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 71
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G EORGE P. MARVIN, editor and proprie- tor of the Gage County Democrat, was born in Sbullsburg, LaFayette Co., Wis, on the 24th of March, 1851, and continued to reside there until the year 1859, when he removed to Richardson County, this State, and until 1879 made his home in that and Nemaha Counties, during which time he learned the printer's trade. In 1865 he freighted on the plains. Then, returning to Falls City, he, in company with his father, entered upon the pub- lication of the Southern Nebraskan. In 1867 he returned to the mountains, and was occupied in freighting and traveling until the spring of 1869. Afterward, re-establishing at Falls City, he worked at the printer's trade which he had learned, and also carried on the publication of the Press until selling out in 1876.
In 1879 Mr. Marvin came to Beatrice and es- tablished the Gage County Democrat, which is now published both as a daily and weekly. It is a seven-column quarto of fifty-six columns, neatly printed and ably edited, and is acknowledged as one of the leading Democratic journals of South- ern Nebraska. Mr. Marvin is a bold and fearless writer, sound on tariff reform, and warm in his
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support of the present administration. The Demo- crat is read by men of both parties, and however much they may differ with it in political sentiment, they are compelled to acknowledge the force and candor of its arguments, and respect the sincerity of its principles. It has become one of the indis- pensable institutions of the county and Southern Nebraska. The office of the Democrat is equipped with a full complement of printing material for a general line of job printing, including a good as- sortment of display type, a fine steam power press, and the ordinary modern inventions connected with the "art preservative." He has his share of the county printing as well as a generous patronage from the business men of Beatrice.
While a resident of Falls City, Mr. Marvin was married to Miss Anna R. May. who was born in St. Louis, in January, 1855, and is the daughter of D. H. and Martha A. May, who were natives of Ohio, and are now residing in Kansas. Of this union there have been born five children-Frankie M., Julia A., George T., Earl M. and Paul. Julia A. and George T. are deceased. Mr. Marvin is an ardent supporter of Democratic principles, and socially, belongs to Lodge No. 19, I. O. O. F.
ARQUIS SPENCER is an honored member of the farming community of Gage County, and his valuable farm in Paddock Town- ship, with its well-tilled acres, with the handsome residence and substantial out-buildings that adorn it, ranks with the best managed and finest looking places in this locality. Mr. Spencer is a native of Athens County, Ohio, where he was . born July 15, 1828. His parents were Nehemiah and Emma (Lotredge) Spencer, natives of New York State and Ohio respectively.
Our subject was reared in his native county, growing to a strong and vigorous manhood. In 1847 he went to Lee County, Iowa, and in 1853 took up his residence in Fremont County, the same State, where he was married, June 21, 1855, to Miss Catherine Davis. There were four children born to them, of whom Margaret E. died Oct. 9, 1871; William I. was born March 24, 1858; Henry E.,
Oct. 1, 1867 ; Hattie A., Oct. 2, 1870. This honse- hold was sadly bereaved Jan. 23, 1884, by the death of the loving mother and devoted wife. Mr. Spencer was married to his present wife, formerly Miss Margaret Davis, March 12, 1885.
When the war broke out in 1861 our subject was among the first to proffer his services to defend his country, but for physical reasons the examining surgeons rejected him. Again and again he made attempts to enlist, but he was not allowed to do so until 1864, when he was drafted on the 5th of No- vember, and served faithfully until the close of the war as a member of Company E, 13th Iowa In- fantry.
Mr. Spencer came to Gage County, Neb., in 1869, and located fonr miles south of Adams, in Adams Township, where he took up 120 acres of land under the provisions of the Homestead Act. When the reservation on which he lives was opened to settlement in 1878, he bought his present farm of 160 acres, and immediately moved onto it. It was then wild, uncultivated prairie, but he now has it all well fenced and under tillage. except that part of it that he devotes to pasturage, and he has erected a commodious and conveniently arranged frame dwelling and other needed farm buildings. Mr. Spencer has not acquired all of this fine property without years of hard labor, as a cool, clear head and a good practical knowledge of agriculture were his only capital when he went to lowa to make his home. He obtained the means for properly carry- ing on farming by making rails, or in doing what- soever came to his hand that might bring him in a dollar, and by his able management of his funds he has now acquired a sufficient competency to enable him to pass his declining years free from the cares that infested his early days, in the exceedingly comfortable home that he has built up. He farms to both grain and stock, principally hogs and cattle.
