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| Field, Judge Allen W.
Judge Allen W. Field, of Lincoln, was one of the most prominent and most public-spirited residents of the city and his demise was widely mourned. For a number of years he served upon the bench of the district court of Lancaster county, but at the time of his death was a member of the well known law firm of Field, Ricketts & Ricketts. A native of Illinois, his birth occurred in La Salle on the 20th of November, 1853, and his parents were Wescott R. and Bethia (Bates) Field, natives of Vermont. In 1850 they went to Illinois and there resided until 1858, when they went to Osage, Iowa. There the father engaged in mercantile business for about three years, after which he decided to try his fortune in Nebraska, which was then on the western frontier. He located in Lancaster county, taking up a homestead in Yankee Hill precinct adjoining the present site of the Hospital for the Insane. Later his family Joined him here and he operated that farm for a long period. At length he removed to Colorado, where he passed away in August, 1902. He had long survived his wife as her demise occurred in 1875. Allen W. Field entered the public schools at Osage, Iowa, which he attended until he was ten years of age, and continued his education in the schools of Lancaster county, Nebraska. As a boy and youth he also gave much of his time to assisting in the development of the home farm. In 1870 he matriculated in Tabor College at Tabor, Iowa, but the State University of Nebraska being opened the following year, he became a student in that institution, which he attended for six years, receiving at the end of that time the degree of Bachelor of Science. Later the university conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. His high scholarship was indicated by the fact that he belonged to Phi Beta Kappa. After completing his college work he began the study of law in the office of James E. Philpott and in 1878 was admitted to the bar. During that year he held the office of justice of the peace and in January, 1879, he formed a partnership with Edwin P. Holmes, who later became judge of the district court. This association was maintained with mutual pleasure and profit until 1883, and the firm was accorded a large share of the public patronage. In 1882 Mr, Field was elected to the lower house of the state legislature and served as a member of that body during the eighteenth and nineteenth sessions. He was further honored by being elected as speaker of the house in the latter session and the impartiality of his rulings gained him the commendation of his fellow members. In 1884 he formed a law partnership with General J. R. Webster, with whom he was associated in practice until 1886, when he was appointed judge of the district court. He acquitted himself so admirably in that office that he was elected to that position in 1887 and again in 1891, serving upon the bench until 1892, when he resigned in order to devote his time to the management of his campaign for election to congress, he having received the republican nomination. His opponent was William Jennings Bryan, who gained the election by the narrow margin of one hundred and forty votes. The excellent showing which Judge Field made was evidence of the high esteem in which he was held throughout the district and the confidence placed in his ability and integrity. He resumed the practice of law at Lincoln and remained an active member of the bar until his demise on the 9th of June, 191 5. He was employed as counsel in the greater number of the important cases tried in the courts of this district. He realized fully the necessity of preparing his cases carefully, and his painstaking investigation of every point of the evidence was an important factor in his success. He had a comprehensive and exact knowledge of the law, was skillful in applying it to the case in hand and was convincing in the presentation of his arguments. Judge Field was married on the 20th of December, 1883, to Miss May B. Fairfield, a daughter of Edmund B. and Mary A. (Baldwin) Fairfield, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Vermont. Mr. Fairfield devoted his life to edticational work and in 1849 became president of Hillsdale College at Hillsdale, Michigan, a position which he held for twenty-one years. In 1876 he was chosen as chancellor of the State University of Nebraska and served in that capacity for six years, after which he returned to Michigan, where he lived until his removal to Oberlin, Ohio, in 1900. He passed the remainder of his life there, dying in November, 1904. His wife had long preceded him to the great beyond, her demise occurring in March, 1881. To Judge and Mrs. Field were born four children, namely: Allen W., whose birth occurred on the 6th of May, 1885, and who succeeded his father as a member of the firm of Field, Ricketts & Ricketts; Georgia B., who is a twin of Allen and is now the wife of Fred W. Upson, head of the department of chemistry of the State Agricultural College; Kate, who was born on the 8th of June, 1889, and is at home; and Edmund, bom July 3, 1893, who is attending the State University. Judge Field was one of the leaders of the republican party in Nebraska and did much to secure its success in his district although in the last years of his life he became somewhat independent in his political views. He attended the First Congregational church and fraternally was identified with the Knights of Pythias, the Masons, the Mystic Shrine and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He erected a beautiful residence at No. 544 South Seventeenth street, and his home was always open to his friends, among whom were numbered the men most prominent in the intellectual and civic life of Lincoln. Judge Field gave unstintingly of his time and energy to the promotion of the public welfare and among the important services which he rendered to his home city was his successful fight before the interstate commerce commission in 1895 to remove discriminations in railroad rates which were then operating against Lincoln in favor of Omaha and other westem cities. The Judge was the attorney for the Lincoln Commercial Club and showed so clearly the injustice of the discriminations that the commission ordered the greater part of them abolished and the railroads subsequently did away with the others voluntarily. When an effort was made in 1914 and 1915 to remove the State University from its present location to the state farm Judge Field was largely instrumental in securing the necessary financial support to make possible the expansion of the university on the present site. At that time he was president of the alumni association and vigorously opposed the removal of the school as he was convinced that it would work an injury both to the university and to the College of Agriculture. When the question was put to the vote of the people in the fall of 1915 the decision was overwhelmingly in favor of his position and was in large measure the result of his efforts. His attitude in this contest was characteristic of the man as in fighting the removal of the university he was working against his own financial interests since he had real estate holdings in the vicinity of the state farm whose value would have been greatly increased if the university had been located there. In its issue of the 9th of June, 1915, the day of his death, the Lincoln Star paid the following well deserved tribute to Judge Field. "Death claimed the foremost citizen of Lincoln and pioneer of Nebraska last night when Judge Field succumbed to heart trouble, from which he had been a sufferer for more than a year. Judge Field was sixty-one years of age last November, 1914. Coming to the state in 1861, Judge Field took an active part in the development of Nebraska. He was the type of citizen who placed public service before private interests and was an untiring laborer for the best interests of the community. His kindly, forceful personality made many warm friends and he enjoyed the love and admiration of thousands of Nebraskans." LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, 18-20 |
| Fisher, John
Among those who contributed to the material development and improvement of Lancaster county was John Fisher, who for a considerable period was connected with agricultural interests here. At the time of his death, March 29, 1909, he was sixty-three years of age, his birth having occurred in Carroll county, Ohio, March 1, 1846. His parents were Jacob and Gertrude Fisher, natives of Germany, who in early life came to the new world, settling in Ohio, where Mr. Fisher purchased land, becoming the owner of a good farm in Carroll county, which he continued to cultivate and improve until his life's labors were ended in death in 1858. His widow passed away in 1891. John Fisher spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the county of his nativity and is indebted to its public school system for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. In 1865 he removed westward, settling at Prairie City, Jasper county, Iowa, and there worked at the wagon maker's trade, which he had previously learned at his old Ohio home. He was employed for some years at his trade in that county, and later he acquired a farm near Prairie City, which he owned and cultivated for nine years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Audubon county, Iowa, where he bought land and engaged in general farming for a similar period. On the 1st of March, 1890, he arrived in Lancaster county, Nebraska, and purchased land in Elk precinct, after which he carried on the work of the fields there until his demise. It was on the 2d of May, 1867, that Mr. Fisher was united in marriage to Miss Dianna Beck, a daughter of Michael and Catherine (Houck) Beck, who were natives of Pennsylvania. Her father was a fanner by occupation and in 1855 removed to Jackson county, Iowa, his daughter, Mrs. Fisher, being then eleven years of age, her birth having occurred in Pennsylvania, June 22, 1844. Mr. Beck continued to engage in farming in Jackson county, Iowa, throughout the remainder of his days. He was bom in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1817, and died on the 10th of April, 1870, while his wife's birth occurred in Westmoreland county, that state, December 9, 1813, and she was called to her final rest August 21, 1877. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Fisher were four children: Catherine W., who was born September 26, 1869, and died October 31, 1870; Minnie Mary, who was born February 14, 1871, and is now the wife of John Densburger, residing on a farm in Elk precinct, Lancaster county; Isaac F., who was born October 25, 1872, and is also engaged in farming in Elk precinct; and George A., who was born November 17, 1874, and owns and operates the home farm in Elk precinct. Following her husband's death Mrs. Fisher removed to Lincoln in October, 1914, and erected a residence at No. 1325 D street. Mr. Fisher always kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day and voted with the democratic party. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church, in which he served as deacon for many years, taking an active part in all branches of church work. His life conformed to its teachings, and he was ever honorable and upright, meriting the esteen and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 64, 67 |
| Frampton, William C. The bar of Lincoln finds a worthy representative in William C. Frampton, who in his practice has demonstrated his ability to carefully analyze his cases and correctly apply the principles of jurisprudence. He has been connected with much important litigation heard in the courts of the district and the records show that he has won many verdicts favorable to his clients. He was born at Chariton, Iowa, March 21, 1864, his birth occurring in a covered wagon in which his parents were fleeing from their home at Independence, Missouri, which town had been completely sacked and made uninhabitable by Quantrell's hand. The family were going to Tama county, Iowa. The father, George V. Frampton, who was bom January 23, 1837, became a sawmill owner and operator. At Independence, Missouri, on the 14th of May, 1859, he married Miss Jane Highet, who was bom at Parkersburg, West Virginia, April 12, 1843. Her father, James Highet, was a native of Ayrshire, Scotland, and came to the United States about 1840, accompanied by his wife. He removed westward to Jackson county, Missouri, long before Kansas City came into existence and located at Independence. He dreamed that a great city would spring up on the bank of the Missouri river in Jackson county and undertook to select the spot for its site, missing the present site of Kansas City only a few miles. Later he removed to Tama county, Iowa, where he built a gristmill and in that county he spent his remaining days. It was his daughter Jane who became the wife of George V. Frampton. After the birth of their son, William C., the parents continued their journey to Tama county, Iowa, where both spent their remaining days, the father dying January 22, 1870, while his wife survived until March, 1912. In their family were four children; Alice Janet, who was born November 25, 1860, and died in 1881; William C., who was bora March 21, 1864; John Vernon, who was born September 23, 1866, and is a farmer now living at Allerton, Iowa; and George Henry, who was bom April 17, 1869, and is hving at Lawton, Oklahoma, where he is very prominent as a successful business man, being a large breeder of cattle and also an extensive landowner. William C. Frampton