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Ricketts, Arnott Chaney In no profession does advancement depend more entirely upon individual merit than in the law. Not through any outside influence or assistance can the lawyer attain success. In him must be the ability to untangle complications and correctly solve the intricate and complex legal problems due to his knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and his ability to correctly analyze and correlate the points at issue and the legal principles applicable thereto. Among those successfully practicing in Lincoln is Arnott Chaney Ricketts, whose individual talents have brought him to the front. He has lived in this city since 1872 and is a member of the firm of Field, Ricketts & Ricketts. He was bom on a farm near Findlay, in Hancock county, Ohio, March 18, 1845, a son of John C. Ricketts, who devoted the greater part of his life to agricultural pursuits in Hancock county but afterward spent several years in Findlay, Ohio, and his last years at the home of his son in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, March 4, 1815, and passed away in Lincoln, June 8, 1894, when in his eightieth year. He was twice married, first to Catharine Duncan, by whom he had six children, five sons and a daughter, as follows: Andrew Duncan, bom January 29, 1843, who is a veteran of the Union army and a grain dealer of Champaign, Illinois; Arnott Chaney, of this review; Emma J., who was born June 1, 1847, and is now Mrs. Louis Scothom, of Lincoln, Nebraska; Charles Kelley, who was born October 14, 1849, 3"*^ ^^^^ July 9, 1864; James Melville, born November 25, 1852, who passed away at Salt Lake City, Utah, May 21, igoi ; John Milton, twin brother of James M., who was a very promising young physician, having studied diligently both in America and Europe, and who died at Colorado Springs, Colorado, on the 21st of October, 1881. The mother of these children passed away on the 15th of August, 1855, and subsequently John C. Ricketts was married a second time. The father, mother and three deceased children are all buried in Wyuka cemetery of Lincoln, Nebraska. Arnott C. Ricketts was reared on his father's farm in Ohio and attended the country schools through the winter months. In 1864, when eighteen years of age, he enlisted and served for four months in the Union army with the "one hundred day men," being on duty in Virginia at the siege of Petersburg. In the fall of that year he returned home and resumed his interrupted studies, attending the Findlay (Ohio) high school. He also taught a country school near Findlay for three years and in 1867 he became a student in the Adrian College of Adrian, Michigan, where he won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1871. In the meantime he had entered the law department of the University of Michigan and was graduated therefrom in 1872. Immediately afterward Mr. Ricketts came to Lincoln, then a small town, and began practice. He has since continued as an active member of the profession here, covering a period of forty-four years, and he is now the senior member of the law firm of Field, Ricketts & Ricketts, one of the best known law firms of Nebraska. This firm came into existence in 1904, the partners being Judge Allen W. Field, now deceased, A. C. Ricketts and his son, Lowe A. Ricketts. Judge Field died June 9, 1915, and was succeeded in the firm by his son and namesake, no change being made in the firm style. Mr. Ricketts has been married twice. On the 1st of May, 1873, he wedded Miss Louisa M. Lowe, who passed away March 28, 1902, leaving two children, as follows: Ena R., born September 26, 1875, who is now the wife of Ernest C. Folsom, of Lincoln; and Lowe Arnott, born December 17, 1877, who is a member of the law firm of Field, Ricketts & Ricketts. On the 23d of June, 1909, Mr. Ricketts was again married, his second union being with Miss Sarah Elizabeth Thompson, who was long a teacher in the Omaha schools and was subsequently for several years at the head of the training department of the Fremont Normal College. In politics Mr. Ricketts has always maintained an independent course, never caring to become allied with any party and thus remaining free to support any candidate whom he may desire. He always votes for the man whom he thinks best fitted for the ofSce. He has filled the position of city attorney for three years and for five years was president of the city board of education. He cooperates in all plans and measures for the geperal good and works earnestly for Lincoln's welfare but has confined his attention principally to his law practice and is connected with litigation heard in all the courts of the United States. He now belongs to the Lincoln Commercial Club and is an active member of the Christian Science church of Lincoln. He early won a notable place at the bar, which position he has ever maintained, and there are few it any lawyers of the city whose practice exceeds in length the period in which Mr. Ricketts has followed his profession in the capital. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 122-124 |
Rohrbach, Andrew Andrew Rohrbach was a man whose upright life gained him conhdence and high regard in the various communities in which he lived. His widow is now a resident of Lincoln and several of their children make their home in Nebraska, Mr. Rohrbach was bom in Russia, June 26, 1827, a son of William and Julia Rohrbach, who were natives of Germany. The parents were farming people in the old country and never came to America. Andrew Rohrbach was reared and educated in Russia and about 1848 came to the new world, settling first at Burlington, Iowa, where he worked at the blacksmith's trade, which he had previously learned in his native country. He remained in Burlington for five years and then removed to Border Plains, Iowa, where he resided for six years. On the expiration of that period he went to Fort Dodge, where he was also in business for thirteen years, and later he removed to Sedalia, Missouri where he spent the succeeding eight years. He next became a resident of Kansas City, Kansas, where the remainder of his life was passed, his death there occurring December 4, 1890. It was on the 28th of October, 1861, that Mr. Rohrbach was united in marriage to Miss Emma Galer, a daughter of John and Martha (Miller) Galer, who were natives of Ohio. At an early day they removed westward to Illinois, and in Bureau county, that state, Mrs. Rohrbach was bom February 12, 1844. Her father there engaged in farming until 1850 when he removed to Webster county, Iowa, where he purchased land and carried on general agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days, his death occurring on the 22d of July, i860, when he was fifty-six years of age. His wife survived him for a number of years and her funeral was on the same day on which President Garfield's funeral occurred. To Mr. and Mrs. Rohrbach were bom eight children: John B., now residing in Kansas City; Julia E., the wife of William Booth, residing at Paulette, Nebraska; Etta W., the wife of Edwin, Scoville, residing at Clarkson, Nebraska; William H., living with his mother: Mildred, who died January 4, 1871; Florence, the wife of L. M. Gwinn, residing at Jumbo, Arkansas; Nina, the wife of William Murray, a resident of Omaha; and Nellie F., the wife of Charles Reardon, whose home is at University Place, Nebraska. In his political views Mr. Rohrbach was a stalwart republican, always giving allegiance to the party. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church and he guided his life according to its teachings, being ever an upright, honorable man, whose word was to be trusted and whose life was characterized by many acts of kindliness. In the year 1899 Mrs, Rohrbach removed to Lincoln, where she has since made her home; residing now at No. 2640 Q street. In the intervening period of seventeen years she has made many warm friends and is widely known here. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 70-71 |
