of shoemaking, he having learned and worked at that trade before entering the army.
   On August 8, 1867, Mr. McKendry was married to Miss Margaret J. Davis of Ohio, and in the spring of 1871 came with his wife and two children to Merrick county, Nebraska, and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in section two, township fourteen, range seven, west, which remained the home place until 1874, when having being eaten out by grasshoppers Mr. McKendry went to Rock Springs, Wyoming. where he worked to support his family, who remained in Nebraska. In the meantime Mr. McKendry had sold his homestead and purchased in 1876 a one-hundred and sixty-acre timber claim three miles north of Archer, where he lived until 1899 when they moved to Archer. Here he built a good home, which is now his present residence. Mr. McKendry has served on the school board of his district number forty-three for some years.
   Mr. and Mrs. McKendry have had ten chilidren born to them, six of whom are living; Charles, deceased in 1901, is survived by his wife and four children who reside in California; John, who is married, has five children and lives in Central City, Nebraska ; William A., deceased in infancy; Clara, deceased at the age of five years; Jessie, married Harry Morse, has five children and resides in Grand Island, Nebraska ; Albert, deceased at the age of seventeen years; Winifred, married to Ward Morse, lives in Colorado Springs, and has one child; Lenna, married to Roy Frederick has one child and lives in Chappel, Nebraska; James A. resides in Lincoln, Nebraska; and Leon, who lives under the parental roof.
   Mrs. McKendry's father, William P. Davis, died in the year 1874, in Nebraska and her mother in 1900, in Missouri. She has one brother residing in North Dakota, two in Merrick county, Nebraska one in Nance county, Nebraska; one sister in Taylor, Nebraska and one in Tipton, Missouri.
   Mr. and Mrs. McKendry are among the earliest settlers of the county, and have passed through all the hardships and trying experiences of frontier life. They were the first homesteaders in Midland township.

 

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FLORIAN FUCHS.

   Florian Fuchs, a well to do farmer, energetic and industrious, who came to this county to establish a home and accumulate competence for his old age, resides on his fine farm in section four, township twenty-five, range two, where he owns six hundred and forty acres. He also has three hundred and twenty acres in Sheridan county, western Nebraska, a quartersection near Rushville and another near Hay Springs.
   Mr. Fuchs was born April 26, 1870, in the village of Ullerichs, near the city of KirchbergWalde, Lower Austria, and is the son of John Fuchs, senior, who was born in 1844, and who served in the army from 1864 to 1866, participating in the war between Denmark and Prussia. His mother, Anna Pommasl, was born in 1846 and died in 1876. The elder Fuchs kept the village inn for a number of years, and was formerly engaged in the merchandise, and later the buttermaking industry in Austria. Florian Fuchs learned blacksmithing in the old country and worked at the trade two and a half years before emigrating to Amenca.
   Sailing from Hamburg to New York in the steamship "Harmonia," Mr. Fuchs came to Pierce county from Lower Austria in 1887. On reaching Nebraska he visited for a few days near Humphrey with the brother of a fellow voyager, and incidentally met his future wife during this visit. He found work on the farm of his uncle, Charles Hoffman, senior, near Pierce, and then for a year was engaged in construction work on. the railroad. After this he was engaged in farm labor for various settlers in Pierce county, including Owen Brothers, ranchmen and railroad contractors, serving two years as foreman on their large feeding ranch near Stanton.
   Mr. Fuchs began for himself on the old Scheiber place near Pilger, which he rented for one year, and for a like period cultivated the Barnhardt farm near Hoskins. Coming to Pierce county, he cultivated land rented from his uncle, Charles Hoffman, some nine or ten years, when he moved to his present location, which he had begun purchasing some years before. He had also bought a farm nine miles northeast of Pierce, and for a time cultivated both, working constantly, day and night at times.
   Mr. Fuchs was married February 29, 1892, to Miss Johanna Withalm, a native of the village of Schwaetza, Lower Austria, daughter of Leonard and Anna (Pfeifer) Withalm. To Mr. and Mrs. Fuchs nine children were born Mary, John, Julia, Lizzie, Johanna, Amanda, Anna, Maggie and Francis. They are of the Catholic religion, and Mr. Fuchs is a democrat.
   Our subject gives all his time to the building up of his home and the management of his farm, and everything he now has is due to his own unaided efforts, as he had absolutely nothing to start with, and he deserves much praise for his success. As before stated, Mr. Fuchs began buying his present farm while a renter, and added a good tenant house and other buildings on the northeast quarter. He began breaking ground in 1898, and three years later moved onto the place which he has continued to improve. He has three hundred acres under cultivation, an orchard of two acres, and over ten acres of trees, including some two thousand evergreens which are planted in groves and around the outer lines of the farm. He raises annually from ten to fifteen hundred bushels of wheat, four to seven thousand bushels of oats, and six to eight thousand bushels of corn. This he feeds mostly on the place, shipping two

