USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska > Part 34
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Several times our subject was roused from sleep or labor to fight such a fire. There was also another element of bitterness in the Nebraska pioneer experience, in the shape of the plague of flies, or grasshoppers. There were, however, diver- sions and pleasures as well as hardships, and our subjeet enjoyed many thrilling and exciting hours while hunting the various game found upon the prairie, and often the results added materially to the comforts and welfare of those who were left at home on such occasions, and enjoyed the pleasures of the hunt by way of the larder and kitchen fire.
Not far from the house which our subject ereeted, a comfortable and convenient dwelling, beautiful for situation and not inelegant in its in- terior, was set out an extensive orchard, which eon- tained besides a large number of cherry, plum and other fruit trees, 150 choice apple trees of different kinds. Abundant provision was also made for a liberal supply of various small fruits, as berries and currants, while the better qualities of grapes were also provided in profusion. The various farm and out houses are fully in keeping with the other appoint- ments, both in regard to the solidity of their struc- ture, convenient arrangements and general details, and are doubtless an element in the large measure of success which attended the operations of this pioneer settler.
The family of our subject demands some further reference in these pages. The eldest son, William, and David Howard enlisted together in the 100th Ohio Regiment, and the vacancies in the family circle to-day testify to a scar in the family which will never be effaced. At the battle of Atlanta William fell, shot through the heart, and his adopted brother was taken prisoner, sent to Libby Prison, the " black hole " of the South, and there succumbed to the terrible privations heaped upon the unfort- unate occupants. The second child, Martha, be- came the wife of Thomas Peters, a prosperous farmer, and has become the happy mother of seven children; John, who resided at Mitchell and after- ward at Lincoln, was married, and died in 1881, leav- ing three children; his wife is now Mrs. Obrion, of Lincoln. Mary was married to James Antill, resided at Lincoln, and died in the year 1882, leaving four children; Isaac is a successful con- tractor and builder at Lincoln, he is married, and is the parent of four children. Ella is the wife of John Swartz, one of Lincoln's prominent and pros- perous merchants; they have one son, named Clar- ence; and lastly, Wilbert, who has charge of the homestead and farm, and is the husband of Miss Jane Dove.
Mr. Jackson was a prominent member of the Christian Church, and among the number who adorn their profession by an every-day life of most per- fect consisteney. His widow is also a consistent member, and their membership extended over a
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period of forty years, and until the weight of years began to be felt few surpassed them in the activi- ties of Christian work. In the various offices eon- nected with the church Mr. Jackson held important positions, was deeply interested in the establishment and prosperity of Sunday-schools, and for many years tanght a Bible class, and acted as Sunday-school Superintendent. He died Aug. 28, 1888. He had, however, given the data from which this sketch is prepared.
The first vote of our subject was cast for W. H. Harrison, of National, political and military renown. He always continued to be one of the warmest friends and supporters of the Republican party, actively engaging whenever advisable or necessary in the interests of the same. Without any attempt at fulsome eulogy it is only right and safe to say that no more honored, loyal or patriotie citizen, no truer or braver man, nobler or devont Christian, can be found, and that what he was as a man the com- panion of his life is as a woman, possessing all those qualities which make the words wife and mother the noblest in our language.
F6 RANK S. SPELLMAN, a farmer and stock- raiser of Centerville Precinct, residing on section 22, is a son of Hon. Henry and Elea- nore Spellman. His parents are natives of Hanover, Germany, having emigrated to America perhaps a half-century ago, and now residing in Cortland, Gage Co., Neb. They had a family of eleven chil- dren, of whom the following are now living: Har- mon, in Centerville Precinct; John, in Gage County, Neb .; Sarah, wife of Nicholas Bohl, in Highland Precinct ; Lena, wife of William Stutheit, of Center- ville Precinct ; Henry. in Highland Precinct; Frank S., our subject; and Elizabeth, wife of William Schramm, of Gage County, Neb. The parents of this family of children came to Nebraska some twenty-one years ago, and were among the early settlers of Centerville Preeinct, residing here until the year 1885, when they moved to Gage County, Neb., their present home.
