USA > Nebraska > Sherman County > Loup City > The trail of the Loup; being a history of the Loup River region > Part 22
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
GREEN, H. I .- was born in Walworth county, Wis., in 1859. When he was hut four years old his parents moved to Minnesota. In the fall of 1877 he moved to the town of Calamus just south of Fort Hartsuff. Dur- ing the next spring he moved to his present farm about two and one half miles northwest of North Loup. Mr. Green has always been a farmer and a glance at his place will be enough to convince any one that he has been successful in this line. He held the office of county supervisor in 1901-1902 but has held no other public office. He was married in 1983 to Miss Em- ma Brace.
GREEN, JOSEPH A .- a native of the Green Mountain State, Was
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born in 1832. When but a child his parents moved to Berlin. New York, where he stayed till 1853. During the next few years he traveled through New Jersey, Illinois and Kansas, stopping at varions places in these states but never making his home at any place for any length of years. In 1872 Mr. Green came to Valley county and settled one and one-half miles south of North Loup and has lived there ever since. He at one time owned forty acres of the original townsite of North Loup. Mr. Green is a farmer by occupation yet his ability as a mechanic came in handy in the early years when all sorts of machinery was scarce.
GREEN, W. B -was one of those natives of New York state who has spent most of his years in this western country. He was born in Alleghany county, New York, March 25, 1849. When but five years old he moved to Milton. Wis. Here he spent his time as a farmer until 1873 when he came to Nebraska and took up a claim on the very place on which he now resides, about five miles southwest from North Lonp. Mr. Green worked on Fort Hartsuff during the summer of 1875. ITe Was married in 1877. In 1878 he was with Albert Cottrell in that terrible October prairie fire in which Mr. Cottrell was burned to death. Even to this day Mr. Green bears scars that re mind him of that awful disaster.
GREEN, W. L .- is a native of New York, who was born in Jefferson county in 1833. In 1855 he was married and started toward the west. Only one year was spent in Illinois while the next eight were spent in Wisconsin. In 1864 they moved to Minnesota which place remained their home mtil they came to Nebraska and settled in Valley county in 1877. Mr. Green has always been a farmer and has worked his farm which lies two and one- half miles north of North Loup until about eight years ago, when he moved to town where he has lived ever since.
HARRISON, W. H. has, by his sterling qualities, shown himself worthy of carrying the name of a former president of the United States. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1853. Here he lived for six years when he moved to Missouri where he lived till after the Civil War. At this time he moved to Kansas and finally in 1874 to Nebraska and settled on the place where he now lives, about nine miles southwest from Ord.
HASKELL, S. S .- Sylvester Smith Haskell, the father of carly Ord, was born December 7, 1822, at Stockholm, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., - where his early life was spent. His father was a W. H. Harrison. millwright, and living in the pine region the son naturally enough became a sawyer, which trade he followed many years.
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He came of sturdy stock, the Putnams of revolutionary times being among his lineal ancestors. December 5, 1843, he was married to Miss Harriet E. Soper and for a few vears they lived in St. Lawrence county, but in 1849 he removed with his family to DeKalb county, Ill , and filed on a quarter sec- tion of land in that then wild country. He had a hard struggle here to make ends meet as he came west a poor man. Two years of toil in the saw-mills at Two Rivers, Wis., enabled him to build a comfortable dwelling house on the Illinois claim, but this unfortunately was burned to the ground on the very day of its completion. The set-back was a severe one, but he accepted the situation bravely and clung to the farm in spite of misfortune and hardship, and called it home for twenty five years. During this time he reared his large family and saved a fair competency with which to build anew in the promising west of which he was continually getting news from his children who had preceded him there. In the fall of 1875 he sold out and moved to Ord. The next summer he erected the first store building on the townsite lately platted by his sons. Old timers will all remember this general store and hostelry and later postoffice, where every wayfarer received a kindly welcome and shelter. When hard times came to the Valley dwellers and starvation almost stared them in the face, Haskell fed them till he could no more. His capital exhausted. he was forced to close his doors and failed in business. But by the indomitable energy of self and wife he got on his feet again and could proudly boast of paying his creditors dollar for dollar what he owed. Mr. Haskell has been called the
father of Ord. And not without reason, for not alone did he build and operate the first store here, not alone is a large section of the town built on his early farm, but he was a father to all in need. Nor was any early timer more public spirited than he. Charity and public enterprise de- pended on him for aid and co-operation. When he was laid to rest March 1, 1901, just 78 years, 2 months and 21 days old, the whole community mourned the loss of a father and friend. In Ord the business houses were closed and the deceased was accorded a public funeral such as had never before been known in the history of the Valley. His many children have all taken their part in making the history of the Loup. Of these the sons, O. S. Haskell, O. C. Haskell and W. W. Haskell, platted the original town- site of Ord; the daughters, Cynthia C. Robbins, Rose I. Williams and Mary E. Jones and the son, A. R. Haskell, were all old pioneers and have grown up with the Valley and seen it become what it is-a garden spot in our state.
