Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska, Part 69

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 69

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).

6. 6

W ILLIAM R. EGGLESTON. In the pleas- ant town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England, situated about twenty-two miles from the city of Lincoln, was born, Feb. 16, 1824, the subject of this sketch, now a prominent and prosperous farmer in Elk Precinct, his property there comprising eighty acres of good land in ex- cellent condition, and exhibiting in its various parts an excellent knowledge of husbandry, not only possessed but put into actual use.

George Mercer Eggleston, father of our subject, is likewise a native of England, born in Newark in Nottinghamshire, as was also William L. Eggleston, the grandfather, and William Eggleston, the great- grandfather of our subject. While quite a young man, the grandfather of our subject ran away from home in an excess of patriotic ambition, and enlisted in the Coldstream Guards, one of the crack infantry of the English army. After a faithful service as private and Corporal he was promoted to the posi- tion of Sergeant. After the death of his father he bought his discharge from the army, and having nothing but an excellent and honorable record, this was obtained, and he setttled in Grantham and opened business as a baker and confectioner, lle

552

LANCASTER COUNTY.

afterward carried on the same in London and Stam- ford; in the latter place he died in 1830.

George M. Eggleston, son of the above, was reared in Lincolnshire, where he also obtained his educa- tion in the British schools, and afterward learned his father's business and continued as his assistant, and carried on the business at Grantham until his death. in 1837. Ile was a member of the first lodge of I. O. O. F. ever organized, and at his death the obsequies were conducted under the auspices of that fraternity. He was the husband of Maria Watson, a native of Hull, a large and important seaport on the eastern coast, the most important shipping point in Yorkshire; she died in Grantham in the year 1858. She was the mother of three children: George, who now resides in Grantham, William R., and Mary A., now deceased.

William R. Eggleston was the only member of his family to come to this country. Ile was reared to manhood in his native town, and there also was married and continued to reside until about twenty- six years of age, when he emigrated to America. He set sail from Liverpool on the Ist of August, 1850, in the "Western World," a sailing-vessel, and was consequently much longer upon the voyage than a steamer. After five weeks tossing and tumbling upon the Atlantic rollers he landed in New York. On this voyage he was accompanied by his wife and son George W. II. The family immediately proceeded to Ohio, and settled in Cayahoga Falls, where he continued to live for nearly six years, occupied in gardening. He then removed to Peo- ria County. Ill. There he rented a farm and con- tinued with increasing prosperity until 1861, when he removed to Cedar County, Iowa, and in the fall of the same year went to the mountains of Colorado, performing the journey by the aid of a four-mule team and wagon, and until the year 1863 was em- ployed in mining. He then returned to Cedar Connty via Omaha, where he remained until 1870, when he came to this county.

Eighteen years ago Nebraska, as would be ex- pected, presented a very different appearance to what it does to-day. Then the land which is so fer- tile, where corn, wheat and other grams flourish in rich profusion, where are homesteads dotting the whole landscape, where are now extensive orchards

extending their fruitful invitation to refreshment, and gems of horticulture perfuming the air with a myriad deliciously delicate scents, then was nothing but the wild, rolling prairie, occupied only by the buffalo, wolf, elk and antelope, with here and there a little claim shanty or dug-out, or possibly an Indian wigwam. Here, with a few men of like spirit, and doughty pioneers. he settled, entering a homestead, his present property, built his house and farm buildings, and lived for two years, which were crowded with work of various kinds for the im- provement and cultivation of his farm, and in this he was so successful as to be enabled to erect his present dwelling, a comfortable and substantial frame house.

About two years before Mr. Eggleston left En- gland, in the year 1848, he was united in marriage to Sarah Bavin, a native of Grantham. In the year 1859, during their residence in Peoria, the bands were severed by her death, which occurred after a short illness. She left two children : George, who came with them from England, and Lucy Ellen, born in Cayahoga Falls. The former is now a prosperous grain-dealer at Bennet, and Vice President of the bank there. (See sketch. ) Lucy has become the wife of Lycurgus Pearson, and is living in Cedar County, lowa. Our subject was mar- ried again in July, 1880. His present wife is Rosa (Harford) Whilock.

