Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska, Part 97

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

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Our subject was reared to manhood in his native State, where he engaged in farming and stock-rais- ing. He was given a good education, and during the absence of his father in the army assumed the management of the homestead. In 1879 he came to Nebraska, settling upon the land which he now

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owns and occupies, and to which he has added until his real estate now includes 480 acres, which he has brought to a good state of cultivation. In addition to general agriculture, he is largely occupied in the breeding of fine horses and mules. which is the source of a handsome income. Ile began life largely dependent upon his own resources, and may prop- erly be numbered among the self-made men who by their own efforts have achieved success.

Mr. Moffett, politically, is one of the most reli- able members of the Democratic party. In the fall of 1884 he was the nominee of his party for Sheriff of Lancaster County.

AMES A. WALLINGFORD is well known throughout Lincoln and surrounding coun- try in connection with his business in farm- ing and other implements and machinery. He is the senior member of the firm of Messrs. Wallingford & Shamp, of Lincoln, and an intro- (luction to those at all acquainted with that sec- tion of the country would be superfluous. Mr. Wallingford was born in Shelby County, Ohio. His parents came West and located in Decatur County, lowa, while he was yet a child. After re- maining about a year and a half, they migrated to the new State of Nebraska, and made their home in Lancaster County, and were numbered among its early pioneers, for there were only five or six families in the county, and these were scattered along the Salt Creek. For several years Nebraska City was their nearest market, and for ten years continued to be the nearest post-office.

The father of our subject bought a claim, and homesteaded 160 acres of land on section 25 in what is now Yankee Hill Precinct. This he im- proved and continued to make his home until 1836. Our subject was reared upon the farm, and at- tended the first schools that were started. These were maintained by private subscription, and con- tinued to be well attended until the public schools were established. Our subject continued his at- tendance until this important advance was made, and was then transferred to the latter institution. Having completed his studies there, he attended the

classes at Tabor College, Iowa. After this he re- turned to Lincoln, and took a partial course in the State University, and prepared himself for teaching.

For seven years our subject was engaged during the winters in the above noble profession, and dur- ing the summer spent his efforts upon the farm in the endeavor to teach something of a more mate- rial form than "ideas" how to shoot. In 1873 he went to Washington Territory, and was engaged in teaching school for about ten years. By 1879 Lin- coln had become quite a business center, and Mr. Wallingford was convinced that a great future was before it. In company with Messrs. Davidson, Shamp & Co., he formed a partnership, and put in quite a large stock of implements. From that time our subject has devoted his constant attention and bent every energy to make the firm the best business house in its line in the city, and has been abun- dantly successful. The reputation of the house is a credit to the city as well as the gentleman at its head, for it is one of undeviating honor and "square dealing," and doubtless has much to do with the constantly increasing sales.

Mr. Wallingford was united in marriage with Miss Celia Miller in 1875. Mrs. Wallingford is the daughter of H. B. Miller, for many years a resident of Ohio. . He located in Nebraska in 1873, first in Hamilton and afterward in Boone County, and there spent his last days. To our subject and wife have been born five children, who are named : Vere O., Mabel R., Eunice E., Richard J. and Grace I.

Our subject has naturally always taken the great- est interest in educational matters, and is a member of the Board of Education. Ile is by no means an office-seeker, rather avoiding than courting such distinction, but is ever mindful of the duty which is his as a citizen of the Republic.

W ILLIAM E. HARDY, senior member of the firm of Ilardy & Pitcher, furniture dealers in Lincoln, and prominent among the busi- ness interests of the city, was born in Wyoming County, N. Y., Ang. 5, 1863. His father, Ilar- vey W. Hardy, also a native of the Empire State,

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was reared to manhood in his native county, and there married to Miss Charlotte Abbott, a lady of excellent family. They began life together upon a farm in Wyoming County, where they lived until 1867, and during that year Mr. Hardy disposed of luis interests in New York State, and removing westward to Illinois, engaged in the furniture business at Aurora until 1870.