spent his boyhood days at Monticello, Iowa, whither the mother removed with her children after the death of her husband. William C. Frampton was a little lad of but six years when his father died. The experiences which came to him in his boyhood and youth were of a strenuous character. He had little opportunity to attend school, as most of his early boyhood was spent in herding cattle. By the time he attained his majority he decided that he needed more education. He went to a normal school one year and in 1885 he came to Nebraska, after which he engaged in teaching school, which profession he followed through two winter seasons in Redwillow county, while later he taught school for two winters in Cass county. He matriculated in the University of Nebraska in 1888 and was graduated from its law department in 1893, after having spent five years in pursuing studies in different departments of the university. Since 1893 he has been a member of the Lincoln bar and has risen to prominence in that connection. He has ever recognized the necessity for thorough preparation of his cases and he has the analytical mind which enables him to correctly dissect a cause and bring out its most significant points so as to have the strongest bearing upon the trial of the case. On the 13th of June, 1893, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Mr. Frampton was united in marriage to Miss Julia Lenhoff, of Louisville, this state, by whom he has a daughter and son, namely: Eleanor, a student in Wellesley College, of Massachusetts; and William Lenhoff, who is a junior in the Lincoln high school. Politically Mr. Frampton is a republican but has never sought office save that he served for eight years in the city council from the fifth ward and during a part of that time acted as mayor pro tem of Lincoln. He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and to the Lincoln Commercial Club. He assisted in organizing the Layman's Club, of which he is a promient member, and he belongs to the local and state bar associations. He enjoys the confidence and high regard of colleagues and contemporaries and he is spoken of by them as one who is most careful to conform his practice to a high standard of professional ethics. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 103-104 |
| Freeland, Robert Robert Freeland, who was a railroad engineer, died as the result of an accident in 1904, and his wife subsequently removed from Alliance, where they were living at the time, to Bethany and has since been a resident of that town. He was bom in Freelandville, Indiana, on the 5th of December, 1862, and is a son of Dr. John Thomas and Lydia (Ford) Freeland. The father was born in St. Michaels, Talbot county, Maryland, November 10, 1813, but in the spring of 1815, accompanied his father on his removal to Indiana, the family settling near Bloomington. He was graduated from the State University of Indiana in 1836, and the following year entered the Louisville Medical School. After his graduation from that institution he began the practice of medicine at Edwardsport, Indiana, but shortly afterward removed to Widner township, Knox county, Indiana, where he practiced his profession for nearly fifty years. He was in every sense a country doctor of the old school, with an utter disregard for personal hardships. He responded to calls day and night that took him far from home, over rough country roads, through storm and cold, to answer the demands of suffering humanity. He considered it a part of his work to serve, without cost, those patients who were not able to pay, and as he never refused a call he had all of that kind of work to do. At that time there was no provision made by the county for medical attention to the poor. In 1850 he was elected to the state senate of Indiana and served in all three terms. In 1862 he entered the Union army as captain of Company B, Thirty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and remained in the service until the close of the war, when he resumed the practice of his profession. He was a charter member of the Tri-State Medical Society, consisting of the states of Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, organized in 1875, and he was called upon to serve as president of that organization for one term. He was a writer of considerable ability on both scientific and medical subjects, and his opinions are still given as authority on some medical subjects by the lecturers at Bellevue Hospital School of Medicine, in New York. His home in Freelandville was often spoken of as Dr. Freeland's orphan asylum on account of the many orphans whom he gave a father's care. He retired from the practice of medicine in 1885. At the time of his death, in 1896, it was said of him, that he had done more for the people of his community than any other man who had ever lived there. Robert Freeland was reared in the Hoosier state and after completing his education engaged in teaching school for some time. His father wished him to study medicine and thus follow in his professional footsteps, but he desired to try his fortune in the west and in 1883 came to Lincoln, Nebraska, and entered the employ of the Burlington Railroad. After working for a time as engine wiper he became connected with the civil engineering department of the road, with which he remained for five years. He then worked in the roundhouse for a time and at length was made fireman and soon afterward was promoted to engineer, serving in that capacity until his death, which occurred on the 8th of June, 1904, as the result of a railroad accident. In 1900 he took up his residence in Alliance, where he was living at the time of his demise. Mr. Freeland was married on the 15th of November, 1891, to Mary A. Pierson, a daughter of Richard D. and Nancy E. (Nash) Pierson, natives respectively of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. They were among the pioneer settlers of Indiana, and the father operated a gristmill in Logansport until 1870, when he came to Lancaster county, Nebraska, which was then largely open prairie. He took up a homestead five miles south of Bennet, in Panama precinct, and gave his time to the improvement of that place until 1886, when he rented the farm and removed to Lincoln. He erected a fine home there and remained a resident of that city until his death on the 13th of July, 1887. His wife survives and lives with her daughter, Mrs. Freeland. The latter has become the mother of four children, as follows: Fern Lucile, born October 7, 1892, died October 2, 1911. Marie A., born November 10, 1894, is a graduate in music of Cotner University with the class of 1916 and is now teaching music. John Thomas, born April 20, 1899, is attending high school. Dorothy Ellen, born April 26, 1903, died March 10, 1907. Mr, Freeland supported the republican party at the polls but was never a candidate for office, preferring to devote his time to his private interests. He was affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. In all the relations of life he fulfilled the obligations resting upon him, and his many excellent qualities gained him a high place in the esteem of those who knew him. In the fall of 1906 Mrs. Freeland removed to Bethany in order to educate her children and purchased a nice home at the corner of Butler and Fairfield streets, where she still resides. She deserves credit for what she has done in rearing her children and affording them good educational opportunities, and since removing to Bethany has won many warm friends. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 117-119 |
| Gardner A.M., Professor William Henry The importance of the teaching profession cannot be overestimated. While it is necessary for the best interests of a community that all of its officers be men capable of discharging their specific duties, it is of the utmost importance that the man selected to manage the educational affairs of a county be one qualified to the fullest extent for the responsibilities that devolve upon him in shaping methods and raising standards that will improve the educational facilities that are the foundation of later success for every individual. The citizens of Lancaster county felt that they made wise choice in selecting Professor William Henry Gardner for the office which he now occupies. He was born on a farm in Lee county, Illinois, July 19, 1855, and comes of a family of intellectual force. The Gardners are of English descent but the family was founded in America in early colonial days by ancestors who settled in New England. Representatives of the name served in the Revolutionary war. Members of the family removed from New England to New York and it was in the latter state that James Gardner, grandfather of Professor Gardner, was bom. He married Malinda Hammond, a native of Vermont, and on the 9th of July, 1822, in Steuben county, New York, they became the parents of a son whom they called Joseph. Removing westward, Joseph Gardner was married in Lee county, Illinois, in 1851, to Miss Hannah Maria Shaw, who was bom in Erie county. New York, August 17, 1831. In 1876, with their four youngest children, they removed from Illinois to Del Norte, Colorado. Joseph Gardner was a farmer and teacher and he filled the office of justice of the peace in both Illinois and Colorado. At Del Norte both he and his wife passed away and were laid to rest, her death occurring January 17, 1878, while Mr. Gardner died many years later, having passed the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten. In his earlier manhood he had taught school for many years in Lee county, Illinois, and had proven a most capable educator. His wife was also a teacher at the time of her marriage and it seems but a natural sequence that Professor Gardner should have turned to the same profession. His father was everywhere known as Squire Gardner because of his official service as justice of the peace, in which connection he discharged his duties in a most capable and faithful manner. Professor Gardner is the eldest of five children who grew to maturity, the others who survive being: Sadie, the widow of George Myers and a resident of Monte Vista, Colorado; and John S. Gardner, living in Denver. Those who have passed away were William James, Sarah, Lucy and James M. The first two died in infancy. Lucy became the wife of Albert Myers, a brother of George Myers, who became the husband of Sadie Gardner, and it was in 1913 that the death of Mrs. Lucy Myers occurred. James M. Gardner, a civil engineer, died in Del Norte, Colorado, in 1893. William H. Gardner was reared on a farm in Lee county, Illinois, and attended school at Lee Center and at Ashton until he was eighteen years of age. He then became a teacher in the public schools of Lee county, continuing his professional work there through three successive winter seasons while spending a portion of the summer vacation periods as a student in the Rock River Seminary at Mount Morris, Illinois. In 1876, when twenty-one years of age, he became principal of the public schools at Elizabeth, Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and after two years there spent became principal of the schools of Hanover. Illinois, where he remained for four years. In 1881 he came to Nebraska and for four years was superintendent of schools in Pawnee City. He afterward spent five years as superintendent of schools at Tecumseh, Nebraska, and two years at Wymore, Nebraska, and a similar period at Nebraska City. From 1893 until 1899 he resided in University Place, near Lincoln, his attention being devoted largely to the interests of the Nebraska Wesleyan University for a time, but during the last five years he was, superintendent of the public schools of University Place. From 1899 until 1904 he was superintendent of the schools of Auburn, Nebraska, and in the latter year he became superintendent of the city schools of Fremont, where he continued until 1908, when he returned to Lancaster county and again took up his residence in University Place, where he still resides. In May, 1911, he was appointed to the office of county superintendent of schools by the board of county commissioners. He has held the position ever since, having been thrice elected to the office, his first reelection occurring in November, 1911, and his second in November, 1913. During all of the years which he has spent as a teacher and school superintendent he has also been a student, constantly broadening his knowledge by reading, investigation and study, and in June, 1910, the Nebraska Wesleyan University conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree after he had done much work in the school and passed the necessary examinations. On the 15th of June, 1911, the University of Nebraska conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree following special work which he did there. On the 3d of July, 1878, Mr, Gardner was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Nesbitt, by whom he has four children. Gertrude, a teacher by profession, is a graduate of both the Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska. She was head of the Latin department and is now dean of women in the State Normal School at Kearney, Nebraska. Mary is the wife of James F. Powell, a newspaper publisher at Ottumwa, Iowa. She is also a graduate of the Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska and by her marriage has become the mother of three sons, namely: Bobbie; and Jack and Billy, who are twins. The third child of Mr. Gardner is John M., an architect by profession, residing at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He married Allie Furlong. The fourth child is Charles Henry Gardner, a civil engineer, who was in the service of the government and the Burlington railroad for four years, but is now farming in the irrigated district of Scotts Bluff county. Professor Gardner is a republican in politics and since establishing his home in University Place he has served as a member of the city council and has also been honored with the office of mayor. Fraternally he is a Mason, having attained the Knights Templar degree in the York Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He is likewise connected with the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, He belongs to the Nebraska Schoolmaster's Club and to the Commercial Clubs of both Lincoln and University Place. He is a member and steward of the Methodist Episcopal church at University Place and his efforts have been an effective force in advancing moral progress as well as promoting intellectual development. His standards of life are high and he has done much to inculcate high principles among those who have come under his teaching, many acknowledging his influence for good upon their lives. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 88-90 |
