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Beach, Charles C. Charles C, Beach, who is living retired in University Place, was formerly engaged in farming but after removing to town turned his attention to carpentering. His birth occurred in Franklin county, Ohio, on the 1st of January, 1846, and he is a son of Newton Beach, also a native of that county. The father engaged in farming and also worked in the timber to some extent in the days when the custom was to hew logs and shave shingles. He made the lumber which was used in the construction of many of the houses and barns in his community and was an excellent workman in that line. In 1852 he removed westward, settling in Iroquois county, Illinois, three miles from Onarga. He cultivated his farm, to which he held title, until 1873 when he went to Kansas with his son-in-law, O. M. Shore, and from that state removed to Cass county, Nebraska, the following year. He passed his remaining days there, his demise occurring in August, 1876. While still a resident of Ohio he was married to Miss Elizabeth Holt, who was bom in Vermont, but was taken to the Buckeye state when a child. She survived her husband for many years, dying in University Place, Nebraska, in April, 1910, when eighty-six years old. She was the mother of two children, the sister of our subject being Ella, who is the wife of O. M, Shore and resides at University Place. Charles C. Beach grew to manhood in Ohio and Illinois, and as soon as old and strong enough began assisting his father with the farm work. He continued to reside in Iroquois county, Illinois, for several years following his marriage, but in 1873 went to Cass county, Nebraska, whence four years later he came to Lancaster county and purchased eighty acres of railroad land in Stevens Creek precinct. At that time this county was undeveloped and the conditions of life were those of a frontier region. His first home was a frame building fourteen by eighteen feet, but shortly after taking up his residence there he erected an addition to his house and in 1890 he built a commodious dwelling. As soon as possible he brought his land under cultivation and as time passed he made many improvements upon his place until it became one of the most valuable farm properties of his locality. He devoted his time and attention to its operation until 1900 when he removed to Prairie Home, where he purchased two lots and erected a residence. In 1905, however, he disposed of his property there and built his present attractive home in University Place. For several years after giving up farming he engaged in carpentering, and, although he is practically retired, he still does considerable work in repairing his neighbors' houses and in keeping everything about his own place in excellent condition. He never served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, but being of a mechanical turn of mind has developed a high degree of skill in that work. On the 26th of March, 1867, in Iroquois county, Illinois, Mr. Beach was united in marriage to Miss Susan Halt, who was bom in England but became a resident of Erie county, Ohio, when a child. To this union have been born three children as follows: W. S., who is employed by the Buick Automobile Company of Lincoln, married Miss Bertha Gnswald and they have four children, Carl, Clifford, Bemic« and Gilbert. Ella is the wife of John Hedges, who is farming our subject's homestead and she has two children, George and Nellie. C. C, the youngest of the family, died when twenty years of age. Mr, Beach is a prohibitionist and loyally supports the candidates of that party. While living on the farm he served for three years as justice of the peace and for one year as assessor and his record in these offices was highly creditable, alike to his ability and his public spirit. In religious faith he is a Methodist and his daily life attests the sincerity of his belief. He has witnessed the greater part of the development of the county and takes great pleasure in the knowledge that he has aided in the agricultural progress of his locality. In the early years of his residence in the couniy prices for grain were very low and at times he hauled com to Lincoln asTom Lowry, an old time miller there, paid fifteen cents per bushel although the price at Waverly was but twelve cents. The first harvesting machine which he used was a McCormick self-rake which was considered a wonderful invention at the time, although it was a primitive implement compared with the McCormick self-binders which he later owned. He has always been willing to adopt new methods which promise to be of value and his progressiveness has been one factor in his gratifying success. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 84, 87 |
