USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska > Part 16
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OHN W. CRIST is one of the leading far- mers of Lancaster County, and his beautiful farm on section 29, Lancaster Precinct. which by his persistent industry he has re- claimed from the unbroken prairie. is elassed among the finest in the whole precinct. He is engaged in diversified farming and pays some attention to dairying, and, we may add, with success, and is reaping a good income. Our subject comes of a prominent family, and he and his wife occupy a high social position in this community.
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Mr. Crist's grandfather, John P. Crist, a native of Frederick County, Md., born June 23, 1774, was an early settler of Warren County, Ohio, settling there in 1802, and there made his home until his death, Feb. 21, 1849, being actively engaged in farming. The Crist family originated in Germany, Michael Crist, the great-grandfather of our subject, being the first member of the family to cross the waters and take up his abode in this country, coming in 1760, when he was in middle life. His son, John P., married Margarette Mong in 1797. She was born Nov. 12, 1775, and died Aug. 5, 1851. They had a family of nine children, four of whom were sons. Our subject had an uncle who went to Cali- fornia during the exciting times in 1849, and he remained a resident of that State until his death, having been prosperously engaged in mining. Two nneles of Mr. Crist lost their lives in the Mexican War.
David Crist, father of the subject of this sketch, was the oldest of that family, and was born Sept. 30, 1799, in Frederick County, Md2, and a few years later left the home of his birth with his par- ents to accompany them to their pioneer home in the wilds of Warren County, Ohio. He lived un- der the parental roof until he was thirty-one, when he married and established a home of his own, Eveline Leach, daughter of Edward and Magdalena (Abracht) Leach, becoming his wife and devoted helpmate. She is likewise a native of Frederick County, Md., having been born there Sept. 26, 1810. She comes of good old English stock, her father having been a native of England, while her mother came of an old Maryland family. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Crist spent their entire mar- ried life in Warren County, Ohio, Mr. Crist's death occurring there July 21, 1875, when the commu- nity in which he had lived for so many years was deprived of one of its most valuable citizens, as he was in all respects a man worthy of the highest re- spect and consideration. His good wife still makes her home on the old homestead in Franklin, Warren County. Ten children were born of their union, seven sons and three daughters; five, of whom the following is the record, are still living: Edward P., a furniture dealer in Franklin, Ohio; David L., a farmer in the same town; J. W .; Minerva lives with
her mother on the old homestead ; Adeline married Albert Bloss, of Weatherford, Tex., and is now a widow.
J. W. Crist was born May 20, 1841, at Franklin, Warren Co., Ohio, and during his boyhood and youth attended the common schools of his native place, and assisted in the farm work, remaining at home until 1872. In that year he came to Ne- braska, and bought a farm of eighty acres of wild land three miles from Lincoln, and, notwithstand - ing the years of discouragement that followed, when all his hard labors seemed to come to naught, he has finally become very prosperous. When be first came here times were hard, owing to monetary panics. and it was a difficult thing to manage one's affairs with the necessary skill so as to avoid fail- ure. In 1874 and 1875 the grasshoppers devastated the harvest fields, and they also came the following year, but did but little damage. There were, be- sides, some losses by hailstorms, everything looked dark and gloomy, and some of the settlers, fairly worn out by so many reverses, returned penniless to their Eastern homes. Not so our subject ; with the true American grit and energy that have always characterized him he courageously faced every trial, has wrested victory from defeat, so to speak, and has established in this part of what was once con- sidered the "Great American Desert," a pleasant and permanent home.
The year following his arrival here Mr. Crist returned to Franklin, Warren Co., Ohio, to solemn- ize his marriage with Miss Jane Burns, daughter of Philip T. and Martha (Funk) Burns, of Franklin, Ohio. She was born Aug. 31, 1841. Iler father was born in Harper's Ferry, Va., in 1810, went to Ohio when he was a young man, and made his home there until his death many years later, which took place Jan. 4, 1873. Her mother, who now makes her home with Mrs. Crist, was born in Frederick County, Md., Sept. 27, 1818. She had three daugh- ters, all of whom are living, namely : Ellen, wife of Benjamin Eberhart, a farmer of Warren County, Ohio; Jane, wife of our subject, and Elizabeth, wife of Henry Piper, a butcher of Warren County, Ohio.