Hon. Henry Spellman, the father of our subject, has served as a member of the Legislature for one
term, and as County Commissioner of Lancaster County. He is a man who is highly respected by all who know him, and enjoys the good-will of all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. He keeps abreast of the times in all matters of general infor- mation, and heartily approves of any methods by which the future welfare of his community can be seenred. For several years he was a land agent for the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company, and he has been successful in whatever business he has been engaged. He is an ardent Republican, and being now in his declining years he spends his days among his friends and relatives, enjoying the fruits of a life spent in usefulness and well-doing.
When our subject was quite young he came with his parents to Lancaster County, where he has since lived, having seen the country improved from its primitive condition to the fine and well-kept farms of to-day. He has received a good education and has served as Assessor of Centerville Precinct for one year, and has united his fortunes with those of the Republican party. On the 25th of December, 1880, he led to the altar Miss Lena Krull, a daugh- ter of Frank and Adaline Krull, of the same pre- cinet in which our subject resides. Three children have been granted to them : John was born on the 24th of July, 1883; Emma, on the 10th of January, 1885, and William, on the 24th of August, 1887.
Mr. Spellman is the owner of a good farm con- taining 120 acres of well-improved land, which has resulted from his own labor and close attention to his business. Few men who have arrived at suc- cess and distinction have wrought with more than one thought in mind. It is better to know one business or profession, and know it thoroughly, than to be partially acquainted with several different kinds of business and yet unable to make a success of any of them. Concentration of purpose on one thing is the great key to success in business life. When a man has carefully chosen a profession or a business in which he prefers to engage, he should direct all his energies and attention in that one channel to secure a success. This does not mean that he shall be narrow-minded and be entirely oblivious to all other affairs than those that imme- diately coneern his business, but that he shall have a certain goal in view and that goal shall be pros-
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perity, and it is easily to be seen that it can be reached by a straight path much sooner than by a deviating course which leads off to this side or that side, and perhaps finally loses the way. Such con- centration of purpose, united with the admirable manly qualities of our subject, have won for him his successful career.
K ARL LEMKE, the proprietor of 520 broad acres of valuable land, comprising the greater part of section 8, in Stockton Pre- cinet, has by his thrift and industry risen to no unimportant position among the enterprising men of Lancaster County. A man of more than ordi- nary intelligence and excellent business capacity, he has proved himself one of those most needed in the development and settlement of a new traet of coun- try. The most of his life has been spent in agri- cultural pursuits, and coming to this county during the period of its earliest settlement, there was ample room for the exercise of his natural industry and perseverance. He has been generously rewarded for his labors, being now in possession of a prop- erty which yields him a fine income, and by means of which he has been enabled to surround himself and his family with all the comforts of life.
The enterprising German citizen has been largely instrumental in the building up and development of the Great West. Mr. Lemke was born in the Kingdom of Prussia, April 8, 1844, and when a lad of fourteen years, filled with ambition and plans for the future, crossed the Atlantic with his uncle, Frederick Pritzman, joining his two brothers and two sisters, who had preceded him to the land of promise. From New York City he at once made his way westward to Racine County, Wis., living there with his brothers for one year, and then, in 1859, coming to Nebraska and settling in Stockton Precinet, wliere he has since made his home. The face of the country at that time presented a widely different appearance from that of the present, and Mr. Lemke can have the satisfaction of knowing that he has effected in no small degree the transfor- mation of the county.
During the years 1860 and 1861 young Lemke
worked in Otoe County on a farm, and in the sum- mer of 1862 sought the Platte River region, where he remained a year. The summer of 1863 found him at Omaha, Neb., where he remained three years engaged in teaming, and in the summer of 1866 returned to Stockton, this county, and was em- ployed by his brother-in-law until the fall of that year. At this time, being ready to establish a home of his own, he was married, in December, 1867, to Mrs. Marie (Shultz) Lemke, who was the widow of John Lemke, who died in Stockton Pre- cinet in 1865. The birthplace of Mrs. L. was not far from that of her husband, in Prussia, and the date thereof Feb. 20, 1830. Of her first marriage, which took place in Germany, there were born five children, the eldest of whom, a daughter Minnie, (lied when fifteen years old. The others, Jolin, Agnes, Willie and Emma, are living in Lancaster County. Of her marriage with our subject there are no children.