In the spring of the year above mentioned the father of our subject crossed the Mississippi, and coming to Lincoln, purchased a half-interest in a furniture firm, which was the only institution of the kind then in the place. Two years later he pur- chased the interest of his partner, and operated alone nntil 1878. That year he sold a half-interest in the business to A. A. Hartley, and the firm of Hardy & Hartley continued two years, when he purchased the whole business, which, in 1886, he disposed of to the present firm.

The subject of this sketch was a little lad seven years of age when his father came to the city, which was then a mere village, with perhaps a pop- ulation of 1.500. Most of the surrounding country was a tract of wikl prairie, where deer, antelope and other wild animals roamed in freedom. Mr. Ilardy has been the privileged witness of the re- markable growth of this city to its population of 40,000 people, and has contributed his quota to- ward its advancement and prosperity. He received a practical edneation, attending first the city schools, and later the Nebraska State University at Lincoln.

The career of our subject as a merchant com- menced in bis father's store in 1880. After an ex- perience of seven years, during which he improved his opportunities to become acquainted with the proper methods of doing business, he, in 1887, associated himself with Charles D. Pitcher, and they are fast becoming one of the popular firms of the city. Both are wide-awake and energetie business men. They carry a full stock of furniture, and everything pertaining to this line of merchan- dise, and enjoy a patronage which is steadily in- creasing. Mr. Hardy, mainly engrossed in his business affairs, has little time to give to political matters, but is warmly interested in the success of the temperance movement, and has arrayed himself

on the side of the Prohibitionists. Ile still retains an interest in the university, and is a member of the Society Sigma Chi.

The parental family of our subject included four children-Clement A., Cora B., William E. and Emery C. William E. makes his home with his parents in Lineoln.

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b ENRY H. FAULKNER, a representative farmer and stoek-raiser of Yankee Ilill Pre- cinet, has been operating in a profitable manner on a good farm on seetion 32 since the spring of 1883. During his five years' residence bere he has effected great improvements, increasing the value of his property, repairing the old buikl- ings, and adding the appliances necessary for the successful prosecution of his calling, in which he bas bad a lifelong experience.

Our subject is a Western New Yorker by birtb, having begun life in Allegany County, Jan. 7, 1844. Ilis parents, Russell and Nancy Faulkner, were also natives of that State, where his paternal grandfather settled after doing good service as a soldier in the War of 1812. The latter spent his last days at Sackett's Harbor. dying at a ripe old age.

Russell Faulkner, by his two marriages, was the father of four children : Charles F., now a resident of Indiana; Nancy Z., the wife of C. G. Johnson, of Independence, Iowa; Daniel W., of Burlington, Iowa, and Henry, our subjeet. The mother departed this life at her home, in May, 1861. The father subsequently removed to Michigan, and is now a resident of Newaygo County.

Our subjeet was a lad of fourteen years when his parents left the Empire State and settled in Michi- gan. For four years they were residents of Eaton County, and then removed to Calhoun County, where, at the age of twenty-two, young Faulkner was married, Dec. 20, 1866, to Miss Mary F. Van Ness, a sister of Mrs. John F. Ilay, of Yankee IIil] Preeinct, this county, and a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this work.

Our subject, after his marriage, was employed at farm work in Michigan for several years, and

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being strong of muscle and faithful in the perform- ance of his duties, received, during his last sum- mer's work, the unusually high wages of $29 per month and board. In the spring of 1870 he crossed the Father of Waters and located in Webster County, Iowa, where he employed himself for one year. At the expiration of this time he changed his residence to Buena Vista, where he resided until 1883, then de- termined to cast his lot among the people of South- ern Nebraska. Coming to this county he purchased 160 acres of land, which constitutes his present farm. He has been successful in his operations here and fully established himself in the esteem and confidence of his community. He is a man of de- cided ideas and votes with the Prohibition party. No man can point to a dishonest deed of which he has been guilty, and he is one of the few whose word is considered as good as his bond.

OHN E. HAAS. The subject of this biog- raphy occupies a leading position in the community of Grant Preeinet, to which he came in 1871, and is the owner of 480 acres of land on section 12, nearly all of which is in a productive condition and affords to the proprietor a handsome income.