Cast, Rev. Ildephonse Rev. Ildephonse Gast, pastor of St. Francis de Sales Catholic parish in Lincoln, was bom in Louisville, Kentucky, on the 27th of August, 1881, and was educated at St. Francis College in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an additional course in homilectics at St. Bernard, Ohio, and a course in philosophy at Louisville. His theological course was pursued at Oldenburg, Indiana, and he was ordained to the priesthood on the 20th of June, 1907. His first charge was as chaplain at the Home of the Good Shepherd, and at the Bartonville Insane Asylum at Peoria, Illinois. There he remained for a year and subsequently he was assistant pastor of St. Boniface church at La Fayette, Indiana, for three years. In August, 1911, he was appointed to his present charge, having since been resident priest in the parish of St. Francis de Sales in Lincoln. He is doing good work among his people, his efforts resulting in the marked upbuilding of the congregation and of the various departments of church work. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, p. 122 |
Clements, Elliott John Lincoln has always been distinguished for the high character of her bench and bar, and prominent among the distinguished lawyers of the city is Elliott John Clements, whom the consensus of opinion places in the front rank of the profession. He was bom on a farm in Allegan county, Michigan, September 30, 1856, and is a son of Cyrus D. Clements, who was a millwright and mechanic. He was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, and was there married to Mary Elizabeth Hughes, a native of Pennsylvania. In 1853 he removed with his family to Allegan county, Michigan, where he and his wife continued to reside for about forty years. The father followed contracting and building and did considerable millwright work, erecting a number of mills. He was born in 1830 and his wife in 1833 and they were but twenty-one and eighteen years of age when married. In 1893 they came to Nebraska settling in Ord, Valley county, where their son Elliott John had located in 1884. There the father passed away in 1898 while the mother's death occurred in 1913, the remains of both being interred in the Ord cemetery. In the family were four sons and three daughters, and two brothers and two sisters of Elliott J. Clements are yet living, namely: Edwin P., a member of the bar at Ord, Nebraska, where he has resided since 1888; Nettie L., now the wife of Daniel Burke of Paul, Idaho; Cora E., the wife of Homer D. Leggett of Ord; and Arthur A., who was formerly an active member of the bar but is now conducting a fruit ranch in Colorado. All three sons, who survive, have become lawyers. The brother and sister, who have passed away, were Eugene L. Clements of Ord, who was a farmer and blacksmith and died in 1900, and Mrs. Alice A. Hoffmaster, who died in Greeley, Nebraska, in 1911. Elliott John Clements attended a country school in his boyhood and when fifteen years of age he began to work with his father at the builder's trade and under him mastered carpentering. After leaving the country school he attended the high school at Otsego, Michigan, and was also a student in the Pine Grove Seminary at Allegan, Michigan. When nineteen years of age he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for six years, and in the summer season engaged in carpentering and to some extent in farm work. In 1881 he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, pursuing the full two years' course at that time and being graduated in 1883, his diploma bearing the name of Thomas B. Cooley, the noted legal author. Mr. Clements was admitted to the bar at Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1883, but spent the summer of that year at home assisting his father in building a new residence, the former dwelling having been destroyed by lire. During the winter of 1883-4 he taught school in Allegan county. He had previously paid his way through the university with money he had made at school teaching and by work at the carpenter's trade and he again took up the profession in order to obtain a financial start ere entering upon active law practice. In 1884 Mr. Clements removed to Nebraska and was admitted to the bar in Wheeler county. He practiced law at Ord, Valley county, from 1884 until 1900 and served as the first county attorney there, occupying the position for four years. In igcx) he came to Lincoln and has since been one of the city's leading attorneys, accorded a large and distinctively representative clientage. He is also a director of the Fanners State Bank at York, Nebraska. Though he has never held a judicial position, his friends frequently call him "judge" because of his service as referee on different occasions, appointed as such by the court. He stoutly disclaims any claim to the title however. He served as a referee in an important case in Omaha in 1898, to which position he was appointed by the state supreme court. On the 25th of December, 1885, Mr, Clements was married to Miss Ettie Rogers, of Ord, and they