HONNOLD, R. T .- Richard Truman Honnold was born in Coshocton, county, Ohio, September 12, 1851, and removed with his parents to Marion county, Iowa, late in 1862. In 1874 he was married to Miss Eceneth Mc- Michael and immediately loaded his possessions into a covered wagon and started for Nebraska. He lingered at St. Paul and put in a few acres of wheat there, meanwhile looking about in search of a good place to home- stead. He finally located in Mira Valley where he yet resides. Mr. Hon- nold is one of those pioneers who has gone through the hardships incident
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to grasshoppers, fire, hail and drought, and still stands up for Nebraska. He had many exciting experiences with the Indians in those days; from the first, indeed, he has been closely identified with the history of his county.
NOTE :- Since the writing of the above biography Mr. Honnold moved to Ord where he was stricken with Bright's disease, death resulting Monday, April 23.
JOHNSON, BYRON H .- is another of those very early settlers of this Valley who has always been interested in its development and closely connected with its history. He was born in Rhode Island in 1847 but lived there only one year. His parents moved to Wisconsin in 1848 and it was here he grew to maturity. In 1866 he went to Minnesota where he lived for five years. In 1871 he made a trip to Valley county, Nebraska, in order to see the country which was destined to be his future home. He returned to Minnesota to get The Byron Johnson Family. things in shape and then moved to this valley in November. 1872, and settled on a claim about six miles north of North Loup. In 1878 he bought his present farm just one and one half miles north of town. Mr. Johnson was a member of the first militia organ- ized in this county. He helped to build Fort Hartsuff during the grass- hopper years. He held the office of supervisor several terms but beyond this has taken but slight interest in active politics. He married a Miss Stewart in 1880.
KEOWN, W. B .- Bedford Keown's name is closely associated with the settlement of Valley county. He was born in Ohio county, Kentucky, in 1849, and came with his parents to Missouri when but a babe. The Keowns remained in that state till 1874 when they arrived in Valley county. Here Mr. Keown secured the quarter first filed on by one of the Post boys, which later on became the townsite of Elyria. He remained on this fine tract of land till he sold it to the B. & M. railroad company in 1887. Then he moved with his family to Ord and engaged in business. He has been prominent as a hardware man and has been engaged in the drug business and other enterprises. Several times has he been honored with places of trust and profit by his fellow-citizens. The last of these was the county treasurership which he held for two terms. At the present Mr. and Mrs. Keown are beautifully situated on their fine farm two miles above Ord and across the river. They have three children living-Anna Williams, John, and Emma Mayo.
LUEDTKE, AUGUST-is a successful German farmer who, born in a foreign land, came to this country to better his condition. He was born in Pommerania, Germany, in February, 1841. Here he lived till 1866 when he came to the United States and settled in Wisconsin and afterward spent a few years in Kansas and Texas. In April, 1873. he came to Nebraska and worked between Omaha and Wood River. He came to Valley county
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in the spring of the following year with Mr. Frank Ohms and a trapper named Murphy and settled on his present farm about five miles northwest from Arcadia.
KRUSER, MARTIN-Mr. Martin Kruser was born in Kolding, Den- mark, in 1853. Here he lived and received his education, In 1872 he came to the United States and for three years made his home with the grand- parents of Mr. M. Goodenow. In April, 1878, he came to Valley county, Nebraska. For eight years he then worked for Mr. Goodenow. In 1880 he homesteaded his present farm though it was some six years before he made his permanent home upon it. Mr. Kruser is a single man.
LEE, JAMES-Perhaps no one in the southwestern part of Valley county is better known than Mr. James Lee who was the first settler in the Park which now bears his name. He was born in Ontario, Canada, April 28, 1847, where he lived till 1874 when he came to Valley county, Nebraska, and took up his claim in that section of the Valley called Lee's Park. Mr. Lee has always been a farmer, though he worked for two years on Fort Hartsuff during the grasshopper years.
