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Webster, Orlando W.  

Orlando W. Webster, who for a third of a century was engaed in the boot and shoe business at Lincoln but who in more recent years has given his attention to other matters, has been thus actively connected with the commercial development of the city, and ranks with its foremost business men. He was bom in Richland county, Ohio, July 18, 1844, a son of Orrin Webster, who in early life engaged in the practice of law. He, too, was a native of Richland county, Ohio, bon in 1819, and he died there upon his home farm January 6, 1863, when forty-four years of age. He in turn was the son of William Webster, who was born in Farmington, Hartford county, Connecticut, in 1766 and became one of the pioneer residents of Richland county, Ohio, where he later assisted in organizing the First State Bank of Mansfield. He became alao a well-to-do farmer of that county and a man of large business affairs. Being one of the pioneers of that section and a. man of high character, he was looked upon as one of the leaders in his community and left the impress of his individuality upon the development of that section of the state. He died in the year 1838. He was a second cousin of Noah Webster, the famous lexicographer. This branch of the Webster family is descended from John Webster, who came from England in 1630 and settled in the Massachusetts colony, while later he served as one of the early colonial governors of Connecticut.

The mother of Orlando W. Webster bore the maiden name of Ruth Croninger and was born in Richland county, Ohio, in 1820, being just three months younger than her husband, Orrin Webster, to whom she gave her hand in marriage in 1841. She died in Lincoln, Nebraska, after reaching the advanced age of eighty-seven years, and for more than a half century she had lived a widow, true to the memory of him to whom she gave her early troth. To them were bom eleven children, two of whom died young, those reaching adult ages being as follows: Daniel S., who died of pneumonia at Bardstown, Kentucky, in 1862, while serving in the Union army in the Twenty-sixth Ohio Regiment; Orlando Watson, of this review; Alfred Kelley,  who became a lawyer and died at Hastings, Nebraska, a few years ago; Ehza M., who gave her hand in marriage to David Fralich and passed away in Lincoln; Vemelia, the widow of Scott Depue, whose demise occurred in 1874; William W., who died in Lincoln leaving a widow and three sons — Dr. Fred, of Lincoln, Dr. Louis, of Havelock, and Homer, of St. Joseph, Missouri; Alice Carey, who passed away in 1873; Candace S., who is the wife of Hon. J. P. A. Black, of Hastings, Nebraska; and Ida E., of Hastings, the widow of Lucius J. Capps, who was a well-known attorney of Hastings. The widow of Scott Depue, who has made her home in Lincoln since 1875, was for twenty years employed in the Lincoln postoffice and is widely known as Nellie Depue.

Orlando W. Webster was reared to farm life in his native county and attended a local academy until he reached the age of seventeen years. He afterward taught school for one winter and in 1862 he enlisted as a member of Company D, Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving for a year in the Union army. He was then mustered out and following his return home devoted his attention to teaching school in the winter of 1863-4. Early in 1865 he reenlisted, becoming a member of Company D of the One Hundred and Ninety-seventh Ohio Regiment, with which he remained until the close of the war, holding the rank of sergeant when finally mustered out at Columbus, Ohio, in August, 1865.

The war over, Mr. Webster went to Portage, Wisconsin, where he lived with his uncle, the Rev. J. B. Plumstead, a retired Presbyterian minister, with whom he continued for a year, during which time he attended the local high school. He afterward taught school for a year in that vicinity and subsequently became principal of a ward school at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 1869 he arrived in Nebraska and in 1870 became a resident of Lincoln, where he has since lived. He has seen the city grow from a village of about two thousand inhabitants to its present size. He has been closely identified with the city's growth through all this period, not only as a business man but as a supporter of all those plans and projects which have looked to the betterment of municipal conditions. For a third of a century he was a successful shoe merchant on O street, being one of the pioneers in that line of business in this city. His trade increased with the growth of Lincoln and for many years he enjoyed an extensive patronage, but in 1903 he withdrew from that line of trade and has since given his attention to other interests, while the fruits of his former toil have supplied him with all of the necessities and many of the comforts and luxuries of life. He is now a director of the Lincoln Traction Company and he has other investments which return to him a good income.