Rowe M.D., E. W. Dr. E. W. Rowe, devoting his attention to the practice of medicine and surgery in Lincoln, was bom in Roberts, Illinois, in 1880, Five years later his father, a Methodist minister, removed with his family to Nebraska, where Dr. Rowe attended the public schools in the various towns in which his father held pastorates. At the early age of sixteen years he was graduated from the high school at Palmyra and later entered the University of Nebraska, which institution conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Science at the conclusion of his four years' course of study. He then took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for a time, and in 1901 he was principal of the Randolph (Nebraska) high school. In the meantime he had received a scholarship from the Northwestern University of Chicago and with this he entered the medical department of that school in the autumn of 1901, being graduated therefrom with the class of 1905, at which time the M. D, degree was conferred upon him. Periods of the years 1904 and 1905 were spent as an interne in a Chicago hospital, whereby he gained a broad and valuable training and experience that can be obtained in no other way as readily and as thoroughly as in hospital practice. Following his graduation he returned to Nebraska, settling at Wood River, where he remained in active practice for three years. In 1908 he removed to Lincoln and during the intervening period he has risen steadily until he now stands in the front rank of tlie profession in the capital. He is practicing as a member of the firm of Welch, Rowe & Lehnhoff. For five years Dr. Rowe served as a councillor of the Nebraska State Medical Association and for three years of that time was secretary of the council. His high standing in his profession is further indicated in the fact that in 1915 he was elected president of the state oi^anization, being one of, if not the youngest, physician ever honored with the presidency of the Nebraska State Medical Association, an honor which has been accorded him in recognition not only of his marked ability as a member of the profession and the efficiency which he has displayed in practice, but also of his sterling personal qualities and of the high principles which actuate him in every relation of life. Dr. Rowe likewise belongs to the Lancaster County Medical Society and the Missouri Valley Medical Society, and is a fellow of the American Medical Association. In 1905 Dr. Rowe was united in marriage to Miss Belle Harper, of Randolph, Nebraska, and they have a daughter, Grace Gertrude. The breadth of his interests and activities is indicated by the fact that he is a member of the Lincoln Social Service Club, the Open Forum of Lincoln, the Lincoln Commercial Club, Wood River Lodge, No. 158, I. O. O. F., the Young Men's Christian Association and the Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is now serving on the official board. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is well versed in the vital and significant problems of the age, but tlie honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. He has always preferred to concentrate his energies upon his professional duties and he is now serving as a member of the surgical staff of St. Elizabeth's Hospital in addition to caring for a large private practice. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 49-50 |
Rowland, John O. John O. Rowland, who aided in establishing the Rowland Lumber Company in 1907, is still connected with that concern and is serving as secretary and treasurer. He has excellent business ability, is energetic and efficient in the management of his affairs, and has gained a competence. He was born in Brighton, Washington county, Iowa, on the 27th of January, 1869. His parents, William M. and Sarah C. (Shearer) Rowland, were born in Ohio, but before their marriage they both became residents of Brighton, Iowa, where the father followed the carpenter's trade and also engaged in farming to some extent. In 1861 he offered his services in defense of the Union and became a member of Company K, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was at the front for three years, during which time he participated in much hard fighting. On being discharged from the army he returned to Brighton, where his marriage occurred and where he lived until 1870, when he removed with his family to Page county, Iowa. For ten years he operated land there, which he had purchased, but at the end of that time removed to Essex, whence two years later, in 1S86, he went to Avoca, Nebraska. He purchased land in that locality and for five years devoted his time to its cultivation but at the expiration of that period became a resident of Avoca, and engaged in the banking and lumber business there until 1907, when he sold his interests and came to Bethany, where he is still hving. His wife also survives, John O. Rowland is indebted for his early education to the public schools of Iowa and later attended the Bellevue College at Bellevue. Nebraska, and a business college at Lincoln. On entering the business world he became associated with his father in business at Avoca. but in 1907 he removed to Bethany and engaged in the lumber business in partnership with L. L. Turner. They also dealt in coal and hardware, and their association continued for a year, after which our subject and his father bought out Mr. Turner's interest, remaining the owners until 1910. In that year A. E. Cutler, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this book, was admitted to partnership in what is still known as the Rowland Lumber Company. The firm conducts two lumberyards and also a hardware store. John O. Rowland having charge of one yard and Mr. Cutler being manager of the other yard and the hardware business. The company has gained an enviable reputation for reliability and fair dealing and theirs is one of the leading enterprises of Bethany. Mr. Rowland was united in marriage on the 39th of June, 1899, to Miss Ethelyn Clary, and they are the parents of four children, namely: Gerald C., who was born on the 4th of June, 1901; Helen A., born November 29, 1902; Ralph S., born May 7, 1905; and Howard, born October 28, 1907. The republican party has a stalwart adherent in Mr. Rowland, and he has served acceptably on the town board and on the school board, doing all in his power to promote the public welfare. He holds membership in the Christian church, whose teachings gdvem his life, and he is highly esteemed by all who know him because of his ability and his many excellent traits of character. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 32, 35 |