| Gates, Rev. George M. Rev. George M. Gates, who has devoted much of his life to the work of the ministry and who is also well known as an attorney and also handles real estate and loans at University Place and Lincoln, was born in Henderson county, Illinois, June 26, 1859, a son of David and Edith (Rust) Gates. The father, a native of Ohio, was educated and reared to young manhood in Henderson county, Illinois, and weres there married on the 6th of May, 1858. Later he removed with his bride to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming until 1878. That year witnessed his arrival in Richmond county, Nebraska, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits for ten years. At the end of that period he removed to Nuckolls county, Nebraska, where he made his home with his son William. His last days were spent at Table Rock, Nebraska, where he passed away at the home of his son George. He had long been a member of the Christian church and enjoyed the high respect and goodwill of all who knew him. His wife was bom and educated in Henderson county, Illinois, and passed away at Big Grove, Iowa, October 19, 1872. She too was a devoted member of the Christian church and her life displayed many sterling traits which endeared her to all. In the family were six children: George M.; William V., a farmer of Nuckolls county, Nebraska; Frank, who died at the age of thirty years; David, living in Los Angeles, California; Harry, who died at the age of twenty years; and Anna, the wife of O. L. Campbell, of Fairfield, Nebraska. George M. Gates was a lad of eight years when the family femoved to Iowa, where he resided until 1876. He then returned to Henderson county, Illinois, and worked on a farm for two years. In 1878 he removed to Salem, Nebraska, where he was employed at farm labor during the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended school. Subsequently he went to Cornell College at Mount Vernon, Iowa, and at odd times worked at the barber's trade, thus earning the money that enabled him to meet the expenses of his coliege course. He next took up the study of law with Judge Shoenheit, of Falls City, Nebraska, and afterward attended the State University of Kansas at Lawrence, being graduated from that institution with the class of June, 1884. He located for practice at Stella, Nebraska, where, in addition to following his profession, he edited a paper for four years. He next entered the ministry at Brownville, Nebraska, and later was in charge of the churches at Crab Orchard, Syracuse, Elk Creek, Blue Springs, Peru, Table Rock, Fairmont and Lincoln. In the last named place he was pastor of Emanuel church for three years and on account of failing health was obliged to retire from the ministry. He then located at University Place where he opened a real estate, loan, insurance and law office, and to that business has since devoted his attention. He has secured a good clientage and is building up a business of substantial proportions. On the 16th of August, 1883, Mr. Gates was married to Miss Celia A. Clark, who was bom near Mount Vernon, Iowa, where she was reared and educated by a Methodist Episcopal minister, having been left an orphan in early girlhood. She supplemented her public school course by study in Comell College. By her marriage she has become the mother of seven children. W. Edgar, secretary and treasurer of the Whitebreast Lumber & Coal Company of Lincoln, married Fannie Noyes and has a daughter Lois Celia. Cecil C., who is associated with his father in business, married Mary L. Miller of Lincoln and has a son, George Lawrence. Bernice E. is the wife of J. M. Showalter, principal of the schools of Norfolk, Nebraska, and they have two sons, Richard and Eugene. LeRoy M., residing on a ranch near Chadron, Nebraska, married Mattie Tavener of Oakdale, Nebraska, and they have a daughter, Doris. G. Milton, who is engaged in the automobile business in Scribner, Nebraska, married Lois Goodie of Afton, Iowa. Lloyd E. is attending high school. Frances Celia, who completes the family, is also in school. Not content to wholly give up his ministerial work Rev. Gates has been engaged in preaching during the past three years at Malcom and Hickman and on alternate Sundays during the last year and a half at Stella and Vesta having these two charges at the present time. In politics he is an earnest republicaa and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, recognizing the duties and obligations as well as the privileges of citizenship. He is a York Rite Mason and he also has four sons who are worthy exemplars of the craft. Mr. Gates is frequently heard upon the lecture platform, his lectures being the result of broad travel and study. His most popular lectures are on the Yellowstone, Lincoln and the Battle Flags of the Republic, Alaska, through which country he has traveled quite extensively. Under the Stars and Stripes and Under the Mexican Flag. He is a fluent and interesting speaker ever commanding the attention of his auditors and his teachings and his influence are a potent factor for uplift and for good wherever he is known. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 67-70 |
| George, Burton Arthur Burton Arthur George, the senior member of the firm of George Brothers, composed of Burton A. and Rollin H. George, high class printers, engravers and office stationers, has been a resident of Lincoln since 1885, or for more than three decades. In that period he has taken an active part in all civic affairs and in all movements which have been undertaken for the growth and improvement of the city and its environment. His labors have been resultant, far-reaching and beneficial. Wisconsin claims Mr. George as a native son, his birth having occurred in Brookfield, that state, October 15, 1871. His father William A. George, a newspaper man and publisher, was born in New England and during the Civil war served for three years with the Union army as a member of Company B, Fifth Wisconsin Regiment, commanded by Colonel Amasa Cobb, who later became a prominent citizen of Lincoln. Mr, George, who was a corporal in his company, was three times wounded while in service, twice suffering severe injuries. One of the bullets that struck him undoubtedly would have proven fatal but for the fact that it hit a small book in his pocket and thus its force was somewhat checked and its course deflected. During the greater part of his active career William A. George was a resident of Wisconsin, having removed from New England to that state prior to the period of hostilities between the north and the south. He had learned the printer's trade in early life and after the war he became a prominent figure in newspaper circles in Wisconsin, being at one time a partner in the ownership and conduct of the Milwaukee Sentinel. Later he became the founder of the Washington County Republican, published at Hartford, Wisconsin, remaining its editor and publisher for several years. He afterward sold that paper and in 1881 removed to Nebraska, settling at Exeter, where he continued until his death in 1883. He had been married in Brookfield, Wisconsin, late in the '60s to Mary M. Barnes, and four children, three sons and a daughter, were born to them, but Burton A. and his brother Rullin H., are the only ones now living. The eldest, a daughter, died in infancy, and the youngest, Harry, died of measles at the age of six years. After the death of the father Mrs. George spent her last years in Lincoln, here passing away in 1910. The early boyhood of Burton A. George was divided between Hartford, Wisconsin, and Exeter, Nebraska, prior to his removal to Lincoln in 1885. All his schooling was obtained in those two places before he reached the age of twelve years. Upon his arrival in Lincoln, when he was fourteen years of age, he entered the employ of the late Colonel J. D. Calhoun, then editor and owner of the Daily State Democrat, and in connection with the mechanical department of that paper he served a full apprenticeship at the printer's trade. He was employed by Colonel Calhoun and by his successors, the firm of Cox & Bushnell, for eight years and was advanced from the position of office boy to that of foreman of the mechanical department. Later he was employed in the office of the Nebraska State Journal for a year as assistant night foreman, after which he and his brother, Rollin H., established the present firm of George Brothers in June, 1894. Their plant today is one of Lincoln's foremost business institutions, turning out printing and engraving of the highest class, indicating expert workmanship and capable business management. Their trade has assumed extensive proportions and the enterprise is today one of the profitable industries of the city. Our subject has served on the board of directors of the Cushman Motor Works for six years and is now vice president of this growing manufacturing concern. On the 15th of October, 1893, Mr. George was married to Miss Lillie Bridges, of Cortland, Nebraska. He is identified with several fraternal organizations, being a Scottish Rite Mason, a Mystic Shriner, a Knight of Pythias and also a member of the Maccabees and the Royal Highlanders. He is also identified with several local organizations which have to do with the best interests of the city as well as with the more important features of its social life. He belongs to the Rotary Club, the Country Club, and the Lincoln Commercial Club, and is one of the directors of the last named and chairman of its good roads committee. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Lincoln Manufacturers Association, one of the directors of the Automobile Club and former president of the Omaha-Lincoln-Denver Highway Association and of the Lincoln Automobile Club. He is particularly interested in the subject of improving public highways and has done effective work along that line. In politics Mr. George is a republican and for seven years served as a member of the city council from the seventh ward, after which he declined to again become a candidate. He was president of the council for two years and while a member thereof he served on the committees which established the city's present fine park system and was also a member of other important committees, including those on gas and traction. He took the initial step in bringing about the legislation which built the Tenth street viaduct and also which resulted in the sale of six tickets for twenty-five cents on the street cars. He was likewise instrumental in helping pass the dollar gas ordinance. He worked effectively and untiringly to promote the welfare and interests of the public and to raise the sundards of municipal improvement. He has been again and again solicited to accept the candidacy for other political honors but would never consent, although since leaving the city council he has continued to take an active part in civic affairs and the trees, numbering two hundred and five, which adorn West P street, were planted as a result of his individual efforts. He collected over one thousand two hundred dollars by private subscription and this sum was used in paving this important boulevard from the west into the city. In all his public service he has looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the needs, possibilities and opportunities of the future, laboring for the later as well as for the present generation. His plans have ever been well defined and have made such strong appeal to the civic pride of his fellow townsmen as to secure hearty indorsement and support. His work in this particular has been of great benefit and value and at the same time he has largely forwarded the material welfare of his city through the establishment and successful conduct of his business. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 38-40 |