Mr. Crist is influential in public affairs, and as a public-spirited and wide-awake citizen has done all
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that lay in his power to promote the social and material welfare of the county in general, and of this community in particular. Ile has hell the office of Assessor for three years, and has been a member of the School Board for twelve years, and it is needless to add that he has discharged the duties devolving upon him in public life with the utmost fidelity and greatly to the satisfaction of his fellow-citizens. In his political relations our subject has been a stanch supporter of the Demo- cratie party ever since he was old enough to cast a vote.
OSES BRINTON, who with his son owns 400 acres of the best land on section 33, Oak Precinct, occupies the same in the in- terest of general farming, the dairy and the raising of blooded stock. His grandfather. after whom he was named, was born in the year 1761, and died in 1844. He was a native of Pennsylva- nia. and from the time of his birth on through the years of manhood he continued to reside in the Piqua Valley, near the Gap in Lancaster County of that State. Our subject was born upon the same place in 1817, on the 25th of August.
Caleb Brinton, the father of our subject, was born at the home of his parents, April 7, 1793, in the above county, and was also reared there, and ob- tained his education in its district schools. This completed to the extent of his opportunity, a school education, he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, in which calling he has continued all his life, and upon the home farm. He was united in mar- riage with Ann Fox, and they were the parents of two sons and five daughters. By a second wife the family circle was still further enlarged by the addition of three sons and two daughters. In the great conflict, the late Civil War, Caleb Brinton lost two sons, the one fell in battle in South Virginia, the other died in Andersonville. His wife also was taken from him at the early age of thirty-five years, dying on the 29th of August, 1829.
Our subjeet is one of the prominent pioneers who labored for the development of Nebraska, and those who have followed him reap in many ways the result of his labors, and look with gratitude to him.
He did not come to the county until he was sixty-two years of age. Ile came with small means, effected a settlement, and can truly say he has never had occasion to regret his journey. His farm is well worked and in a high state of cultivation, He is quite extensively engaged as a dairyman, and is proprietor of some of the finest cattle for quite a large distance around, and in addition has done much for the improvement of the stock. He has a large capital invested in this branch of the business, and to him is due, and is as readily accorded, the hearty appreciation of those interested in the evo- lution to the more improved and higher classed stock. A new country needs just such men and they are a source of great strength to it, and a benefit to every agricultural community, and even the cities derive more advantage than would be perhaps at first supposed.
March 9, 1843, our subject and Margaret A. M. Hallowell entered the partnership of life by mar- riage; the lady is a native of Delaware, near Wilmington. Their union has been blessed and their home brightened by the birth of ten children, of whom, however, but five are living: Jesse H .; Allie, now Mrs. Pennington, of Chicago; Caleb W .; Lizzie and Channing. Of these the youngest and Caleb W. are still residing at home.
Margaret A. Hallowell was born in Chester County, Pa., March 7. 1824. She is the daughter of Jesse and Jane Hallowell, of the same place. Her father by occupation was all his life a farmer.
Mr. Brinton is a member of the Society of Friends! in which society he has continued for many years, He has been called upon in civil affairs to fill the office of Supervisor, and has also occupied the seat of Justice of the Peace with that dignity and im- partiality which was generally appreciated in the community. He has always been a pronounced Republican and a prominent supporter of that party. In the community at large our subject is beld in the highest possible regard. by reason of his manly, upright character, his social status, and his well-known efforts for the development of the county and the elevation of society.
Caleb W., the son of our subject, who is a part- ner with his father in the farm, is a man of fine prin- ciples and considerable talents ; straightforward in
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business, and a most respected citizen. He was married, in May, 1886, to Lorena Foxworthy, of Lincoln, daughter of llezekiah Foxworthy, an attor- ney of Lincoln. They have one child, Margaret. Jesse married Lydia Wood, of Doran, Chester Co., Pa .; their family comprises four children; he re- sides near Philadelphia.