Shore, Oracle Michael Oracle Michael Shore engaged in farming for many years and won a competence that enabled him at length to retire from active life and at the time of his death he was living in University Place, where he was well known and highly honored. His birth occurred in Rochester, Indiana, September 8, 1842, and his parents were John and Wilhelmina (Cummins) Shore. When but two years of age he lost his father and when he was only ten years old his mother passed away. He was then taken by an aunt and later by an elder sister, with whom he made his home until he enlisted in the Union army at the age of nineteen years, becoming a member of Company D, Eighty-seventh Indiana Volunteer infantry. He served with that command for three years and had even more exciting experiences than fall to the lot of the average soldier as he was captured by the Confederates and succeeded in escaping and rejoining his regiment. He and four other prisoners agreed to attempt to escape when he should give the word. He was walking by the side of the guard, who was mounted on horseback, and called his attention to something shining up the road and as soon as the Confederate took his eyes off the prisoners they ran away. Our subject and two others succeeded in escaping and after walking all night and until ten o'clock the next morning reached their own regiment. While Mr. Shore was in the army his sister removed to Iroquois, Illinois, and after his discharge from military service he joined her there. Not long afterward he was married and after living in Illinois for a time he and his wife went to Kansas, where they remained for three years. In 1874 they came to Nebraska, locating in Cass county, and three years later took up their residence in Lancaster county, Mr. Shore purchasing eighty acres of land in Stevens Creek precinct. He made many improvements upon the place, kept everything in excellent repair, and in his farm work followed the latest methods and utilized the most up-to-date machinery. He was very successful as an agriculturist and in 1906, feeling that he was entitled to a period of leisure, he retired and removed to University Place. Five years later, on the 27lh of April, 191 r, he passed away there, and his demise was deeply regretted by his fellow citizens, who held him in warm regard. Mr. Shore was married on the 19th of April, 1865. to Miss Ella, Beach, who was born in Franklin county, Ohio, September 7, 1848, and who is a sister of C. C. Beach, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. She is the mother of three children, as follows: Charles, who is a stockholder in and salesman for the Buick Automobile Company of Lincoln, married Fannie Hall and has three children, Louie, Susie and Charlotte. Oscar resides with his mother and is engaged in the jewelry business. Lena is the wife of Sam Latture, of University Place, and they have three children, Ethel, Everett and Ada. Mr. and Mrs. Shore also reared an adopted daughter, Phena, who is now the wife of Bert Gregg, a farmer of Stevens Creek precinct, by whom she has four children, Erma. Irene, Gerald and Lynelle. Mr. Shore was a republican and loyally supported the candidates of that party at the polls although he never took an active interest in politics. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his wife still belongs, and his influence was always on the side of right and justice. He measured up to high standards of manhood and was respected for his integrity and his fair dealing. His wife still lives in University Place and she is highly esteemed by all who have come in contact with her. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 27-28 |
Sommerlad, Philip A. Philip A. Sommerlad is a popular and well known citizen of Lancaster county and that his fellow townsmen have confidence in his ability and integrity in public affairs is indicated in his election to the office of county treasurer, which position he is now filling. He is a native son of Nebraska, having been born in the town of Arago, Richardson county, August 27, 1868, but from the age of three years he has resided continuously in Lincoln, having been brought by his parents to this city in 1871. His father, the Hon. Henry William Sommerlad, was a native of Germany and when a youth in his teens came to the new world with a brother and sister. He lived for a few years in Buffalo, New York, and was there married. He afterward removed with his wife and three young daughters, who had been bom in the Empire state, to Arago, Nebraska. Previous to that time he had served as a member of a New York regiment in the Civil war and it was soon after this that he journeyed westward. He had been a resident of Arago for but a brief period when his wife died, leaving to his care a family of three daughters and a son, namely: Helen, now the wife of Will H. Bowen, of Jacksonville, Oregon; Elizabeth, now the wife of Samuel I. Wilson, of Talent, Oregon; Caroline, who married George H. Griffis and has since passed away, her death occurring at her home in Los Angeles, California, where her husband still resides; and Henry William, now a resident of Livingston, Montana. For his second wife the father, Hon. H. W. Sommerlad, married Miss Christina Scherrer, also a native of Germany. This marriage was celebrated in Buffalo, New York, and to them were bom five children, of whom the eldest, a son, died in infancy. The other four are Sophia, now the wife of Robert D. Haney, of Denver, Colorado; Philip A.; Catharine, who married Frank Simonton, of Redcliff, Colorado, where she passed away about 1896; and Charles, who died at the age of twelve. The family became a prominent one in Richardson county, Nebraska. The father was called upon to represent his district in the state legislature for the term 1869-70. In 1871 he removed to Lincoln and at his death in 1873 was serving as receiver in the United States land office. He was also the owner of a brewery which he built in East Lincoln soon after his removal to the capital. Philip Augustus Sommerlad was reared and educated in Lincoln, where he attended the public schools to the age of fourteen years, after which he worked for a few years on farms in the vicinity of Lincoln. He also herded cattle and still later was employed by Walter G. Bohannan, who conducted a hotel. At the age of nineteen years he became fireman at the heating plant of the Lincoln postoffice, spending one winter in that way. He next secured a position as mail carrier on the city force and acted in that capacity for four years. Later he pursued a course in bookkeeping in the Lincoln Business College and afterward was employed as a bookkeeper by the Western Newspaper Union of Lincoln for eleven years. He spent a year in the office of Miller & Paine in the credit department and for five years was the bookkeeper for the L. D. Woodruff Printing Company and during the last two years was also secretary and one of the stockholders of that concern. In November, 1911, he was elected county treasurer on the republican ticket and was reelected in 1914, so that he is now serving for his second term, which will expire in January, 1917. His reelection indicates clearly the confidence and trust reposed in him by his fellow townsmen, who appreciated the worth and value of his first term's service. On the 14th of October, 1896, Mr. Sommerlad was united in marriage to Miss Nellie L. Hyde, youngest daughter of the late Colonel Thomas H. Hyde, the founder of the Daily News of Lincoln and its editor and publisher for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Sommerlad have one son, Phihp Paine Sommerlad, born March 1, 1901. Mr. Sommerlad belongs to the Modem Woodmen of America, to the Lincoln Commercial Club and the Young Men's Republican Club, of which he served as treasurer for two years. That he is not unmindful of the higher, holier duties of life is indicated in his membership in St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal church and in the Young Men's Christian Association and of the former he is treasurer. His life history is well known to his fellow townsmen, for he has practically always lived in Lincoln. Between the ages of eight and twelve years he was a newsboy on the streets of the city and thus eamed his first money. Today he is occupying the responsible and important position of county treasurer, in which connection his record is so excellent that the most malevolent could not speak of his service in any disparaging way. He is prompt, accurate, systematic and reliable and he enjoys in full measure the goodwill and high regard of all. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 72-73 |
Stevens, Dr.
