Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska, Part 44

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

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There were very few houses in the district, and he had only three neighbors within a circle of five miles, with the exception of Indians, of whom there were plenty. Wolves and wild-cats and other animals, moved in large numbers over the prairie in all their native untutored and untamed savagery. ocea- sionally causing considerable trouble. Shortly after he purchased this farm, and just as his first lot of wheat and eorn was preparing to make its bow with a good grace, the whole farm was covered, in common with the district generally, with grass- hoppers, who devoured everything green that was to be seen. The only erop our subject could raise that year for home use was some late corn planted on the 20th of June, after the grasshoppers had retired.

Of the children of our subject. the eldest married Miss Kate Martin, is a miller by trade, located at Cedar Creek, Cass County, and is the parent of one child ; Orin is the husband of Emma S. Kimball, is located at Strang, of this State, and is a practitioner of medicine, of the same place. Mrs. Mulvane is the daughter of William F. Mardis, and was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, on the 8th of October, 1837. It was her misfortune to be left motherless at the age of five years. From that time until her marriage she made her home with her sister in Tuscarawas County, where she was educated and afterward met our subject. Her father was born in Maryland, removing with his parents to Virginia when a boy. where he continued to reside until he became of age, when he struck out for himself and took a farm in Steubenville, Ohio. Just previous to this he had been married to Miss Frances Bell, and they became the parents of thirteen children, all of whom lived to attain the age of majority ; nine are still living, and two of those who are dead met their fate in battle. Mr. Mardis died in Feb- ruary, 1865.

Our subject had three brothers who served in the army in the late war, and came through unseathed, although, strange to relate, his brother Daniel died the day following his being mustered out. After years of toil, labor, danger and struggle, Mr. Mul- vane is enjoying the pleasantness and quiet of : more retired lite, reaping the benefit of previous years. Ile has sown a life of activity and upright-

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ness, and is reaping the reward of continued health and prosperity, and is recognized in the community as one of its early pioneers, farmers and stock- raisers. honorable in all his dealings, and worthy of the highest regard. He is a lifelong member, as is also his wife, of the Presbyterian Church. For six years he has been Treasurer of the school distriet. He has always been most energetie and outspoken as a worker and advocate of the Republican party, bnt latterly has felt conscientiously compelled to take his place in the ranks of the Prohibitionists, but he has always been a man of moral courage, doing what he believed to be right in spite of, although not in defiance of. public opinion. This is, therefore, but a sample of his manly, consistent character and action.

SAAC PIERSON is a successful farmer residing on range 8, seetion 9. Panama Precinet. His great-grandfather Pierson was one of three brothers who came to America a few years prior to the Revolutionary War and settled in Pennsyl- vania. His grandfather, Joshua Pierson, served as a private in the War of 1812. Our subject is a son of Joseph and Ellen (Thrush) Pierson, his father having been born in Bedford County, Pa., and the mother at Carlisle, the same State. His parents were married in Bedford County, Pa., and settled there, where the father was a hotel-keeper, and was also the owner of a large farm, but he died in the year 1823. The mother and children then removed to Wayne County, Ohio, and settled near Massillon, in 1825. After living there for sixteen years they moved to Summit County, where the mother died about the year 1856, aged sixty-five years. In this family there were five children, four boys and one girl.

Our subject, the second child of the family, was born on the 16th of March, 1818, in Bedford County, I'a., two and one-half miles from Bedford Springs. The first school which he attended was iu Stark County, Ohio, three miles distant from his home, and in going to and from school he passed only one house on his way, the country then being so sparsely settled; his educational advantages were

therefore much limited. He was reared upon his mother's farm in Ohio, and remained at home until about the time he was married. There was a saw- mill on the homestead and our subject took charge of it. In 1845 he married Miss Lucy Randolph.

The wife of our subject is a daughter of Jonas and Mary (Bevington) Randolph, her father a na- tive of Virginia, and her mother having been born in Westmoreland County, Md. Her father was in the War of 1812, and also served under Gen. Har- rison at Tippecanoe, and in the Black Swamp. Mrs. Pierson's great-grandfather came from Wales dur- ing Colonial times, and her maternal ancestors were English. Her parents came to Ohio a young man and woman, and at an early date they settled in Wayne County, where they were among the first pioneers. They had a family of thirteen children, nine of whom lived to grow up to manhood and womanhood. About the year 1849 the family moved to Vermilion (now Ford) County, Ill., where they settled, and where the parents died. The mother's death occurred in 1870, her age being sixty-eight years, and the father died in 1875, at the age of eighty-five years. Of the nine children four were boys and five girls.