Mr. Spencer is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, to which his first wife also belonged. It will be seen from the date of his settlement that Mr. S. was numbered among the pioneers of Paddock Township, and he has been a prominent factor in promoting its growth, and his name is in- dissolubly connected with its history, which would
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he incomplete without mention of him. In the `course of a useful life Mr. Spencer has always borne the reputation of being a just, upright, God-fearing man, and he has always been true to the various re- sponsibilities resting on him as a husband, father and citizen. He takes an earnest interest in the political situation of the day, and his views are in accord with the Republican party on the important questions under discussion.
R RANK COOK. Upon section 36 of Elm Township resides the subject of this sketch, who. in addition to being one of the pros- perous farmers of the county, has also been honored by his fellow-citizens by being elected to the office of Supervisor of his township. His father, William Cook, was a native of Georgia; his mother, whose maiden name was Mary A. Smith, was born in Pennsylvania. Upon their marriage they first settled in Cincinnati, subsequently removing to Missouri, making their home in Clinton County, where they remained until their death. Their fam- ily included six children, our subject being the fifth.
Upon the 3d of August, 1837, in the Queen City of the West, our subject was born, and when seven years later his parents removed to Missouri he, of course, accompanied them. In that State he was reared to manhood, making it his home until 1863. His early life was spent upon the farm, receiving also such education as was obtainable in the com- mon schools of that time in that western district. In 1865 our subject came to Otoe County, and made his home at Nebraska City for perhaps two years, then removed to Fremont County, Iowa, where he engaged in farming until 1878. At that time he returned to Otoe County. lived there for one year, and in the spring of 1879 established himself in Elm Township, of this county, which has been his home ever since.
The farm of Mr. Cook includes 110 acres of prime, arable land, well suited for purposes of agri- culture or pastoral pursuits, and he has continued from the first day of his settlement to progress with the work of improvement. His farm buildings are
good, being well built and conveniently arranged, and his home pleasant and comfortable. His land originally belonged to and was part of the reserva- tion.
Upon the 2d of July, 1870, while residing in Fremont County, Iowa, our subject was united in marriage with Mrs. M. Cook, the widow of James P. Cook; her maiden name was Higginbotham. This lady was born in Kentucky, on the 15th of March, 1837, and by her first marriage became the mother of two children, who were named respect- ively : William M. and Alonzo. By her union with our subject there have been four children, whose names are as appended : Marvin, Elva, Louis B. and George Walter.
Mr. and Mrs. Cook are members of the religious communion bearing the name the Church of God. After holding some of the minor offices in the town- ship, at the fall election in the year 1886 our sub- ject was elected to his present office of Township Supervisor, and re-elected the following year. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., and among its most efficient and enthusiastic members, and is therefore highly esteemed in that fraternity.
B ENJAMIN P. THOMAS is the editor and proprietor of the Wymore Union, a stirring and spicy Republican weekly paper pub- lished here every Thursday. He was born in Livingston County, Ill., on the 25th of March, 1862, and there received his elementary education. When he was thirteen years old he came to Bea- trice, and finished his education at the Beatrice Iligh School when he was eighteen years old. At that age he went into the composing-room of the Beatrice Democrat office, giving some attention also to locals and soliciting. He remained in that office for four years, all the time improving and working up in position, until when he left he was the fore- man of the office.
After leaving the Democrat, our subject, though still quite young, bought the Table Rock Argus, which he conducted successfully for about two years, when he sold out and went to Pawnee, at which place he soon traded for the Liberty Jour-
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nal. He edited that journal for two and a half years, when he again sold out. and came to his pres- ent place and paper on the 1st of March, 1888. He bought the Union, and in the short time that it has been under his management he has increased the list of his subscribers and put his paper on a firmer foundation.