James Franklin Dr. James Franklin Stevens was bom in Van Buren, De Kalb county, Illinois, on the 19th of August, 1859, and is the son of Sylvester George and Mary Manha (Greene) Stevens. His father was a native of Main^, was reared in New Hampshire and received a college education. In 1854 he was sent to Chicago by a Boston firm to establish a branch business house. His work finished he traveled by stage as far as Van Buren, then simply a postoffice, where he remained as tutor and school teacher until his death which occurred in 1861, when he was twenty-eight years of age. The mother, Mary M. Greene, a descendant of the distinguished Greene family of Rhode Island, was bom in westem New York, the home of her father, James Greene. Her parents were among the early pioneers in northern Illinois, to which place she was brought when a little child. This continued to be her home until the time of her death in Shabbona, December 23, 1887. Dr. Stevens is an only child and was but two years of age when his father died. He was reared by his mother, who notwithstanding limited financial resources managed to give her son the excellent educational opportunities planned by herself and husband prior to the latter's death. His early training was received in the district school. This was supplemented by an extensive disciplining in field work in nature study and drawing under the immediate supervision of Bayard T. Holmes, at that time college student and teacher, and later the professor of surgery in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago, Illinois. When sixteen years of age Dr. Stevens was matriculated as a preparatory student in the Classical Seminary of Paw Paw, Illinois. This institution, which years ago voluntarily retired because of lack of endowment, was originally chartered by a special act of legislature of the state of Illinois and for twenty-five years was a well known local institution of learning. The required per cent of scholarship, namely ninety, before a degree could be granted, would perhaps be considered rather severe today. In twenty-five years with an annual attendance of several hundred it granted but thirty-four degrees. In 1881 Dr. Stevens was graduated therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. The following autumn he entered the medical department of the Northwestern University and upon the completion of the course received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the spring of 1884. Later in life, after becoming a citizen of the new west, he entered the University of Nebraska as a graduate student in 1897, and after three years of study with Dr. A. Ross Hill, then the head of the department of Philosophy, received, in the spring of 1900, the degree of Master of Arts. During the first eight years of college life he managed to meet much of the necessary expense by his earnings as private tutor, country school teacher during summer vacations, or acting in the capacity of assistant to some professor. As he states it "The grind was hard but victorious." Immediately after leaving the school of medicine he located for practice in Shabbona, Illinois. This town was named after the old Indian chief who years before with his tribe lived on his reservation adjoining and referred to Mrs, Stevens (the mother, then a child) as "Greene's papoose." Here Dr. Stevens came into a full knowledge of what starting in life really means. At first he walked, later he purchased a limited means of conveyance and finally succeeded in securing a well ordered doctor's equipment He remained at this point for four years, during which time his practice was largely in the surrounding country and nearby towns. He declares that his successful beginning was due largely to the influence of his parents' friends supplemented by a warm support of his erstwhile pupils and college acquaintances. It was during his stay in Shabbona that Dr. Stevens met Miss Lillian E. Camahan, daughter of S. W. and Celestia Carnahan of Compton, Illinois, who was destined in the spring of 1888 to become his bride. Miss Camahan was a brilliant student and teacher and possessed then as now a large circle of acquaintances and affectionate friends. The day following their marriage Dr, and Mrs. Stevens left the land of their nativity and early life and started for the new west with its limitless possibilities. Kansas City was selected as the most desirable place in which to locate, and here arrangements were made for a permanent residence. Life in this splendid city, a rapidly enlarging business, and most excellent prospects were, however, soon doomed to blight. The peculiarly sweltering climate, together with the impure water then furnished unfiltered from the river, made such inroads upon the health of his family that it was found necessary to first spend many months in travel and recuperation and later to remove permanently to the north, Lincoln, Nebraska, was chosen as the objective point and in August, 1893, Dr and Mrs. Stevens commenced what has been a continuous residence to the present time. In 1894 a daughter, Ruth Mary Stevens, was bom who after a brief and beautiful life of nine years passed away and now rests in Wyuka cemetery. This was the only child. Dr. Stevens has practiced continuously in Lincoln since 1893, and has during this time gained an enviable place irt the hearts of the people. He keeps in close touch with the advancement which is constantly being made in medical research, and his ability and progressiveness have attracted to him a very large clientele, by whom he is regarded at once as physician and friend. He emphatically believes that the genius of success is the genius of industry and that the practice of humanity is more desirable than the practice of commercialism. As a result he is an untiring worker and meets the rich and the poor upon the same basis. Believing that no individual can develop largely who devotes himself exclusively to one line of thought he is decidedly interested in affairs educational, social and civic. He is a member of the board of education of Lincoln and has been for many years one of the trustees of Doane College. For several years he was lecturer on the principles of medicine in the Lincoln Dental College. For four years he was dean and professor of internal medicine in the Nebraska College of Medicine which during its existence was first the Patron School and later the affiliated School of Medicine of the Nebraska Wesleyan University. For several years he was lecturer on materia medica in the medical department of the Nebraska State University. During the past three years he has been professor of introductory medicine in the same institution, a position which he still holds. He is a member of the Lancaster County Medical Society, The Nebraska State Medical Society and The American Medical Association and a Fellow of the American Academy of Medicine. He is also a