have a daughter, Edna V,, now the wife of Ralph B. Sill, of Lincoln, and the mother of a daughter, Virginia Louise, who was born May 8, 1914, and who is a great favorite with her grandfather and he is with her. In politics Mr. Clements is a republican but has never held but one office. He belongs to the Lancaster County and the State Bar Associations and fraternally is a member of Lancaster Lodge, No. 54, A. F. & A. M., of the Knights of Pythias and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is likewise a member of the Lincoln Commercial Club. Although long a Unitarian in religious belief, he is not now actively identified with any church. He is interested in all matters that deeply affect his fellow townsmen and the pubHc at lai^e and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, being ever ready to support his position by intelligent argument. The major part of his time, thought and effort, however, are given to his law practice and he is recognized as one of the distinguished members of the Nebraska bar. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 90-92 |
Comstock, Wilmer Beecher Wilmer Beecher Comstock is engaged in the practice of law in Lincoln, where he has resided since 1887. He was born at White Pigeon, Michigan, October 20, 1867, and was therefore a young man of twenty years when he came to the capital. His father, Richard Emerson Comstock, also a lawyer by profession, was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1830, a son of Jonathan and Rhoda (Emerson) Comstock, the latter a member of the Emerson family to which Ralph Waldo Emerson, New England's most distinguished philosopher, belonged. One of her brothers became an eminent lawyer of New York, and served as United States minister :to England during President Buchanan's administration. Richard Emerson Comstock was twice married, the mother of Wilmer B. Comstock being his second wife. She bore the maiden name of Jennie Haviland, and was born near Adrian, Michigan, September 1, 1840, a daughter of Charles Haviland. When their son Wilmer was ten years of age the parents removed with their family to Adair county, Iowa, where they settled on a farm which Mr. Comstock continued to develop and cultivate from 1878 until 1887. In that year he removed to Cheyenne county, Kansas, and studied law in the town of St. Francis. He was then admitted to the bar and practiced law there for several years, but his last years were passed in Lincoln, where he died in 1910. His wife survived him until 1914 and the remains of both were interred in the Wyuka cemetery, W, B. Comstock has two full brothers: Allen Wells, now a lawyer of Ponca, Oklahoma; and Charles Emerson, residing in Lincoln. W. B. Comstock is the youngest of the three. He has a half sister, Mrs. Idella Jones, formerly of Lincoln, but now of California. His mother was a member of the Haviland family of France, that 'has'become famous as manufacturers of the Haviland china. From the age of eleven years Wilmer B. Comstock spent his youth upon a farm in Adair county, Iowa, and at eighteen took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for some time in Adair county. He had acquired a good common school education and he also attended the high school at Fontanelle, Iowa. In 1886 he went to St. Francis, Kansas, where his eider brother, Allen W., was then practicing law. For six months he studied law in his brother's office, and in October, 1887, came to Lincoln, where he continued his law studies until November 22, 1888, being then admitted to the bar. He has since practiced in Lincoln and a liberal clientage is accorded him, his name figuring in connection with much important litigation. On the 4th of March, 1901, Mr. Comstock was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Benton Spurck, of Lincoln, the daughter of the late Adam E. Spurck. Mrs. Comstock is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and at the time of her marriage was a teacher in the Lincoln public schools. By her marriage she has become the mother of five children, two sons and three daughters, namely: Ruth, John, Edison, Mary and Louise. Mr. Comstock has always supported the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and for four years he was police judge and for two years a member of the city council of Lincoln, While in the latter office he took the initiative in the investigation of all the city officials of Lincoln and served as chairman of the investigating committee which had been created according to his resolution. He is a member of the Lincoln and State Bar Associations and of the Lincoln Commercial Club. Fraternally he is an Elk and in religious faith a Unitarian. In a word, he is a broad-minded man and progressive citizen, interested in all that pertains to the welfare of the community and the commonwealth. He gives active aid and cooperation to many plans for the public good and he stands at all times for those things which feature lai^ely in bringing about higher standards of civic conduct and civic prcoess. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 133-134 |
