Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska, Part 101

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 812

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election he received every vote in his precinct, excepting five. lle has been the leader of the Pro- hibition party in his district for a long time, and is very energetie in behalf of what he believes to be the right. He and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Jen- kins has for several years been the Sunday-school Superintendent.

AMES PENNOCK WALTON was born in Chester, Meigs Co., Ohio, Dee. 3, 1847, and is the eldest child of five born to James S. and Clarissa Warner (Cutter) Walton. ITis brother. Ephraim Cutter, was born March 8, 1851, but died in September of the following year. Will. iam Cutter, the next child, was born April 24, 1854. Another son, Edward Payson, was born Oct. 14, 1855, and died April 18, 1864. The last child. Lucy Margaret, was born April 21, 1857, and died June 18. 1861.

James Shoemaker Walton, the father of our sub- ject, was born at Kennett Square, near Philadelphia, l'a., Jan. 13, 1817, and was the third of a family of nine children. Phobe, the eldest, was born Nov. 15, 1812, and has been twice married. Her first husband was a Mr. Valentine; after his decease she was married to a Mr. Clarke, whom she still sur- vives. Lydia, the second child, was born Oct. 2, 1814, and died May 25, 1849. The fourth child, Esther C., was born Jan. 24, 1819. On the I'st of January, 1850, she was married to David C. Perry, whom she still survives. The fifth child, Joshua P., was born Aug. 3, 1822, and was married to Eliza- beth Swain Jan. 1, 1847. The sixth child, Sarah, was born Aug. 24, 1824, and died April 7, 1843; Elias 11., the seventh child, was born Dee. 26, 1826; he was married, Nov. 29, 1859, to Sarah E. Gibbs. and after her decease to Elizabeth Craddock. on May 14, 1868. The eighth child, Albert G., was born June 30, 1829. The youngest, William, was born Dec. 6, 1832, and died Aug. 2, 1833.

James S. Walton, the father of our subject, spent his boyhood days at home. About 1825-30 he re- moved with his father to Ohio and took up his resi- dence in the city of Cincinnati. After learning the carpenter's trade, in which he served an apprentice-

ship of seven years in Cincinnati, his desire to complete his education and prepare himself to preach the Gospel led him to enter Marietta Col- lege, at Marietta, Ohio. IIere it was necessary for him to support himself and provide for the expenses of his education, by working at his trade during va- cations, and at such times as he could spare from his studies. After completing the classical course in this college he was graduated in the class of '43, receiving the degree of A. M. In order to thoroughly prepare himself for his chosen profession, he entered Lane Theological Seminary at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated about the year 1845.

llaving completed the preparation for his life work, Mr. Walton immediately entered the ministry of the Gospel, and devoted his entire energies to the service of the Master whom he loved, and whose injunction to "preach the Gospel to every creature" he accepted as the guiding motive of his life. Ile was ordained the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Chester, Meigs Co., Ohio, where he remained several years. From here he removed to Barlow, Washington Co., Ohio, and was the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at that place for some years. From there he moved to Warren, Washington Co., Ohio, and after a pastorate of about five years with the Presbyterian Church there, he removed to Pana, Christian Co., III., in the fall of 1858. As pastor of the Presbyterian Church at that place he con- tinued in the ministry until about 1865, when fail- ing health and a partial failure of his hearing made it necessary for him to retire from the active service as a minister, in which he had been constantly en- gaged for about twenty years. He then moved onto a farm about two miles from Pana, where he re- sided until his death. Here he devoted himself to farming and fruit culture, but still gave as much time as his health would permit to the service of churches in the vicinity that were too weak to sup- port a pastor, or to preaching in neighborhoods where there were no churches.