| George, Rollin Harris Rollin Harris George, the junior partner in the firm of George Brothers, printers, engravers and stationers of Lincoln, was born in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, June 14, 1873. He is a brother of Burton A. George, in connection with whose sketch mention is made of the family history. His early boyhood was spent chiefly in Hartford, Wisconsin, and Exeter, Nebraska, and in both states he attended the public schools but was obliged to put aside his textbooks when quite young and go to work in order to provide for his own support. His residence in Lincoln dates from 1887. At that time he was fourteen years of age. Here he at once began learning the printer's trade and when he had mastered it he worked as a journeyman until 1894, when he and his brother Burton organized the present firm of George Brothers, now one of the best known printing and stationery firms in the state. Their total cash capital when they began business was five dollars and seventy cents, which they possessed jointly. When Rollin George resigned his position to join his brother in partnership he was earning only nine and a half dollars a week. Both brothers worked diligently after launching their own business and in fact until within a few years they did practically all of the hard work in connection with the conduct of their business. As time passed on their patronage grew and the excellence of the work commended them to further public support. They ever realize that satisfied customers are the best advertisement and they put forth their effort to please. They are thoroughly acquainted with every phase of the printing business and today they have a patronage that is both extensive and important, their business having become one of the profitable industries of the city. On the 20th of November, 1900, Mr. George was married to Miss Pluma McMechan, of Lincoln. Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to East Lincoln Lodge, No. 210, F. & A. M., in which he has filled all the offices, having for the past six years occupied the position of secretary. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp at Lincoln, No. 266, of which he is the present clerk, this being the largest camp in the state outside of the one at Omaha. He likewise has membership with the Elks, the Royal Highlanders, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Odd Fellows, the Royal Neighbors and the Eastern Star. He is a supporter and communicant of the Christian Science church and he belongs to the Lincoln Commercial Club and the Lincoln Rotary Qub. These different associations indicate much of the nature of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct. In politics Mr. George is a republican and is active in support of all those movements which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride but would never consent to become a candidate for office. Concentration upon business and cooperation in public affairs constitute the motto of his life and have brought him to an enviable position in the regard of his fellow citizens. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 50-51 |
| Gettier, S. William S. William Gettier is a retired butcher and stockman who how resides at No. 1024 J street in Lincoln and is enjoying a well earned rest after long years of active connection with business. He was bom December 3, 1850, in Adams county, Pennsylvania, within five miles of the Gettysburg battleground, and remembers the excitement as the troops approached, when the Confederate army crossed the Potomac at Harpers Ferry and made their way northward into Pennsylvania, while the Federal army came from the east and the southeast. For days the roads -were crowded with soldiers, first the cavalry and then the infantry. His parents lived upon a farm but suffered no hardship or losses because of the battle. Those living nearer, however, did, for wheat fields that looked fine in the morning appeared like a wagon road at night. The cannonading could be heard for miles during the three days in which the battle raged, terminating in victory for the Union arms on the 4th of July, 1863. The parents of Mr. Gettier were Stephen and Eliza (Shrader) Gettier. The father was born in Maryland and was of French descent, while the mother was bom in the state of New York and came of German ancestry. Following their marriage they took up their abode upon the Pennsylvania farm previously mentioned and there continued to reside until called to their final rest. S. William Gettier remained at home until nineteen years of age and spent one year in a store at Fredericksburg, Maryland, after which he removed to the west. He was employed for a time in Chicago and later his firm sent him to Kansas to buy cattle which had been raised in Texas and were brought north to fatten on the free ranges of Oklahoma and Kansas. Mr. Gettier made many trips across the plains, buying and selling stock, his last trip taking him as far as Kearney, Nebraska, from which point he would travel east and dispose of the cattle in eastern Nebraska. It was these trips that led to the development of his interest in this state and in the fall of 1872 he settled in Lincoln, where in the spring of 1873 he opened a butcher shop on South Eleventh street. Later he was joined by his brother John, and they conducted business here, establishing the Gettier Market, which they conducted for many years, but in 1908 sold out. They also bought and shipped horses and cattle and S. William Gettier owned a large farm south of Lincoln, dealing extensively in cattle and horses, which he pastured upon his place until they were ready for the market. Mr. Gettier was married in Seymour, Indiana, in 1885, to Miss Jessie C. Vc^le, a native of that place, and they have become parents of two children, Vc^le and Millard, both residents of Lincoln. This city was but a small town when Mr. Gettier took up his abode within its borders — a western frontier place which, however, had entered upon the period of development and progress that has continued to the present time. He has been an interested witness of the changes which have occurred and the transformation that has been wroght and for many years he %ured as one of the leading business men of the city and is honored as one of its pioneer merchants, although he is not now actively connected with business. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 79-80 |
| Gillen, F. E. F. E. Gillen is proprietor of the Gillen & Boney Manufacturing Company, makers of all kinds of confectionery, in Lincoln, and, moreover, he has the distinction of being the only candy manufacturer west of the Mississippi river on the executive board of the National Confectioners' Association. He was bom in South Bend, Indiana, January 18, 1869, and is a son of Edward and Ann (Smith) Gillen, both of whom have passed away. The father was a native of New York, while the mother was bom in Ireland. They became residents, however, of South Bend, Indiana, and it was there that F. E. Gillen was born and reared. He spent a year in work as a farm hand in northwestern Minnesota, but in his native city he learned the candy maker's trade and since 1889 has been identified wnth that line of business in Nebraska. He first located at Omaha, where he worked at his trade until 1893, when he came to Lincoln and engaged in the manufacture of candy for two years, and then established a factory of his own, organizing the Gillen & Boney Manufacturing Company, Mr. Boney being associated with him as a partner until 1912, since which time Mr. Gillen has been sole proprietor. In 1906 he erected a three story brick factory. Something of the substantial growth of his business is indicated in the fact that he now has nine salesmen on the road, while from seventy-five to one hundred people are employed in the factory. The manufactured product finds a ready sale upon the market because of its excellence and also by reason of the straightforward business methods and reasonable prices of the firm. In addition to his interests along that line Mr. Gillen is vice president of the German Building & Loan Association and in all business affairs he displays sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise. In early manhood Mr. Gillen was united in marriage to Miss Emma A. Shindel, a native of Indiana, by whom he has three sons, namely: Frank and Ronald, who are associated with their father in business; and Irven, a law student in the University of Nebraska. Fraternally Mr. Gillen is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World, and he is also a life member of the Commercial Club. For more than twenty years he has been recognized as one of Lincoln's leading business men and a most prominent representative of its manufacturing interests. He enjoys and merits the esteem and goodwill of all with whom he has been brought in contact and his life demonstrates what can be accomplished when determination and ambition lead the way. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 138-139 |
| Gillilan, John J. John J. Gillilan, who for about twenty years was an active figure in real estate circles in Lincohi, continuing in the business up to the time of his death, which occurred August 22, 1901, was at the time forty-seven years of age. He was bom in Algonquin, Illinois, October 4, 1854, his parents being John and Belinda Gillilan, both of whom were natives of Virginia. They removed to Illinois, however, at a very early period in the development of that state and settled on a farm at Algonquin. In 188r they became residents of Lincoln, Nebraska, where they spent their remaining days. John J, Gillilan was accorded liberal educational privileges and after attending the public schools entered Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio, from which he was graduated in due course of time. In 1881 he became connected with business interests in Lincoln, opening a real estate office and conducting his agency until his death, which occurred twenty years later. On the 6th of July, 1886, Mr. Gillilan was married to Miss Susie G. Houtz, a daughter of Dr. William G. and Susan Houtz, who were natives of Pennsylvania. Her father was born in Dauphin county, that state, October 12, 1830, and was graduated from the Girard Medical School of. Philadelphia. For several years he engaged in the practice of medicine in connection with his father, Dr. William G. Houtz. In 1855 he went to Troy Grove, La Salle county, Illinois, and it was there that Mrs. Gillilan was bom. For twenty-five years Dr. Houtz engaged in the practice of medicine. He had two brothers who were soldiers in the Civil war, and he was among the first physicians to reach the field after the battle of Corinth, there rendering great service by caring for the sick and wounded. He also gave valuable assistance to his country by rendering professional aid at home to the families of soldiers who were at the front and for this service he asked no financial compensation. In 1880 he removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he continued to make his home until his death. In this city he did not engage in general practice but confined his professional aid to old soldiers and to personal friends, among whom were the late General John M. Thayer and General Victor Vifquin. Dr. Houtz was married three times, losing his first two wives by death. He first wedded Susan Mease, and by that marriage there were born four children, of whom two died in infancy, while the other two, Mrs, Aldridge D. Kitchen and Mrs. John J. Gillilan now survive and are residents of Lincoln. The mother passed away in 1862, while the death of Dr. Houtz occurred June 30, 1906. To Mr. and Mrs. Gillilan were born two children: Houtz, who died December 13, 1913; and Ruth, the wife of Dt: Donald B. Steenburg, a resident of Aurora, Nebraska. Mr. Gillilan died August 22, 1901, and in his passing the community lost a representative and worthy citizen. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and in November, 1890, he was elected on that ticket to the Nebraska State Legislature, serving as a member of the general assembly during the twenty-second session. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian, while Mrs. Gillilan is a Congregationalist, She owns the fine home which she occupies at No. 1989 Harwood Avenue. Mr. Gillilan was well known as a citizen, as a representative business man, and as a loyal friend. He was devoted to the welfare of his family and found his greatest happiness when promoting their interests. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 87-88 |