The farm of our subjeet and his son, as above stated, contains some 400 acres of very fine land, eight acres of which are occupied by the apple orehard; besides this a large part is devoted to the culture of grapes and various fruits, and he has also set out and brought to fair maturity over 2,000 forest trees. Such men are among the benefactors of the country, and may justly rank as represent- ative.
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F6 REDERICK KOEHLER. The characteris- ties of the people of Europe are too well known to need any remark: directly the Frenchman is spoken of, the figure is before the mind of a polite, communicative, vivacious and mercurial person, who can seize the airy nothings and give them definite shape, form and substance. On the other hand, his neighbor across the Rhine is always represented as stolid, thoughtful, ever seek- ing by slow mental process to evolve from the inner consciousness of his being some new theory or ex- planation of some already accepted theory, truth or mysticism. In the department of actual labor there is seen the same slow but continuous, though ponderously persevering, effort; at the same time this is undoubtedly the great reason why, in our new Territories and States, settlers of this national- ity-we had almost said invariably-come to the front and are most successful. In the present biog- raphy is presented an outline of the life of a native of Prussia, one of the oldest settlers of Centerville Precinct, prosperous as a farmer, highly esteemed as a citizen.
Our subject, whose property is situated on sec- tion 27 in the above precinct, was born on the 3d of February, 1829, in the town of Greston, Prussia. Ile is a son of Michael and Mary (Bron) Koehler, and was the third child of seven which comprised their family, whose names are here appended-
Willemina, William, Frederick, Fredericka, Amelia and Frank; also one child who is deceased ;. Our subject is well educated in his own languageghaving attended the schools of Germany continuously until he was of sufficient age to commence work. IIe emigrated to America when about twenty-two years of age, and took passage at Hamburg on a sailing- vessel, which occupied four full weeks in the Atlan- tic trip. He landed in New York in the year 1851. and proceeded direct to Milwaukee, and there re- mained for about twelve months. At the end of that time he removed to LaPorte, Porter Co., Ind., and for fifteen years this was his residence, and in this time he was engaged in farming with steadily increasing prosperity.
In the month of October, 1859, our subject was wedded to Henrietta Reatman, a lady of many natural and acquired virtues and graces, one capa- ble of making his home all that heart could wish, and by her wealth of affection become a practical exponent of the wealth of meaning residing in the words, "faithful wife and true mother." The de- light of home has been greatly augmented by the birth of five children, of whom four are living. Their names are here given as in the family record : Frank, Julius, Philena, George, and Amelia (dle- ceased). His first wife died in August, 1870. He was again married in Jannary, 1883. to Mary Schmitskee, who has presented him with a son, Alfred W. by name.
It was in 1865 when Mr. Koehler came to Lancas- ter County. He then took a homestead claim of 160 acres, his present residence. The farm was at that time in all the beauty of its natural wildness; not a furrow was turned, not a fence erected, or a home built. Our subject began upon the bare ground, but by the exercise of his intelligence and experi- ence and the putting forth of manly efforts he very speedily made a great change. His comforta- ble and checry home was built and furnished, and before long the golden grain stood in all its beauty, and the corn tassels hung glistening in the sunlight, ont on the broad acres. He has watched with pride and gratification the development of the precinct and county, has seen the towns spring up and grow into cities, the iron horse come bounding over the prairies, and innumerable other nineteenth century
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triumphs in mechanics and art in daily use through- out the country.
What has been accomplished by our subjeet is the result almost entirely of his own effort. He is a man who believes that honesty is the best policy, and is strictly so in all transactions. conscientious and painstaking to a degree. In polities he is an affiliate of the party founded by Jefferson, and en- deavors to discharge to the best of his ability every responsibility which comes to him as a citizen. Ile is at present serving as Moderator of Distriet No. 77, an office he has continued to hold for some time. Religiously, he is an adherent and consistent mem- ber of the German Lutheran Church, the same communion in which he was reared in his native land.
D UDLEY W. BOWERS is a fine representa- tive of the stock-growing and farming interests of Lancaster County as embraced in the precinct of Yankee Hill, where, on section 31, he owns a good farm, the fertile soil of which is admirably adapted both to raising cereals and stock. Mr. Bowers is a native of Long Island, born Nov. 28. 1842, to Joseph and Maria (Ste- phens) Bowers, of whom further mention is made in the sketch of A. E. Bowers, of Yankee Ilill Pre- cinct.
