served until the close of the war. He then returned to Iowa, living there until coming to Nebraska, from Linn county, Iowa, in the spring of 1869, when he was in the employ of the government at Fort McPherson. In the fall of 1869 Mr. Burke returned to Linn county, Iowa, for his wife and baby (son Mark) and removed them to McPherson station on the Union Pacific railway, in Nebraska. About 1870 Mr. Burke was in partnership with John McCullongh in the cattle business in Lincoln county, Nebraska, and in 1878 Mr. Burke disposed of his interests in the ranch and cattle, and removed to Seward county, Nebraska, where he engaged in farming. Mr. Burke died at his home on the farm October 22, 1907, and his wife, Mrs. John Burke, died October 16, 1902.
   Mr. and Mrs. Burke were survived by four children, named as follows: Mark Burke, Columbus, Nebraska; Mrs. H. M. Matson, Seward county, Nebraska; John C. Burke, state of Colorado; and James M. Burke, state of Iowa.
   Mark Burke was born in Linn county, Iowa, October 16, 1869, and came to Nebraska when he was a small babe, and lived with his parents until his twenty-first year, when he went to railroading on the Northwestern railroad, in whose service he remained until the year 1898. On May 10, 1898, Mr. Burke enlisted in Company H, Second Nebraska Volunteer Infantry for service in Cuba, and in November, 1898, was mustered out, returning to Nebraska and began work with the Union Pacific railroad.
   In the year 1906, Mr. Burke left the railroad service and went into the restaurant business in Columbus, Nebraska, and after a few months sold out and went on the police force, where he remained for two years, and where he was known as a fearless and efficient officer. In January, 1910, Mr. Burke was appointed deputy sheriff of Platte county, Nebraska.
   January 21, 1902, Mr. Burke was married to Miss Nellie J. Deneen, who is of an old pioneer family of Platte county, Nebraska, and they have one child, Mark Burke, junior.
   Mr. Burke is state secretary of the fraternal order of the Knights of Columbus, and financial secretary of the local order at Columbus, Nebraska. Mr. Burke is a democrat in politics, and is a young man of many friends and acquaintances.

 

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J. G. TOTTEN.

   J. G. Totten is prominent among Antelope county settlers who has made this region his home and has done his share in the development of the agricultural resources of this section of the county. Mr. Totten lives in section eighteen, township twenty-three, range six, where he has built up a valuable property through his industry and good management.
   Mr. Totten is a native of New York born 1853. His father, J. C. Totten, died when our subject was but a small boy; his mother, Hester (Moot) Totten, was a native of New York state, born in 1825. Mr. Totten with his mother left his native state and went to Illinois, where they lived eleven years, later going to Iowa where he remained twenty-two years.
   Mr. Totten was united in marriage in 1880 to Miss Alice Cratty, and Mr. and Mrs. Totten are the parents of six children, named as follows: Maud, who is married to Andrew Holquist; Mayme, Jonah, who is married to Miss Emma Roberts; Alice, Retta, and William, who is married to Miss Sadie McKay.
   Although not a Nebraska pioneer Mr. Totten has had experience in farming and agricultural pursuits under averse conditions, as his early days in Illinois and Iowa were fraught with many hardships and failures.
   In 1901 Mr. Totten with his family came to Antelope county, Nebraska, where our subject bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, known as the Davis homestead which he has greatly improved in the comparatively short time of his residence here, and now has a beautiful home where he enjoys the respect and friendship of a host of acquaintances. Mr. Totten has established himself well with the community in which he resides.

 

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HOSEA F. HACKETT.