On the 15th of November, 1887, our subject was nnited in marriage with Miss Louie Carns, of Sew- ard. She is the daughter of Mrs. M. E. Carns, and is the sister of ex-Lieut. Gov. E. C. Carns, of Seward, with whom she has made her home. She was born on the 18th of May, 1862, in Pennsyl- vania, and when quite young she went to Illinois, where her father died in 1876, after which she came with her brother to Seward, and made her home with him until her marriage. Her mother is still living with a daughter in Liberty, having been born in Pennsylvania in the year 1820.
While he was attending school our subject lived with Capt. J. E. Hill, State Treasurer, and be still calls Mr. Hill's house his home. He is a mem- ber of the orders of A. O. U. W. and M. W. A., and takes an active and prominent part in the politics of the Republican party. By his industry and intelligence he has acquired all his possessions, and he has won the respect of all with whom he has come in contact in business or social life. Be- sides owning his newspaper, he is the owner of vil- lage property and a house and lot in Liberty. He is but a young man, and the field of journalism is a broad one, and we predict for Mr. Thomas a very successful and honorable career.
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AVID W. ROYER resides on section 31, Hanover Township, and is numbered among the more prominent and well situated far- mers of this county. He is a native of Franklin County, Pa., having been born in that place on the 4th of January, 1850, and is a son of John and Anna (Shank) Royer, who were also na- tives of the same place. They are of German an- cestry, but the immediate ancestors for several generations have resided in Pennsylvania. The father of our subject is a farmer and still resides in
his native State, where he owns a valuable farm of over 200 acres, besides having assisted all of his children to a start in life by giving them a mar- riage portion. The mother died in 1855, leaving six children, of whom we have the following rec- ord: Susan is the wife of Peter L. Eshelman ; Anna, the wife of Henry Laughlin; Mary, wife of David Smith; Catharine, wife of Jeremiah Frieze, all of whom reside in their native county of Franklin; John C. resides in Abilene, Kan. The father mar- ried for his second wife Elizabeth McClannahan, and by this union nine children have been born to them.
The earliest recollections of our subject are of the scenes of his country home, and as he grew older he assisted in the work of his father's farm, and experienced a life in common with all farmers' boys. He was educated in the common schools, and by his close application to the tasks assigned him he was enabled to secure a fair education, to which has been supplemented a practical knowledge of business life from his experience with the world. He resided in his native State until 1872, when he came West and stopped at Polo, Ogle Co., Ill., where he engaged as a farm hand, and in the fall of 1873 he took a trip to California for the purpose of seeing the Great West, on which tour he was absent for nine months. He then returned to Illinois, where he remained until 1876, in which year he came to Nebraska and engaged as a farm hand, afterward operating a farm for himself.
In the fall of 1878 Mr. Royer was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary E. Gockley, who is a daughter of Isaac and Susan Gockley, and was born in Jo Da- viess County, Ill., on the 18th of March, 1862. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, and she had come to the West with her mother after the death of her father. She received her education in the district schools, and remained in her native county until the year 1874. After his marriage our sub- ject purchased the farm he now owns, paying $900 for 160 acres, although it was then raw prairie land and not very inviting. He at once went to work to improve it, and has added greatly to its utility as well as its attractiveness, having erected a good residence and barn, and in various ways increased its value. He is engaged in general farming, at
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which he has been uniformly successful. and re- ceives a lucrative income from the produce.
Bertha, Hattie, Melvin and Celia are the names of the four children who have added a brightness to the home of our subject and his wife, and whose young hands are already beginning to lift a little of the burden from the hands of the devoted par- ents, and who in a few years more will be their mainstay and comfort. Our subject is a member of the Republican organization, and is at present serving as Treasurer of his township, enjoying the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen and giving general satisfaction as a public office-holder. Mrs. Royer is a member of the Dunkard Church, and is in every respect a worthy and estimable lady.
OIIN E. REMMERS has risen to his present prosperous and prominent position by the exercise of those sterling qualities of man- hood which surely bring success, sooner or later, to their possessor. He has surmounted diffi- cult barriers by the mere force of perseverance, and while his progress has not been extremely rapid, it has been perfectly sure and safe, as his business transactions have been conducted with the strictest integrity and uprightness. His father, John, and mother, Catherine (Henrechs) Remmers, were na- tives of East Friesland, in the extreme northern part of Hanover, Germany. The father was engaged in farming, and also owned a brickyard, but becom- ing financially embarrassed, he left his native coun- try and came to America with his family in 1868. His destination was Springfield, Ill., and being com- pelled by force of circumstances, which led him to . cross the water in the hopes of bettering his fort- une, he and his sons engaged to work in a harvest field. The weather being extremely warm, and the labor arduons, the father of our subject unfortun- ately fell a victim to sunstroke, and thereby lost his life. His death was a great bereavement to his family, and it was because of this early trouble that our subject was obliged to call into requisition all the force of character and will that he possessed, in order to supply the place of the family protector.
