Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska, Part 59

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

USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska > Part 59

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The subject of this sketch, the seventh child of his parents, was born Jan. 8, 1848, in Monroe County, Tenn., and there, amid the pleasant sur- roundings of the home of his birth, he grew to be a manly, strong. self-reliant lad. His educational advantages were limited, but he made the best of those offered, and supplemented them by his native intelligence and powers of observation, so that he became well informed. When the war broke out it found him a boy of twelve years, intensely inter- ested in the struggle, and as soon as opportunity offered, when he was sixteen years of age, in 1864, he showed his patriotism and loyalty to the Union by joining the brave Tennesseans who had been true to the old flag, and a soldier of the Union army, under Capt. John C. Wright, of the 9th Tennessee Cavalry, he went forth to help fight his country's battles. Although so young, he showed the courage and efficiency of a veteran, but his honor- able career was cut short for awhile by the capture of the battalion of which he was a member, and he and his comrades were taken prisioners and sent to Belle Isle, and thence to Libby, where they were finally paroled. In February, 1865, our subject joined his regiment again, and was mustered into service a second time at Knoxville, Tenn. After

the close of the war he was discharged, having won a praiseworthy and honorable record for bravery on the battle-field, and for his devotion to the Union when it cost much in a Southern State to be true to the stars and stripes. When he left the army Mr. Young returned to his father's farm, and resumed the work that he had dropped to become a soldier. He remained at home with his parents until 1868, when he removed to Missouri, whence he came in the following year to Lancaster County. He took up the Government land that now forms his farm, and immediately commenced its improve- ment.

In the years of toil and trial that followed Mr. Young was not wholly without encouragement and assistance, as he was married, in 1872, to Miss Sarah Jane Yeigh, daughter of Frederick and Jane (Fry) Yeigh, who came to Nebraska in 1870. Ten chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Young, six of whom are now living, namely : George, Frank, Martin, Louisa Van, James and Calvin.

Our subject and his wife are open-hearted, hos- pitable people, whose undoubted integrity of char- acter commends them to the confidence of the community, of which they are respected members. Mr. Young is independent in his views, and though he is a true Republican in politics, yet he reserves the right to vote for any man whom he deems wor- thy to uphold the principles of government sanc- tioned by the Constitution.

W ILLIAM H. SNELLING, attorney-at-law, Justice of the Peace for the city of Lincoln and Lancaster County, generally, is one of the most noted members of the legal profession in the State of Nebraska. Ile is a native of Kentucky, born in Mercer County, Nov. 21, 1835, but when he was a small child his parents removed to Morgan County, Ill., where he grew to manhood. His father, Aquilla Snelling, was a native of Wood- ford County, Ky., Elizabeth, his wife, a daughter of Bartlett McAlister, and she was born in Frank- lin County, Ky. Her father was born in the Shen- andoah Valley, Va., being a descendant of an old Scotch family. The Snellings were of German

483

LANCASTER COUNTY.

origin. After their removal to Morgan County, Ill., they settled on a farm, and Mr. Snelling was ex- tensively engaged in agricultural pursuits there un- til his death, in 1852. Ifis amiable wife survived him several years, dying in November, 1863. They were people of sterling integrity of character, which made them influential and respected in the com- munity where they made their home. Their mar- ried life was blessed to them by the birth of four children, of whom William II. was the eldest.

Our subjeet passed his school days in Morgan County, assisting on the farm, when not engaged in his studies, until he was eighteen years old. Ile then began his career as a teacher, a profession for which he was well equipped both by temperament and education. He diligently pursued his chosen calling until the breaking out of the Civil War, when he abandoned his peaceful vocation to aid his country in her exciting struggle on Southern battle- fields; he enlisted as a private in the 10th Illinois Cavalry, Company I, of which his brother George was Captain. ITe served in the ranks until 1862, when his efficiency as a soldier in camp and field was duly recognized by his promotion to the posi- tion of Commissary Sergeant of Davidson's cav- alry, which operated in the Southwest, and combined all the cavalry in that region. On account of sick- ness, Mr. Snelling was placed on detached duty, and consequently was not with his regiment in all its engagements. He was mustered out with his regi- ment in February, 1865, having won an honorable record as a faithful and patriotic soldier. After leaving the army our subject returned to .Jackson- ville, Ill., where he was offered, and accepted, the position in the Provost Marshal's office. In 1866 he was appointed by Secretary MeCullough, Assistant Assessor of the United States, an office which he held up to September, 1868, when, for personal reasons, he resigned his position, having discharged its oner- ous duties with marked ability, and to the entire satisfaction of those concerned. Ile removed to Macoupin County, III., six miles east of Carlinville, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits for some eighteen months. But his health was such that he had to abandon farming. Ile then resumed his early vocation, and while teaching school studied law, and was admitted to the bar at Carlinville, Ill.