   Hosea F. Hackett, whose name heads this personal history, is one of the most prominent of the old settlers of Pierce county. He was born in Niagara county, New York, October 13, 1856. His father, J. W. Hackett, was born in Canada in 1806 and died in 1862. His mother, a second wife, who was Betsey Augusta Felt, was born in 1819 and died in March 1862. The boy was reared by a sister, Mrs. Eli Smith, near Wilson, Niagara county, until thirteen years of age. He received a common school education, and followed farm labor in his native state until 1876, when he came to Blackhawk county, Iowa. Here he farmed until 1881.
   In December of that year, he came to Pierce county, Nebraska, bought a relinquishment, and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of fine land in section nine, township twenty-eight, range four, building one of the first frame houses in that section of the country. Knowing this to be an open country, he brought willow cuttings in a trunk, and seed of box elder and walnut, from which their fine grove has sprung. They brought small fruits, too, and have a fine orchard on the farm.
   Our subject went through the hardships prevalent in the early days. He gives an interesting account of the blizzard of 1888, in which he lost fourteen head of cattle. He was a mile and a half from home when the storm struck, and on his arrival, learning that the cattle were out,

he followed them three-quarters of a mile, but could not save them. On his second return to the house, he found his horse's eyes covered with ice and closed. He suffered another loss in 1894, when, owing to the drought, all his crops failed.
   Mr. Hackett was married March 24, 1879, to Miss Alice Friend, who was born in Porter county, Indiana, a daughter of Charles and Mary (Cornish) Friend. Mr. and Mrs. Hackett are the parents of seven children, two of whom, Grace and Harry, are dead. Those surviving are named as follows: Maude; Lura, married to J. E. Fulton, living south of Pierce, has one child; Ira; Roy, married Ella Campbell, and lives near Page, Nebraska; and Edna.
   Mr. Hackett is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World, and in politics is a republican.
   Mr. and Mrs. Hackett now enjoy the fruits of their early hardships and labor, owning a fine farm of three hundred and twenty acres, located, as before stated, in section nine, township twenty-eight, range four, where in the early times they were nearly burnt out by prairie fires. After the dry year, corn and small brush were their only fuel.
   A view of Mr. Hackett's house and farm buildings is a pleasing addition to our work.

"Mapleside Farm," Residence of H. F. Hackett.

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JEPTHA HOPKINS.

   Jeptha Hopkins, proprietor of one of the most valuable estates in Antelope county, Nebraska, has been a resident of that locality for many years. He is prominently known throughout the state as one of the foremost farmers and stockmen in Nebraska, and, after many years' hard labor in building up his business, is now prepared to enjoy the remaining years of his life in peace and comfort, surrounded by a host of good friends and acquaintances. However, he still looks after his farming interests. A picture of his residence will be found on another page.
   Mr. Hopkins, a native of Cortland county, New York, was born April 17, 1833. With his parents, he went to Ashtabula county, Ohio, when he was but three years old, living there twenty years. Then he went to Lafayette county, Wisconsin, residing there six years. Mr. Hopkins enlisted in the army during the civil war, enlisting August 12, 1862, joining Company C, Thirty-third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and during his service was down through the south with General Sherman, until "the march to the sea," and then, under General Thomas, fighting Hood through Tennessee. He was mustered out August 23, 1865, with rank of second lieutenant. He took part in the following battles: Coldwater, Mississippi; Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi; Jackson, Mississippi; Pleasant Hill Landing; Clantierville, Louisiana; Cane River, Louisiana; Yellow Bayou, Louisiana; Tupelo, Mississippi; Nashville, Tennessee; Spanish Fort, Alabama; the Mexican Expedition, Marksville, Louisiana, and Bayou Boeuf.
   Mr. Hopkins came to Antelope county, Nebraska, in November, 1870, driving from Wisconsin to the homestead claim he had taken up, which was located in section four, township twenty-four, range five, and which remains the home of our subject to this day. On this land he first built a log house, which he covered with sod, it being a very comfortable home in those days. Mr. Hopkins experienced the many hardships and disappointments incident to those earliest days, when it required almost incredible courage to brave the western frontier. He suffered losses of all description, three consecutive years, losing his entire crops by the grasshopper raids; also experienced a similar loss in the dry year of 1894, and many times fought prairie fires to save his home and possessions.
   Mr. Hopkins was united in marriage September 17, 1865, to Miss Emelia True. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins are the parents of four children, named as follows: Junie, who died February 28, 1890; Robert; Elmer, who is married to Miss Lydia McCormick, has four children, and lives at Harrison, Nebraska; and Mina, wife of John Ives, the parents of five children.
   One of their interesting experiences occurred when they crossed Iowa in 1869. The roads were deep in mud, and many of the streams overflowed their banks. In crossing Skunk creek, the water was so deep over the corduroy track laid in the bottom of the stream that the wagon box was afloat. They finally got hack on the corduroy track, and crossed in safety.