The principle that intelligence in every calling is requisite to carrying it on in a proper and profitable manner, is illustrated in the career of Mr. Haas in agricultural pursuits, who in his earlier life was oe- cupied for a period of ten years as a teacher and writer. He has been for several years an occa- sional correspondent of the Nebraska State Journal, and also takes an active part in political affairs. This experience led him to a fuller appreciation of the genuine comfort to be derived from rural life, where nature had provided the many facilities for man's comfort and happiness. Accordingly, after many years otherwise employed, he finds much satisfaction in rural occupations, of which he is mak- ing a fine success, and is numbered among the lead- ing representatives of the farming interests of Lancaster County.

Our subject was born in Mifflinburg, Pa., Feb.

27, 1835, and is the son of John and Margaret (Roush) Haas, natives of the same State as their son. They spent their entire lives in the Keystone State, with the exception that the father passed the two last years of his life in Stephenson County, Ill., where he died in 1869. Their household consisted of eight children, two sons and six daughters, three of whom are living.

Mr. Haas continued a resident of his native State until over thirty years of age. At the call of Gov. Curtin to repel the rebel invasion in 1863, he en- tered the temporary Union service. In 1867 he changed his residence to Freeport, Ill., of which he was a resident until the spring of 1870. Then com- ing to this county he sojourned for a brief period in the city of Lincoln until having time to look about him for a permanent settlement, and finally chose his present location and changed his employ- ment from that of a teacher to a farmer.

No man has taken a warmer interest in the growth and development of Southeastern Nebraska than the subject of this sketch, and he has responded liberally whenever help was needed for furtherance of those enterprises calculated to build up his com- munity, and add to its attractions as a place of resi- dence for an intelligent and enterprising class of people. To such men as Mr. Haas is due the pres- ent prosperity of Lancaster County, to which may many more such as he be added, and long may they flourish.

R EV. CYRUS CARTER was one of the first settlers of Lincoln, of which he is still an honored resident. When it is stated that in 1865 onr subject came here and took up land from the Government, which he improved into a farm that is now included within the city limits, and is the site of many costly buildings, it gives one something of an idea of the rapid growth of this enterprising and wealthy metropolis, with its population of nearly 50,000 souls. Our subject is in the best sense of the term a "self-made man," as he began life without other capital than willing hands and a stout heart, and is now a man of wealth and consideration.

Our subject was born near Mechaniesburg,

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Champaign Co., Ohio, June 2, 1824. His father, Benjamin Carter, was a native of Tennessee, and his grandfather, Caleb Carter, was, it is thought, a native of Connecticut. He was there reared and married, and moved from his New England home to Tennessee soon after the Revolutionary War, in the very early days of the settlement of that State. He took up a tract of land there, but never secured a title to it, as he lived there only a short time when he removed to Kentucky, and was an early settler there. He subsequently took up his abode in Ohio in the latter part of the eighteenth century, in Territorial days, and was numbered among its pioneers. He located near Mechaniesburg, taking up a tract of Government land there, and residing thereon until his death.

The father of our subject was young when his parents removed to Ohio, and he there grew to maturity. He was reared amid pioneer seenes to a vigorous and self-reliant manhood, and early took upon himself the hard work of a pioneer by buying a tract of timber land, on which he ereeted a log house which became the birthplace of our subject. His wife was a stirring, active woman, and a notable housewife, and having no stove she used to cook all their meals before the open fireplace, and she spun and wove and made the most of the clothes worn by the family. Mr. Carter finally sold the place in which he and his wife had started on the journey of life together, and in 1828 moved to Union County, where he bought a tract of timber land, and began anew the weary task of clearing away the forest trees, that he might, prepare the soil for culture, having first erected a log cabin to shelter his family. His death occurred in that place, and the community in which he settled was thus deprived of a useful and industrious eitizen. His wife, a native of Virginia, whose maiden name was Mary Owen, also died on the homestead in Ohio. There were nine children born to this most worthy couple, and eight of them grew to maturity.