On the 24th of October, 1876, in Mansfield, Ohio, Mr. Webster was married to Miss Anna Dull, who died April 3, 1913, leaving three sons, Joseph D., Richard O. and Calvin. The eldest is now a farmer of this county. The second son is a bacteriologist and chemist who is now in the service of the United States government in connection with the bureau of chemistry of the department of agriculture, with headquarters in Chicago. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska, where Calvin, the youngest son, is now a student.

The family belong to the Presbyterian church, and Mr, Webster is also identified with the Masonic lodge, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Commercial Club and with the Grand Army of the Republic, thus maintaining pleasant relations with his old army comrades with whom he followed the old flag as he wore the blue uniform and marched in defense of the Union. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, and on its ticket he has been elected to a number of public offices. It is a well known fact that with him patriotic citizenship is above partisanship. He was for ten years a member of the city council and during eight years of that time was chairman of the finance committee, while for two years he was president of the council, receiving a unanimous vote for the office on both occasions. As chairman of the finance committee he originated the plan of requiring the expenditures of the city to be kept within ninety per cent of the levy and by strict adherence to this policy the city's credit was such that its four per cent bonds brought a premium — a thing that has never happened before or since. This is but one of the many tangible evidences that might be cited of his devotion to Lincoln's welfare and improvement. He has always stood stalwartly for municipal honor and has promoted in every possible way those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride.

LINCOLN The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 28-30
Webster, Philip L.

Among the business enterprises of Havelock which contribute to the material development and substantial upbuilding of the city is the jewelry store of Philip L. Webster, who began business here in 1901. He was born in Rhode Island. February 15, 1869, his parents being John and Martha (Tourgee) Webster, who were also natives of that state and there spent their entire lives.

Philip L. Webster passed his boyhood in his native town of Peace Dale and at the age of twenty years turned his attention to the jewelry business. He worked at the bench for a time and later embarked in business on his own accoimt. In 1892 he came to Nebraska and for a short period was employed in Lincoln, by the jewelry firm of O'Neil & Gardner. He then removed to Tamora, Seward county, Nebraska, where he conducted business for seven years, and in June, 1901, he came to Havelock. Here he opened a store for the sale of jewelry and optical goods and has since remained active in the trade, being accorded a liberal patronage, so that his business has reached very desirable proportions.

In 1896 Mr. Webster was united in marriage to Miss Julia Anna Henderson, who was born in Illinois and was taken to Seward county, Nebraska, when two years old. She is a daughter of Samuel and Hannah Elizabeth (Mercer) Henderson, the former of whom is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Webster have four children: Stanley C., Julia Fern, Philip Neil and Elizabeth Martha. The last named was the prize baby in her class at the state fair in 1915. The wife and mother is a member of the Congregational church and Mr. Webster belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Royal Arcanum. Since 1902 he has conducted the Havelock Military Band. His political support is given the republican party and he has been called upon to serve in several public offices, being for four years city clerk and four years city treasurer, as well as a member of the school board. He is unfaltering in his allegiance to all those forces which have proven most worth while in the public life of the community and is accounted one of the valued citizens of Havelock.

LINCOLN The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 40-41
Weis, David J. 

David  J.  Weiss,  who  has  built  up  a  large  business  as  a  manufacturer  of  peanut butter,  was  born  in  Lancaster,  Missouri,  on  the  19th  of  October,  1873,  of  the marriage  of  John  and  Mary (Fankhouser)  Weiss,  natives  respectively  of  Switzerland and  of  Chariton  county,  Missouri.  In  1867  the  father  emigrated  to  the United  States  and  making  his  way  into  the  interior  of  the country,  located  in Kentucky.  He  followed  the  shoemaker's  trade  there  for  some  time  but  at  length removed  to  Missouri,  where  he  lived  until  1887.  In  that  year  he  became  a  resident of  Frontier county,  Nebraska,  but  after  remaining  there  for  five  years  came  to College  View,  where  he  lived  until  called  by  death.  He  died  in  September, 1903,  but  is  survived  by  his  wife,  who  makes her  home  with  our  subject.