to three car loads of cattle and over a hundred hogs per year.
   An elegant ten room house has been built on the place, with running water throughout, as well as in all the larger barns and in the various feed lots. The granary, holding from eight to ten thousand bushels, is one of the best equipped in the state, with elevator and spouts to the various bins. All kinds of implements for advanced farming are to be found on the place, and every labor-saving device is installed as soon as it is on the market. A view of this fine residence, barns and groves, is published on another page.
   Mr. Fuchs has aided materially in the development of the region where he has spent many years, and is one of the leading old-timers. He was instrumental in organizing the Farmers' Elevator Company in Pierce, of which he sold most of the shares and serves as director.

"Valley View Stock Farm," Residence of Florian Fuchs.

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FRANK H. LENGER.

   Among the worthy citizens of Nebraska, who by thrift and energy acquired a competency in the early days of the settlement of this part of the state, no name stands higher among his fellow men than that of Frank H. Lenger, now serving as county commissioner of Knox county.
   Mr. Lenger was born in the city of Tabor, Bohemia, on February 22, 1860, and was but a small boy when his father, John J. Lenger, (of whom an extended account may be found in this book), broke away from the old order of things in the fatherland by coming to the Great Republic to establish for himself and family a new life amid new surroundings and conditions. He was a man of high position and affluence in his native land, and might have retained these advantages to the end and provided places of influence and considerable fortune for his children had he chosen to remain. They settled in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, where Frank grew up, receiving his education in the common schools, and he gained quite a knowledge of city life in Chicago, where the family spent two years. Also, some time was spent in Yankton, South Dakota, where he attended the public schools. He was the younger son, and remained with the old folks until about the time of his marriage, in 1884.
   Although most of his time was occupied in farming he had at different times clerked in a drug store and shoe store, and also was for a time with a leading implement house in Yankton. He located in Niobrara in the spring of 1884, and in partnership with his older brother, John, established an implement house in the town, under the firm name of Lenger Brothers, continuing the business together for ten years. In addition to this, they were heavy stockholders in a packing house north of the town, our subject having charge of the steam and motive power, also the rendering department, besides doing the buying of all stock, and so efficient was his work that he was made the recipient of a gift of seventy-five dollars one Christmas, which showed the appreciation of the company of his efforts. During this time they developed further the business of supplying the government with cattle for the Indians, and continued in this branch of the trade long after disposing of the implement business. These contracts provided for supplying the various agencies of the Yankton, Santee, Ponca and Flandreauz tribes, sometimes delivering as many as sixteen hundred head of cattle at a time.
   Finding his health failing about this time, Mr. Lenger took an extensive trip through the west, and afterward feeling much improved, he returned to Niobrara and moved to his homestead on which be had previously filed.
   In 1894 Mr. Lenger filed on a homestead near Niobrara, to which he has added from time to time until he now owns five hundred and sixty acres of the finest farming land to he found in the state. He owns other land south of the city, besides a number of residences and town lots, and also has a half section in Rock county, twenty-five miles from Bassett, Nebraska, (the above is sold).
   Mr. Lenger was married in Yankton county, South Dakota, on November 11, 1884, to Miss Carrie Ferdinand, a native of Chicago, Illinois. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lenger, as follows: Edward, who is a graduate of the Niobrara high school and of Grand Island business college now occupying a lucrative possition as stenographer in the Northwestern offices in Norfolk. Carrie, also a graduate of the high school and ambitious for a college career, which has been temporarily checked by her mother's illness and death; Ralph, in the employ of Geo. L. Adams, druggist, is also a graduate from Niobrara high school, and is ready to go to Creighton Medical College; Claude, Mildred and Irene. The three last mentioned are still going to school and are doing well. Mrs. Lenger passed away April 11, 1910, and her loss is a severe blow to her devoted family, as well as to the community in which she lived, as she was a good christian woman, and was active in the Presbyterian church.
   Politically Mr. Lenger is a republican, and was nominated for a school office before his twenty-first birthday, which intervened between the primary and election day. Prior to coming to Nebraska he served as assessor in Yankton, and he was the first assessor of Raymond township, serving for three terms. He has since filled a like position in Niobrara. While living in Raymond township he serveral times refused the nomination for commisioner on account of taking his time from business, but on retiring from the strenuous life, he viewed the matter in a different light and decided to accept the honor conferred upon him by his friends, which resulted in his election to the office in 1906. He was re-elected in 1908 and 1910.