The subject of this sketch was the fourth child of that family, and was quite young when his parents went to Union County to reside. IIe was reared in that county, and received his education in the typical log school-house of those times, with home- made furniture, the benches being made of punch-

eon. Ile resided with his parents until nineteen years of age, working on the farm and attending school. At the age of twenty he commenced teaching, and taught several terms of winter school. He was converted when eighteen years of age, and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church on proba- tion. but he found himself more in sympathy with the Methodist Protestants, and united himself with their church. At twenty-one years of age he com- meneed to preach for that denomination as a local preacher, and at twenty-three years of age he be- came a member of the Ohio Conference. He trav- eled on eirenit for nearly ten years, and by his earnestness and enthusiasm did mueh good work for his church, and he was considered a bright and shin- ing light by those in authority. In 1862 he gave up his beloved calling, as it seemed to him his sacred duty to take up arms in the defense of his country. He enlisted in Company I, 99th Ohio Infantry, and bravely and faithfully served in the ranks until 1863, when he was taken sick, and in the month of July was honorably discharged on account of ill-health. He then returned to his old home in Ohio, and remained a resident of that State until 1865, when he started for the Territory of Nebraska with his family, traveling via rail to St. Joseph, and thenee on the Missouri River to Ne- braska City, where he was met by Elder Young, an old friend. They then started for their destination in the vehicles that the Elder had provided, Mr. Carter accompanying Mr. Young in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, and Mrs. Carter driving with Mrs. Young in the buggy, drawn by a pair of horses. A little adventure befell the occupants of the buggy, which very fortunately did not prove to be very serious. Mrs. Young was not as well ae- quainted with the road as she thought, and lost the way. To make matters worse, the ponies beeame unmanageable, ran away, and left both ladies on the prairie seven miles from any house. Fortunately a man who was seeking work came along and capt- ured the ponies, and then drove them to their destination. Mr. Carter took up a claim of Govern- ment land, now included within the city limits, Lineoln not having then been laid out, and thus it has been his privilege to watch its growth, and to aid other pioneers in its upbuilding. He built a

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log house covered with dirt to shelter his family, and then actively set to work to improve a farm from the virgin prairie. He had three yokes of oxen, but no horses, with which to do all his market- ing and farm work. Lancaster County was then very sparsely settled, and the nearest market and depot for supplies for some time was Nebraska City, and Ashland, twenty-five miles distant, was the nearest milling point. Deer, antelope and other wild animals were plentiful, and roamed over the site of Lincoln, and Indians used to pass by the cabin of our subject to and from their hunting-grounds. At the present day, looking over the grand city that has arisen on these broad Nebraska prairies, with its magnificent buildings and other evidences of a high civilization on every hand, one can scarcely realize that little more than a quarter of a century ago the very land on which it stands was in an almost complete state of nature, with no indica- tions that a great metropolis was to be built up thereon by the persistent energy and enterprise of man. Mr. Carter, with characteristic foresight and sound judgment, took advantage of the great changes that have been going on, and sold all the land that once comprised his farm, and then made judicious investments of his money in other city property, so that he is now a wealthy man.

Mr. Carter was married, in January, 1845, to Miss Elizabeth Chapman, who was born in West Virginia, twelve miles from the city of Clarksburg, in 1826. Her father, Thomas Chapman, moved to Ohio in 1833, the removal being made with horses and wagons. He settled in Sandusky County, and be- came identified with its pioneers. Three years later he moved to Champaign County, Ohio, and lived there two or three years. After that he went to Union County, in the same State, and spent the remainder of his life there, buying a tract of timber land near the town of Essex. The maiden name of his wife, mother of Mrs. Carter, was Hannah White. She was a native of Virginia, and spent her last years in Union County, Ohio. Mrs. Carter is an admirable housewife, as she resided with her par- ents until her marriage, and was carefully instructed by her mother in all household duties, including a knowledge of spinning, weaving and knitting. Her happy wedded life with our subject has been blessed

by the birth of ten children, as follows: Alice Jaines, Thomas, Jane, John, Jesse, Mary, Nora, Lulu and Rosa. Thomas and Mary died young. James bravely sacrificed his life for his country, being a soldier in an Ohio regiment in the late war, and dying while in the service. John met his death by a railway accident.

Mr. and Mrs. Carter are true Christians, none are before them in good works and charitable deeds, and they devote much of their time to enhance the good of others. Thus they have inspired true respect in the hearts of those about them. Mr. Carter has always taken a strong interest in politics ; was a Democrat in his early years, then became a Free-Soiler, but he was afterward one of the first to join the Republican party when it was organized. and he was identified with that party for years, but is now identified with the Prohibition party, of which he has been a member since the day of his conversion.