Cook, John E. For twenty-two years John E. Cook was a resident of Lincoln. During that period he lived reared, although previously he had been active in business as both a machinist and farmer. A native son of New England, he was bom in Roxbury, Massachusetts, May 6, 1838, a son of William and Alice Cook, who were natives of New York. Th« father was a teamster and spent the greater part of his life in Boston, where he was also a member of the poKce force for thirty years. He died in 1889, having long survived his wife, who passed away in 1851. John E. Cook was reared and educated in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and at the age of twenty-three years enlisted for service as a member of the Thirteenth Massachusetts Infantry, with which he remained for three years, or during the war. For three days he was incarcerated in Libby prison and he experienced all of the different phases of military life, including the long, hard marches and hotly contested campaigns. With the close of his military service, Mr. Cook returned to Boston, where he worked at the machinist's trade, which he had learned previous to the time when he went to the front. He was thus employed in the east until 1875, when he came to Nebraska, settling in Butler county, where he engaged in work as a machinist but later secured a homestead in Knox county and was thus identified with farming until 1889. In that year he came to Lincoln and retired, spending his remaining days in rest from labor, the competence which he had acquired in his former business activity supplying him with all the comforts of life. In December, 1875, Mr. Cook was united in marriage to Miss Almira M. Marsh, a daughter of Edward and Caroline (Beach) Marsh, who were natives of Ohio and New York respectively. The father removed with his family to Illinois and engaged in farming near Freeport .until 1874, when he came to Nebraska, purchasing land in Butler county. His remaining days were given to the cultivation of that tract and thereon he passed away in 1885, while his wife died in 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Cook were the parents of three children: Winifred, at home; Ralph, residing in Lincoln; and Juanita, who is teaching school in Valley, Nebraska. The death of the husband and father occurred January 10, 1911. He was a loyal member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His political belief was that of the republican party and in religious faith he was a Methodist. His life was actuated by high and honorable principles and in every relation he was loyal to duty and appreciative of the rights of his fellowmen. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 137-138 |
Cutter, Abram E. Abram E. Cutter, one of the well known business men of Bethany, is president of the Rowland Lumber Company, which operates two lumber yards and a hardware store. A native of Ohio, he was bom in Febraary, 1861, of the marriage of Samuel and Christina (Stucker) Cutter, both natives of Ohio. The father engaged in farming and stock raising in that state and died there in May, 189S. His wife survived for some time, her demise occurring in January, 19CX). Abram E. Cutter received his education in the common schools, remaining upon the home farm until 1883, when he went to Cass county, Nebraska, and purchased a tract of good land, which he cuhivated until 1907. In that year he disposed of his farm and came to Bethany, Lancaster county, where he has since resided. A year or two later he bought an interest in the Rowland Lumber Company, of which he is now president and manager, while J. O. Rowland, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work, is secretary and treasurer. The company is incorporated and owns two lumber yards and a hardware business. Mr. Cutter has charge of one yard and of the hardware store and his partner manages the other yard. Their affairs are wisely managed, and they are ever alert for an opportunity to increase their business and their patronage has shown a steady growth. In October, 1887, occurred the marriage of Mr. Cutter and Miss Anna L. Mosley and they have two children: Mabel E., who was bom in March, 1890, and is the wife of Dr. J. M. Packer, of Memphis, Saunders county; and Lela, who was bom in July, 1897, and is attending Cotner University. Mr. Cutter gives his political allegiance to the democratic party, believing firmly in its principles and is never remiss in any of the duties of a good citizen. He is now serving as a member of the school board and is also filling the office of town treasurer. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic order and the Royal Arcanum and holds membership in the Christian church. He is respected for his ability and enterprise and his personal characteristics are such that he has gained the warm friendship of those who have been closely associated with him. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 93-94 |