In the fall of 1872 he was a nominee on the Re- publican ticket for the office of Prosecuting Attor- ney for the county, but the county being strongly Democratic, he was defeated with the other candi- dates of the party. Mr. Snelling remained in Illi- nois, being actively engaged in the practice of his profession until 1878, when he removed to Lincoln, Neb. Soon after coming here hie formed a co- partnership with a leading lawyer, and this part- nership continued for about one year. Mr. Snell- ing has built up a large practice, and stands high in the profession in the State. In 1887 Mr. Snelling was elected Justice of the Peace for the city of Lincoln and for Lancaster County, a posi- tion for which his legal acquirements and other qualifications amply fit him. Ile is a gentleman of calm and dignified presence, in whose judgment and honor his clients justly repose the utmost confidence, feeling assured that their interests will not suffer in his hands.

Mr. Snelling was married, May 19, 1868, to Miss Lizzie Lewis, whose acquaintance he made while at- tending college at Jacksonville, Ill., she being a daughter of John Lewis, a prominent citizen of Macoupin County. III. Her gracious presence makes their cozy home the center of true hospitality, whose bounties she dispenses with a free hand, as all know who have crossed its threshold. Three children complete the family circle-Grace, Katie and War- ren L. Mr. Snelling is a leading member of the following organizations: The Masonie Lodge, the G. A. R., and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In politics he is a stanch Republican.

R. ALBERT R. TOU VELLE, the popular and able young physician and surgeon of Firthi, occupies a distinguished position among the members of the medical pro- fession of Lancaster County. Hle is descended, as his name indicates, from a renowned French ances- try, and the first representative of the family to leave the old ancestral home in France to become a citizen of this country was Robert Tou Velle, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, who crossed the ocean in 1760 and settled at Baltimore, Md .;

484

LANCASTER COUNTY.

further than that we are told nothing more concern- ing his history. The paternal grandmother of our subject was, prior to her marriage, a Miss Mary Hall, who was of mingled Scotch and English blood, and was born in Virginia.

T. G. Tou Velle, the father of our subject, is one of the leading citizens of Mercer County, Ohio, has been prominently identified with the political affairs of that county for many years, and has held public office longer than any other citizen in the county, having faithfully served the public in various offi- cial capacities for twenty-seven years. He has served as Recorder, Auditor, and Clerk of the Com- mon Pleas Court, and is at present County Auditor of Mercer County. Ile has a clean and honorable record as a public man, and his genial, social quali- ties, combined with the dignity and reserve of a gentleman, render him popular as well as respected. He is a native of Bloomfield, Ohio, and at an early age he became identified with the educational pro- fession as a teacher, in which vocation he engaged for several years. He next turned his attention to the mercantile business, which he carried on in Macedon, Ohio, for six years. Ile then entered upon his long career as a public official. Mr. Tou Velle has been twice married. His first wife, mother of our subject, was Paulina Langel, a native of Macedon. Ohio. She was a lady of lovely charac- ter and refined tastes, and her premature death in

1863, at the age of twenty-four, was a source of sorrow to many friends. She left two children- Albert Ross and William Ellsworth. To his present amiable wife, formerly Miss Mary L. Phelps, Mr. Tou Velle was united in marriage in 1865. One child has blessed their union, Louisa Belle.