LUKE, JOHN-is a native of the state of Connecticut but while quite young moved to New York city. He lived there till he was seventeen years old, when he joined the army as a drummer boy. In April, 1875, he came to Fort Hartsuff with Co. A, 23d U. S. Infantry, commanded by Capt. John J. Coppinger. In October, 1876, after having served eight years in the United States army he was honorably discharged and at once settled down in Valley county to make it his home. He was married to a Miss Stewart, November 9, 1876. Mr. Luke has long been known as a lumberman. Until recently Mr. Luke has had charge of one of Ord's rural routes.
MATTLEY, MRS. E. J .- Although Mrs. E. J. Mattley was born in England yet most of her life has been spent in this country. When but four years old she came to Iowa and after staying there for five years moved to Missouri. While here she met Mr. Mattley whom she married in 1875. In 1877 they moved to Nebraska and settled on the farm on which she now resides. Mr. Mattley died in November, 1903, but as his wife was a busi- ness woman, the farm has been operated successfully nevertheless.
MOLLER, FALLE-who was one of the members of the Danish colony which settled above Ord during the spring and summer of 1872, is a native of Denmark, coming from a small village near Haderslev in Slesvig. He comes of good old Danish stock, well-to-do land-owners who have ever bit- terly resented the encroachment on Danish soil by the German coalition. After the Dano-German War of '64, so disastrous to little Denmark, the Mollers concluded to leave their homeland and seek a new home in Amer- ica. Accordingly, in 1872, the family, comprising the parents and four children, Marie, Elizabeth, Jorgen and Laura, set out for the United States.
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and, as told in another chapter of this book, reached Valley county and settled on their old homestead on lower Turtle Creek. During the early years Falle Moller's substantial log house was an asylum for wayfarers in the Valley. The log cabin door always swung inward for needy immigrants. When Indians were threatening the Loup Mr. Moller was ever ready for the front. On several occasions in those days did settlers flock thither when rumors of Indian raids filled the air. The Danish colonists have practically all remained true to their early re- Jorgen Moller. ligious teachings in the Lutheran faith, and in the seventies no more beautiful picture could be im- agined than to see these sturdy northerners, who had outstripped both their church and pastors, assemble on a Sunday for church services. On such occasions Falle Moller would usually conduct the Danish service of song and sermon reading in a manner worthy a well tutored preacher. Down through the years Mr. Moller and his son Jorgen have accumulated much worldly goods, comprising chiefly farm and ranch lands and cattle. Falle Moller may justly lay claim to being one of the most travelled men in our Valley, having crossed the Atlantic thirteen times within the last thirty-five years.
MURRAY, WILLIAM P .- was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1839. Until he was 13 years old he changed his residence several times back and forth between his native land and Ireland. When he reached this age he came to the United States and settled in Westchester county, N. Y. Here he lived till 1861 when he moved to Oswego county. The next few years he spent as a rambler, visiting nearly every part of the country. In 1878 he came to Nebraska and settled on the place where he now resides, about six miles west from Arcadia. Before coming to Nebraska Mr. Murray was a stonemason and quarryman but since he has been a farmer.
NELSON, HENRY W .- located with his parents in Omaha in 1862, where he lived with them for twelve years. He learned to be pressman in the Omaha Bee office, and in 1874 he came to Valley county, Neb., and lo- cated a homestead and timber claim containing 320 acres, seven miles south of Ord on Section 10, Town 18, Range 15. He was born in Sweden, March 5, 1852, and came to America with his parents in 1862. He was married in Ord, August 3, 1879, to Miss Lura Abel, a native of Ohio. He was a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F. of Ord. He has been county surveyor of Valley county for five years; edited the Valley County Courier one and a half years, be- ginning in 1878. At the present Mr. Nelson is located at Billings, Mon- tana.
OHMS, FRANK-bears the distinction of being the first settler in Custer county. He was born in Prussia, Germany, in February, 1844. Here he lived till he was twenty-five years old when he came to the United States and settled in Jefferson county, Wis. While in the old country his
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work was varied. Three years were spent with a confectioner, another three years were spent in a large depot restaurant, while three more were spent in the army. He was engaged in the war between Germany and Austria in 1866. He fought in the battle of Sadowa. He received his dis- charge in 1868. The next year he came to this country. He stayed in Wisconsin only one year and then went to Douglas county, Nebraska. Here he farmed for four years when he came to his present home on the Valley county line.