Our subject was reared to manhood on a farm, and then removed with his parents to Indiana. He received a rudimentary education in the district schools, which he has still further increased by reading standard works and by observation and experience. so that there are hut few among his friends and associates who are better informed on all topics than he, or can more readily form an in- telligent opinion on any of the questions that are agitating the public to-day. On the 20th of Au- gust, 1862, being then but nineteen years of age, he laid aside the ambitions and hopes of youth to join his noble comrades who had gone forth to fight their country's battles on the Southern battle- fields, and, if need be, die in her defense. He became a member of Company K, 5th Indiana Cav- alry, the same regiment to which his brother, Arthur E. Bowers, belonged. He was most of the
time detailed as teamster in the Quartermaster's department, but he took an active part in several battles. being engaged in the one at Walker's Ford, and in many minor engagements. He was at Knox- ville when Burnside was besieged, and with the cavalry was kept outside to annoy the rebels. IIe was in Sherman's campaign from Dalton to Atlanta, and was under fire much of the time. He served bravely and faithfully until after the close of the war, receiving his discharge June 15, 1865.
After retiring from the army our subjeet re- turned to his old home in Jackson County. Ind .. where he remained for about a year, when he went to Tennessee, where he had taken stock to sell. He remained in Memphis some fourteen months, and at the expiration of that time proceeded to Ken- tueky, where he was engaged on a stock farm in Bourbon County the succeeding four years. He then returned to Tennessee, and after remaining there nearly a year, again went back to his Indiana home, and from there came to Lancaster County, Neb., in the spring of 1874. drawn hither by the many marvelous reports that he had heard concern- ing the great fertility of the soil. its amazing pro- ductiveness and the healthfulness of the elimate. He located on the southwest quarter of section 31, Yankee Hill Precinct, where he has since resided. This part of the country was then comparatively newly settled, and much of the land was unbroken, this being the condition of the tract purchased by our subject. In the years of toil that have fol- lowed since then he has developed from the raw prairie a beautiful farm, which, on account of the many improvements, is classed among the most valuable in the township, its 160 acres being under excellent tillage. Mr. Bowers is in many senses of the word a self-made man, owing much of his suc- cess to his own persistent efforts. He also owes much to the good wife, who since their marriage on that April day (the 27th) in 1875, has stood by him faithfully in storm or sunshine, and has shoul- dered her share of the burdens of their common life.
Mrs. Bowers, formerly Lucy G. Miller, was born May 6, 1848, in Butler County, Ohio, being a daugliter of Alfred and Emily (Guild) Miller, na- tives respectively of Virginia and Ohio. Her father
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passed away from the scenes of earth in 1870, and the mother in 1875. Six children had been born of their union, namely : Emily M., wife of W. II. Snodgrass, of Clark County, Ind .; Lucy G .. wife of our subject; Edmund. of Jackson County, Ind. ; Alpha, of Clark County, Ind. Alfred and Thomas are the names of the two children who died. Mr. and Mrs. Bowers are the parents of two boys: Herbert M., born Sept. 17, 1876. and Norman G., July 30, 1878.
Our subject and his wife are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, where he has served very acceptably as Class-Leader for a nom- ber of years. The singularly upright and blameless life of our subject has won for him the confidence of the entire community. He is a quiet, unosten- tatious man, who without wealth or influence has won for himself an honorable position in the history of this county. Ile is a man of earnest and intelli- gent convictions, and with his whole soul supports the cause of temperance in his advocacy of the Prohibition party in politics. He has faithfully served the educational interests of his township as School Treasurer of his district.
A view of Mr. Bowers' homestead is presented in this ALBUM.
R. ISAIAH R. COOKE, a retired physician of Lancaster County, is widely known and respected for the noble example of his pure life, which has undoubtedly wielded a great influence for good in his community. He is a man of broad culture, a lair and judicial mind, and is generous and considerate in his relations with others. He lives with his family in one of the most beautiful of the many elegant suburban homes that may be found within a short distance of the capital of Nebraska; it is very finely located in East Lin- coln, and is appropriately named Roselawn.