While in charge of the church at Pana Rev. Wal- ton found many young men and women anxious to secure a better education than could be obtained in the public schools at that time. To meet this de- mand he opened a private academy, which was conducted most successfully until the failure of

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health which caused his retirement from the min- istry made it necessary to relinquish this work also. In this enterprise he was greatly assisted by his wife, who was a highly educated lady, and had been a very successful teacher previous to her marriage. His political associations and sympathies were with the Republican party. He admired the keen argu- ments of Abraham Lincoln in favor of equal rights and equal justice for all men, North and South, white and black, and during the Presidential cam- paign of 1860 he drove fifty miles to hear Lincoln speak. He was a consistent advocate of anti-slav- ery principles, and his views and utterances on this question were based on a deep-rooted conviction that human slavery was wrong and ought to be abolished. Although of Quaker parentage and brought up under Quaker influences, he favored the vigorous prosecution of the war, and his sympathies and his prayers were always with the armies of the Union, and with the men who were striving to save the Nation's life. He was a devoted Christian, a faith- ful pastor and a sympathetic friend. In his social and domestic relations he exhibited the spirit of the Great Master whom he served. His death occurred Oct. 1, 1874, at Pana, and his remains were laid to rest in the cemetery near his home, among the friends whom he had served so faithfully and well, and who had learned to love him through the years of his ministrations in the Gospel in their midst.

The wife of Rev. J. S. Walton was Miss Clarissa Warner Cutter, to whom he was married Sept. 8, 1846. She was the youngest child in a family of eleven children. The eldest, Polly, was born in Killingly, Windham Co., Conn., May 11, 1788, and died while on the journey to the State of Ohio, on the 12th of September, 1795. The second child, Naney, was born at Killingly, Feb. 25, 1790; Charles was also born at Killingly, March 30, 1792, and died of cholera, May 24, 1849, while en route to California; the fourth child, lesekiah, was born at Killingly, March 13, 1794, and died while on the journey to Ohio, Aug. 20, 1795. The next two children were born at Waterford, Mary, July 30, 1796, and Daniel Converse, Feb. 20, 1799. The remaining children were born at Warren, Ohio. Saralı, April 17, 1809, and was married, Jan. 20, 1829, to Ilenry Dawes, whom she still survives;

Manasseh was born July 25, 1810, and died Oct. 2, 1822; William Barker was born July 12, 1812; Julia Perkins, the tenth child, June 21, 1815. The two last are still living. The youngest, child, Cla- rissa Warner, the mother of our subject, was born Oct. 28, 1816, was married, Sept. 8, 1846, to Rev. James S. Walton, and died at Pann, Ill., July 8, 1874, followed by her husband within three months. Iler father, Judge Ephriam Cutter, was born in Massachusetts, April 13, 1767. Ile married Leah Atwood, who was the mother of the first six chil- dren in his family. After her decease he mar- ried Sally Parker. In September, 1795, he removed to the new settlement at Marietta, Ohio, where he was prominently connected with publie affairs until his death, July 8, 1853. His father, the great-grand- father of our subject, was the Rev. Manasseh Cut- ter, LL. D., a native of Connecticut, born May 13, 1742, at Thompson, near Killingly. This gen- tleman was a lineal descendant of James Cutter, a native of Norfolkshire, England, who came to the Colony of Massachusetts Bay about 1634.

Dr. Manasseb Cutter was a Chaplain in the Fed- eral army during the Revolutionary War. After the close of the war, as agent for the Ohio Company, he negotiated the purchase from Congress of the lands northwest of the Ohio River, known as "The Ohio Company's Purchase," and "The Scioto Com- pany's Purchase," comprising the eastern half of what is now the State of Ohio. In the interest of his associates and their descendants he prepared the seetions in the celebrated ordinances of 1787, which forever prohibited slavery in the Northwest Terri_ tory. It provided that no person in said Territory should ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments, and also for the setting aside of land in each township for the sup- port of public schools, and for a grant of lands for the establishment of a university, and secured their insertion in the ordinance before its passage. From the provision mentioned above has grown our magnificent publie school system, and our flourish- ing State universities.