   Mr. Lenger is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was with his wife during her lifetime, a member of the Rebekah lodge. He also belongs to the benevolent Order of Z. C. B. J., and is a member of the Presbyterian church, to which his wife also belonged.

 

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HON. J. H. UMSTEAD.

   Hon J. H. Umstead, a prominent early settler of Nance county, is proprietor of an extensive farm, and has large business interests in that region. He is a genuine pioneer of that section and has for many years past figured prominently in the political career of that section of Nebraska, filling various offices in his county, and is a leading member of the republican party. Mr. Umstead and his wife occupy a fine residence in Fullerton, where they are popular members of a large social circle.
   J. H. Umstead was born near Salem, Columbian county, Ohio, May 29, 1851. He is a son of Jonas and Sarah Umstead, who were the parents of six children, and our subject is the only surviving member of his family. His early education was, obtained in the common schools of his home vicinity. Later he learned the printer's trade. which he followed for eight years, remaining in Ohio until 1879, when he came west, locating in Nance county, Nebraska, where he purchased a farm on Cedar Creek, and established a stock and grain farm. He still owns this property which consists of four hundred and eighty acres of fine land. During the first years of his residence in Nance county, Mr. Umstead experienced many difficulties in getting his farm in good shape, but has made a decided success. He has devoted much attention and time to stock feeding and has shipped extensively to tthe markets nearby. In the spring of 1905 he retired from active management of his farm and moved to Fullerton, where he owns a pleasant residence and enjoys many friends. He is one of the best known pioneers of Nance county, and takes a prominent place among its leading citizens, at the present time serving as a member of the county board of supervisors, being chairman of the board. Previous to his present term he had served for seven years on the same board. In the fall of 1902 Mr. Umstead was elected state senator from the eighteenth district, on the republican ticket. He has always been active in politics, in 1903, being appointed as a delegate to the National Road Commission which met at St. Louis, Missouri.
   On March 27, 1883, Mr. Umstead was married to Mary E. Lamb, at the home of her parents who are well known old settlers of the county and reside near Fullerton. Mr. Umstead is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Woodmen of the World.

 

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BARTHOLOMEW LAMB.

   On May 22, 1909, Bartholomew Lamb, one of the first settlers of Nance county, died at his home after a brief illness. He was born in Ireland in 1824 and came to the United States when a boy. He was of sturdy stock and passed through all the trials of pioneer life in the west. During the early days here he worked as a freighter, driving ox teams from Nebraska City to Denver, and met with many exciting incidents during his career as a frontiersman. After passing through many hardships he gradually became successful in his different enterprises and built up a comfortable fortune, acquiring large land interests in both Nance and Greeley counties, and at the time of his death was counted one of the wealthy and successful men of his region.
   Mr. Lamb is survived by his wife and six children; Mrs. Lamb still residing on the home farm which is located six miles northwest of Fullerton. Three sons live near Spaulding, Nebraska, while the three married daughters, live on farms near Fullerton.