Residence of Jeptha Hopkins.

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LARS S. CHRISTIANSEN.

   Among the prosperous and enterprising farmers of Pierce county, Nebraska, none is better known or more highly respected than the subject of this review. Mr. Christiansen has devoted many years of his life to the pursuit of agriculture in this region, and has been a potent, factor in producing the present prosperity enjoyed in this locality. His home is on section thirty-four, township twenty-seven, range four, twelve acres of which are set to trees.
   Mr. Christiansen is a native of Denmark, and was born October 15, 1847, and in his early manhood learned the blacksmith's trade. He served his country in the army in 1869 and 1870. Our subject, in coming to America in 1882, sailed from Aalborg, Denmark, reaching New. York, after nine days at sea.
   Mr. Christiansen took up a homestead on the northeast quarter of section thirty-four, township twenty-seven, range four, in Pierce county in 1883, where he still lives. He suffered share of hardships and drawbacks of the days. He began in a modest way, living in a, house for ten years, when he built a frame dwelling. Mr. Christiansen lost eight head of cattle

in the blizzard of 1888, and came near losing his own life, finding his way home by a wire fence, after being out in the storm two hours. Later he attempted to close the windows of the chicken house, and became lost in the hundred feet that intervened, but by fortunate chance touched the corner of the house with his elbow, and found his way around to the door. A cyclone, followed by hail, in 1892, destroyed all his crops, his windmill and a flock of forty-five fine turkeys.
   Mr. Christiansen was married in Denmark to Miss Mary Jensen, in the year 1882. They have one child, Jennie, wife of John Miller, who occupies part of Mr. Christiansen's farm.
   Our subject is a member of the Lutheran church, and is affiliated with the Danish Brotherhood. In politics he is independent, casting his vote for the best man.

 

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P. M. HANNIBAL.

   One of the most widely known of the old settlers of Howard county, Nebraska, is undoubtedly Mr. P. M. Hannibal, an author and lecturer of considerable fame.
   Mr. Hannibal was born in Nysted, Lolland, Denmark, on January 17, 1849, and, with his parents, he came to America in the spring of 1856. They came directly to Waukesha county, Wisconsin, and for fifteen years or so their home was in the beautiful lake and forest region of Nashotah. It was here that Mr. Hannibal received the early part of his education, as during the winters he attended school at Stone Bank, Nashotah, Summit and Oconomowoc successively.
   In the spring of 1871, the family moved to Howard county, Nebraska. The father, Lars Hannibal, being the president of the Danish Land and Homestead Company, became the founder and first postmaster of Dannebrog, the town being platted upon his homestead and railroad land.
   Soon after reaching Nebraska, Mr. Hannibal began his career as an instructor, teaching in both the day and evening schools. In 1876, after having taught five terms of public schools, he entered the State University, and alternately taught and studied for several years. Being especially interested in the study of languages, he improved the opportunity offered in teaching Danish and German, as well as English.
   In 1883, after the death of his father, Mr. Hannibal became postmaster and general merchant of the town of Dannebrog, which position he held for three years. When in 1886 the railroad had been built to this point, he sold out the store, and decided to make teaching his permanent profession. Being afflicted with catarrah from early childhood, deafness now gradually ensued, and he went west to the Pacific coast for a change of climate. After visiting many points of interest in Washington, Oregon and California, with health improving, he taught a three months' term in the hills near Chetco river in Curry county, Oregon. This was his last school; he had lost his hearing.
   After having been a teacher for nearly twenty years, Mr. Hannibal engaged in the sale of various educational books, and in the writing of several works himself. His first book, published and copyrighted in 1901, "Protect Our Schools," attracted considerable favorable comment, and the next, "Thrice a Pioneer," was also received with much interest. Mr. Hannibal has also contributed somewhat to current Danish literature, ''Half a Century in America,'' ''Brotherhood', and ''Witnesses'' being the titles of various works in that language, which have attracted much attention. A later book, "Uncle Sam's Cabin," the biggest and best of all, is especially widely commended and endorsed by prominent scholars and educators.
   In the most of these works, Mr. Hannibal has set forth at some length his views concerning some of the most serious problems before the public today. He has given much time and study in various places and under varying conditions, to the liquor traffic, and his views are well worth reading. Others of his works treat of pioneer life in the west, and he is eminently qualified to speak on this subject also.
   Mr. Hannibal was married on the 12th of November, 1883, to Miss Mary Hansen, also a native of Denmark, who had come to Nebraska from Sioux City, Iowa. Four sons, Amaudus, Oliver, Hardy and Sankey, have been born to them.