The names of various members of the Cooke family appear in the annals of our country from the very earliest Colonial times, even from the arrival of the " Mayflower," on board which historic vessel were some of their representatives, who came with the Pilgrims to found a nation on the stern and rock-bound coast of New England, and from that
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time they took a prominent part in the public affairs of Colony and State. They came of an ancient English family, and are entitled to the coat of arms borne by Gregory Cooke, of Yorkshire, En- gland, who was the immediate ancestor of the American branch of the family. He was a cloth manufacturer, which business was changed by his descendants to the manufacture of woolen and worsted goods. Our subject traces his descent from this illustrious family through the following men- bers: The first one to come to this country, of whom we have any authoritative account, was like- wise named Gregory ; he was a shoemaker by occu- pation, and was born about 1647, in England. We are not told when he left the ancestral home to come to this country, but surmise that it was after his marriage and in the year 1665, which was the date of his settlement in Cambridge, Mass., where he lived until 1690. His sound judgment and great force of character made him influential in the coun- cils and deliberations of his fellow-townsmen. and he held the office of Selectman of Cambridge from 1669 to 1678. He died Jan. 1, 1691, and the house where he made his home in Cambridge was occupied by some of his descendants until the Revolution. Among his children was a son named Stephen, who was born in England, and came with his father to Cambridge, Mass., when a young man. He was a farmer and settled in Newton, where he was much looked up to on account of his superior practical wisdom; he served as Selectman of that town in 1697, 1698, 1708, 1716; he married, in 1679, Re- becca Flagg, daughter of Thomas Flagg, of Water- town. His death occurred in 1738, and among his children was a son named John, great-great-grand- father of our subject, who was born in Newton, Mass., March 15, 1867 or 1868. He settled in Preston, Conn., in 1710, as a farmer, and took a conspicuous part in Colonial affairs, serving as a Selectman, and as Deputy of the General Assembly of the Colony; he died Aug. 22, 1762, leaving ten children.
Among the children of John Cooke was James, great-grandfather of our subject, who was born in Preston, Jan. 1, 1717, and later in life was there engaged as a farmer and clothier; the date of his death is unknown. Ilis son Isaiah, one of six chil- dren, was born in Preston, Feb. 16, 1741. Ile was
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also a farmer and clothier, and died Feb. 10. 1803, leaving eleven children, of whom his son, John Larrabee Cooke, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Preston, April 5, 1783; he married Eunice Morgan, of Stonington. Conn., and in 1804, accompanied by his young wife, he left his birthplace in the State of Connecticut, where his forefathers had dwelt since the first years of the eighteenth century, to build up for himself and family a home amid the primeval forests of the then young State of Ohio, in that part known as the Western Reserve, and there became prominently identified with the hardy and enterprising pioneers who were actively engaged in developing the State. Ile was a man whose strong and energetic character, and sound, practical wisdom made him a power among his fellow-citizens, and he was called upon very often to take a conspicuous part in the ad- ministration of public affairs, and. while holding office in the county, used his influence to promote the growth and advancement of both county and State. He took a prominent part in the War of 1812, serving as First Lieutenant. He was a mein- ber of the Masonic fraternity, and his son has in his possession an apron that he wore on state occasions. He first located in Kinsman Township, Trumbull Co., Ohio. where he commenced to improve a farm from a wild tract of land, but subsequently re- moved to Ashtabula County, in the same State, where he made his home until death closed his honorable career, in 1835. Ilis esteemed wife sur- vived him many years, dying June 24, 1856, in Wayne Township, Ashtabula County. They had a family of eleven children, of whom Pamelia. their eldest daughter, was the first white child born in the township of Williamsfield, Ashtabula Co., Ohio. Their son Isaiah, of whom we write, their seventh child in order of birth, was likewise born in that town, the date of his birth being Aug. 14, 1827. After his father's death he and his brother assumed control of the estate, to which he gave his attention until he was sixteen years old. He then resumed his studies, becoming a pupil in the Grand River Institute, at Austinburg, Ohio, where he pursued a course of instruction for two and one-half years. He then returned home and taught his first term of school in his own district, continuing in that pro-
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