In the fall of 1868 the mother of our subject
and her children came to Nebraska, and settled on Bear Creek, close to Beatrice. There were eight children in the family. whose names are: Anna, Thomas, Christopher, John E., Dedrich and George (deceased) ; two died in Germany. The mother afterward married John Eilers, and died at Ster- ling, this State, in 1883, at the age of fifty years. Our subject was born on the 6th of November, 1850. in Friesland, Germany, much of which country is diked to exclude the water, and includes several islands in the North Sea. He began to attend school when he was six years old. and the oppor- tunities for acquiring an education being very good, he fitted himself by close application to his studies for the life work that lay before him. When he came to this State he was a boy seventeen years old, and he broke the prairie land and worked out by the month until he was twenty-one years old, at which age he settled on a claim of eighty acres on section 10, Nemaha Township. In 1877 he ex- changed his claim for 160 acres, paying the differ- ence of price in cash.
On the 10th of September, 1878, our subject was nnited in marriage with Miss Arena Steinmann, a daughter of Henry H. and Rachel ( Yelken) Stein- mann. They were also natives of Friesland, Han- over, and were married in Menard County, Ill., coming to this State in 1864, and settling in Ne- maha County. The father still lives on his farm in the above-named county, and is sixty-nine years old. He is one of the enterprising gentlemen who helped to locate the State capital at Lincoln, and in his county he has served as Commissioner many times, and is otherwise distinguished among promi- nent men. He is very well situated financially, and owns a section of well-improved land. The mother is fifty-six years old, and has shared her devotion among nine children, five of whom were born in Illinois, their names as follows: Henry, Rachel, Arena, John, Bunu, Minnie, Christopher, Annie and Amy, the three latter deceased.
Mrs. Remmers was born on the 10th of February, 1859, and passed her early childhood days until she reached the age of five years in Illinois, when she came with her parents to this State. She attended the public schools, which were very good for that early time, and received a thorough training in the
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common-school branches, and she is a lady of worth and unusual ability, no doubt inheriting much of her mental qualification from her father, who has won a distinguished name. She is the mother of two children, named Catherine and Henry, and in her devotion to her family she exemplifies her real character and worth.
Mr. Remmers is one of the early settlers of this county, and he deserves much credit for having so successfully combated the circumstances surround- ing him in his earlier days, because of the death of his father and his previous financial loss. He is the owner of 300 acres of good land on sections 12 and 1, which he devotes to the purposes of farming and stock-raising, having now sixty head of cattle on his farm. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church, and are high in the esteem of their neighbors. His sympathies are with the Re- publican party, and he is always pleased to note the improvement of the public in general as to morals and education.
G EORGE R. SCOTT, one of the wealthy and prominent men of the city of Beatrice, repre- sents a large amount of property, including three or four good farms and valuable real estate in the city. His husiness place is located at No. 119 North Fifth street, where he carries a complete stock of dry-goods and carpets, and enjoys a liberal pat- ronage from the solid people of Gage and adjoin- ing counties. He established himself here in March, 1880, and is numbered among the solid men of the city.
Mr. Scott was born in Oneida County, N. Y., at the modest homestead of his parents, near the vil- lage of Little Falls, May 13, 1852. His parents were John A. and Keziah (Owens) Scott, and he was their eldest child, their family including three sons and two daughters. The mother was a native of England, and crossed the Atlantic at an early age. John A. Scott was born in Oneida County, N. Y., and for many years was engaged in mercantile busi- ness at Kaneville, Ill. The family went to Illinois when George R. was a little child two years of age, settling first in MeHenry County. Thence they re-
moved to Kaneville. in Kane County. where the father still followed general merchandising, and where his deathi took place Aug. 10. 1862. The mother was subsequently married again. and is now a resident of Hinckley Ill.