Diamond, Calvin A. Interested in all those forces which work for the upbuilding and development of the community, Calvin A, Diamtond was for a considerable period a valued and representative citizen of Lancaster county, and his death was the occasion of deep and wide-spread regret. He was born on a farm in Shelbyville township, Blue Earth county, Minnesota, in September, 1860, a son of John and Mary (Schutt) Diamond, who were natives of Maryland and Pennsylvania respectively. The father was a farmer by occupation and on removing westward became one of the pioneer settlers of Blue Earth county, Minnesota, where he later occupied the position of sheriff. He continued to reside in that county throughout his remaining days, his death there occurring in 1903. He had for several years survived his wife, who died in 1898. Calvin A. Diamond was reared and educated in Mankato and remained with his parents until he reached the age of seventeen years, when he started out in business on his own account, becoming a clerk in a store at North Platte, Nebraska. Later he went to Rock Springs, Wyoming, where he was employed for some time, and afterward he accepted a position as traveling salesman for the firm of Steel & Walker, wholesale grocers, of St, Joseph, Missouri, remaining with that house for a number of years, or until the firm failed. He traveled in Nebraska in connection with mercantile lines for a quarter of a century. In 1895 he came to Lincoln where he continued to reside until called to his final rest and where his widow still makes her home. He erected a fine residence at No. 2600 Q Street and this Mrs. Diamond now rents, erecting in the spring of 1915 a residence at No. 1620 C street. In June, 1895, Mr. Diamond was united in marriage to Miss Belle Duckworth, a daughter of Alexander D. and Emma (Sims) Buckworth, who were natives of Ohio. The father removed to North Platte, Nebraska, at an early day and for nine years held a position in the government land office there. Before this time he practiced medicine in Illinois, and after leaving the land office he engaged in the banking business, becoming president of the North Platte National Bank. He represented his district in the state senate and at the time of the Civil war he served with the Union army as assistant surgeon. His life was one of usefulness and he enjoyed the confidence and regard of his fellowmen in an unusually high degree. He passed away in January, 1897, and his wife is also deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Diamond were bom three children: Herbert C, who was born December 21, 1896, and died January 11, 1912; Leonard B., who was bornAugust 9, 1900, and is now attending high school; and John A., who was born March, 28, 1902, and is also in school. Fraternally Mr. Diamond was connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and his religious faith was that of the Episcopal church. He passed away June 1, 1909, and thus closed a life which in all respects was exemplary. He ever lived up to his professions, was thoroughly reliable in his business affairs and straightforward in every relation. His word was as good as a bond, and those who knew him entertained for him the highest confidence and warmest regard. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 63-64 |
Dill, Robert S. Among the successful farmers of Panama precinct was Robert S. Dill, whose demise in 1901 was the occasion of much sincere regret. A short time before his death he had retired from active life and taken up his residence in Bethany, where his widow still lives. His birth occurred in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, on the 2d of October, 1844, and he was a son of William H. and Mary (Kellog) Dill, natives of Ohio. They removed to Indiana, however, at an early day in the history of that state, and the father farmed there for many years but in the '80s he came to Nebraska and passed the remainder of his life at Belvidere, this state, being called to his final rest on the 19th of June, 1896. Robert S. Dill received his education in the public schools of Indiana and remained under the parental roof until 1864, when, at the age of twenty years, he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, He served with that regiment until the close of hostilities and then returned home and followed agricultural pursuits in Indiana until 1870, As early as 1870 he built two houses in Lincoln, Nebraska, which he rented to others. On coming to Lancaster county, Nebraska, in that year he took up a homestead in Panama precinct, five miles south of Bcnnet, and at once turned his attention to the improvement and operation of his place. Later he bought an adjoining