David  J.  Weiss  was  largely  reared  and  educated  in  Frontier  county,  Nebraska, but  after  the  family  home  was  established  in  College  View  he  attended  Union College,  thus  supplementing  his earlier  schooling.  He  learned  the  shoemaker's trade  from  his  father  and  followed  that  occupation  for  about  five  years,  after which  he  purchased  a  peanut  butter  factory  here  which  he  has  since operated. He  has  ^ined  a  large  patronage  and  his  trade  now  covers  the  State  of  Nebraska. In  addition  to  his  factory  he  owns  considerable  business  property  in  College View,  including  the two-story  building  in  which  the  postoffice  is  located.

Mr.  Weiss  supports  the  democratic  party  at  the  polls  and  for  fifteen  years  he has  held  the  office  of  city  clerk,  proving  very  capable  and  public-spirited  in  that connection.  In  religious  faith  he is  a  Seventh  Day  Adventist  and  the  teachings of  that  church  guide  his  life.  He  is  well  known  and  his  genuine  worth  has  gained him  the  warm  friendship  of  many.

LINCOLN The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 108-109
Wells, Harry E. 

Harry  E.  Wells  first  came  to  Lincoln  in  1875  and  has  since  been  a  resident of  the  capital.  He  removed  to  this  state  from  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  and  is  now one  of  the  best  known  and  most  popular  men  in  Lancaster  county,  where  for  the past  six  years  he  has  capably  and  acceptably  filled  the  office  of  county  clerk.  He was  bom  in  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  March  30,  1848.  The  father,  James  Edward Wells,  a  contracting  carpenter,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  died  in  1861,  and the  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sophia  Ford,  was  also  a  native  of
Pennsylvania,  in  which  state  their  marriage  was  celebrated.  They  afterward removed  to  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  and  there  Mrs.  Wells  passed  away  in  1894. They  had  two  sons  and  three  daughters.  The  three  sisters  are  all  residing  in Lincoln,  namely:  Anna  Margaret,  now  the  widow  of  Colonel  Alexander  Hogeland,  widely  known  all  over  the  United  States  as  "the  newsboys'  friend"; Amanda  E.,  the  widow  of  J.  H.  McMurtry;  and  Mary  E.,  the  wife  of  F.  D, Stone,  of  Lincoln.  The  brother  of  our  subject  is  Curtis  E.  Wells,  of  Oklahoma City,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business,

Harry  E.  Wells  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  city  and  was  graduated from  the  La  Fayette  high  school  when  a  youth  of  seventeen  years.  For  six years  thereafter  he  held  a  position  in  the  La  Fayette  postoffice,  after  which  he removed  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  for  some  years  held  a  responsible  position with  the  firm  of  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Company,  scale manufacturers.  He  then returned  to  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  but  soon  afterward  came  to  Lincoln,  Nebraska, where  he  arrived  forty-one  years  ago.  For  several  years  he  was  employed  in  a
wholesale  grocery  house.  In  1891  he  entered  the  sheriff's  office  in  a  clerical capacity  and  a  few  months  later  he  was  appointed  deputy  county  clerk,  entering upon  the  duties  of  tliat  position  in  1892.  He  has  since  been  in  the  office,  covering a  period  of  twenty-four  years.  He  continued  to  act  as  deputy  county  clerk  for eighteen  years  and  in  1909  was  elected  to  the  office  of  county  clerk,  to  which  he was  reelected  in  1911  and  1913.  He  is  now  serving  his  third  term  and  his popularity  is  such  that  his  fourth  election  in  1916  is  practically  assured.  The law  was  changed  so  that  now  the  county  clerk  is  elected  on  the  even  years  instead of  the  odd,  so  that  when  Mr,  Wells  has  finished  his  third  term  he  will  have served  seven  years  as  county  clerk,  in  addition  to  eighteen  years  as  deputy.  He is  regarded  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  republican  party  in  Lancaster  county  and is  a  most  untiring  worker  in  its  support.  His  public  service  has  been  characterized by  efficiency  and  by  courteous  treatment  to  all  who  have  come  to  him  with business  interests.    He  is  familiar  with  every  detail  of  the  work  and  in  selecting assistants  has  been  most  careful  to  secure  those  well  qualified  for  their  duties.