member of the Nebraska State Pharmaceutical Association and the Missouri Valley Medical Association. He has been a member of the staff of St. Elizabeth Hospital for twenty years. His general interest in scientiSc research is indicated by the fact that he is a member of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science and a founder member of the American Anthropological Association. He also is a member of the Cooper Ornithological Union and the American Ornithological Union. He is connected with the Nebraska Historical Association and the Mississippi Valley Historical Society. He belongs to the Na- tional Child Labor Union and several local charities. He is a member of the Lincoln Rotary Club, the Lincoln Commercial Club and several fraternal orders. In the financial world he is one of the board of directors of the American Savings Bank. His college fraternities are Sigma Chi and Phi Rho Sigma. Politically he has usually been a republican but refuses to vote for any one whom he regards unworthy. His church affiliation is with the Congregationahsts. His earthly life interests are the promotion of the welfare of the community in the midst of which he lives. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 94, 97-98 |
Strotsteffen,
John For many years John Strotsteffen was actively connected with railroad work in Lincoln acting as section foreman with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. He was bom in Prussia, Germany, March 14, 1828, and is a son of Everhard and Mary Strotsteffen,. who were also natives of that country, where they spent their entire lives, the father dying in the '50s, while the mother passed away in the succeeding decade. John Strotsteffen was reared and educated in Germany and in the '50s came to America, making his way at first to Chicago, while later he was located at different periods at Peru "and at Aurora, Illinois, being employed during that time at railroad work and as a farm hand. About i860 he removed to Iowa, setthng at West Point, and there on the 13th of September, 1861, he proved his loyalty to his adopted land by enlisting for service as a member of Company I, Engineers of the West, an Iowa regiment of infantry. Later Companies I and C were consolidated and with that command he remained until honorably discharged at the close of the war, having served for three years and three months. In 1865 he returned to Iowa with a most creditable military record. He located on a farm near West Point and cultivated it for a considerable period, after which he removed to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he remained for three years. He then returned to Iowa, settling at Fort Madison and afterward at Burlington, where he was employed as section foreman by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company until 1875, when he was transferred to Lincoln, Nebraska, continuing to act as section foreman throughout the remainder of his active life. In January, 1865, Mr. Strotsteffen was married to Miss Theresa Wigginjost, a daughter of Bemhard and Elizabeth (Saltan) Wigginjost, both of whom were natives of Germany. Mrs. Strotsteffen was bom in Germany, November 23, 1844, and in 1850 was brought to the new world by her father, who was a farmer of Germany and who, on coming to the United States, settled at Fort Madison, Iowa, where he spent his remaining days, his death there occurring March 4, 1854. His wife had died in Germany in 1849. Mr. and Mrs. Strotsteffen had no children of their own but they reared a niece, Theresa Slueter, now the wife of Joseph Desher, formerly of Lincoln but now a resident of Kansas City. As the years passed Mr. Strotsteffen won a gratifying measure of success through his energy and persistency in business and, making judicious investment, he became the owner of live residence properties in Lincoln. He lived for a number of years at No. 726 Vine street, but in 1914 removed to another property which he owned at No. 658 South Nineteenth street, where his widow still resides. He passed away May 30, 1915, after attaining the very venerable age of eighty-seven years. In politics he was a democrat and in religious faith a Catholic. He belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic and was ever as true and loyal to his country in days of peace as when in days of war he followed the nation's starry banner on the battle fields of the south. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 81-82 |
Stuart, Charles Charles Stuart is secretary and treasurer of the Nebraska Buick Automobile Company, which was organized in 1909. They are dealers in automobiles and accessories and they occupy the Stuart building at the southeast corner of Thirteenth and P streets in Lincoln, while in Omaha and in Sioux City they have branch establishments. Other business interests have claimed the attention and profited by the cooperation of Mr. Stuart, whose energies and initiative make him one of the representative and prominent young business men of the city. Nebraska, therefore, is proud to claim him among her native sons. He was born in Madison in 1884, his parents being James and Lillie A, (Eaton) Stuart, who were natives of Connecticut and in the year 1878 arrived in Nebraska, settling in Madison, where the father embarked in the banking business. He gradually extended his efforts over a broad field, becoming the head of banks at Madison, Tilden, Norfolk and Elgin. In 1894 he removed to Lincoln, where he passed away in 1898. His widow, however, still resides in the capital. Charles Stuart pursued his education in schools of Nebraska and of California, completing his course in the Nebraska State University. He was a young man of twenty-five years when he embarked in his present business as a partner in the Nebraska Buick Automobile Company, with H. E. Sidles as president and R. H. Collins, vice president. Mr. Stuart holds the office of secretary and treasurer and is active in the management of this business, which is now extended over a wide territory and has reached most gratifying proportions. Something of the volume of their trade is indicated in the fact that they occupy a five-story building in Lincoln and employ seventy-seven people, making theirs one of the foremost automobile concerns of the state. Mr. Stuart is also a director of the Lincoln Telephone Company, of the First National Bank, the First Savings Bank, the First Trust Company and the Lincoln Traction Company. He built and owns the Lyric theater, was one of the organizers and developers of Electric Park, is the vice president of the Madison National Bank at Madison, Nebraska, and a director of the Tilden National Bank at Tilden, Nebraska, In his business life he is a persistent, resolute and energetic worker, possessing strong executive powers. He readily recognizes the possibilities of every new avenue opened in the natural ramifications of trade. He readily discriminates between the essential and the non-essential and he therefore passes over the pitfalls into which unrestricted progressiveness is so frequently led and has focused his energies in directions where fruition is certain. In 1910 Mr. Stuart was married to Miss Marie Talbot, a daughter of A. R. Talbot, head consul for the Modern Woodmen of America, and they have one child, Charles, now four years of age. Mr, Stuart is a member of the First Congregational church, which indicates his interest in those moral forces working for the uplift of the community, and he belongs to the Commercial Club, a fact indicative of his interest in the plans and projects for municipal and civic progress and improvements. His ability and his ambition make him a dynamic force in the business world and he stands among those for whom success is a certainty because he possesses the qualities which are indispensable thereto. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 41-42 |