 

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JOHN RUFF.

   John Ruff, proprietor of one of the valuable estates in Boyd county, Nebraska, has been a resident of that locality for years. He now resides on section two, township thirty-four, range twelve and is prominently known throughout the county as one of the foremost farmers in Nebraska. After many years' hard labor in building up his business, he is now prepared to enjoy life in peace and comfort.
   Mr. Ruff is a native of Germany, his birth occuring in the province of Schleswig-Holstein, in the year 1861, and he is the son of John and Catherine (Rockendorf) Ruff. When about eight years of age he, with his parents, left his native land for America, on a steamship, and on October of 1869 landed in New York from Hamburg, Germany. The family came to Dodge county, Nebraska, where the father bought land and built a good frame house and here the parents remained during the balance of their lives, the father dying in 1894 and the mother in 1902.
   In 1883, Mr. Ruff, subject of this biographical writing, moved to Douglas county, South Dakota, where he took up a homestead and steadily improved his land. He first put up a sod house and lived in this five years, later building a good frame house. In 1901, Mr. Ruff came to Boyd county, Nebraska where he bought his present home of Raymond Hampe.
   In 1891, Mr. Ruff was united in marriage to Miss Frederike Thietjie, a native of Chicago, and daughter of John and Frederike Thietjie. It is sad to relate that Mr. Ruff's bride of less than a year passed away to the great beyond.
   After mourning the loss of his wife for several years, Mr. Ruff was again married, his bride being Bertha Kiok, to which union five children

were born, whose names are as follows: Ernest, Martha, John, Ella, and William, and they enjoy the respect and esteem of many friends and acquaintances.
   Mr. and Mrs. Ruff and family are attendants of the German Lutheran church. In politics, Mr. Ruff is independent.

 

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JOHN P. LAUDEMAN.

   John P. Laudeman, one of the pioneer business men of St. Edward, has been engaged in the general mercantile business at that point for many years past, having himself erected and continuously occupied one of the first stores put up in that now thriving city. He has been very successful in his chosen career, and through honesty and good business principles has come to be known as one of the prominent men of affairs in his part of the state.
   John P. Laudeman was born in Marshall county, Indiana, on the 7th day of October, 1849, and is the eldest in Frederick and Salome Laudeman's family of seven children, the parents being natives of Germany. Our subject was raised on the home farm, receiving his education in the local schools, and when about fifteen years of age went to work for an uncle who was engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery business.
   He was married to Miss Agnes Rittel, in South Bend, Indiana, on October 12, 1873, and the following year the young couple came to Boone county, Nebraska, traveling by train to Columbus, and from there by team to St. Edwards. They were accompanied by Joseph Rittel and his wife, the parents of Mrs. Laudeman, and Mr. Rittel and our subject erected the first building in St. Edwards, engaging in the general mercantile business. They were associated in business up to the time of Mr. Rittel's death, in October, 1906. Mrs. Rittel died also in December of the same year. Mr. Laudeman still carries on the business, and also operates a confectionery store and bakery under the name of the City Bakery and Lunch Room, and has become successful and one of the leading men of his city. He has in past years been connected with the school and town board, and was first moderator of district number seventeen. Mr. and Mrs. Laudeman have one child, Lily M., now the wife of Reverend Henry Zimnecker, who is pastor of the M. E. church in Sidney, Nebraska, and they have two children.
   The father of our subject died in Marshall county, Indiana, on June 28, 1908, and his widow survived him less than a year.

 

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TIMOTHY COLLINS.