RS. ESTHIER L. WARNER came to Ne- braska in 1864, while it was still a Terri- tory and an unbroken prairie. There are few phases of pioneer life with which she is not entirely familiar, having endured hardship, priva- tion, and the toils and sacrifices which those must undergo who take upon themselves the task of building up a homestead from the wilderness. After the lapse of twenty-four years she sees around her a well-developed country, the once wild prairie being now transformed into valuable home- steads, and the possessors in the enjoyment of those comforts and pleasures which are the attendants of modern life. The changes which have been effected were brought about by those who came here armed simply with their strong hands and brave hearts, most of them without other resources, and to whose perseverance and industry are due the happiness and ease of the later generation. Too much credit cannot be given to those who thus labored for themselves and their children, and whose industry benefits not alone their immediate households, but the community around them.

In noting the history of those who have become

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prominent as pioneers and citizens, one of the first questions which naturally occurs to the mind is their early history, and those from whom they drew their origin. The parents of our subject were Ira and Charry (Broek) Carter. The mother traced her ancestry back to England, from which her father emigrated in time to serve as a soldier in the Revo- Intionary War, entering the ranks at the early age of sixteen years. He served as a private until the struggle was ended.

Ira Carter after his marriage, which took place in Connectient, emigrated soon afterward with his yonng wife, first to Genesee County, N. Y., and thence to Summit County, Ohio, reaching the lat- ter plaee about 1812. There he became the owner of a large farm, and a man of property. IIe only lived to be middle-aged, his death taking place on the 9th of November, 1832, at the age of forty- nine years. The mother survived her husband until 1875, dying at the advanced age of eighty-three years. Their household included six children, two sons and four daughters.

Mrs. Warner was the fifth child of her parents, and was born in Tallmadge Township, Summit Co., Ohio, June 16, 1820. She received a very good education in common with her brothers and sisters, and taught school two terms before her first mar- riage. This event took place at her home in 1844, her first husband being William Griswold, who only survived four years afterward, his death tak- ing place in 1848. Mrs. Griswold then became the wife of Amos Warner, M. D. They removed to lowa, where Dr. Warner practiced his profes- sion for a period of seven years. Dr. Warner's death was occasioned by his being thrown from his buggy, from the effects of which he died immedi- ately, on the 16th of September, 1861.

Of this latter marriage of our subject there were born three children: Haskell F., who operates the home farm; Emma E., the wife of Dr. Demaree, of Roca, and a sketch of whom will be found else- where in this work; Amos G. is a resident of Balti- more. An adopted daughter named Estella is deceased.

Among the people with whom Mrs. Warner has lived so many years, she is a lady held in the high- est esteem by both young and old, possessing those

traits of character and excellent business capacities by which she has been enabled to be of value in her community. and encouraging the projects cal- culated for the advancement of its common inter- ests.

LBERT EGGER is a successful farmer and stock-raiser, and is the owner of 120 acres of land on section 3, Buda Precinct, fifty acres lying in Centerville Precinct, on section 34, and also 160 acres in Rawlins County, Kan. Like all other men he possessed a hope and desire to succeed in the world, and like all other men he learned that success in life does not so much depend upon mere brilliancy as upon the willing- ness to wait. Success comes slowly to the majority of people, and he who would attain to it must not expect to make haste; but that it finally comes we have an apt illustration in the life of our subject.

Mr. Egger is a native of Switzerland, the land of snowy-topped mountains, and he was born on the 14th of January, 1856. IIe is a son of John and Mary Egger, both natives of the same country, who came to America when our subject was ten years old. They started on a sailing-vessel from Havre, and spent a long and tiresome period of sixty days on the water, after which they landed in New York City. The family came to 'lazewell County, Ill., where they remained for two years, thence in the fall of 1868 to Cass County, Neb., making their home in that place until the spring of 1871. In that year the family came to Lancaster County, and the father took advantage of the generous offer of the Government to give him eighty acres of land which he located in Centerville Precinct on sec- tion 34.

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Portrait and biographical album of Lancaster county, Nebraska, Part 97

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

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