 

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JOHN W. SAWYER.

   John W. Sawyer, now living in Arcadia, Nebraska, spent thirty years on a Nebraska homestated, and was one of the early pioneers of the state. He was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1825, and is the only surviving member of an old family of that region. He is the third child of John and Mary Sawyer, who had six daughters and three sons. The father was born in Maryland, of German lineage, and the mother, a native of Pennsylvania, was of Scotch descent. John Sawyer was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was a blacksmith by trade. He brought his family to Jackson county, Iowa, in 1849, being a pioneer in that state. He followed his trade here many years, and died in his ninetieth year in Jackson county. The mother passed away in her seventy-sixth year, leaving the subject of this sketch the only living member of the family. His grandfather, Mathias Sawyer, died in old age, and his grandmother, Mary (Grossman) Sawyer, attained the age of one hundred and one years; her brother, Benedict Grossman, died at the age of one hundred and three.
   John W. Sawyer accompained his parents to Jackson county, Iowa, as a young man, and worked with his father at the forge. He enlisted, July 17, 1861 in Company I, Fifth Iowa

Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded in a battle at Hamburg, Tennessee, and later recived a gunshot wound at the battle of Shiloh, after which he was discharged on account of total disability. Upon leaving the army, he returned to Jackson county, and there, on August 24, 1862, he married Caroline Ralston, a daughter of John and Nancy (McLean) Ralston, both of Scottish descent.
   In the month of March, 1880, Mr. Sawyer brought his wife and their seven children from Jackson county to Knox county, Nebraska, making the trip with a team and wagon. He first took up a homestead in Knox county, ten miles from the Niobrara river. On this farm stands a giant cottonwood tree, twenty-one feet and four inches in circumference, said by the county surveyor to be the largest in the county, possibly the largest in the state. After occupying this farm thirty years to a day, Mr. Sawyer sold it in March, 1910, and he and his wife and their daughter, Nora, came to Arcadia, where they have a very pleasant and well-located home. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer came to this place to be nearer their children in Valley county. All of their eight children, seven of whom survive, were born in Iowa, except their youngest son, who is a native of Nebraska. Mary is the wife of Charles Parkis, of Osceola, Nebraska, and has two children; George is married, lives in Knox county, and has three children; Viola, wife of Thomas Hight, of Norfolk, Nebraska, has two children; Nora, now Mrs. Sigal Record, of Arcadia, has three children; Luella, wife of Ellsworth Ross, of Boyd county, has seven children; Billy married Earl Holcomb, and lives near Arcadia; Clyde, formerly of Hot Springs, South Dakota, who moved to Arcadia in the spring of 1911, is married, and has two children.
   Mr. Sawyer has been identified with the early history of two states, and, although now in his eighty-sixth year, is active and in rugged health. he is highly respected as a citizen, and has many close friends. He and his wife have reared a large family, and have their children's affectionate regard and reverence. In politics he is a democrat. He was reared in the Lutheran church, and later became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is one of the last two comrades of Washington Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Dorsey, Knox county.
   On coming to Knox county, Mr. Sawyer erected a sod dugout on his place, which the family occupied eleven years. In the early nineties, they suffered four years' drought, and for two years hail destroyed their crops. An additional misfortune was the loss of their frame house by fire. But, in spite of all discouragements they prospered, and have no regret that they decided to make Nebraska their home.