   Timothy Collins, who came to Wayne county twenty-three years ago, has been actively associated with the progress and development of his locality and is regarded as a useful, public-spirited citizen.
   He was born in Canada, July 4, 1859, and is of Irish descent. His parents, William and Ellen Collins, left Ireland for Canada in a sailing vessel, and spent the latter part of their lives in the latter country. Mr. Collins was reared in Canada and there attended the public schools. In 1888, he came to Cummings county, Nebraska where he lived one year, and then came to Wayne county, where he rented land four years. He then purchased his present home, which is very pleasantly situated on section six, township twenty-six, range two, and at once set to work to cultivate and improve his land. He has since continued to add to the value and beauty of his estate and has a small grove. He carries on a general line of farming and devotes considerable attention to stock raising.
   Mr. Collins was married in 1892 to Miss Mary Coleman, and eight children have been born of this union, namely : William Francis, Mary Ellen, Irene Clare, Winnifred, Leo Joseph, Charles Vincent, Timothy Lawrence and Agnes Blanche. Mrs. Collins is a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Patrick and Mary Coleman. Mr. Collins is well known throughout the county, and has many friends. He has always given his support to any measure calculated to advance the general welfare of his community. He owns a comfortable home, and his present prosperity is the result of his industry and enterprise in managing and operating his farm. He and his wife have reared a large family, and their children all reside at home.

 

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JOSEPH SMATLAN.

   Joseph Smatlan was born in Bohemia, August 11, 1844, and was youngest of three children in the family of Joseph and Anna Smatlan, who had two daughters and one son. He grew up to his young manhood years in his native country, and on October 28, 1866, was married to Miss Anna Telecky, and the same fall Mr. Smatlan and wife and his mother, Mrs Joseph Smatlan, Sr., and his sister, Mrs. Antone Kunhardt, came to America, settling in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mr. Smatlan's father had died in Bohemia in 1864. The family remained in Iowa until coming to Colfax county, Nebraska, in October 1870. Mr. Smatlan's wife and little daughter Anna and his mother, in company with others, came overland from Iowa to Nebraska, the mode of transportation being ox teams, the usual way of traveling in those days. Mr. Smatlin took up a homestead fifteen miles north of Schuyler and farmed for eight years.
   In March, 1878, Mr Smatlan left the homestead farm and moved into Schuyler, engaging in the lumber business, going into partnership with Mr. John Novotny. Mr. Novotny emigrated to America at the same time as Mr. Smatlan. In 1891 Mr. Smatlan purchased his parther's inter-

est in the lumber yard and continued in the lumber and coal business until 1905, at which time he retired from active management of the lumber yard and turned the business over to his sons, J. E. and E. B. Smatlan, who have continued the business. The Smatlan Lumber & Coal yard enjoy an extensive business and have one of the best equipped yards in central Nebraska, they having large and commodious lumber sheds and buildings. The firm is well known and have a wide reputation for square dealing.
   In 1888 Mr. Smatlan, with several others, organized the Colfax County Bank in Howell, Nebraska, Mr. Smatlan becoming its vice president, and has continued to hold this position up to the present time. Mr. Smatlan has always been foremost amongst the live men of the county, doing his share towards the development of Colfax county. In 1894 he acted as city treasurer of Schuyler, which office he filled to the satisfaction of all. He has large land interests in Colfax county, and now owns eight hundred acres of fine farm land.
   Mr. and Mrs. Smatlan, have six children, namely: Anne, wife of Thomas E. Molacek, cashier of a bank in Sulphur, Oklahoma, they have two children; Josie is the wife of Doctor Frank J. Wolishek, they having two children and reside in Sidney, Nebraska; Mary, now Mrs. Adolph Kadletz, lives in North Dakota; Joseph E., is married to Emma Bartunek, has four children, he is a member of the Smatlan Brothers Lumber Co., at Schuyler; Edward B., is also a member of the same firm; Victor H., married, is living in Primrose, Nebraska, where he is engaged in the lumber and grain business.
   Mr. Smatlan's mother died in Colfax county, March 16, 1883, deeply mourned by many old friends and acquaintances and her family. The Smatlan family are pioneers of this section of Nebraska. They have been successful, and are of high standing in the country.