Mr. Lemke is a strong adherent of the Repub- lican party, and, with his estimable wife, promi- nently connected with the German Lutheran Church.
OHN F. HAYDEN, who for four years was engaged in the hardware trade in the city of Lineoln, is a native of Iowa County, Iowa, was born Nov. 30, 1856, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah T. (Tufts) Hayden, natives of Ohio and Maine respectively, the father born in Warren County, Ohio, in 1818. Joseph Hayden was reared to farm life, which he still follows, having now a fine estate of 560 acres in Kearney County, Neb. A part of this he seeured from the Government and added to it by degrees, bringing the whole to a good state of cultivation, and which is now princi- pally devoted to the raising of cattle and sheep.
The parental household consisted of eight children, and John F., at the age of fourteen years, com- menced learning the tinner's trade and hardware business, at which he was occupied mostly until reaching his majority ; then, desirous of a change, he went into Western Nebraska and operated a sheep ranch three years, meeting with fine success. At the expiration of that time, in 1885, he came to the
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city of Lincoln and established himself in the hard- ware business, operating alone the first year, and then associated himself with Mr. Flanigan. They sold out in August, 1888.
Our subject has a pleasant home in the Driving Park Addition, presided over by a very pleasant and intelligent lady, who became his wife on the 20th of August, 1882. She was formerly Miss Ma- linda Dowe, and was born in the State of Indiana, in March, 1859. She received more than an ordin- ary education, being the child of intelligent and estimable parents. Her father's name was C. H. Dowe, who was a native of Indiana, as was also her mother. The little household of our subjeet com- prises two bright children, a son and daughter- Homer G, and Mary E.
Mr. Hayden, aside from giving due attention to the details of an extensive business, takes a lively interest in political affairs and is a stanch supporter of Republican principles. While a resident of Kear- ney County he was Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners and was elected for a second term, but resigned on account of the pressure of business. He identified himself with the Masonic fraternity in 1883, joining at that time Robert Mor- ris Lodge No. 54, at Kearney, and was subsequently transferred to Lincoln Lodge No. 19. He became a K. of P. in 1885, and since that time has been Master of the Exchequer.
The home of our subject is a tasteful frame resi- dence, pleasantly located at the corner of Twentieth and V streets, and is the resort of hosts of friends. For a young man who commenced without a cent in his pocket, his record is eminently praiseworthy.
HOMAS G. HAWKINS, proprietor of a fine traet of land, 320 acres in extent, embrae- ing the east half of section 35, in Grant Precinct, came to Nebraska in 1879. During the late Rebellion he served as a Union soldier, en- listing the first year of the war, Dee. 12, 1861, in Company 1, 78th Ohio Infantry, the regular service, after having been three months with Company E, in the 19th Regiment. After entering the three- years service he particpated in many of the im-
portant battles of the war, including the siege of Atlanta, where he was wounded in the left arm. July 22, 1864. Ile was mustered out at the expira- tion of his term of service.
After the war Mr. Hawkins returned to his native township, Elk Run, in Columbiana County, Ohio, where he remained until coming to Nebraska. 1Ie was born Aug. 24, 1841, and lived with his father on the farm until a youth of nineteen years, at which time he enlisted in the army. In 1872 he was married, in Mahoning County, Ohio, on the 9th of February, to Miss Kate O. Oglevie, who was a native of his own county, and born Sept. 5, 1851. After his marriage Mr. Hawkins engaged in mer- cantile business at Elkton, Ohio, and was thus occupied until coming to the West. This move was made chiefly on account of his health. Before leaving the Buckeye State he was stationed at Wellsville for a period of six months, engaged in the drug trade.
To our subject and his wife there were born six children, namely : Howard, Halsey L., Blanche O., Eva B., Frank O. and John B. Iloward died when eight months old. The mother departed this life at her home in Grant Precinct. Feb. 18, 1884. She was a most estimable lady and a member in good standing of the Methodist Church.