Dr. Tou Velle was born Aug. 10, 1857, at Mace- don, Olio, and he was four years old when his par- ents removed to Salina, at the time his father began his political life. He attended the public schools in that city, and at the age of thirteen became a mes- senger boy in the House of Representatives, at Columbus, holding that position during the sessions of Legislature from 1870 to 1872, though not strictly in accordance with his father's wishes, as he desired that he should complete his education. At the age of fifteen he entered Mt. Union College, and continued a student there one year. He then

began to work in the County Clerk's office, and in 1876 he was appointed Deputy Clerk. He retained that position until he began the study of medicine under Drs. Rush and Tou Velle, both physicians of Salina, and he studied under their direction for two years, thus receiving a fine equipment for entering college. In 1880 he became a student at the Ohio College of Medicine, at Cincinnati, and was gradu- ated therefrom in the class of '82. Dr. Tou Velle then entered upon the practice of his profes- sion in Salina, in connection with his former pre- ceptors. But in the great and growing West he foresaw a broader field of usefulness and a better chance of rising in his beloved profession, and selecting Nebraska as a desirable location, he came here with his family in August, 1882, and estab- lished himself in Firth, and has si ice built up a good practice in this and surrounding towns. Ile is a skillful and conscientious physician, and his success is well deserved, as he is enthusiastically devoted to his profession.

Dr. Tou Velle was married, in 1880, to Miss Mar- garet, daughter of J. E. Blizzard, editor of the Hickman Enterprise, of whom see sketch. Mrs. Tou Velle was born in 1862, in Bellefontaine. Ohio. She attended school both in Ohio and Delaware, and finished her education by pursuing a general course at the seminary in Toledo, Ohio. She is well en- dowed mentally and physically, and is in full sym- pathy with her husband in his work, and takes pride in his advancement. This pleasant household is completed by the one son that has been born to the Doctor and his wife, Mortimer Leslie, a bright boy of seven years. The Doctor is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and is at present holding the office of Senior Deacon. He takes a deep interest in politics, and is a firm supporter of the policy pur- sued by the Democratic party ; he is also a member of the Knights of Pythias.

ILLIAM HI. AMES, in the spring of 1880, made his way from Venango County, Pa., to Nebraska, settling on his present farm in Yankee Hill Precinct, where he cultivated 160 acres in that thorough and systematic manner which

485

LANCASTER COUNTY.

seldom fails to be productive of good results. With the assistance of an intelligent and efficient wife, he has accumulated a good property and attained to a desirable position among his neighbors. Upon turn- ing to the view of the home and part of the farm of our subject, not only the general outline thereof, but some details of arrangement, construction, ex- tent, etc., will be at onee obtained, and it would be well if referred to in this connection as making plain what must otherwise be but imperfectly conceived in the mind of the reader. He is a man of decided ideas, being, with Mrs. Ames, a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Prohibition- ist in politics.

Our subject was born in the northwestern part of New York State, in Orleans County, Feb. 14, 1849, and is the son of Thomas J. and Elizabeth ( Watson) Ames, who were natives of England, and emi- grated to America after their marriage, about 1831. The father was a carpenter and joiner by occupa- tion, and the household cirele numbered eleven chil- dren, nine of whom survive, namely : George, James and Robert, residents of Michigan ; William H., our subject; Charles, who lives near Philadelphia, Pa. ; Oscar, of Venango County, that State; Elizabeth, of Allegany County, N. Y .; Mary, of Jamestown, and Nellie, of Minda, N. Y.

The parents of our subject, in 1859, when the latter was a lad ten years of age, removed from Orleans to Allegany County, N. 1., almost directly south and not far from the State line, where Will- iam II. resided with them upon a farm until a youth of nineteen years. Then, ambitious to start out for himself, he made his way to Kalamazoo, Mich., and from there, in 1869, turned his steps eastward to Venango County, Pa., where he lived until 1880, and which place was the residence of one of his brothers. There he formed the acquaintance of Miss Mary Babcock, which ripened into a mutual attachment, and they united their lives and fortunes on the 9th of April, 1872, the wedding taking place at the home of the bride in Delaware Township, Mercer Co., Pa.

Mrs. Mary Ames was born in Mercer County on the western line of Pennsylvania, April 28, 1849, and is the daughter of Oran and Cornelia (Cheas- man) Babcock, who were natives of New York

State and took up their residence in Pennsylvania before their marriage. She was reared in her rative county and was one of a family of eleven children, the offspring of three marriages of her father. Of these the following survive: Sylvanus R., of Mer- eer County, Pa .; Sarah E., Mrs. John Remley, of Delaware; Oran, of Salamanca, N. Y .; Marcy, the wife of Alexis Ewing, of Crawford County, Pa .; Hester, of Cattaraugus County, N. Y .; Gilbert B., of Mercer County, Pa., and Mrs. Ames, the wife of our subject.