 

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ALFRED E. JONES.

   Alfred E. Jones, one of the successful and prosperous farmers of Antelope county, Nebraska, has acquired a fine estate and enjoys all the comforts of rural life. He is a gentleman of good business judgement and has an enviable reputation as a worthy citizen and good neighbor. His home is in section twenty-five, township twenty-seven, range eight, where resides and enjoys the good cheer and well wishes of all who know him.
   Mr. Jones was born in Drake county, Ohio, September 17, 1855. In 1857 the family moved to Marshall county, Iowa, where they remained for sixteen years and in 1873 moved to Lincoln county , South Dakota. Our subject's father, Elijah Jones, was a native of Miami county, Ohio, being born in 1828, and his mother, Ella (Sharp) was a native of Baltimore, Maryland. Our subject's father with his family moved to South Dakota, settling near Sioux Falls, residing there about thirty years. Mr. Jones left his native state, Ohio, with his parents, going to South Dakota, then went out for himself, moving to Iowa in 1874, remaining there eight years. In 1882 Mr. Jones came to Nebraska, driving through in a covered wagon, taking up a homestead in section thirteen, township twenty-seven, range eight, on which he built a frame house fourteen by eighteen feet in size.
   On September 2, 1877, Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Ella Voorhies, and Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents of the following named children: Cora, wife of John Nutt, has three children, live at Penn, Neb.; Charles, Edith, George, who is married to Miss Ella Sheats, has one child, lives in Cook county Wyoming; Eleanor, wife of Earl Davidson, they having three children, live in Cook county, Wyoming; Edna, deceased in 1886; Emma, wife of A. H. Ludwick, has two children, lives in Antelope county; Gerdren, and live in Cook county, Wyoming.
   Mr. Jones went through all the hardships incident to those early pioneer days when hay and cornstalks were used for fuel in the winter to keep from freezing to death. They also fought prairie fires a great many times to save their home. In the year 1882 the Indians started a fire which did much damage to the early settlers. In 1900 our subject sold his homestead and bought land in section twenty-five, township twenty-seven, range eight, where he now resides and has a beautiful home.
   Mr. Jones was county commissioner for four years, from 1906-1910, also filled the unexpired term of John Curtis, giving entire satisfaction to his constituents. In the early days he was instrumental in organizing his school district, number sixty-five, of which he was the first moderator. He was assessor for three terms, 1903-4-5, and was re-elected in 1909.

 

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GEORGE W. LITTELL.

   George W. Littell, the subject of this personal sketch, first came to Pierce county, Nebraska, on March 19, 1880, when there were but a few houses in Pierce, the county seat. Mr. Littell bought one hundred and sixty acres of land eight miles southwest of Pierce, from his mother-in-law and began farming in the new country; so well did he succeed that he later added one hundred and twenty acres to the original land, now a highly improved and productive farm.
   In 1889 Mr. Littell was elected sheriff, serving something over six years, having filled one month of an unexpired term preceding his own. On completing his third term in office, Mr. Littell re-

turned to the farm, which he operated until 1904, when moved to Pierce and has since resided here engaging in the real estate and insurance business. He has filled the office of justice of the peace for many years with an impartiality satisfactory to the general public, and has served as police judge once in 1905, when Pierce was organized under city government.
   George W. Littell, son of John and Deborah (Teeple) Littell, is a native of Canada, where his parents stopped to visit relatives on their migration from New York to Ohio. Liking the country, the elder Littell remained for a number of years and here several of his children were born.
   Our subject was born June 12, 1840, and resided in Canada West, until 1849, when his parents removed to Jackson county, Iowa.
   On the outbreak of the civil war, our subject enlisted in Company A, Ninth Iowa Infantry, serving three years. Among the noted engagements in which he participated are Pea Ridge, Siege of Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, under Hooker, and the campaign around Atlanta. After the march to the sea his company proceeded to Louisville, Kentucky, where they were discharged.
   After the war, Mr. Littell removed to LaBette county, Kansas, where he farmed for five years and returned to Iowa, where he lived until 1880, the year of his coming to Pierce county.
   Mr. Littell was married in Nashville, Jackson county, Iowa, March 29, 1863, to Miss Julia A. Harvey, to whom three children were born: Carrie; Frank, in charge of an elevator in Pierce; and Nettie, for a number of years a teacher in Nebraska schools, now the wife of William Frances, a farmer of Pierce county.
   Mr. Littell is a republican, returning hearty support to the organization for the preferment that has been shown him by the party.
   He has been initiated into the mysteries of Ancient Freemasonry, and is a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic post of Pierce.