Mrs. Eggleston was born in Birmingham, England, in September, 1844; her father, John Harford, was a native of Worcestershire, and was by trade a tan- ner, which he afterward changed to that of wine merchant on his removal to Birmingham, where he continued to reside until his death. The maiden name of his wife, mother of Mrs. Eggleston, was Mary A. Field, a native of Birmingham, in which eity the greater part of her life had been spent. This marriage was happily blessed by the birth of nine children, five of whom afterward came to America. He afterward married a second time, by which marriage there were seven children. Rosa Harford was first married to Thomas S. Whilock, also of Birmingham; they came to Nebraska in 1868 and settled in Nebraska City, and after a resi- denee of nine years removed to Lincoln, where, the year following, Mr. Whilock died, in the month of

553

LANCASTER COUNTY.

December. By her first husband she became the mother of five children, of whom four are living- Frances R., Mary E., Thomas II, and Louisa. Her union with our subject has been blessed by the birth of two children-William and Clara,

Mr. Eggleston has always held a high place in the estimation of his fellow-citizens, both on account of his personal character and eminent respectability, his social status and large intellectual caliber. He has always taken the deepest interest in educational and school matters, and has several times served on the District Board, and is a careful student of all the questions which are before the nation, especially such as look toward the educational department. Ile was elected the first Justice of the Peace in Elk Precinct, and while occupying that seat, his careful investigation and discrimination, linked with his impartial decisions, gained for him the admira- tion of every friend of justice. In politics he is a Democrat.

AMES A. MCNABB. Among the younger members of the farming community of Yan- kee Hill Precinet, few have a more prosper- ous outlook than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. Besides being enterprising and industrious, he is a good financier, investing his proceeds judiciously and looking after his business affairs in a manner which would do credit to one of many more years experience. He operates a good farm of eighty acres on section 16, where he has good buildings, live stock and machinery, and all the appurtenances of a well-conducted rural home. His family consists of an intelligent wife and four bright children, the latter born as follows: Ilattie B., Dee. 24, 1881; Ethel, Feb. 13, 1883; Archibald, Dec. 29, 1884, and Jessie, Jan. 1, 1887.

The MeNabb family is of Scotch ancestry, and was represented on this side of the Atlantic prob- ably in the Colonial days, although the branch from which the parents of our subject sprang con- tinued in their native Highlands. The latter, John and Margaret (Morrison) McNabb, emigrated to the United States before their marriage. The

father was one of the earliest settlers of Putnam County, Ill., where he still resides, and where James was born Feb. 22, 1856. The mother died there March 13, 1880. The parental roof sheltered seven children, six of whom are living, namely : Daniel, John, Robert and Orsilla, residents of Putnam County ; our subject and Jane, both residents of Yankee Ilill Precinct, this county.

The subject of this biography spent his early life after the manner of most farmers' sons, learning to plow, sow and reap, and acquiring his education in the district school, mostly during the winter season. He left the parental roof at the time of his marriage, in March, 1881, being then a little past twenty-five years of age. The lady chosen to share with him the vicissitudes of life was in ber girlhood Miss Antoinette Laughlin, a native of his own county, and a daughter of James and Julia (Smith) Laughlin, who are now residents of Bureau County, Ill.

Mr. and Mrs. McNabb began life together in Illinois, and came to Nebraska in 1883, settling at once upon his present farm. Here he has eighty acres of productive land, the condition of which he is improving each year, keeping up the buildings in good shape and gradually adding those conven- iences which are essential to the comfort and pros- perity of the progressive agriculturist. Ile gives very little attention to political affairs, although keeping himself well posted upon matters of gen- eral interest, and uniformly votes the Repubhean ticket. Aside from serving as Treasurer in his school district, he has refrained from the responsi- bilities of office, although amply qualified by habits and training to assume the duties which too many undertake with questionable results.