Mrs. Pierson, the fifth child, was born on the 2d of May, 1826, in Wayne County, Ohio. She at- tended the common schools and lived at home until her marriage with our subjeet. After marriage Mr. Pierson continued in the sawmill for one year, and then went into the manufacture of woolen goods, which business be continued until the failure of his health. Then he moved to Logansport, Ind., where he remained on a farm for three years, after- ward going to Lagrange County, where he also remained three years, and then to Ford County, Ill. When at Logansport he sold his farm and loaned his money to a merchant, but having mis- placed his confidence, he lost the whole amount. He remained in Ford County, Ill., for fifteen years, at which place he rented a farm. In the fall of 1871 he came to Nebraska, his eldest child being then twenty-one years old.

Our subject then bought his present farm from the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Com- pany, on which his labors have been mainly at- tended with success and prosperity, but he has felt

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the loss of his money in Logansport to be a con- siderable detriment. There are five children in this family, whom we name as follows: Mary E., Ama- zella R., Thomas J., Alpha and Joshua, Mary E., who resides in Panama Precinet, is the wife of Moses Mittien, and the mother of two children- Edna and Kent; Amazella married Frank Brophey, and resides in Panama Precinct, the mother of three children-Roy, Luey and Lina Grace; Thomas J. resides in Lincoln, and is the Deputy County Treasurer; Alpha resides in Cheyenne County, Kan., the wife of Julius Northrop, a farmer; she has two children-Kirk and Isaae William. Joshua is at home with his parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Pierson have won the esteem of the community in which they live, and have prospered well, despite the many discouragements through which they had to labor-the siege of the grass- hoppers, and the drouth of 1875 and 1876. On their farm they have built a fine frame house and barns. They have a fine fruit orchard, and, in fact, all the necessaries and many conveniences pertain- ing to rural comfort and welfare. Our subject was Assessor of Panama Precinet in the year 1872, and has several times been elected Justice of the Peace, but declined to serve in that office. He advocates the policy of the Republican party, but both our subject and his wife are strongly imbued with tem- perance principles.

R RANK E. HAIGHT is a fine representative of the young men of the present generation, who, by sheer force of energy and ability, have already made themselves prominent factors in developing and sustaining the enormous agricultural interests of Nebraska, and he is well worthy of a place in this record of the lives of those who have had the making of Lancaster County. He owns a good farm on seetion 28, Nemaha Precinet, and is managing it with much success.

Our subject is the son of Andrew P. and Susan M. (Hickox) Haight, natives respectively of Buf- falo, N. Y., and Pittsburgh, Pa. His father was a man of considerable enterprise and business talent, and for several years prior to his death he was the

proprietor and manager of an extensive cheese fae- tory in Medina County, Ohio. ITis useful and busy career was cut short by his premature death, in 1874, at the age of forty-eight, years. The mother of our subject, who still resides in Medina County, Ohio, and is now fifty-seven years old, is a woman of great capability and marked force of character, and after her husband's death she energetically undertook to continue his business as a cheese manufacturer, and made a great success of her venture. She is the mother of six children, namely : William, Ransom, Mary, Andrew, Martha and Frank Eugene.

The latter, of whom we write, was born March 12, 1864, in Granger, Medina Co., Ohio, and en- joyed good educational advantages in the district school of his native town. Ile was a boy of ten years when he was bereft of his father. He con- tinued to live with his mother until he was sixteen, and gave her much assistance in the factory, and thus acquired a thorough practical knowledge of the best methods of making cheese. After leaving his mother he went to work in another cheese fac- tory, and was there employed until he was nine- teen. He then went West to see something of the country, and traveled extensively through Ne- braska, Dakota and Kentucky. After his return to his old home Mr. Haight was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Woodward, July 3, 1885. She was born Aug. 10, 1869, in Sharon, Medina Co., Ohio, being the youngest of the three living chil- dren of William C. and Elizabeth (Reid) Wood- ward. Her education was conducted in the graded schools of her native town.