 

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FRANK DUEL.

   Among the brave sons who came to Nebraska in the early seventies, is the subject of this sketch, Frank Duel, now residing on section fifteen, township twenty-four, range two, Madison county. Mr. Duel has been a resident of Madison county for the past thirty-seven years, and during that time has encountered the many changes incident to the development of a new country into one of the most prosperous and thriving communities of the west.
   Mr. Duel is a native of New York state, his birth taking place in Franklin county, December 31, 1848. He is a son of Benjamin and Lucinda (Steuben) Duel, and is of English descent. Mr. Duel remained in his native state until 1855, then went with his parents to Illinois, where he lived ten years, coming to Fayette county, Iowa, where he resided several years.
   In 1873, Mr. Duel came to Madison county, Nebraska, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of railroad land, on which he built a frame house. He also took up a timber claim two miles northwest of his present home. The first five years of his residence here, Mr. Duel "batched it," and worked out at whatever his hands found to do; as the crops were a complete failure for the first few years, those of 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, which made it very hard for a young man just starting out for himself. Mr. Duel suffered many hardships through the various causes that were a constant anxiety and menace to the first settlers in this region. In the blizzard of 1888, he lost considerable stock in the blinding, swirlmg mass of snow and ice dust that caused such a heavy loss of life, both human and brute. Another source of anxiety in those times were the prairie fires that often swept the prairies clear of everything for miles around, and had to be almost constantly fought for the first few years. As late as 1894, our subject suffered loss of crops in the terrible drouth of that year, the hot winds that were the result of this drouth, burning every spear of vegetation in the vicinity to a crisp. But those experiences have all passed to history, and better times and abundant crops prevail in the region where hardships and privation were once the lot of the inhabitant of the western frontier, and Mr. Duel now owns three hundred and twenty acres of fine land, on which is a fine grove of twenty acres, making this one of the finest places in the county.
   Mr. Duel was united in marriage, September 13, 1878, to Miss Josephine Griffith, a native of Iowa, and Mr. and Mrs. Duel are now the parents of five children, namely: Barnard C., Almita, Erwin W., Frank and Ray. They are a fine family, and enjoy the respect and esteem of all who know them. They are members of Methodist church, and Mr. Duel is a republican.

ISRAEL C. TOBIAS.

   Israel C. Tobias, recognized as one of Custer county's most prominent citizens, was one of the early settlers there, and passed through the various stages of Nebraska's history for more than thirty years past. He was born in Picqua county, Ohio, May 11, 1836, son of Henry and Dolly (Zinser) Tobias, being second in order of birth of their eight children. He has a brother in Denver, one in Sterling, Colorado, a sister in Chicago, two sisters in El Paso, Illinois, and others are deceased. The father was born in Pennsylvania, of German parentage, and died at El Paso, Illinois, in 1889. The mother, a native of Germany, was brought to America at the age of four years, and died in El Paso in 1882.
   In childhood, Mr. Tobias accompanied his parents to Illinois and there grew to manhood, being reared to farm work, and receiving his education in local schools. In the fall of 1861, he enlisted in Company G, Eigthy-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, serving until the close of the war, and receiving his discharge at Louisville, Kentucky, in June, 1865. The more important battles in which he participated were: Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and the Siege of Atlanta, and he also took part in many minor engagements and skirmishes.
   Mr. Tobias was married (first), August 18, 1859, to Miss Cynthia Ellis, a native of Indiana, and they made their home in Illinois. After the war, they lived for a time in Washington, Illinois, later removing to El Paso, where Mr. Tobias engaged in mercantile business with his father. Five years later they removed to Streator, and in the fall of 1879 came to Custer county. He secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres of land on section thirty-five, township twenty, range nineteen, which for many years remained the home place. They also secured a tree claim of the same size. Mrs. Tobias died on this farm, April 17, 1892, survived by eight children: Alvira A., wife of James Haggerty, of Sargent, has two children ; Sophia F. married Samuel Perrin, of Sargent, and they have three children; Flora, wife of A. Z. Perrin, of Custer county, has three children; Leota, widow of Albert Dye, lives in Iowa; Wilbur, of Custer county, is married, and has three children; Alta Blanch, at home; Ava S., widow of Frank Phillips (who died in 1907), lives in Sargent; Leroy is married, and living in Sargent. One son and one daughter of this union died in childhood.
   For the first ten years after locating in Custer county, Mr. Tobias was a traveling salesman. He has lived in Sargent since 1900, and has a very pleasant home there. He has always been ready to lend his aid to any worthy cause, and has been active in local affairs. He married (second), August 8, 1895, in Chadron, Nebraska, Mrs. Malinda Tobias, widow of his youngest brother, whose maiden name was Diffenbaugh. She has three children by her former marriage: William, married and living in Denver, has six children; Ida, wife of Asa Ellis, lives in Deer Creek, Illinois, and they have four children; Lloyd, of Peoria, Illinois, is married, and has one child.