 

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RASMUS MADSEN.

   The subject of this personal history is one of the most successful pioneers of Howard county, Nebraska. Mr. Madsen and his family have passed through all the experiences familiar to those who have watched the growth of the great west from its early settlement, going through hardships in establishing a home, and tasting the discomfort and inconveenience as well as the sometime joys of sod shanty life. Mr. Madsen has always done his full share in building up the region, ever standing for its progress and best interests.
   Rasmus Madsen was born in Denmark, on November 22, 1846, and was the fifth in his father's family of nine children. He followed farming in that country until his twenty-third year, then came to America, his first location being in Wisconsin, where he farmed up to 1877, at which time he came to Howard county, landing in the region in June of that year. He filed on a homestead of eighty acres situated on section fourteen, township thirteen, range twelve, and immediately set to work to develop a farm and home. In this he has succeeded far beyond his expectations, having at the present time a thoroughly improved one hundred and twenty acre farm, supplied with substantial buildings of all kinds, and every convenience in the way of modern machinery, etc.
   Mr. Madsen was married in Howard county on June 12, 1877, to Carrie Anderson, and of this union five children have resulted, two of whom are now living, Chris and Mary, both at home. The family occupy a prominent place in the social life of their section, and all are deeply interested in things pertaining to its advancement along educational lines.
   Mr. Madsen has one brother, Peter, who came to America in 1869, who also was owner of a fine estate in Howard county, he having departed this life in 1889, although his family still occupy the homestead.

 

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HENRY W. BARR.

   Henry W. Barr, who was one of the earlier settlers of Valley county, Nebraska, is well and favorably known in his part of the county, where he has been prominent in all movements for progress and advancement. Mr. Barr is an intelligent and progressive farmer and is successful in his operations. He was born in Grant county, Wisconsin. February 21, 1853 and is a son of Alexander and Mary (Soash) Barr, third in a family of seven children. Of his brothers and sisters some are deceased; one brother and two sisters live in Iowa and one brother resides in Minnesota. The Barr family is of Irish extraction and the father was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and died in Jackson county, Iowa in 1863. The mother of Mr. Barr was of French and German descent, born in the state of Pennsylvania, and she died in Butler county, Iowa, in April, 1875.
   In April, 1853, Mr. Barr's parent's moved to Dubuque county, Iowa, and ten years later to Butler county, that state, and there the boy, Henry, received a common school education. As a young man he engaged in farming, and was married at Shell Rock, Iowa, July 16, 1876 to Miss Ella Jones, a native of Ohio and daughter of Edward M. and Louisa (Sement) Jones. In 1885 Mr. Barr, with his wife and five daughters removed to Valley county, where he secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land nine miles northeast of Arcadia which was the home place