In the spring following his marriage, our subject, accompanied by his young wife, set out for Ne- braska, he having determined to locate here, as he had been so pleased with the appearance of the country in his visit to it in 1883, and the brilliant prospects it held forth in its varied resources for a young man to make more than a comfortable liv- ing. He bought a farm of eighty acres, on which he still resides, and on which he has already made many fair improvements. Besides being a good grain-growing farm it is especially well adapted to stock-raising and the dairy business; he has started a cheese factory on his own farm, and it is predieted

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that, with his experience and well-known skill as a cheese manufacturer, he cannot but be more than ordinarily successful in the enterprise.

In his wife our subject finds a ready helper, and one who heartily enters into his plans and sympa- thizes with him in his endeavors to make life a suc- cess. She is a lovely lady, whose beautiful character is the embodiment of all true womanly qualities, and their home, which is blessed by the presence of their one little baby daughter, Ethel, is probably one of the happiest in the county. Mr. Haight is too deeply absorbed in his work to give more than passing attention to public affairs, yet he takes an intelligent interest in politics, and takes his stand with the Republican party as to the best policy to be pursued in National and State affairs.

ACOB S. UNANGST. The subject of this sketch maintains a leading position among the intelligent men of the community of Grant Precinct, and takes a warm interest in everything pertaining to its intellectual and social progress. He realizes the importance of education, and accordingly gives his influence toward the es- tablishment and maintenance of schools, setting first a good example in his own family by giving to his children the best advantages in his power. The stimulus of his influence has not only been felt in his own neighborhood, but throughout his town- ship, where he ranks among the men who have been the leading spirits in bringing it to its present position.

The ancestors of the subject of this sketch, it is supposed, were of German extraction, and the later representatives settled in Pennsylvania, where were born in Northampton County the parents of our subject, Jacob and Dorothy (Sible) Unangst. Af- ter marriage they settled in Williams Township, that county, where were born their thirteen chil- dren, of whom Jacob S. was the ninth. Of these four are living, and residents mostly of Pennsyl- vania. The parents are deceased.

Mr. Unangst was born Nov. 18, 1835, and con- tinned on the farm with his father until a youth of seventeen years. Then, leaving home he served an

apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade, and after a time migrated to Warren County, N. J., where he was employed at his trade until the outbreak of the late Rebellion. Not long after the first call for troops he enlisted as a Union soldier in Company II, 8th New Jersey Infantry, and participated in many of the important battles which followed, being in the fight at Williamsburg, the seven-days siege of Richmond, and in the battle of the Wilderness, besides various other engagements and skirmishes. In front of Petersburg he was wounded in the right foot, by which he was seriously disabled and obliged to use crutches for two years. For this he now draws a pension. He was also slightly wounded at the battle of the Wilderness. After receiving his honorable discharge, in 1865, he resumed his trade in New Jersey about one year, and then pur- chased a farm, and followed agriculture in that region until the spring of 1872.

Our subject now determined upon a change of location, and making his way westward to this State, purchased first a tract of eighty acres of vir- gin prairie in Grant Precinet, this county, from which he has made his present fine home, and sub- sequently added to his possessions until he is now the owner of 400 acres in the State, 320 acres of which lie in Logan Precinet, Logan County. He has been content to confine his attention to the development of his land, and has availed himself of modern machinery and the most approved methods of carrying on agriculture, with results which should prove to him a source of deep satisfaction. Ile began in life dependent upon his own resources, and has acquired his property solely by the exer- cise of industry and perseverance. His career is a fine illustration of the self-made man, and the pos- sibilities to be obtained by those who are willing to labor and to wait for the result.

The lady who has been the faithful and efficient helpmate of our subject for a period of thirty-two years was in her girlhood Miss Sarah Hartzell, and became his wife on the 29th of August, 1856. The wedding took place at her home near Easton, in Northampton County, Pa. Mrs. U. is the dangh- ter of Peter and Margaret (Lambert) Hartzell, who were also natives of the Keystone State, and who died near Easton, Pa., the mother in 1854, and the

ALL TAMATH AL FROLLE ERMIMILLS.

D.H. HARRIE.