The father of our subjeet during the Civil War distinguished himself as an earnest advocate of Union principles, not only in his own immediate neighborhood, but often delivered publie speeches, including also in the maintenance of an undivided country the principles of freedom to all men, be- lieving that the institution of slavery was one un- authorized by the Creator, and in direct opposition to right and justice. Ile was a man of decided views, and presented his sentiments in that clear and forcible manner which bore conviction with

554

LANCASTER COUNTY.

them, and stamped him at least as a man thoroughly in sympathy with the words he uttered. and which placed him upon record during those stirring times as a true patriot. Our subject was then a little lad, but he remembers many of the incidents of those stirring times, and it is not to be wondered at that he is a Republican of the first water, politically, and thoroughly in sympathy with this progressive age of freedom and enlightenment.

Le UCIUS IL. COMPTON. Among the pio- neer settlers of Buda Precinct must be men- tioned the subject of this sketch, who was, however, by no means unacquainted with pioneer life at the time of his settlement, for he was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, on the 5th of April, 1845. He is a son of William and Mary A. Comp- ton. His father was a native of New Jersey, and of Scotch-Irish extraction, as was also his mother. They were among the first settlers of Muskingum County, and settled there over fifty years ago, and had reared a large family of children upon their farm, of whom the following survive: Martha, Lucius II., Amelia, William F. and Orington J.

The father of our subject had practically grown up with the settlement in the above county, and being energetic, intelligent, and anxious to see the country develop, took a prominent part in almost everything that looked to that end. He was widely known and respected throughout the county, and upon his death, May 4, 1888, the community seemed to realize that they had lost one of the pillars of their social structure. At the funeral, as evidenc- ing the above fact, there were 110 carriages at the house and about thirty at the grave. His wife had preceded him in this last journey by thirty years, having departed this life March 18, 1858. The names of their children deceased were John L., Phebe C., Elizabeth E., Orpha J., Mary P. and Ida C.

In the above home and its surroundings our sub- ject was reared to manhood, and bore his full share of the hardships, trials and difficulties of pioneer life. What education he received was obtained at the Stony Point public schools. He taught school

for three terms in Lancaster County, the remainder of his time being devoted to farming. In 1870 he came to this county to settle, homesteaded eighty acres of land and set to work. For the first few years before he settled upon his farm he procured work among the farmers, often, as occasion per- mitted, teaching during the winters, frequently hav- ing quite a large number in attendance, and meeting with good success. By his previous labors he had . been enabled to procure sufficient to stock his farm, at least to some extent, and also purchase the necessary implements. As the years have passed by he has grown increasingly prosperous, and is now one of the representative well-to-do citizens of the district.

Our subject has been for many years a strong Republican, and has consistently voted the ticket of that party. Although not an office-seeker, he has at times been called upon to fill some position, and is at present School Director of District No. 114. Ile is, in every sense of the word, a self-made man, and the success that has crowned his efforts in life is the result of his continued efforts intelli- gently directed, and inspired by laudable ambition. Both he and his wife are active members of the Congregational Church at Cortland, and are very highly esteemed, not simply within the church circle, but throughout the entire community, as those whose faith and practice are every day con- sistent.

OSEPH E. STOCKWELL. The manufactur- ing interests of Lancaster County have in the person of the gentleman whose biography is here briefly recited, a most admirable and worthy representative. This gentleman, like the greater number of the best American citizens, has made his own way in life, beginning in compara- tively humble fashion, gradually accumulating and progressing as the result of undeviating recti- tude and intelligent industry. Ile is one of the leading manufacturers of brick, tiling and terra cotta in the State of Nebraska, and is the proprietor of very extensive works and brickyards, which are situated in Yankee Hill Precinct. The artist has very faithfully portrayed in the illustration accom-

CLAY PIT.

TANKS & E DUMP.

ENCAUSTIC TILE AND TERRA-COTTA WORKS.

[519

TERRACOTTA WORKS STOCKWELL.

ENCAU!

ROUTING

TERE

WORKS

GENERAL VIEW OF VILAGE & BRICK - WORKS.

RESIDENCE.

RESIDENCE AND BRICKWORKS OF J. E. STOCKWELL, STOCKWI

BOILER & 1

ENGINE ROOM

C. TILES

PRESS ROOM .

IL VILLAGE, YANKEE HILL PRECINCT, LANCASTER COUNTY, NEB.

559

LANCASTER COUNTY.

panying this sketch these works, and has also given a peep of the interior of some of the workrooms, besides a few samples of the tiling, but it is impos- sible to give any idea of the delicate tracery and beautiful finish that lend their charm to these arti- eles as sent from the works.