| Good, Hon. Benjamin F. Hon. Benjamin F. Good, lawyer and author, who for twelve years was judge of the fifth judicial district of Nebraska and then declined to again become a candidate for the office, is now actively engaged in the practice of law in Lincoln and is recognized as one of the most distinguished representatives of the bar of this state. He was bom in Bloomfield. Iowa, April 2, 1860, and is a son of John and Frances (Bothamer) Good, both of whom were natives of County Cork, Ireland, but on both sides he comes of English descent. His ancestors were originally residents of Somersetshire, England, and were of the Protestant faith. In 1620, however, branches of both the Good and Bothamer families were planted in County Cork, Ireland, and the direct ancestors of Judge Good were therefore residents of County Cork from 1620 until 1849, when his parents came to the United States. While the population of County Cork was largely Catholic the Good and Bothamer families held to their Protestant faith and their descendants have always been of that belief. Immediately after their marriage in 1849, the parents of the Judge crossed the Atlantic and became residents of Dayton, Ohio, while later they made their home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In 1858, however, they removed to Iowa, establishing their home upon a farm near Bloomfield, where they spent their remaining days, the father passing away in 1878, while the mother died in 1900. They were the parents of eight children, of whom six are yet living, namely: Mrs, Mary Slack, of Holyoke, Colorado; John R., of Bloomfield, Iowa; Benjamin F, ; Mrs. Miriam Russell, of Sewal, Iowa; and George W. and William H., both residents of Bloomfield, Iowa. Judge Good was reared on the old homestead farm near Bloomfield, Iowa, with the usual experiences of the farm bred boy. He attended the common schools for about three months each winter and during the remainder of the year was employed in the work of the fields, his time being thus passed until he had attained his majority. He was ambitious, however, to enjoy better educational opportunities and at that time became a pupil in a normal school at Bloomfield, where he devoted two years to study. He afterward took special work in history and languages in the Iowa State University and during the winter of 1883-4 taught a four months' term of school near Pulaski, Iowa, while at the same time he devoted every available moment to reading law. In the fall of 1884 he matriculated in the law department of the University of Iowa, and by reason of his previous study and his close application while a student there, he was graduated with the class of June, 1885. Judge Good immediately afterward located at Wahoo, Nebraska, where he entered upon active practice in the month of September as the senior member of the firm of Good & Good, his partner being Hon. Edward E. Good who, though of the same name, was not a relative. This relationship continued until 1900, when Benjamin F. Good was elected judge of the fifth Nebraska judicial district court and went upon the bench, where he made so excellent a record that he was twice reelected for terms of four years each, so that his incumbency covered altogether twelve years. He would undoubtedly have been again elected to office had he not declined to accept the incumbency in 1912, in which year he removed to Lincoln, where he has since engaged in the private practice of law with notable success, a large and distinctively representative clientage being accorded him. It is characteristic of him that he ever thoroughly prepares his cases, and while upon the bench his decisions were marked by a notable grasp of every problem presented for solution and embodied the spirit of absolute justice and fairness. He has become widely known as the joint author, with Hon. George Corcoran, of a volume entitled Nebraska Instructions to Juries and Law Digest, which was published in 1901 and is in general use among the representatives of the Nebraska bar. On the 11th of June, 1890, Judge Good was married to Miss Jennie Jessen, of Nebraska City, who died April 2, 1916. She was a daughter of Mrs. Margaret (Martin) Jessen, who are [sic] her marriage was the first teacher of white children in this state. To Judge and Mrs. Good were born two children, Anabel and Paul F. The former is a graduate of the State University and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa. The son completed a course in Amherst College of Massachusetts at the age of twenty years and is now attending Oxford University of England, having been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship for Nebraska, Judge Good is a Mason and also a member of the Knights of Pythias. He belongs to the Nebraska State Bar Association and was honored with its presidency in 1911. He is likewise a member of the Lancaster County Bar Association. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party, and he was its candidate for congress in 1910. While undoubtedly he is not without that honorable ambition which is so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs he regards the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. His is a notable character — one that subordinates personal ambition to public good and seeks rather the welfare of others than the aggrandizement of self. Well versed in the learning of his profession and with a deep knowledge of human nature and the springs of human conduct, possessing also sagacity and extraordinary tact, he is in the courts an advocate of great power and influence. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 8-10 |
| Gregory DD, Lewis The life record of Dr. Lewis Gregory was one of usefulness and honor. He devoted many years to preaching the gospel and in his later life was prominently connected with financial interests in Lincoln, being president of the American Savings Bank at the time of his demise. He was born in Wilton, Connecticut, June 17, 1842, a son of Charles and Harriet (Clark) Gregory, who were also natives of that state. The father followed the occupation of farming in Connecticut and continued to cultivate his land throughout his entire life, there passing away in 1863, while his wife survived only until 1867. Lewis Gregory was reared and educated in Connecticut and attended the Wilton Academy. In 1860, when a youth of eighteen years, he entered Yale University, there pursuing a four years' course, after which he was graduated. Still later he entered the Andover Theological Seminary at Andover, Massachusetts, and is numbered among its alumni of the class of 1868. His first pastorate was at Merrimac, Massachusetts, where he engaged in preaching in the Congregational church for seven years. In 1882 he came to Lincoln, Nebraska, and accepted the pastorate of the First Congregational church, which he filled for twenty-three years, doing splendid work for his congregation by strengthening the cause in alt of its spiritual phases. He was an eloquent and earnest speaker, strong in his reasoning and logical in his deductions. He appealed not only to the minds hut also to the hearts of his hearers, and his earnest purpose brought good results, for he was not denied the full harvest nor the aftermath of his labors. On the 1st of October, 1898, he retired from the ministry and went to the east, where he was offered two pastorates, but his interests were all in Lincoln, so that he returned after a year or more of travel through the east and in Europe. On again arriving in Lincoln Dr. Gregory organized the American Savings Bank and was also vice president of the American Exchange Bank, which is now the First National Bank. He continued one of the stockholders of the First National until his death and was also president of the American Savings Bank at that time. This was the first savings bank in Lincoln to be established after the panic of the early '90s, when several savings banks failed, and his capability in its management and control added largely to its success. On the 12th of August, 1868, Dr. Gregory was married to Miss Elizabeth Buckingham, a daughter of Ebenezer and Laura (Hart) Buckingham. She died in Lincoln, July 8, 1876, Three children were bom to them: Benjamm, who died young; Charles B., who is now president of the American Savings Bank of Lincoln; and Helen, who resides in New York City. On the 25th of February, 1897, Dr. Gregory was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Sarah B. Ramsdell, a daughter of William H. and Mary (Curtis) Burgess, who were natives of Herkimer county. New York. Her father was a farmer by occupation and at an early day went to Virginia, where he purchased land, becoming very successful in the conduct of his farm. From time to time he added to his property until he was one of the largest landoumers of that locality and he continued to reside in Petersburg, Virginia, until called to his final rest. He was a very prominent representative of the republican party in his state and at the time of his demise held the office of commissioner of revenue. He died in June, 1873, at the age of forty-two years, while his wife passed away November 30, 1914, at the age of eighty-two years. By her former marriage to Charles I. Ramsdell Mrs. Gregory had three children: Charles L., who is manager of the Acme Amusement Company of Lincoln; and Lillian and Sarah, both deceased. Their father died in 1886. Throughout the long years of his residence in Lincoln Dr. Gregory became most actively and helpfully interested in everything that pertained to the welfare of the city and especially to its upbuilding along educational and moral lines. He was a member of the Lincoln school board for a number of years, and he was also a member of the board of trustees of Doane College at Crete, Nebraska. He died on the 6th of January, 1911, when sixty-eight years of age, and his death was a matter of deep and widespread regret because of the importance and value of his services along many lines. He was a director of the Nebraska Home Missionary Society, and in 1895 he was elected a corporate member of the American Missionary Board, being the only one from this state. He built a palatial residence at No. 1230 L street, adjoining the church which he attended, his home being thoroughly modem. The original old church property now belongs to Mrs. Gregory, the building still standing on her land. In politics he was a republican and never neglectful of the duties of citizenship. He reached out along constantly broadening lines for the benefit of his fellowmen and the worth of his work was everywhere acknowledged. There came to him "the blest accompaniments of age — honor, riches and troops of friends." Mrs. Gregory is widely known in those circles in Lincoln which have to do with the upbuilding and benefit of the city, having for fourteen years been president of the Civic Improvement Society. Theirs was a most happy life because of a congeniality of interests and activities. Faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation. Dr. Gregory left a memory that is enshrined in the hearts of all who knew him. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 74, 77-78 |
| Gunn, Edwin S. Edwin S. Gunn, who conducts a wholesale and retail mail order business in seeds at Lincoln, has developed a trade of gratifying proportions, making his one of the important commercial interests of the city. He was bom in Illinois. August 3, 1867, a son of William and Mary H. (Rousey) Gunn, who were also natives of that state. The father was a real estate dealer and in the fall of 1872 removed from Macoupin county, Illinois, where his birth occurred, to Edgar, Nebraska, where he spent his remaining days, passing away in 1879. He had served for three years during the Civil war as a member of Company I, Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, and, being captured, was held for nine months in Andersonville prison, suffering all of the hardships incident to southern military prison life. His widow long survived him, passing away in 1906. Edwin S, Gunn largely spent his youthful days at Edgar, Nebraska, to which place his parents removed when he was but five years of age. He supplemented his public school studies by a course in the State University, in which he spent two years, and later he took up t^e furniture business in connection with the Lincoln Furniture Company, having become a resident of this city in 1889. He was with that company for three and a half years, at the end of which time he entered the employ of the Griswold Seed Company, with which he continued for eighteen years, making steady advance in that connection until he occupied official positions, being vice president of the company when he severed his association therewith. He then went to Iowa but after a year returned to Lincoln and in March, 1915, engaged in the seed business on his own account with store and office at Nos. 219-21 South Tenth street. Here he has since conducted business along wholesale and retail lines, having a large mail order trade and shipping to all parts of the world, his business extending into China and the Philippine islands. His interests are carried on under the name of the Gunn Seed Company and his patronage is steadily growing. On the 13th of November, 1895, Mr. Gunn was united in marriage to Miss I. Eldora Zediker, a daughter of James F. and Julia (Douglas) Zediker. They have become the parents of three children, Lemar E. N., Zellen W. A. and Ruth E. The last named was born March 1, 1913. Mr. Gunn is a member of the Commercial Club and has membership with the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with Lancaster Lodge, No. 54, F. & A. M., Lincoln Consistory, No. 2, A. & A. S. R., and with the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise identified with the Royal Aicanum. In politics he is a republican, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the East Lincoln Baptist church, of which he is serving as chairman of the board of trustees. He takes an active interest in every plan and project not only for the development of his business, which is steadily growing, but also for the development of the city along material, intellectual, social and moral lines. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 113-114 |