many years, and where he began developing a farm. In 1904 he purchased a half section of land, the northeast quarter of section four, township seventeen, range fifteen, and the southwest quarter of section thirty-four, township eighteen, range fifteen, to which he moved in March, 1909, having erected a comfortable dwelling and other buildings and otherwise improved the place.
   Mrs. Barr died on the home farm December 21, 1894, survived by her husband and ten children, namely: Ethel L., died January 1, 1903, leaving her husband, Alfred Royal, and one daughter; Maud, died in December, 1899; Jennie married A. L. Lybarger, of Valley county, and they have two children; Mary married Frank Jenks, of Iowa, and they have three childien; Jessie married F. H. Lybarger, of Valley county, and they have three children; Bessie, wife of Charles Fox, lives in Iowa and has two children; Guy H., at home, Stephen C., of Iowa; Harvey R. at home, and Mona. Mona was but seven hours old when her mother died, and was adopted by J. B. Mowery and wife, who later moved to Kearney, and she is attending the city schools.
     Mr. Barr has shown helpful interest in the cause of education, and was one of the organizers of school district number fifty-nine, having been the first director of the board. He has since been a member of the board most of the time, and at the present time is serving as moderator.
   On Febrary 25, 1898, Mr. Barr married (second) at Edison, Nebraska, Mrs. Delila Hosier, who was born in Illinois, a daughter of Jesse and Melissa (Searle) Hoskins.
   Mr. Barr has developed his land into an excellent stock and grain farn and is provided with modern machinery and equipment for carrying on his work. He is actively engaged in farming, and is considered one of the substantial, desirable citizens of Valley county.
   From 1892 to 1898, Mr. Barr lived in a dugout with a frame front. In the year of drought, 1894, he harvested a third of a crop of twenty-nine acres of wheat and one hundred and twenty-five acres of corn. The blizzard of January 12, 1888, caught him just as he had hitched the team to a wagon to get a load of hay; he had difficulty in getting them to the barn and in finding his way to the house.
   Mr. Barr is a member of the Church of the Bretheren (formerly known as the Dunkards) and is independent in politics.

 

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FRANK WINTER.

   Frank Winter, an agriculturist of prominence in Madison county, resides in Norfolk precinct on section ten, township twenty-four, range one, and is one of those substantial citizens whose integrity and industry, thrift and economy have added so much to the material wealth and growth of Nebraska.
   Mr. Winter is a native Nebraskan, his birth occurring November 18, 1874, in Madison county. He is a son of William and Minnie (Stark) Winter, both natives of Germany, the province of Prussia being their birthplace. Our subject's father served both his native land and the land of his adoption in the strife both countries experienced at different periods; he served in the German army during the war of 1848; and served in the United States army during the civil war, enlisting in the twenty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry.
   In 1856, our subject's father left his native land for America, embarking at Hamburg in a sailboat, and after eleven weeks on the sea, landed in New York and they immediately started for the west, locating in Wisconsin, where they remained nine years. In 1866 the father and family started for the far west, as Nebraska and vicinity was considered at that time. They came by the usual route in those pioneer days -- ox team and covered wagon -- and took up a homestead in section ten, township twenty-four, range one, in Madison county, which has remained the home place to this day. On this land was built a log house, which has later been replaced by a good, substantial frame one.
   In the first days of residence on the prairies, Columbus and West Point were the nearest market places, and when the family were in need of flour, a trip to Sioux City had to be made, a distance of seventy-five miles. Here in their pioneer home the family experienced many hardships and bitter expenences; during the first few years' residence here, the grasshoppers devastated the region, destroying every vestige of crops and vegetation for miles around, which was very discouraging to the new settler just beginning life in a new unsettled country; many times prairie fires were fought to save lives and possessions; and as late as 1894 our subject lost the entire year's crops by the hot winds that prevailed during the severe drouth.
   Mr. Winter was united in marriage December 6, 1900, to Miss Anna Weich, a native of Pierce county, and a daughter of Herman and Henrietta Weich. Mr. and Mrs. Winter are the parents of five children, whose names are as follows: Reuben, Walter, Lydia, Anna, and Martin.
   Mr. and Mrs. Winter and family enjoy the esteem and friendship of a host of friends and acquaintanccs, and Mr. Winter is well and favorably known in a business and social way in his community. He owns three hundred and twenty acres of fine land, on which he has good buildings and a comfortable home; he has four acres of fine orchard on his land, and is a prosperous and substantial citizen. With his family, he is a member of the German Lutheran church, and affiliates with the democratic party.

 

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RANDOLPH FREDERICK WICHMAN.

   The gentleman above named is prominently known as one of the leading business men and

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