The mother of our subject was educated at the Young Ladies' Seminary, at Marietta, Ohio. After graduating from this institution she spent some years prior to her marriage in teaching, a portion of

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the time in a Young Ladies' Seminary, at Bowling Green, Ky. After her marriage she entered heart- ily into the chosen life work of her husband. She aided him greatly in his duties as a pastor, and by her devoted Christian character and example added much to the efficiency of his work as a minister of the Gospel. She was untiring in her efforts to do good through the agency of the various benevolent societies connected with her church. During the War of the Rebellion her enthusiasm in the work of the Soldiers' Aid Society, at Pana, Ill., of which she was the President, caused her to give to it all the time and energy she could possibly spare from her many other duties, often at a great sacrifice of her own health and strength. But she felt amply repaid for the sacrifice by the reports that came back from hospital and field, of the suffering alle- viated, the comfort given to the sick and wounded by the supplies and delicacies collected and for- warded through her efforts. She was a woman who made many and strong friends, and her death was mourned by a large circle of friends outside her own family, who felt that they had suffered a personal loss. Iler body was laid away in the cemetery near her home at Pana, where two of her children were already buried, and where her husband was soon after laid beside her.

From such a family, where noble, Christian princi- ples and purposes controlled both thought and action, our subject came. Ilis early life was spent under the influences and in the presence of an exam- ple calculated to inspire in his mind the love of knowledge, the appreciation of a practical Christian life inspired by the spirit of the Great Master, and a patriotic devotion to the principles of freedom and equality that lie at the foundation of our Gov- ernment. His early education and preparation for college were under the teaching of his parents. At sixteen years of age he entered college at Marietta, Ohio, and took up the classical course, but owing to poor health and a difficulty with his eyes, which developed rapidly toward the close of his junior year, he was compelled to abandon the remainder of his course.

Having spent several of his vacations with engi- neer corps on railroad work, our subject now se- cured a position as a roadman in the engineering

department of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, when he was shortly after promoted to the position of transitman. Ile remained with this company about one year, when he became connected with the Springfield & Illinois Southeastern Railroad as a division engineer. After serving in this capacity for about one year in Southern Illinois, he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Northern Division, and in the next year completed the location and most of the construction of that division. lle then resigned this position and entered the employ of a construction company, and for several years was engaged in the location, construction and operation of railroads for this company.

In January, 1875, Mr. Walton came to Lincoln, Neb., on business, and was so well pleased with the country that he decided to give up railroading and locate here, which he did early in the follow- ing spring. Shortly after he was appointed Deputy County Surveyor, and in the fall of 1875 he was elected to the office of County Surveyor, to which position he has been re-elected continuously for fourteen years. This fact speaks more plainly than words could do his fitness for the position, and the high place he has won in the esteem of his fellow- citizens. In 1876 he was elected City Engineer of the city of Lincoln, Neb., and filled this position until 1881, and again from 1882 to 1885. In addi- tion to these duties he has done considerable engi- neering work in different parts of the State.

Mr. Walton's political associations and sympathies have always been with the Republican party. He firmly believes that the principles advocated by this party are those that have given our country the best government and the greatest prosperity in times past, and that these principles will be the basis for better government and a magnificent development and prosperity in the future. As a member of the Congregational Church he has received the esteem and high regard of those with whom he is associated.

Mr. Walton was married, June 30, 1870, to Mary Annette Bailey, daughter of William D. and Mary A. (Ward) Bailey, Miss Bailey was born near Marietta, Ohio, April 17, 1849. One daughter, Mary Emerson Walton, was born to them March 25, 1872. She is at present attending the Nebraska State University, at Lincoln, and is a consistent and

86 DAkvinner

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worthy member of the Congregational Church. Her mother was removed by death on the 11th of June, 1875. A second alliance was entered into Aug. 7, 1877, when he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza A. Dobson, daughter of Isaac and Ra- ehel Amelia (Bates) Dobson. The father of Mrs. Walton was a native of Yorkshire, England, where he was born Oct. 1, 1808. When about fifteen years of age he removed to Canada, where he con- tinued to reside until 1845, when he entered Wis- consin Territory, and there remained some twenty years. He then returned to Canada, where he re- sided for six years, when he again entered the United States and settled at Lincoln, Neb., in the year 1871, continuing his residence there until June 13, 1882, at which time he crossed the river of death to his long home, at the age of seventy-four years. Ile was a member of the Christian Church. in which church his wife also found her religious home. He was a stanch adherent and strong advo- cate of the principles of the Republican party. The mother was born at Coburg, Ontario, Canada. March 14, 1818, where she continued to reside until her marriage, Jan. 28, 1836.