Talbot, Adolphus Robert Adolphus Robert Talbot is senior member of the law firm of Talbot & Allen, of Lincoln, and is also head consul of the Modern Woodmen of America with headquarters in Nebraska's capital city. The importance and extent of his professional and business activities at Once place him among the leading residents of the city. He was born upon a farm in Warren County, Illinois, April 11, 1859. His father, William Talbot, a farmer by occupation, was bom in England and after arriving at years of maturity married Amy Joan Godfrey, also a native of that country. Their marriage was celebrated in England, after which they emigrated to the United States and for two years were residents of New York. They then removed to Warren county, Illinois, where they spent their remaining days. After living for many years upon the farm they took up their abode in Alexis, a small town three miles distant from their old homestead. There they spent their remaining days, the father passing away at the age of eighty-five years. In their family were nine children, seven of whom are living: Mrs. Frances Ann Andrews, of Emporia, Kansas; Edwin H., of La Plata, Missouri; George W., of Los Angeles, California; Mrs. Harriet Ann Vivian, of Schenectady, New York; Mrs. Mary Jane Anderson, of Galesburg, Illinois; Adolphus R., of this review; and Frederick S., of La Plata, Missouri. In religious faith the father, William Talbot, was a devout Methodist and in political belief a stanch republican. In 1860 he was a candidate for township office on the ticket on which Abraham Lincoln ran for the presidency and was elected. He took a very helpful part in promoting the moral progress of his community and was instrumental in securing the erection of several Methodist churches in Wiarren county. In youth he had been denied all educational opportunities but in the school of experience he learned many valuable lessons and, moreover, he became a great reader and student of good books, thereby acquiring extensive learning and developing his natural talents. His ability made him a leader in his home community, and his opinions were listened to with deference. Realizing the value of education he provided all his children with collegiate training and, moreover, he gave to each one of them a thousand dollars as they attained their majority, thus assisting them to start out in life. Adolphus Robert Talbot was reared upon his father's farm in Illinois to the age of sixteen years, at which time he entered the high school at Alexis, Illinois, completing his course there by graduation when eighteen years of age. He then became a student in Hedding College, a Methodist school of Abingdon, Knox county, Illinois, which he attended for four years and was graduated in 1881, with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, becoming valedictorian of his class. In the meantime he had determined upon the practice of law as a life work and with that end in view he entered the Union College of Law at Chicago, which is the law department of both the Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. He was graduated therefrom with the class of 1883 with the degree of B. L. and in 1886 his alma mater, Hedding College, conferred upon him the LL. D. degree. On the 1st of May, 1883, Mr. Talbot located in Lincoln, Nebraska, where for a period of twenty years he actively engaged in the practice of law, during which time he was regarded as one of the eminent and able members of the city bar. For a period of ten years, or from 1887 until 1897, he was a member of the firm of Talbot & Bryan, his partner having been Hon. William Jennings Bryan, thrice democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States. During the full period of his law practice, covering twenty years, Mr. Talbot was assistant general attorney for Nebraska of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. He yet remains at the head of the law firm of Talbot & Allen, his partner being the Hon. Thomas S. Allen, who at the present time holds the office of United States district attorney. In politics Mr. Talbot is a republican but despite this fact has always been an ardent friend of his former law partner, W. J. Bryan. In the fall of 1896 Mr. Talbot was elected as state senator on the republican ticket and was reelected to the office in 1898, serving as president pro tem of the senate during his second term and by virtue of this ottice became acting governor of the state when Nebraska's chief executive was absent. In 1914 Mr. Talbot was appointed by President Wilson peace commissioner from the United States to Bolivia and is still serving in that capacity. He is ever found in those circles where men of intelligence are met in the discussion of vital and significant problems, and his labors and influence have been of far-reaching effect. Mr. Talbot's official conneotion with the Modern Woodmen of America began on the 23d of November, 1890, when he was elected a member of the board of directors. He was repeatedly elected to that office until 1903, when he was elected head consul (or president) of the order, at which time the office was removed from Springfield, Illinois, to Lincoln, Nebraska, where it has since remained. Mr. Talbot has since occupied the position, having been reelected five times, so that his incumbency covers twelve years, during which he has occupied the highest executive office of the lai^est fraternal society in the world. As head consul he has general supervision over all the work and activities of the Older throughout the United States with a field force of more than five thousand active men under him. He is likewise a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and the Knights Templar degree of the York Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He is likewise an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias, and he is a director of the Woodmen's Accident Association of Lincoln. On the 15th of May, 1884, Mr. Talbot was married to Miss Addie S. Harris, of Abingdon, Illinois, and they have three children: Marie Frances, who is now the wife of Charles Stuart, of Lincoln; Robert Harris, a senior in the University of Nebraska; and Eleanor Virginia, fourteen years of age, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Talbot are prominent members of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which he takes an active part, while for thirty years he has served as one of the church trustees. He is a prominent figure in the Nebraska State Bar Association and also a member of the American Bar Association, His professional activities and his official duties in his present connection have brought him a wide acquaintance throughout the country and wherever known he is held in highest regard, honored for his ability and esteemed for his personal worth. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 14-16 |