PIERCE, DWIGHT-and family left their old Wisconsin home in the spring of 1878 and set out for the Loup Valley with a whole carload of household goods, implements, horses and cattle. "In Grand Island," says Mr. Pierce, "we stored our goods and set out to seek a home. The farther up the Valley we came the better we liked the country. At the Big Bend of the Loup lay Byron Johnson's home- stead. This just suited me and I purchased the land." D. Pierce. Mr. Pierce died Jan. 22, '06, Mrs. D. Pierce. after a short illness.
POST, CHARLES W .- is the only member of the once numerous Post clan now dwelling in the North Loup Valley. The others like the frontiersmen that they were, moved westward and ever westward, till the Pacific now forbids a further migration. Charles was born December 3, 1847, on the frontier of Michigan. When he was five years old his parents began to drift westward by easy stages. Thus he saw life in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas and Missouri. When the Civil War broke out the Posts found it expedient to leave the state and move back to Jasper, Iowa, their old home. He enlisted in '64 when only 16 years old and saw much service before the war was over. The Posts next spent some years in Har- rison county, Iowa, and in the spring of '72 they set out for the North Loup Valley, carrying with them horses, cattle and all other belongings. They came via the Beaver and Cedar and entered the Loup near Cotesfield. Charles filed upon the northeast quarter of section 26-20-15, the townsite of the present Elyria. Later he filed on a pre-emption and secured a school quarter on which he made his eventual home. In June, 1881, he married Marie, the eldest daughter of Falle Moller. He is the father of three chil- dren, Willie, Falle and Magdalene. Charles Post came to the Valley in time to participate in all early hardships and disappointments but has out- ridden them all and is now beginning to spend his older days in partial re- tirement.
POTTER, HARVEY-was born in La Salle, Ill., on December 18, 1846. When but a small boy his folks moved to Minnesota. Within the next few
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years his home was changed to Lexington, Kansas, Jasper county, Iowa, and finally in May, 1873, to Valley county, Nebraska, where he has resided ever since. Mr. Potter is one of the oldest settlers in Valley county and as such has been interested in the growth and development of the Loup Valley. He was married in July, 1882.
PRENTICE, WILLIAM A .- was born in Dakota, Wis., in July, 1851. Here he lived till June, 1873, when he came to Valley county and took up a claim in Mira Valley. He was married in 1872. In 1881 he came to North Loup and began to work as a carpenter. He took a course of study in law and was admitted to the bar in 1891. Mr. Prentice was a justice of the peace for several years but outside of this has had no political aspirations.
ROOD, CHARLES P .- now long passed to his reward, is one of the early North Loupers who de- serves more than passing mention in a history of the Loup Valley. He should have much credit for the part he played in the settlement of North Loup by W. A. Prentice. the Wisconsin colony. He was a member of both committees and but for his determined stand and flattering reports of the land, the enterprise might have been altogether abandoned. He was born in Vermont. May 30, 1823, and after a brief sojourn in Canada moved with his people to Cataraugas county, N. Y., where he grew up and married Marianne Thorngate. The family moved to Milwaukee and later to Wau- shara county and became a part of the Seventh-Day colony there. The large family of nine children born to him have practically all taken active and leading part in the development of the Loup and most of them live in or near North Loup today. Mr. Rood lived for some time on Section 32, Town 18, Range 13; but homesteaded over in Mira Valley somewhat later. He was a public-spirited man, strong in his convictions of what was right. He was quite a lay preacher and really the head of the Good Templar move- ment in North Loup. He died March 17, 1878.
ROOD, CHARLES J .- is one of the older sons of Charles P. Rood, and was born in Waushara county, Wisconsin, July 4, 1851, where he boasts being the first white child born in his particular township. He grew to manhood in Wisconsin and was given what was then considered a pretty good education. He too was one of the second locating committee to come to the Loup. In 1872 he homesteaded just outside of North Loup. He spent much time as a teacher in those days, and as such had the honor of being the first to teach school in the village of Ord. For some years he farmed on Davis Creek but moved to North Loup in 1895 to give his chil- dren the advantage of the better schools in that town. In 1875 he was married to Rosa P. Furrow. They are the parents of ten children.