The subject of this history is a native of Lake County, Ohio, and was born on the 29th of August, 1848. Ile is a son of Nathaniel C. and Luthera A. (Ricardson) Stockwell, both of whom are natives of Massachusetts, but for many years they have been residents of Lake County, Ohio, and were found among the very early settlers there. They have always wielded an influence for good in the community where they have made their home, and as the years have added number after number, this influence has only extended, broadened and deep- ened; they have been honored and esteemed by all for their strict integrity, firmness in the interests of right and truth, and beautiful character.

The parents of Mr. Stockwell gave him every op- portunity in their power to attend the district schools of his native place until he obtained a good, prac- tical, English education, and he had by constant and careful reading kept himself posted upon all general topics and is worthy to compare with the most in- telligent citizens. He grew to manhood upon his father's farm, taking his whole share of the various duties and responsibilities thereof. Shortly af- ter he attained his majority, with his characteristic energy and good judgment, he had accumulated sufficient to enable him to establish a home of his own, and on the 15th of December, 1869, he was united in marriage to the lady of his choice, Miss Lavilla J. Henderson. She is a native of Lake County, Ill., and is a daughter of Gideon and Alice (Law) Henderson. Their union has been blessed by the birth of two children, Nathan and Lela A., whom it has been their pleasure to watch, as they have developed and manifested personal traits and dispositions that promise much for their future happiness and prosperity.

In the matter of enterprise and decision of char- acter the subject of our sketch has few equals. Ile is a man of wonderful resource and large mental grasp, just such a one who can both think, attempt and execute great things when occasion requires.

To such a one the unprecedented development of the Western States held out many attractions, and in the year (881 he removed with his family to Doniphan County, Kan., and there cast in his lot with the men whose ability to promote the advance- ment of the agricultural, commercial and manufact- uring interests of that and the surrounding States has been fully verified, and the happy results of whose foresight and enterprise are being enjoyed by thousands to-day.

The following year, 1882, Mr. Stockwell came with his family to this State and decided to locate in the neighborhood of Lancaster County, not sim- ply because there is contained therein one of the most beautiful belts of country, but also on account of the salubrious atmosphere, that has gained for the district no little renown because of its health- fulness .. Another and important reason for his settling in it was that he found here most excel- lent material for his business, such as would enable him to do even finer work than previously, and add to rather than detract from his reputation. He finally decided for these reasons to make his home and establish the works connected with his business at Yankee Hill.

In 1881 our subject had commenced the manu- facture of brick, and even within the first year the demands of his business were such as to keep con- stantly employed from fifteen to twenty men. This continued to increase, and he has now constant employment for over fifty skilled workmen. This will give some conception of the large amount of work turned out from his yards every week. Not only does he supply by far the greater part of the local trade, but ships also to all parts of the State, although perhaps his trade chiefly concentrates it- self in the various towns and cities within a radius of t00 miles. The material employed in the manu- factory is a peculiar kind of clay most admirably adapted for his purpose, and indeed it was this property that decided largely in the question of his settlement in the district. In his works will be found some of the finest machinery made for use in such establishments, and is made by J. W. Pen- field, of Willoughby, Ohio, a name that at once stamps it as among the very best obtainable.

Mr. Stockwell is pre-eminently a man of public

560

LANCASTER COUNTY.

spirit and generous beneficence. Ile is always found contributing liberally to such projects and enterprises as are for the benefit of the precinct or county, and also such as may have for their object a more limited sphere, such as the extension of some religious work, or even private charity. His pleasant and comfortable home is admirably pre- si led over by his most estimable wife, who enjoys the reputation of being an unparalleled hostess, and makes her home the center of a generous and hearty hospitality. In politics our subject heartily supports the Republican party, and has for many years been an ardent and deeply interested mem- ber of that party.

h ERMAN J. TE SELLE is a prominent farmer residing on section 22, South Pass Precinct, Lancaster County. His father, John Albert, and mother, Dela (Van Ten Damme) Te Selle, were natives of Holland. The father was engaged in farming in that country, and remained there until his death at the age of forty- three years. The mother died in 1885, at the age of eighty.two years, having been the mother of seven sons, their names being as follows: Derrick W., Tobias, Henry J., John A., Jol H., Garret J., and Herman J., our subject. The gentleman of whom we write was born on the 4th of December. 1844, in Holland, and having begun attending school at the age of six years, he secured a very good common-school education in the Dutch lan- guage. At the age of twenty years he determined to come to America, and, in company with his brother John Henry, he sailed from Rotterdam, via Ilull and Liverpool, by ocean steamer to New York, at which place they arrived safely after a journey of seventeen days, landing in November, 1865.