 

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DANIEL P. SULLIVAN.

   Daniel P. Sullivan, who resides on section thirty-six, township thirty, range three, in Cedar county, Nebraska, is one of the leading old-timers in this section. He has always done his allotted share in the betterment of conditions throughout the community in which he lives, and by earnest efforts and strict attention to his work, has been successful in building up a comfortable property and developing a fine farm.
   Mr. Sullivan is a native of Nebraska. He was born in Cedar county, December 24, 1868, and is the second member in a family of six children born to James and Anna (Lacy) Sullivan, both of whom were natives of Ireland, and came to America at a very early date, their first home being at Madison, Wisconsin. They settled in Cedar county in 1868, taking a homestead on section eleven, township thirty-one, range two, east, located on Main Bow creek, on which they built a log house and started life as pioneers.
   At that time Sioux City and Yankton were their market places, both being a considerable distance from their claim, and in traveling to and from these points, Mr. Sullivan experienced more than one exciting adventure. For several years the family had hard work to raise enough to live on, as their crops were sometimes utterly destroyed by grasshoppers, and when they escaped this pest, unfavorable weather conditions made it impossible to secure anything from the seeds planted. A great deal of their living was had from the wild game which was plentiful in the region during the early days of their residence there. They also went through numerous Indian scares, but never had any serious trouble from this source.
   Mr. Sullivan is now the owner of two hundred and forty-two acres in sections thirty-five and thirty-six, township thirty, range three, east, all of the land in good shape, and he is engaged extensively in grain and stock raising, deriving a good income from these enterprises.
   In 1888, Mr. Sullivan was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Koch, who is a native of Pennsylvania, of English and German stock. She came west at the age of three years, with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan are the parents of two children, Mary Ann and Minor R.
   Mr. Sullivan, for eighteen years, was identified with the school board organization, but now holds no public office. He and his family are members of the Roman Catholic church.

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DAVID LEAR.

     Among the prominent business men of Central City, Nebraska, the gentleman above mentioned occupies a foremost place. Mr. Lear is well known all over this section of the country, and is highly esteemed as a citizen of true worth.
   David Lear was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, January 25, 1844, and was second of twelve children in the family of Samuel and Phoebe Lear, who had six sons and six daughters. Our subject grew to manhood in his native city, where he learned the blacksmiths' trade. On August 6, 1863, Mr. Lear was married to Miss Rebecca J. Lewis, also a resident of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, at which place they were marned. Mr. Lear enlisted in Company K, Two Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, August 30,1864, and participated in the battles of Fort Steadman, Petersburg, and numerous skirmishes and engagements, and was present at Lee's surrender. He received his honorable discharge at Braddock 's Field, Pennsylvania, June 2, 1865, returning then to his home.
   In 1868, Mr. Lear, with his wife and three children, moved to Iowa, another child being born in that state, and came into Butler county, Nebraska, in 1871. In the fall of 1872, they located in Hamilton county, Nebraska, and in 1873, Mr. Lear worked in the first blacksmith shop in Central City, then known as Lone Tree, and in 1874, he moved to Lone Tree, and opened up a blacksmith and wagon shop for himself. He has continued in the business until the present time, although Mr. Lear has practically retired from active work, enjoying the fruits of an active, industrious life, and is well and favorably known.
   Mr. and Mrs. Lear have had eleven children, of whom six sons and two daughters are living, three children being born in Pennsylvania, one in Iowa and seven in Nebraska: William H., married, and lives in Omaha; Phoebe Jane, wife of William Perryman, has nine children, and lives in Iowa; Orrin O., of St. Joseph, Missouri, married, and has one son; Clara Estelle, wife of Charles Soth, has six children, and resides in Belgrade, Nebraska; Albert D., married, and residing in Central City; Robert L., married, has four children, and resides in Central City; Harvey G. and James Ellsworth, who live at home.
   Mr. Lear has always taken an active interest in all things pertaining to the welfare of his home county and state. He served in the Nebraska state militia for six years, and is well and favorably known. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and a republican in politics.