Thorp, Christian A. Christian A, Thorp, of College View, is a man of much influence in the work of the Seventh Day Adventist church as he is editor of the Evangeliets Sendebud, or Gospel Messenger, a Danish-Norwegian paper published by that denomination. He was bom in Farsund, Norway, on the 19th of January, 1864, a son of Knud and Katrine (Nielsen) Knudsen Thorp, both natives of Norway. The father, who followed agricultural pursuits during his active life, passed away in that country in March, 1904, and his wife died there in September, 1912, Christian A. Thorp was reared and educated in the land of the midnight sun and learned the cabinetmaker's trade, which he followed until 1887, when, at the age of twenty-three years, he emigrated to the United States. He followed his trade in Chicago for two years, after which he became a student in the Battle Creek College at Battle Creek, Michigan, which is conducted by the Seventh Day Adventist church, and after remaining there for a year he engaged in missionary work under the direction of the mission conference of that church for one year. He then entered the office of the Review and Herald at Battle Creek, beginning as a typesetter and advancing until in 1896 he was made editor of the Evangeliets Sendebud, which was at that time published at Battle Creek. In December, 1902* the printing plant was burned and the publication of the paper was then transferred to College View, Nebraska, where in 1903 the International Publishing Association was organized. In the fall of 1914 this concern became the international branch of the Pacific Press Publishing Association of Mountain View, Colorado, which issues papers in three lagnuages. Mr. Thorp has continued as editor of the paper since he first took charge of it in 1896 and he has made it an important factor in the development of the Seventh Day Adventist church throughout the middle west and northwest. He is in close touch with the various branches of the work of the church, is thoroughly grounded in the principles for which the church stands, understands clearly the function of the denominational press, possesses the power of discrimination and the literary taste necessary to the editor and is rect^nized as a leader in church journalistic circles. Beginning in August, 1916, the plant will be located at Brookfield, lUHnois, to which place Mr. Thorp will remove. On the 28th of March, 1891, Mr. Thorp was married to Miss Mary Andresen and to their union have been bom four children: Arthur C., who graduated from Union College with the class of 1914 and is a musician by profession and is located at Chicago, Illinois; and Lewis P., Ruth and Esther, all of whom are students in Union College. Mr. Thorp supports the democratic party at the polls and takes the interest of a good citizen in public affairs although he has never been an office seeker. He is chairman of the book committee of the public library and has been very efficient in the performance of his duties in that capacity. He has served as an elder in the Seventh Day Adventist church and at all times has its interests closely at heart. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 67-68 |
Travis, Joseph V. For many years Joseph V. Travis, of Bethany, owned and operated a well drilling machine but he is now living retired, enjoying a leisure made possible by his enterprise in former years. He was bom in Ohio in September, 1846, and his parents were Isaac and Matilda (Van Gordon) Travis, natives of the Buckeye state. The father followed the wagon maker's trade in Ohio and passed away there in 1861, while the mother died in 1873. To them were born five children, namely: Rev. Gilbert; Agnes, deceased; Joheph V.; John F., deceased; and Flora J. Joseph V. Travis was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the public schools. When eighteen years of age he began his independent career and went to Illinois, where he worked as a farm hand for a time, after which he engaged in farming on his own account in Fulton county for two years. Subsequently he followed agricultural pursuits in McDonough county for three years but in 1874 he removed to Saunders county, Nebraska, where he operated rented land for two years. At the expiration of that period he returned to Illinois but after remaining there for one season went to Missouri, whence in 1878 he came to Nebraska. He lived in Ashland until 1889, when he went to Lincoln, Lancaster county, where he engaged in the well drilling business, owning a well drilling machine. He was fully equipped for doing rapid and high class work and was given many contracts, meeting with gratifying success in that business. In April, 1905, feeling that he had accumulated a competence, he retired and purchased five acres of land adjoining the town of Bethany, on which he has since lived. He has made many improvements upon the place and takes justifiable pride in keeping everything in excellent condition. Mr. Travis was married on the 26th of September, 1867, to Miss Laura Beckelhymer, a daughter of Alexander and Sarah (Brown) Beckelhymer. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania but removed to Illinois and there the father farmed until called by death in 1899, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty years, as his natal year was 1819. He had long survived his wife, who died in 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Travis have three children: Leonidas, who was born November 23, 1868; Charles, who was born May 23, 1871, and is living in Bethany; and Clarissa P., who was born June 12, 1878, and is now the wife of W. F. Lintt of University Place. Mr. Travis is an adherent of the democratic party and. supports its candidates at the polls. He served as police judge, as justice of the peace and as constable at Ashland, Nebraska, and made an excellent record as an official. He is identihed with the Christian church and can be depended upon to further movements seeking the mora! advancement of his community. He possesses many excellent qualities and is held in high esteem wherever known and especially where best known. LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 132-133 |