B &M

B-M

ALTAMAHA ROLLER MILLS & ELEVATOR, CAPACITY-100 BARRELL'S pr. DAY, D. H. HARRIS. BENNETT.

RESIDENCE AND FARM OF JOHN H. RAUCH, SEC 4. SALTILLO PRECINCT.

RES. OF MRS. SOPHIA KOLOSTER , SEC. 10. STOCKTON PRECINCT.

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father in 1874. Their family consisted of eight children, and the wife of our subject was the sec- ond. She was born wear Easton, April 23, 1835, and received that careful home training which ad- mirably fitted her for the future duties of life. Of her union with our subject there have been born seven children. two of whom, Millard and Ella, died at the ages of a year and eight months and five months respectively. The eldest living, Edwin P., who is a graduate of the State University at Lincoln and the Law College at San Francisco, Cal .. is now a practicing attorney of San Luis Obispo. Cal .; Will E. married Miss Minnie Walker, and is occupied at farming in the eastern part of this county; Mary E., George F. and Elsie M. are at home with their parents. George is completing his education in the State University at Lincoln; Will E. attended this institution for a period of three years, and the daughter, Mary E., was a stu- dent there two years, when she was obliged to abandon her studies there on account of ill-health. All the family are members and regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Unangst, politically, affiliates with the Republican party. Ile is deservedly placed among the leading men of his community, where he has exerted a decided influence in the building up of its ednea- tional elements, and elevating its standard of morality.

ICAGAH S. OXLEY, a progressive farmer and representative citizen of Lancaster County, is pleasantly located in Middle Creek Precinet, where he owns the north- west quarter of section 31. Although his residence on this farm dates only from 1880, he has already brought it to a good state of cultivation, and has erected a good frame house, while he has ornamented and enhanced the value of his farm by planting shade and fruit trees.

The subject of this biographical sketch was born in Fayette County, Ky., Nov. 24, 1817, while his father, Everet Oxley, was a native of Virginia, and the grandfather of our subject was born in England, and coming to this country settled first in Virginia.

Ile subsequently removed to Kentucky, and buying land near Lexington, Fayette County, was among its earliest settlers. Ile was actively engaged in the improvement of his farm until 1834, when he aban- coned the active duties of life and lived a retired life with a son and daughter in that place until his death, in the one hundredth year of his age. The father of our subject was reared in Virginia, and accompanying his parents to Kentucky, contracted a matrimonial alliance with Miss Celia Scott, and resided there until his death, which occurred in 1824. During the same year his widow with her six children set out for Indiana with a team, and accomplishing the journey in safety, located in Montgomery County among its early settlers. The mother purchased a tract of land and kept the fam- ily together, giving them the benefit of a good common-school education, together with her careful training, until they were able to go out for them- selves and take their places in society as good men and women. In 1844 Mrs. Oxley removed to the Territory of Iowa, settling in Linn County, where she resided with her children until her decease, She was an exemplary woman and nobly performed her part in caring for her family, while her many Christian virtues endeared her to all who made her acquaintance.

Mieagah S. Oxley was the fifth in order of birth in the parental family, and was a little lad of seven years when he removed with his parents to Indiana, where he grew to manhood, assisting his mother on the farm and securing an education in the pioncer schools. In 1844 he set out for the Far West to seek a home, traveling with a team of horses, and arriving in Iowa while it was a Territory, found himself among the early settlers of Linn County. Deer and other kinds of wild game were plentiful at that time. and afforded a means of stocking the larder with good meat, which was sometimes the only kind of food that was at all plentiful. Mr. Oxley purchased a tract of Government land near Marion, upon which he erected the primitive log cabin, and industriously engaging in improving his farm, resided there until 1853. He then disposed of his property, and removing to Black Hawk County, purchased a traet of land near Waterloo, which he improved into a farm that became his

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home until 1864. He then sold out his interests in that county, and returning to Marion, Linn County, purchased a farm, upon which he resided until 1880, when he again sold out and started West, this time coming to Nebraska and settling in Mid- dle Creek Precinct, this county, upon the farm which he has since owned and occupied.