 

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JAMES GARVIE.

   In recounting the deeds of men of the west, who have made that country what it is today, it is most fitting to mention those distinguished sons of the soil - men whose ancestors have for centuries dwelt on the prairies and along the streams of the great plains. Of these, none deserves a more prominent place than James Garvie, the genial real estate and insurance agent of Niobrara.
   Mr. Garvie was born in Minnesota on August 10, 1862, his birthplace being, as near as can be determined, about three miles east of Granite Falls, and the date just eight days before the terrible massacre occurred at New Ulm. This event had tragic bearing on his own life, in that his father was lost on that sad day. The latter was a Scotchman, and was a trader among the Sisseton Indians, falling in love with an Indian maiden named Mary, and our subject is the youngest of three sons, born of their marriage. After the death of her husbaud, his mother married a member of the Sioux tribe, he having fled with her to Canada, where the ceremony was performed, and where they remained until quiet had been restored. One of the three sons died in early infancy. The eldest was adopted by a Canadian family and reared as then son but all trace of him has been lost by his family.
   After three years in Canada Mr. Garvie's mother returned to the states, and lived for some time on the Santee reservation later going to the Sisseton agency, where James began his education in the Sisseton Mission School. Two years later the government opened a school in Sisseton, which he attended for over two years. He afterwards attended school in St. Paul, and also entered the Beloit College, having as a classmate Dr. Eastman, the well known physician of St. Paul and author of several delightful books on Indian life. Mr. Garvie intended to finish his education there, but on account of failing health, was compelled to quit, after two and a half years at the institution. During this time, Mr. Garvie made quite a name for himself in the literary world, collaborating with Dr. Riggs in compiling a dictionary of the Sioux lauguage, also a volume of Indian myths and legends. Besides these works, he translated many useful books into his own tongue for use in missionary work among the Great Sioux nation. After recovering his health in some degree, Mr. Garvie accepted a position as teacher in the Congregational Mission School at Santee and remained for sixteen years, resigning the charge in 1902, since that time having been engaged in the business above mentioned, until 1905, at Center, Nebraska, and from then on at Niobrara, meeting with gratifying success during this time.
   Mr. Garvie was first married in Santee, to Miss Anna Red Wing, a descendant of the noted chief of that name, and three children survive from this union, as follows: George, who took an industrial course at Haskell Institute at Lawrence, Kansas; James, junior, a. graduate in the class of 1910, Genoa, Nebraska: and Joseph Roy, now in the Mission School at Santee.
   Mr. Garvie married again, his second wife

being Miss Winona Keith, who is of Irish descent. They have four children: Evelyn, Kenneth, Stanley Stuart and Velma. A close tie of kinship has been kept up between our subject and his father's family and each has cause to be proud of the other. One uncle, James Garvie, is a resident of Hot Springs, South Dakota, and a veteran of the civil war, while two others, John and Robert Garvie, reside in Hartford, Connecticut, and they are the last of the family of that name in his father's generation. His mother died in 1881, and the great grandmother in 1884, having reached the venerable age of nearly a century.
   Politically, Mr. Garvie has always been a strong republican, and has had great influence among those of his race, they having received allotment of lands and being full-fledged citizens of the republic.
   Mr. Garvie is a Congregationalist, white his wife is an Episcopalian, but they purpose selecting some faith where they may both worship at the same altar. They are a very interesting and congenial family, and their home one of the most hospitable and cheery it is the lot of the traveler to visit.