Our subject and his wife embarked in life together with little of this world's goods, but with strong hands and willing hearts, making their first home in Pennsylvania, where our subject was engaged as an engineer until 1880. Their union has been blessed by the birth of four children : Arthur T., born Aug. 3, 1873, and died March 14, 1875, in Pennsylvania; Albert A. was born April 24, 1876 ; William II., Jr., Sept. 14, 1877, and Rial E., July 31, 1881, the lat- ter only being a native of Nebraska.

OHN J. MEYER is a son of John II. and Eliza Meyer, now residing in Saltillo Pre- einet. His parents are natives of Germany, who emigrated to America many years ago, the father being now over seventy years and the mother more than sixty years old. Our subject was born on the 14th of April, 1847. in Clayton County, Iowa, where he lived until the years of manhood and received his education in the distriet schools. He came to Lancaster County when he was but a young man, and in 1869 he received from the Government eighty aeres of land on section 28, Buda Precinct, on which he has since made his home. Ile has added to that amount by subsequent purchase, and is now the owner of 320 acres of land in Buda Precinct and one section in Cheyenne County, Kan.

When our subject first came into possession of his land his financial condition was not such that he could make many improvements on it, and for the first and second years of his residence here he was in the employ of others, in the meantime making what improvements he coukl on his own land, and

486

LANCASTER COUNTY.

for a number of years engaged in running a thresh- ing-machine during the harvesting season. He has had to pass through many struggles in working his way upward, and in common with all the early set- tlers he had to undergo many hardships and priva- tions and be content with such things as he could get. With the perseverance that has characterized his whole life he still kept on his way, and after he secured a firm footing on the road to success, the remainder of the journey was made with more ease, and he aceumulated his present wealth.

Mr. Meyer was married, on the 13th of March, 1873, to Louisa lleidecker, who is also a native of lowa, and a daughter of Christian and Barbara Heidecker. The parents of Mrs. Meyer came from lowa to Buda Precinct in the year 1869, and are numbered among the early pioneers of this county. The experience of our subject has been similar to that of all who have taken possession of new land in this county at an early day, his labors consisting in breaking the before untilled soil, dividing the farm into fields of convenient size for planting and tending, building a house, barn and fences, and in' various ways adding improvements to make a beau- tiful landscape from a tract of barren land.

Our subjeet is not so deeply engrossed with his occupation that he does not have time to look to the welfare of the publie, but on the other hand he takes an active interest in the educational, political and religious movements of the day. For a num- ber of years he has been the School Moderator of his district, and for a time he has acted in the capac- ity of Road Supervisor. He is an advocate of the policy of the Republican party, and one of the lead- ing German citizens of his precinct, well worthy an honorable mention in this collection of biographies. Ile is a member of the German Lutheran Church, of which he has served in oflieial capacity, and is esteemed because of his own moral worth.

C BURCK. Among the different institutions of this county, and one which is offered to every citizen, but for various reasons almost an impossibility to natives of the Old World. is that of a home of their own, erected upon ground

to which they hold the title. This possibility attracts countless numbers of the best citizens of European countries, where, despite a lifetime of toil, eompara- tively few ean own such a property. Buda Pre- cmet has received a large number of such, and to-day they are the possessors of eozy, comfort- able farm buildings and homes in the midst of their own broad acres. Among those who have estab- lished themselves in the above precinct, whose home is one of the pleasantest, and whose farm is one of the most flourishing, is the subject of the present sketch, who resides upon section 22.

Mr. Burck was born in Semlow, Prussia, on the 4th of August, 1835, and is the son of John and Mary Burck, both natives of the same country. Ile was reared to the estate of manhood there, receiv- ing a good education in his native tongue, and has since acquired quite a good understanding of En- glish. From the time of leaving sehool he gave his attention to farming, in order that in later years he might have the means of supporting himself and those who might be dependent upon him.

Our subject, in October, 1862, was united in mar- riage with Mary Knuck. To them have been born four children, whose names are recorded as follows : Reaca, born on the 20th of November, 1865; Lizzie, June 1, 1867; Bessie, Nov. 10, 1869; and Frank, Dec. 7, 1871. The two elder children of our sub- ject were born in Germany, and aeeompanied their parents to America in the summer of 1868. The Atlantie passage was made in one of the Hamburg steamers, and occupied seventeen days, landing them in the city of New York.