ROOD, W. H .- beheld the beautiful Loup in 1871, when he came here as one of the second committee from Wisconsin. From the first he was satisfied with the country and determined to make it his home. This he
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did in the spring of 1872 when he came as one of the Seventh-Day Baptist Colony. Mr. Rood was born in Rock county, Wisconsin, in 1840. He enlisted in Co. G, 37th Wisconsin Infantry, in 1864 and served till August, 1865. Although he was in active service his regiment never took part in any serious engagements. At North Loup Mr Rood farmed for a number of years. Later he engaged W. H. Rood. Mrs. W. H. Rood. in mercantile pursuits and was for years proprietor of the North Loup hotel. At present he is a carpenter and builder. In. 1880 he married a Miss Pierce. He was a member of the militia company organized for protection against the Indians in 1873 and has held every township office in his home township.
SCHONING, OTTO-Another of Germany's sons is Otto Schoning who was born in Plathe, Pommerania, Germany, September 23, 1841. His early life was spent on a farm. He served two and one-half years as a state regular, but soon after getting his discharge he was recalled because of the war with Austria in 1860. Six months later he was discharged. Upon hearing rumors of a threatened Franco-Prussian war he left for the United States, landing at Baltimore in September, 1868. Securing work in Wisconsin he remained there till 1872 when he came to Valley county and homesteaded his present farm, four and one-half miles from North Loup. May 7, 1878, he married Miss Amelia Brown. They have a beauti- ful farm.
SHELDON, JOHN-was the first of the North Loup colony to choose land in Valley county; this he did when he located his claim three miles southeast of North Loup, November 6, 1871. From that day to the present he has been a loyal trailer. Mr. Sheldon was born in Germany, August 31, 1848, and came to America when only five years old. He was one of the early Seventh-Day Baptist locating committee and together with the Roods and Mansell Davis made the long trip from Wisconsin and back in 1871. The next spring he moved onto his farm, remaining there seven years. After leaving the farm he lived for a few years in Scotia; then he moved to North Loup where he still resides. He has spent his time vari- ously on the farm, as a proprietor of livery barns, in the mercantile busi- ness, and as a real estate dealer. He married Mary Brown of Wisconsin and is the father of four sons and daughters.
SMITH, A. J. - is another of those natives of New York state who came west to better their condition. In 1874 he came to Iowa where he was married the following year. In 1879 the Smith family moved to Nebraska and settled in Valley county. The first seven years of their Nebraska ex- perience was spent on a farm near the place where Mr. and Mrs. Melville
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Goodenow now live. In 1886 they moved to Ord, making the county seat their permanent home.
SNOW, CYRUS A .- was born in Alleghany county, New York, April 23, 1847. When he was only six years of age his parents came to Union Mills, Erie county, Pennsylvania, and ten years later they moved to a farm near Centreville, Michigan. In the fall of 1877 he came to Valley county and worked on the historic Mortensen place for two years. He then tim- ber-claimed his present farm southwest of Ord. In July, 1879, he married Miss Ella M. Jackson.
STACY, SAMUEL AUSTIN-was born in Hocking county, Ohio, in 1851. His parents early set their faces westward and moved to Clark county, Iowa, where Samuel grew to manhood and received a common school education. July 1, 1874. he left Sloan, Iowa, on horseback and after twenty-six strenuous days arrived in Valley county, where his sister Mrs. A. T. Morris had preceded him. That summer was spent in visiting, hunt- ing and in general enjoyment. He did not, how- ever, make this his home till February 20, 1877, when he filed on a homestead in Mira Valley. After building a humble dugout on the claim he went to Aurora, Nebr., for his bride, Alice E. Likes. This was October 25, 1877. After getting a few essentials for housekeeping, the young couple had just $6.10 with which to start out in life. But Mr. Stacy was not cut out for a farmer. He moved to Ord and clerked for a time in Doc. Harter's new store. Then he worked for B. C. White and later became a member of the firm Stacy, Johnson & Co., gen- eral merchandise. He has at various times been engaged as a real estate dealer and in the meat market business. He has also held office as town treasurer of Ord township. When Co. B, 2nd Regiment N. N. G., was organized, Mr. Stacy was made Second Lieutenant. Later he was raised to the rank of First Lieutenant, Captain, and Adjutant of the 2nd Regi- ment, successively. June 1, 1898, he was made postmaster of Ord ; he was reappointed by President Roosevelt, May 28, 1902.
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