 

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EUGENE A. SMITH.

   The gentleman above named is a worthy representative of the commercial life of Nance county. While still a young man, his success has been phenomenal in his business enterprises, although it is due strictly to his own individual efforts, and by dint of perseverance and energy he has been able to accumulate a nice property. He has a rapidly growing mercantile establishment in Belgrade and with his family, occupies one of the finest residences in that thriving little city.
   Eugene A. Smith is a native of Hennepin county, Illinois, born April 10, 1874, and he was the eldest child in a family of six, born to James A. and Irene Smith. The entire family came to Boone county, Nebraska, during the spring of 1876, where they were among the earliest settlers, and the father, mother and five children still make that vacinity their home. They located on a farm where our subject grew up, and received his education in the country schools, in the meantime assisting in the farm work. Then Eugene came on to Nance county, at once engaging in the butcher business in Belgrade, opening a meat market, which he operated for four years. On August 13,1901, he went into the firm of Smith & Smith, establishing a general merchandise trade and have built up a successful patronage, now carrying on a splendid business. They are located in a fine modern brick building, on the main street of the town and have a first class, up-to-date stock, which occupies the entire floor of the commodious structure while the Belgrade opera house has the second floor.
   Mr. Smith was married in Belgrade on June 18, 1901, to Mary L. Kliese, who is a daugther of County Judge Kliese, the latter one of the prominent pioneers in this section. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have three children, Carson R., Millard and Doris, who form a most charming family. The Smiths occupy one of the fine residences of Belgrade, and are popular members of the social set of the city, having many friends, and highly esteemed by all.
   Mr. Smith is active in local affairs, having served as township treasurer in years gone by, and is at present central committeeman of the republican party here.

 

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WILLIAM DICKERSON.

   No doubt the earliest settler of Atkinson, still a resident of the town, is William Dickerson, the veteran drayman, said to be the oldest in point of continuous business of any man in this line between Omaha and the Hills. He first came to the state in 1872, reaching O'Neill July 13 of that year, and his was one of the first families to locate in the open prairie, where the town of Atkinson now stands. Among the others who came about the same time were the Prontys, the Cavernys, the Thompsons and the Bittneys, Mr. Bittney being a brother-in-law of Mr. Dickerson. Mr. Dickerson's birth occurred at Sandusky, Ohio, July 6, 1852, and he is a son of Henry and Phoebe (Young) Dickerson. During the fall of the year in which he was born, his parents moved to Sauk county, Wisconsin, and there he grew to manhood. and resided until coming west. His brother, Thomas, came to Nebraska at the same time, and lived at Atkinson many years.
   Upon coming to the state of Nebraska, Mr. Dickerson filed on a homestead one mile east of O'Neill, and lived there most of the time for six years. Preston Schultz, a brother-in-law of Mrs. Pronty, had made arrangements to open a store in Atkinson, but on account of his wife's illness at O'Neill, was unable to attend to it, so Mr. Dickerson took charge, and in this way sold the first goods to pass across a counter in the new town, and opened up and distributed the first sack of mail received there. Later he and Mr. Bittney bought the store, and for three years were the pioneer merchants of the place, Mr. Dickerson at the same time serving as postmaster.
   In 1879, Mr. Dickerson went to California, and found employment in a livery barn in San Francisco, thus earning enough money to tide him over until he procured an outfit for prospecting. Forming a partnership with a friend, he started out, and they purchased a half interest in a shaft that had already been sunk to a depth of ninety-two feet, and this enterprise was fairly successful, as they obtained a good showing of mineral. About this time the original owners sold their half interest for three thousand five hundred dollars, and Mr. Dickerson and

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