Mrs. Eliza A. (Dobson) Walton was born at Ha- zel Green, Wis., Feb. 27, 1849. She was educated at Monroe, Wis., and after some years, residence with her parents in Canada removed with them to Lincoln, Neb. Here she met the subject of this sketch, and was afterward married to him. Three children have been born to them : The first, Clara Rachel, Oct. 15, 1878; her brother, Edwin Roger, Jan. 25, 1881 ; and the youngest, Ida Esther, June 10, 1885, and died July 23, 1888, Mrs. Walton is a member of the Congregational Church, where she is highly esteemed by her fellow-members, and is always ready and heartily willing to co-operate in the various departments of church work and enter- prise. She is an earnest Christian woman, who is known among her best friends as a model wife and mother.

C OL. GEORGE B. SKINNER. The citizens of Lincoln need no introduction to the gen- tleman whose history is herein briefly out- lined, who is at present in business as a liveryman,

but chiefly known perhaps in connection with the temperance work, which he has carried on so en- thusiastieally. Our subject was born in Vernon, near the city of Hartford, Conn., on the 3d of Jan- uary, 1833, and is the second son of Zenus B. and Anna (Palmer) Skinner. This lady was the daugh- ter of Elliott Palmer, Esq., also of Connecticut.

Zenus B. Skinner, the grandfather of our subject. was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and served throughout the entire seven years. A portion of the time he was associated with Israel Putnam, of historic fame. He was at the battle of Bunker Hill, and took part also in the capture of Burgoyne.

In his boyhood our subject continued to live in his native town, and attended its publie schools. Later he received instruction in the Ellington Acad- emy, also at Wilbert, Mass., where he continued to pursue his studies for two years. At the age of seventeen he began dealing in horses on his own account, and at twenty removed to Missouri, and located at St. Joseph, where for a time he was en- gaged in pork paeking. Afterward he ran a store in Platte County, in the same State, continuing there un- til 1858. The subsequent two years found him once more engaged in pork packing, at St. Joseph. In the spring of 1860 he took a train across the plains to the Rocky Mountains, freighted with pork, gro- ceries, ete.

In 1861-62 Mr. Skinner took the beef contract for supplying the army, and managed so wisely and so well that the officers of the Government ex- pressed their entire satisfaction of the manner in which he filled the same. Not long after this he was appointed inspector of horses for the army, and bought and sold large numbers of horses for army purposes. Some time after this he equipped a train consisting of fifteen wagons, at an outlay of $40.000, and again crossed the plains to the Rockies. Sell- ing out he returned once more to the States, realiz- ing a very handsome result from his speenlation. In the winter of 1862-63 he took a trip to the mountains owing to failing health; this time he took a large supply of hams and other stores, which he sold at Barnock City, realizing some $30,000 by the sale. Ile remained in the Territory of Idaho for some five months, during which time his health was completely restored.

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At the end of that period Mr. Skinner turned his face eastward and traveled by way of Salt Lake City to St. Joseph, Mo., and thence to New York, where he sold his gold dust. Returning to St. Joseph in 1864, he dealt largely in cattle, and equipped and sent several trains through to Den- ver, Col. Mr. Skinner continued this business up to 1869, when he was appointed Street Commis- sioner at St. Joseph, and performed every duty in connection therewith in a manner that was most complimentary to his ability and efficiency. Dur- ing the time he was in the Far West he made the acquaintance of the Hon. David Butler, at that time extensively engaged as a cattle shipper, and afterward elected the first Governor of this State. While holding this office Mr. Butler appointed the subject of this sketch to sell the State land in the city of Lincoln. At that time the capital was at Omaha, and the Legislature having decided to re- move it to Lincoln, then without inhabitants, such sale was necessary to the raising of funds for the erection of State buildings, and for the founding of the capital city.

The above appointment the subject of our sketch accepted, and was enabled in connection therewith to give more than satisfaction. He succeeded in persuading a number of Missouri capitalists to ac- company him to the proposed city. and by a busi- ness-like manipulation was enabled so to direct their investments, which were quite extensive, as to give to the movement a great impetus. In 1870, infin- enced by Gov. Butler, Mr. Skinner removed to Lincoln, and there has made his home ever since.