Life in the New World began in Cook County, Ill., whither the family proceeded immediately upon their arrival, and remained for two years, during which time our subject was oceupied in day labor. At the end of the two years a removal was made to MelIenry County, which was their home until the spring of 1883, when they removed to Lancaster County, and settled upon their present farm. The change from MeHenry brought with it a change of occupation. At Mellenry our subjeet had been em- ployed by the Northwestern Railway Company, as switchman, and was placed in charge of the engine water tank. Now he is fully occupied with his farm, and has seen a very large measure of success

VALLEY VIEW STOCK FARM-J. S.TEMPLE, SEC.13. GRANT PRECINCT.

RESIDENCE OF CARL BERGMANN, SEC. 12. STOCKTON PRECINCT.

RESIDENCE OF L.B.KING, SEC . 27. NEMAHA PRECINCT.

487

LANCASTER COUNTY.

resulting from his efforts. The eighty acres which comprise the farm of our subject have been brought to the very perfection of husbandry, and are well provided with all necessary stock and farming im- plements. Whatever Mr. Burck has acquired has been solely the reward of his indefatigable persever- ance, and the ambition resulting from the exuber- ance of pleasure and delight in the prospect of being the sole possessor of a home wherein he may bring happiness to those who form an integral part of his life.

Mr. Burek is a member of the Congregational Church, where also his wife finds that which is con- genial to her religious sentiment. Our subject has been too busily occupied with home matters to give much attention to political matters, but has sought to understand the institutions of his adopted coun- try, and usually votes with the Republican party.

ON. THOMAS R. BURLING is one of the leading citizens of Nebraska, of which he was an early pioneer, and with whose inter- ests he has long been identified as an agri- culturist, as a statesman, and as a merchant, and in all that relates to her commercial, social and polit- ical life, he is pre-eminent. He is now carrying on an extensive business in the town of Firth, as a dealer in dry-goods, hardware, clothing, boots, shoes, groceries, and other merchandise. He is a native of England, but coming to this country when a child, he has become thoroughly Americanized, reared, as he was, under our institutions and educated in our schools.

Our subjeet is a son of John and Mary (Harry) Burling. natives respectively of Cambridgeshire, England. and Wales. Mr. Burling was a farmer, and prior to coming to this country with his family he was actively engaged in agricultural pur- suits about five miles south of Cambridge, in his native shire. The mother of our subject was a woman of superior refinement and education, and for twenty-one years taught a school in England. In 1854 Mr. and Mrs. Burling decided to leave the old home on English soil, and with the other men- bers of their family, begin life anew in the United

States of America, whither their two eldest chil- dren, Sarah and John, had preceded them, Our subject was then but eight years old, but he re- members well how they sang as they stepped on board the sailing-vessel "Emerald," bound for this country :

Good-by, church, Good-by, steeple, Good-by, Englishmen, And all good Irish people,

Singing with a mingled feeling of mirth and sorrow, as they left their native isle forever, with all its tender and hallowed associations, to seek a new home among strangers in a far-away country, Mr. Burling and his family finally arrived safely in port at New York City, after a voyage of twenty-eight days, about the middle of December, 1854. They remained in that city about eighteen months, Mr. Burling readily finding employment in the building of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. After that he removed with his wife and children to Bureau County, III., and took up his residence in Wyanet, where he remained for three years, engag- ing in various occupations. He then purchased a farm near Buda, Ill., and from its 160 acres derived a comfortable income. In 1862 bis household was deeply bereft by the death of the noble woman who had so patiently aided and encouraged him in his work since the early days of their wedded life, and who had tenderly and wisely reared their children to become good and useful members of society.

Thomas R. Burling, of this sketch, was born March 15, 1846, in Cambridgeshire, England, and there spent the first eight years of his life, gaining in the school of which his mother was teacher his first knowledge of letters. He received his first instructions in America in the excellent public schools of New York City, where, by reason of his quickness and fine scholarship, he became the ban- ner scholar of his classes, as is proved by the ree- ords that he has preserved of his rank. When bis parents removed to Illinois he attended the public, district and village schools very regularly for some years, and maintained the same high standing that had characterized his scholarship in the schools of New York. After he was fifteen years old his edu- cation was conducted more irregularly than before,

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska, Part 59

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

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