On  the  25th  of  January,  1882,  in  Lincoln,  Mr.  Wells  was  united  in  marriage to  Miss  Annie  L.  Gillespie,  by  whom  he  has  three  living  children,  namely: Myrtle,  now  Mrs,  G.  W.  MacDougall;  Ruth;  and  Charles  E.  All  reside  in Lincoln.  Mr.  Wells  is  widely  known  in  Masonic  circles  as  a  Royal  Arch  Mason and  he  also  belongs  to  the  Lincoln  Commercial  Club,  cooperating  in  all  of  its well  defined  plans  for  promoting  the  city's  upbuilding  and  progress.  In  fact he  is  most  public-spirited  and  his  interest  in  the  city's  welfare  is  manifest  in many  tangible  and  helpful  ways.

LINCOLN The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 83-84
Winter, John E. 

John  E.  Winter,  the  popular  and  efficient  mayor  of  College  View,  is  also manager  of  the  municipal  water  and  light  company,  in  which  capacity  he  has made  a  highly  creditable  record.  His  birth  occurred  in  Ohio  in  January,  1876, and  he  is  a  son  of  John  and  Nancy  B.  (Sabin)  Winter,  natives  of  Michigan. The  father,  who  was  a  merchant,  became  a  resident  of  Ohio  in  the  early  days of  that  state  and  engaged  in  business  there  until  the  Civil  war.  He  enlisted  in the  Eighty-fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  in  1862  and  remained  with  his  command until  1864,  when,  on  account  of  disability  due  to  a  wound,  he  was  honorably discharged  from  the  service.  He  returned  to  Ohio  and  continued  in business  there  until  1886,  when  he  removed  westward  to  Des  Moines,  lovya.  He. followed  mercantile  pursuits  there  until  his  removal  to  Redfield,  Iowa,  where he  passed  away  in  1904.     He  is  survived  by  his  wife.

John  E.  Winter  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa, and  subsequently  learned  telegraphy  with  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad. He  followed  that  business  for  fifteen  years  and  was  for  some  time  in  the  offices of  the  freight  and  passenger  agents  of  the  Chicago  Great  Western  Railroad.  In 1908  he  came  to  College  View,  Nebraska,  and  became  identified  with  the  International Publishing  Association,  with  which  he  was  connected  for  three  years. At  the  end  of  that  time  he  became  manager  of  the  Nebraska  Food  Factory and  held  that  position  for  two  years  but  he  is  now  concentrating  his  energies along  other  lines.  He  has  charge  of  the  municipal  water  and  light  company and  is  also  mayor.  The  discharge  of  the  duties  pertaining  to  these  offices  leaves him  little  time  for  further  interests  and  his  efficient  management  of  the  affairs intrusted  to  him  has  gained  him  the  hearty  commendation  of  his  fellow  citizens.

Mr.  Winter  was  married  in  December,  1896,  to.  Miss  Abigail  E.  Mack  and they  have  become  the  parents  of  five  children,  namely:  Mack,  who  was  born on  the  14th  of  February,  1899;  Wilmuth,  bom  February  6,  1901;  Millison  M., whose  birth  occurred  in  March,  1903;  Margaret  E.,  bom  February  2,  1909;  and Alyse  E.,  bom  in  Febmary,  1913.

Mr.  Winter  supports  the  repubhcan  party  at  the  polls  and  does  much  to  promote its  interests.  However,  in  the  performance  of  his  official  duties  he  subordinates partisanship  to  the  public  welfare  and  under  his  administration  the business  of  the  town  has  been  transacted  in  a  most  able  manner.  His  religious faith  is  that  of  the  Seventh  Day  Adventist  church.


LINCOLN The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 82-83
Wright, Hon. John B.

Hon. John B. Wright, who is one of the oldest and most prominent of Lincoln's citizens, established his home here in 1874 and throughout the intervening period has been actively associated with the material development of the city as a banker and grain merchant and also has been an influencing factor in its political affairs through the past forty years.