Mr. Hawkins is a staneh supporter of Republican principles, and has held the varions local offices, officiating as Clerk of Grant Precinct for a number of years. He has effected many improvements upon his farm since taking possession, having good buildings, a fair assortment of live stock, and everything about him conducive to the comfort of himself and his family. He is considered one of the solid men of his neighborhood, and in the building up of one of the best farms of Grant Precinet has been no unimportant factor in maintaining its rep- utation and standing as a desirable place of resi- dence.
The parents of our subject, John and Almira C. (Kemble) Hawkins, were also natives of Columbi- ana County, Ohio, where they still reside. Their family consisted of six sons and three daughters, who are residents of Ohio and Nebraska. The family is of English ancestry, and has been repre- sented in this country for many generations. The
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first to come to this country was Sir John Haw- kins with his family, in 1665, and settled in Vir- ginia, and from him has descended this branch of the Hawkins family in America. They were patriots in the Revolutionary War and contributed large sums to the support of the cause. They mostly pursued agriculture, and although making no great stir in the world, perhaps, have been com- posed of that solid and reliable class of the community without which society can have no permanent or reliable foundation.
ON. CHARLES H. GERE, editor of the Nebraska State Journal, is an honored resi- dent of Lincoln, and a man highly esteemed throughout the State for his ability, integ- rity, keen perceptive faculties and business enter- prise. IIe is a native of New York, and was born in Wyoming County, Feb. 18, 1838, being the eldest living child of Horatio N. and Julia D. (Grant) Gere. The early life of our subject was passed in Wyoming and Chenango Counties, N. Y., where he attended the district schools, receiving a substan- tial foundation for his future education. Ile after- ward became a student at Oxford Academy, and from there went to Dickinson College, from which he was graduated with honor in 1861. Mr. Gere then made practical use of his educational attain- ments by becoming an instructor in an academic school of Pennsylvania. and subsequently teaching for a period of one year in Baltimore, Md., achicv- ing much success in that profession. Being a loyal and true-hearted citizen of this grand Republic, the patriotism of our subject no longer allowed him to remain a spectator of the carnage and bloodshed being carried on around him, and he accordingly enlisted in the 10th Maryland Infantry, and after- ward in the 11th Regiment, serving for several months on detached duty. At the close of the war he received an honorable discharge, and was mus- tered out of service in June, 1865. In the same year Mr Gere was admitted to the bar in the city of Baltimore, and immediately after his admission started West, having decided to loeate in Nebraska, which was then under Territorial government.
Pawnee City was the objective point of his desti- nation, and there he commenced the practice of law. He was energetic, progressive and public-spirited, and soon became prominently identified with the various interests of the city, and was a potential factor in advancing the prosperity of the county and State as well as of the city. In 1866 Mr. Gere was elected to the State Legislature, and the follow- ing year, when Nebraska was admitted to the Union as a State, he was appointed private secretary by Gov. Butler, a position which he ably filled until his removal to Lincoln in 1868. In the meantime our subject had established a newspaper at the latter place, called the Commonwealth, which he published under that name for two years, when the paper was changed to the State Journal.
In the fall of 1868 Mr. Gere was elected State Senator, and served acceptably to his constituents for two years, and during that time served on sev- eral important committees. He was chosen Chair- man of the committee on education, and reported the bill for the organization of the university at Lincoln, and framed and introduced the bill for the erection of the first university building. He also framed and had charge of the bills for the erection of the first asylum for the insane, and for the first penitentiary of the State. He was a member of the railway committee, and drafted the bill which was afterward passed to distribute and appropriate lands to the first railways that should pass through the State. Subsequently our subject was Chair- man of the Republican State Central Committee for four consecutive terms, performing its arduous duties satisfactorily to all concerned. In 1880 Mr. Gere was again elected State Senator, and, as before, took an active interest in all important measures brought before the Senate. He served as Chairman of the committee on ways and means, and one of the bills introduced by him was a bill for the revision of the school law of the State. In educa- tional affairs Mr. Gere is an acknowledged leader, his education and natural abilities eminently fit- ting him for such a position, and in 1882 he was ap- pointed Regent of the State University, to fill a va- cancy caused by resignation, being in September of the same year elected to fill the unexpired term, and in 1885 was re-elected to the same position for
Very Truly S.P. Bingham
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the full term of six years. For the past five years he has served as President of the Board of Regents.