The destination of our subject being Sheboygan County, Wis., he went at once to that place, and for five months he worked out at general work. At the age of twenty-one he was married, in 1866, to Miss Berendina A. Buesink, who was also a native of Hol- land, having come to Sheboygan County when she was thirteen years old. Mr. and Mrs. Te Selle and

family came to Nebraska in 1871, where the hus- band homesteaded a claim of eighty acres, then bought eighty acres additional the following year, and again in 1881 he bought his third eighty acres, having now a farm of 240 acres. He also owns a dwelling in Lincoln.

Our subject is the father of eight children, the names of those by his first wife being: Dela, who was born in Wisconsin; and Willie, born in Ne- braska. The children by the second wife are: Dena, Evert J., Albert, Ilelena, Minnie and Bertha. The daughter Dela married Mr. Dick Abbink, residing in Panama Precinct. Mr. Te Selle's first wife died in the year 1874, and he married Miss Johana Brethower, a daughter of Dr. Brethower. of Hol- land. Our subject and his wife and family are devout members of the Reformed Church of Amer- ica, and lead active and consistent lives. The father coincides with the opinions of the Republican political organization, and takes an active interest in the educational affairs of his precinct, having for twelve years held the office of School Treasurer.

While Mr. Te Selle experienced some disadvan- tages on his arrival in this county, his own industry, self-reliance and energy have enabled him success- fully to surmount the difficulties presented, and he has continued upward in the path of success until he has reached a state of independence and pros- perity. Although his schooling in the English lan- guage was somewhat limited, he compensated for that lack by a course of general reading, and has become well informed on all matters relating to his adopted country. He has a pleasant, cheerful dis- position, is not averse to enjoying a good joke occasionally, and is one of the real live business men of South Pass Precinct.

NTON DIERKS. The Great West has been peopled largely by those who came from over the sea, and among this class none have proved more valuable citizens than those coming from Germany. A representative of this people in Lancaster County, as well as a truly representative American citizen, for he claims to-day citizenship in this great country, is Mr.

561

LANCASTER COUNTY.

Dierks. Ile is a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Buda Precinct, having his residence on section 7. As above mentioned, he is a native of Germany, where he was born July 14, 1831. llis parents, Dierk and Catherine Dierks, were likewise natives of Germany, and Anton is their second son.

Mr. Dierks has received a very fair education, both in his native and the English tongue; the latter he speaks fluently, and transaets all his busi- ness in the language of his adopted country. When fourteen years of age he began to learn the trade of weaver, which occupation had been followed by his father from boyhood, and in fact continued his occu- pation through life. Anton labored faithfully at the loom until he emigrated to America, which event oc- curred in 1863. Ile had begun to feel that the opportunities for securing anything like a com- petence in his native country were too limited, and, like many others, looked to the Western Continent as the goal which had for him a fair measure of success, and a higher development than could be hoped for at home. lle came over in a sailing-vessel, boarding it at Bremen, and the voyage lasted seven weeks. Ile then landed at New York City and came directly to Kane County, Ill., where he re- mained about one year, being engaged as a farm hand. At the end of that time he came farther West, stopping in Clayton County, Iowa. He, however, only tarried here for a brief time, for in the summer of 1865 we find him in Lancaster County, turning the virgin soil and planting a crop to be garnered in the coming autumn. 1Ie had taken advantage of the offer of a generous Govern- ment to give to actual and willing settlers a qnar- ter-seetion of land. He had selected his on section 7 of what is now Buda Precinct. Here he has since resided, becoming a well-to-do farmer, and wield- ing an influence for good in the community which has grown up around him.

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 69

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

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