whose names are here given, viz: Lucy, Charles H. and Nettie A. Besides these there is one . little one, Wilbur, who was laid away to sleep until the great awakening, having departed this life at the tender age of four years.
For several years our subject has ably filled the office of School Director, a position eminently congenial to him, since his interest in educational matters has always been great. Our subject never has been what would be called a politician, but has at the same time ever been mindful of his duty as a citizen, and usually votes with the Republican party, which looks upon him as a faithful friend and supporter. This deeply interesting and intelligent family are held in universally high regard by the community in which they reside, and there are none who more appreciate such sentiments than they.
R OBERT J. CULLY is a prosperous farmer and stock-raiser residing on sections 31 and 32, Elm Township. Ile is the son of Samp- son and Elizabeth (Johnson) Cully, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Pennsyl- vania. They were married in Fayette County, Ind., where the father was engaged in farming until the time of his death, at the age of seventy-one years. The mother departed this life when she was sixty years old. Our subject was born in Fayette County, Ind .. on the 29th of November, 1830, and was the eldest of fourteen children born to his parents. Ile attended the common schools in the district and spent most of his early life on his father's farm.
When oar subject was twenty-five years old he went to Morgan County, Ill., and engaged in farm- ing for two years, subsequently moving to Marion County, Iowa, where he purchased 150 acres of land, on which he made his home for twenty -two years. During his residence in Marion County he was Deputy Sheriff one year. At the end of that time
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