He was born in Rochester, New York, December 10, 1845, a son of Thomas and Phebe (Brooks) Wright, both of whom were natives of Nottingham, England, where their ancestors had lived for many generations. The marriage of Thomas Wright and Phebe Brooks was celebrated in Nottingham and their three eldest children were bom there ere their emigration to the new world. In 1841, however, they crossed the Atlantic to the United States and after residing for a short time in Batavia, New York, removed to Rochester. In 1849, when their son John was a httle lad of four years, they became residents of Buffalo, New York, where for an extended period Thomas Wright was prominently engaged in the wholesale millinery business, continuing a leading factor in commercial circles of the city almost to the time of his death, which occurred in Monroe, Michigan, when he was eighty-one years of age. Mrs. Wright died in Buffalo at the age of seventy-seven. There were seven children bom to them but only two are now living. John B. and Alfred, the latter a resident of Monroe, Michigan.

The former was reared and educated in Buffalo, New York, and between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two years taught several terms of school in Monroe county, Michigan. In 1868 he made a trip to Montana, accompanied by some young companions. The party of five young adventurers traveled from Sioux City to Fort Benton, Montana, on a small steamer and were forty-eight days in making the trip. Mr. Wright remained for six years in Montana, devoting his attention through that period to mining and ranching hut in 1874 disposed of the ranch interests, which he had acquired in that state, and came to Lincoln, where he has since remained. For forty years he has continued his residence in this city, which was but seven years old at the time he located here. He was therefore one of the pioneers of the town, which had just been made the capital of Nebraska at the time of his arrival. He has been intimately identified with various phases of its development and progress through almost the entire period of its history and has been one of the foremost figures in business and political affairs of the city. He has studied closely its opportunities and its possibilities and has been a prominent factor in all public movements looking to the city's growth and betterment. He has received and utilized opportunities and has wrought along the lines of modern city building, his labors being far-reaching, resultant and beneficial.

At the same time Mr. Wright has carefully managed his private affairs and in a strictly businesslike manner, with the result that he has built up a splendid competence and is today one of the substantial residents of the capital. Through the greater part of this period he has devoted his attention to the grain trade, although he has many subsidiary interests including connection with the banking and real estate business of the city. His plans have been carefully formulated, his activities intelligently directed and the result has been most gratifying. In 1890 he was one of the organizers of the Columbia National Bank and served as its president for seventeen years, or until it was sold. During that period he carefully directed its policy and his sound judgment was manifest in its success.

At the same time he has been prominent in a political way and his fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability, have twice elected him mayor of Lincoln, in which connection he has given a businesslike and progressive administration. He also served in the state legislature for two terms, one in the house and one in the senate, and has occupied various minor offices in the city, including membership in the city council for two terms. While serving during his first term as mayor, in 1881, he was largely instrumental in procuring legislation which culminated in building Lincoln's splendid waterworks system, which is the pride of all citizens, and he took the lead in the movement which resulted in municipal ownership of the water plant. It was the city that built the waterworks and has since continued to own this public utility. It is a worthy monument to the untiring labor, foresight and devotion to municipal welfare on the part of Mr. Wright. In his pohtical views he has always been a stalwart republican and has frequently been solicited to become a candidate for congressman and other high offices but has always declined.

On the 14th of May, 1890, Mr. Wright was married to Miss Jessie Eugenia Robinson, of Chicago, and they have one son, John Charles, whose birth occurred January 33, 1897, and who is now a student in the University of Nebraska.

Mr. Wright is a Knight Templar Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine and a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias. In the letter organization he has held the office of treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska for twenty-four consecutive years and still remains in that position. He is also identified with the Elks. His life work has been of distinct value to his fellowmen. His character has stood the test of prosperity. He has never lost his power of self-control nor allowed his life to become self-centered but has reached out along lines of usefulness and worth to the community for the benefit of his fellowmen and the city in which he lives.

LINCOLN The Capitol City and Lancaster Co., NE, Vol. 2; Chicago, Illinois, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, (c) 1916, pp. 16-18