| Hager, George Edward George Edward Hager, county attorney of Lancaster county, was bom in Appanoose county, Iowa, February 28, 1874. His father, Jacob Hager, was born in Ross county, Ohio, March 17, 1836, and in 1854 removed westward to Appanoose county, being then a youth of eighteen years. He accompanied his parents and the younger children of the family and became identified with farming interests in that locality. At the time of the Civil war he responded to the country's call for troops and went to the front. After the war he continued to engage in farming in Appanoose county until 1875, when he removed to Clay county, Nebraska, where he secured a homestead and developed a good farm. He died in Clay Center, this state, in November, 1902,. and is survived by his wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Kroft, and who is still living in Clay Center, Nebraska. George E. Hager spent his boyhood days in Clay county and during summer vacations was usually busy in herding the cattle owned by his father. In the winter of 1891-2 he began teaching, at which time he was a youth of but seventeen years. He taught only that one winter, however, having charge of a three months term of school, and for his services he only received thirty-five dollars. With that money as his capital he entered the preparatory department of the University of Nebraska. He spent seven years in the university, doing eight years school work in that time, and in addition he earned his way all through. He was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1898 and that of Bachelor of Law in 1899, and later went to Wyoming, where he spent a few weeks looking for a location, after which he returned to Nebraska. From July until December, 1899, he was in Plattsmouth, where he practiced his profession in a limited way. In the latter month he came to Lincoln and has since been an active member of the bar of this city. For several years he was a member of the firm of Kirkpatrick & Hager and since 1903 has practiced alone. He is now holding the office of county attorney, to which he was elected on the republican ticket in the fall of 1914. Prior to that time, or from March, 1906, until January, 1911, he was assistant postmaster of Lincoln, serving under Edward R. Sizer. At the latter date he resigned to accept the position of deputy county attorney, which position he filled for four years under Judge J, B. Strode. He is a. gifted speaker, and while a junior in the university won first prize in the Center-Lehmer-Qnaintance oratorical contest. On the 2&h of November, 1900, Mr. Hager was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Harris, who had been a schoolmate at Clay Center. They have two children living: Mai^ret Reese, bom September 22, 1902; and Gloria Gwendolyn, born July 20, 1910. Fraternally Mr. Hager is a thirty-second degree Mason and a Shriner, and he belongs also to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a member of the State University Alumni Association and of the Lincoln Commercial Club. In politics he has always been a republican, earnest in his advocacy of the party principles. For four years he was president of the Nebraska State Association of County Attorneys, and he belongs to the Lancaster County Bar Association and the Nebraska State Bar Association. His ability has brought him to the front in the practice of law, and he is now acceptably filling an important office in connection with his profes- ????? [the remaining material is not available currently]. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 80-81 |
| Hall, Judge Charles L. From 1891 to 1898 Judge Charles L. Hall occupied the bench of the district court and his record as a jurist was highly creditable to the thoroughness of his legal learning, to his impartiality and to his understanding of the motives of human conduct. A native of Ohio, he was born in Jefferson on the 14th of December, 1855, a son of Albert S. and Cybelia (St. John) Hall, who were also bom in that state. The father practiced law in Ohio previous to the Civil war, but on the outbreak of the conflict between the north and south he put aside all personal ambitions and enlisted in the Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was wounded while in action and passed away on the 10th of July, 1863, from the effects of the wound. His wife survived until October, 1881. Charles L. Hall grew to manhood in the Buckeye state and received good educational advantages, completing a course at Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio. Later he studied law and in January, 1882, was admitted to the bar at Columbus, that state. In the same year he removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, and opened an office here for the practice of his profession and the real estate business. In 1891 he was appointed judge of the district court and was later elected to that office, serving in that position until his death on the 24th of August, 1898. In his rulings and in his decisions he was notably just, allowing no considerations of privileges or favoritism to influence him, but determining his course solely on the facts in the case and the law applicable thereto. He held the sincere respect of the bar, and the people of his district realized that he was a jurist whose sole purpose it was to administer the law impartially. Judge Hall was married on the 6th of May, 1880, to Miss Clara L, Stanhope, a daughter of Reddington and Mary E. (Baker) Stanhope. Her father was born in Lorain county, Ohio, and was a physician, practicing in Ohio until 1882, when he came to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he followed his profession until 1908. In that year he retired and he is still living in Lincoln, enjoying a period at well earned leisure. He has reached the advanced age of seventy-nine years. He has long survived his wife, whose demise occurred on the 14th of March, 1892. Judge and Mrs. Hall had two children: Burke S., who was born on the 16th of September, 1881, at Hiram, Ohio, and died on the 26th of January, 1906; and Mary C., bom July 19, 1886, who is the wife of Ellery L. Davis, an architect residing in Lincoln, and has two children, Ellery Hall, born December 23, 1912, and Mary Helen, born June 3, 1915, Judge Hall was an advocate of republican principles and in 1889 represented his district in the state legislature. In religious faith he was a Unitarian and fraternally he was connected with the Masons. He was interested in the advancement of his community along all lines and through his membership in what is now the Commercial Club kept in touch with other public-spirited, progressive citizens. He was justly held in high honor by all who knew him, and his death was the occasion of much sincere grief. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 51-52 |
| Harpham, Charles Frank Charles Frank Harpham, vice president and secretary of Harpham Brothers Company, wholesale saddlers of Lincoln, was born June 10, 1857, in Whiteside county, Illinois, his birth occurring on the prairie farm on which his father had located a short time before. He was only four years of age when his father died, after which he was taken by his mother to Ohio county, Indiana, and there his boyhood and youth were passed partly on a farm and partly in the village of Hartford in that county. He attended the common schools for about three months each winter until he was eighteen years of age, when he returned to Whiteside county, lllinois, and took up his residence in Sterling, the county seat. His uncle, John Harpham, had a wholesale and retail harness store there and Charles F. Harpham began working for his uncle as a clerk and general assistant, being thus employed from 1876 until 1881, after which he went upon the road as a traveling salesman for the wholesale saddlery firm of Gordon Kurtz & Company, of Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1885 he resigned that position and came to Lincoln, where he entered the employ of the firm of Gustin & Harpham, a wholesale harness firm, of which his elder brother, J, C. Harpham, was a partner. In 1887 he and his brother purchased the interest of Mr. Gustin and the firm of Harpham Brothers was established and has since been in existence. It was incorporated in 1900 under the present style, with Charles F. Harpham as the vice president and secretary. During the early days of the partnership he traveled upon the road for the firm but concentrated his efforts upon active management at headquarters twenty-five years ago and has since devoted all his attention to administrative direction and executive control, bending his efforts at all times to constructive work. On the 4th of February, i8gi, Mr. Harpham was married to Miss Ella Hoddy, a native of Mattoon, Ilfinois, and they have one son, Julius V., now a young man of twenty-four years, occupying a responsible position in the First National Bank of Lincoln. In his political views Mr. Harpham is a republican, but while he has always kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day he has never consented to become a candidate for ofiice. This does not preclude his active participation in movements for the public good, however, and he has ever stood for municipal advancement and for the improvement of the city in every possible way. He belongs to the Lincoln Commercial Club and fraternally is connected . with the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Highlanders and the Modern Woodmen of America. The name of Harpham has ever been a synonym for progressiveness and reliability in business, the rules of the house measuring up to the highest standards of commercial ethics. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 30-31 |
| Harpham, Julius C. Julius C. Harpham, president of the Harpham Brothers Company, wholesale saddlers of Lincoln, occupies a position of distinction in trade circles in the United States as the president of the Wholesale Saddlery Association. A spirit of enterprise and progress has actuated him at every point in his career, and step by step he has steadily advanced, his course being marked by an orderly progression that has brought him to a position of leadership. He was born upon a farm near Richmond, Wayne county, Indiana, February 14, 1855, and in the paternal line is of English and Scotch descent, the Harphams originally living in Lincolnshire, England, where many generations of the family were represented. The American branch was founded by Stephen Harpham, who came to the United States soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, accompanied by two of his brothers, James and John. The descendants of two of these brothers are now numerous in this country, the other brother never having married. Stephen Harpham took up his abode near Syracuse, New York. The line of descent is traced down to Henry Harpham, father of Julius C. Harpham, who was born near Syracuse but became a citizen of Wayne county, Indiana, in 1854. His entire life was devoted to agricultural pursuits. In 1858, when his son Julius was but three years of age, he removed with his family to Whiteside county, Illinois, and there transformed the virgin prairie soil into a highly developed farm, making it his place of residence until his death, which occurred in 1861, when but thirty-one years of age, resulting from an attack of typhoid fever. His widow, whose maiden name was Elsie A. Cooper, still survives at the advanced age of eighty-four years and has lived in Lincoln, Nebraska, or vicinity for the past thirty years, her home being now at College View, one of the suburbs of Lincoln. She was married to Mr. Harpham in Ohio county, Indiana, in 1853 and became the mother of five children, but the first born, a daughter, died unnamed. The other four, all sons, are Julius C., Charles Frank, John N. and Henry. The two oldest and the youngest reside in Lincoln, Nebraska, while John N. is a resident of Sterling, Illinois. The three brothers living in Lincoln compose the wholesale saddlery firm of Harpham Brothers Company, Julius C. being the president and treasurer, Charles F. vice president and secretary, while Henry is also a partner in the concern. Julius C. Harpham was but six years of age at the time of his father's death and was largely reared in the hom£ of an uncle in Indtanapohs, Indiana, where he acquired much of his education. He left school, however, at the age of sixteen years and began learning the saddler's trade as an apprentice in Sterling, Illinois, serving for a three years' term, during which he was paid twenty-five dollars for the first year's work, fifty for the second, and seventy-five for the third. When he had completed his trade at the age of nineteen he remained in the employ of the man with whom he had learned the business and who was his uncle, John Harpham, of Sterling. He continued with him for two years more, or five years in all, and then in 1876, when twenty-one years of agt, he returned to Indianapolis and entered the employ of Gordon Kurtz & Company, wholesale saddlers, as a traveling salesman. He occupied that position for six years and thus acquainted himself with every phase of the business. In 1882 he went to Peoria, Illinois, where for two years he conducted a retail harness store on his own account. In 1884, Mr. Harpham removed his entire stock and tools to Lincoln, Nebraska, and here opened a retail and wholesale harness business as the partner of A. J. Gustin. The firm of Harpham & Gustin continued until 1888, when J. C. Harpham and his brother, Charles F., purchased the interest of Mr. Gustin and established the firm of Harpham Brothers, This business was converted into an exclusive wholesale enterprise in 1888 and in 1900 was incorporated under the present firm name of the Harpham Brothers Company. The firm has now been in existence for twenty-seven years as the exclusive properly of the Harphams. The wholesale saddlery concern of Harpham Brothers Company is today the largest of the kind in the state of Nebraska and is represented on the road by seven traveling salesmen. Its ramifying trade interests now cover a broad territory, and the house maintains an unassailable reputation for enterprise and business integrity and reliability. That he occupies a prominent position as a farsighted, sagacious and progressive man is indicated in the fact that he is now the president of the Wholesalers Saddlery Association of the United States, having been first elected at Chicago in 1914 and reelected at the annual meeting in San Francisco in 1915, so that he is now serving for the second term and presided over the deliberations of the convention at San Francisco. In addition to his connection with the saddlery trade he is a director of