Darwin Daharsh, who is conducting a large and profitable general blacksmithing business in Hickman and is president of the Southern Lancaster County Old Settlers Association, was born near Hingham, Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, on the 8th of March, 1865, a son of William Bradley and Phoebe Louisa (Fyfe) Daharsh. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Daharsh, was born near Bolivar, New York, and worked in the lumber woods and also engaged in farming in that locality. William B. Daharsh was born in Madison county, New York, on the 30th of March, 1830, and received his education in the public schools. When still a boy he worked in the lumber woods during the winter months and in the summers drove canal boats on the Erie canal. He was so employed from the time that he was fourteen years old until he was twenty years of age, when he was made captain of a canal boat. In 1853, however, he migrated westward to Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, where he bought eighty acres of land. Before it could be brought under cultivation it was necessary to clear it of timber which he did, and he concentrated his energies upon the improvement of his farm there until May, 1869, when he came to Lancaster county, Nebraska, homesteading eighty acres on section 12, South Pass precinct, three-quarters of a mile south of the present site of Holland. He and his wife and their five children made the journey from Wisconsin to Nebraska overland in two covered wagons and the trip required five weeks, as they left their old home on the 24th of May and reached Lancaster county on the 26th of June. Mr. Daharsh lived upon his homestead in South Pass precinct until September, 1877, when he sold that place and rented land near the town of Hickman, where he resided until his death on the 19th of January, 1898. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Phoebe Louisa Fyfe, was born in Salisbury, Vermont, on the 28th of December, 1827, a daughter of James and Electa (Sanford) Fyfe. Her father was also a native of Salisbury, and his natal day was the 10th of August, 1794. He was a farmer by occupation. In 1834 he removed to Orleans county, New York, and in 1843, to Lockport that state, while in 1847 he took up his residence in Lima township, Sheboygan county, Wisconsin, where he passed away of the 6th of May, 1863. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. William B. Daharsh was celebrated on the 16th of April, 1856, at Lima, Wisconsin, and they became the parents of five children: Emma Elizabeth, the wife of D. J. Bryan, a farmer of Askwood, Saskatchewan, Canada; William, who is farming in Nemaha township, Lancaster county; Albert, a farmer of Oklahoma; Darwin; and Elmer H., who owns a garage at Hickman.

Darwin Daharsh was reared in this county and is indebted for his education to its public schools. At an early age he began assisting with the work of the home farm, but in 1889, when about twenty-four, learned the blacksmith's trade, which he found more congenial that agricultural pursuits and which he has since followed with gratifying success. He owns a well equipped shop in Hickman and is accorded a large share of the public patronage in his line, having built up an enviable reputation for reliable work and reasonable prices. He also owns the ground on which the shop is located and holds title to his commodious and modern residence.

Mr. Daharsh was married in Hickman on the 29th of November, 1893, to Miss Nettie May Shipley, daughter of Enoch M. and Nancy J. (Swiggart) Shipley, the former of whom was born in England, but emigrated to America in early manhood and located at Florence, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Daharsh are the parents of two children: Verna Ruth, who was born on the 30th of August, 1895, at Hickman, received her education in the public schools of that town and in a commercial school at Lincoln. She is now employed by the Cushman Motor Works at Lincoln. Lloyd Ardell, born on the 2d of February, 1901, who is a student in the Hickman high school.

Mr. Daharsh is an active republican and has served in a number of local offices. He was a member of the town board for two years, held the office of the justice of the peace, and from 1902, until 1914 was a member of the board of education. He takes a praiseworthy interest in all that pertains to the general welfare and is recognized as one of the leading citizens of the town. For four years he has been president of the Southern Lancaster County Old Settlers Association, his retention in that position indicating the esteem in which he is held. His wife belongs to the Methodist church, and she also has made many warm friends.

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