The first office ever held by Mr. Skinner was that of Street Commissioner. to which he was appointed in the year 1873. From that time until 1877 he was variously engaged. During the latter he built a fine livery stable on Twelfth street, putting in a complete line of hacks, buggies, carriages, etc. This he has continued to run with unqualified success ever since, enjoying the reputation of perfect busi- ness honor and integrity, owing to which the confi- dence of the citizens in him is large and their patronage assured.

In 1862 Mr. Skinner was united in marriage with Elizabeth Cameron, of Van Buren County, Iowa, and daughter of James Cameron, Esq. There have

been no children born of this union. In addition to the many business and other matters demanding the attention of our subject. those of his farms may not be ignored. He owns two-one near Cushman Park, comprising 160 acres, and another smaller farm near the city limits. Both are excellently cultivated and in the highest degree productive, supplied with all necessary improvements and well arranged. In addition to these be is the owner of a number of dwelling-houses in the city, a good business house on O street, which is three stories in height. In his stable he has never less than fifty buggies, and keeps between sixty and seventy ex- cellent horses.

In his political principles Mr. Skinner at one time was a liberal Democrat and believed in the greatest liberty being allowed to the greatest possible num- ber-a principle that secured to him the favor of the liquor interest in Lincoln, as it seemed to advo- cate or at least support their position. In 1877, however. after hearing a number of lectures de- livered by John B. Finch, he was convinced that his position was untenable, and logically worked ont would lead to disaster as applied to the above department of trade, if such it can be called; thus was lost to the saloon element one of its most ef- fective advocates.

Not long after the above event. in company with fifteen or twenty other gentlemen, Mr. Skinner or- ganized the Lincoln Red Ribbon Club, and was elected President of the same in the year 1877, a position he has continued to hold from that time. The club has over 16.000 members, and is the larg- est of its kind in this country. He was President of the State Temperance Society for several years, and is necessarily prominent in all State conven- tions. The first of these was held in May, 1878, by the special request of our subject, and the call was responded to by above 400 delegates. This was the place and time of the birth of the State Temper- ance Society, and Mr. Skinner is. perhaps, in one regard, the source of enthusiasm that has enabled both the society and club to do such remarkably efficient work. The effectiveness of the agents he has employed for furtherance of temperance by the societies were such as to attract considerable atten-

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tion to the dismay of the opposition and the in- tense gratification of the temperance party.

Col. Skinner began life without the usual aids ; he found his own way to the foot of the ladder and managed to get a start; round by round he has climbed to his present position of influence and af- fluence, at once an inspiration and example to those who may be similarly circumstanced, equally ambi- tious and as determinedly persevering.

LMERON ALLEN, of Waverly Precinct, owns and occupies a fine homestead on sec- tion 20, the land which he secured from the Government as early as 1866. He will thus be recognized as one of the pioneer settlers of this region, arriving here when there had been but a mere commencement toward developing the land which has since been transformed into fertile farms, and which represents now a vast amount of prop- erty.

A native of Boone County, Ill., our subject was born May 1, 1849, and is the son of Albert Ephraim and Mary (Dan) Allen, both of New England birth and parentage. The father died in middle life, when his son Almeron was a little lad seven years of age, and by his demise three children were left fatherless, there being besides our subject Helen and Willie, who are both deceased. Mrs. Allen, the mother of our subject. in due time after the death of her first husband became the wife of Jonathan Bates, and is now a resident of Waverly Precinet, this county.

At the age of ten years Almeron began the strug- gle of life on his own account, hiring out as a farm hand, and thus his educational advantages were ex- ceedingly limited. In February, 1865, although but fifteen years of age, desiring to assist in the sub- jugation of the rebels, he enlisted in Company A, 153d Illinois Infantry, entering the ranks with the old soldiers, although being the youngest among them. This regiment was mostly assigned to the duty of guarding railroads in Tennessee, and young Allen therefore did not participate in any active fighting. The war closing soon thereafter by the surrender of the Confederate troops, he received

his honorable discharge, and was mustered out in September, 1865. Hlad he been brought into active contact with the enemy, there is but little question that he would have acquitted himself as bravely as any "man" in the field.

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Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska, Part 101

Author: Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman brothers Number of Pages: 812

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman brothers
Number of Pages: 812