the Central National Bank of Lincoln. On the 1st of December, 1880, Mr. Harpham was married to Miss Elizabeth Hubbard, who died September 19, 1882. On the 26th of March, 18S6, he wedded Mrs. Ciara B. Cook, nee Gustin, and their children are Edna May, James H. and Dorothy Maud, the latter now the wife of Phil Southwick, a son of L. E. Southwick, of Lincoln, who is well known in banking circles throughout the slate. In politics Mr. Harpham is a republican and for three consecutive terms and one other term he served as a member of the Lincoln excise board, which had complete control over the police regulations, liquor interests, saloons and the health department of the city. In 1912 he was a delegate to the republican national convention at Chicago and as an ardent supporter of Theodore Roosevelt was a member of the famous three hundred and six delegates who refused to vote for a candidate under the steam roller rules which a majority of the national committee had adopted and which virtually eliminated the candidacy of Roosevelt. In 1914 Mr. Harpham was a candidate on the progressive ticket for the state office of railway commissioner, consenting to make the race solely from the standpoint of patriotism. He takes a most active interest in all matters for the betterment of Lincoln and stands stanchly in support of those things which are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and Mystic Shriner and belongs to the Elks, the Royal Highlanders and the Modem Woodmen of America. He was one of the four men who organized the Lincoln Commercial Club in 1894 and served as first president in 1897 of the Reorganized Club, a consolidation of the Lincoln Commercial Club with the Union Club. He was a prominent factor in benevolent work and is now vice president of the Lincoln Charity Organization Society. The foregoing will indicate that his interests are not self-centered but reach out along the broader lines that affect humanity and promote the welfare of his fellowmen. He is alert, enterprising and progressive and studies public questions with the same thoroughness that has marked his understanding of his private business interests. Thus it is that he is actuated by the spirit of true American patriotism which recognizes conditions, needs and opportunities and in working toward high ideals utilizes practical methods. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 36-38 |
| Harrington, Ralph E. Ralph E. Harrington, who with his brother, Harry W., is engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Lincoln under the style of the Harrington Realty Company, resides at University Place. He was born in Clinton county, Iowa, on the 6th of February, 1881, of the marriage of Ashel and Alice (Walrod) Harrington, the former a native of New York and the latter of Iowa. In 1888 the family removed to Nebraska from Clinton County, Iowa, where the father had been engaged in the implement business for several years. On coming to this state he located near Beatrice and gave his attention to farming for a considerable period. Subsequently he was for four years on the police force of the city of Beatrice, after which he engaged in merchandising in Crab Orchard, Nebraska, in partnership with our subject and another son. This business was maintained for twelve years, after which removal was made to Pawnee City, where he remained for three years. He then retired from active life and took up his residence in University Place, where he passed away on the 4th of January, 1916. His wife, who survives, still makes her home at University Place. Ralph E. Harrington was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the schools of Beatrice. He was engaged in business with his father until the removal of the family to University Place, but in 1911 he and his brother, Harry W., formed the Harrington Realty Company and established offices in Lincoln. They not only deal in real estate and insurance but are also brokers, selling mercantile stocks, and they have built up a good patronage in all branches of their business. Harry W. Harrington resides at Florence, a suburb of Omaha, and conducts a store there, but he also owns a home in University Place. The firm has the state agency for the American Hail Insurance Company of Newark, New Jersey, and has the control of the various local agents of that concern in Nebraska. The Harrington Realty Company makes a specialty of handling eastern Nebraska farm lands and has negotiated the sale of much valuable property in that section. Ralph E. Harrington is a stockholder, director and the assistant secretary of the Home Savings & Loan Association, a local concern which has grown rapidly since its organization. On the 6lh of May, 1902, occurred the marriage of Mr. Harrington and Miss Fosta Roberts, Frank Mills, pastor of the Union church at College View and a well known business man of Lincoln, officiating. Mr. and Mrs. Harrington have become the parents of three children: a son, who died in infancy; Donald P., born June 20, 1904; and Roma E., bom December 12, 1909. Mr. Harrington supports the republican party at the polls but although he has never been remiss in any of his duties as a good citizen he has never had the time nor inclination to hold public office. He is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modem Woodmen of America and in religious faith is a Methodist. He has gained a gratifying measure of prosperity, which is the direct reward of his close attention to business, his enterprise and his integrity, and he has also won the sincere respect of all who know him, for his salient qualities are those that characterize honorable manhood. His residence is at No. 2323 P street. University Place. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 13-14 |
| Harvey, Howard Howard Harvey, who is one of the youngest and also one of the leading business men of Bethany, has made an excellent record as cashier of the First State Bank. He was born at Ohiowa, Nebraska, December 21, 1892, and he is a son of Richard A. and Lillian E. (Clemons) Harvey. The father was bom in Missouri and the mother was the first white child born in Fillmore county, Nebraska. Richard A. Harvey became a resident of this state in early life and opened a bank at Ohiowa, which he operated for about twenty years, after which he went to Wymore and conducted a bank there for some time. Later he returned to Ohiowa and managed a lumberyard there until 1910, when he took up his residence in Lincoln and organized the Farmers Loan & Investment Company, which he has since conducted. He also established the R. A. Harvey Lumber Company at College View and later admitted to partnership H. D. Enslow, the business being conducted under the name of the Harvey-Enslow Lumber Company. His wife also survives. Howard Harvey grew to manhood in his native town and attended its schools and the high school at Hebron, from which he was graduated in 1910, He then matriculated in the University of Nebraska and completed his course there with the class of 1914. Following his graduation he worked in the City National Bank at Lincoln as bookkeeper for nine months but in 1915 was made assistant cashier of the First State Bank of Bethany, a controlling interest in whose stock was purchased by R. A. Harvey, L. J. Dunn and L. B. Howey in January, 1915. In the following July our subject was made cashier and purchased stock in the institution. He is also a director and the gratifying increase in the business of the bank is due in large measure to his insight into business conditions, his enterprise and sound judgment. When he became cashier the deposits amounted to fifty thousand dollars and they now total seventy-five thousand dollars. The institution is capitalized for ten thousand dollars and earns its stockholders good dividends at the same time that it carefully safeguards the interests of its patrons. It was established in 1905 by L. S. Hurst and in the eleven years of its existence has gained the full confidence of the public. Its affairs are in a very prosperous condition and plans have been made for erecting a fine modern building in the spring. Mr. Harvey was united in marriage on the 26th of March, 1916, to Miss Juliet Proudfit, a daughter of William H. and Frances M. (Plainer) Proudfit, who removed to Lincoln from Denver. Her father is now vice president of the R. S. Proudfit Lumber Company but does not take a very active part in the management of that concern as he is living practically retired. Her mother also survives. Mr. Harvey fully indorses the principles of the republican party and is never remiss in any of the duties of citizenship although he has not taken an active part in civic affairs. In all of his dealings he adheres to a high standard of ethics. He is well known and his many friends predict for him a successful future. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 61-62 |
| Hofmann, V. F. V. F. Hofmann, who figures prominently in financial circles in Havelock, was born in Bohemia, March 31, 1859, his parents being Frank and Anna Marie Hofmann, who spent their entire lives in the old country. V. F. Hofmann came to the United States when a young man of twenty-six years and made his first location m Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he accepted any employment that would yield him an honest living. He afterward traveled over South Dakota, making the journey on foot across the Indian reservations, and passed through Vermillion. In time, however, he decided to go to California, but at Council Bluffs and at Omaha he met some of his own countrymen and obtained employment in connection with the construction of the Union Pacific railroad bridge at Omaha. Later he became an engineer for the same company and while one day leaning out of the cab window, when crossing the Missouri river, he was hit on the head by a falling sledge and fell into the water. He was taken out some distance below the bridge and was conveyed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he recovered from his injuries. During the railroad strike he found employment in the Burlington shops at Plattsmoulh and when the shops were removed to Havelock he was one of the first workmen sent to this place. For twenty years he was a mechanic in the Burlington shops at Havelock. In April, 1907, he became cashier of the Farmers & Mechanics Bank, which position he still fills, and he now concentrates his energies upon his duties in that connection, proving a popular bank official. At Plattsmouth, Nebraska, Mr. Hofmann was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Anna Matous, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In everything relating to his city's welfare and advancement Mr. Hofmann is deeply and helpfully interested and has done much to promote Havelock's growth. He has been a member of the city council for two terms and served as mayor for two terms, giving to the city a public-spirited and businesslike administration. He belongs to George Washington Lodge, No. 250, F. & A. M., to the Ancient Order of LTnited Workmen and the Modem Woodmen of America. When he arrived in Havelock on the 1st of May, 1892, but few houses had been built. He has lived to see many changes as the town has grown and developed and in the work of improvement he has borne his part. He is, moreover, a self-made man, having steadily worked his way upward since starting out in life empty handed after coming to the new world. Such a record should serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what may be accomplished when there is a will to dare and to do. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 7-8 |
| Holm, Henry Henry Holm, proprietor of the Lincoln Tannery, has been in business in this city since June, 1895. He was bom in Denmark in 1857 and when a youth of fourteen and a half years he began to learn the tanning trade. For forty-four years he has been engaged in the business, every detail of which is familiar to him, and undoubtedly one of the most forceful features of his success is that he has always continued in the line in which he embarked as a young tradesman. After thoroughly acquainting himself with the work he traveled all over Europe, visiting nearly every country and working as a journeyman at one time. At length he determined to try his fortune in America and came to the United States in 1883. He was employed at different periods in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Louisville, Kentucky, and in the last named city was foreman of a tannery for five years. He later spent a similar period as superintendent of a tannery in Chicago, and in 1895 he arrived in Lincoln, where he has since been engaged in business, conducting operations at first at the comer of Second and B streets, and later just west of the viaduct. In 1908, after experiencing losses through the floods of that year, he came to his present location at Nos. 917-19 Q street. For several years he tanned hides for leather, but as he could not compete with eastem tanneries, he gave up that feature of the business and now tans hides and furs for robes, overcoats, caps, mittens, etc., taking care in 1915 of two thousand six hundred hides for the custom trade. He has the largest establishment of the kind in Nebraska, employing from sixteen to twenty people. His business has grown along substantial lines and his many patrons prove an advertisement for him as they are continually speaking in terms of praise concerning the excellent work which he does. Each year's business has shown a gain, resulting from the fact that he is doing work of high quality at a reasonable price. He has ever based his business upon the principle of actual value in service for money received and he pays the highest price for labor of any fur tannery in the country, so that he is able to secure the highest class of labor and produce the best work. The processes used render the skins soft and pliable and also wind, water and moth proof. He makes an annual exhibit at the State Fair, where he is continually meeting satisfied customers. He manufactures men's, women's and children's fur coats of the latest style and design as well as fur scarfs and muffs, makes rugs and in fact does all kinds of work with all kinds of fur. At Louisville, Kentucky, Mr. Holm was married to Miss Mary Danielsen, a native of Denmark, who was brought to the United States when a year old and was reared in Louisville. They have become the parents of six children: Fred, who assists his father in business and who married Helen Winter, of Lincoln, by whom he has one child. Pearl; Elroy, who married Maybelle Hanger, of Lincoln, and resides at Billings, Montana, where he is engaged in buying and shipping hides and furs; and Helen, ' Loretta, Charles and Henry Jr., all at home. The parents are members of the Unitarian church and Mr. Holm is a socialist in his political belief, opposed to monopolies and all those forces which work for the interests of the individual at the sacrifice of the interests of the masses. He reads broadly and thinks deeply and is well informed on many vital questions and interests of the day. Fraternally he is connected with the Royal Highlanders and with the Danish Brotherhood. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 124. 127 |