Tucker, George P. Among those who won public regard through ability and enterprise in business and through the possession of many sterling traits of character was George P. Tucker, now deceased. He was regarded as a citizen whom the community could ill afford to lose but death claimed him and he passed on. He was born in Walworth, Wayne County, New York, Stepember 28, 1834, a son of Luther and Elmira (Kent) Tucker, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Wayne county, New York. The father engaged in merchandising in the Empire state throughout the entire period of his business career and there passed away in 1838. His widow long survived him, dying in 1889. George P. Tucker was four years of age when he lost his father. His early schooling was obtained in his native county and later he attended the public schools of Walworth, New York, remaining with his mother until he attained his majority. He afterward followed farming and stock raising in the east and in 1856 he traveled through some of the western states, visiting Nebraska. In the fall of that year he returned to New York in time to cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont as standard bearer of the newly organized republican party. In the spring of 1858 he came west again and settled at Helena, Johnson county, Nebraska, where he purchased land and engaged in farming and stock raising. He constructed a house entirely of walnut timber, in which he lived for a number of years. When the Second Nebraska Cavalry was organized his patriotic spirit prompted his enlistment and on the 21st of October, 1862, he became a member of Company F, of which he was made quartermaster sergeant. He was promoted to the rank of orderly sergeant November 13, 1862, and was mustered out of the regiment in 1863 with the rank of sergeant major. This company was sent to the frontier in Dakota to serve against the Indians, who, filled with the spirit of unrest, had gone upon the warpath. Mr. Tucker rendered valuable aid to his country at that time and returned home with a most creditable military record. In company with Benjamin F. Lysbaugh and Charles G. Dorsey, Mr. Tucker owned the town site of Helena, Johnson county, Nebraska, which they surveyed and platted in 1867. In the fall of 1866 Mr. Tucker was elected to the first legislature of Nebraska and was one of the men whose vote assisted in moving the capital from Omaha to Lincoln. He took an active interest^in all questions that came up for consideration and cast the weight of his influfnce on the side of all those measures which he believed to be for the benefit of the new commonwealth. In 1870 he was again elected to represent Johnson county in the general assembly and served as senator during the stormy session of 1871. As a legislator he was sagacious, farsighted and thoroughly reliable. He was a ready debater, clearly presenting his ideas, and the logic and force of his utterances carried conviction to the minds of his hearers. He hated wrong in any form and his allegiance to the right was incorruptible. No reward of favor, no threat nor frown of displeasure could turn him from the course which he believed to be for the best interests of the state. He walked firmly in the path of duty and his career commanded the respect of even those who opposed him politically. Mr. Tucker was appointed receiver of the United States Land Ofiice at Lincoln about 1872, during Grant's administration, and in 1873 moved his family to Lincoln. During his incumbency in the office it probably did the greatest amount of business as the immigration to the state was the heaviest at that time. Subsequently he engaged in the real estate business in connection with John McManigal. In this he continued until his death and in his business was very successful, wisely and capably directing his interests. He was thoroughly informed concerning realty values, knew the property upon the market and wisely conducted all of his affairs. Again he was called to public office, serving as the first water commissioner of Lincoln, and in that capacity he saved to the city many thousands of dollars by his rigid inspection of water pipe. Mr. Tucker was united in marriage March 19, 1864, to Miss Nancy J, Smith, who was bom November 1, 1843, in Republic, Seneca county, Ohio. She had come to this state in 1863 and was a daughter of Gaylord G. and Ada Z. (Covey) Smith, who were natives of New York, both born in 1803. The father was a carpenter and contractor and went to Garden Grove, Iowa, at an early day, there spending the remainder of his life. Both he and his wife are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Tucker were born nine children: Charles A„ a jeweler of Lincoln; Luther G., who died in 1911; George P., a veterinary surgeon of Lincoln; Ada, who conducts the St. George photographic studio at the comer of Fourteenth and M streets, in Lincoln; Frank H., a veterinarian of Lincoln; William L., also a veterinary surgeon of Lincoln; Laura K., who died in 1878; Winifred M., a physician by profession, who became the wife of Dr. A. W. Ward, of Hampton, Nebraska, and died March 6, 1916; and Robert A., a veterinary surgeon of Lincoln, who died Febrtiary 13, 1910. After a short illness, Mr. Tucker passed away July 22, 1892. Since his demise Mrs. Tucker has managed the large estate which he left and has educated her children, who have become honorable men and women, occupying a prominent position in the different localities in which they reside. Mrs. Tucker is a woman of innate culture and refinement, of gentle manner and yet of excellent business ability. It is well known that she has ever exerted a strong influence for good in the community in which she lives and her life has been an effective force for right among her many friends and among her children. She possesses wide sympathy and love for all mankind and has ever been willing to extend a helping hand wherever it is needed. In his political faith Mr. Tucker was an earnest republican and fraternally was an exemplary member of Lincoln Lodge, No. 54, F. & A. M., in which he held all of the offices, becoming master. He belonged to the Congregational church and guided his life according to its teachings. He possessed many sterling characteristics but none were stronger than his irreproachable honesty. Wherever known he was held in the highest regard and most of all where he was best known. He had a circle of friends coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances and of him it may well be said : "He was a man. - Take him for all in all I shall not look upon his like again." LINCOLN: The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 42, 47-48 |