quarter section and rented his entire farm, removing to Cheney, Nebraska, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres, which he cuhivated until 1901. He then removed to Bethany but immediately afterward went to Colorado for his health and passed away there two weeks later, on the 30th of October, 1901. Mr. Dill was married on the 27th of March, 1872, to Miss Margaret J. Van Eman, a daughter of James D. and Maria (Kilton) Van Eman, natives of Ohio, Her father engaged in farming and in early manhood removed to Indiana, where his daughter, Mrs. Dill, was bom on the 19th of April, 1848. He followed agricultural pursuits there until his demise on the 15th of July, 1889, and was survived by his wife until the 19th of June, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Dill became the parents of nine children, namely: William H., now a resident of California; Ina M., who married Otis B. Crandall and resides in Bethany; May, who is the wife of A. Wilson, of Bethany, and is attending the Sute University of Nebraska, as is also her husband; Claude S., who is living in Broken Bow, Nebraska; Clara S., who is teaching in a mission school at Hazel Green, Kentucky; Lulu, Martha P. and Robert M., all of whom are deceased; and Mary, who married J. L. Overlander and passed away on the 1st of March, 1910. Her husband and daughter Veva are now living with Mrs. Dill. Mr. Dill gave his political allegiance to the republican party and while living in Cheney served as justice of the peace. He held membership in the Christian church and was also identified with the Grand Army of the Republic at Bennet. He was a man of fine character and was highly esteemed wherever known and most of all where best known. His widow resides in a comfortable home which he erected in Bethany, one block from Main street, and still owns one hundred and sixty acres of the farm in Panama precinct and property in Lincoln, LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 104, 107 |
Doyle, Thomas John Thomas John Doyle, one of Lincoln's leading attorneys, has been a resident of the capital city since 1897 and of the state since 1884. He was born in Greene county, Tennessee, May 5, 1858, about ten miles east of Greenville, where was the Old home of President Andrew Johnson. His father, of whom he was a namesake, was bom in Path Valley, Pennsylvania, near the town of Concord, April 4, 1817, and was an inventor and manufacturer. The Doyle fanning mill, which in the decade preceding the Civil war was extensively used by the farmers of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Other states, was his invention and at different times he manufactured those nulls at Williamsport, Maryland, at Winchester, Staunton and Wytheville, Virginia, and at Rheatown and Loudon, Tennessee. He had factories at Wytheville, Virginia, and at Rheatown, Tennessee, at the same time. His son, Thomas John Doyle, was bom at Rheatown and in 1859 the father removed to Wytheville, Virginia, where he established a factory. When the Civil war began, being a stanch Union man, he returned to east Tennessee, where the Union sentiment was strong, and there he purchased two farms, one being in Washington county and the other in Greene. He lived on the former all during the war period and until 1872, at which time he removed lo a farm in Greene county, where he passed away November 21, 18g8, in his eighty-second year. He was married in the Catholic Cathedral of Baltimore, while living in Winchester, Virginia, to Miss Ann Virginia Bougher, who was born and reared at that place and was there living at the time of her marriage. Her natal day was October 30, 1830, and she was married in 1854, her death occurring at Rheatown, Tennessee, January 21, 1895, when she was sixty-four years of age. Thomas J. Doyle was the eldest son and second child in a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, all of whom reached adult age, namely: Mary Virginia, now the wife of Dr. Jerome J. Rankin, of Greeneville, Tennessee; Thomas John; William Jerome, who became a physician and surgeon of prominence in eastern Tennessee and later of Greeley, Nebraska, where he passed away December 26, 1910; Otho H., a farmer of Greene county. Tennessee; Magdaline A., also of Greene county; Clara, living in the same county; Phillip A., who died at Carnegie, Oklahoma, January 13, 1907, at which time he was serving as the chairman of the board of county commissioners and was being prominently mentioned for the position of the first state treasurer of Oklahoma; George W., living in Sioux City, Iowa ; May, who reached womanhood and died in Greene county, Tennessee; and Edward Doyle, who lives on the old Doyle farm in Tennessee which the father purchased in 1861. The founder of the Doyle family in America was Felix A. Doyle, who reached the United States in 1743, having come from County Wexford, Ireland. He took up his abode near the present