The subject of this sketch passed his early years in bis native county, and attended the public school. Upon becoming further advanced in his studies. he repaired to Aurora, Ill., and became a student of the Jennings Seminary, where he took a two-years course. Upon returning to Kane County he taught school for a time, and afterward going to Rochelle, was occupied as clerk in a dry-goods store for five years. We next find him in Waterman, Ill., of which he was a resident eighteen months, established in business for himself. In the spring of 1880 he turned his steps westward, crossing the Father of Waters, and coming into this State. Shortly after- ward he took up his residence in Beatrice, of which city he has since been a resident. He established a store of general merchandise, associating himself in partnership with Peter E. Hastings, and under the firm name of Hastings & Scott these gentlemen operated together three years. Mr. Scott then pur- chased the interest of his partner, and conducted the business alone until Jan. 1, 1888, when he took in his brother, W. W. Scott, the firm name becoming Scott Bros. They carry a full line of dry-goods and carpets, and occupy a position at the head of the trade in this section.
Mr. Scott, while a resident of Rochelle, was mar- ried, Feb. 13, 1878, to Miss Edith M. Boyce, the wedding taking place at the home of the bride in Rochelle. The career of Mr. Scott has been more than usually successful, and his property is the ac- cumulation mainly of his own industry and good judgment. Politically, he is a Republican. The family residence is a handsome structure located on North Fifth street of the city, and with its adjacent grounds and surroundings forms one of its most attractive homes. His place of business was de- stroyed by fire on the 13th of September, 1886, on which, however, there was an insurance sufficiently ample to cover all loss.
Scott Bros. own the fine building on Court street, a white brick front, put up in the winter of 1886- 87, occupying an area of 50x100 feet, being two
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stories in height, built of brick, its finishings and furnishings being everything required to make it attractive in appearance, and convenient for the purpose to which it is adapted. Scott Bros.' store is now located on North Sixth street, in the Spencer Block. Mr. Scott has invested largely of his sur: plus capital in Nebraska land, owning in Gage County alone 320 acres, which have been divided off into three good farms. He also has land in Kansas and Colorado.
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OSEPH ELLIS. One of the most enterpris- ing, prosperous farmers and largest land- owners of Gage County, is the gentleman of whose life a brief sketch is here given. Mr. Ellis is the owner of 2,000 acres of land, and 480 acres under lease; 1,500 acres of this land are situated in Grant Township, of which over 500 acres have been brought to a high state of cultiva- tion. This is situated on section 16, where he re- sides. His farm is thoroughly well stocked with a very high grade of cattle and thoroughbred Short- horns. From his ranch he ships generally about twenty cars of stock annually. Ilis farm buildings are unsurpassed, and his residence such as is befitting a man of his social status and financial ability. It is an elegant. two-story frame building with base- ment, and of some pretensions to scientific archi- tecture. The appreciative reader will turn with pleasure to the double-page illustration, showing this property. and also to the portrait of the owner thereof.
Mr. Ellis is one of the Directors of the People's Bank, at Beatrice, his brother John being the President, Warren Cole, Vice-President, and H. L. Ewing, Cashier. Since 1872 our subject has been very active in every project that promised advan- tage to the district, and has brought to bear upon every undertaking the same energy. push, common sense and business integrity that have marked his life and made him the successful man he is, for in his earlier days he was quite poor, and by no means rich when he came to this place.
Our subject was born in Yorkshire, England, April 3, 1844, and is the son of John and Mary
(Nettleton) Ellis. His father was by occupation a farmer. and one of the most practical and enthusi- astic in his county. The family on both sides is of what would be called good ancestry, and their his- tory can be traced without difficulty for many generations as natives of that district. The family included six children, all of whom came with their parents to the United States, and settled for a time in New Jersey, afterward removing to Woodford County, Ill., where Mr. Ellis, Sr., bought a new farm. In this country there have been two chil- dren (twins) born to them. The parents have since resided at that place, and the father, continuing his allegiance to the religious training of his youth. is identified with the Episcopal Church in the neigh- borhood. The mother belongs to the Methodist Episcopal communion.
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