Our subject has been married twice, the first marriage taking place in 1842, with Miss Margaret B. Porter. She died in 1850, after becoming the mother of four children, one of whom, William, is still living. The second marriage took place in 1851. with Nancy Poiner, and she died in 1879, after bearing to her husband nine children, five of whom are still living-Naney A., Nathan S., Thomas P., Henry E. and Charles H. Celia J., the eidest child, became the wife of Edward Champlin, but he died in Benton, Iowa, in 1869, and she passed away in Henry County, in the same State, in the next year. John P., the eldest son, was born in 1844, and died in Henry County, Iowa, in 1879.

Mr. Oxley is a valued and consistent member of the Methodist Church, with which he has been con- nected in fellowship and good works for nearly thirty years, and is honored and respected by all who know him. In politics, he cast his first vote for President Harrison, and is a stanch member of the Republican party.

TTO R. BOESEWETTER. It is sometimes said by the sneering cynic, or some un- wise, though doubtless honest, temperance advocate, that Germany has given to us of the United States nothing but lager beer. Nothing could be more untrue. No one can traverse the district occupied by Lancaster County, Neb., and innumerable other and similar sections without be- ing impressed with the fact that numberless of our most respected, hard-working, wealthy and honored citizens are of that nationality, and bring to us all the well-being and prosperity with which such citi- zens must endow a country.

The family of which our subject is a member are of this class, and were natives of Germany. His father was Antone E. Boesewetter, who was born

in Saxony, Germany. ITis mother's maiden name was Martha Race, and the place of her birth Ba- varia. It was not until they had taken up their residence in Ozaukee County, Wis., that they were united in marriage, which was celebrated in the year 1841. They continued to make their home in that place until 1876, when they came to Lancaster County, Neb.

An available tract of land on section 12 of Stockton Precinct, attracted the attention of the father of our subject, who immediately took the . necessary steps to secure the same. This land they carefully improved, and upon it erected their home and farm buildings, and continued to make it their abode. The wife and mother was called to enter the rest beyond Sept. 2, 1868, her husband surviv- ing her some thirteen years, when, April 25, 1881, he, too, was called to his long home. In the course of their married life their family included six chil- dren, whose names are here appended in order of birth : Sophia, Bertha, Louisa, Paulina, Otto R. and Ernest. The eldest daughter, Sophia, has become the wife of Joseph Spahule; her sister Bertha was married to John Bether; she died in Nebraska City, in the year 1870. The third daughter is now Mrs. Johim Ellenburg, and the youngest daughter has married Mr. Charles Coppe. The youngest child, Ernest, is a resident of Perkins County, Neb.

Upon the death of the parents of this deeply in- teresting and much respected family, the home farm passed into the possession of our subject, the eldest son. This comprises about 120 acres of most availa- ble land required for stock-raising or farm purposes, and, although a young man, our subject lacks none of those admirable qualities which mark the lives of his progenitors, qualities which, perhaps, at least in many instances, are well-nigh national character- isties. Our subject is, socially, connected with the Garfield Aid and Protective Association of Avon- dale, Neb. In political matters he is thoroughly American, deeply interested in all those topics which are before the nation, and have to do with its Government. With patriotic spirit he strives to make himself master of these questions that he may intelligently support those persons seeking office who will truly represent the people. He is associ- ated with the Republican party. Our subject has

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several times been called upon to fill local offices within the gift of his fellow-citizens, by whom he is held in high esteem, and who fully appreciate the conscientious manner in which he has performed every function and duty of office. For five con- secutive terms he has held the office of Precinct Assessor.

S AMUEL C. DICE. The subject of this biography, who is a young man little past twenty-five years of age, is evidently in possession of all those qualities requisite for the career of a useful and prosperous citizen. Ile has already a fine start in life in the shape of eighty acres of land in Middle Creek Precinct, on section 3, which he secured in the fall of 1887. Then but ten acres were in a productive condition, and there were no buildings upon the place. He now has twenty-five acres in crops, with a good house and barn, and has planted a generous quantity of fruit and shade trees. In looking over his premises one cannot fail to be struck with the spirit of enterprise and perseverance which has brought about in so short a time this pleasing transforma- tion. Mr. Dice deserves ample credit for the manner in which he has begun, and it is predicted of him that ere long he will rank among the inde- pendent citizens of this part of Lancaster County.

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Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska, Part 44

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

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