town of Doylesburg, named in honor of the family, in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. His descendants are now numerous throughout the United States, especially in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. The family was represented in the Revolutionary war. On the maternal side Thomas J. Doyle comes of German ancestry. Various representatives of the name have attained prominence, including Judge Dayton A. Doyle, of Akron, Ohio, and William D. Doyle, one of the members of the faculty of Carnegie Institute of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Thomas J. Doyle was reared on the old Doyle farm in Greene county, Tennessee, and attended a country school until he reached the age of eighteen years, pursuing his studies through the winter months, while in the summer seasons he worked in the fields. When eighteen years of age he entered Mount St. Mary's College at Emmitsburg, Maryland, which he attended for three years. That is the oldest Catholic college in the United States. He afterward took up the study of law in the office of the late Colonel Henry H. Ingersoll at Greeneville, Tennessee. He was a graduate of Yale and was a first cousin of the distinguished orator and thinker, Robert G. Ingersoll. Colonel Henry H. Ingersoll won his title by service in the Union army during the Civil war and Robert Ingersoll also served with distinction during that conflict. Mr. Doyle studied law under Colonel Ingersoll until 1882, when he was admitted to the bar at Greeneville. Tennessee. He then opened an office and continued in practice there until 1884, when he came to Nebraska, entering upon active practice at Scotia, then the county seat of Greeley county, where he remained until 1890. In that year the county seat was removed to Greeley and Mr. Doyle went with it, continuing in active practice in that town until 1897. Since that date he has been a prominent member of the Lincoln bar and by reason of his ability has worked his way steadily upward, being now accorded an extensive clientage that connects him with much important litigation. On the 8th of July, 1883, Mr. Doyle was married in Greeneville, Tennessee, to Miss Eliza Ann Remine, who was boni and reared near that place and had been an acquaintance of his in boyhood. They have become the parents of six children, as follows: Jessica, now the wife of Raymond S. Murray, of Lincoln; Kathleen R. ; Thomas John, Jr.; Raymond A.; Elizabeth Ann; and Dorothy. Mrs. Doyle is a namesake of her aunt, Mrs. Eliza Ann Brownlow, the wife of Parson Brownlow, who was Tennessee's first reconstruction governor following the close of the Civil war. His name was William P. Brownlow but he was widely known as Parson Brownlow owing to the fact that he had previously been a Methodist minister. Mr. Doyle's eldest son, Thomas John, Jr., is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he completed the course in 1914, and he is now an ensign on the United States Battleship Kansas. He is an exceptionally bright young man, being especially proficient in mathematics, and upon his graduation he stood seventh in a class of one hundred and fifty-four. In politics a democrat throughout his entire life, Mr. Doyle was the candidate of his party in 1895 for judge of the eleventh district, composed of twelve counties, and was only defeated by fifty-seven votes, although the counties had a large normal republican majority. He had also been the democratic nominee for the same judicial office in 1886, when he was not quite old enough to hold a position of public preferment. He accepted the nomination in the face of a large republican majority merely for the prestige it would give him and the large acquaintance it would gain him over the district. He was the democratic nominee, for congress in the first Nebraska district in 1906 and was defeated by only twenty-seven hundred votes in a district the normal republican majority of which is from four to eight thousand. He has been a leading campaign worker, not only in Nebraska but in other states, since 1896. Aside from his political service he is active as a director of the Union Accident Insurance Company of Lincoln. He belongs also to the Lincoln Commercial Club, the Elks Club, the Country Club and the Automobile Club, and he is a member of the local and state bar associations and also of the American Bar Association. What he undertakes he accomplishes. He is a man of resolute spirit and does not hesitate to give that thorough preparation which must precede ascendancy in law practice. On the loth of January, 1916, he was appointed by Governor John H. Morehead a member of the national conference of commissioners on uniform state laws and IS now serving as such. He belongs to the Candle Light Club and the Knights of Columbus and is a devout communicant of the Roman Catholic church. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 111-113 |