The marriage of Mr. Gere to Miss Mariel E., daughter of Capt. John Claphan, of Washington, D. C., was solemnized in 1871. Of their union four children have been born, of whom three are livi ig, namely : Mariel, Ellen Bladen and Frances.
In politics, the subject of this sketch is an ardent Republican, firmly and sincerely upholding the principles promulgated by that party. He has been Chairman of three State Conventions of the Repub- lican party, and in 1873 was a member of the State Constitution Convention, and assisted in framing the present State Constitution. As a man of intelli- genee and energy, a citizen of influence and high moral principle, and a journalist of broad culture, versatility and good practical sense, Mr. Gere has won a prominent position in the legal, political and business circles of his State, where his career has been a distinguished one, justifying the expecta- tions of his many warm personal friends.
S OLON P. BINGHAM. Many of the most atrocious crimes that have ever been per- petrated in the history of the world have been committed in the name of, and osten- sibly in behalf of religion, and not infrequently the mistake is made of charging to religion what should rightly be put to the account of the wickedness, bigotry, ignorance. selfishness and arrogant pride of men. At the same time, in many instances the repression, persecution and cruelty have fallen out for the advancement and benefit not only of those immediately concerned, but also for that of genera- tions following them. An illustration and case in point, perhaps, would be the crime by English dig- nitaries that was the immediate cause of the voy- age of the "Mayflower," which has brought a blessing to countless millions upon this grand continent. New England will always be connected in our minds with this thought.
Courtney Bingham, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a New Englander, and was born in 1789 in Lempster, N. Il. His school days were passed in the institution of his native town, .
and in that place he continued to live and la- bor until he reached the years of his majority. He was united in marriage with Rachel Howard, and there were born to them three children-Sam- nel Dexter, Mary W. and our subject. Ilis wife died at the early age of thirty-six years, and some time after he contracted a second alliance, becom- ing the husband of Lovey Lebourveau. By this marriage he became the father of a son, George W. Mr. Bingham carried on an extensive busi- ness as a clothier, and was quite prosperous in the same. His religious associations and those of his family were within the pale of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, of which he was always a warm friend and consistent member. At the time of his demise in 1863, he had reached the ripe age of seventy- three years.
Our subject was born in Charleston, N. H., upon the banks of the beautiful Connecticut River. While in his childhood the family removed to Lempster, Sullivan County. In this new place our subject was enabled to obtain the rudiments of an education. Upon the removal of the family to Stoddard, he made some addition to this store, but the greater part of his mental training and devel- opment was obtained after the removal of the family to Keene, where he attended the common school for a considerable time. Our subject realized, however that his education was far from being complete when he passed into the school of experience, and began life in earnest, and he has, therefore, never eeased to make the most of everything which prom- ised to aid him in this regard. His home was with his father and family only during his earlier years, for, upon the death of his mother, his father broke up housekeeping, and he went to work upon a farm and earned his own living; and, although he was allowed the privilege of attending school some- times, this was the real difficulty in the way of his obtaining a complete and regular course of study. He had to be content with two or three months during the winter.
As soon as our subject was in a position to change the loneliness which came as the result of the above described circumstances, he was united in marriage to Miss Harriet E. Adams, a lady who was emi- nently fitted to bring into his life those elements
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which would redeem it from the emptiness of youth and manhood, and in whom he has not been dis- appointed. Miss Adams is a native of Hillsboro County, N. H., and was born in Mason on the 5th of December, 1818. She is the daughter of Deacon Jonas and Sallie (Wright) Adams, and lived at home with her parents until her marriage. Her education was begun in the common schools of Mason, and completed in the Ladies' Seminary, of Keene, in which institution she was occupied, from the time of her graduation until her marriage, as a teacher. Her father, who lived to the green old age of seventy-four, was during life a very pros- perous and successful farmer.
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