| Holmes, Judge Edward Powell Judge Edward Powell Holmes, lawyer and ex-Judge of the district court, has lived in Lincoln continuously since 1870 save from the years 1883 to 1886, when he resided at Pierce, Nebraska. He was bom in Terre Haute, Indiana, August 4. 1857, a son of Arba Holmes, whose birth occurred in Utica, New York, and who on removing westward became a resident of Terre Haute, Indiana, where he remained for many years, becoming a warm personal friend of the eminent silver-tongued orator, Richard W. Thompson, of that place. Arba Holmes was a manufacturer and built the first woolen mill in Terre Haute, where later he erected a foundry. He was married in Pennsylvania, in early manhood, to Miss Sarah Powell. Previous to his removal to Terre Haute he had been identified with manufacturing interests in Cincinnati, Ohio, for several years. In 1867, accompanied by his family, he arrived in Nebraska City, Nebraska, and his death occurred in Lincoln about ten years ago, when he was eighty-nine years of age. He had for several years survived his wife, who died at the age of seventy. Judge Holmes was the youngest of a family of five children, two sons and three daughters. His brother, Squire W. Holmes, who served as a soldier in the Union army and later became a lawyer of Indiana, died many years ago. Persis Holmes, who married Samuel K. Hale, is now deceased. Vashti is the widow of William J. La Rue and is living in Kankakee, Illlinois. Mary is the widow of Guy A. Brown, of Lincoln, Nebraska, who was the first state librarian of Nebraska and was clerk of the state supreme court for many years. The other member of the family is Judge Edward Powell Holmes, who was reared in Terre Haute, Indiana, and in Nebraska City. He completed his education by graduation from the University of Nebraska in 1878 with the Bachelor of Literature degree and he entered upon the study of law in the office of Samuel J. Tuttle and Nathan S. Harwood, of Lincoln. For three or four years he studied law in their office. He was admitted to the bar, however, at the age of twenty-one, soon after he had left the University, for he had been pursuing his law studies while attending the University. Since that time he has been actively engaged in practice save for the period of his service upon the bench, being a member of the Lincoln bar from 1878 until the present time with the exception of the three years which he spent in Pierce, where he conducted a bank as well as engaged in the practice of his profession. While there, in 1884, he was elected a regent of the State University and while serving as such and still living at Pierce he was elected to the state legislature from Pierce and Cedar counties, remaining a member of the house during the session of 1885-6. Since 1886 he has made his home in Lincoln and for two years he served as city attorney by appointment of the mayor, Robert Graham. He was appointed district judge to succeed Judge Jesse B. Strode, who was elected to congress, and he served upon the bench for thirteen consecutive years, covering the period of his appointment and of his three subsequent elections. At the end of that time, or in 1907, he refused to again become a candidate and has since been very active in law practice. He is now the senior member of the firm of Holmes & De Lacy, his partner being George De Lacy. For many years in his earlier legal career he was the partner of the late Judge Allen W. Field under the firm style of Field & Holmes. He displays marked ability in his law practice. Along with those quahties indispensable to the lawyer — a keen, rapid, logical mind, plus the business sense and a ready capacity for hard work, — he brought to the starting point of his legal career certain rare gifts — eloquence of language and a strong personality. When he went upon the bench he gave evidence of the fact that he possessed not only a high order of legal ability but also a rare combination of talent, learning, tact, patience and industry. His decisions indicate strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough knowledge of the law and an unbiased judgment. On the 24th of July, 1880, Judge Holmes was married to Mrs. Florence Farwell, of Lincoln, and they have become parents of a daughter, Ruth, now Mrs, Louis Vollentine, of Chicago. Mrs. Holmes was first the wife of William P. Farwell, formerly a banker of Lincoln, and they had two children: Florence, now the wife of Dr. Charles A. Hull, a surgeon of Omaha; and John Farwell, who graduated from the law department of the University of Nebraska and was sent to Mexico by President McKinley as consular agent and later sent by McKinley to the Philippines as an interpreter on a Philippine commission. He died of cholera in Manila. William Howard Taft was then governor of the Philippines and sent Judge Holmes a cablegram announcing the death of his stepson. Judge and Mrs. Holmes belong to Holy Trinity Episcopal church. In politics he has been a lifelong republican and has served as delegate to many county and state conventions of his party. He is a Royal Arch Mason, a Knight Templar and a Mystic Shriner and is also identified with the Knights of Pythias, He is likewise a member of the Lincoln Commercial Club and the Round Table Club, while along strictly professional lines he is connected with the local and slate bar associations. He is a man of strong purpose, of marked ability and of high principle and has so directed his efforts that they have been of the greatest possible value and worth, not only in upholding the political and legal status of the community but also in advancing its intellectual and moral standards. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 109-112 |
| Howey, Loyal Burtis Loyal Burtis Howey, president of the City National Bank at Lincoln, was born in the village of Hannasville, Venango county, Pennsylvania, November 20, 1865, son of the Rev. John D. and Angeline (Bowman) Howey. Rev. John D. Howey, a Presbyterian minister, devoted his entire life to that calling. He was born in Pennsylvania of Scotch-Irish descent. He entered the ministry of the Presbyterian church in early manhood and at different intervals in his life was pastor of churches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Nebraska. He arrived in this state in 1882 and engaged in preaching at both Raymond and Fairmont. His last years were spent in Hastings, Nebraska, but his death, however, occurred in Lincoln in 1895, his remains being interred in Wyuka cemetery. His widow is a resident of Beatrice, Nebraska. They were parents of six children, all of whom survive: Willis Clement and Loyal B,, of Lincoln, Nebraska; Frederick Hamilton, of Beatrice, Nebraska; Clyde Glenn, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Marie Tenena, of Los Angeles, California; and Ivy Belle, now the wife of W. C. Black, of Beatrice, Nebraska. Loyal B. Howey in the acquirement of his education attended school in the towns of Vermont, Prairie City, Altoona and Kewanee, Illinois, putting aside his textbooks at the age of sixteen, after which he spent two years in farm work in Kankakee county, Illinois. At the age of eighteen he became a clerk in a general store at Knoxville, Illinois, where he spent one year, and in 1884, at the age of nineteen years, he came to Lincoln, Nebraska, and maintained his residence here until 1895. He was first employed as a clerk in Lincoln in the dry goods store of Ashley & Millspaugh, then the leading store of the kind in the city. His ambition during these years was to engage in the banking business, but despite all of his efforts to secure an opening where a knowledge of the business might be obtained, none presented itself. Finally, however, he was offered the position of collector in the State National Bank of Lincoln at a salary of twenty dollars per month. He promptly accepted this, resigning his position with Ashley & Millspaugh, which was then paying him one thousand dollars per annum. He established himself in the confidence of the bank officials and was rapidly promoted until he was filling the position of bookkeeper. It will be interesting to note in this connection that four of the men then on the force of the State National Bank now hold high positions in the banking world. Its assistant cashier, Charles G. Waite, is now president of the Drovers National Bank at Kansas City, Missouri; the bookkeeper, Daniel G. Wing, is president of the First National Bank of Boston, Massachusetts; the teller, H. S. Freeman, is now one of the vice presidents of the First National Bank of Lincoln, while Mr. Howey is president of the City National Bank of Lincoln. Mr. Howey remained with the State National Bank from 1888 until 1891, when it was consolidated with the American Exchange National Bank, which then occupied the site of the present City National Bank on the northeast corner of O and Eleventh streets. Mr. Howey continued with the American Exchange National Bank for two years as bookkeeper and in 1893 was appointed to the position of national bank examiner for the state of Nebraska by James H. Eckels, then comptroller of currency, receiving the appointment strictly on his merit and fitness for the position, no political influence being used. He served for five years and in 1898 resigned to become cashier of the First National Bank of Beatrice, Nebraska. He and some of his friends had purchased a controlling interest in this bank, the doors of which had been closed previously due to the fact that the institution had been one of the victims of the widespread financial panic of 1893. It remained for Mr. Howey to revive the bank and again restore it to public confidence and public favor — a work which he splendidly accomplished during his fourteen years' connection with it as its cashier and president, holding the latter position during the last five years of his relation to the bank. During this period he took an active part in the work of the Nebraska Bankers Association, which organization includes within its membership practically all of the banks in Nebraska, serving as president of that organization in 1907. In December, 1911, he sold his interest in the First National Bank at Beatrice to his brother, Frederick H. Howey, who succeeded him as president and so continues. Returning to Lincoln, L. B. Howey purchased a controlling interest in the City National Bank, becoming its president and assuming control on the 1st of January, 1912. This institution under his management has rapidly grown in public favor until today it is one of Lincoln's leading financial concerns. Its quarters have been more than doubled and the interior of the bank has been converted into one of the handsomest in the west, being planned along the most modem lines of bank interiors. When Mr, Howey took charge the City National ranked fourth among Lincoln's banks as to the amount of deposits and today ranks second, its growth being unsurpassed by any financial institution in the city. He is also president of the Platte Valley State Bank, of Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, and of the Nebraska State Bank of Bridgeport, Nebraska, is vice president of the Platte Valley Land & Investment Company of Scotts Bluff, is president of the National Accident Insurance Company of Lincoln and has other financial interests as a stockholder in other banks. On the 6th of March, 1895, Mr. Howey was married to Miss Mary Lightfoot Green, of Beatrice, Nebraska, and their three children are: Loyal Green, born February 14, 1896; Margaret Lightfoot, May 26, 1901; and John Burtis, July 21, 1907. All were bom in Beatrice. Mr. Howey is independent in politics and never seeks or desires office. He belongs to the First Presbyterian church of Lincoln, in which he is serving as trustee, and he is a member of the Young Men's Christian Association and the Lincoln Commercial Club. He is a stanch supporter of those interests which figure most largely in the improvement and development of the city. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 52-54 |